A Voice in the Crowd

Google+

2011-09-29T08:34:00.000-07:00

I'm realizing that my blog is redundant now that I'm using Google+. I recommend if you are following my blog, please go to my Google+ profile and follow me there.

https://plus.google.com/109926173332943888466

I may come back to the blog, but for now it just doesn't make sense to use both.

I should note that I will be keeping the blog up for as long as Google/Blogger allows, there is a lot of history on this blog and I'd hate to just throw it away.

Removing a NULL from the Results Grid

2011-09-06T11:29:00.000-07:00

Here is my scenario. (Yours may very, but when I tried to find help on this issue I found the specifics difficult to locate.)
I had written a query in Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio 2008 to create a data file to be imported via a custom app. The reason for this is that the new data repository requires the data to be input using it's specific tools. There are a number of apps like this.

Prior to working in MS SQL I had begun the project in Access. The project was simpler then and there was a chance that some of my coworkers, who didn't have SQL Server, might need to access it. When exporting my data from Access the NULL values exported as blanks in my spreadsheet. This is exactly what I needed.

After migrating to MS SQL though the NULLs show up as NULL in the spreadsheet. This caused a lot of havoc to the import program. I could have had the programmer change the program to deal with the NULLs, and I may for the next version, we are too far along in the testing phase to change that now.

So, here is the part you have been waiting for, how do you get rid of the NULL values in a SQL export?

Your needs may vary but, use:

ISNULL(column_name,replacement_value)

Where column_name is the name of the data column you are checking and replacement_value is what you want in the field instead of "NULL"

In my case my replacement_value was simply: '' (two single quotes) I didn't want any value in the field, not a space, not a "NULL", nothing. While NULL IS nothing to MS SQL, to a CSV file, NULL and '' are the same. Since I am exporting to CSV, I need the '' rather than the NULL.

This may be elementary for some SQL query writers out there, it was important for me to find and use. Unfortunately there was little to point me in the right direction. My hope is that this post will save others who are running into this issue some time.

If you are a SQL guru and there is an even better way to address this problem, please leave a comment below and I'll edit as necessary.

Google+ Status Report

2011-08-22T09:09:00.000-07:00

This is my last post about Google+ for awhile, promise.

I experimented using only Google+ for a week. I stayed off Twitter the entire time. I didn't even read it. I wanted to see if Google+ could replace Twitter for me. What I found was that too many people have not really migrated to G+. They may not ever.

It's not Twitter. The posting people put up are long form and encourage long comments. In a way it's almost like Google took Blogger and then added circles, but then removed all the formatting. So there, I said it, G+ is just a weak Blogger with some social functions added.

Google has had most of these features in it's various products for a long time. It just took Circles to bring them together. I don't think that's a bad thing and if you are a long time Google user this brings the tools together cohesively. What about for everyone else?

Microsoft has a lot of these same features in it's Live environment but you don't hear about it much do you? Does what G+ do really all that much more compelling that it's going to draw large numbers of Facebook and Twitter users away? Right now I have to say no.

That doesn't mean that there aren't users who have dived into G+. I would put myself in that camp. It also doesn't mean that G+ is a failure or that we won't see more awesome features added. I'm sure Gmail looked weak compared to other webmail services when it first came out too.

So for now Twitter will still exist for me. It doesn't try to do a million things. What it does it does well. What it doesn't do G+ will pick-up nicely.

Google+ vs. everything else

2011-08-09T06:38:00.000-07:00

Since Google+ has come put I've been trying to figure out where it sits in my Internet usage world. I never used Facebook so that's out of the equation. I do use Twitter and Blogger (obviously) though. I'm trying to go without any Twitter all this week to see if Google+ can fill that void. We'll see. G+ isn't quite as far along as Twitter so there are still a lot more people missing.

Blogger is another question mark. Google+ is setup to protect your posts if you wish, so I could write something for family only and they would be the only ones able to see it. That's pretty cool. On the other hand many of my blog posts are written for the world to see. Google+ allows for this as well, but is it as easy?

Additionally Blogger has additional formatting options that Google+ doesnt have (yet).

I already know one person who has given up everything for Google+. I commend his commitment. I suspect that for the time being that I'll continue to use all three services, but Twitter and Blogger could be in trouble. It just depends on where Google+ goes in the future.

Here is my Google+ profile: https://plus.google.com/109926173332943888466/posts

Samsung BD-D5700 Blu-ray player

2011-08-08T07:24:00.000-07:00

This weekend we bought a Samsung BD-D5700 Blu-ray player. So far I've been pretty happy with it. The online reviews are kinda mixed though. It seems like most that are rating it poorly have defective units though. No issues of that sort with ours but it's only been a couple days.

Our TV is only 720p, but I still see a good improvement in image quality. I only had one movie to test with though. We have the TRON Legacy combo pack so I could try each movie and see the differences. It was a bit subtle, but there.

The load times of the BR vs the DVD were noticeably longer, but not terrible. It was something I was expecting too. Though without a reference point I can't say if those BR load times are slower, faster, or normal.

I've not tried any of the streaming video options (Hulu+, Netflix, Blockbuster) just because we are not members of any of those services. That's partly due to me being a A/V quality snob, but mostly because there has been so much shake-up in availability that you pretty much can't stick to just one for everything and even with all of them there is still a lot of content that isn't available streaming. That said, now that we have the interfaces, we now have the opportunity to try them.

So far the biggest feature we've used is the digital media streaming (DLNA) from my PC and USB thumb drive. They both use the same interface and it's pretty straight forward. The image quality was really nice. Part of that is the source material but I think it's doing it's best to upconvert the lower resolution videos too. It supported all but some MOV files. I can live with that.

The one weird thing was that occasionally the DLNA video stream would get slightly out of sync. We thought it was my computer going to sleep or something but that didnt appear to be the problem. The first time it happened was about 12 minutes into a video. The next time it was 14 minutes...but we'd been watching nearly 3 hours of video from the same source. Both times I switched to the thumb drive and it worked fine from there.

I had copied the media to the thumb drive first because I didn't know about the DLNA option. Even when I did I was worried that the WiFi connection might not be strong enough. It was a backup.

Another oddity that I never did figure out. The video via the network wouldn't allow me to fast forward. Via the USB it wasn't a problem. Is this something in the way DLNA streams the video? It was kinda a pain.

So, thus far I'm pleased with the purchase. It's a nice machine, especially for the money.

Government Spending

2011-08-01T09:38:00.000-07:00

2010 US Spending: http://michaelrslade.com/blogs/2011-state-of-the-union/

So we want the government to do all kinds of things for us. All kinds of great services. And there isn't anything wrong with that, but how are they going to be paid for? The middle and lower classes are paying a lot and keep paying more due to raising food and fuel prices. Additional taxes keep being tacked on by local/state governments to help pay for their deficits.

Pretty soon we simple wont have the money left to pay for anything. Who pays then? Businesses? The Wealthy? Every time someone suggests they should pay more we hear, "Why are you wanting to punish their success?" and "If you tax us we can't create more jobs" or "They'll just pass the costs to the consumers"

So again I ask...who is going to pay for our government?

We can reduce spending on the military and social security sure. Both those take a huge chunk of our tax dollars but who has the guts to try to do that? Career politicians sure aren't going to do that. They'd lose too many votes!

I fear we are in a downward spiral...and I'm an optimist normally.

San Diego Comic Con 2011, Pt 3

2011-07-31T12:25:00.000-07:00

The Amazing Spider-Man. I wonder if he got tired hanging around for four days.

Movies are frequently a part of the Comic-Con experience now, for better or worse. Part of me wanted to get into the Hall H Friday to see the movie panels, it would have been a very long line to wait in and I would have been in there all day. Not that it would be so bad, but these movie sneak peaks are always posted to the Internet shortly after they are shown at Comic-Con so I didn't personally see the value in sitting there all day.

The movies they were teasing were:

Captain America was also being marketed with a large banner being pulled by a plane overhead. The first time I noticed it I was standing outside waiting in line. I had to laugh and said to my line neighbors, "Given the demographic here at Comic-Con isn't that a bit like preaching to the choir? It's not like I saw that banner and thought, 'OMG! I had no idea there was a Captain America movie coming out this week!'"

The Cowboys and Aliens marketing was a bit cooler. Jon Favreau tweeted earlier in the week about some 'gold bars' that would be given out at different locations around Comic-Con that might get you into the Premier, which they chose to do in San Diego as part of Comic-Con. That was pretty cool. I didnt manage to get a 'brick', which was a small card board box. I saw some that did. None that won, but they got t-shirts. Decent marketing. A few hundred got tickets to the movie premier.

There were other movie's trying to make their presence known as well. The next Twilight movie as well as what will likely be a craptacular movie, Shark Night 3D. Though the Shark Night people did have a cool mechanical shark you could ride, as you would a mechanical bull.

While there WAS a large Avengers booth on the show floor, there was no sneak peaks at the Avengers movie, though I heard Chris Evans was around. There wasn't a panel or anything official shown.

Lucas Films was heavily promoting both the Clone Wars season 4 and the upcoming release of the Star Wars movies on Blu-Ray. Lucas even partnered up with Volkswagen to create an Imperial Jetta. I still don't like the new Jetta design but adding Star Wars helps a bit.

Yes I am sun burned.

I'm sure I'm missing some smaller movies, but well they didnt hit my radar. Below are some pictures:

Total Recall robot (?) and car.

Another robot (maybe it's a suit), a bit more close-up.

Almost thought they gave up on Ghost Rider until we saw this.

San Diego Comic Con 2011, Pt 2

2011-07-31T08:56:00.000-07:00

Comic-Con offers more than just celebrity sighting and standing in lines. The show floor is huge and full of interesting things to see:

Artist's Alley - where you can see artists drawing and selling artwork.
Independent Publishers - Not all comics are created by the big boys. There were a lot of smaller publishers or independents that were hocking their wares.
T-Shirts - The selection wasn't quite as grand as I'd hoped but there were a lot of geeky t-shirts and sweat-shirts to be found, reasonably priced. I think there were only a couple vendors, if that though. It would have been nice to see more variety.
High quality collectibles - These aren't cheaply made novelties, these are often movie quality replicas. There were masks, busts, jackets, from famous movies/TV like Star Wars and Star Trek. Many high quality sculptures as well. These aren't toys but premium collectibles for the super-fan.
Toys - The toy companies came out in force. LEGO and Hasbro were definitely in the fore-front. If you were interested in comic book based action figures, this was the place to be.
Comics - Well of course there are going to be comics for sale at a comic book convention (though it could be argued that it's really not a comic book convention any more). The comic book vendors were all at one end of the show floor. It really seemed like a lesser part of the conference though. Not sure if that is due to the evolution of Comic-Con to more of a Pop Culture-Con or if it's indicative of the changes in comics in general. Most of the comics available for sale were pre-90's or the graphic novel/collections. I have to wonder if the digital comic is dooming the printed comic.
Misc. Vendors - There were vendors of all types scattered here and there selling a little bit of everything. Some were very specific, others not so much. Deals can be made, but don't expect a steal.

Sunday is a good day to buy comics. Most of the comic-book sellers would prefer not to haul all their comics back home. I also suspect that many of these vendors bring down their excess inventory to dump it. There were quite a few vendors offering to sell multiple comics from specific boxes for a small dollar amount. I ended up picking up 20 comics for $5. Not a bad deal. Most were probably only worth the 25 cents I paid but I was looking for things I had not read before or holes in my collection. At this point in my comic collecting life I'm more interested in filling voids in my collection, rather than trying to collect 'valuable' comics.

I did pay a bit more to buy some older Uncanny X-Men though. That is one title I'd like to one day have complete, at least up to the mid-nineties when I stopped buying them. But with X-Men #1 running around $1500 that might be awhile. I'll just have to settle with my reprints for now.

We also picked up a few t-shirts. Melody had more luck here than me. She found some great Doctor Who shirts. We also picked up the 'exclusive' t-shirt for 2011 Comic-Con. It's actually pretty cool with Godzilla and Mothera destroying the convention center.

We also picked up:

A Star Wars cook book - it's made for kids, but still pretty awesome
The Doctor Who Christmas Adventure set - includes a Matt Smith (11th) Doctor and Amy Pond action figure as well as a light-up Tardis with opening doors.
An exclusive LEGO item (for a friend)
And various swag, including

Yoda face fans/masks
Hellboy mask
American Dad/Family Guy pins

We really didn't buy a lot of stuff. For me it was mostly because, with the exception of the exclusives and swag, you could buy pretty much all of this stuff online. Why carry and ship a bunch of stuff around that you could buy any time? That's probably why the lines for the exclusives are so long.

Some booths were also showing off proto-types or not yet released items, so this was your first opportunity to see them and await their arrival at stores.

More images:

Marvel Action Figures

Lara Croft collectible

Captain Jack Sparrow - life size made of LEGO

San Diego Comic Con 2011, Pt 1

2011-07-30T18:36:00.000-07:00

Ah Comic-Con, the time of the year when geeks and nerds loose their minds and stand in lines for hours for the chance to see their favorite TV/movie/comic stars or stand in line for less than hours but still a long time for the chance to buy some limited edition collectible or toy.

This was my first year. I've been hearing for years how cool it was and I thought I needed to do it at least once in my life. So that bucket list item is now complete.

My first paragraph may sound a bit snarky, but that's because it is. I wouldn't say I hated Comic-Con but it's not the Nerdvana that I thought it would be. I read the blogs and 'how to survive Comic-Con' guides, but they simply cannot prepare you.

That said, here are my tips for anyone thinking about going in the future:

This wasn't even the half way point. There were about 2500 people ahead of us at this point.

Be prepared to stand in line. Lots of guides will tell you that but you stand in line for everything! You stand in line to get your badges. If you don't stay right next to the conference center, you will stand in line to get on the shuttle to get to the conference (and to get back on to go to your hotel later). You'll stand in line, often for hours, to see ANY panel. During the panels you may get 'swag' tickets; you have to stand in line to redeem those tickets. You'll stand in line to buy most of the items on the show floor. You'll stand in line for food. You'll stand in line for the bathroom. These are not exaggerations. If you hate standing in line, you will hate Comic-Con.

If I ever go again I will bring a folding stool. Even then you will still be on your feet a lot. The lines move, but slowly, so you need to be able to move quickly. You will not be able to sit on the floor. In many cases you may not be allowed, be it by security or simply because the line keeps inching forward.
Have a good bag. You will get large swag bags when you pick up your badge but they are large and unwieldy. You'll notice that veteran attendees will have nice multi-use back packs. That said, there are posters, art, comics, toys, clothes and other items that you'll want to be able to carry around safely. Back packs are good for some but not all of these things. Most vendors will only have plastic bags (the grocery type). These not only get tiresome to carry after awhile, but pointy cornered boxes and comics will start to work their way through the bags. If you buy posters or art you'll want a protective tube. Some vendors will sell these but the artists probably wont have anything like that so be prepared.

You'll also want to carry provisions; water & snacks. Water is expensive at events like these. Why spend $4-6 for a bottle of water when you can find a store and buy a whole case of water bottles for half that. Same goes for snacks. Standing in line for hours you may need a pick me up. Sure you can buy pretzels and nachos or cookies, but unless you have a line buddy you may be stuck.

There are many other smaller tips I could give but those two are pretty big and worth sharing.

The first day was overwhelming. The show floor was PACKED. I pretty much just rode the wave of people trying to absorb as much as I could. I came away from day one wonder what the hell I had got myself into.

Day two was much better. We had a plan of attack and it went smoother. The realization that you had to get in line for a room early and pretty much stay there until you had seen the panel you were interested in was an important one. You can't just show up 10-15 minutes before a scheduled event and expect to get in. Even the obscure ones might be full because people are filling the rooms early for the next panel or two.

That was something that I still am not sure I like. The rooms are not cleared between panels, so you could sit in the same chair all day if you so desired. So again, you have to plan ahead. If you think your panel is going to be popular, you have to get into your room early or risk not being able to get in. We were lucky in that every panel we got in line for we were able to attend, but others were not so lucky. The very popular rooms had lines that were up to 6000 long (again, no exaggeration). The rooms aren't that big so some people simply didnt get in. And since the rooms are not cleared between panels, it's possible only a few hundred or so may be able to get in after each panel, depending on the subjects.

You will get to see celebrities, but don't expect to get to talk to them. You can go to signings, but they are scheduled also and just as difficult to get. We didn't even try these. In the panels, depending on the size of the room you may be a few feet to so far they have to project the panel members onto projection screens. On the show floor or even milling about outside you may see more. Here is who I saw:

Hulk Hogan
Lou Ferrigno
Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca)
Adam Sessler (G4 TV host)
Seth Green
Allison Scagliotti (Claudia, Warehouse 13, Syfy Channel)
The cast of Fringe
The cast of American Dad
The cast of Family Guy
Doc Hammer, Jackson Publick, and James Urbaniak from the Venture Brothers
LL Cool J
The hosts of the Totally Rad Show (Alex, Jeff, & Dan)

Alex Albrecht and Dan Trachtenberg of the Totally Rad Show

There were probably lots of others that I didnt recognize. There were a lot more celebs there mingling with the crowds too. Celebrity spotting is definitely a fun part of Comic-Con.

Hulk Hogan

More to come... In the meantime, here are some more celeb, pictures.

From The Venture Brothers, left to right: Jackson Publick, Doc Hammer, and James Urbaniak

From Family Guy, left to right: Mike Henry, Patrick Warburton, and Alex Borstein

From Fringe, Joshua Jackson and John Noble

Can Google+ work for me?

2011-06-29T07:23:00.000-07:00

I should start this with saying that I've only been reading about Google+. I do not currently have access to it.

I'm a heavy Google user. I use many of their products. I like the integration and I like how their tools work for the most part (Google Docs is still a bit clunky). So I'd be a prime candidate for Google+, their new social network, right?

Well the problem is that I don't have that many friends/associates that are using Google products that much. A few sure, but it makes me wonder how is Google going to get people to migrate from Facebook and/or Twitter? I don't use Facebook but I know only a few of the people I know who use Facebook will check out Google+, much less put any serious thought into switching. I say switch because, how many people are going to maintain both? Twitter and Facebook are different enough that they can have some cross over customers, but will Google+ have that? Would people put up with three social networks?

It's way too early to say but Google will have to pull out some big guns to draw users away from Facebook and Twitter, or have some really awesome technology that allows it to live side by side with them. I'm not saying it can't be done or won't happen, but I'm not holding my breath.

In the meantime I anxiously await my invite so I can evaluate it for myself.

Thought Exercise: Multi-Dimensional Being

2011-06-28T07:42:00.000-07:00

I had an interesting thought while pondering one of the many oddities of String Theory or M Theory. The particular topic I was thinking about is the idea that there are more dimensions to our universe than we can perceive. We are four dimensional beings (length, width, height, time). But theoretically the universe has 10 or more dimensions.

If a sphere is seen from only two dimensions we see a circle. It's size dependent on where the slice is taken. If we couldn't perceive the third dimension there would be a great deal of information about that sphere we'd completely miss out on.

So imagine for a moment how much we may be missing out on if there are 10 or more dimensions. We ponder life and death. What our role in the world is. Is there more? Is there a greater purpose. Is there a God? What if by exploring those other dimensions we could answer those questions?

What if all humans are connected in those dimensions? An invisible thread that ties us all together as one being. What if all life if is tied together like that? What if all we are, are the arm hairs of a multi-dimensional being. We are just too primitive to see beyond our limits. But we glimpse the greater. This is telepathy, magic, and God. It's the greater part of us that we have faith is there but have no way of knowing.

I have no proof of any of this, but science is opening doors that we didn't even know existed that long ago. Ignorance may be bliss but knowledge is awesome.

Web Browsers in the Enterprise

2011-06-24T14:39:00.000-07:00

When Mozilla said, "Enterprise has never been--and I'll argue, shouldn't be--a focus of ours" I was shocked that they publicly stated that, but not surprised that is their stance.

Internet Explorer (IE) is easily the defacto web browser in the business and likely will be for some time. Microsoft owns that space pretty handily. Yes, there are those small companies that have migrated successfully to Firefox or Chrome or others, but they are the exception, not the rule. We are talking Enterprise. These are the companies with thousands of employees with many custom or customized internal applications. These applications don't get updated quickly. It can take months or even years to upgrade to new versions. Even patches have to be rigorously tested and QAed before being rolled out. Especially if those apps are mission critical.

For Mozilla to say that Firefox isn't designed with the Enterprise in mind gives them the ability to remain flexible and aggressive with their development strategies. Enterprise's need and are large enough typically to demand long term development cycles, so they can plan accordingly. Sometimes Enterprise-time and Internet-time are not compatible. For Mozilla to focus on Internet-time is probably wise from their development strategy, but I think it can be easily argued that perhaps they shouldn't have made the statement they did.

Enterprise IT not only wants to keep things standardized but often NEEDS to. When you are supporting thousands of PCs, supporting multiple web browsers, with multiple versions, with different plug-ins would be a nightmare. Supporting IE, especially a single version, simplifies support. Errors and bugs can be managed. Application customizations can be handled. From the IT perspective, the more everyone's PCs are the same, the easier it is to support them and deploy fixes/patches equally throughout the enterprise.

Even IE isn't immune from being rolled out slowly. My company is currently on IE8, which is probably better than some companies, but IE9 just came out and we are not compatible with it yet. Patches are coming to fix that, but this is something that Enterprises have to deal with. When it's one browser, it can be managed. When it's multiple browsers, it becomes a lot less manageable, especially when they have radically different release time frames.

Mozilla just began a more aggressive release schedule. Chrome has always been very aggressive. Enterprise IT departments can't keep up, so they standardize on one (normally IE).

Standardization is a word that could change this, in time. For a long time Internet Explorer, because of it's market dominance, included a lot of Microsoft-only code that rendered websites a very particular way or included scripting/tools that were unique to Internet Explorer. Because of the dominance of IE Enterprise software companies and the Enterprises themselves coded their applications for Internet Explorer. A lot of that code still exists. Enterprises don't just change things because the Internet says it's obsolete. There has to be a business case for making the change. In the case of our company, the software we use has an external customer component. IT can dictate what we use internally, but they cannot control the customer, so we have to keep on top of these changes as best we can. IE isn't always the browser of choice any more.

IE has lost the dominance it once had in the market, as a whole. It's still very important, but it no longer commands 90% of the market. Microsoft has since started making Internet Explorer much more standards (web standards) compliant. As has it's competition, Mozilla and Google. They are all trying to one-up one another in becoming the most HTML5 compliant as possible. The HTML rendering engines, for the most part, are what make the various browsers behave differently when rendering a web page.

With all the web browsers moving towards HTML5, could we finally get to a point where it wouldn't matter which web browser you used? I think we are a few years, at best, for that happening. Outside the Enterprise I believe this reality is much closer, but in the Enterprise it simply takes businesses a lot longer to migrate to the cutting edge technology. Their focus is on their customers, not on their internal staff. There are still lots of companies running Windows XP. Internet Explorer 9 won't run on Windows XP, so those companies will have to do major, and expensive, upgrades before they can change their web browsers. Most will wait until they absolutely HAVE to. It's just the nature of the Enterprise.

What was ABC News thinking: Rich Kid Fashion Story

2011-06-20T06:38:00.000-07:00

This morning I watched an ABC News report about kids fashion clothes. I found this obscene. Not because the kids were dressed sexually or anything, though it was very bizarre to see such young kids strutting up and down the cat-walk.

No, my issue with this is, that at a time when so many people are struggling to find jobs and put food on the table much less buy clothes for their kids, the wealthy are buying $500+ per item clothes for their kids. Not just expensive, but designer clothes.

I'm sure this has been going on since always, but to put it on the morning news, as if it's really news? It's just rubbing our faces in the fact that we aren't as rich as them. They even had a poor mother on there saying how she had to buy her kids clothes at a thrift store, as I know my parents had to do for my siblings and I when we were kids.

Is ABC trying to incite a riot against the rich? Did they think it was cute? Were they catering to their wealthy viewers? Maybe they are just out of touch with what the rest of the country goes through sitting in NYC?

I don't hold it against the Bourgeoisie for being wealthy. I wish I was wealthy enough to not have to stress about bills, putting food on the table, etc. However, when they gloat or rub it in the faces of the rest of us, it's not just rude, it's obscene.

What If...Microsoft killed off gaming on the PC

2011-06-17T08:04:00.000-07:00

This is an unlikely scenario but one that is kinda fun to think about. First, PC gaming might as well be called Windows Gaming. Sure there are Mac and Linux games out there, but the primary market is Windows users. Second, Microsoft created DirectX and it's competitors, specifically OpenGL, while not dead really have never done as well as DirectX. Third, Microsoft seems to be pushing Windows 8 in to the HTML5, web scripting world. It's unlikely that the power language support will be removed, but for the sake of this thought experiment, lets assume that Windows 8 doesn't play games as well as past versions.

In all three of those situations there are weaknesses, but lets assume the worst case scenarios.

Microsoft own Xbox. They own Windows. What if a business decision was made to make Windows more of a web based OS, focusing on what a majority of computers are doing these days, email, web, social networking. Microsoft could argue that removing the power to do gaming on the PC would drive more business to the Xbox market because those power gamers would want the better gaming experience. DirectX would still be developed, but just for the Xbox.

One argument is that the Xbox is basically a computer already so why limit the development environment to just Xbox? Because PCs are loosing relevance. Outside the business a PC is mostly used for web related items. Yes, there are power users and there will always be a niche for them, but the average home PC user has limited need. Outside of gaming, I use Chrome and iTunes primarily, occasionally opening up Word, Excel, or Photoshop. Since I don't usually do power image editing, I can say that I could probably do most of my work with HTML5 apps, that in theory would work great on Windows 8. The gaming is what keeps me using a big powerful PC. Microsoft hasn't yet convinced me to buy an Xbox 360 and migrate. So what if they pushed me?

Sure I could stay on Windows 7 for years, just as so many have stuck with Windows XP. But if Microsoft is no longer supporting gaming on Windows, the game publishers would quickly stop developing games for those older platforms. I'd guess within a year most marque gaming titles would be on consoles exclusively. So to play that cool new game I'd have no choice but to buy a console.

Those power users are what could keep things from going this way. Graphics card makers and premium PC makers would certainly have some incentive to keep the PC gaming market going. There are also going to be those users who don't want to give up the power they currently have. Would the market perhaps shift to Linux? Maybe, but we've seen time and time again projects that are in the Windows world not being able to migrate to Linux. I doubt it's technical. Business reasons have to be getting in the way. Those business reasons aren't going to just disappear. Is the power user/PC gamer market large enough to move to a new OS platform?

PC games are still the best looking and most powerful. There are still certain types of games that don't translate well to consoles. But the writing has been on the wall for a long time; PC gaming is dying. That could either mean that it's just like the doom-sayers who keep predicting the world will end and it never does. Or, the end could really just be right around the corner and we are simply in denial.

I for one will keep gaming on the PC until I can't any longer. The current console wiz-bang features still aren't compelling enough to make me fly into their arms. I've right on as the average gamer. So what can Microsoft do to make me move to the Xbox, except kill PC gaming.

Cloud Music Services

2011-06-08T13:37:00.000-07:00

Now that Apple has joined Google and Amazon with it's "cloud" music service, I feel it's time to ask a question that has been bugging me since this all started, "Why?"

I'm sure there are some people that will find this solution perfect for them, but why?

Here is my issue. I have about 18GB of music or roughly 3300 songs. Of those songs I probably only listen to about 20-25% (about 6GB) of them on a regular basis. And that is when I'm not listening to podcasts or streaming music from Last.FM.

I have a nice HTC EVO 4G with 8GB of physical memory. I don't use all of that for music because I need some room for other things but I can get most if not all of the songs I listen to regularly on that device. Since it's also my phone I carry it with me pretty much every where I go, so my favorite tunes are always a finger touch away.

Storing all that music in the cloud, regardless of who is providing it, requires at least some uploading and fees. Not just fees to the music service but ISP fees. Lots of ISP services, be it wired or wireless are now putting in data caps. Using these services you will be eating into those data limits. Wouldn't you want to save that for video or other online services?

One argument I've heard for these services is that all your music will be backed up. You don't have to worry about your hard drive crashing and all your music being lost. I'm all for data backups, but you should have been doing that long before these services came around. Having 18GB of music, some purchased online, some ripped from CDs, some from who knows where, I wouldn't be happy if my hard drive died, but I do periodic backups, I feel my music is relatively safe. If a catastrophe were to occur where my backup was destroyed because I didnt backup to the cloud...well lets just say I'd have more important things to worry about at that point than my music collection.

OK so for me I see, increased Internet data usage and fees. I see no benefit other than backup, but I already do that at no cost. All the music I want is available already on my phone, either streaming or stored locally.

So again I ask, "Why would anyone use these services?" Is the marketing just that good or am I missing something?

My Camera Comparison: Early Conclusion

2011-06-08T08:22:00.001-07:00

I've decided to forgo any further testing of my cameras at this time. While it still shocks me that an 11 year old camera is taking better pictures than the more modern ones, it simply is. The Olympus isn't great with color, but that can be corrected, if necessary, in Photoshop easily enough.

I'll be taking the Olympus AND the HTC EVO (for various reasons) on our trip to San Diego Comic Con. I'll use the Olympus for those shots that I may want to print or are a bit more artsy. The EVO will be my general purpose camera for those more candid shots and times when I don't want to be hauling around a larger camera. I'll have the EVO with me anyway, so why not use it. Plus it's image capacity is MUCH greater than the Olympus.

Additionally the EVO has a Blogger app and Twitter, making the sharing of images much quicker and easier. With the Olympus I'll have to either take a laptop with me (not happening) or use the hotel computer to download the images and post them (slow and UGH).

Some day I may get a good DSLR that finally puts my trusty ol' Olympus to bed finally, but right now the 11 year old 2.1 MP camera is still besting the younger cameras in this household.

My Camera Comparison: Part 2 - Well Lit Exterior

2011-06-01T16:40:00.000-07:00

In part one of my comparison I took pictures in a not so well lit interior. This time I was outside with good overhead sun, veiled by light clouds, so bright, but not too bright.

The Results

Before getting into the details, as you can see from the images below. Color was the main differentiating factor. Detail was very similar for all three, again despite the differences in mega-pixels.

The HTC EVO 4G has exagerated colors, on the artwork but the grass in the background is slightly muted. Other images with strong red colors blew out badly too, resulting in lack of focus.

Noise was again a problem for the EVO.

The Kodak seemed to have the most accurate color but lost some detail, especially on the cheek. The Kodaks noise levels seemed to be the lowest of the three as well.

The Olympus did well on detail and noise. Again the 2.1 mega-pixel limit didnt seem to hinder the camera. The color was way off though.

The winner, by just a hair was the Kodak Easy Share C533 in this test. Most cameras are going to do reasonably well in these conditions and I really would have been fairly happy with any of these images. The HTC EVO 4G was probably at the bottom of the pile...again.

My Camera Comparison: Part 1 - Interior No Flash

2011-06-01T06:37:00.000-07:00

This is the first of a few tests that I'll be making with our three digital cameras that we currently own. The goal is to decide if it's worth taking older dedicated cameras on an upcoming trip or to simply use the cameras built into our phones.

The three cameras in question are:

Of course this isn't all about image quality. I'll be comparing the other pros/cons in a later post.

This comparison was a simple cereal bar that was sitting on my desk. There was some indirect light coming from the window but both the Olympus and Kodak cameras wanted to use their flashes. I turned them off.

After cropping the images to focus on the same point, I resized the two smaller images up to the largest (from the EVO). Despite nearly doubling the resolution of the Olympus image, it still looked great.

The Results

The EVO had by far the most noise. So much so that despite it's mega-pixel advantage much of the detail was lost. The color accuracy is good.

The Kodak camera had a difficult time focusing in the lower light. This camera has difficulty focusing in optimal conditions. The label is a bit more readable than the EVO but not by much.

The Olympus was able to focus, even in the lower light and all the detail is clear and legible, even with only 2.1 mega-pixels. The color is off, but it's clean. The noise levels are low and what noise there is seems to be mono-chromatic minimizing it's effects.

(click image for full resolution and detail)

The winner is clearly the Olympus. Under these circumstances mega-pixels don't mean anything. The Kodak and HTC just don't have the optics for lower light images.

I have more testing to do before I crown the Olympus a winner, but it's interesting so far that an 11 year old camera is standing up to what is quickly becoming the standard fare for most casual camera users.

Worlds (almost) Largest Flea Market

2011-05-30T19:13:00.001-07:00

Went to Brownsville,NE today on a whim. They were having a flea market. A big one. It pretty much ran the length of the town. Though the town isn't very large.

We parked down near the Missouri river. Of course the river wasn't supposed to be that close. The recent rains had made it swell over it's banks.

It was hard to look at items for sale, at first. We hadn't yet had lunch so we were focused on finding food first. I was hoping for some good local vendor type stuff, but it was mostly carny vans. The local volunteer fire department was selling corn dogs and pulled pork, among other things. The corn dogs were good (when aren't they?!) but the pork left something to be desired. It was cooked well, but it was completely unseasoned. Maybe the south spoiled me, but would a dry rub have been that difficult?

Walking among the vendors it became apparent that we weren't likely to find anything we'd want to take home. Old glass-wear and rusty old tools seemed most common. As were old romance novels and VHS tapes. Then there were the prerequisite vendors selling cheap toys, marijuana flags, car stickers, and airbrushed t-shirts.

It wasn't a terrible day by any means. It was a nice drive to and from. The walk and the town were nice too. There were some interesting antiques and the like as well. Maybe I should have picked up that Olympia beer glass for my collection.

Government Spending and taking inventory of our own problems

2011-04-12T12:47:00.001-07:00

I don't quite understand why the same people who say that we spend too much money supporting social programs, don't have a problem going to war with every other country in the world? How is sticking our (the USA) nose where it doesn't belong better than making our own country better?

Our infrastructure is crumbling. Our education system is weak and becoming weaker, as compared to other comparable countries. Many states are drowning in debt. Corporate oligopolies are becoming more and more common in different markets, pushing out the small guys, stifling innovation and hurting consumers.

So why is it so bad to turn our eyes inward? Why is it unpatriotic to do this? Is it because we are so accustomed to being #1 that we cannot admit our own failures and weaknesses?

I'm not saying the US is messed up or should be compared to other countries with far worse problems, but that doesn't excuse us from taking inventory of our own issues.

The US is the person who gives advice to everyone else but can't take it without becoming defensive. Many of those countries we are happy to 'give advice' to never even asked for it to start with.

Music Industry Vs. Everyone Else

2011-03-31T06:13:00.000-07:00

With Amazon just releasing it's Cloud Drive with accompanying Cloud Player, users are now able to upload their music collections to Amazon's cloud storage (basically a hard drive the Internet for your usage). With the Cloud Player you can easily access your music collection from a variety of devices and locations.

So basically Amazon is providing users a virtual hard drive that they can access anywhere. Seems simple enough. Why would this be a problem? Well the Music Industry, as a whole, says Amazon and users aren't licensed to do this with their music.

The first thing most of us think is, "What? I bought these songs. Why can't I do this?" Well as far as the Music Industry is concerned you only purchased a license to listen to the music in the form you purchased it on. Technically they don't even want you ripping your CDs to MP3s. From their perspective, you bought a license to listen to the music on that CD, that's it. Ideally they'd like to make you pay for each different way you listen to their music. That's how they look at it. It's not your music, it's theirs and they can tell you how you can listen to it.

The think is that violating that license was not illegal, it was just a violation of the license that they could do little about. So with the Amazon Cloud Drive/Player, they aren't going after us music listeners. We aren't doing anything illegal so what good would it do? But with Amazon they can pressure them with other means. Amazon sells a lot of music. The various music publishers can say, "Well if you want to do the Cloud thing then you have to play a license fee or we'll pull our catalog from your store." Of course this would hurt them too but the Music Industry doesn't want to cede ground on this. They did with allowing users to rip CDs and they are probably regretting that still. After all thanks to the extremely customer unfriendly law, the DMCA, it would be illegal to circumvent the copy protection to rip the CD.

The thing is, if this goes to court, and it may, the Music Industry may be forced to give up this fight. Is it fair use or not for users to be able to put their MP3s on a virtual 'cloud' hard drive somewhere? Personally I say yes it is. How would it be any different than me putting my music on a thumb drive or a portable hard drive so I could play the music anywhere? I don't see the difference and perhaps the court wouldn't either.

I'm actually hoping this does go to court. Amazon has the deep pockets to do this and they could stand a fighting chance, as compared to a small start-up company that would simply be crushed or paid off to go away. Then we'd have a clearer understanding of what rights we have left as music listeners. Maybe for once our government would side with the people instead of the corporations.

Libya's Rebellion

2011-03-22T06:28:00.000-07:00

So I've been thinking a lot about the rebellion in Libya. It's a tough call to me whether the UN/NATO should have intervened. Some of the rebels are pretty well armed buy many are armed with little more than hunting rifles and rocks. Yet the Libyan army is attacking with tanks and bombs. So is it right that the UN has stepped in and destroyed many Libyan military facilities. Is it the rest of the worlds right to intervene in a sovereign nations' internal squabbles?

Part of me says, Yes. How do you negotiate with a man who is insane by many accounts? On the other hand there are many supporters of the current government. But does that make it right to use such extreme methods to quell a rebellion? The rebels want change. Were their demands so unreasonable? Clearly they think they are worth dying for.

Dying for your country, for what you believe is right and just is something that resonates with many free countries. Perhaps that's why we want to side with the rebels and the UN resolutions. I was rooting for the rebels the entire time but I'm not sure sure I agree with what the UN coalition has done thus far. Seems awful close to sticking our noses where they don't belong. I think so long as we only backup the rebels, rather than doing it all for them, we might come out of this situation with some dignity. We'll see.

The other thing that came to mind is, what would the US do if that happened here, in the US. If armed rebels started ousting current government officials out and taking towns and maybe states how would the US handle things? It's been talked about before, but what if Texas decided it wanted to secede? Wouldn't the US government react in much the same way as Libya's government? Many militias have formed here and there, upset about the government. Many go no where or are painted as crazies. Maybe they are but what would keep the media from making them look that way to keep them from gaining more power and popularity. We, in the US, eat up the media every day as if it's the truth. Do you think it's any different in Libya's cities where we see people saying, they don't understand why everyone has a problem with the current government?

Here in the US, we all know the government is corrupt and full of shit. Yet we keep buying they BS they sell us. Look at Obama. He had at least half the voters in the country buying his campaign promises of change. Yet we don't see any change. Most of the policies that failed G.W. Bush are still in place or even re-enforced by Obama. Just more of the same, just with a different face.

But most of us are comfortable, if not happy. We are content with the system we have, even if it is corrupt, because it's still not that bad. We won't see rebellion in the US unless things get really bad. We saw hints of that when the housing market popped and the economy took a dive. The Tea-Party was born of that. Agree with them or not, they gained power and popularity because people were suddenly struggling.

Again the media painted the Tea Party movement as fringe and borderline crazy. Maybe there were some fringe individuals, but there are those in any party/group. The Tea Party managed to get a few of their own into office too. I commend them on that. It's long term effects are to be seen, but right now I'm not very hopeful that a third party is going to have much impact. People get comfortable and forget their anger.

So would a rebellion like that in Libya or even Egypt happen in the US? Probably not in the near future, but we are not immune to it happening and I fear if/when it does our government will not respond any better than Muammar Gaddafi.

Twitter Vs. UberTwitter

2011-02-18T12:41:00.000-08:00

If you are a Blackberry and Twitter user then you probably already know about the ban-hammer that Twitter hit UberTwitter with earlier today. The problem is that the official response wasn't very clear. Additional information was picked up by other blogs. But the damage was already done, people immediately felt that Twitter was killing it's competition in the mobile market.

It didn't help that #TwitterMobile was made a promoted trending topic, directing users where to download the official Twitter for Blackberry app. I'm sure this was done to help confused users get back on-line as quickly as possible, but scorned UberTwitter users saw this as additional evidence that Twitter was just trying to squash competitors.

The official reason for blocking UberTwitter is that they were violating the Twitter API policies. If this is truly the case then UberTwitter just needs to correct those violations. It also sounds like they've had nearly a year to correct some of these issues. It's not like Twitter didn't give them ample time.

But who are the users mad at? Twitter, not UberTwitter. The anger and frustration is understandable but misdirected. If Twitter is being honest about looking out for their customer base and simply enforcing the policies it makes everyone stick to, then why should they have to take the heat? They are doing what they have to do or risk being overrun by developers abusing the Twitter API and worse abusing Twitter data.

It's entirely possible that Twitter is doing all this to knock out a competitor, but that seems unlikely simply because it's only targeting a couple large clients, not all of them. Many Twitter clients are unaffected.

Hell, it may simply be Twitter enforcing it's copyright. UberTwitter has the word Twitter right in it. So this could all be resolved with a simple name change.

-----------------------

UPDATE: From @UberTwitter at approximately 3:24 PM CST, 02/18/2011

Interesting. This doesn't suggest a new download for users or anything. So what WAS the problem or will there be a new version of UberTwitter to come yet?

-----------------------

UPDATE 2: 2/19/2011

Well it seems that perhaps the name WAS the issue, as now UberTwitter is known as UberSocial. www.ubertwitter.com also redirects you to, www.ubersocial.com. So a new version of the software is now available for download as of 5:00PM CST. Additionally their Twitter account has been changed to: @UberSoc

Yesterday evening they posted these two posts:

This suggests not only was the name the issue but also a feature that UberTwitter had was deemed unacceptable to the Twitter team.

Passwords - Public Service Announcement

2011-02-11T07:28:00.001-08:00

Ah passwords... Everyone hates them. They are a necessary evil in the world of computing and these days the world of computing is the world at large.

Mobile devices have made the Internet accessible from everywhere. Mark Zuckerberg says privacy is dead, but we still don't want other accessing our digital identities. After all, as I just mentioned, the digital/computing world is our world now. Stealing access to someones email or Facebook or Twitter is identity theft. It's not just about stealing credit card or social security numbers.

Stealing someones online identity may not have the same long term effects as stealing someones bank account info but the mental/emotional effects can be just as damaging, especially for the younger generations who live on the Internet. That is their way of life.

So strong passwords are a big deal. Yet they still suck. No one likes to use them. They don't want to have to remember them. So the passwords end up weak; too short, easy to crack. They don't change them often enough. They use the same password over and over again.

I'm not a hacker but what would I do to crack your password? First I'd try simple brute force. Many password cracking tools can break a weak password in seconds. Did you simply take a common word, found in any dictionary, and put a number on the end? Cracking programs can find that password very quickly.

Second thing I'd try is social engineering. I would email/call/txt you and try to convince you I'm a legitimate person from whatever service I'm trying to break into (Email, Facebook, Bank, etc.). Some of you might be smart enough to avoid this, but there are a lot who are not. This is a pretty effective way to steal a password and many hackers do this all the time. It's also called Phishing.

Oh and if you write down your passwords and keep them by your monitor I might call your coworker and try to social engineer them to find your password for me. Or if it's worth enough to me, pay off the cleaning person in your building to be looking/collecting passwords for me.

These first two give me your current password. If I'm lucky you use that same password on a lot of other sites too. That grants me greater access. I can collect data on you quickly, before you figure out what is going on and reset things. Really by the time you have figured it out, it'll be too late.

Third I'd try to break the password reset system on one of the sites you use. If I know your email address, I can try to break into your email. Most email systems now have a series of questions that you answer to authenticate you when you tell it you forgot your password. I can use Facebook and many other public data sources to figure out what your Elementary school was or your mom's maiden name.

This isn't as useful as having your password because I may not be able to get into your other systems, but if I can retain access to your email or maybe add a mail forwarder (when you get mail I can get a copy in my mailbox too) then I can use your account to collect additional info about you or use it to access other sites. Your email address is often used as your username in many systems.

So you are sitting there thinking one of three things:

OMG! What do I do!?
Yea right. You are just being paranoid.
Yea, I know all this already and take steps to be careful.

Those of you in the #3 camp. If you have suggestions/corrections please add them to the comments.

Those in the #2 camp. Perhaps I am being a bit paranoid, but your are a perfect target. You don't think it'll happen to you so your guard is down.

Ah my scared little bunnies in camp #1. Don't worry all is not lost. You don't have to cut yourself off from the Internet. There are a number of things you can do to protect yourself.

Never ever give your password to anyone over the phone (or in person). The only person I give my passwords to is my wife and she only gets a couple weak ones. You've probably been told this many times but it still rings true. It's also applicable to other info that you should keep secure, especially if it has anything to do with your bank or credit cards. Those are prime targets of organized crime these days.
Change all your passwords. Don't use the same password every where. If one of your passwords is compromised, the damage is isolated. The online media-blog site Gawker had many of their users passwords compromised not long ago. Would you want to be one of the many who had to scramble and quickly change all the passwords of all the other sites where you might have used that same password.
Use large complicated passwords. While some sites still have short maximum password lengths, take advantage of those who allow more characters. The more characters the longer it takes to brute force an attack. After while the hackers will move on to a different, easier target.
Get a password manager. There are a number of good password managers out on the market now that can help you create and store all these complex passwords. The downside is that if it's compromised all your passwords are compromised. So make sure you have at least one really strong password that you can use for it. Many can be installed on your mobile device or are online, making them usable when not at your primary computer. A couple good ones are: LastPass and KeePass
If you don't want to use a password manager use pass phrases instead of passwords. Use the spaces and punctuation. That'll make the password strong but easier for you to remember.
Use a password card. These are a matrix of random characters that create passwords for you. The basic concept is rather than remembering the actual password you remember a simple one or two character/color combo. It can go in your wallet too so you always have your passwords available.
Change your passwords often. Why you might ask? I change mine on a regular basis because if my password was compromised and I didn't know it, the hacker could be in my system for weeks/months and I'd have no idea.
When setting up your password reset questions put in fake information. If your first car was a Chevy Camaro, put in Ford Mustang. Something you can easily remember but someone with information about your past would not figure out. As long as it's clearly not BS the password reset tools won't care. This works for credit cards and the like when you have to call in and give a passkey too.

A few don'ts, just to re-stress:

DON'T use passwords with words that can be found in the dictionary. They can be cracked quickly, even if you have a number at the end. Most cracking tools have that factored in and it won't slow them down.
DON'T write down your passwords and especially don't leave them taped or Post-it noted to your monitor or leave them under your keyboard.
DON'T give your password(s) out to anyone but your most trusted.
DON'T think you are immune.

I added that last don't because it's easy to believe, "Why would anyone want to hack my accounts?" Well they may not be targeting you directly. You may be right that you aren't really a prime target, but one on one attacks are probably unlikely unless you are a specific target. With the Gawker leak that I mentioned above, the site's username/password database was broken into. They didn't target you specifically but if you are on that list then you'd be a target.

So go update your passwords! It's more important than ever that you have good strong passwords. Your whole life, not just your digital one, could depend on it.

Déjà vu - I'm pretty sure I haven't written this before

2011-02-08T08:01:00.000-08:00

...most people suffer a mild (i.e. non-pathological) epileptic episode regularly (e.g. a hypnagogic jerk, the sudden "jolt" that frequently, but not always, occurs just prior to falling asleep), it is conjectured that a similar (mild) neurological aberration occurs in the experience of déjà vu, resulting in an erroneous sensation of memory.

from: Wikipedia

This is very interesting to me because I've never realized that these two events are related or that my mild little jolts in bed were little epileptic episodes. I never really knew what they were. Nothing serious, just weird. Plus they don't happen that often. Neither does my déjà vu but that freaks me out every time.

The question remains...is it just a weird quirk of our brains or is there something else going on? Memory is pretty powerful so it's very conceivable that it can build these 'memories' for us. Just think about how vivid some dreams can be. I know mine are so vivid and realistic that I wonder if I'm peeking into parallel universes. I mean if not, my brain should be a movie director because my dreams are more entertaining that most of the drivel from Hollywood these days! Precognition seems unlikely to me as there are way too many variables to consider to look into the future.

Bathroom Remodel - Vanity and Sink are finally in!

2011-01-07T18:33:00.001-08:00

So it's been awhile since I posted any updates to the bathroom. We had many discussions about what kinda of vanity, what kind of top, what kind of sink we wanted. It's amazing how not having a sink while everything else is basically done will do to help you make decisions.

We originally looked at various premade vanities. From free standing to built-ins. The problem was the size of the space for the vanity. We had 42 inches.

We didnt really want to give up counter space and the free-standing vanities, while very nice were both expensive and took away counter space.

The built-in cabinets simply didnt come in 42 inches, standard. Not that we couldn't get one, but we would have had to special order it.

So in the end I built ours out of MDF (medium density fiberboard), wood glue and caulk. I'm really happy with the results, though it was a ton of work. MDF makes a lot of sawdust too. If I ever use it again, it'll be in the Spring/Summer/Fall where I can cut it outside!

The next hurtle was the counter top. What material? I really didnt want to do laminate in the bathroom, just because of the moisture. As is I used PVC trim as much as possible and the MDF was primed and painted carefully to minimize moisture issues. So in my mind laminate was out. Though if push came to shove it might have happened.

I really didn't want to do a tile counter top. We had a tile counter in our kitchen in Nashville, before we remodeled it and it was awful! I'll come back to the whole tile thing in a minute.

So then it was solid surface or stone. Though I like many of the man-made solid surface choices it didn't seem to work with what we were doing stylistically. Plus the price really wasn't so different than stone, for the size we were looking to do. (about 8 sq ft)

So we checked into getting a remnant of granite from a local stone vendor. We went and looked at all the different selections and were pretty happy with the two options we choice (though one really didnt work under our bathroom lighting). We were given a rough quote of about $75 per sq ft, which seemed on the high side for a remnant. The guy we talked to said it might be cheaper but we'd have to work with a particular guy who was on vacation. Hey it was the week of Christmas, we were understanding. We we never did hear back from them. Even today they have never tried to contact us.

So this last weekend we were browsing Home Depot or Lowes and we come across their basic black granite tiles. They were 12x12 and only $5 each. I knew I had some Hardiebacker and thin-set at home still. We found matching bull-nose, so...

Despite my earlier hesitation with tile, we went with tile, but it's granite at least. We picked up a really strong epoxy grout too. One of my major concerns was the grout. Most grouts are porous, even after you seal them. Or if something thin got dropped on the grout line would it gouge. This epoxy grout eliminated all those worries. It's seriously strong once it sets and sticks really well.

Some of the wainscoting was delayed because of the counter top choice. I didn't want to put in any of the trim around the vanity area in case we had to maneuver a big slab into place. So once we finally got the counter done we were able to move forward with that.

More glass mosaic tiling and grouting and siliconing to make sure everything is just so, before maneuvering the sink and faucet into place.

We had many sink discussions as well. Early on we settled on a vessel of some kind, rather than a more typical 'sunken' sink or under-mount. That was an important decision as it set the height of the vanity top, especially important since I was building it.

We looked at the standard bowl types, and some nice rectangular ones that sat on top of the counter. I really liked those, but they used up far too much counter space and what about cleaning behind them?

The bowls were nice and really not that expensive (unless you went will more exotic materials). Since we had a black/white/gray theme going we pretty much knew it would be one of those colors. As we went with black granite for the counter top, black was out. The mosaic tile has a nice white glass, so we looked at a frosted bowl. When we were looking at a slab of granite we considered a clear glass bowl to show off the stone. Since we didn't do the slab the clear didn't make much sense any more. Finally we saw a nice mix of the rectangular sinks I liked from before with the advantages of the bowl. It was white porcelain and about $100 cheaper than the frosted glass. While at the time I think the choice was a bit, 'it works, lets get it and get this done.' I really think it worked out perfect. I really like how it looks.

So while we have a little more decorative touches to make to the bathroom, it's functionally complete at this point and man that takes a load off. It's been a long hard road!

Bathroom Remodel - Toilet!

2010-11-18T13:58:00.000-08:00

No picture but the toilet is in! Before we could install it we had to get the wainscoting primed and painted and all seams sealed up. All that is done and the toilet is working perfectly. We bought a dual flush one. If you are unsure what that is, the flush mechanism lets more or less water out of the tank depending on the 'waste' you are flushing. I really wanted this for the guest bath since I work from home and thus use the bathroom more than someone who isn't at home all day (plus I drink a lot of water).

We also got the shower all sealed up and we got to use it for the first time this morning. Everything worked great. Though I had a hard time not noticing flaws in my tile job. It's not bad, just one the drawbacks of doing work yourself, thus knowing where issues exist, and being a perfectionist.

I had a bit of a problem installing the shower rod. It's a fixed rod instead of one of those spring loaded ones. The problem was that it came with drywall anchors, cheap ones at that. They didn't work on the tile, so I had to run to ACE hardware and buy some anchors that'd work. They did and while I wouldn't try to do chin-ups on it, it's good and secure.

Things are starting to get there now. We still need to texture and paint the ceiling. We also need to do some more painting in general in the room. Then it's just down to the vanity. We have a plan for it now.

Bathroom Remodel - Bathroom Tile

2010-11-14T15:00:00.000-08:00

Long weekend working on the bathroom. My fingers are literally worn to bleeding. Here is the results though. Still more to do but getting there!

Bathroom Remodel - Tile!

2010-11-06T18:08:00.000-07:00

Well it's been awhile since any major progress has occurred. Mostly because of vacation and football (Go Big Red!).

This week we got back on task. I got the floor prepped and the Hardiebacker down. We then got the floor tile in and grouted.

Today we got some trim down for the wainscoting. We had to do this so we had the nice clean, and straight edge to start tiling from. Plus once we get the main wall prepped and painted I can get the toilet in! The trim is actually PVC, so we don't have to worry about moisture.

Tonight we started tiling the back wall of the tub. We put up all the pieces we could without cutting. These early nights are killing productivity. Of course watching the Huskers play for a few hours didn't help either. Oh and that orange is the Kerdi. We put that up this week too. No water is getting through to our walls!

How one drunk can ruin it for everyone

2010-10-18T06:39:00.001-07:00

Saturday, October 16th was a tough day for Nebraska fans, especially those of us in the middle of section 40 at rows 73, 74 and 75. We had to put up with an ass who dares call himself a fan but made himself an idiot the entire game.

I wrote the UNL Police asking if they could direct me to where I could report the drunk, after the game. Their response was,

"We can keep an eye on it next game and see if the officer notices anything. Also did you try Texting? Sometimes the cell service is bad but I did notice the texting working. I will need the section, seat, row to help us and we will add it to our briefing before the next game. "

I suppose I can't really expect anything more, unless perhaps more people complain about the guy. Also, as the Omaha World Herald mentioned last week, mobile services, (voice, data, text) are all pretty much dead for most people. Sprint service is worthless.

Here is the letter I sent to the University of Nebraska Police after emailing them asking where to report a complaint:

Unfortunately Sprint's service is completely down every game for me. In hindsight I should have just gone and found an officer to have this guy taken care of. The seats this guy has are in Sec 40, Row 74, seats 13 & 14.

His Pepsi, in an open cup, was clearly spiked with bourbon. It was especially noticeable after he spilled it on me and two kids in front of me. It was also dumped into the shoe of the guy in row 73, seat 13. I can't imagine how frustrating it must have been to have a wet foot the entire game. He confronted the drunk but when it was clear that it would have only escalated he backed down so as to not create a scene.

While I certainly understand swearing occasionally during a game, especially at a bad play, this guy was swearing constantly, but worse, not just at the game but at fans, of Texas AND Nebraska. He was berating fans who started to leave early. Then when others behind us, perhaps even some of those who were leaving told him to sit down and shut up, it only made him escalate his verbal assault on them.

I think, aside from my own embarrassment from sitting next to him the entire game was the fact that there was a 6-8 year old boy sitting in front of me who had to hear all of this garbage for the entire game. You could see on his face how uncomfortable he was.

Long story short, he was disrespectful, unsportsmanlike, vulgar, and drunk. If he is like this at the Missouri game you can be sure you all will be alerted right away. I'm not about to let this fool ruin another game for our section. He was an embarrassment to Nebraska.

The reality is that I should have taken care of the drunk early on in the game. Like myself probably everyone around him was thinking someone else would do it. Instead we had to put up with his BS for the entire game. Well save about 5-10 minutes after half time. Everyone was hoping he had just left. It was a nice 5-10 minutes. Unfortunately he came back.

The thing is, every other game he's been sober, or at least not stupid drunk, and had his wife/girlfriend with him. Maybe she keeps him in check. Who knows. This time he had with him what looked to be his dad. His dad, while not as bad, certainly made no efforts to stop his embarrassing behavior either.

Well like I said in my email to the campus police. If he's like that again, he's gone. I'm not putting up with that again.

Bathroom Remodel - More Drywall

2010-10-11T06:39:00.000-07:00

I still don't like doing drywall mudding but the results are looking good. There are a few small areas that I'm going to have to correct, but over all I'm pretty happy with the results.

We desided that we are going to add a knock down texture to the ceiling. We scraped all the terrible 'popcorn' off, but it being perfectly smooth is unlikely so a light texture just makes good sense. It'll hide the little issues.

We've also reconsidered doing wainscoting. We were considering it originally then decided not to do it. Now we are going to do it again. Of course that could change again before we are done.

I think we are about ready to get the backer board on the floor and get the Kerdi on the shower walls. That means tile shouldn't be too much further out.

Bathroom Remodel - Drywall and Ducting

2010-10-04T13:17:00.000-07:00

Did some sanding and mudding on the dry wall this weekend. Dust dust dust every where. I hate drywall work. I really do.

I also got the duct work moved. That was a bigger pain than expected, but it works and it's good.

Bathroom Remodel - Unexpected Plumbing & Hardiebacker

2010-09-25T13:13:00.000-07:00

Well things sometimes don't go as you expect them to when remodeling. Turns out when we decided to leave the old shower fixtures in place we didn't account for the fact that the new tub is wider than the old one. Consequently they were off-center.

Since I had to redo it all anyway, and we already had the new valve body, I just went ahead and installed it. I'm sure a good plumber wouldn't have taken as long as me (4 1/2 hours!) but in the end it all works (no leaks and hot is hot and cold is cold) and I'm pretty proud of myself. I took my time and was careful.

That was actually all done last weekend.

Today I added the last of the Hardiebacker in the shower area. This time instead of scoring the board with a knife and having a hell of a time getting it to snap cleanly, I put the concrete blade on the circular saw. Man the dust that kicked up! It was raining so I did it in the garage. Probably not the best idea. I had to wash both cars afterwards!

While I had the saw out and setup I also cut the Hardiebacker for the fireplace. It really helps define how it'll look later. I'm also really happy with the height.

Bathroom Remodel - Day 10

2010-09-07T16:43:00.001-07:00

It's hard to take pictures in a bathroom, the space is just so small.

We've been finishing up the demo this last week. It's been a slow go. Mostly just because we are not in a rush, so we'd do a much as we wanted and then just quit for the day.

We did get the drywall all up though. Started mudding. I hate that part. Ugh. From the pictures you can see I still need to put up the corner beads.

You can also really see how big of a space we've gained. We're going to fill it full of cabinets.

We also got the tub out finally. I had to smash it to bits with a sledge-hammer. That was a mess. After inspecting the tub/shower plumbing we've decided to leave it be and just buy a new cover/handle for it. Two reasons: One, the work involved with changing the plumbing was going to be a lot because of how the house was built. Two, this is a lot cheaper. The set with bought for the bathroom wasn't terribly expensive, but it was overkill for the room.

So we have to finish the drywall, then it's tub time. We have to have the floor vent moved still too. That'll have to be done soon. We can't do the floors until that is complete.

Bathroom Remodel - Day 3 - A new space

2010-08-31T08:18:00.000-07:00

Day three took a lot out of me. Sticking your head into a hot attic for awhile really takes a lot out of you quickly.

I was able to remove the fireplace ducting into the attic. Then I started rebuilding the ceiling where the fireplace went through. After that was done framing started going in. My buddy Dean gave me a hand with that, especially when we had to go get some 2x4s. I didn't think of needing them when we made our initial Home Depot order.

Framing everything in helps us see that we have a box that'll be about 22x23 in the corner now. It also makes the bathroom feel so much larger than it was.

We also closed up the hole into the den. We're not going to worry too much about how pretty it is because that wall is going to get cabinets in the future. The den will likely become the new dining room then too. Those are later projects though.

Monday (Day 4) we didn't do much more than pull the paper and boards from the floor of the den and clean up, since we are done in there. It's all bathroom now.

We had an HVAC guy come out today to seal up the old fireplace chimney and help us figure out where to move the bathroom air vent. Glad to have that done even if I didn't like having to bring in a 3rd party to do it.

Tonight we should be able to close up the new space in the bathroom.

Bathroom Remodel - Day 2 - More Fireplace Demo

2010-08-28T14:47:00.000-07:00

Finally got the fireplace out! It was a lot more work than expected. I think the house was built around it, because it was not really designed to just slide in and out. We had to tear out some walls and drain some batteries for the reciprocating saw (as well as kill some metal blades). Even the sledgehammer came out. In the end it was out. That took most of the morning!

We demoed the wall in the bathroom carefully, saving the 2x4s. I used them to reframe the hole in the wall that the fireplace left.

This left us with a chance to see what space we could reclaim for the bathrooms for the first time. We are going to be able to reclaim about 80-85% of the space, which is super awesome.

In the picture below I've drawn where the new framing will go. We have to box around the exhaust for the water heater and heater, but that's not too bad. The new space we are gaining will become storage/shelving. We aren't entirely certain yet, but in the meantime it'll be framed out and prepped.

The fireplace chimney is proving to be a simple, but labor intensive fix. Basically we need to remove all the piping up to where it's just in the attic. Then cap it off. When we go to reroof the house in the future, we'll remove the faux chimney box and fireplace cap at that point. Hopefully that'll not have to happen for a few more years yet.

That's the project for tomorrow. After that is done I'll drywall up the hole in the den. Then it should be all bathroom from there!

Bathroom Remodel - Day 1 - Fireplace Demo

2010-08-27T18:52:00.001-07:00

Day one is done. Well we are anyway. We didnt get a much of the demo done as I had hoped we would. The prep work took longer than expected. We put down paper and then 'hard board' to protect our floors. Once we started tearing into the brick we were so glad we made that investment.

The mantle was only held on by three 4 inch screws. One did not even bite into a stud. Once it was down the brick on the wall came down pretty easily. There were only four anchors and they didn't provide a lot of support, not that they really needed to.

We took our time, knocking the mortar off the bricks and stacking them in the garage. We are going to try to sell them. Not sure if we'll be successful or not, but it's worth a shot.

The hearth was a lot more work. The way the bricks are laid it was a lot harder to get under them and there was a lot more mortar used, so a lot more hammering was necessary.

During removal we found a lot of soot in places we wouldn't have expected, like between the brick and the drywall. We are really glad we never used it and that we are now removing it!

Tomorrow I'll have to remove the firebox and then we'll be able to determine what we can reclaim for the bathrooms.

Oh and what we'll be doing with this space in the end is adding some more cabinets for a dry bar/buffet area. We were going to do a wet bar, but decided against it. That's a project for some time in the future.

Bathroom Remodel - Materials Delivery

2010-08-27T14:24:00.000-07:00

Well our first hiccup has occurred. The materials delivery from Home Depot wasn't right. There were a few issues. But the most frustrating was that we ordered six cases of 8x10 tile. We got 6 tiles. I'm sure it was one SKU number different but whomever loaded that should have used a couple more brain cells and realized that with all the Hardie Backer and thin-set that we'd probably be asking for a few more than six tiles.

Also our KOHLER tub has an odd oblong overflow cutout, so the standard one we ordered (which they forgot to put on our shipment too) won't work. We'll have to order the special custom one from KOHLER. We didn't know this when we ordered the tub. We might have chosen differently if we had known. The standard drain kit we were going to use is about $20. If I remember correctly the KOHLER one is about $90. So much for budget there.

Off to Home Depot I go to get this fixed. At least they brought the missing tile by already.

Bathroom Remodel - The Before

2010-08-26T16:53:00.000-07:00

Well tomorrow we officially begin. Or does buying the material count as beginning? Whatever. Tomorrow morning the materials will be arriving. The roll-off dumpster is already here. Tomorrow we'll lay down protective paper and masonite/hard board to protect the floors. We'll also put up some plastic to keep the dust down.

This demo is in two parts:

1) The Bathroom

2) The 'den' fireplace

The bathroom is the major goal, but the old fireplace is a must go as well, because we are hoping to reclaim some space that the old firebox needed.

Here are some "before" pictures:

We are going to see if we can resell the brick. Not so sure how well that'll go, but we think we should be able to get $30 or so for the mantle. It's good solid wood. The fireplace insert is garbage. Repairing the hole in the wall will be easy. Fixing the floor will be more difficult.

The bathroom floor is one of the reasons, though there are many, for the remodel. The tile are actually kind of cool but they are badly grouted (obvious repairs over the years), there are broken tiles and I fear the sub floor is damaged by the tub.

The toilet, while functional, is a old water waster. We are getting a nice efficient one with a dual-flush function. Since I use this bathroom during the day while working it just made good sense (and cents! ha!).

This picture of the tub illustrates some more issues. The tiles, or more specifically the grout, had not see maintenance for many years, allowing water to get behind, the tile causing mold, mildew and likely damaging the wall behind it. I'm sure the tiles were stuck directly onto dry-wall, now known to be a major no-no. We'll be using Schluter-KERDI to waterproof the tub surround before we tile. Under that we'll be using Hardie Board, instead of drywall.

This is in part because we are using ceramic tiles instead of porcelain tiles. Ceramic is water proof on the glazed side, but pretty porous on unglazed portions. This is why our current shower is falling apart. The grout has to be regularly sealed or it becomes porous too, allowing the ceramic to soak up the water like a sponge, allowing it to get to the also porous drywall.

With the precautions we are taking we should not have any mold growth even if water gets behind the tiles because there will be nothing for that mold can eat.

I'll post more pictures showing the progress as we go.

New fireplace

2010-08-26T16:43:00.000-07:00

Last winter our TV room/Man-cave was cold, so much so that we bought a space heater to help heat the room and even then it was uncomfortable without being bundled up and under a blanket.

Earlier this summer we bought a very energy efficient gas fireplace. We then scheduled the install for late August. It was installed Tuesday.

To the left and right of the fireplace box we are going to build some shelves and drawers. On the bottoms will be pull out drawers designed to hold our DVDs and CDs. The shelves, on top, will more than likely be for decorative stuff.

The fireplace box itself is going to be covered with Hardie Board or concrete board and be tiled. We still need to pick the tile out, but I'm leaning towards a large textured tile. I've seen some leather texture tiles that looked cool. We'll see.

In the meantime at least it's functional. The polish will come later. We have a bathroom to remodel first!

Bathroom Remodel Status

2010-08-12T13:52:00.000-07:00

We ARE still remodeling our bathrooms, but we have rethought a few items.

We are not moving the wall between the two bathrooms. After additional thought we realized we'd be creating a lot of cost and little return. Leaving the wall also allows use to leave much of the plumbing alone, that's a major cost saver. Additionally it allows us to remodel the main (guest) bathroom without permits, as it is all cosmetic.

Additionally we only have to have one bathroom torn apart at a time. We have a third bathroom in the basement, but neither of us wanted to go through that. With only one bathroom down at a time, we can take our time and not feel like we have to rush because of the inconvenience.
We are doing the guest bathroom first. Since the remodel will be mostly cosmetic, except around the tub, the cost to remodel this bathroom first will be low. We should be able to do it for around $3000 or so.
Rethinking materials. We want the bathrooms to be nice, but watching the DIY Channel has perhaps given us too many great ideas. Many of the bathroom remodels there are $10K+ and we just aren't willing to pay that much. The house cannot really support a bathroom that nice either. We put too much into this house and we'll never see the return, or we'll have to stay in it so long that the bathroom will have to be remodeled again before we sell it.

That's not to suggest we are going cheap either. We are simply being frugal. For example I designed the guest bathroom tub surround with a nice metal accent tile strip. That metal tile goes for about $20/sq ft. We decided that metal tile was probably a bit much for the guest bath. We found some nice glass accept tiles that run about $10/Sq ft. We saved 50% by being flexible and considering the market our house falls into, plus the fact that in the guest bath, who's really going to get to see those nice expensive tiles?

Another area of cost savings was to reconsider the 'bronze' colored fixtures. They look nice, but are more expensive than the simple and classic chrome. Will the bronze look dated later too? If we were ever to sell I don't think a potential buyer is going to walk away because we used chrome fixtures, so long as they are quality (and functioning of course).
We are doing this out of pocket, for the most part. Originally, when we were going to do both bathrooms at the same time, we were going to look at a home equity loan and take care of everything easily. Now we've decided rather than take on that kind of debt, we're going to do as much out of pocket as possible. We already bought our floor tiles awhile back. We are going to take advantage of a nice 0% interest deal that Home Depot is running this weekend though. We'll be able to pay that off before it's due, so it's a lot more affordable than the HEL, though certainly not as flexible, though we OK with that.

So we'll begin work soon. The parts list is compiled and ordering will commence this weekend. I'll post pictures as we begin.

Solutions to the Illegal Immigration Problem

2010-07-16T06:18:00.000-07:00

Here is my solution and I dont understand why it's not being done full scale all ready:
1) Do not allow businesses to hire illegals. Put serious penalties on those businesses who do hire illegals and make the fines based on total revenues so large companies don't just pay the fines as a part of doing business as usual
2) Deport the children with the parents. Sounds harsh, but those children are the responsibility of those parents, not of the US.

Jobs and the opportunities for their children are two major reasons illegals come to the US, from where ever. Right now these are powerful incentives for these illegal immigrants to come to the US. Remove those incentives and there will be a reduction in illegal immigration.

Arguments I expect:
1) Businesses will be hurt without those workers. Maybe on the short run, but in the long run it will be better for all. Will some businesses fail? Sure, but others with better business practices will move in to take their place. Should we stop busting drug dealers because they help their local economies by buying whatever drug dealers buy? No. Illegal activity is illegal activity.

2) Those kids are US citizens! Why are they? Why should they be? They were born here, but their parents aren't legal immigrants. Their parents came here, knowingly, illegally, to have a child here, to take advantage of the systems we have in place. They get caught, they take responsibility for their actions, that includes their children.

Yes that sounds harsh, but these are the hard truths about what needs to be done. Otherwise nothing will change. Both political parties are talking big talk but not doing anything because to do something would take real courage and likely political sacrifice. These career politicians won't risk their sweet jobs to really DO anything. Why do you think Arizona felt like it had to step up and take care of things itself.

While Arizona is definitely stepping into Federal jurisdiction what does anyone expect when the Feds aren't doing enough? If the cops can't/won't take care of the crime, vigilantes or lynch mobs are going to step up. They aren't legal either, but it's a response to the lack of action by the officials. It's the "Do your job or we'll do it for you" mentality. I can't say I blame them one bit.

Political Correctness is Bad for Society

2010-06-22T08:26:00.001-07:00

Over the last 20 or so years, perhaps longer, Political Correctness (PC), has become so prevalent that society is hurting because of it.

Just think for a second about what is being Politically Correct about? It is about changing your actions or words so as to be non-offensive. Offensive to whom is dependent on the situation at hand. Perhaps it's about the abortion debate, gay marriage, racism, immigration, even ironically enough, politics! You want to say or do something but you curb your behavior for the sake of being PC. And if you aren't PC then you are labeled a pariah and your social status is reduced, not because people disagree with you but because they don't want to be seen being un-PC.

The problem with being PC is that you are lying to yourself and everyone else. You are not being true to your feelings and what you know. PC has become something to strive for, to achieve, so that you may be seen as the good person who tolerates all. The end is something we should strive for, the means on the other hand are not right.

By biting our tongues we do not allow for social discourse on important topics of our day. There are those who do speak, but do they speak for you? Our political and social commentary seems to have focused on the fringes, while middle and largest portion of us sit quietly in the middle being PC. Those fringes do not represent the best of us. They represent the extremes created by our lack of voice.

Stop being PC and dialog will occur. Yes there will be those who are offended. But rather than being PC and ignoring the issue, perhaps the question of why needs to be asked more. Why is that word, option, or action offensive to you? Why do you feel that it's OK to say those words, options, or do those actions? These questions are not being asked. Without this dialog, feelings are left to fester creating much more harm than if they were just discussed to start with.

Wouldn't society be better off working out issues rather than sweeping them under the rug in the name of being Politically Correct? I give you this challenge. Next time you catch yourself being PC, apologize and do/say what you really feel. If you are in the wrong, work to be a better person by understanding WHY it was wrong. Better to be true to yourself and learn from mistakes than to be PC and harbor ignorance.

The Numbers

2010-02-17T05:16:00.000-08:00

The numbers. We finally get some insight into what they mean, or at least what they correspond to:

4 - John Locke
8 - Hugo (Hurley) Reyes
15 - James (Sawyer) Ford
16 - Sayid Jarrah
23 - Jack Shephard
42 - Jin/Sun Kwon (it's unclear if it's both or one of them)

I've seen tweets asking, where's Kate! Well clearly she's not one of the candidates. We've known for some time that there are certain individuals that were picked by Jacob and are some how 'special'. We find out from Smokey, if you can trust him/it, that these listed are candidates to be Jacobs replacement.

There can be only one:

4 - Well we can already take Locke off the list, he's dead.

8 - Hurley is my favorite candidate. He's probably the most 'good' of the bunch. Additionally he's figured out how to take a hold of his destiny. The episode where he drives the old VW van off the side of the hill to get it to start is the point where he 'made it', in my opinion. Plus he sees dead people.

15 - Sawyer is a tricky one. Right now he's with Smokey but Sawyer isn't stupid. It's hard to con a conman, so I don't think he's necessarily in immediate danger, but I don't think he'll be the chosen one. He has leadership skills and is generally a good person, but he's also selfish.

16 - Sayid isn't exactly a 'good' person, so I find it difficult to believe he'd still be eligible for the job. He's not a bad person, just not good.

23 - Jack is the obvious choice. He's been acting as leader from pretty much season 1. We already know from his tattoo episode that he's meant to be a special leader. He's also come a long way in the 5+ seasons of the show. But I think it's because he's obvious that he won't be the new Jacob. I see him more as a new Richard. Jacob was the spiritual leader. Jack isn't that. He's a hands dirty, in the middle of it, leader.

42 - This one isn't too hard either. I just can't see either Sun or Jin or both of them together being the new Jacob. Like Jack they have both come a long way, but they have a child, one that I'm sure they'd both like to get back to. They have a life to live off the Island.

There can only be one...or can there?

What if there doesn't need to be one, but many? What if, through the struggles they've all been together, it's the balance of them all that makes them all need each other to bring out the strengths of each other? Kate may not be one of the candidates but that doesn't mean she can't be with Jack. (I don't see her with Sawyer at this point, but who knows.)

Consider Jack and Sawyer. They are frequently at each other, but they also bring out the best in each other. In many ways they lead in completely opposite ways but are still very effective in their leadership.

What if Hurley is the new Jacob, Jack is the new Richard, and Sawyer is the new Ben (leader of the Others)? Seems reasonable to me.

Reduction of the US Deficit

2010-01-28T18:09:00.000-08:00

I'll admit that I didn't listen or watch the State of the Union address last night. I caught bits and pieces on the news; I know that's not enough to really discuss, one way or the other, statements made there.

I feel I should comment on the the idea of a freeze on some government spending. My problem with this is that it's too little and in the wrong places. The cuts will only save a small fraction of our budget, ultimately amounting to little impact on the deficit, yet the programs that are affected are going to be hurt. It's not yet clear what those programs will be so I may end up eating a little crow here. Some of those programs are suggested to include things like transportation funding, state aid and money for social services.

State aid, especially for some of the states that have been hit hard by the recession or natural disasters (Sorry California), is something that will make passing a bill like this difficult. I'm sure it won't matter what party you belong to, if there is a threat to reduce or loose federal funds that were expected, the elected officials of those states are not going to be keen on voting for it or they will strip it out of the bill, further reducing its viability.

Social services will likely stir up a great deal of debate. There are many who feel it's not the responsibility of the government to fund such things. I won't argue this one without a better idea of the programs affected.

Transportation funding is something I'm very worried about. Have we so quickly forgotten about the Twin Cities bridge collapse? What about the reports from various states' departments of transportation that indicated a large percentage of the bridges we use every day in the United States are in need or repair or replacement? We pay our taxes and expect to have safe roads. Perhaps this is for the states to take care of but short of private toll roads and bridges, most states have a hard time finding the money in their budgets to take on these significant projects. It's not cheap to build bridges. Do we let our nations infrastructure further decay until there are more deaths?

What about better rail? We are still using the same lines as we did a hundred years ago. There are very few passenger systems because they are too slow and are not suited to commuting. This map shows the few Amtrak lines out there. I like the train. It's a nice way to travel but if I want to take a trip, with my wife, to California it will take nearly 40 hours and if I want a 'roomette' (a couple of bunk beds), it'll cost us nearly $1200. It's considerably more if you want a full room with bath and shower. This isn't 'luxury' travel. I don't know many people who'd want to be in a coach seat for 40 hours with no shower. We keep putting off transportation as a want but not a need because our roads aren't so bad. (yet!)

There is no doubt that government spending is out of control and that there are many programs that are wasteful and unnecessarily bureaucratic. What makes it difficult to correct those things is the people who can change it for the better frequently profit from it being mismanaged. But that is a different topic all together.

The spending freeze won't touch: Defense, Veterans Affairs, Medicare/Medicaid, Social Security.

The only one I'm going to argue is the defense funding. The others I don't know well enough to argue the pros or the cons and would simply diminish the point I'm going for.

A large reason we are so in debt as a country right now is because we are at war. We have thousands of troops over seas that need our support, financially and emotionally. I have nothing against those soldiers. They are doing what they are asked and I respect that.

However, I do not believe we are doing the right thing continuing this war on terror. The War on Terror is like the War on Drugs. We can never, no NEVER, win. We cannot eliminate terrorists. We eliminate one cell and other pops up in another village or country. It's one set of ideals Vs. another set of ideals. You cannot beat ideals with guns, if anything it makes them stronger.

I've been critical of a lot of choices made. What do I suggest?

Why don't we first bring back our troops and put them to work securing our country. Forget having the TSA at the airport. Many countries around the world have soldiers at the airports all the time. These are well trained government agents. Can you say the same about all TSA agents? (No disrespect intended to the good TSA agents out there.) How about boarder patrol? Port control, etc. Secure our own borders with our own soldiers and we have less to worry about from external forces. And lets be honest for a second. Many groups hate the US, less because of our ideals, and more because we stick our nose where it doesn't belong.

Maybe if we are acting as the worlds police force we wouldn't have to spend quite as much on military hardware either. How many helicopters have gone down because of missiles or freaking sand? Those things are not cheap!

Second thing I would do is rebuild our internal infrastructure. You want to put people to work? Why not public works programs that build new bridges? How about better rail? How about working on a stronger power grid? These are all things that need to be done and would require workers of all education and skill level.

Yes, it would cost money to reinvest in our country, but wouldn't it be worth it? This is supposed to be the greatest country in the world but we are falling further and further behind other countries. The money we save on defense alone would help reduce the costs.

Both Democrats and Republicans are saying we need to spend less, yet no one seems to want to say the brutal truth. We are wasting money on things we don't need to be spending them on. War. Bank Bailouts. Auto Bailouts. Even the things that seem worth while are wasteful, either because of corruption or simply because of short sightedness.

This country is like a mansion that was built in the 1920s. It cared for and because of it's excellent designers and builders, is built strong. But even a well built mansion needs to be maintained all the time. The electrical systems would have to be replaced; the plumbing; the heating and air; the paint; the roof. You get my point. We have been spending too much time our of our mansion, bragging about how great it is to be rich and live in a mansion, that we have neglected both our bank account and the mansion. We need to get back home, roll up our sleeves and do some chores.

Mobile Early Termination Fees

2010-01-26T11:04:00.000-08:00

So mobile phone contracts pretty much all come with an Early Termination Fee (ETF) that basically allows the company to recover the cost of the phone that you probably purchased at a substantial discount.

When you sign a 2 year contract and get a $30 phone, the phone isn't really $30. You are, in part, paying for that phone with your monthly contract.

Recently these ETFs have increased for certain carriers. My question isn't why; the new smart phones out today are not cheap. I just don't understand why each contract isn't configured to account for the specific phone and it's retail value. Why not prorate the value of the phone based on the start date of the contract?

If I went to AT&T and got a new iPhone with an unlimited plan I'd pay nearly $3000 over two years. $200 of that is for the phone still. The actual phone is probably $500-600, though you can't easily buy it without a contract, certainly not from AT&T. If AT&T is even pay $500, do you think they'd let you cancel your contract after a couple of months and not expect some compensation? Of course not.

I think mobile contracts should be set aside from the cost of the phone. You pay X number of dollars per month for the service alone. You buy the phone separate from the contract. No lock-in, no ETFs. Those who want their phone subsidized should pay a separate fee, that is based on the price of the phone; leasing the phone instead of buying.

The problem is that the mobile companies don't want you to be able to come and go as you please like that. Each of them want to lock you into their service. So rather than providing a service that is built on quality, that would keep customers because they are happy, they have built a way to keep customers regardless of how they feel.

ETFs are not about the phones. I know I just painted the picture above that suggests that and I'm sure their PR reps will tell you the same thing, but the reality is that it's about keeping customers. If they can't keep them they are going to penalize them as much as they can get away with.

Sexy Dictionaries

2010-01-25T15:04:00.000-08:00

So a school in southern California has banned a dictionary for defining oral sex. It's making some news through the Internet, but I have to wonder why.

The school in question is a grammar school, typically meaning 1st through 5th grade. My memory is a bit fuzzy from my time as a grammar school student but I'm pretty sure that the dictionaries for use young children were highly abridged. The dictionary that is in question is a Merriam-Webster’s 10th edition. Was it for kids, for high school students, for college students? No word on that.

The point I'm trying to make is that it's not unreasonable to say, "A college level dictionary is inappropriate for grammar school students."

That said, I know I and many of my male friends looked for dirty words in the dictionary. It's what boys do. (Sorry ladies I can't speak for you on this one.) The definition given is pretty vague to be fair: "oral stimulation of the genital."

With the Internet widely available to kids, with or without supervision, this is not the worst thing in the world. Better that they are educated than misinformed, yes?

EDIT: This article on Salon.com puts it better than I could.

Movie Review: Avatar

2009-12-22T13:00:00.001-08:00

I will start by saying that I will talk about the movie in a way that will give spoilers. I will note when I being the spoiler section.

Avatar is a beautiful movie. It's based in a well realized world with a story, that while not new, is told well.

It was intended to be seen in 3D and thus should be seen in 3D. While consumer electronic companies would have us believe that we'll have 3D in the home soon, no doubt it will be years before it catches on, so take this opportunity while you can. I watched it in standard size 3D, as opposed to IMAX. I'm not a fan of watching movies on IMAX. It just doesn't work for me. If it works for you try to see it in IMAX. I'm sure that'll be a great experience as well.

If you fret that the CGI characters will seem lifeless or weird, such as in Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within or Beowulf, fret no longer. That was a concern I had as well but you can easily forget that the digital creations/creatures are in fact digital. It's not so much the rendering that has gotten better. It's easy to render very photo realistic digital images now. It's the nuance. It's the little details. It's easy to cut corners with CG, especially given the amount of time it takes to model, place, animate, render, etc. for each little piece, but that wasn't done here. If felt real because they spent the time to flesh it out.

OK I'm going into the spoiler section.

One of the complaints I've heard is that the movie is too long. I disagree for a couple of reasons.

The first is, as I said above, the world is fleshed out and it feels real. You enjoy being there, or at least I did. There is so much to see. It's like watching Planet Earth, in 3D, but with even more fantastic vistas. What made Planet Earth so enjoyable, aside from it being shot in high definition, was the beautiful views of our planet. Views that many of us will never see any other way. Some of the scenes might as well have been on another planet. Pandora, the planet of Avatar is like that. For a film maker to create a planet as beautiful and awe inspiring as our own is impressive. The people who thought the movie was boring or long probably don't like watching nature shows just for the nature either. It's a matter of taste to be sure.

The second reason I think it's OK for the movie to be long is because certain scenes that would have been cut from the movie in a different director/editors hands are scenes that helped blend the real and CG. For example (spoiler): Parker Selfridge, the corporate executive in charge of operations on Pandora is trying to control a holographic map. He struggles with it, then makes the normal operator take over and then gives him hell when he misses the target. It's a throw away scene. It could have very easily have been tossed out in editing without hurting the story one bit. It could have been directed very coldly as well, where Selfridge controls the map perfectly. I believe, the point was to blend the CG elements (the holographic map system) and the actors, to help drive home the blending of the two for the audience. You see the map go all over the place as the executive doesn't really know how to control the map, but because he's a cocky exec, he thinks he can. Many of us have met executives/managers like that. It's a silly scene but again, it is one of those details that draws you into the movie. I'm sure a hour or so could have been edited out of the movie, with the story intact, but the experience would not have been as rich or as enjoyable. Of course that's my opinion.

Another issue that came up, was from Tom Merritt on East Meets West. He didn't like the fact that the Na'vi are tetrapods, rather than hexapods like many of the other animals on Pandora. I see his point and raise it a few more points and then a rebuttal.

The problem with the Na'vi, isn't so much that they have two arms and two legs like humans, but the fact that they are so much like humans and less like many of the other creatures on the planet, that we see. Some creatures we see breath from nostrils on their necks. Yet the Na'vi have their nostrils on their face, much like humans. Why would the vocal cords on the Na'vi, their hearing, their vision, be virtually identical to our own? Much of the planet is florescent, so that suggests that there is a larger presence of ultraviolet light. If that is the case wouldn't the creatures of Pandora, including the Na'vi, be predisposed to seeing light further into the UV spectrum, thus changing how they would see the world? This could have been easily remedied by simply shifting the visible spectrum when we are seeing from the eyes of a Na'vi (only a couple of times during the movie) and then let the rest of the movie play out as it did.

Being a nerd and liking hard science fiction I would have preferred the Na'vi to be more alien. It would have made Jake Sully's defection even more powerful, at least in my opinion. It's very easy to relate to the Na'vi and easy to see why Jake defected. Had the Na'vi been more alien, less like ourselves, it would have been harder to understand, harder to accept, more drama. Just my opinion anyway.

So about my rebuttal to the last couple of paragraphs? OK, it's really simple. Movies are not hard science fiction. There are few hard science fiction movies made, because generally speaking it's not what the general public wants to see. Sci-Fi is well accepted by the masses these days, but they like it watered down and in terms they can easily grasp. Aliens are supposed to be alien, but if we are going to have any kind of relationship with them they have to be like us, at least a little. We have to understand their motivations. We can understand Vulcans. Sure they are logical and show no emotions, but they are not so different. We can see them and say, "We need our emotions or we end up cold like them." Vulcans are just humans without emotion. Klingons are humans who simply embrace a warrior caste system, something we have had some cultures in our human history. The Na'vi are a mixture of native peoples from Earth. Because of that we can easily relate to them. Some of us even wish we could live like they do, just as there are those who'd like to be more like Vulcans or Klingons. If James Cameron had made the Na'vi too alien, viewers wouldn't have related the way he wanted them to. Sure he could have made them more alien, perhaps that would have made them ugly. I think he wanted them to be beautiful looking, and they are. He gave the women breasts, though there was no apparent reason to do so other than aesthetics. It wasn't a sci-fi or science choice but a movie/commercial choice. What is going to draw in more customers? It was a wise choice. It's about entertainment before realism.

Everyone picking this movie apart, myself included, are missing the point. You can tear any movie down into it's base parts and find flaws. Sure the story in Avatar isn't original, but in the context of the rest of the movie, it works. That's what I'd like you all to take away from my review. As a whole this is a very good movie. It's too early to tell how deep it will effect Sci-Fi and Geek culture. The technology behind the scenes is impressive and WILL change how movies are made. The rest is for history to decide.

Thoughts on: Superior Super Earths

2009-12-01T07:18:00.000-08:00

I ran across this article: Superior Super Earths and it really got my mind going. Here are some of my thoughts. I recommend you read the article first, then come back and debate my ideas with me.

I find it truly amazing that we are discovering planets around other stars. PLANETS! It wasn't that long ago that we barely knew anything about the planets around our own star and now we can discover and analyse planets light years away.

I never expected that in my life time and I'm still young. I can only imagine how technological improvements will allow us to see more and more about these planets without having to actually go there first.

Right now we are only detecting planets that have enough mass to effect their stars in such a way that we can detect with our instruments. As our tools become more detailed and techniques are developed and refined we should be able to see more and more planets, smaller ones too, as well as gain greater clarity to the details of their atmosphere and composition. In theory we could even be able to detect if that planet has life or technology, if abundant enough.
The article talks about how Earth is a tough place for life to be sustained and suggests that these large Super Earths would be somehow better, but the explanations for why are not clearly laid out.

If a planet is more massive it's going to have a greater gravitational pull and possibly be hit by more asteroids and comets than Earth. If the plate tectonics are more aggressive life will have to adapt to deal with that greater upheaval.

As the article states, 99 percent of all life that has ever existed on Earth has gone extinct. That's scary on one side, but also note that we humans are a result of that. Sure we can look at it as though we will just end up as part of that statistic, and perhaps we will, but it cannot be denied that because of all that planetary evolution, the human race has come to being.

Now consider a planet where that evolution may be accelerated. It's possible that these planets got to an intelligent sentient race before the Earth did. It's also possible that due to the upheavals that life there never gets beyond a certain point before it's 'recycled'.
The age of the Universe compared to the age of our solar system is surprisingly short. The age of our solar system is just a little over a third of the age of the entire Universe. As the article mentions it's possible and even likely that other intelligent life in the Universe is on a similar time scale. This suggests that unless other life forms evolved much faster than us and have developed extra-solar space flight, it's likely to be awhile before we meet any aliens. That doesn't mean it can't or won't happen but the likelihood is much slimmer.

The Universe may be full of life, but to what percentage of that life is sentient. What percentage of that sentient life has developed technology sufficient enough for space travel? What percentage of that space-faring life is close enough to Earth for a visit? What percentage of that alien life would be interested in our civilization?

Considering the distances, we may discover an intelligent race out in our neighborhood of the Milkyway, but it could end up being a very slow long distance relationship for many centuries.

I know the human race and Earth is not the only place in the Universe that has life. I have no proof of that other than the fact that the Universe is just too large for Earth to be the only one. Science finds regularly that life exists and even thrives in locations that are surprisingly harsh. So while the life may not seem likely to us, evolution has a way of making life work.

We humans tolerate a specific temperature range, can see and tolerate specific wavelengths of light and radiation. We process food in a specific way with numerous cooperative bacteria and other creepy crawlies that most of us would prefer not to think about or know. Other life in the Universe may look at us and wonder how we are able to tolerate the environments that we do because they are alien and harsh to the life forms observing us.

It's nice to watch Star Trek and Star Wars and think that all these alien races will be pretty much like us and be able to share the same environments without issue, but I suspect that's just a romantic notion that we dreamed up to hide the frightening truth that we really have no idea what life outside of Earths will be like. It's less scary if aliens are like us. We humans don't like 'people' who are different.

Word 2007 to Blogger

2009-11-27T08:22:00.001-08:00

So I learned yesterday, thanks to my Uncle Henry, that Microsoft Word 2007 has the ability to publish to your blog for you. This is great because unless I'm writing a very basic blog post I like to use Word, for better formatting, spelling and grammar. All of which I certainly need help with.

The positives:

Real time grammar and spell check. Blogger has a spell check but it's after you write.
More writing space. You can have Word take your entire screen up for writing. Blogger has a small text window that is not resizable.
The text formatting is actually CLEAN. If you've every cut and paste Word text into Blogger before you know that all that wonderful Microsoft HTML is brought in with it. This tool appears to correctly strip down the formatting to regular HTML. (Note: I'm not convinced this will happen in each case and I will continue to test it.)

The negatives:

No pictures. It appears that unless you use Microsoft Live Spaces for your blog there is little support for other image hosting options. Granted this is a Microsoft product but if you are going to allow for posting to other blog hosting sites, give us the ability to upload to Picasa, Flickr, etc.
No keywords. I cannot speak for other blog hosts, but I like that Blogger has the ability to add keywords to the bottom of a blog post. It helps with organization as well as helps search engines crawl your blog.

Overall I think this is a great tool and worth using, especially if your blog posts are long and you want them to be somewhat professional. For quick and dirty blogs it's probably an unnecessary tool. Hopefully with Office 2010 some more image services are added. The keyword function I can live without, but no images is a pain. I like to add images to my blog. It adds interest and sometimes they are simply necessary. I'll have to manually add them every time with this Microsoft Word tool.

I give it 6.5 out of 10. The lack of better image hosting integration and the fact that some bloggers will never find the need to use this tool hurt it.

Internet Comment Ranking

2009-11-16T10:41:00.001-08:00

There are a number of websites now have comment systems that allow other uses to rank other users comments. I used to get frustrated when a perfectly legitimate comment that I made would get voted down while illogical or factually incorrect comment would be voted up.

Not everyone thinks rationally about certain subjects. I'm sure I've ranted on a topic before only to later realize my comment was poorly thought out. This is what occurred to me. People see a subject and comment based on a variety of reasons. Some want give an opposing view. Some want to just be a cheerleader for the original topic. Some see the trend and follow suit. Some try to logically (or sometimes illogically) debate the issues brought up by the original topic or to others' comments.

The problem is that good comments can sometimes be voted down simply because the comment expresses views that another user doesn't want to read. It's not that they think the commenter was wrong as much as it is sticking their heads in the sand. This isn't always conscious either. Emotion frequently plays into commentary systems and skews perspective. I know I have voted down certain comments before that perhaps I shouldn't have.

There are plenty of comments that fully deserve to be voted up or down. The system itself is not broke. As frustrating as it can be at times it's actually a pretty decent mirror of human behavior. In person we might not make the same comments to each other, but we'd be thinking them.

CONSUME!

2009-11-09T08:14:00.000-08:00

Our American lives (and likely those of other countries as well) are driven on consumption. Depending on your perspective, this can be a good or bad thing.

Life in general is about consumption. We live to eat, the most basic consumption. We work to get the things in life we think we need. When we are poor those needs are pretty basic. When we are wealthy are basic needs are met so we consume with 'discretion'. In other words, we consume other non-necessary goods to the extent that it does not interfere with our base needs.

I should define base needs as items such as food, shelter, and the items needed to obtain and keep those items.

After writing my last blog post about Social Security I did some more reading and found a study that discussed what would happen if Social Security was simply removed. It's major finding was that discretionary consumption would be reduced, both at retirement and leading up to it. Suggesting that though we'd pay less in taxes we'd have to put more into our personal retirement savings, since it was now solely our responsibility, that we'd ultimately spend less. Additionally it suggested we'd have less money at retirement, so we'd spend less then as well.

Since our economy is based on consumption, this model suggests doom and gloom for our economy. Less consumption, means less jobs, which means less money and more unemployment.

The problem I see, and it's reared it's ugly head twice now in the last decade, is that this creates market bubbles. Economic growth is only sustainable to a point. Things have to level off at some point. If everyone actually looked at their needs/wants, there are a lot more wants than needs. If everyone was happy with what they had then the markets would fail and businesses would drop off because of that. That's what we are seeing now. Unfortunately instead of saying, "Maybe the market isn't strong when we get to a certain height," we try to figure out how to tweak the system so as to get a bit more money out of it, even at the risk of society.

The housing boom is a great example of that. I'm sure there were buyers who bought within their means and bought homes that met their needs, but there were also a large percentage of buyers who bought more house than they needed with the idea that they'd turn around and resell it in a few years and make a large profit. They assumed there would be people continuing to consume. The problem is that once the houses got to a certain point people stopped consuming because the prices were too high. The ones at the top of the heap suddenly couldn't sell their houses. They foreclosed because they couldn't afford the payments. And like a house of cards the market fell apart, because it was based on ever increasing consumption. It was also spurred by mortgage funny business. Chopping up bad mortgages and selling them on the market in 'creative' ways allowed the housing market to see more aggressive growth than would have been the case otherwise. It's not that the market was bad before, but consumption was not growing at the rates that people wanted, so an artificial mechanism was created to spur growth.

Looking back now consumers were duped by great marketing and greed. Though the creative marketing and finances by the banks is part to blame, the responsibility ultimately lays with the consumer who didn't know when to say when.

This is happening in China now too, at the cost of health and traditions. Individually we know what is right and wrong with consumption but as groups we make the same mistakes over and over. The herd is not very smart typically. Yet when individuals stand up against those poor choices they are often ridiculed.

I'm not saying I'm innocent of 'want' consumption. I have plenty I don't 'need'. That is partly why I do things for others now, because my needs are met. I also evaluate my consumption on want vs. need. I didn't always, but I do now. It's not an easy lesson to learn, but one more people should try to learn. I'm also not advocating that people can't have wants or that discretionary spending is a bad thing. I am saying that it needs to be balanced and reasonable. What that means will be different for each person. I'm sure there are some who would argue that they 'need' a yacht. I'd disagree with them but it's also their money.

The "consumption" economy may suffer a bit if we saved more and consumed less, especially at first, but society as a whole would be much better off.

Taxes and the Wealthy

2009-11-09T07:14:00.000-08:00

While reading some comments in regard to this infographic, I was given an argument to consider.

The argument was centered around the fact that the wealthy pay less, by percentage of income, than the less wealthy, into Social Security. The arguement for keeping this inequity in place was, "The weathy are less likely to use it, so why should they pay into it? It's punishing the sucessful."

The last part of that is simply a political statement, meant to disarm any counter argument. If you argue against it that means you are against success! But that's just a debate tactic. Granted it works against most of the public.

The real argument is flawed. There are a LOT of programs that people's taxes pay for that they see no benefit or they do not use, yet we pay those taxes. We don't get to pick and choose where our tax dollars are spent. I don't have kids, but my tax dollars help pay for schools. Do I get mad about that? No. Those dollars are worth giving up for the benefit of society. I benefit through an educated society.

Oh but I can hear you saying, "Social Security is for retirement help. The wealthy don't need that, so where is the benefit for them?"

The thing is, when we start paying our Social Security taxes, most of us don't know that we may some day be wealthy and not need them. We pay into it hoping that we'll be able to use those dollars later. That said, anyone with high school social studies should have learned that what we are putting in today is going out today, to the current retiree base. We have basically given the government the role of taking care of our seniors. Something that used to be a family task. Now most people just ship off their elderly family members to homes and let the government pay for it, via Social Security.

Sorry, went on a separate rant there. The point is that when we pay Social Security, it's not like a 401k account. That money is not ours. It's taxes, plain and simple. Those tax dollars are being used to fund any number of government programs that even the wealthy may be using.

This is also not about 'punishing' the successful. I've been successful enough with my career that I can work from home. Because of that I don't drive very much at all any more. Does that entitle me to pay less taxes because I use the road infrastructure less than everyone else? No of course not. The same goes for the wealthy.

UPDATE: Here is an interesting counter point to my argument. Not sure I completely agree, but I'm always open to listening/reading a reasonable argument.

Net Neutrality Debate

2009-10-22T10:51:00.000-07:00

The FCC has opened up an online blog and comment system (http://blog.openinternet.gov/?p=1) for debate on Net Neutrality, which I think is a good thing, whether you agree or not. The problem is that after reading a few pages of comments there are some bad/scary trends:

F.U.D. – Fear Uncertainty and Doubt. This is an old technique with a newish name. It’s people stating the sky will fall if something happens or doesn’t happen. There is rarely an argument even made. The statements are made to elicit an emotional reaction. The problem with this is that people who do not understand the topic at hand are whipped up into a froth and they get loud and visible. There is no debate, there is no reason. It doesn’t matter what you say to them at that point, they are ‘right’ and you are wrong, even if the opposite is true.
Censorship/Government control – This was mixed in with the FUD. What the FCC proposes are rules that govern all Internet providers (ISPs), big or small. It makes sure that no one uses their power to restrict or censor Internet traffic. The rules are specifically designed to minimize interference, not create it. It doesn’t give the government special access to the Internet to censor information they don’t want the people to see, as some of the commenter’s suggested. We geeks keep a pretty close watch on the pulse of the Internet and any kind of censorship like that would be detected and called out immediately. That is the greatness of the Internet.
It’s not broke, so don’t fix it! – Sorry folks but it IS broke. Things change; it’s the way of the world. The record industry finally figured that out. They didn’t want it to change, but it did anyway. This is the case with ISPs. There are some real problems with our current system. Only because of past intervention by the FCC and the vocalizations of many geeks have we remained OK. Sure most end users don’t see this, but the battles have already been happening.
Innovation and Investment will be stifled – I can see these things being stifled perhaps for the large ISP companies, but certainly not for the Internet as a whole. If Comcast (as an example) decided to throttle or block sites like Hulu or Netflix because they wanted to promote the usage of their own ‘on-demand’ product, how is that good for innovation or investment? Oh sure it’s good for Comcast’s share holders, but it’s certainly not innovative. They just took what was working for someone else and used their network to give their product an unfair advantage. That’s not competition. That’s not a fair market. That’s what Net Neutrality is about. Make sure the playing field is level. If Comcast’s product is superior on its own merits then great, it deserves that market share it takes from Hulu and/or Netflix. If not Comcast shouldn’t be able to artificially weaken its competitors.

(UPDATE- 10/23) It needs to be clarified that there is an important distinction between Internet Providers and Content Providers. Without the content providers the Internet is just an empty network. It wasn't build like the phone networks with one task in mind. It was specifically designed to allow for the innovations and businesses that we currently see (as content providers). The ISPs (the Internet providers) want a piece of that lucrative pie, which is fair and reasonable. However without regulation what prevents them from abusing their advantage (owning the networks) over the established content providers?
Ignorance – This is forgivable. This is a complex subject and there is a lot of misinformation. Below I’ll cover some important details that everyone who wants to participate in this debate should know.

For consumers frustrated with higher cable rates, there are not many direct alternatives. 95 percent of American homes have only one cable company, while the 5 percent who have choice between two cable companies that compete head-to-head pay about 17 percent less on average. [i]

While that quote is referring to Cable television pricing the point is still valid in this argument. If 95% of the country does not have access to a competitive market for their Internet what power do we as consumers have? The whole point of a market is supply and demand. If our supply is artificially limited (as ISPs would like to do under certain situations) and there is no other supplier that we can call on, we have no choice.

The cable companies have a monopoly on our local markets, so open them up! Not so quick.

"The theory of natural monopoly holds that "because of structural conditions that exist in certain industries, competition between firms cannot endure; and whenever these conditions exist, it is inevitable that only one firm will survive." "Thus, regulation is necessary to dilute the ill-effects of the monopoly." "Those who assert that cable television is a natural monopoly focus on its economies of scale; that is, its large fixed costs whose duplication by multiple companies would be inefficient and wasteful." "Thus, competitive entry into the market should be proscribed because it is bound to be destructive." [ii]

While I don’t particularly like this situation as a consumer, I can understand it. If there were two or three more cable companies in town they’d either have to lease access from the incumbent cable provider or go through out town burying their own cable. Neither of which would be cheap or necessarily a slam dunk win for consumers.

If ISPs, cable or otherwise, strictly provided Internet access, much like a utility, this would not really be a problem. That is not the way our ISPs are structured today. When we all had dial-up there were lots of competitors to the market because they could piggy-back on the phone lines without the phone company being directly involved. Dial-up modem traffic over phone lines is just audio noise. Those squeeks and squacks when a connection was made continued until you disconnected.

While there are still a great many individuals on dial-up still, who frankly will not be affected much by Net Neutrality one way or the other, those of us using DSL or Cable Internet do so through our local cable or phone monopoly. These are the same companies that are seeing their phone and cable TV subscriptions drop in number because consumers are finding better and cheaper alternatives on the Internet. Phone and TV makes these companies a lot more money than Internet access, so they are trying to find ways to keep making money, to reduce their attrition rates.

Numerous cities and municipalities throughout the country have tried to implement local wireless Internet access, for ‘free’, only to run into ‘bought’ politicians and legislation designed to protect the existing ISPs.

I understand protecting a business from being put out by government, but when the people of the city want that service and when that service is frequently less robust than competitive products, where is the problem? If the people of a town vote to have free wireless broadband and are willing to pay the extra taxes to cover the cost, why should the state or federal government have the OK to step in and say, “No, you can’t do that because you are taking money away from X Internet provider.” Why doesn’t that provider just step up and compete instead of crying to their lobbyists? In large part because these local ISPs are all part of the larger ISP oligopoly. We all know the names; Time Warner Cable, Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, Charter, Cox, and a few others. They know very well that if one small town does it, others will follow. They don’t want that to be a trend. In some cases they have competed and rolled out new/better infrastructure, but they had to be forced to do that through competition. We the People had to force that competition by using our government. This is why we have a government in the first place; to protect the people. That doesn’t preclude protecting business, but the government should be protecting people first and foremost.

Ultimately the ISPs are trying to maintain existing business models any way they can.

AT&T recently has been fighting to keep Google Voice off the iPhone. They claim it’s Apple that is stopping it but at the end of the day what does Google Voice do? It allows users to use the Internet to make phone calls among other related tasks. This takes AT&T out of the loop for services. They only provide the Internet access and that’s it. If a user has WiFi they don’t even need AT&T for Internet! Their conflict of services vs. Internet access is clear. Stop Google Voice and keep users on their networks and on their services.

This plays into the Net Neutrality debate because one of the proposed rules is that a product/service should not be denied access to the network unless it is harmful to the network (not to the business, to the network).
Comcast blocking bit-torrent traffic. Bit-Torrent is frequently associated with online piracy and while it can be used for legitimate purposes it has gained its notoriety fairly. That doesn’t mean Comcast or any other ISP should be able to block Internet traffic. Packet sniffing and QOS (Quality of Service) is important to corporate networks to ensure that internal productivity is not diminished. In the public Internet that only leads to censorship. Bit-Torrent is deemed ‘bad’ so it’s blocked. Do they block You Tube next because it has videos that may be copyrighted or there may be videos of illegal activities on there? Who decides? The copyright holder, the content provider, the ISP? Net Neutrality rules state no one does because the traffic shouldn’t be blocked in the first place. ISPs should be conduits for our data, nothing more nothing less.

One area that I do agree with the ISPs on is pricing. One of the common complaints is that users are using more and more bandwidth for streaming video and other such high utilization services and products. The problem is that ISPs have been selling access based on speed not utilization. One of the problems that still occurs is that ISPs are claiming Unlimited Access when in fact there is a cap. So ISPs have suggested tiered pricing, where heavy users pay more than low utilization users. The problem is that we run into that conflict of interest issue again. Heavy utilization users are going to be the ones doing online video streaming. If as a user, I dropped cable TV for Hulu and Netflix, then suddenly I could lose the incentive if the price of my Internet access jumped. The cable company doesn’t want me to go to streaming, they’d rather I stay on their normal TV service. If they make the price prohibitively high then suddenly their cable TV plan doesn’t look so bad any more.

To be fair Comcast, who was piloting such a program in Texas, has backed away from it after consumer protest. Additionally they are now looking to compete with their own streaming video service. I not 100% on the details but as I understand it you have to be a cable TV customer to gain access though, which kind of defeats the purpose.

This conflict of interest is something these companies have to address. A pure ISP is a non-growth market. Profits are funneled back into the Infrastructure. My question is, why is this a bad thing? Why must a business show large returns every quarter to be a healthy one?

Where is the incentive to enter the market or invest in such a company you ask? Consumer demand for faster Internet access is there. It doesn’t require digging lines or running another wire on a utility pole these days. Wireless is getting better and better and could certainly supplement and even replace cable and DSL Internet in a decade or two. Traditional (analog) methods of moving data around on wire is not going to just disappear, but the barrier to entry that it creates will diminish, only if rules are made and adjusted to allow for it rather than allowing the artificial propping up of dying business models.

I respect that there are others out there that are against regulations and are against an ever enlarging government. This is one case where I believe something has to be done. This regulation, success or failure will light the path of the Internet in the USA for the foreseeable future. The threat of regulation has kept the ISPs in check. A failure of this proposal will grant them the courage to abuse consumers for their profits.

[i] AS CABLE RATES RISE AGAIN, CONSUMER GROUPS SAY COMPANIES ARE USING MONOPOLY POWER TO UNFAIR ADVANTAGE, Wednesday, January 8, 2003, Consumers Union, http://www.consumersunion.org/telecom/cable103.htm

[ii] Cable Television: An Unnatural Monopoly, March 13, 1984, CATO Institute, http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa034.html

UPDATE: 10/22/09 The FCC has released their NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING (PDF) document. This is a valuable document to read and understand regardless of your opinion of Net Neutrality.

UPDATE 2: 10/22/09 Senator McCain introduces Internet Freedom Act of 2009, "that will keep the Internet free from government control and regulation." This is in direct opposition to what the FCC is attempting to do as well as against Net Neutrality.

Review: Where the Wild Things Are

2009-10-19T06:12:00.001-07:00

Here is my quick review of Where the Wild Things Are.

First and most importantly, it is NOT a kids movie. The story and themes surround emotions and not simple ones. Lots of kids were in the theatre around me and I heard a lot of questions being asked through out the movie. Additionally it's very REAL. A monster or scary part in an illustrated book is one thing, but there are moments when it gets very real and very scary. In the book a threat to be eaten by one of the monsters is easily dismissed. Not so much in this movie. Additionally the movie paints the place as a real location, not something in his imagination.

For adults it has depth. Max is identifiable for many because many of us went through similar things as a kid. That's where this movie shines. There is an innocence to it but also realness. That realness that would confuse or scare children is also there for adults, but adults can understand it and relate it.

Buy your young children the book and go to the movie yourself first. If you feel they are up for it, take them then.

I know I've already beaten this drum a bit, but the 'realness' also applies to the effects. The monsters and their home look and feel very real. I was taken out a couple times. A dog and some owls didn't look as polished as the rest, but for the most part it was very well done. Good for Spike Jones using monster suits instead of CG.

Fancy Flight or Flight of Fancy?

2009-10-14T08:35:00.000-07:00

Having just recently had to deal with air travel I can safely say there is room for competition. My thought isn't fight the current crowd of typical airlines, like Delta, United, American. Nor do I think it's a good idea to go up against the budget airlines like Southwest or JetBlue. Why not a new segment?

Many travelers are happy to travel first class, but lets face it, first class today is not the first class of yesterday. You might get a nicer seat and more leg room. Perhaps a premium snack instead of peanuts, but what else are you getting? You still have to hear the baby crying in the back and you might be sitting next to someone who for various reasons, had a coach seat and is now sitting next to you.

I'm not saying people who fly coach are bad. I'm 99% of the time one of those people. I have gotten at the gate upgrades due to over booking before, I've never personally paid for first class.

That said, there are many who would happily pay for the luxury. So why isn't there a luxury airline? Sure there are private jets and the like, but are they enough to make this market non-viable?

Imagine a jet with only nice plush seats, plenty of leg room. Internet, individual movies, good food, etc, all inclusive to the price of the ticket? The current airlines have to nickel and dime us to death because they are trying to compete with the discount airlines who seem to have figured out how to do things well and on a budget. A luxury airline would be immune to that market pressure because it offers something those other airlines do not. Look at Southwest and United. What difference is there in actual product? Not much really. They have to compete.

Having an all inclusive ticket might be a bit more pricey but as the traveler the experience becomes so much more pleasurable. The airports themselves might be a drag still but once on the plane, it could be relaxing and enjoyable instead of stressful.

Flight availability would be less of an issue for a luxury airline as well. If you are going to pay a premimum are you likely to use that airline for a short commuter flight for business? No, of course not. It would be silly therefor for the airline to even offer such a flight.

Seasonal flights from New York City to Denver for skiing or from Miami to Boston for Autumn leaves, and other such travels, where they are truly vacations.

Reservations would be completely different for this type of airline. Because there would be fewer flights you wouldn't be going to Expedia to book your trip. Fewer trips and fewer seats creates demand.

There would be a certain amount of exclusivity of course, but isn't that the point of a luxury brand?

UPDATE: Since writing this article I've found that there are a number of trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific airlines that do provide many of the luxuries I was thinking of above, between $4000 and $5000. But why not specialized domestic flight?

Soap box weaving and bobbing on the waves of the sea of my frustration

2009-09-25T06:36:00.000-07:00

I grew up before the Internet. My entire adolescence was devoid of Internet access. That's not to say there were no computers, but getting 'online' was a rarity and was limited to local BBS's. So I knew my bullies face to face. They were often big, dumb and mean. As a geek/nerd in that time, you learn how to face them, without stooping to their level or avoiding them all together (not really so easy). So what happened?

Now with the Internet there are bullies every where. Forums and chat rooms are filled with them. The thing is, they aren't the big dummies any more. They are reasonably smart people that should know better but they either don't care or never learned.

These online bullies, often known as 'trolls', pick on and laugh at the 'noobs', the less Internet savvy. Go to any forum, blog, social site, and you'll see it. I visit digg.com frequently for interesting news. From time to time I read the comments associated with the stories and the amount of trolling and ignorance is astounding. There is rarely respect for thought out discussion. More frequently than not, comments are emotional and based on misinformation.

What happened to intellectual discourse? Did it ever really exist in the general public? Is the lack or respect on the Internet a reflection of the lack of respect outside in the real world?

I wonder if the ease in which someone can post an anonymous comment gives the author the feeling that it's OK to let their thoughts go without consideration for others? Let's face it, most things posted on the Internet would never be spoken aloud in a face to face conversation.

It could be argued that it allows us to be more honest with our feelings. Perhaps, but if that's the case there are a lot of assholes and douche bags out there.

And really, if you cannot say it in person, but you can online, then it's simply another kind of passive aggressiveness. I should know I am passive aggressive myself. Does that mean human society is becoming more passive aggressive? I doubt it. I'm sure the Internet is just allowing everyone to see the true nature of some people.

The interesting thing is that passive aggressive behavior is often linked to being bullied, in one way or another. It's a defense mechanism. Direct confrontation is one sided. With a physical bully, they are bigger or have some power over you. Since direct is not available an indirect solution is found. Indirect doesn't mean bad, but it can lead to indirect attacks that are really no better than the bully's direct attack. I think that is what we are seeing online. The evolution of the bullied becoming the bullies.

Geek is cool now. That nerd sitting next to you might be the next Michael Dell, Biz Stone, or even Bill Gates. People are attracted to power. But these geeks and nerds are still often less confident in social situations and the big physical bullies are plenty confident. This struggle of powers is creating sides, sides that have been in battle for years but now with the Internet the geeks have a powerful new weapon. The problem is that this weapon has made them no better than the bullies they hate.

Originally I thought to blame all of this on the families that do not spend enough time with their kids. Parents that are so focused on their jobs that their kids suffer for it. While I do think this contributes, they are not completely to blame. Our society as a whole as shifted away from respect, so people are feeling that it's OK to not be respectful, even those who are old enough to have been taught respect.

We cannot discipline our kids, for fear of being accused of child abuse. Teachers are no longer allowed to have failing students. Everyone must be the same. We've gotten so politically correct that real life rules are pushed aside for lame PC rules. You can't lets kids fail, so everyone else has to dumb down for that one dumb kid in class. Sure no one wants to be that dumb kid, but everyone knows were are not all the same. We act like everyone should be able to be a rocket scientist. While I agree that everyone should have the equal opportunity to be a rocket scientist, not everyone has what it takes and that is OK.

Instead schools are judged on on standardized tests and truly gifted children are forced to be bored in classes so that a few less intelligent kids will be able to move forward. I remember kids being held back a grade for failing or having to go to special education classes. These were the kids who became the bullies because they had to make up for their lack of educational achievement with physical prowess. Now that the school says all kids are the same, the smart ones are turning into the bullies because they need to stand out. They need to say, "Hey, I AM smarter than you. When you are online I'm going to call you a noob and not help you because this is MY domain."

It's funny, that we fight so hard to stay away from a socialized economy and socialized healthcare. All I hear from the extreme political right is about how the US is becoming a socialist country, but I never hear anything about our education system which is trying to homogenize our youth. Trying to make them fit into cookie cutter molds. They fight it but don't know why, they just know it's wrong. Is anyone helping these kids focus their energy constructively? It used to be the teachers, but they are over worked, under paid and forced to teach kids how to take standardized tests.

So in the end these trolls and online bullies, who are smart enough to know better, are having to come to terms with who they are and how they use their knowledge on their own. If they are lucky they'll find a positive role model. If not it may take them years to mature into productive members of a society that has forgotten how to respect one another.

A Quick Health Care Reform Thought

2009-09-22T14:51:00.001-07:00

So why is that if you do not have health insurance the rates are higher than when you do have insurance? That right there is not fair or reasonable.

Rates are too high as it is, but the cost of health care should not matter if you have insurance or not.

I've heard, but cannot confirm, that the reason is that most who do not have insurance will likely default on the costs associated with their health care, especially expensive procedures, so they raise the prices so they can write off more, decreasing their taxes. If this is the case, that should be illegal. As far as I'm concerned that's tax evasion and fraud.

The same goes for the drug companies. There is no reason at all that a drug that costs $200 with insurance should cost $2000 without. All that says is, 'screw you poor people. We are trying to squeeze as much profit from this drug as possible before the FDA makes us recall it because we rushed it out the door or before the exclusive patent dies and generic drug makers can start making it.'

I'm not against a public health insurance plan, but fix the price dependency and a public option may become less needed. Though I'm sure those corporations would find some other way to reclaim that lost profit.

Non-Profit Business Idea

2009-09-15T21:50:00.000-07:00

Every time I drive around Lincoln I see some great old houses that are run down and think, how great would it be to fix those up. Flipping houses was profitable for those who knew what they were doing before the real estate bubble and economy, as a whole, popped.

Flipping isn't what I have in mind though. It's more along the lines of Extreme Make Over Home Edition. There are many homes owned or rented by those making minimum wage or less. Now with an unemployment rate at just over 9% there are probably those who were once middle-class hurting.

The problem is that when money is tight there are other priorities than your home, until they become critical. Those are the people I want to help.

Who would be helped would be decided based on requests. A needy family would submit for assistance. Friends or family would also be able to submit for others. An inspector would be sent out to evaluate the specific problem or problems and rate them on a point system. The inspector would also note any other problems that needed to be addressed and rate them accordingly.

The inspections would be evaluated and tackled on a highest need first basis. This would also be highly dependent on resources. Lets face it, there are many needy families and homes out there and one organization, especially just getting started, would not be able to help everyone.

The organization would be highly dependent on volunteers, not only for money, but for time and resources. Asking for labor and experience not only from contractors but skilled DIYers would be a large part of the success of the organization. There would be room for non-skilled laborers as well, but from my, admittedly small, experience with Habitat for Humanity, those individuals are not always needed.

I should note that I have nothing but respect for Habitat for Humanity, but I don't want to build new homes. I'm against urban sprawl and the current trend of cookie cutter homes. There are so many great old neighborhoods with beautiful old homes that just need some work to become great once again.

In addition to the remodeling aspect of the organization there would likely need to be a store-front/warehouse. Asking for labor and even financial donations is great but not everyone is able to give those, so for those who cannot give in that way, perhaps they can give extra materials from their own remodel or even buy needed items, just as others do when they buy extra groceries for donation to the local food bank. Many times during a remodel or even in new construction there are left over or salvageable materials. These could be used in the organizations remodel projects or sold in the store-front. In the past I purchased a window for a basement in just such a store. There were a lot of great usable goods there.

So why wouldn't the organization just use any materials donated to it? Well there are two reasons I can think of and they speak of how I think any of these remodels should be done. First, some donated materials, such as windows, may be old and inefficient. Some people would be interested in them for preserving historic homes, but that's not the goal here. The second reason is simple, time. An organization that is living heavily on the labor of volunteers has to be efficient. Recycling is great and I would want to do so as much as reasonable, but there are going to be times when getting new will save money by saving time.

I think any remodel done should be done correctly from the start. That means doing any and all work to code. That also means doing it with the right materials. As I mentioned, recycling has it's place, but using the right materials will make sure the work done will last for many years instead of a couple years or even months. I don't want to have to revisit a home that has been fixed, not only is that bad public relations, it's just bad. If we can't do it right we shouldn't do it.

That leads me to my main area of uncertainty. What do we do when a house is beyond repair or the repair costs would be so high that it doesn't make sense to fix it. We can't just leave those people high and dry, but as I said before, I don't want to be in the new house construction business. Would tearing down and rebuilding be cost effective? Would it be better to buy another fixer upper for that family, and fix that one for them? Would there be enough financial donations to maintain either of those solutions? From my experience with food banks, it's not so much labor that they are short on but rather food and money. Having to completely rebuild or buy another home for a family would be very costly and could make it difficult to help the others who might just need a new roof or new stove. Those are choices I don't relish.

Perhaps a partnership with other non-profit organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Salvation Army, or even local churches is the solution.

I'm certain I would do this locally. Not only because of my love for my town and state, but because there is no way I could help all the hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of needy people. That is part of the reason I'm posting this 'business plan' on my blog. I don't care if someone else takes this idea and runs with it. In fact I'd be delighted if they did!

Cash For Clunkers? Too boring

2009-07-30T10:07:00.000-07:00

So Cash for Clunkers program is in full swing, but reports are estimating it running out of money in Sept.

Will the government feed it more money? I suggest a revamp.

Instead of giving out money to people who probably don't really need it to start with, how about we get lots more cars off the road AND make it entertaining! Think LeMons racing + DeathRace.

So the country is divided into regions, based on population of 'Clunkers' as currently defined and older cars because the fuel efficiency ratings won't matter. More on that in a second. Have a series of local races. The drivers have to own their cars for a minimum of one year, as the rules are currently written for C4C. The owners forfeit their auto insurance (of course most of these cars probably only have liability coverage) and have to drive their cars on a track with 100 other clunker drivers for 12 hours. The estimated MPG wouldn't matter because the cars are given based on driving not a number that is questionably calculated.

Depending on the total number of races, there might need to be additional races, but the basic idea is that the winner (or top three if you are feeling generous) get brand new cars. Even a cap of $20,000 for that car, would be reasonable or the winner can add their own cash to buy a nicer car. Those are just details.

And just think of the TV coverage. All the networks would be lining up to broadcast these amateur smashup races. Hell some sponsors might even decide to give a car to the audience favorite or something. I know I'd be watching it!

Ok so there are some downfalls to this. People could get hurt for sure. Most of these people would have little to no real race experience. The cars would not be designed for racing and thus would be more prone to bad accidents. It's unlikely that you're going to put a roll cage in a car, just on the off chance you might win a new one.

The incentive to put your crummy daily driver into this situation would have to be high. If it's your only means of transportation you won't be so likely to risk it. Unless you are dumb, cocky, or actually a talented driver.

That brings up another downside, for the drivers, but perhaps an upside for society. There would be a lot more people without cars afterward. Public transit isn't great in many cities, but that's partly due to the fact that so many people have cars and prefer to drive. No car? Bus ticket! On the upside, that's less gas guzzling broken down heaps driving on the road. You know the ones I'm taking about.

So put them on the race track. Let them fall apart there where there will be ambulances and tow-trucks standing by. Let some fools spend money to upgrade their breaks or wheels or some such. It stimulates the economy!

32 bit vs 64 bit OS leason - Photoshop

2009-05-06T11:52:00.000-07:00

I just upgraded to Windows 7 RC1 from the Win 7 beta. In the beta I had the Adobe Creative Suite CS2 installed. Everything worked fine but as I recalled during the install, it barfed on the "(x86)" part of the install path.

Last time I simply removed the parenthesis and everything worked fine. This time I thought I'd be clever and just remove everything just leaving, "C:\Program Files". That was my mistake.

Under 64bit Windows, the OS is expecting 64bit applications to be installed under Program Files and 32bit applications to be installed under Program Files (x86). Since CS2 is 32bit only, it royally borked my install, forcing me to completely uninstall and reinstall. This time I'll install into "C:\Program Files x86" which will work just fine.

Lesson learned? Don't install 32bit applications into the 64bit Program Files folder.

Kitchen - Before and After

2009-05-05T18:16:00.001-07:00

So here is what our kitchen looked like when we bought the house:

And here is the after shot, from the same location:
What a difference a few months can make!

Kitchen Remodel - DONE!

2009-05-05T18:10:00.001-07:00

Finally done! Here are some pictures.

Kitchen Remodel - Backsplash!

2009-04-24T18:45:00.000-07:00

Click for larger view

Well hopefully this is the final weekend! The sink went in on Wednesday and I put on all but two handles on yesterday (Thursday). Tonight we started on the tile back splash. We'll have to get more tile because we changed our plans. We were going to use 2 inch tiles, but we changed to the 6 inch tiles. I think it was a wise choice. They look great. (note there is another row that is missing in the picture. The tile will go all the way to the bottom of the wall cabinets.)

After the tile there is just a bit of trim work and it's done! We are both really happy how things turned out.

Kitchen Remodel - Update

2009-04-20T11:25:00.000-07:00

We are still waiting for the counter tops to be installed. Hopefully this week!

We got the appliances back in place. It's pretty clear that when we get a new refrigerator that we'll have to measure it to fit a closely as possible. The one that came with the house fits very loosely in the hole and just looks odd.

I need to finish installing the handles. It's been easier this time with templates. No measuring. Just find the holes that line up with your handles, mark them with a Sharpie, then drill. Much safer than measuring yourself and risking a misaligned hole. The cup style handles for the drawers are more work than expected though. Not just one bit to drill there. I also have to trim about 1/8 inch off the end of the attachment bolts. Nothing hard, just time consuming.

We also got the rest of the trim for the first floor. That'll make things look SO much more finished. So along with that I need to install the toe kick in the kitchen. I should be able to get most, if not all, those projects done this week.

Mergers!

2009-04-20T08:13:00.000-07:00

It's in the works for Oracle to acquire Sun. While I don't really care about these two specifically it's reminded me of something that irritates me.

Why must companies acquire one another?

I'm not saying Oracle and Sun (or other companies) don't have good reasons to merge. I'm also not saying there are never times when it makes sense. However, I am saying that too many companies seem to do it these days.

There is often market consolidation as that market grows. Initially there will be a lot of players, with the weaker ones dropping out or being bought out. Then things level off. Sun and Oracle have been loosing market share to IBM and Microsoft for years, but they are important to the market. Perhaps they feel they have a better chance together than alone.

Is the technology market uniquely built to funnel business into two or three large competitors? Who does this make the most sense for? Businesses who use the technology, the customers or the businesses that make the technology, or the investors? In other markets I'd say the customer looses, but in technology, having fewer competitors makes for better interoperability. Does it need to be this way?

There are standards for technology. Philips head screws, standard/metric bolt heads, common dimensions for lumber, standard light bulb sockets, etc. All of these things could have been proprietary and thus we'd be stuck with a few manufactures who controlled them. Since they are registered and open standards anyone can manufacture those items. It makes the market larger and more competitive giving customers choice and lower prices.

When it comes to computer technology there are some standards, especially in hardware, but software is really still up in the air. In large part because the standards are not standard. Microsoft has a choke hold on the Word document format, even it's new, 'open' .docx format. There is an open standard document format but Microsoft doesn't want to adopt that because it could hurt Word's dominance. If an open source application worked with their documents as well as their own, suddenly there is competition again. That's good for customers, bad for Microsoft and it's investors.

The same could be said for Oracle buying Sun. Last year Sun acquired MySQL, the open source database engine darling loved by many Internet businesses. Because it uses standard SQL it is enterprise friendly. Microsoft, Oracle, and IBM each have their own database engines that they sell, for a premium. MySQL cuts into their bottom lines. They can compete against each other based on many other propritary software packages and the like. It's a lot harder to compete with free. So if Oracle buys Sun, it could crush MySQL, start charging for it, or change the code to be more compatible with the Oracle database engine, breaking the openness that MySQL currently enjoyes.

Again the customer looses.

Counter Status

2009-04-07T14:36:00.000-07:00

The counter guy, decent dude, took measurements for our new counter top but because of the way Home Depot does it's processing we might not get our counter top for 2-3 weeks.

Here is the deal. At Home Depot we paid for the counter tops based on my measurements. I was a accurate as possible but it's not exact. Now that the actual measurements have been made they have to be sent back to Home Depot to determine if I have to pay more or get a refund. If I have to pay more, I have to pay that difference before the order is released for manufacturing.

So far no biggie. However, it's Tuesday today and the materials are only ordered once a week and the order is made at the end of the day Wednesday. That really only gives us 24 hours for all the paperwork to go through, be approved, pay any difference, and the order made. The likelihood of that happening is slim.

Let's assume that the order does not go through until the following Wednesday. Then the counter tops will be manufactured late in that week or that weekend, and then installed the next week (the week of the 20th). We will have to wash dishes in the bathtub for two more weeks, minimum. Whoopie!

Kitchen Remodel - Day 8

2009-04-06T07:02:00.001-07:00

Kitchen Remodel - Day 8, originally uploaded by TNVWBOY.

The tile is down! It took about 8 hours, including lunch, to complete but it's done.

The counter top guys are supposed to be here today (Monday) to take measurements and create the template. Hopefully they will be able to create the counter tops quickly. We are anxious to have a sink again.

Yesterday (Sunday, Day 9) we mostly just cleaned up. Put away tools that were no longer needed. I sanded a patch that we didnt do before the floor and painted that wall. So all the painting is done now too.

The end is in sight. There are lots of little details that we still need to do, but the functional parts of the kitchen are nearly done!

More pictures and updates will follow but not on such a regular basis, only when there are major things to update.

Kitchen Remodel - Day 5

2009-04-01T17:08:00.001-07:00

Kitchen Remodel - Day 5, originally uploaded by TNVWBOY.

Took the night off. We did do a rough dry fit of the tile layout. We both really like how this is looking.

Kitchen Remodel - Day 4

2009-04-01T06:19:00.001-07:00

Kitchen Remodel - Day 4, originally uploaded by TNVWBOY.

Productive evening of work.

Test fit the dishwasher and it's connections. All is good there. I cannot hook it up yet until the tile is in.

Ran the water line for the refrigerator. I'm a bit concerned about it going behind the stove, especially since the line is plastic, not copper. I know ovens are insulated but still. I'm probably worrying over nothing.

Got the microwave installed! This was a big deal for me because it helps the kitchen look more 'finished'. It also gave us an idea about how the black appliances will look (we've always had white). I like it a lot.

Like the 'counter top'? It's one of the old pantry-closet doors. It makes a good temporary counter top.

Tile Patterns

2009-03-31T06:39:00.000-07:00

We are tiling the kitchen. Here are three tile patterns we are considering.

#1 - This is our first choice. We have 12" and 6" tiles for this pattern. The concern is that it'll be too busy.
#2 - Simple but a good look.

#3 - Simplest look. It works but it's kinda boring. It IS a classic look though.

I'd love to hear comments.

Kitchen Remodel - Day 3

2009-03-31T06:06:00.001-07:00

Kitchen Remodel - Day 3, originally uploaded by TNVWBOY.

We didn't get as much done tonight, but it was only a couple of hours. Dean came over again to help me move the final cabinets into the kitchen. So all base cabinets are up, but not secured.

I had to drill and run lines for the dishwasher, only to realize the water line and drain lines were both too short. Back to Home Depot!

Tonight (Day 4) I'm going to run the water line for the refrigerator. I forgot about it and had already set the corner base cabinet so I'll have to unsecure it and drill for the line.

Hopefully on Wednesday we can get the final measurements for the counter tops. Wonder how long it'll take? Two weeks probably. Good thing I have some closet doors that would make good temporary counter tops. Too bad we wont have a sink though.

Kitchen Design

2009-03-30T06:21:00.001-07:00

KitchenDesign, originally uploaded by TNVWBOY.

This is what our wall of cabinets will kinda look like when we are done, at least in terms of design. The colors are a bit off.

Kitchen Remodel - Day 2

2009-03-30T05:47:00.003-07:00

Day two started with floors. My childhood best friend came over to help early and we put in the 1/4" WonderBoard floor. This took longer than expected. There were a lot of screws to put in. We ran out of board and screws with only a small piece left to fill. Still need to get to the store and get more. Maybe at lunch today.

Once we got the floor in we started bringing up the wall cabinets. We put 2x4s up on the wall to help us hold the cabinets in place. We are putting up a tile back splash later so the holes were not an issue. The first cabinet, in the corner, is the most critical and we had a little trouble getting it right but we did eventually. Dean had to run out for a bit but another mutual friend of ours, Chad, came over and gave me a hand too. We got more of the wall cabinets up and before long Dean was back. It was slower going than expected. Cutting holes for the microwave and making sure all the cabinets lined up right takes time. They started going up quicker though. Once you get that corner right things line up nicely. Then it was just clamp, drill, counter sink and screw together.

After a bit Chad had to go. Before he did he helped Dean and I move the pantry in (2x2x8). It was a beast but it's going to be really nice. We also got the corner base cabinet in. That was tricky. The door was barely large enough.

Dean and I really were only able to get the corner and the sink base in before he needed to head home. That sink base was a pain. Making sure all the holes lined up right with the plumbing was difficult. The worst part was that the water shut-offs come UP from below, not out of the back, so getting the cabinet in while getting the pipes in the right holes was a trick. I ended up having to cut bigger holes than I really wanted to, but it was either that or do some plumbing, which I really didn't want to do. Been there done that. That would have taken a couple hours easily for minimal gain.

Melody and I got one more small base cabinet in before cleaning up. That was a 10 hour day and I was pooped! I wanted to have all the cabinets in but no dice. I need to rent a table saw too so I can rip some spacers for a couple of spots. Maybe that'll be day 3.

Lunch: Godfathers Pizza. Dinner: Cold Godfathers Pizza. (I don't have the microwave up yet.)

Kitchen Remodel - Day 1

2009-03-30T05:47:00.001-07:00

My Uncle Henry came over and lent me his back and his muscles tearing out the old kitchen. It was more work than you'd expect, but the worst was the floor. Since we are doing tile we needed to get down to the sub floor. Well they had glued and nailed (a lot of nails) 1/4 inch sheets of board down. It was a serious pain to rip it all up.

So after day one, all the dishes and food are on shelves in the den (to the left of this picture) along with the appliances. That refrigerator was a lot heavier than some I've had the displeasure of moving.

Jimmy Johns for lunch and Arbys for dinner.

So it begins...

2009-02-15T17:36:00.000-08:00

So, we closed on our new house on Wednesday afternoon. The last few nights we've really not done anything over there. We moved a few things into the garage but that is it. The main reason for that is the work we are doing prior to move in.

New carpets in the basement. One room only had linoleum and that wasn't going to work. The other room, well, I'll explain that in #2.
Opening up the main basement room. There are two large rooms in the basement. One is going to become a bedroom, the other is going to be my theater room. However it was apparently a bedroom in the past, with a closet and door. Since neither are really right for a living space we started taking them out. There will be some drywall repairs needed but the end result will leave the room feeling larger and more open. This needs to be effectively complete by Wednesday. That's when the new carpets are going to be installed.
The carpets need to be installed this week so we have some place to move stuff. Why not upstairs? That's #3.
New hardwood floors through out the entire upstairs (minus the kitchen). We are having bamboo floors installed through the entire upstairs. We elected to do the carpet removal ourselves. I'll have to get jumping on that after #2, but I think that'll be ok as we have a couple weeks before the floors can be installed.
Last but not least is the kitchen. It's not as significant of a remodel as our last kitchen but it's still pretty big. Luckly the cabnets are perbuilt this time so I won't have to spend so much time building them first. Even the doors are prehung so they should go up pretty fast. We'll be tiling the floor. The bamboo seemed a bit too soft for a room where metal objects could potentially fall.

So there is a LOT of work to be done. Today we started. We painted the bedroom downstairs. It wasn't bad but it was a rather cold and boring gray color. It's now a nice cheerful pale blue. We used the same color in our master bedroom as well.

The master bedroom was a bit more work. We had to remove all the base board (for the bamboo floor) and reove the carpet, carpet pad, tack strips and staples. It was actually easier than expected.

Finally, in addition to all the painting, we started removing the closet from the basement 'den'. That was nearly completely removed when we left for the night. I still have about a 4 foot wall section to remove (don't worry it's not load bearing) and I have to relocate the light switch. That is for tomorrow.

I have tomorrow off so I'll finish opening up the room and then get the drywall and mudding going. Wall patching will go easy enough, but the 'pop corn' ceiling will be a pain to repair. I need to do some homework on that. Then I should be able to pull that old carpet and prep the room for the new carpet. I probably won't get to paint, as the drywall mud always seems to take forever to dry and of course there is the sanding, however, I'll probably pick up some paint. I saw some returned paint that might work in there. If any of the colors work, then I'll be set. If not, meh, paint is cheap.

I'll try to remember to take pictures tomorrow.

Let the people decide

2009-02-03T06:55:00.000-08:00

I found this article (GM, Chrysler suing taxpayers with taxpayer money) via Twitter and DIGG today and I felt that it was worth more than a quick response on either site.

Rather than react directly to the article I'm going to respond to the many various comments I've read regarding the auto industry as a whole lately (especially the big three US automakers).

Domestic Automakers Vs. Domestic Autos – There is a big difference between these two, a difference that is often overlooked or ignored. I happen to prefer driving Volkswagen cars. I like the way they drive, among a number of other reasons. I don’t however buy ‘forgien’ to stick it to the US automakers. It’s also not un-American of me to prefer and drive a German car.

The reality is that there is no such thing as foreign vs. domestic cars any more. It's a joke to think otherwise. For example, GM owns Opel, a European automaker and has been bringing over Opels, rebadging and selling them as Saturns, an American brand. Many of the BMWs sold in the US are built in Georgia (the state not the country). There lots of examples of this situation. Lots of 'foreign' automakers have large offices and factories here in the USA, just as Ford, Chrysler, and GM have factories all over the globe as well. It's just how it's done. Buying a Toyota takes no jobs away from Americans. Buying a Ford doesn't take jobs away from non-US residents.

If you want to stick it to the US automakers because of their politics, that's fine, but don't use it as an excuse for buying a Honda or a Volkswagen. Some auto workers who are losing their jobs because the US automakers screwed up and because the market is down are mad at people driving cars they didn’t make. They have a right to be mad, but the reality is that in many cases those cars they are growling at were probably manufactured, at least in part, here in the US.

(On a personal note, I know my car was not made in the USA, but Volkswagen is building a new factory in Chattanooga, TN to build a sedan specifically for the US market. VW is bringing in lots of jobs, helping the schools and the city as a whole. Hard to argue how that is bad for the US.)

Auto Regulations vs. Free Market – The article I reference at the beginning of this post talks, largely, about how California wants to set its own, stricter fuel efficiency standards, other states also want this, though I suspect they’d back down if California failed.

Arguments against it are that it creates an unfair environment for automakers and that only some automakers can meet those demands. I have to wonder, how is it unfair? Was it unfair that seat belts had to be installed or that airbags should be standard? The difference there is that those are safety regulations. It’s easy to quantify lives saved. It’s also easy to find people who have been directly affected by the lack of safety equipment to lobby for it.

Fuel efficiency hits our wallets and not equally. A $75,000 car is going to have roughly the same mileage as a $20,000 car, so the wealthier are less affected. When gas goes up to $4.00 per gallon, lower and middle-class people start getting pinched hard, especially those who had to move an hour, or more out of the city, to find affordable housing. The upper classes are considerably less affected. However, they are the ones who often have the control. Right or wrong, the wealthy are the ones in politics. Do they listen to the lower classes who want more fuel efficient cars? No. Why? Because doing so puts pressure on the automakers, who: 1) have powerful lobbies and 2) would not make profits for a short run, while they engineer new motors. That affects their stocks, their value and ultimately that has a greater impact on the wallets of the wealthy than $4.00 fuel. It’s more effective to try to make fuel cheaper than it is to make cars more efficient.

So why not let the market decide? If people want fuel efficient cars they’ll buy them from who has them, forcing other automakers to compete. Isn’t that what the Prius has done? It’s more or less created the Hybrid market. Hybrids are in hot demand these days, however so are Trucks and SUVs still. When the fuel prices were in the $4/gal range last summer demand for large gas guzzling vehicles went down. As soon as fuel prices dropped, the demand for large vehicles rose again. That shows that while there is a large portion of people out there looking for fuel efficient cars, there is still a very large group of buyers who really don’t care and just want as much size and utility as possible. Some of these buyers live in rural environments and really need and use those large trucks, but there is still a large percentage of {pick your favorite SUV driving stereotype} that loves a big vehicle though they have little to NO need for it.

Conclusion - Let the markets decide. I was against the auto bail-out and still am. I was against the bank bail-outs too (and look how the banks have abused it!). If a company cannot stay in business by its own business practices it should be allowed to fail. If there is enough consumer demand for a product or service either the remaining competing businesses will pick up the slack or a new player will be able to join.

The argument that if Chrysler failed that it would take down a bunch of parts makers seems a bit dubious to me, given the number of other manufactures still in business. The market falling out has done more damage than what one automaker would have done, in my opinion. The other automakers would have picked up the slack or the parts makers would reduce in number to match demand.

Market demand for fuel efficiency would also dictate the direction automakers would take. Companies like Toyota, which have fought to compete with US automakers in the large vehicle market, would (and do) focus on the smaller car market where they are already strong. This makes companies like Ford and GM compete or get out of that market. Where there is a need there will be someone to fill it. Companies like GM however seem to try to fill all needs at once, poorly. That business strategy is coming back to bite them now.

The market should be allowed to work, allowed to kill companies that are failures and reward those who made the right choices. It should be allowed to dictate how efficient our cars are. Let the people vote with their dollars on what car they want. The government should step away from this one.

“Green” note – Cars make up a minor percentage of the overall pollution problem here in the US. I’m not suggesting that nothing be done but over regulation on autos will do much less than reasonable regulation on power plants and factories that spew tons and tons of particulates into the air.

Follow up note - I was a bit American-centric in my posting and failed to consider how auto pollution effects other countries, especially those without strong regulations. I remember now the pictures of the Beijing skyline before the Olympics, due largely to the number of cars. Also LA is pretty smoggy, so perhaps I underestimate the impact of auto pollution.

New Kitchen

2009-01-26T08:12:00.000-08:00

Well we are probably less than 2 weeks away from closing on our new house. Well new to us. The kitchen needs some updating so we are going to remodel it right away. Here is a look at out colors and materials.
One change already has come to be. The floor. We are doing caramelized bamboo floor through much of the house but after doing some testing with a sample piece of flooring we decided it was too soft for the kitchen. I dropped my keys on the sample from about 4 feet up and it dented the flooring pretty badly. Last thing we need is to drop a can of soup on the floor and have a ring stamped on our floor. So we'll look at tile.

Everything else should be about right. A warm putty color on the walls, spice colored maple cabinets, nice rich brown laminate counters, and neutral tile back splash with bit of brown glass in the accent tiles.

We elected for laminate counters because our neighborhood is nice but not that nice and honestly we don't care for the hardness of granite. We'll have a bullnose edge on the counters so it'll have an appearance of stone without the cost.

Though not pictured I think we are going to go with bronze fixtures, knobs and pulls for our metal finish. It should go well with the other browns and warm tones we are working with.

I'm not excited about the construction but the end result will be nice and it'll be done early so we won't have to worry about dealing with it later.

House Hunting

2009-01-05T08:07:00.000-08:00

We have begun the hunt for new house. We've been looking online, checking out open houses and even working with a Realtor. It's been about three weeks or so now and we've learned a lot.

1. Don't go by what the bank says you can afford. Even with tighter lending practices the bank will let you borrow more than you really should borrow. We could buy a very nice house, move in ready, in a great neighborhood, but then the house would be our prison. We'd have little money for going out, vacationing, etc. The house would rule all. That's no fun at all.

2. Evaluate the whole cost of purchase. We have a decent amount of money in the bank for a down payment but once you factor in moving costs, closing costs (yes I know you can probably get the seller to pay those these days, but still...), breaking our apartment lease fees, and other unexpected initial move in expenses, we'd not have as much to put down on the house as we initially expected. That means save more or pay points/PMI. There is a point of diminishing returns with saving more money VS paying the points, especially with interest rates so low, but right now time is still on our side.
3. Buy a house for the right reasons. Sure it's nice to move into that nice neighborhood and show off to your friends and family but will they really think so little of you if you move into a neighborhood that is more realistic for your means? If you answer is yes, reconsider your friends. The family is more complicated but I say give them the finger and live your life as it makes sense for you. And give yourself the finger if you were trying to show off by buying into those more expensive neighborhoods.

4. Don't be ashamed of your price range. There are a lot of houses out there that are over-priced. A LOT of people bought into those homes for the wrong reasons and are now in trouble or have been foreclosed on. If they bought more realistically they wouldn't be there right now. There are a lot of great homes in the lower price points that have been neglected because everyone was buying 'up'. These houses are still great but need a bit of work. If you can buy a $150K house, put $20K (out of pocket, not credit) into it over a few years and end up with a $200K house, then you've done a LOT better than someone who bought the $200K house.

5. Buy a house that will not tank you financially if one of you looses your job. In our case we both make decent money and we have looked at a mortgage financed only by one of our jobs. If one of us looses our job, and in this economy it CAN happen, we can still afford to pay the mortgage. Sure we could have pooled our income and financing and probably buy a VERY nice house, but then what happens when one of us looses our job? That's when the bank starts knocking on the door that THEY own.

There is so much more that I'm still learning about myself and what I want VS what I need in a house. Sure we might have to remodel the kitchen and rip up some floors. The positive thing is that we'll end up with a nice house in the end, but still have enough money to do the things we enjoy in life. One's quality of life shouldn't be determined by "The Jones'".

Comment on the Automotive "Bail out"

2008-12-08T06:20:00.000-08:00

First, I hate the term "Bail-Out" here. The automakers have been asking for a government loan from day one, not free money. My issue is that it is misleading and makes people think that the automakers are asking for free money.

I've heard good arguments on both sides of this debate from car pundits (Carolla, Leno, Clarkson)who have a bit to loose but not as much as the automakers (I mean the men and women on the line) and the many businesses that support the automakers by manufacturing parts or providing services for the businesses and workers.

Do I think Ford, GM and Chrysler are all going to get their acts together and become new and great manufacturers? No, I don't. I honestly believe that there will be some terrible failures to readjust and one will fail or have to strip down so much that it will be a shadow of it's current state.

The 'Big 3' have dropped the ball and ignored the changes in the world economy. I've heard some suggest that the auto industry take some queues from the computer industry. So you have a few companies that make great engines. Some that make great transmissions. And then Ford just designs a nice shell for all those parts to go into. The past trend was to own or control as many steps in the chain as possible. Maybe that needs to change. The whole automotive world could be forever changed by what happens to the Big 3 in the next couple of years.

The problem isn't all the automakers. We had very fuel efficient cars in the 80's and into the 90s, but then everyone wanted giant SUVs with terrible mileage. The GEO Metro got nearly the same mileage as the Prius.* Sure it's a crap car but most people only need to commute from Point A to Point B. The Metro was considerable more affordable to produce with a simple and small 3 cylinder engine.**

However, you can't keep up with (in terms of image) the other Soccer moms driving giant SUVs or keep up with your sales rival driving the new BMW in your little fuel efficient GEO Metro. The only reason the Prius is acceptable in that regard is because "Green" is hip and cool right now. Even with it's greenness, maybe people still frown on it's looks.

The auto makers have plenty to be held accountable for, but us drivers are just as much to blame. We demand, they supply. Simple as that.

Two things need to happen. No necessarily both, but at least one or the other. 1) Oil burning vehicles need to become cost prohibitive to the mass majority. 2) Alternative fuel vehicles need to be affordable and exciting. Exciting is important. Top selling cars and trucks aren't top selling because they are boring. (I'm talking to you Prius.)

* - My research on the GEO Metro MPG varied greatly, but was in, on average, the 40-50 MPG range. The Prius is right on par with that MPG.
** - It should be noted that while the Metro was cheaper to make it also was lacking most of the safety features of today. It's unlikely that GM could make a Metro now at the same price and mileage due to those requirements.

Working from Home

2008-11-07T12:13:00.001-08:00

Working from home is a new thing for me. Sure I'd occasionally work from home if I wasn't feeling well or other reasons I needed to stay home but was capable of working, but it's not the same. When you work from home, after hours because of a specific project or task, that's easy to say with, but if you are just working from home now and again, it's easy to get distracted from what needs to get done, because you can always do it tomorrow.

When you work from home full time things change. You don't have tomorrow to take care of those things. The work has to be done when it's supposed to be done. Even more so there is a pressure, whether real or imagined, that you have to work extra hard to show that you are indeed working. You are your own supervisor and you can be a tough boss.

Well that's how it is for me so far.

Additionally you never fully leave work. You work where you live, so your computer, your phone, etc are right around the corner. It's a strange thing. I do a pretty good job of separating my work life and home life, but this confuses that a bit. I could go grab a beer from the fridge. (I have not done that, but I could.) The bathroom is my own and really close. Lots of similar examples.

Leaving work at 5pm is going to be an important habit to develop now that work is in the other room. But it also creates an odd cabin fever. I have to get out more, which in itself is not a bad thing but it creates an interesting situation.

I feel fortunate that I've not fallen into the trap of having a TV in the other room, or playing games or other distractions. I was worried about those things but they've not been a problem at all.

At the end of the day it's simply getting used to having a new work habit. It's an unusual one for someone who has always worked in an office (not at home), but not a bad one. After one week I think I'm doing pretty good. Let's hope that continues to be the case.

Can I move on from politics now?

2008-11-05T13:16:00.000-08:00

Looking at my posts for the last few months and I've been very political lately. Now that the elections are over maybe I can step off my soap box for awhile. But then what? What should I write about now?

Well I did move to a whole new state. Yes, I was living in Tennessee and now I'm in Nebraska. I'm a born and raised Nebraskan/Husker so the move back wasn't really a hard choice for us (my wife and I).

Our house is all but sold (just waiting on the closing). We'll probably buy again here in Nebraska but we are renting for now.

I'm working from a home office for the same company I worked for in Tennessee. I feel very privileged and gracious that my bosses felt comfortable enough to let me do this. It still feels odd but it will get easier and more natural over time. Hell I've only been doing it for three days now.

We have to fly back down to TN to pick up my car. I had to leave it there due to the fact that the Uhaul I rented ended up being too small and I had to pull a trailer with more of our stuff instead of a trailer with my car. It puts more miles on the car but it'll be in a garage most of the winter since it has summer rubber on the wheels and I work at home so I don't need to drive all the time, so the miles will not be a big issue.

I do know I'll miss driving my car though. It's SOOO much fun to drive. I'll have to get out every once in awhile, so long as the roads are clear. (winter and summer tires don't mix well)

Not sure if I'm going to try to fix my bike or buy a new one. My old Specialized Hard Rock Sport from 1992 is a bit beat up. It's not bad but it needs a tune up really badly. The last tune up really didn't help much either. It's just old. But new ones cost $400-500 for a good bike. I'm not going to buy a Walmart special. Ugh!

I'm waiting for a KVM switch (that's a Keyboard/Video/Mouse switch, which allows multiple computers to be connected to one set of keyboard/video(monitor)/and mouse.). I have two work machines plus my personal one. It's a pain how I have it setup currently. Once I have the KVM I'll be much better able to work.

Ok so that's a lot of miscellaneous crap, but it's not politics!

Obama a Socialist?

2008-10-21T07:31:00.000-07:00

In the last week or so Obama’s tax plan has been compared to socialism. I personally do not agree, though I can see why some would say this. Frankly the more recent bail-out plan that both McCain and Obama voted for is much more socialist than taxing the rich a bit more.

The bottom line is this: The gap between the rich and the middle-class is huge and getting larger. Is this acceptable?

I say, “No!”

There have been numerous examples through history that show how destabilizing and how damaging it can be for a country when the rich tower too far above the rest. That was a major catalyst for the French Revolution. Or another way to look at it, do we become serf or slaves to the rich land owners, bankers, politicians?

Again I say, “No!”

CEOs are getting paid huge amounts in bonuses and other benefits, aside from their large six figure salaries. Middle-class wages, however, are fairly stagnate and benefits are cut regularly. I don’t agree with unions but they may have to come back to bring fairness into the equation. The rich are getting richer off the backs of the middle-class who are working just as hard as always, maybe harder, and getting less for their work.

Is Obama or his tax plan going to completely level the playing field? It absolutely will not. Most of the wealthy that would be affected by Obama’s tax plan will barely feel the pinch. Most of them can afford to pay tax advisers to find loop holes and other ways to avoid paying all the taxes they are supposed to anyway. Hell even we in the middle class do that! We look for any way to reduce our taxes we can. No one likes paying taxes, but the wealthy can certainly afford to do so much more than I. When gas prices jump, when food prices jump, when equity in our homes plummets, what are we left with? Living paycheck to paycheck wondering if we’ll have enough gas to make it to work tomorrow? Fearing that if your wife loses her job that you’ll lose your house? Having to go to a food bank for the first time in your life so that your children can have a decent meal? The wealthy don’t have to worry about that. They should be ethically and socially responsible and help those who need help. It should be their personal duty to spread the wealth. They shouldn’t have to be told to help but some have to be told.

To all those very wealthy who would be adversely affected by Obama’s tax plan:

Do you really need more than a couple houses? I can understand a vacation home and your ‘regular’ home but why more?
Do you really need a $100,000 car, in some cases multiple high-priced cars? A $30-40K car is pretty nice these days.
What are you spending your money on anyway? Are you wasting it on silly toys and rare foods? Are you hording it away?
Why is it so bad to give a bit more to help keep the country that made you so wealthy running well? Help educate the children. Help the less fortunate get on their feet and make something of themselves. Help make wages fair and equitable for all. These things would help the entire country excel. Isn’t that a good thing?

So finally, no I don’t think Obama is a socialist for his tax plan. It’s not like he’s taking all the money away from the rich and making everyone equal in a utopian middle-class. It won’t work. As long are there is money and man, there will always be a class system, but it does not have to be unfair.

Quick Thoughts on Final Debate

2008-10-16T06:09:00.000-07:00

My mind is now made up. Here is how I saw the debate:

McCain: It's all about the Benjamins! Money money money, that's all he seemed to care about. Not in relation to the middle-class but in every case. When talking about Columbia he talked about all the money we can make from them but didn't give a shit if it was blood money or not.

Obama: Long term growth. Obama was looking at the long term picture, something that has been sorely lacking in Washington and the economy for awhile now. Invest now so that we can reap the rewards later. This is a sound and logical plan!

Body language was also important in this debate. Obama frequently talked directly to us the watchers of the debate. McCain did better this time on that front, but not as well as Obama. If McCain said something that needed correcting, Obama would smile and have a look of, "There goes grandpa again.". When Obama said something that McCain thought needed correcting he rolled his eyes and sighed a lot. Careful Obama I think you're making grandpa angry.

Respect. I know Obama respects McCain, you can hear it in the way he talks to him. On the other hand McCain does not seem to respect Obama much. Experience may be important but it's not what makes a great president. Bob asked the candidates to explain why their VP pick was better than their rivals, I thought, OK here is where the better man will shine. I was wrong, both did well, but I can't help but wonder if Obama going first set the stage for McCains answer. The fact that Obama didn't take any shots at Palin showed great diplomacy and respect. He certainly could have torn into her, especially comparing her against Biden, but he didn't. He let Biden stand on his merits. McCain did the same and I give him credit for that.

This was definitely McCains best debate. It was more focused and it felt like real information was shared with the voting public on what both candidates would do if they won the presidency. Despite how much better McCain did, he was overly aggressive, attacked constantly and came off angry and hot headed. I don't personally want that kind of person leading diplomacy for the USA, not right now. There are too many hot beds where that kind of personality could lead this country into more conflicts that we simply cannot afford.

Thoughts on the Belmont Debate

2008-10-08T06:14:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to keep an open mind and consider all the available information leading up to the election, so that I make an informed choice. These debates are helping but also pushing me more and more towards Obama.

The 'town-hall' style debate was a joke. I feel bad for those individuals up on stage (no not the candidates). They came in with questions and maybe six got to ask theirs. The answers, from either McCain or Obama were many times generalized to the point that the question really was not answered. In a couple cases the response had nothing to do with the question. That was disappointing. I (and I'm sure many others out there) wanted straight answers. We didn't get them.

Additionally, Tom Brokaw was like a mother with two bratty kids. He had no control over them and they pretty much ignored his requests for more order and keeping to the time limits. Tom failed as a moderator in my opinion.

Despite the failures the debate was not a complete waste of time. It was good to hear some more from the candidates on what they planned to do as President of the United States. McCain was the weaker of the two here.

More often than not he talked about what is HAS done rather than what he will do. Now he seemed to have some pretty firm ideas about foreign policy. That was good but I did not agree with most of his thoughts there but I can see where that would connect with some. However the statement about how fixing Social Security would be easy was a, "WHAT!?" moment for me. How do you fix a program that has more money going out than going in? Tax us young people more? Cut other programs to fund it? What IS your plan there McCain?

Obama seemed to have a much better idea for what he wanted to do if elected. We all know that not everything will happen over night and it was good to hear the question of what would be their priorities. Though Obama answered the question with options that were not part of the question I think he successfully resonated, at least with me, on making energy a priority. He successfully used energy to spring board into the economy and foreign policy. Job growth/creation, energy independence, energy export, energy leverage, all strong points and good ideas.

Obama really seemed to focus on letting the public know what he was going to do for us. McCain seemed more focused on reminding us of all the work he's done in the past and pointing fingers at, "That One."

I was getting very upset at McCain for the attacks. He slung mud more than he talked about the issues at times. Obama had to go on the defensive numerous times because what McCain was spouting was inaccurate. Obama was guilty of this a few times too. Why do we need to hear from the opposing candidate what their plan is. Focus on your plan and let the other candidate explain theirs and let the public decide which one they like.

What scares me the most is that, on both sides, people will believe what the opposing candidate says about their opponents plans, rather than going to listen to the other candidate themselves. People will believe that Obama is going to raise taxes because of what McCain says. Just as people are going to believe that McCain is going to keep doing what Bush has been doing, because that's what Obama says.

No Scrobbler for Zune

2008-10-07T12:34:00.000-07:00

I've been a Last.FM user for over two years now and I've really enjoyed the service. The song tracking and recommendation engine is robust and mature.

Last Christmas I got an 80GB Zune. I love it. I love the interface and the device quality. It's a nice solid piece of technology.

My big issue is that there is no scrobbler for the Zune. A scrobbler is software that monitors your music listening habits and reports it back to Last.FM for your account. I have a plugin for iTunes that tracks my listening at work but when I'm listening to my Zune in the car or at home, I have no way to track that music, with Last.FM.

Sure I could switch over to the Zune software exclusively, however there are a couple of problems.

My song counts and listening habits are not well done at Zune.net. The count and last track played haven't updated in weeks and even when they did, it was frequently wrong.
I have over 21,000 songs of history on Last.FM. I would loose all of that by switching services.
The recommendation engine in Last.FM works better, in my opinion, than the one on Zune.net. I'm sure over time it will improve, but not if they don't collect data accurately.

So why no scrobbler for the Zune? Two issues:

As noted above, Microsoft and Zune are trying to create their own social music ecosystem. Rather than give their users a choice they are tying users to their exclusive system.
The system is locked down, either because of #1 or because of technical reasons. Last.FM relies on a plug-in system, which other applications, including Microsoft Media Player, allow. The Zune software does not.

There have been a couple attempts at creating a scrobbler for the Zune but they've always been hacked together and require additional user intervention or can only collect a certain amount of data.

At the end of the day either some very smart developer will have to figure out a way to bridge these two products or Microsoft will decide to allow plug-ins. I'm not terribly optimistic about either frankly. As much as I love my Zune the market is small compared to the iPod/iTunes Juggernaut.

R.I.P. Loki

2008-10-03T05:36:00.000-07:00

I lost my buddy yesterday. Loki was about 5 years old and a great cat. He had gotten into a fight awhile back and got an infected abscess from an injury. The vet took care of that but it didn't heal right. I took him in yesterday morning to have it looked at. They needed to stitch up a hole in his skin that didn't heal over. During surgery he died.

Even the vet is uncertain what happened and why, so we agreed to let them send his body to be autopsied, to determine why this happened. Loki was healthy and happy so it was a great shock to everyone.

I'm still sad about it but I'm getting by fine. He was my buddy though. I had him since he was a tiny kitten that could fit in the palm of one of my hands. He's always slept with me too. He liked to curl up in my armpit at night. He got the nickname "TeddyCat" for that, because he was. He was my teddy. I do and I will miss him. At least he'll live on in my memories.

We already have a 'bailout'

2008-10-01T07:35:00.000-07:00

A Homeowner Rescue Bill was already passed back in May of this year to help home owners who were fighting foreclosure to have their home values reassessed and refinanced at an adjusted (presumably lower) value.

So why has this program not been pushed? It passed. It's out there. The government is already setup to pay for the losses that the banks would take in this program, yet still allowing the bank to retain ownership of the mortgage and arguably it would be in better shape then. The home owner could afford payments, giving the bank interest. Additionally since the government would absorb the loss on the value, assuming that prices don't drop considerably further down the bank would have something of value to claim if the owner still foreclosed.

The major problem I see with this is the bill basically makes all these home owners take an FHA loan with a steep mortgage insurance fee associated, so their monthly payments certainly won't drop as far as they could. The insurance helps pay for the program and was a necessary component to get the bill passed, however it does not help the people with the problem very well. These individuals are not going to have great credit so they are not going to get a great interest rate. The FHA loan will give them some help with the interest rate but not a lot. In the end it'll help some of those home owners that are right on the edge of foreclosure but for some this will not be a viable option.

Prop Up a Bubble?

2008-09-30T07:23:00.000-07:00

So banks gave billions in credit to people who could not afford it. Home prices ballooned out of control. We had a bubble that was created by sub-prime lending.

Now that bubble has popped and the value of all those mortgages has tanked. Many home owners ended up upside down, in homes that no longer were worth as much as they where when they purchased them. So they cannot sell and get out. Foreclosure was/is the only option. This is still occurring for many people.

So how is this bail-out going to fix that situation? The market was over inflated. Throwing $700 billion at it will not change that. It might prop up a little bit of the fragments that are still standing but the reality is that the market needs to drop back down to reasonable levels.

Sure the market will dip, but it'll come back up to where it's really supposed to be, which isn't where it was. The market would be smart to be more conservative with it's growth after this blows over.

Has the hammer fallen?

2008-09-29T13:00:00.000-07:00

Lots of panic following the news that the House did not pass the 'bailout' bill. I think we'll see calmer minds prevail by tomorrow but it'll be a crazy afternoon/evening.

Now that my house is on the market the the credit market has to freeze up. Ugh! Well that just means the buyers will be the cream of the crop and I can just hope that my house floats to the top of the heap of houses on the market. I think it is nice and creamy personally.

Yes I can be selfish and short sighted

2008-09-25T13:40:00.000-07:00

I was just rereading my last post and I was looking at how the economic 'crisis' would affect me. I neglected to think or comment on how it would affect others. Here are my thoughts on some general groups:

1) Those at or under the poverty line: They have few dollars invested so the loss of money in the investment markets will not affect them...directly. Indirectly the reduction in value of the US dollar in response to the drop in the market will affect this group (as it will all). Food and shelter costs will increase. However, this group is often under some kind of social welfare. Those programs will likely still continue, though potentially pinched by an influx of people from the lower-middle class.

2) Lower-Middle Class: As noted above, some of these individuals could be vulnerable to job layoffs. When most companies start looking for employees to trim in hard times, it can affect the lower wage employees, especially in manufacturing (which is already a hurting industry). These people are then stuck with few job opportunities and have to fall to assistance to make it by. You can certainly understand why this group is looking at the candidates for the next President and asking, what are you going to do to help keep us working?

3) Retirees and those nearing retirement: This is the group that should be most worried. Of course it's also a very large group. The "baby-boom" group is getting close to that age where they want to retire or are already retiring. Their pensions and retirement funds are in dire straights. I suspect that is why the government is passing the bailout package. That's a LOT of people who suddenly might not be able to retire at 65 or would put even greater strain on the already feeble Social Security system.

4) New Yuppies: (I include myself in this group) It'll be a pain in the ass but at the end of the day it's not going to be Armageddon. It'll just suck getting credit for a car or house. We might have to rent more or be more frugal in our major purchases. Oh no, we might not be able to get that 65 inch TV! I had to drop HD and DVR functions to help offset increased costs. It's a pain but really did I NEED those things? Nope.

We yuppies will recover fine but I think we'll have to pay for this mess long term regardless if the big finance firms are bailed out or not. We'd be paying for the social programs to help the retired or the poor or we're paying to keep the market stable. Either way we pay in the end. I'd sure like to think that the post-'baby-boom' generations can do better but I'm not too confident of that either. We like our toys too much.

Current Economic Situation

2008-09-24T07:02:00.001-07:00

Well it's on everyone's minds so here are my thoughts. First, the US shouldn't buy the bad debt from investment banks who made poor choices. They should have to suffer for those choices. Any other company would have to, even if it meant going out of business. Could it hurt the market? Sure it might be ugly for awhile but the markets would self correct, as they should. Maybe banks will think twice about giving credit to those who shouldn't have it or giving more than the person could afford.

When I was financing to buy my house I prequalified. The bank was willing to give me about $220K for a house, even though after doing the math I knew I could only afford about $150K. Now if I knew this why would the bank have been willing to give me more than I could possibly afford? I wouldn't have had enough for food or anything else! I was then pushed to get an ARM and borrow against the equity of the house to put more down on the house. What? That never sounded good to me and I also was lucky to get sound advice telling me to get a fixed rate, even if it was a bit higher.

So today I'm not being killed by my mortgage payment and I'm not worried about foreclosure. In case there was any question, the reason I'm trying to sell our house has nothing to do with the economy or my finances but the fact that I'm tired of spending all my spare time doing house work and maintenance. Being a home owner is a pain in the ass. Sorry, that's a rant for another day.

So what if the markets crash or at least dip badly? Well jobs could be an issue because so many public companies rely on that money and most companies sell something to another business. If those businesses are closing or tightening the belts then money is tight for everyone. That is my biggest worry. That wages will dip and jobs will be lost, at the middle-class level.

I realized recently that I'm not upper-middle like I was dreaming I was. I'm square in the middle. I do reasonably well but it wouldn't take much to push me down. It wouldn't take much to push me up also. But I'd still be in the middle-class. The jump from middle to upper is huge! I could probably make $100K per year if I worked hard but that would be about it. After that you have to make huge leaps in education and social standing and investment. Frankly I don't have the stomach for that. Plain old hard-work isn't enough for most people to make it big.

I don't want to say that all rich people are lazy jerks. Many worked very hard to get their riches. But many of them also took advantage of those under them, making their money off the sweat of others. So back to the investment banks wanting this government bail-out. How much do you think their CEOs make/made? I don't need to see the data to know it's more than some people will make in their entire lives. How is that right? Because of their mistakes those in the middle-class will be screwed over one way or another. Why are they not stripped of their wealth and that money put into the market to help stabilize things? Sure it's a drop in the bucket but it would be a symbolic win for the middle-class and give other greedy SOBs something to think about before they gambled with other peoples money so loosely. Bring them back down to our level. If they are so well educated and hard working, they'll be able to rebuild. If not then perhaps they never deserved to be part of the financial upper-class to begin with.

If the markets tank I know my 401K is going to tank. I'm not very happy about that but I also know that the markets will rebound eventually. Even if I loose it all, it's not a massive amount of money and I'm yet young enough to rebuild my retirement fund.

I also know that if the job market goes south that I have a number of marketable skills aside from my computer skills. After the remodeling on the house I've realized that I could do that very easily if I needed to. It's hard back-aching work but it's work that will always be in demand regardless of the market.

I honestly don't believe the market will get that bad. There are still lots of options for the banks yet. They might not like some of them but things will work out one way or another.

Oh and a note to those making runs at their banks, You are only making things worse. Panic is not helpful in any way shape or form. Storing your money under your mattress will still loose value if the FED has to inflate the value of the dollar, so you might as well leave it where it is, where it can help keep the market functioning.

Gables Part Deux

2008-09-21T17:37:00.000-07:00

Worked on the small gable today. Well actually finished it.

The first picture was pretty early this morning, maybe 9am. Just got done tearing off the old wood, scraped some old peeling paint and got the tar paper up.

This next picture is after all the siding is up and ready for paint. I had to give the caulking time to dry so I did some other touch-up painting around the exterior of the house.

Done finally. The results are nice. It's not as 'perfect' as I would like but it's good. Certainly good enough for prepping for sale. The new owners shouldn't find much to complain about.

I don't have pictures but I also painted the shed. It was an old barn red before. Now it's the same cream color as the house. It'll at least look like they go together now. I still have to paint it's trim white, but that'll be for tomorrow afternoon.

Things are getting close! Nearly done with all the work before putting her on the market.

Gables are a pain to replace

2008-09-20T15:42:00.000-07:00

Well in preparation for selling the house the gables on the front needed replacement. So I began that project today. I also did some power-washing of the drive way.

As you can see from the picture below, the drive way was pretty dirty. I'll need to finish it up in the next few days.

However, the priority was working on the gables because they take much longer than I have time in the evenings after work.

This pile is all the old wood that was replaced. If you look carefully you might see some of the wood rot. It was primarily due to water damage rather than insects. Though, I did find, to my delight, a wasp (Polistinae)nest while removing the wood. They were not happy that I found their home but surprisingly they were not aggressive. I got the bug spray and went to town. A few flew off to return later, but they were quickly disappointed to find that they could no longer get to their home and I'd spray them dead! Muahahaha!

These last two pictures are when I was putting up the tar paper and finally being done with the main gable. I still need to do the small one over the porch. Hopefully that'll go much faster.

Action Figure Theatre Has Moved

2008-08-28T08:31:00.000-07:00

I've moved the Action Figure Theatre to its own blog:
http://actionfiguretheatre.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!

Olympics

2008-08-08T11:48:00.000-07:00

They've started, despite that we in the US won't get to watch the opening ceremonies until later tonight!

I'm glad to see that the comments surrounding the opening ceremony pictures that are floating around online are generally positive.

So where do I stand?

I will not disagree that China has done and continues to do things that are not agreeable to many people who believe in human rights and freedoms. I will not attempt to condone or excuse those things.

That said China has an amazing history of great and wonderful art, culture, ideas and beauty. To ignore those things is ignorance, just as it is equally ignorant to ignore their human rights violations.

Now put yourself in the shoes of the Chinese people. You are excited and proud to host the Olympics and yet many in the world are trying to steal it's golden moment for political gain or to make a statement about something not related to the Olympics. What if we (in the US) were hosting this year and much of the world protested the US for it's mistakes in Iraq and because of the BS that Bush has allowed in Guantanamo Bay?

My point is that so many people are forgetting what the Olympics stand for and are tainting them. Should the IOC have given China the right to host the Olympics. Maybe - Maybe not. That argument is past. It does not matter now.

Enjoy the Olympics for the sportsmanship and strength of human spirit stories and ignore the politics, at least for a couple of weeks.

What's Wrong with Business Today?

2008-08-08T08:50:00.000-07:00

What's wrong? Public Investment is what is wrong.

Companies are no longer allowed to be the best at what they do. They have to increase profits quarter after quarter at the expense of employees, quality, integrity, and identity.

What is so wrong with a business growing to a certain size and staying there? If said company is profitable enough to keep everyone paid and happy why be forced to continue growing?

Public investors are only interested in the bottom-line. How much money will they make from investing in these public companies? Is that healthy to anyone but the investor? Nope, not at all.

This situation has crushed smaller companies and left our economy on the brink. Look at how many monopolies or near monopolies we have created in recent years. Public investors did that, at the expense of consumers. And so it creates a nasty feed-back loop, one that feeds on itself.

I'm not suggesting that all investment is bad. I think private investment is a good thing. It allows those individuals or groups to invest and thus help smaller businesses get going. I see this as more of a loan than an on going income for the investors. Once the company is strong and profitable, pay off the investor and move forward. There is plenty of private funding around for businesses to do this.

A positive side effect of this kind of investment is a more hands on approach to investment. Sure the investor is going to want the business to be profitable but they are less likely to be just sitting on the sidelines wanting profit at all costs. They will be more inclined to see the business succeed based on it's business plan. These are the investors that will be mentors as well.

I'm not saying that private investment is perfect either, but we have been destroying our own markets by making them so easily accessible and public. Any Joe with a computer can become a day trader. Does that mean his investments make sense or are somehow helping the economy? No. These kind of traders are only after the pay off, the reward. They are not interested in their investment helping a business grow or become better, only that they are profitable and produce dividends.

So when times are lean, such as now, companies trim the things that make them good companies because we wouldn't want to piss off the investors. You do that, as a CEO, and you risk being tossed out, even if you were the founder.

I'm not anti-capitalism, but something has gone horribly wrong with our investment system. It should be corrected soon before it completely crashes and the 1930s looks like a boom time.

On the Road Food

2008-07-07T18:47:00.000-07:00

So I'm traveling for business. I don't travel but maybe a couple times a year (for work). So here I am in Springfield, MO. Not a bad city, traffic kinda sucks, at least where I am. That isn't what this post is about though. It's about FOOD!

Here are my impressions:

Texas Roadhouse
The atmosphere was friendly and fun. The staff smiled and showed interest. They were also quick to help and had no problems with special requests. I needed my beer separated from my food since I wouldn't be able to expense the beer. My waiter, Derek, did so without complaint or attitude.

The food was really good but way too much. The main dish was enough for two people alone and you get two sides plus rolls with it. Some may say that's silly to complain about but I would have been happier if the portions were halved. It would have made me feel as if I got my moneys worth. Though I only paid about $11 plus tip, which isn't bad.

I would recommend Texas Roadhouse to others visiting or living in Springfield.

Mexican Villa South
In a word, disappointing. The hostess showed me to my table but that was it. She didn't tell me who my waitress was nor gave me any more attention than was absolutely necessary. I don't recall seeing a smile from her. My waitress, Sara, was trying hard but was clearly over worked and it showed. She just could not get beyond the average. Not that average is bad but quality wait staff can make or break a dining experience, especially when the food is mediocre.

The beef was greasy and the salsa was more of a spicy ketchup. My burrito was smothered with cheese and sauce. The sauce and cheese were both tasty but they simply covered the weak burrito. The lettuce was bagged shredded. That is disappointing. It's not like buying whole heads of lettuce and cutting it fresh is really that hard. The tomato looked more like a tomato barfed on the lettuce. Not appetizing at all.

The bottom line is go to Taco Bell before this place. You can get better quality, better taste and save $5. My meal was over $11 plus tip.

Goodguys 3rd Nashville Nationals Car Show

2008-07-03T06:35:00.001-07:00

CarShow 029, originally uploaded by TNVWBOY.

This pas weekend the Goodguys Rod & Custom Association had a car show at the LP Field in Nashville, TN. Well it wasn't actually on the field, but in the parking lots and grounds around the field.

I have no earthly clue how many cars were there but it was a lot. A decent variety too. Nothing much older than 1972 though, maybe a couple of newer cars but I suspect they would have been frowned on.

There were some very beautiful cars there. Let me break it down as I saw it.
Oldies Restored: There were a number of these great old cars. They were well cared for/restored. They looked original. I personally liked that. Sure they weren't hot rodding around or anything but they were classy.

Hot Rods: This group doesn't need me to describe it for them. They ranged from super expensive custom rods to old classic rods to WTF is that? I'm not a big hot rod fan but they were fun to see.

New Restored: I say new within the context of the cars there. Like 60s and early 70s vs. the oldies. These were really fun for me. There was one particular Mustang that literally looked like it had just rolled off the factory floor it was so clean. My buddy Dave who owned cars in this time frame kept telling me about how these cost only a few thousand dollars. Wow, if they did today the dealers wouldn't be able to keep them on the lots, even if they didn't have the greatest fuel efficiency.

Customs: These were very pretty cars too. Clearly lots of love and money were put into these cars and it showed. The best ones, in my opinion were the cars that looked like they could have maybe come off the factory but were in fact customs. Like the stuff that Chip Foose does. Respect for the original car.

Restored...NOT: These cars I didn't like at all. They'd look great from the outside, like really nice restorations, and then you'd see the engine and think, what? Why?! I don't know how many new Corvette engines I saw in classic muscle cars. Why? Even a crate engine would have at least looked more original. I didn't care for these cars over all. There were a few exceptions, but those were typically dragsters or some other kind of car that wasn't trying to look original.

I had fun with Dave and his son, along with Antonin and Nicolas from France, that day. I got a bit sunburned, but it was fun seeing all those cool cars. Maybe some day when I have a garage I can consider restoring an old car, but it'll likely be a VW.

See all the pictures I took from the show here.

What does it mean to be loyal to ones country?

2008-06-27T11:47:00.000-07:00

In recent years there has been a lot of anger, on both sides of the argument, regarding the current political administration. To the side that says to not support the administration is disloyal and un-American, I invite you to read this excerpt from A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, by the very American Mark Twain;

You see my kind of loyalty was loyalty to one's country, not to its institutions or its office-holders. The country is the real thing, the substantial thing, the eternal thing; it is the thing to watch over, and care for, and be loyal to; institutions are extraneous, they are its mere clothing, and clothing can wear out, become ragged, cease to be comfortable, cease to protect the body from winter, disease, and death. To be loyal to rags, to shout for rags, to worship rags, to die for rags--that is a loyalty of unreason, it is pure animal; it belongs to monarchy, was invented by monarchy; let monarchy keep it. I was from Connecticut, whose Constitution declares "that all political power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority and instituted for their benefit; and that they have at all times an undeniable and indefeasible right to alter their form of government in such a manner as they may think expedient."

Written in 1889 and the sentiments are true today as they were then and should not be forgotten.

Our current clothes don't fit right and we need to change them.