12 Days of Tech Christmas [ G ]

I wish you a Merry Christmas and include this missive I penned... the 12 days of Tech Christmas...


On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a thumb drive for my PC.

On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, two photo Blogs, and a thumb drive for my PC.

On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, three Phish SPAMs, two photo Blogs, and a thumb drive for my PC.

On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, four Growl-ing nerds, three Phish SPAMs, two photo Blogs, and a thumb drive for my PC.

On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, five iPhones, four Growl-ing nerds, three Phish SPAMs, two photo Blogs, and a thumb drive for my PC.

On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, six Wii a-playing, five iPhones, four Growl-ing nerds, three Phish SPAMs, two photo Blogs, and a thumb drive for my PC.

On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, seven YouTubes streaming, six Wii a-playing, five iPhones, four Growl-ing nerds, three Phish SPAMs, two photo Blogs, and a thumb drive for my PC.

On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, eight teens IM-ing, seven YouTubes streaming, six Wii a-playing, five iPhones, four Growl-ing nerds, three Phish SPAMs, two photo Blogs, and a thumb drive for my PC.

On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, nine FaceBook friendings, eight teens IM-ing, seven YouTubes streaming, six Wii a-playing, five iPhones, four Growl-ing nerds, three Phish SPAMs, two photo Blogs, and a thumb drive for my PC.

On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, ten geeks a-Tweeting, nine FaceBook friendings, eight teens IM-ing, seven YouTubes streaming, six Wii a-playing, five iPhones, four Growl-ing nerds, three Phish SPAMs, two photo Blogs, and a thumb drive for my PC.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, eleven eBay snipings, ten geeks a-Tweeting, nine FaceBook friendings, eight teens IM-ing, seven YouTubes streaming, six Wii a-playing, five iPhones, four Growl-ing nerds, three Phish SPAMs, two photo Blogs, and a thumb drive for my PC.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, twelve Blackberries thumbing, eleven eBay snipings, ten geeks a-Tweeting, nine FaceBook friendings, eight teens IM-ing, seven YouTubes streaming, six Wii a-playing, five iPhones, four Growl-ing nerds, three Phish SPAMs, two photo Blogs, and a thumb drive for my PC.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

EPA - dances with morons [ AN G P ]

The EPA's Administrator Lisa Jackson recently announced (September 29, 2009) the need for a major TSCA overhaul to enhance health, safety and the environment. Jackson said:

"[a] child born in America today will grow up exposed to more chemicals than a child from any other generation in our history. A 2005 study found 287 different chemicals in the cord blood of 10 newborn babies - chemicals from pesticides, fast food packaging, coal and gasoline emissions, and trash incineration. They were found in children in their most vulnerable stage. Our kids are getting steady infusions of industrial chemicals before we even give them solid food. Now, some chemicals may be risk-free at the levels we are seeing. I repeat: some chemical may be risk-free. But as more and more chemicals are found in our bodies and the environment, the public is understandably anxious and confused. Many are turning to government for assurance that chemicals have been assessed using the best available science, and that unacceptable risks haven't been ignored."

Right....

Pollution levels 100 - 200 years ago were much greater than now.

Early 1800s - Town gas from coal drips tar into the rivers. Vulcanized rubber plants discharge noxious chemicals directly into the streams. Coal smoke chokes the air in big cities. Chemical factories operate without thought to people downwind.

Mid 1800s - Living conditions in urban areas horrify reform minded commissions in London in the 1840s and America in the 1850s and 60s. Progress is slow but the common interest in pure drinking water and sanitation is spurred by epidemics of typhoid and cholera. Smog episodes begin killing residents of large cities like London.

1940 - 1950 - Deadly smog episodes in Donora Penn. (1948), London (1952, 1956), New York (1953), and Los Angeles (1954).

Here's smoky Pittsburgh from 1940.

I mean look at the current big to-do about Mercury from US powerplants.

“Mercury emitted from coal-fired power plants comes from mercury in coal, which is released when the coal is burned. While coal-fired power plants are the largest remaining source of human-generated mercury emissions in the United States, they contribute very little to the global mercury pool. Recent estimates of annual total global mercury emissions from all sources — both natural and human-generated — range from roughly 4,400 to 7,500 tons per year. Human-caused U.S. mercury emissions are estimated to account for roughly 3 percent of the global total, and U.S. coal-fired power plants are estimated to account for only about 1 percent.”

http://www.epa.gov/mercuryrule/factsheetfin.htm

“Natural sources of mercury—such as volcanic eruptions and emissions from the ocean—have been estimated to contribute about a third of current worldwide mercury air emissions, whereas anthropogenic (human-caused) emissions account for the remaining two-thirds. These estimates are highly uncertain. Land, water, and other surfaces can repeatedly re-emit mercury into the atmosphere after its initial release into the environment.”

http://www.epa.gov/mercury/control_emissions/global.htm

Beers for Sgt. James Crowley [ E H PI ]

On a scale from 1-10, Sgt. James Crowley should've requested any of these beers.

10. Black Hook Porter (Red Hook Brewing)
9. Haystack Black Porter (Portland Brewing Co.)
8. Blackstone Irish Stout (Blackstone Brewing)
7. Black Cat Stout (Portsmouth Brewing)
6. Nutfield Black 47 Stout (Old Nutfield Brewing Co.)
5. Black Forest (Saranac Brewing)
4. Black Chocolate Stout (Brooklyn Brewery)
3. Wit Black (Wit Brewing)
2. Bing Bear Black Stout (Sonoma County Brews)
1. Arrogant Bastard Ale (Stone Brewing)

Why I Jailbreak [ A G T ]

Why I jailbreak my iPhone.

I want Google Voice. (GV Mobile)
I want to be able to record video on my ancient iPhone 3G. (iPhoneVideoRecorder)
I want to be to be able to tether my iPhone 3G connection to my MacBook via BlueTooth (MyWi)
I want to be able to stream live video with sound (Bambuser)
I want themes themes themes (Winterboard)
I want to force apps - when appropriate - to run in the background (Backgrounder)
I want to be able to simulate the quality of a 4 Mp camera (ClearCam)
I want 5 icons in the "Dock" (5 Icon Dock)
I want digital zoom and the option to select lighting type (e.g. fluorescent) for the camera (Snapture)
I want pictures to appear in the list of names, not just each individual entry (Cyntact)
I want to be able to download and save files from websites (Safari Download Manager)
I want to be able to email said files as attachments (iFile)

And "yes" I have donated to all who requested donations for their products.

Apple Tablet Musings [ A T ]

Here is what I think the new Apple Tablet will have, and I have to admit the idea is not mine but a concept a late friend came up with about 20 years ago in design school. This is why I think the tablet will be "revolutionary".

The tablet will have a slot for the iPhone to pop in; like a PCMCIA card or ExpressCard slot. The tablet will run OSX (albeit not as powerfully as MacBooks) but be able to also run iPhone Apps on-screen. The game Apps will be upscaled so they will still look quite good on the larger screen.

The Tablet will also use the iPhone's 3G/Edge data connection, as well as the WiFi connection, which will keep the Tablet's pricepoint lower.

For those without iPhones, there will be an accessory "cage" (maybe 3rd party) with a slot for your phone's SIM card and WiFi support.

Earth to the Moon

"Houston, Tranquility Base here; the Eagle has landed"

Had a more stirring phrase been uttered before? If you are near my age you remember this like it was yesterday.

And if you were me you would know this excruciating bit of trivia: the command module Columbia was named in an homage to the Columbiad cannon used to shoot men to the moon in Jules Verne's classic From the Earth to the Moon.

We won the space race, but to what end? One could have conjectured that - based on plotting a graph of progress over the years - that we'd have colonies on Mars by now. There are those who say we have enough "issues" to spend money on here on earth; why should we go to space. Probably the best answer is resources. Asteroids provide an enormous amount of metals for potentially a lower cost than mining on earth. And an ice asteroid can provide almost limitless amounts of water.

My only hope is that we return to the moon and establish bases there and on Mars. One thing to remember is that someday a large asteroid will be on a collision course with earth. Only a group like NASA could try to develop something like the atom-bomb-powered Orion spacecraft.

-- Post From My iPhone

iPhone 3.0

IMG_0006.PNG


Well, I guess images do not paste with the new OS 3.0 "cut and paste" feature...

-- Post From My iPhone

Palin Please

After the great David Letterman joke about "white trash" methinks it would be best if Governor Palin just plain STFU. Don't you get it; Dave was making a joke about your bimbo daughter getting knocked up AGAIN!

She already had an illegitimate kid, so what is one more "among friends". Obviously you did not get the subtle irony.


-- Post From My iPhone

EPA Gaseous Emissions [ G P T ]

The US EPA has now officially concluded "carbon dioxide..." is a "major hazard to American's health. I certainly hope they are right, and that they manage this program with all the alacrity of the SuperFund program. I mean that had certainly done well...


-- Post From My iPhone

Watching Watchmen [ F G ]

First off I have to note that seeing any movie – even if it sucked – on an IMAX theatre spoils you for anything else. Fortunately, Watchmen didn't suck. Not by a longshot. The only thing that sucked was the start time, 3/6/09 at midnight.

From the opening montage showing the (fictional) evolution of costumed crimefighters spanning pre-WWI through the Kennedy assassination up to Nixon's 5th term (yes you read that right), Watchmen grabs you and immerses you in it's lush tapestry of detail, action, violence and story.

Things like the re-enactment of motorcade being shot at in Dallas (and we finally see who the shooter on the grassy knoll was) all the way to the denouement (which was devoid of the book's manmade-telepathic-squid-monster-that-seemingly-teleports-to-New-York-from-another-dimension-uniting-all-world-governments-in-fear) look so good, so real and full of detail and life that you forget you are watching a movie. It feels like you are looking out a big picture window.

Without any spoilers, the plot is that in the US, superheroes (aka masked vigilantes) have been outlawed due to public outcry ("who watches the Watchmen"), so they either give up fighting crime or work for the government. Someone is picking them off one-by-one, and it is up to some that remain in contact to try and figure out what is happening.

Very good mystery/sci fi combo, with also very good characterization. One of the best was the anti-hero Rorschach (named for the Rorschach inkblot test that he wears on his mask. A sociopath/psychopath, the good news (for most of us) is he turns his rage and anger towards criminals. When arrested after being set up, he reminds the other prisoners (some of whom he put there) "I'm not locked up here with you, you're locked up here with me".

There were a lot (40% +/-) of women there, many with other friends and not as couples. Part of this was the love story between the girl known as Silk Spectre and Dr. Manhattan, the glowing blue guy who is the result of a nuclear accident and who is so powerful that he is almost godlike. In fact the US winning the Vietnam war is the direct result of the Viet Cong's deification of him.

This is not a movie for any pre-teens, violence is on the level of the film 300 (also directed by Zack Snyder), sex is sporadic but detailed, and there's a lot of adult topics. All in all a great way to spend an evening sleep deprived.

USeless Air redeux [ A ]

It may seem like I pick on them, but they invite it so; actual email
from USAir. {Note my comments in brackets}

We're bringing back free drinks On March 1, we're bringing back free
drinks in our Coach cabin. {because no one was paying $2 for a can of
warm soda} This includes sodas, juices, tea, coffee and water on all
US Airways and US Airways Express flights.

We believe in our pay-for-what-you-choose-to-use – or "a la carte"
– business model {if we didn't some idiot executive would lose the
ginormous bonus they got for this hare-brained scheme}, but it's a
work-in-progress.

We are committed to remaining competitive {also note US Airways
President William Douglas Parker gets 1.47 million a year} and that's
the main reason we have decided to bring back free drinks. {most of us
still hate you, drinks notwithstanding}

You still have the choice to only pay for the things you want – like
checked bags, Choice Seats or First Class upgrades. {how about
arriving on-time, or enough legroom to let the "boys" breathe?} And,
those services will continue to be free for our Preferred members.
Always get the latest news and our best offers at usairways.com.

sent from my iPhone

Test iPhone [ G ]

I have been remiss about posting but I plan to remedy that. Besides going over my 2008 predictions and a few other things; I wanted to try an iPhone blogging app.

MySpace Fails [ AN PI ]

I have a MySpace page just because everyone else does, and they have an iPhone app as well. Apparently I posted some pictures and one was deleted.

"We had to remove an image (or images) from your account because they violated our Terms of Use. Our site is for people as young as 13, so we can't have certain kinds of pics (nude/sexually explicit, violence, material protected by copyright)."


To that I say "FAIL" as my content had none of these...

iPhone Battery Life [ A G T ]

Here is something I have found that can affect battery life in an iPhone 3G or 2G, OS 2.2. I noticed it when I showed someone live video from my my home Webcam, then shut off my iPhone and put it in my pocket. About 20 minutes later I noticed the phone was warm and battery was down quite a bit.

If you go to a Web page that has a live video feed, and just exit Safari I think some background process keeps Safari updating the screen, consuming battery power in the process.

What I do when exiting Safari is to close all but one of the Safari windows, and make sure it is not dynamic content, like a Webcam or WeatherUnderground live animated weather map.