(Speaking in Parentheses)

Palm Pre battery life log

2009-06-14T12:59:00.007-07:00

I'LL BE UPDATING THIS AS DAYS GO BY--SUNDAY IS THE FIRST DAY

For this test turned off Wifi, GPS, and bluetooth, put the screen brightness to maybe 20%, and my gmail account is set to check for new mail every 5 minutes

1 pm -- unplugged Pre at 100% batter level

Sent an email and a couple sms txts.

2 pm -- 96%

Used Pandora app for 20 minutes with 4 bars of volume
(battery status: 91%)

3pm -- 89%

Checked my email and sent a txt
Drove to grab a burger and came home

4:10pm -- 86%

Light email and txt messaging. Just watching The Wire: season 5 on my PC computer.

Watched a couple youtube videos with 7 volume bars
total time maybe (4:12 - 4:28pm) 16 minutes -- battery level at 73%

Attempting to transfer movie file via bluetooth to Pre-- total size 352 MB
Pre says it won't connect (My Treo 700wx connects easily to my Lenovo X61t notebook)
The phone displays a message says 'searching for audio devices -- no devices found.'
I also tried connecting from the X61t side, and it says
"The pairing attept resulted in an unknown error. The reported error code is 0x80070057
*Contact your device manufacturer..."
Lame... I turned bluetooth off again.
4:36pm -- batter is at 71%

5:00pm -- 68%
Did moderate txting just before 5

5:40pm --65%
same

7pm
Friend plays with my phone--surfing web, checking email, etc
48%

8pm
Light use
42%

9pm
Light web surfing over WiFi
28%

10:23pm
20%
Very light use

11:05
17%
Very light use

12:33pm
10%
wifi Pocketmirror sync for a couple minutes
evernote reading for a couple minutes

7pm
Friend plays with my phone--surfing web, checking email, etc
48%

8pm
Light use
42%

9pm
Light web surfing
28%

1023pm
20%
Very light use

1105
17%
Very light use

Monday 6/15/2009

8am--100%

1:15am--37%
After using gps just maybe 10 mins and light mssg, email and web browsing

Tues 6/16/2009

8am--100%

1:16pm--80%
Turned autolocate on

9:11pm--57%
Very light use

11:47pm--40%
same

I graphed my battery life against hours of time used:

You can see that on day 1 the battery was losing 8.6 % per hour, but on day 3 the battery loss had improved to 3.5 % per hour. What did I change? Well I logged myself out of gchat, gps is off, and I changed gmail to push instead of check every 5 minutes.

Fantasy Football Results 2009: Graphs

2008-12-22T18:01:00.002-07:00

Click on them for bigger versions

Wall-E Movie Review: 7.5/10

2008-08-05T14:34:00.002-07:00

Bottom-line: This is a guilty-pleasure film.

First of all, the movie beats you over the head with the fantastical, pillowy idea that infatuation leads to happiness. Simultaneously, it skillfully teases around the idea that unchecked, corporate irresponsibility will run Earth down into ecological catastrophe. Next it tickles your ribs aggressively with a bunch of obese, devolved humans and cutesy, servant robots. After this sneaky abuse, you probably won't notice the light bruising all over your entire body. Why won't you notice? Because everyone wants to laugh at ridiculous looking humans and adorable, pantomiming robots; and we also want to believe that we will find mutual infatuation with those that tickle our fancy most. The movie is an opium for the hopeless romantic inside each of us.

So, if you want a dark, gritty film... this isn't it. But if you're looking for a painkiller, this is genuine, pure crystal-meth. Nobody will call you a junkie--just don't blame me if you end-up in rehab.

Dark Knight Movie Review : 7/10

2008-07-27T17:25:00.004-07:00

Let's do the math: how did I add up to 7 points? I'm giving the movie 5 points for Heath Ledger's acting, by itself. I'll give 1 point each for Bale, Gyllenhaal, Oldman, and 2 for Caine (= 5 +1+1+1+2=10). Minus one point for the script going back to "comic-booky" after the significant departure therefrom in the first movie (10-1=9). Where did the Joker get all his power? I found it difficult to believe that he could maintain power and his apparent influence and and still lack of vulnerability.

And why did they use CG on Two Face? It was simply distracting: minus one point for that (=8). And I didn't like the lines for Eckhart's Harvey Dent: minus one (=7).

Otherwise the movie had a good amount of darkness and intensity, which I enjoyed. But it also seemed both a bit repetitive (violence against look-a-like Batman's and Joker giving speeches) and was kind of hard to follow (like when Batman was using his cell-phone-sonar vision). That vision gimmick seemed like a pointless reach, too, but I won't subtract anymore for that.

what I don't understand about smartphone design

2008-06-13T14:19:00.018-07:00

I have the best PDA phone I've ever had, Sprint's Treo 700wx. I like it because it has decent one-hand navigation and the rest of the PDA options. I think this is what most people want from their phone's interface, and so give Palm a pat on the back for giving us most of what we want. It's not perfect though, and even took some small steps back from older designs. But let's talk about steps forward... the design that PDA phones should have adopted months or even years ago.

I think about the market for text/data entry on a smartphone, and it is most efficient right now with two hands and a QWERTY. But designers jam the keyboards two inches long onto the bottom of a candy-bar smartphone. Who wants their thumbs jammed into such a little space for longer than a few seconds? You'll notice that console game controllers have gotten wider and wider; probably because we have more than 2'' of body between our shoulders. I tried to find a picture online using the Google image search of someone using the Treo 700wx keyboard with two hands, but photographers probably know how awkward it looks, and marketing wouldn't work in such awkwardness. I only could find images of people holding the phone with one hand (as seen far above).

I did find this awkward picture of a two-handed "thumbboardist" going-at-it on an old, dinosaur Palm device (Vx?). And this QWERTY pictured might actually be slightly larger than the Treo's. I'm getting tendinitis and other non-ergo syndromes just looking at that image. Ouch!

The other keyboards on smartphones have been slide-out keyboards that then auto-rotate the display to landscape mode. The major problem with slide-outs is that the phones are thicker, and the transition to landscape gets slower and slower as the phone gets older and older. Plus the moving part is going to break more easily, right?

So why am I complaining? I'm only complaining because there is a better way (Maybe you're thinking voice recognition, BUT that doesn't work well when you're in a quiet place: meeting, bathroom, public transit, etc.) What would be great for all the time?

Here is the design that smartphones should have had a long time ago. They should space the keyboards out with keys on either side of the screen, a la GameGear or the Samsung Q1. I made a quick picture with Photoshop of what this would look like below. I used the Treo 800w as my reference and edit-source. See the UGLY, but temporarily effective mock-up below.
Look at this bad boy! Directional pads on either side. Space for my hands to grab and move! I feel like I can breathe! This is a side-by-side to compare size to the original Treo 800w.

I made just a few changes to buttons, and I made the screen a bit wider. Basically, though, I just split the QWERTY on either side of the screen. The keyboard lay-out could be optimized, obviously. For example, the keyboard would probably look and function better as a FROWNY-face shape ;-(, instead of the SMILEY-face shape it was on the old Treos :-) . There is a lot of wasted space and awful trim, etc, but the phone communicates my idea well-enough. Also the number-keys should be on the right side of the keyboard instead of the left; this would help with one-hand operation.

Here's a "frowny" version I made with the liquify option:

Let me know what you think. I've gotten carried away, and here's the unannounced Treo Pro with the horizontal set-up. I will nickname it the Treo Lat or maybe I should jump on the starbuck's wagon and call it the Treo Latte. Imagine what you could do with the dual directional pads!

finish eating your lunch first...

2008-05-27T14:24:00.003-07:00

Just when you thought that Michael Jackson or some other person was sick, the international news shocks the world with a truly sick piece of news.

Humanitarian aid workers and United Nation peacekeepers are sexually abusing small children in several war-ravaged and food-poor countries, a leading European charity has said.

What? What? What? What?

....

What?

Children as young as 6 have been forced to have sex with aid workers and peacekeepers in return for food and money

There is nothing left to say.

Who's gonna rock the NBA party?

2008-05-23T09:56:00.006-07:00

ESPN has an article in which the writer says the Detroit Pistons and the San Antonio Spurs are the teams which any "true" b-ball fan should cheer for going to the NBA finals this year. The article says to quit whining about the Spurs playing a boring game (i.e., Duncan's bank-shot), and to appreciate the Pistons' working as a team. The writer also makes it sound like SA and DET work harder than the other playoff contenders (Celtics and Lakers). How does the writer back-up the argument? With lots of assumptions, not including statistics. When it comes to quantifying boring, that's hard to do, but most people I know think Duncan is boring. We could grab stats to compare true team-basketball and hard-work: assists, steals, and blocks. (I'm looking at averages per team per game during the regular season.)

I'll rank assists first:
LAL 23.1
BOS 21.9
DET 20.4
SAS 20.0

Interesting, most people would say LAL is the most selfish team with Kobe being a ball-hog... hmm...

Now for steals:
LAL 7.6
BOS 7.6
DET 7.4
SAS 5.2

OK, so this is making the Spurs look bad, and the Lakers great.

Before I comment further, let's look at blocks.

LAL 6.9
DET 5.5
BOS 4.7
SAS 4.5

OK, maybe I'm not being fair because SAS and DET were lazier during the regular season, but LAL rocked the house. So if you think blocks, steals, and assists make an exciting game, then you are more likely to enjoy watching the Lakers or Boston. I'm not anti-Piston, but I do think the Spurs are booooring. I liked the Pistons better when Ben Wallace was at his prime.

***
update 5/27/2008

After talking to my roommate's dad, he suggested that a good measure of hard-working, team-play would be the shooting percentage of the opposing teams. Let's rank that stat:

BOS 41.9
LAL 43.2
DET 44.2
SAS 45.6

So once again we see that the Celtics and Lakers have had a better regular season. Why wouldn't we want those two teams in the finals? Hopefully we will.

a letter to Tucano's

2008-05-19T20:04:00.005-07:00

Just so you are aware, I was at the Provo Tucano’s earlier today (lunch) and, while the food was great, I wasn’t too pleased with a number of employees. The reasons are below.

Early in the meal, a server pushed meat off the skewer which rolled off my plate, onto the table, and then into my grasping hands. At that point I asked for a new napkin. The server politely said OK, left our table, and then never brought me a napkin. I eventually did ask another employee for a napkin, and about 10 minutes after that I finally got one. Is the system designed so that napkins are hard to find? I didn’t eat until they brought me a napkin to clean my hands, so obviously I wasn't happy about that failure. Also, after spilling the food on me, I wasn’t offered a replacement for the food that had missed my plate. Looking back, that was a surprise. I think some new employees weren’t adequately prepared to serve or compensate otherwise for their lack of skill.
Then toward the end of the meal, my party decided that we had some favorite things in the rotation (grilled pineapple and top sirloin). Servers seemed annoyed that I wasn’t accepting their offers, so I told the servers directly that I only wanted top sirloin and pineapple. Some employees asked us with a stern looks if there was anything at all that they could do for us. That might sound nice, but we didn't feel at all warmed by their attitudes.
After I finally got tired of eating and feeling like a major inconvenience to Tucano’s employees, I flipped the signal to red hoping to get relief. Then a friendly female offered us dessert and gave us our check. I was enjoying a conversation with my party. Then the employees began to interrupt us again and again to ask us if there was anything else we wanted. I'm pretty sure the red signal means “I don’t need more,” but still it seemed I was an annoyance to the employees. I was having a great, interesting conversation with my party, and there was no idea why the employees should have been pushing us out when 80% of the tables around us were free to any other customers.
Finally when I decided to pay for the meal and fill out the credit card receipt with a tip, and an employee was watching me fill it out. Talk about horrible etiquette. I almost didn’t tip for that misbehavior. I regret now that I did.

Please, let me know what you think about this feedback. I appreciate your time, and hope for better service from other restaurants.

***********UPDATE*******************

The day after I sent the emails to Tucanos the manager called me twice. The first time I screened his call, and then the second time he tried to call me I picked up. He was very kind. He told me he would take two basic actions because I gave him feedback:
1) He wanted the last 4-digits of my credit card so he could figure out accurately which servers were the problem. He indicated that he would fix the problem employees.
2) He asked for my address so he could mail me coupons to entice me to visit in the future.

I think those are pretty good initial steps, so I am now giving some of my respect back to the management of Tucanos. Hopefully they can use my feedback to create an untainted, positive experience for other customers.

Pointless technology--bigger potential

2008-05-12T22:02:00.008-07:00

link

So you might want to have shoes that have WIFI built-in, but why? So you can download your jogging trip from the hotspot at Starbucks? I'm pretty sure there is no point.

Once again I'd like to plug the idea for bluetooth multi-device set-ups: you could have flash memory in your shoes, along with a processor. Then you could have a bluetooth (BT) chip that communicated with two devices: headphones and a wrist-mounted mp3 player GUI (this could even double as a watch--gasp*).

Tada! Nike customers will pay for it. Make it Nike!

Do it Nike! Do it!

Just do it!

Vote for whom?

2008-04-09T14:04:00.003-07:00

Sometimes you have a difficult choice when election day rolls around. You can vote for Obama or McCain. If you don't like them then you can vote for Ron Paul, or you can write in Bill Cosby's name and hope that a miracle happens.

Platinum

2008-03-29T12:18:00.005-07:00

This is platinum on a carbon film CCD-imaged under a transmission electron microscope beam at 800K times magnification. I am told that the discernible lines are atomic planes; sounds about right since the lattice constant for Pt is 3.92 Å.

Dialogue from Lost -- Season 4 -- Episode 5

2008-03-19T16:38:00.001-07:00

DESMOND: Penny?

PENNY: Desmond?

DESMOND: Penny…Penny, answer. Answer, Penny.

PENNY: Des, where are you?

DESMOND: I’m…I’m on a boat. Um…I’ve been on an island, and— Oh, my God, Penny. Is that really you?

PENNY: Yeah! Yes, it’s me!

DESMOND: You believe me? You still care about me?

PENNY: Des, I’ve been looking for you for the past three years. I know about the island. I’ve been researching—(static)—and then when I spoke to your friend Charlie, that’s when I knew you were still alive. That’s when I knew I wasn’t crazy. Des, are you still there!?

DESMOND: Yes, yes, I’m here! I’m still here, can you hear me?

PENNY: Yeah, yeah, that’s better.

DESMOND: I love you, Penny. I’ve always loved you. I’m so sorry. I love you!

PENNY: I love you too.

DESMOND: I don’t know where I am, but–

PENNY: I’ll find you, Des–

DESMOND: –I promise–

PENNY: –no matter what–

DESMOND: –I’ll come back to you–

PENNY: –I won’t give up–

BOTH: I promise. I love you.

[Static cuts them off.]

___

I just liked the dialogue and I wanted other people to see it.

Crazy Mormons!

2007-12-14T09:56:00.001-07:00

I read online recently that Mormons believe that Jesus was a bullfrog named Jimmy! Also I hear that Mormons love to eat potatoes, and they don't like restaurants. That's because they hate watiresses; they hate the working, blue-collar Americans. Mormons are so bad. Romney would be a bad choice for president because his cult loves to eat babies.

proud moment

2007-12-02T01:03:00.000-07:00

So the other day I get my cell phone bill from Sprint, and my bill, which is normally around $45 was $125. It appeared that my text messaging got a little out of control this past month, and extra texts added up to $80. Sprint recently upped the rates for txt mssging to 0.20 /per txt. That is quite high. But I also had the concern that I was getting charged for duplicate incoming and outgoing messages. Delys told me she got duplicates from me, and I got duplicates maybe 20% of the time or more. So I called Sprint, and the customer service person said they would grant me 20 free messages. I said that I was looking for closer to 140 free messages, if not more. She said that she'd "check the system." She came back and said that the system indicated that no duplicates had been sent to or from my phone. I was like, "No, I definitely have a record right here on my phone. I have no confusion about this, and I think this will be easy to prove. Should I visit a local Sprint store?" She said, "It appears that these are valid charges, sir."

me: "I understand that your system doesn't allow you to see the invalidity of these charges. I don't accept that."

her: "If I send you to my supervisor it won't help you. She'll say the exact same thing as me. These are recorded as valid charges."

me: "OK, let's talk to the supervisor. We'll see how much I can convince her."

(I'm on hold for 5 mins)

supervisor: "What's the problem?"

(I recap)

supervisor: "OK, sir. We'll give you two options. Either you sign-up for unlimited texting, and we'll forgive the charges completely, or you can just take 50% off from these txt charges."

me: "ummm... I'll just take the 50% off."

So now I'm going to try and stay under the limit, or at least fewer than 50 messages over.

At least my bill didn't look as scary as this guy's. Very funny.

the LSAT

2007-11-26T21:36:00.000-07:00

Some people ask me, "Chris, what is the LSAT like?" It's like this:

football is really, really popular

2007-11-24T15:22:00.000-07:00

I like football; probably too much sometimes. WHY?

Why do people get so into football? (NFL, NCAAF)
Is it a joy that we feel when we see a fellow species' member stretch a bit closer to the bounds of human performance? Is it just the rush of tribalism that gets us jumping and screaming at the tops of our lungs, even sometimes wiping away a tear after victory? I've heard or thought such theories before.

Could this be evidence perhaps that domestication is out-pacing evolution? As society imposes new requirements for civilization it squeezes the static individual, and it seems the more it squeezes the more we, as a nation, deeply unify with football. There simply isn't a switch with which you can turn human passion on and off--no bridle, other than time.

Writers Guild East AND West: STRIKE!

2007-11-07T07:57:00.000-07:00

I just watched Newsies for the first time a couple days ago, which seems to be all about organized labor. So now I'm all worked up about the WGAw/e strike.

On November 2, 2007, both branches of the guild, East and west, called the second writers' strike in as many decades, this time over writers' share of revenues from DVD releases and from Internet, cell-phone network and other new-media uses of programs and films written by members. The strike vote followed the expiration of the guild's then-current contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. link

"The guild was demanding doubled DVD residuals..." Who strikes to demand residuals on a dying format? That doesn't even make sense; which leads me to believe that this news article was written by a low-class scab. Or, wait; maybe news writers have nothing to do with these screen-writing guilds.

I bet the written negotiations are a good read: gritty.

I consider myself to be an entertainment writer/performer, which makes it more interesting to me. Where do I sign-up to be a scab?

Flying at about 2,000 millimeters

2007-11-05T10:49:00.000-07:00

If you love the look of an airplane cabin, and you always saw potential for more, then check out the most unique limousine you'll see this year. The heavily modified Boeing 727 rents for $40k per week. What kind of fuel would it use? what propels it? It's probably just a shell on top of a car chassis.

web browsers

2007-10-30T10:32:00.000-07:00

I wish that browsers could get a little more efficient. When you look at a normal web site, it probably has 20 to 40 links on it, and your browser seems completely surprised that you are clicking on one of those links. Why can't the computer anticipate a bit. My idea would be that all the links would start to download the html of the linked pages when you are looking at the first page. That way when you click slowly through a bunch of linked web sites, things go more quickly. The browser would give priority to the initial page, and once it is completely loaded, then it would start loading the "secondary" linked html. When I say html, what I'm trying to say is that the text of the web pages could be pre-loaded.

I'm aware that sometimes this wouldn't be much of an advantage, for web sites with 1000 links. Most pages aren't like that, though. I figure I could surf 10 times faster with such a browser. Another problem would be security. Some pages are more likely to load malware onto your computer, and you don't really want that. For that, I figure a filter, like Google uses could help the browser avoid web site domains that have bad reputations.

What else am I not thinking of?

MBW-150

2007-10-25T19:30:00.000-07:00

When will someone make a bluetooth watch that isn't only for Sony Ericsson phones?

I like this watch, and I bet it barely even works except with one particular phone model, but hey, it's a great step forward in my book.

Information on your wrist
When a new text or picture messages arrives, your watch lets you know. It even tells you if you move out of range of your phone.

Press play
Control your phone's MP3 player with your watch. Use the button to play, pause and skip to the next track.

link

I'm sure they designed this partially because of reading and responding to my old post.

Nobel Peace Prize for Damnable Pseudo-Science?

2007-10-17T06:31:00.000-07:00

Is it weird to give the peace prize to an individual/group whose efforts have indirectly been good for the world? Let's look at the last five award recipients:

'06 -- Muhammad Yunus--Entrepreneur--"Banker to the Poor" in Bangledesh--microcreditor

'05 -- Mohamed ElBaradei--Egyptian--anti-nuclear-weapon director of IAEA

'04 -- Dr. Wangari Muta Maathai--Kenyan parliamentarian--"The Tree Mother of Africa" fighting soil erosion

'03 -- Shirin Ebadi--Iranian Lawyer--fights for women's and children's legal status

'02 -- Jimmy Carter--former US president--anti-death-penalty, SALT

I guess the former VP and his campaign are not outside the norm for receiving the award.

if I were to be a Simpson's guest character...

2007-08-26T11:47:00.000-07:00

What's special about the iPhone?

2007-06-29T15:27:00.000-07:00

The most hyped phone ever is now available (well sorta) from Apple: the iPhone. What good things can we expect from it? Is this author cynical? (mostly yes, but read through the end)
A critical mind, upon hearing all the hoopla would ask the natural, logical questions:

Is there something here that I should be getting excited about?
What awesome new innovations will be on this thing?
How cool does it look?
What are it's strengths? What, if any, are the weaknesses?
What types of people was this phone designed to serve?

Well this phone is made for GenXers and younger. It's made for people that wear rectangular frames and clothing from chic, downtown thrift stores. It's for people that wish they could tell other people that they make their own clothes, but probably have limited their sewing experience to making one uneven, heart-shaped pillow in their junior high homemaking course. Also dudes with scruffy beards that wear hoodies will want this device, along with their girlfriends.

It's weaknesses are that it will probably need to be cleaned very regularly (it has a virtual input/keyboard interface), that it won't have any 3rd party software written for it (b/c Apple won't be releasing a SDK), that it can only send email and txt messages (notice--no unlimited instant messages), and so on.

It's strength is in the sexiness of the design and that it is the heir apparent to the mighty iPod. The wave that is iPod will be cruised on by this tiny surfboard-like digital device--bringing near to it's users media of all kinds and from all sources. The one truly new feature that I can see is a multi-touch screen; I'm not sure how awesome that could be--but ok, I'm game. Truthfully, though, the iPod has such a following that this is a minor detail, along with the tiny detail that the screen automatically switches landscape and portrait modes (*cue sarcastic gasps, oohs and ahhhs). Sociologists and marketers should (and probably are) join together and furiously study the phenomenon that is the iPod. There is such a huge amount of momentum behind Apple products right now that if Steve Jobs started his own religion called iChurch, people would line up for weeks and give 50% of their salaries to him--no doubt.

Reading my comments above about the iPhone, I must ask myself why I'm spending a good amount of time researching this device. It doesn't seem to have any functionality to get me to camp in a waiting-line for weeks. So I'm not excited to get my hands on one, really. I'm mostly excited by any device that will open up the USA's mind. People have moved slowly in changing their notions of "what society believes a phone should do." The iPhone, riding the iPod wave will wipe out many peoples expectations and will leave behind a paradigm that will forever change the people's attitudes on handheld computing. Over the past six years, I've adopted several devices that function similarly to the advertised iPhone features; I'm excited to see a fire lit under the feet of United States cell phone providers (the oligopolistic cell phone service providers). See my previous blog-stories here and here.

The iGeist of Apple will take us to new heights, whether we are Mac users or not.

*-great article

just in case you missed it...

2007-06-21T19:39:00.000-07:00

My favorite article in the news recently was one about a missing lake. Yep, that's right, a lake is missing in Chile; slap that wetness on the side of a milk carton, on dulce de leche, or maybe on the side of a kid's t-shirt. Where is the lake? Did it get sad and run away? Is the local school of fish to blame? Is it extreme global warming that evaporated it? What happened exactly? I loved mysteries like this.

link

by their fruits...

2007-06-03T09:38:00.000-07:00

A fascinating comparison has been made between the so-called "carbon footprints" of two major figures in the Global Warming debate

LOOK OVER THE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE FOLLOWING TWO HOUSES AND SEE IF YOU CAN TELL WHICH BELONGS TO AN ENVIRONMENTALIST.

HOUSE # 1:

A 20-room mansion (not including 8 bathrooms) heated by natural gas. Add on a pool (and a pool house) and a separate guest house all heated by gas. In ONE MONTH ALONE this mansion consumes more energy than the average American household in an ENTIRE YEAR. The average bill for electricity and natural gas runs over $2,400.00 per month. In natural gas alone (which last time we checked was a fossil fuel), this property consumes more than 20 times the national average for an American home. This house is not in a northern or Midwestern "snow belt," either. It's in the South.

HOUSE # 2:

Designed by an architecture professor at a leading national university, this house incorporates every "green" feature current home construction can provide. The house contains only 4,000 square feet (4 bedrooms) and is nestled on arid high prairie in the American southwest. A central closet in the house holds geothermal heat pumps drawing ground water through pipes sunk 300 feet into the ground. The water (usually 67 deg F) heats the house in winter and cools it in summer. The system uses no fossil fuels such as oil or natural gas, and it consumes 25% of the electricity required for a conventional heating/cooling system. Rainwater from the roof is collected and funneled into a 25,000 gallon underground cistern. Wastewater from showers, sinks and toilets goes into underground purifying tanks and then into the cistern. The collected water then irrigates the land surrounding the house. Flowers and shrubs native to the area blend the property into the surrounding rural landscape.

HOUSE # 1 (20 room energy guzzling mansion) is outside of Nashville, Tennessee. It is the abode of that renowned environmentalist (and filmmaker) Al Gore.

HOUSE # 2 (model eco-friendly house) is on a ranch near Crawford, Texas. Also known as "the Texas White House," it is the private residence of the President of the United States, George W. Bush.

link

Ben Wallace video

2007-04-26T23:28:00.000-07:00

I'm a huge fan. Here's someone else's music video of his NBA highlights. If you prefer something less musical, then try this link.

My picks for the NBA playoffs

2007-04-21T13:57:00.000-07:00

1st Round

Western Conference
Dallas Mavericks - #1 over the Golden State Warriors - #8 (5 games)
Utah Jazz - #4 over the Houston Rockets - #5 (6 games)
San Antonio Spurs - #3 over the Denver Nuggets - #6 (6 games)
Phoenix Suns - #2 over the Los Angeles Lakers - #7 (5 games)

Eastern Conference
Detroit Pistons - #1 over the Orlando Magic - #8 (5 games)

Chicago Bulls - #5 over the Miami Heat - #4 (6 games)

Toronto Raptors - #3 over the New Jersey Nets - #6 (6 games)

Cleveland Cavaliers - #2 over the Washington Wizards - #7 (5 games)

Conference Semi-Finals

Western Conference
Dallas Mavericks - #1 over the Utah Jazz - #4 (5 games)
San Antonio Spurs - #3 over the Phoenix Suns - #2 (6 games)
Eastern Conference
Chicago Bulls - #5 over the Detroit Pistons - #1 (7 games)
Cleveland Cavaliers - #2 over the Toronto Raptors - #3 (6 games)

Conference Finals

Western Conference
Chicago Bulls - #5 over the Cleveland Cavaliers - #2 (6 games)
Eastern Conference
Dallas Mavericks - #1 over the San Antonio Spurs - #3 (7 games)

NBA Finals

Dallas Mavericks - #1 over the Chicago Bulls - #5 (5 games)

a step in the "cool" direction

2007-02-25T13:34:00.000-07:00

So I've been waiting for a Bluetooth wrist-watch to come out that can discover and communicate with my mobile phone. link Apparently a new one just came out.

Here's what I think does:
-caller ID received from phone then the watch both vibrates and displays the info on the watch
-if you get to far away from your phone the watch lets you know, and this is "a nice loss prevention tool"
-5 days of battery life

Here's the functionality I wish for, now or in the future:
-reject phone calls
-snooze phone calls for 20 seconds with a "hold recording" which I can take momentarily
-display txt messages
-display media player file information (ID3 tags and such)
-control media player volume and track advancement

NFL Rookie Year of Vince Young

2007-02-13T22:29:00.000-07:00

I was excited to see Vince Young play in the NFL. It looks like his critics were totally right: he can't succeed as an NFL quarterback: he wasn't fast enough to evade NFL defenders, and his arm wasn't good enough to win NFL games. So let's look at his sad rookie report card:

gained the starting QB position for the Titans
led an 8 of 10 game winning stretch
led the largest fourth-quarter comeback in the Titans franchise history, the largest fourth-quarter comeback by a rookie quarterback, and the largest comeback with under ten minutes left in a game in NFL history (11/26/06 vs Giants)
beat the NFL Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis Colts once, and very nearly twice
first rookie quarterback to rush for more than 500 yards (552) in the Super Bowl era
won the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year (overwhelmingly--23 votes to 9 vote second place)
first rookie QB in the Pro Bowl--ever

Awful, Vince. Better hit the weights extra hard this preseason, or you'll get cut. Here's what he had to say at the Pro Bowl:

"I learned something every day. I'm just looking forward to playing in the game and having one more great experience to finish the year."

Spoken like a true loser. (See failure below)

If Hillary Clinton is elected...

2007-02-04T15:02:00.000-07:00

A hypothetical:
Hillary Clinton wins the presidential race in 2008. She also wins re-election in 2012.

My friend pointed out that if Hillary served for 8 years, then we would have 28 years of two families leading the free world. That is stagnancy, my fellow Americans. Stagnancy. It is the citizens job to elect the best person to be leader. What are the chances that 28 years of presidency should be coming out of two families? Two families that have heads that are certainly chummy.

Americans aren't doing their job as citizens, if the hypothetical becomes reality. Has anyone ever heard of a relationship between stagnancy and a government falling apart? Let me know if you have.

philosophy of bias

2007-02-04T14:50:00.000-07:00

I submit that when anyone sets a pen to paper, they are motivated. How much can this motivation interfere with the conveyance of truth? This is a micro-study of bias.

The type of bias I hear most about is what I call "identity" bias. It is a bias that originates from a set of characteristics that a communicator connects themselves to, and so it is defended as the self would be. It manifests itself in lots of ways, subtly as speech inflection and boldly as neglecting to present negative facts. It aims to protect one's identity, not to illuminate truth. It is the usual type of bias I here people refer to.

A type of bias I hear less about is what I call "sensationalistic" bias is probably of the same type. It is a bias that originates from a desire to establish a memorable legacy. It aims to differentiate and glorify an identity, not to convey truth.

Can you think of other types of bias?

another quiz... What's my accent?

2007-01-14T22:23:00.000-07:00

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
Other dialectal possibilities include the West, Boston, North Central, The Inland North, The South, Philadelphia, and The Northeast.
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

So apparently I don't have one. I think most comedians have accents--I shall adopt one when on stage. But which one?--there are so many.

Fake Accents
One time I knew this guy from Michigan that was stalking my roommate (who was also a guy *weird--it was for experimental-music reasons), and he always spoke with a British accent. Yeah, any of you ever meet a person with a permanent fake accent? What did you do about it? We avoided him like a mafia hit-man. One time I was in the Malt Shop on Freedom Blvd with my roommate (the stalk-ee) and friends. This joint has huge mirrors on some of the walls. I happened to be looking in a mirror (well I'm a little vain, so that's not a shocker), and I see the stalker walk in the shop. I discretely communicated the situation to my roommate, and, without making a huge scene, the two of us successfully evacuated a group of 9 clueless friends. Then, on the way home, we told them a ridiculous exaggerated version of the original story to freak them out.
Part of the true story was the guy's fake accent. That really freaked them out.

My Life Across a Map

2007-01-12T18:30:00.000-07:00

create your own visited states map
or check out these Google Hacks.

This is a map of the states I've been to. I thought it would be fun to show you and encourage you to share the same with me--mostly so we can isolate and mock those people that haven't been out of their home state.

Car MD--Universal Autocare!

2007-01-10T00:50:00.000-07:00

So you use CarMD to scan your vehicle and then plug the handheld into your PC's USB port, for Web scanning. You're connected to the CarMD online database, which can give you pricing for parts and, more importantly, labor.
link

This is something worth investing in, if you work on your car yourself or not. It's only $90.

Mitt Romney Statements

2007-01-08T22:03:00.000-07:00

(* indicates an extra amount of agreement from me)

Defeating the Jihadists

The defeat of this radical and violent faction of Islam must be achieved through a combination of American resolve, international effort, and the rejection of violence by moderate, modern, mainstream Muslims.* An effective strategy will involve both military and diplomatic actions to support modern Muslim nations.* America must help lead a broad-based international coalition that promotes secular education, modern financial and economic policies, international trade, and human rights.

Competing with Asia

China and the rest of Asia are on the move economically and technologically. They are a family oriented, educated, hard-working, and mercantile people. We must be ready and able to compete.** This means ensuring our children are educated to compete in this new market, our trade laws are fair and balanced, and our economy and tax laws welcome new investment. If America acts boldly and swiftly, the emergence of Asia will be an opportunity.** Trade and commerce with these huge new economies can further strengthen our economy and propel our growth. If America fails to act, we will be eclipsed.*** link

Simplifying the Tax System

America's tax code is a labyrinth that imposes an enormous and unnecessary burden on our citizens and employers. Keeping taxes low and simplifying the code will grow the economy and enhance our competitiveness.*

Stopping Runaway Spending

The Federal government must stop its borrowing and spending binge. The debt is a burden on our economy, our currency, our foreign policy, and our future.** This is beyond pork barrel spending. We must address entitlement programs - not just to save money - but to give Americans confidence in their future.

Getting Immigration Right

Immigration has been an important part of our nation's success. The current system, however, puts up a concrete wall to the best and brightest, yet those without skill or education are able to walk across the border.** We must reform the current immigration laws so we can secure our borders, implement a mandatory biometrically enabled, tamper proof documentation and employment verification system, and increase legal immigration into America.

Achieving Energy Independence

We must become independent from foreign sources of oil. This will mean a combination of efforts related to conservation and efficiency measures, developing alternative sources of energy like biodiesel, ethanol, nuclear, and coal gasification, and finding more domestic sources of oil such as in ANWR or the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

Affirming America's Culture and Values

American values are at the heart of America's historic rise to world leadership. These include, among others, respect for hard work, sacrifice, civility, love of family respect for life, education and love of freedom.** To remain a superpower in the world we must continuously and vigorously reaffirm these key components that have led to America's greatness as a country.

Investing in Technology

Our national investment in technology comes from both the private and public sector; however corporations today spend more on tort liability than they do on R&D. While the government already invests heavily in defense, space and health technologies, it is time to invest substantially in technologies related to power generation, nanotechnology, and materials science.**

Extending Health Insurance to All Americans

The health of our nation can be improved by extending health insurance to all Americans, not through a government program or new taxes, but through market reforms.*

Raising the Bar on Education

Today's schools are falling further and further behind world standards. It is time to raise the bar on education by making teaching a true profession, measuring progress, providing a focus on math and science, and involving parents from the beginning of a child's school career.*

link to Mitt's Web site

I think the best thing about Mitt is that he isn't so much a politician as he is an excellent CEO. He is sacrificing CEO-pay and giving up privacy in exchange for serving the American people. (I do acknowledge that some human part of him also lusts for power, but that is a given for any candidate.) Anyway, he will be one of the greatest presidents ever if the American people use their heads and hearts at the ballot box in 2008. The primaries aren't too far away. His first fundraiser dwarfed the fundraisers of Giuliani and McCain. Round 1: Romney!

federal congressional term limits

2007-01-05T17:27:00.000-07:00

The following is copied from Wikipedia's article on federal congressional term limits accompanied by my counter arguments:

In favor of limits

"It prevents incumbents from using the benefits of office to remain in power indefinitely."
In some situations, merely being in office provides an elected official with a distinct advantage in further elections. Supporters of term limits argue that this advantage is undemocratic, and means that incumbents no longer fear losing their offices and cease to be concerned with the needs of their constituents. Term limits ensure that all officials are eventually removed from power.

"It makes room for fresh candidates, and encourages participation."
Imposing term limits on an office ensures that there will always be vacancies for new candidates to pursue. This may encourage citizens who would normally not consider running for office to do so, as they will not be challenging an established, entrenched opponent. Many proponents claim that term limits will increase diversity in a legislature, bringing the law-making body's demographics more in line with those of the general population.

"It stops politicians from making choices solely to prolong their career."
If a politician can serve as many terms as they wish, they may be tempted to follow policies which will ensure their long-term political survival, rather than policies which further the interests of voters. Supporters of term limits sometimes argue that if politicians know from the beginning of their service that their time in office is limited, they will act differently (and less self-servingly) than “career” legislators.

"It reduces the advantage which can be gained by a representative's seniority."
In some legislatures, power and influence tend to increase as a legislator gains seniority — a politician who has served many terms will carry more responsibility than one who has just been elected, even if both are representing the same number of voters. If one district continually re-elects the same politician, while another district frequently changes its politician, the first district will have greater sway in the legislature than the second, because its representative has had time to accrue seniority. Term limits ensure that each district has representatives of similar seniority.

Against limits

"It is undemocratic."
The most common argument against the use of term limits is that it takes away the right of voters to be represented by the politician of their choice. It is argued that if the public wish to re-elect their representative, it is undemocratic to prevent them from doing so. Allow the electorate to do its job, argue opponents, and non-responsive legislators can still be held accountable.

"It results in a lack of experienced politicians."
Term limit opponents argue that, with experience, comes greater skill. The very use of the term “freshman representative” is indicative of the fact that the first-term legislator is less likely to be able to “get things done” in the legislature. It is further argued that inexperienced politicians will be more reliant on advice and guidance from un-elected officials and lobbyists. Permanent committee staffers, who ostensibly work for the representatives, would become more knowledgeable and powerful than the members themselves. Moreover, lobbyists in the employ of special interests might tend to grow more powerful, as they can offer to “help” inexperienced members gain a foothold. Because both staffers and lobbyists are unelected, opponents argue, term limits are undemocratic because it places more power in the hands of the unelected.

"It means that politicians approaching their term limit no longer have to worry about what voters think."
Another argument against term limits is that it is the very fact that politicians need to go back to the voters for approval and reelection that keeps them responsive. With term limits, a lame duck legislator no longer has any motivation to continue heeding the concerns of his constituents. In such a circumstance, a legislator could use their last term to set themselves up for a job in the private sector after the end of their legislative career.

"It simply results in frequent trading of office between the same people, not an influx of new people."
In contrast to the claims that term limits allow new faces to enter politics, opponents claim that there are enough political offices for elected officials to simply "play musical chairs". In response to claims that term limits promote diversity, on August 15, 2006 the United States' National Conference of State Legislatures issued a report at its annual meeting stating that "term limits have not led to significant increases in female or minority representation in state legislatures, according to a survey of the 15 states with term limits."

My Counter Arguments for Term Limits

It is undemocratic?
There are nearly 300 million Americans, and you think you can’t find another person to do a great job in a congressional seat? That’s insulting.

It results in a lack of experienced politicians?
What experience do we want politicians to have? Experienced in how to manage through the bureaucracy, and deal with special interest groups? What we really don’t need are experienced, career politicians. When the career politicians are gone, the freshman politicians will have a much easier time getting things done, despite their naïvety of the DC status quo. We need people with normal American life experience. Career politicians are the ones lacking this valuable experience.

It means that politicians approaching their term limit no longer have to worry about what voters think?
Political scientist Mark Petracca observes, "Electoral competition is no longer possible in a system where the benefits and power of incumbency virtually guarantee a lifelong career as a legislator." (The Politics and Law of Term Limits, p. 68). Politicians that are career politicians are guaranteed long careers because of the power of incumbency, according to Petracca. So we can have career politicians that never care much or term-limited citizen-representatives potentially shirking their responsibilities--the latter sounds better to me, too.

It simply results in frequent trading of office between the same people, not an influx of new people?
So a study is cited saying that more females and minorities have not filled state representative positions as a result of their state-level term limitations. Ok, well, gender and ethnic diversity is another fruit compared to "new people"--we're talking about rotation of authority among any and all new citizens. You can’t reach the valid conclusion that low participation by women and minorities proves that other new citizens aren't participating in civil service with that information. (Also note that the organization that wrote the report is basically a special interest group for politicians. So why would it stab its comrades' career hopes in the back?)

We don’t need civil servants with specialized political experience. We need men and women that are experienced with life outside the beltway of DC, that have worked in our education system, that have served in the armed forces, that have nourished the entrepreneurial spirit of our great nation. These will lead the way to future, unfathomable global and domestic successes.

heros that aren't

2007-01-04T21:41:00.000-07:00

Everyday people almost die and get injured. And also, all the time, people can easily help them, without risking anything unusual, and of course they do. This second group sometimes gets the label "hero."

Yeah, I'm not buying it. Hero is a title for a person that risks major sacrifice in order to help. A hero is not a man that happens upon an abandoned baby, a daughter helping a drowning father in shallow water, or a cat dialing 9-1-1 mysteriously for the owner. These are stories of narrowly escaped tragedy, not heroism.

[OK, fine, the cat story is cute.]

Here is a real hero story.

Your Account Cannot Be Validated

2007-01-04T15:53:00.000-07:00

Updated at the bottom 1/10/07

This is a continuation of the last post; I'm still having problems with my phone.

So, I tried to make a phone call earlier today, and I got the dreadfully familiar recording, "Your account cannot be validated, call *2." I call up the number *2.

me: "Hello, I'm having a continuation of a problem. I tried to use my phone this morning, and it has the same problem that it has had since Saturday. For some reason it will be fixed and will work for one day, but then the next day it goes back to the original problem. [Imagine me explaining the problem in more detail to Shaniqua here. (Re)read the Jan. 3rd post if necessary.]

Shaniqua: "Mmm, OK, are you currently on that phone which has the problem?"

me: "Yep."

Shaniqua: "Yeah, OK, we need to first reprogram your phone, and we can't do that if you're on the phone."

me: "Yeah, well I can guarantee you that the reprogramming won't fix my problem. This is a weird network thing. Please just transfer me to tech support."

Shaniqua: "Yeah, I can't do that, sir. We have to step through the first steps before I can be authorized to transfer you."

me: "Well you can believe me that I'm way beyond steps 1 to maybe 23 already. I've had this phone in the hands of your companies technicians locally, and the reprogramming didn't work. Please just transfer me."

S.: "no, you need to call on another phone"

me: "please, I don't have another phone."

S.: "Sir, that's the only option I can offer you."

me: "I need to talk to a supervisor or something, because this is getting ridiculous."

S.: "Ok, sir, but they won't transfer you to tech support either."

me: "you're probably right, but I've got the time--and who knows? maybe I'll get lucky."

(she puts me on hold for a few minutes)

Supervisor of Shaniqua: "How can I help you, sir?"

me: "Well I have this problem that I can explain to you, or you can just transfer me to tech support."

S.S.: "Go ahead, sir, and explain it to me because we are trained to reprogram phones."

me: "Yeah, well I have already been reprogrammed and that didn't fix my problem."

S.S.: "Well, sir, I don't have any documentation that your phone has been through these steps already."

me: "Yeah, great, I'm very, painfully aware that your system is lacking, but I do know that only tech support can help me."

S.S.: "Sir, we can't move to them until we do these steps first, and you need to call from another phone."

me: "I don't have another phone. Maybe your company could deliver a phone to me, and I'll call you on that. But please just transfer me, I know I don't need to do anything physically to my phone. This phone is already a replacement. That should inform you that the problem is definitely a network-system issue."

S.S.: "No, sir, I can give you the phone number that you can call us back on from another phone line..."

me: "I'll go to the local store and use one of their phone perhaps? Or you could just transfer me to tech support now, and save me some time, which I will be asking for compensation for anyway. So why not save me time, and your company money."

S.S.: "You can go use a phone at the local office. No, I will not transfer you. We do not consider this to be a technical issue."

[We went back and forth for a while, till I realized she was the supervisor because of her extreme stubbornness.]

me: *me having the thought "unbeeeeeliieevable" and then saying, "I'll call you back then on with my non-technical issue in a bit."

[I drove to the Sprint store.]

me: "Hello, I need a phone to call customer care, because they said I had to, and they said you would give me one."

employee dude: "Uh, you could use this one..." [and he motions to one of the display phones that has a retractable phone tether on it]

me: "Please give me one that won't be trying to escape from my hand for the long phone call that I will no doubt be making to you customer care center."

employee lady: "Here use this one." [she hands me a flip phone from her counter]

[I dial the 800 number and wait through the computerized system stuff]

me: "Hi, I have a problem that I've called in about several times, and it's a reoccurring problem with the network. Could you please transfer me to tech support?"

foreign-accent operator: "Sure."

me: "Are you serious? I mean, great. I'm just flabbergasted because I just drove to several miles to use a .... never mind, thanks. I need to register an official complaint against Shaniqua and her supervisor, whoever she is, from 45 minutes ago. Can you do that for me?"

FAO: "Uh, I already got the transfer to tech support ready to go, maybe we should do that later?"

me: "Is it that hard to click out of that screen and file an official complaint?"

FAO: "Yes it is sir, because our system is very slow."

me: "Yeah, I'm familiar with your troubled system. Go ahead and transfer me, please."

[I'm on hold for a while]

tech support lady: "hello."

[She runs me through some basic stuff diagnostic-programming stuff, and I tell her that my phone is not the problem, and she agrees. She then puts me on hold for like 5 minutes.]

T.S.L.: "Hello, sir? Your number is valid in one system, but it isn't getting recognized in the other system. I'm going to put in a trouble ticket for the tech support team to look into it more seriously. It'll take 4-6 hours usually, but it could take 15 hours maximum."

me: "That's quite a while, but that's the best you have got, huh? OK, let's do that. Thanks, bye."

So now I'm waiting to see what new problem pops-up, and the potential additions I can add to this edge-of-your-seat-action narrative. (I should mention that the EVDO data connection on my phone has cut-off now, which is new. My phone says NO SERVICE on the main screen. So I appear to have taken a step back; perhaps I must to take two steps forward.)

**Update:
I called again, after 15 hours, and I was told that it won't be done for 36 business hours. That means I'll have to wait until after the weekend. I'll update this when I leave Sprint or get my service working.

**Update 1/8/07
The MSID number was changed by Sprint people, and, after calling them to find out what it was, I programmed it into my phone. Now it works.
Also, this month I was given 1-month of EVDO data service for free. That was a nice thing, and they told me I needed to call in and cancel it, or I'd get billed for another month ($15 per month). I called in today, and I've had the service for about 4 weeks. They told me that I was trying to cancel the service early, and if I did I would be charged. Right, that makes sense: if I were a massage therapist, and a customer didn't come in after receiving a one-month-free coupon, then I'd send him a bill for the 27 days he did receive my services. Actually, that makes no sense. It's just a ploy by Sprint--they hope I'll forget to cancel on that one specific day, and then they can charge me more. What a pain!

**Update 1/10/07
So I sent some emails to Sprint corporate (7), and I got more compensation. Yay! I actually got two month's worth of compensation, so I won't have to pay for a while. And I got 100 mins free. In my emails to them I referred them to my blog, and I like to think this leveraged a little extra out of them.

Sprint PCS Wireless

2007-01-03T15:45:00.000-07:00

The following is a story that will help me release frustration about my dealings with Sprint PCS:

Saturday, 12/30/06, I noticed that my phone had a strange message on it. (I have a Treo 700wx, and I'm currently using the EVDO high speed internet service for a trial 30-day period.) The message on the phone was "MSN Services cannot connect at this time." Ok, that's not a huge deal, whatever. Then I noticed that my phone was strangely quiet. Ok, not the weirdest thing ever, but I just spent my day running errands and reading a book.

Then on Sunday I went to Gustavo's house for New Year's Eve. He said that he had tried to call me several times during the day, and that none of the calls would get to me or my voicemail. I calmly started testing my phone. I couldn't call anyone, not even my voicemail. I tried to call sprint at 611, but that also was denied. The message I got was, "Your account cannot be validated. If you are a Sprint customer call *2." So I called *2 and found out that the office was closed for the holiday. *argh

So on New Year's I was planning on going up to J. Boal's house to watch some college bowl games. He emailed to say that he'd been trying to call me for 2 days (and you know I love to hear that). Before I drove up to Heber City, I tested my roommate's Sprint phone; it worked fine. Then I took some time to drive by the Sprint store, and it had employees in it. "Wow, I CAN get my phone fixed," I exhaled. I went inside, and they ask me for my account information to look at my status on their computers. They said, "The network (for their computers) is going really slow." No surprise, the network was obviously messed up. Eventually, after staring at my phone and account information for about 25 minutes, they said, "Oh, the (?) number is wrong." They inputted a mysterious number into my phone and told me that the phone should be up and running soon—2 hours at the latest.

I headed up to Heber, and enjoyed the games. I periodically tested the phone, but got a message about how I was roaming. I had to dial the phone number again to actually confirm that I wanted to roam. I didn't try to roam, because A) the potential for extra fees and B) I don't have anyone's phone number memorized.

So I was not happy. I took the phone back in on Tuesday to the local Sprint store. They said I must pay a technician $15 to look at the phone (notice that this doesn't guarantee success). I was like, "FINE." I came back an hour later to the store, and they said, "Ok, we're going to have to replace your phone. The old one is broken."

ME: "What???? I can pretty much guarantee there is nothing wrong with the phone. It makes more sense that the problem is with the network considering that I'm getting these recordings about not being validated and roaming."

EMPLOYEE GIRL: “Nope, we can't fix it, and this new phone is what you need. It'll be $55, is that what you want?”

ME: “WHAT? Ok, my phone doesn't have a problem except that the network is working with it. I really don't want to pay you $55 for a new phone when my old phone works in every way except as a phone. Even the EVDO internet works on it perfectly.”

EMPLOYEE GIRL: "I've never heard anyone complain so loudly about getting a brand new $700 phone for $50."

ME: [shocked by her audacity]...[continuing shock due to her dramatic MSRP misquote] ......"Ok, from my perspective, I have a “thing” that works, that I bought from your company for relatively quite a bit of money. Also the thing is quite new. I baby the thing: I clean it regularly in a special way, I never drop it, I don't let water get on it, and I don't let other people touch it very often, even. So your telling me that I have to shell out another $55 to fix a problem that is solvable within your system doesn’t make me happy. The system that I'm responsible for taking care of is not the problem."

EMPLOYEE GIRL: "Yeah, well your thing isn't working, and we can only give you a new one."

ME: "Look, I appreciate any special treatment that I'm getting, but I really don't feel that special. I feel like I'm getting ripped off."

E.G.: "Ok, look, let me see if you're eligible for an upgrade."

ME: "I doubt it; I've only had your service for 3.5 months."

(A few minutes pass as she stares into a glowing panel, and I wonder how I can avoid extra costs)

E.G.: "Ok, it looks like I can just give you the phone and only charge you the $15 tech fee."

ME: "Ok, I guess we can do that. Again, if I'm getting special treatment, I appreciate it, but I feel like I should be getting compensation, not paying more."

I then tested the new phone. If you are unfamiliar with phones-PDA combos, such as the Treo 700wx, let me inform you of a few things:
1) The phones-pda combos (or PANDAS as I nicknamed them) are able to do lots of things
2) Many users load third-party software on them
3) When you get a new PANDA you have to spend a fair amount of time reloading everything back onto them (everything is pretty fast except for loading third-party apps)
4) Imagine getting your entire computer replaced. It's sort of inconvenient to load all the stuff back onto it, and to customize it just how you like it. (It's not as bad as a full-size PC, but you'll get the idea)

Ok, so I made a phone call to my parents to test the phone, and IT WORKED!

The next day I got up and noticed that my phone had no text messages and no phone messages. I'm not super popular, but getting nothing over a few hours is pretty weird. I have some services set up that automatically send me txt messages to notify me of other things going on, so I thought that I'd need to call Sprint to fix my txt message service. I then noticed that suddenly my PANDA displayed that I have a voice mail. OK, I called to check, and I got the recording, "Your account cannot be validated." So I'm was pretty sure that my head was going to pop off. I thought, "I'm going to go down to the Sprint store now, and I will say something that makes it all better; but what to say??"

(This next paragraph might be confusing)

As I pondered on that topic, I decided to look at a list of potential comedy ideas that I keep stretched across 30 meticulously categorized MS Word files. I keep these files in a folder that synchronizes between my PC and my PANDA. Then my brain fluttered because I noticed that one of my files was missing. Then my stomach dropped because I realized that a handful of my newer files were missing. Then I realized that *GASP* the last six months of my beautiful comedy material was GONE! This was where I started to freak out (and you thought I was freaking out before), I put my head on the desk and closed my eyes. My mind produced an image of my comedy creations burning in a huge bonfire, screaming out in agony. The worst thing was that it was that I could have prevented the catastrophe. I'm not sure why the new PANDA synchronized with six-month-old files, but I did manually delete the files from my PC that were updated from the day before because they were set-up to synch with the old PANDA. I didn’t think I needed them anymore. I didn't bother checking to make sure that my new phone was synching with the newest stuff. I had even emptied my recycle bin. My mind was swirling down into bitter acceptance of my foolish personal disaster. Worse things could happen, obviously, but you don't want to spend months writing down everything you hear that is clever and funny, only to lose it. (The phone problem was taking a backseat to the new comedy problem.) "Where could I find the deleted files? Did I back them up somewhere else—hard copies?" I frantically searched for anything.

Then I googled “file recovery” and I found a trial program for that claimed it could recover deleted stuff. I desperately downloaded and installed it. I ran the program which took 30 minutes to give me some options. Eventually I located the files that I had deleted, which were the updated comedy files, including some personal narratives and other personal reports about life and such. Ok, I so then I felt ok. There was one new bummer; the only way to get them back into the normal file system was to pay $79 to the software developer. So I paid the money, and got a license code, and then I got back the deleted files. *Sigh of relief

Then I called Sprint Customer Care. A tech support person told me that it was a NETWORK PROBLEM! It only took like 30 seconds to fix, over the phone, and it required me to do nothing except wait and then soft reset my PANDA. After this other episode, my emotions were drained enough that I only negotiated to be compensated a little bit for the inconveniences: I got 100 free minutes and a $6 credit to my account.

So I have a new PANDA for free, but I didn't really need one. And now I need to load all my old software back on, and synchronize my PC files back with it.

What a day, what a day.

The moral of the story is to avoid local offices when you need network service.

insanity

2007-01-02T00:05:00.000-07:00

So I just got done watching one of the most exciting college bowl games ever: the 2006 Fiesta Bowl--Boise St. vs. Oklahoma. You can read about it on ESPN and other sports websites, but let me just say WOW. After a bunch of unusual plays, it all came down to a decisive 2-pt conversion in OT.

Anyway, Oregon St. also did a 2-pt conversion when a 1-pt would tie it. I don't know why football coaches decide to go for 2-pt conversions when they can tie and go to overtime with an extra point kick. I don't know what the average success percentages are for each post-TD play, but I imagine the kick is much higher.

What is going on in a coaches mind to risk the entire game on one play? When I see it, the thought flashing in my mind is, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? TIE THE GAME, AND WIN IT IN OVERTIME!" I guess the BSU coach was just trying to avoid an extension of the game, and he thought he could win.

Humor U: Dec 1st highlights

2006-12-18T21:04:00.000-07:00

(Comment if you have any comedy inspiration for me or just hundreds of compliments. Also I have a short clip from the Saturday show. You can easily find it through the google video website interface.)

Charlie the Unicorn

2006-12-13T21:03:00.000-07:00

(After watching this video, you'll understand why the street price of cocaine increased thirty percent whilst this movie was in production.)

Brian Regan is the Man

2006-12-07T23:49:00.000-07:00

I'm a huge fan of Brian Regan's comedy. If you're not, maybe you haven't heard it yet. link

Now I can also say that I'm a fan of Brian Regan the person. I saw his show live for the first time (totally fresh material) and then waited around trying to meet him . I did meet him (Huzzah!), and he gave the small group of fans all the autographs and pictures that we wanted. He appeared truly flattered. I was amazed. He was hanging out with us for about fifteen minutes.

Great to meet you, Brian.

If you're familiar with the donut-lady controversy, then you'll understand better his autograph to me that I got a screen shot of below:

(I had him sign my Palm 700WX, and I told him he should try to write a joke about it. He said it was definitely the first time he'd ever been requested to do so. The autograph is clarification of a dispute between my friends in which word we disagreed which word was used in the joke: "ladder" or "latter.")

ATTN: NFL Headline Writer

2006-12-05T12:26:00.000-07:00

When a journalist writes headlines, one would think that they would be written based on context.

So when I read headlines that said in effect that the Titans surprised the Colts, and that this was incredibly unexpected, I thought, "Not really a surprise to me."

The first, the context that is missing from the brains of the surprised headline-typers is that the Titans, led by Vince Young, very nearly won their last meeting with the Colts. It took one last drive by Peyton Manning to come from behind to beat the Titans 14-13 (and the game was at Indianapolis). Takes some of the head-scratching out of the article, doesn't it?

Other context is that the prior loss to Indy was Young's second NFL. He is growing through a rookie season, and Young has matured with the team that has five wins in the past seven games.

The only surprise is that the Titans had to pull it out with a 60-yd field goal. I would've expected an easier, more decisive finish.

The headline should read, "First Eli, Now Peyton."

Good Week to Be a Cougar

2006-11-25T16:56:00.000-07:00

John Beck deserves a standing ovation for beating the Utah Utes on an amazing final-minute drive of their 2006 rivalry match-up. Doing so, I'll admit that I was doubtful of success after seeing his 4th down conversion in overtime last year. But I was cheering for the Cougars.

At the end of this year's game, they needed a touchdown to regain the lead immediately following Utah's TD score, which put the Ute's up by four points with only 1:19 remaining. After the kick-off, Beck and the Cougars had 75 yards in between them and the opposite end zone. Beck threaded passes to his receivers, and moved the chains.

The final play was at the Ute 11-yard line with 3 seconds remaining: Beck scrambled up and down, left and right in the backfield for what seemed like an eternity. As he scrambled desperately to his right , a defensive player in hot pursuit, he suddenly jumped, twisted, and delivered the ball across his body and across the field. The ball was flying off camera, so I had no idea why this weakly thrown ball was going that direction. I was thinking that the Utes had beat us again. Then I saw TE Johnny Harline appear, alone--sliding down on his knees just a couple yards behind the end-zone line, his arms pulling the ball triumphantly against his chest. Touchdown BYU!

I released a much-needed cathartic cry of victory and danced exuberantly. Then I applauded John Beck and the rest of the successful 2006 BYU Cougar football team. Undefeated in the Mountain West Conference, beating Utah was the crown jewel.

I gave the Cougars a standing ovation.

I also thank the Utes for the preparation and passion.

(here's a video clip for those who want more)

Plastic Ute

2006-11-20T13:40:00.000-07:00

We all know that the Ute's pulled off an intercollegiate miracle last
year when they beat us on the football field with a back-up
quarterback. But now they've embarrassed us again, this time off the
field. I don't know how they crept with their slimy tentacles past our
vigilant campus guards, but they obviously have. The Utes got onto
campus and have covered all our statues with ugly plastic. Oh how it
makes my blood boil! It's despicable and adolescent: it's
despic-escent.

We must respond to keep our cougar-pride intact. A bed-wetting few
might say we should take the moral high-ground by doing nothing, but
this is definitely something worth fighting over, I mean for.

(For those who don't know, this is a joke. BYU actually covers their own statues with plastic to protect them from Utah Ute rivalry-related vandalism)

recent stand-up development

2006-11-16T18:46:00.001-07:00

Give me some comedy feeback--either comment or email me. (I'm performing in front of a crowd of BYU students, so you know the audience)

Born Again Atheist

2006-11-14T00:03:00.000-07:00

Global warming research can be run like a religion. Michael Crichton noted: “Environmentalism seems to be the religion of choice for urban atheists….If you look carefully, you see that environmentalism is in fact a perfect 21st century remapping of traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs and myths” He takes us through the comparison—there's an initial Eden, a paradise and perfect unity with nature. Then there's a fall from paradise into pollution as a result of eating from the tree of knowledge. We are all “energy sinners,” but we may seek salvation, which is now called sustainability. Organic food is its communion. link

The Interfaith Stewardship Alliance released—A Call to Truth, Prudence, and Protection of the Poor: An Evangelical Response to Global Warming. In the report fifty-six actual scientists doubt the certainty of catastrophic, man-made global warming. Their substantial number constitutes a substantial debate. link

Additionally, in my research of global warming history, I’ve noticed that proponents easily draw money-lines connecting corporations and skeptical scientists but rarely recognize the buzz-word money-line to their own wallets. The research proposals that have the most political “buzz” get the most grant money. If nothing else, we must consider the incentive political capital gained. Interestingly, I’ve read that a famous global warming activist recently defected, Claude Allegre, saying, “the ecology of helpless protesting has become a very lucrative business for some people!” link

Minimum Wage: Good or Bad?

2006-11-09T13:08:00.000-07:00

link

Over at The Times and Seasons ( Quite possibly the most spastic, yet logocentric, onymous Mormon group blog in history.) the group is discussing minimum wage laws. You may choose to take a gander.

If the government really cared about the working poor they’d prohibit anyone from working for less than $40 an hour.
--Matt Evans

There is almost no way to politically oppose the Min wage if it comes up for an actual vote.
--bbell

The government cannot raise wages.
--Christian Whitney

writing revolution on the small screen

2006-11-06T17:41:00.000-07:00

I had a surprising thought: "I've seen every episode of The Office (all of 'em), and I don't even know what time it comes on. " I don't know if other people have had similar thoughts recently, but I laughed after I had the thought. "But how can you have seen them ALL if you don't even know what time the TV shows are on?" some of you techno-novices maybe asking yourselves. Read on. In recent years I haven't watched much TV fiction. Now I watch enjoy Lost and The Office.

Potential for TV-Script Weaving

Because of TV-show DVD rentals, TiVO and Bit torrent, people often watch TV shows starting from episode #1. Before these behaviors started, I think more people tuned in randomly to shows (this is how I have behaved, and I didn't stick to any shows--maybe some early X-files). The new behavior means that shows can be written differently (assuming lots of people behave like I do); they don't need TV shows that stand alone like they did 10 years ago (like early X-files did). Humor, for instance, can stretch between episodes more effectively if the viewer has seen all the preceding episodes. (Perhaps Arrested Development was ahead of it's time--err--ahead of our viewing behavior shift).

Some people hate and refuse to commit to watch a show at a specific time, only watching one episode at a time, and having to sit through commercials (this accurately describes me). Plot development can be so slow, and that annoys people. If a person must endure slow development from week to week, then chances are increased that the person will get distracted by another show or activity.

So some TV shows are becoming more serialized. TV studios have made them more accessible for us to watch from episode #1. This makes it easier for writers to make TV plots into more vibrant tapestries. Who can't appreciate a vibrant tapestry? Nobody, that's who.

Ok, everybody go jog around the block now. And eat some vegetables, for goodness' sake.

global warming paranoia

2006-11-05T17:35:00.000-07:00

Then there is this shockingly funny article in The Telegraph: "Climate chaos? Don't believe it."

This week, I'll show how the UN undervalued the sun's effects on historical and contemporary climate, slashed the natural greenhouse effect, overstated the past century's temperature increase, repealed a fundamental law of physics and tripled the man-made greenhouse effect.
Next week, I'll demonstrate the atrocious economic, political and environmental cost of the high-tax, zero-freedom, bureaucratic centralism implicit in Stern's report; I'll compare the global-warming scare with previous sci-fi alarums; and I'll show how the environmentalists' "precautionary principle" (get the state to interfere now, just in case) is killing people.

That may make your laugh or cringe.

The next part will make you laugh.

The worst case with global warming is that the melted icecaps would inundate our coastal cities, turning them into swamps with the ruins of deserted skyscrapers festooned with tropical lianas and Spanish moss. Meanwhile, the lifelong growth of cold-blooded creatures' would no longer be retared each year by a cold season, so they would grow twice as fast, many times as large. At the same time, the rise in temperatures would retard the fertility of large mammals. Soon, the Earth would have reverted to a reeking, fetid Permian swamp where giant hissing reptiles and monstrous arthropods would clamber over the deserted ruins of the works of Man. High-tech civilization would be maintained only in a few deep artificial caverns near the poles which, from time to time, they would send out expeditions in futuristic aircraft to loot the abandoned cities of the past for lost treasures. And that would be so cool.
Stevo Darkly

link

new invention idea

2006-11-03T17:40:00.000-07:00

Noise-canceling headphones...

Noise-canceling shoes!

Anyone who would like to pay me millions for the idea, well, come back when the offer is in the bazillions.

Maybe DARPA would like to strap these babies on the SEALS or Rangers, or other sneaky dudes.

two similar movies at the same time

2006-10-23T10:43:00.000-07:00

Hollywood is at it again:

"The Illusionist" and "The Prestige" are both recently released movies. They both feature magicians as their main characters. Does this seem weird to anyone else? This wouldn't seem as weird to me if magician films were common, but I am not remembering any magic movies. Here are the synopses; you guess which one is which.

"(Famous director) directs this mysterious story of two magicians whose intense rivalry leads them on a life-long battle for supremacy full of obsession, deceit and jealousy with dangerous and deadly consequences."

"Set in turn-of-the-centuy Vienna, this supernatural mystery combines romance, politics and magic."

Which one is it? Further investigation reveals that one of them appears to be about two rival magicians, while the other one is a rivalry between a politician and a magician.

This bothers me a little bit. I wonder which film is the hack.

the following is a shameless plug

2006-10-21T21:04:00.000-07:00

What: Humor U Show (the new BYU Stand-up Comedy Club)

When: Oct. 27th, 8:00-9:30pm

Where: Maeser Building Auditorium

Why: Because laughing feels good

link

(plus I'll be performing a few bits)

check out a post...

2006-10-19T21:04:00.000-07:00

at the fake news site:

nice weather in oakland

2006-10-06T16:14:00.000-07:00

I'm aware that everyone will scream that I'm a fair-weather-fan for cheering for the Oakland Athletics. I'm normally a Chicago White Sox fan, and I'm aware of the bitterness between the GM of the Chisox and Frank "the Big Hurt" Thomas. However, I've always cheered for Frank. I had a t-shirt as a child with Robin Ventura, Frank Thomas, and Time Raines on it ("Triple Threat"). I saw the Tigers in Detroit mostly because I wanted to see him with my own eyes (which I did).

It's unfortunate that Frank and the White Sox can't be together, for my benefit; I understand that sometimes relations get screwed up. People become enemies, and that's horrible, but it happens to the best of us. The Chisox got their sugar last year. To make it sweeter for the As, Frank doesn't have a history of performing in the post season.

So, let me just say congrats to Frank Thomas and the Oakland Athletics. You guys sure weren't the favorites, but you overcame the odds. I'll be excited to see you guys compete in the ALCS. I hate the Yankees, so I'm hoping to see Tigers vs. As.

中國沃爾碼

2006-09-30T16:02:00.000-07:00

^(Chinese Walmart)^

Do you think Walmart (USA) is going to take over the world? It's not doing to well in other nations. link

After reading this article, think about the term "penitential narcissism." It is the attitude I observe from the world-traveling Americans that fear Americanization.

Would you shop at a Chinese Walmart? Could you be forced to shop there? It's too soon for me to give it a name, but it's globalization and invasion of North America is certainly impending. The economic potential is just to great for us not expect it.

A BCS Problem?

2006-09-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

In the BCS system of college football an incentive is given to score as many points in 4 quarters as possible. People complain about this. They believe that in the old system, the object was to win the game by a comfortable margin (unless maybe you were playing an "evil" rival, in which case you were justified in obliterating them to your satisfaction). I did some reading, and I think that in the old system the teams also needed to win by a huge scoring margin. It made a difference in the pre-BCS days ('94):

Helen Wasiakowski of Sweet Valley, Pa., notes, "If only good sportsmanship were a factor in determining the BCS standings." Sadly, it's the other way around -- college polls penalize sportsmanship. Christopher D'Lauro of Boulder, Colo., notes that going into the final regular-season game of the 1994 season, Penn State was ranked No.1. In that final game, the Nittany Lions held a three-touchdown lead over Indiana in the fourth quarter; Paterno brought in his subs to make sure everyone got on the field during the season. (There are many on Division I teams who never actually play, and Joe Pa was concerned about his players in this category.) The result of clearing the bench was that Penn State won "only" 35-29. Pollsters sneered at the final score and elevated Nebraska to No. 1. Penn State went on to win the Rose Bowl, but Nebraska got the national championship because Paterno made the colossal blunder of being a good sport.

link

The BCS has other incentives for teams also: rewarding defensive achievement, rewarding stronger schedules, etc. It's not perfect, of course. I live in the Mountain West Conference. I believe the feeling is one of BCS-exlusion, although I can see how it's a bit reasonable.

In any case, running up the score is an issue beyond the BCS.

Did You Ever Dance with a Crocodile in the Pale Moonlight?

2006-09-03T22:49:00.000-07:00

The news reports of the death of CROCODILE Hunter, Steve Irwin is spreading like wildfire.

How did he die? How did he cheat death for so long? Many questions would race into the minds of his fans and critics. It's no surprise that news of his death would move quickly. Let's be honest; we're curious to hear if it would be darwin award worthy.

Irwin death link1
Darwin Award link 2

A stingray apparently pierced his chest with its poison-tipped tail during the filming of his diving expedition. How sad, bizarre, amusing... a mixture of emotions.

We can all take comfort in the thought that Steve is in a better place. No doubt he is tramping recklessly through the big swamps in the sky. Meanwhile, we must find a way to move on with our lives.

precious

2006-09-03T13:16:00.000-07:00

If your dogs or cats are in your house when it is on fire, then there can be great danger for your pets' lungs. In the past the pets just had to try and survive on their own: paramedics didn't offer health care to pets. Those days are done.
We now have a way to help pets that are suffering, or might be suffering from smoke inhalation:
link

Armadillo Run

2006-09-01T16:47:00.000-07:00

I found this game. I think it was creative and fun.

"It's a game that's precisely as ambitious as it needs to be. No plot. No anti-aliasing. No in-store cardboard standee. Just you, a physics engine and an armadillo."
--PC Gamer UK

link to a review

True story

2006-08-28T14:47:00.000-07:00

A stranger (female) walked into my house this morning, around 11am. She said she had stuff in the closet; she had come to retrieve it. I granted her permission to act, and she walked to the closet, leaving the front door open. (The door opens to the outside world.)

She got some stuff, came back to the open doorway. She stopped and her eyes started following a bee flying across my living room. And then she said (I'm not making this up) with a straight-face, "How did that get it here?"

Imagine my furrowed brow.

Protesting a job that is better than yours

2006-08-25T13:53:00.000-07:00

This is a great article pointing out the irony of an anti-Wal-Mart union. I promise you'll laugh.

link

Preview

UCFW organizer Bill Hornbrook: "Wal-Mart has no benefits at an affordable rate. The (Wal-Mart) workers can't afford the insurance with the wage they're making. We'd like to see them improve their working conditions," Hornbrook said. "The Neighborhood Markets are the same as a supermarket like Albertson's or Safeway. Some supermarkets start (pay) at $7 an hour, but they do get benefits. These people (employees at Wal-Mart) have to pay for theirs," Hornbrook said. So the UCFW is protesting each of the five new Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets in the Vegas area; this one in Henderson opened June 29.

....

Wal-Mart employee: "The average rate of pay for Nevada Wal-Mart workers is $10.17 an hour. We have a good insurance program, and every associate—even part-timers—are eligible for the 401k," says Mark Dyson. "There's actually different levels of insurance, dental and medical—I have a $500 deductible, but there's no cap on it. Some other companies' plans have a $1 million cap, but here there's no cap. For example, not long ago we had an associate whose husband needed a liver transplant, and that alone was $600,000; but they didn't have to worry about a cap."

Who do you trust? A union head or someone who actually works there.

loyalty

2006-08-21T17:14:00.000-07:00

Loyalty is a curious subject.

Loyalty sounds like something you should want to be. But you also don't wish to be called loyal by the wrong people. What is the deal with loyalty? Should I be loyal to my favorite automobile manufacturer? Favorite operating system developer? What about my country? state? ethnicity? employer? academic institutions? religion? family?
I've heard both positive and negative stories of people being loyal.

I've pondered many times on the subject, and I wish to explore it further.

Today I was leaving the university library as it was closing, and the speakers were blaring the fight song. I was filled with the desire to pump my fist in the air during the appropriate time, albeit I resisted the urge. Where exactly does that sort of urge come from?

I was raised in a state in the USA which is known for its pride. Where did this pride come from? Is it important for me to have pride in a state that I didn't choose to be a part of? What are the consequences of choosing loyalty or disloyalty?

Sometimes, when I hear the national anthem of the USA, my eyes well up with tears. Why? Is it because I know something? Is it because I feel something? What am I feeling and thinking exactly when that happens?

To what things should I be loyal? When? In what priority?

I hear married people talk about their unwavering loyalty to a spouse. I ask them how they can be loyal to a spouse that is incorrect, such as in a dispute with a neighbor. They say that they have to stay on "the same side" as their spouse. I can't really understand why that makes sense. Maybe they mean that in public they stay united, and in private the try to reach an understanding. Apparently lots and lots of loyalty is needed in marriages, or else they break apart.

This is a work in progress.

walmart wage

2006-08-17T15:05:00.000-07:00

Employees at walmart are getting ripped off, right?

I think that Walmart should add a gratuity line on their credit card signature receipts. That way, if you're a walmart hater, you can put your money where your mouth is. Help these poor people out, please!

Post ideas for discussion here

almost like christmas

2006-08-13T14:26:00.000-07:00

I arrived in a classroom, and a strange woman seated near asked me if there was to be a lecture in the room for the next hour. I let her know that, yes, there would be a lecture starting in about five minutes. She said that she better get going. I said, "If you stay, then you'll learn how to make a nuclear bomb." She then quietly got up and left.

And then I looked at a fellow student, who was snickering. "Who doesn't want to know how to make a nuclear bomb?" I wondered aloud. "I can think of no better hook, and she wasn't interested in the information at all!" he added. I continued: "How strange. The secret that makes the political world go 'round, and she doesn't even have a sliver of interest! How could she not be in the least bit curious?! [....] I wonder if she thought it was a joke."

I-MAX 10-D Glasses!

2006-07-09T15:33:00.000-07:00

link

OK, maybe not, but this is an interesting explanation for how to begin to imagine ten dimensions.

What people are saying about Ron Paul...

2006-07-07T23:30:00.000-07:00

"We very badly need to have more Representatives in the House who understand in a principled way the importance of property rights and religious freedom for the preservation and extension of human freedom in general ...l wish you every success."
Dr. Milton Friedman
Nobel prize recipient, economics

"Ron Paul is one of the outstanding leaders fighting for a stronger national defense. As a former Air Force officer, he knows well the needs of our armed forces, and he always puts them first. We need to keep him fighting for our country." U.S. President Ronald Reagan "Rep. Paul has a record of philosophical consistency unmatched in recent congressional history. He seeks to limit government at practically every turn. His refusal to compromise is legendary."
John Brady and Bob McAdam
The Wall Street Journal

"Congressman Ron Paul is a true friend of small business... He is committed to a pro-small-business agenda of affordable health insurance, lower taxes, tort reform, and the elimination of burdensome mandates."
Jack Farris
President, National Federation of Independent Businesses

"Ron Paul has always proven himself to be a leader in the fight for taxpayer rights and fiscal responsibility.. . No one can match his record on behalf of taxpayers."
John Berthoud
President, National Taxpayers Union Campaign Fund

“If there were such a thing as a Most Valuable Player award for politicians, I would nominate Rep. Ron Paul, a Texas Republican."
Charlie Reese
Nationally syndicated columnist

In October 1999, Congressional Quarterly placed Rep. Ron Paul on its list of "50 of the most effective legislators."

link

Petition

2006-06-29T19:55:00.000-07:00

I have just read and signed the online petition: "FIFA World Cup: Flopping Penalty and Concurrent Replay" hosted on the web by PetitionOnline.com at:

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/fifaexec/

I personally agree with what this petition says, and I think you might agree, too. If you can spare a moment, please take a look, and consider signing yourself.

If you are sick of watching world-class soccer plays fall down and grab their remarkably unscathed heads, then this petition is definitely for you. The players will do better if FIFA makes some changes.

Amazing race...

2006-06-28T08:20:00.000-07:00

vs.

The race for the MLB American League Central Division is hot. Probably hotter than it has ever been in the history of Major League Baseball. The two best teams, by far--the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers--are battling for first place.

That might not seem like a big deal, but since the Tigers moved above the White Sox, the race has been on. And the race has seen the two teams win over 75% of their games for the past 30 days. I rarely, if ever, see two teams in the same division have incredible streaks of this sort.

Between the two teams, in their last 20 games, they combine for 2 losses. And that has been the case for more than 20 games. That means these teams are playing .900 ball. That is insane!

Who will win it all at the end? Probably the White Sox, again, with their post-season experience and what-not. But the Tigers have redeemed themselves and then some.

World Cup Germany 2006! --brought to you by Hallmark

2006-06-20T10:12:00.000-07:00

The way they're handing out cards at this World Cup soccer tournament, you'd think that Hallmark was a sponsor.

"Referees handed out 102 yellow cards and five red cards in the first 21 matches of the competition, an average of 4.9 yellow cards per match. An average of 4.25 yellows per game were handed out at the 2002 World Cup: 272 yellows and 17 reds in 64 matches.
...In Spain in 1982, 98 yellow cards were shown. [That's an average of 1.5 cards per game.]"
link

The USA has gotten 2 red cards--more than any other team in the tournament thus far. And yet the USA has some of the best integrity when it comes to taking flops, a weakness for many of the best teams.

I'd like to see officials give out cards for flopping players by using video replay. They could do it throughout the match, or during half-time. I'd also like to suggest that FIFA get a new card--something worse than yellow, but not as bad as red. Maybe something that would throw a player out for just the remainder of the game, but not banishing him from the next game. Red cards should be reserved for throwers of punches and eye-gougers. Has anyone seen or heard of a card getting pulled on a player for floppping yet in this tournament? I haven't, but I also haven't seen every minute of every game. (Anyway, I mostly just wanted to make the joke about Hallmark with this post.)

2006-06-13T09:39:00.000-07:00

link
If you want to hear radio webcast of the World Cup, then this link will give you some love. English coverage is rare. Let me know if you get any good coverage online.

The USA got destroyed 3 - 0 yesterday by the Czech Republic. It was embarassing. The best players for the USA were probably the captain Claudio Reyna and the Eddie Johnson. The worst players for the USA were Bobby Convey and Oguchi Onyewu. Convey made so many bad crosses that we were left wondering what his potential really is. Onyewu was embarrassed by the talented Czech strikers.

Start Crankin' 'Em Out, Maestro!

2006-06-05T08:21:00.001-07:00

A few years ago I heard a comedian named Brian Regan. I heard his audio material first. Then I saw him in a few videos. Then I decided that I wanted to write my own stand-up routine, just as a hobby.

A few months after that, I saw a sign-up sheet getting passed around at church. I decided that would be my first time to do comedy (stand-up at church? this is a testament to Brian's clean comedy inspiration). I didn't ever actually get the sign-up sheet. I forgot about it, and the next week I asked the coordinator of the show if there were any slots open. He said he thought all the time was already taken for the show. A mixture of dissapointment and relief rushed through me.

On the night of the show, I got there 15 minutes late, and sat in the front right side of the auditorium, which is in the Clark Law Building. I missed Bytheway's performance, which was my major purpose for attending. Shucks. I watched the show, and near the end they said, we have two more acts. First we'll have break dancing from Man A and Man B, then for a the grand finale we'll have a special treat from Chris Johnson doing stand-up comedy. (insert record player needle-scratch noise) "Do what now??"

The MC calmly came near and sat in front of me. I leaned forward and said to the back of his head, "Sorry dude, but I was under the impression that I wasn't going to do any comedy. I know this is lame of me to say, but I'm not prepared and I'd prefer not to go. I've never even done stand-up before." He quietly expressed surprise and then agreed that my concerns were valid. He whispered that he would announce after the dancers that he'd take care of it. Again I felt anxiety melt away, replaced by dissapointment.

Then I decided that I could be funny for 60 seconds. Thoughts rushed into my head. I knew lots of comedy. I could use Brian Regan's routine. I'd never done it on stage, but it was funny material. Could I really do it? Would it be funny? Would people boo me for being a hack?

I leaned forward and with a hushed voice said, "On second thought, you announced me--I'll work something out. I'll go." He nodded, ok.

I took swimming lessons as a child. My mom drove my sister Kathy and I down to Lion's Park Pool across town to receive instruction from a lifeguard. That was fun and exilarating most of the time. I remember that jumping off the diving board was a big deal for me. I was ok with jumping off the lower height, but the "high dive" as I we called it was intimidating. I remember climbing up the ladder, the tingling of the muscles, the desire to climb back down, and seeing the pool property from a whole new perspective.

That's how I felt as I walked up the steps onto the stage--the microphone standing solitary, and I was supposed to make people laugh.

I am aware that some people might be upset that I used Brian Regan's material to do stand-up. I support comedians trying out the jokes that work before they start composing their own. I would liken it to music composers playing classic musical works before going to compose their own. It's all part of a large study that leads to mastery. That is my theory, anyway. Although I've improved since my start, I have yet to achieve mastery of comedy performance.

Brian Regan's material is a classic. I am thinking about him today because on Saturday I bought tickets to see him live. I've been considering driving to L.A. to see him live for a while. Now I won't have to; he's coming to Salt Lake in December. I'll be sitting on the first row of the balcony--studying him. I also want to ask him if he meant "get the ladder" or "get the latter" in his donut-lady bit.

2006-06-01T09:07:00.000-07:00

I'm busy with school, but I had to post a pic of this block. I didn't see it live, but I saw the highlights. What a block.

Shaq landed on his backside after this block; he thought he was going to dunk it. Ben Wallace thought otherwise. Ben Wallace is my favorite NBA player.

Superman

2006-05-20T12:06:00.000-07:00

The Tennessee Titans have superman on their team: Vince Young.
How many TDs will Vince throw in his rookie season? How many will he run?
What will his qb rating be?

Ironically, the first game in the NFL will be a preseason game against Reggie Bush's Saints. Interesting that they'll be on opposite sides of the ball again so quickly. Then again, so will LenDale White. Maybe they'll send him in on defense as a special RB spy.

silence hurts

2006-05-20T12:02:00.000-07:00

"You annoy me, and I put up with you annoying me; therefore I have the right to annoy you, and you should put up with my annoying behavior and shouldn't complain to me."

I was just having this argument with myself, but it seems like something I might have heard once. This seems like such a lame argument. Let me tell you why.

Being annoyed silently makes it hard for me to other things (such as study, read, watching TV, or wash dishes even). When you aren't united because of disharmony, then you can kiss love, peace, and cooperation goodbye. We need those.

If a person is doing something to majorly annoy you, then you should let them know. That doesn't mean that you demand change, but rather just lets them know that you'd prefer to be not annoyed, so you need to come to peace with whatever is happening. The extremes would be that the annoyer modifies their behavior and that's it. The other extreme is that the annoyee learns to be happy with the annoyer continuing their behavior and nothing more. Somewhere between these two extremes is where we will probably end up.

Reasonable people are willing to modify their behavior at least slightly. For instance, if someone got annoyed by my eating yoghurt, then I wouldn't stop eating it. But I might avoid eating it whilst perched on the footboard of that person's bed every morning.

So when I tell you that something you do annoys me, then don't expect me to demand you to change completely. Instead, be prepared to discuss and compromise. We both have a right to our feelings. Also if a person wants to, they can take the time to inventory what you do that annoys them. We all annoy and get annoyed. Why not release the pressure? Why not end the silent suffering and come to terms with our surroundings?

Move over eBay!

2006-05-19T11:41:00.000-07:00

Perhaps you have heard of the new Live Beta MSN applications being developed.

I think the most intriguing one for me is Windows Live Expo Beta. It's actually quite a bit different from eBay, since it's classified ads, not auctions. Ebay's buy-it-now option is pretty much like this, though.

Expo is a dynamic social listing service that allows members to find and sell items, discover information, and meet other parties in their area – all for free!
With Expo, you can browse and post listings to those you trust, like your buddies, co-workers, and fellow students, or, to all Expo visitors.

In addition, you can map listings easily using MSN Virtual Earth, post a free listing in less than a minute with our easy-to-follow steps, and use instant messages to communicate quickly with other members.

Apparently you can post items for sale for just your MSN buddies, or to other selected communities (college student peers, geogrphically selected people, etc.)

It'll be interesting to see how widespread it's use becomes.

2006-05-14T23:48:00.000-07:00

I made a wiki site for my family members to add to and edit. It can be found here.

LOST in mystery

2006-05-13T16:23:00.000-07:00

The first time I heard people talk about how I should watch the TV show "Lost," I thought, "Maybe never." If you had asked me to describe what I imagined the show to be, then I would have said, "I think it's like "Gilligan's Island," mixed with "Survivor" and a soap opera; and I knew it had a hobbit in it.

Well I've watched all the episodes now, and now I would describe it as a mix between "The X-Files" and some Stephen King novel. It's pretty wacky. And to make it even weirder, the show is dripping off of TV into other media: this is called The Lost Experience. You can begin the lost experience by going here. The only hint I'll give is that you should sign-up for the newletter. For me, it has a feelings to it sort of like the computer game Myst; but in this instance it's correlated with a TV show. Also the creators of Lost have been printing books and running advertisements in major newspapers to pique the curiosity of readers.

I was looking at a picture of an orangutang on the site, and it started to change. After a while the picture blinked, and I did a screen capture in which I got the pic below. Do you see a face in there?

Political Leanings

2006-05-05T09:54:00.000-07:00

I took a quiz to see what it would say about my political views, in comparison to others. It says that I tend to be a bit more conservative economically and more libertarian socially.

"Your political compass Economic Left/Right: 2.25
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -0.72"

Most of the leaders of "the West" are very authoritarian, not surprisingly. I've noticed that political science majors I've met at BYU are very authoritarian. Here's the link.

Let me know what it tells you.

Feng Shui Phone Assistant

2006-05-03T12:06:00.000-07:00

Finally, a piece of technology that brings peace and harmony.
link

Now I can relax.

2006-05-01T21:51:00.000-07:00

link

My favorite head-to-head geoquiz game. Real-time online world map game!
Try it.

plastic surgery

2006-04-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I think that plastic surgery is a miracle. I know that some doctors make mistakes when doing plastic surgery, but I figure that I could do a little research and get the best doctor. Sure it might cost a little extra, but it's worth it. Then I see movie stars, who have approximately one bazillion dollars more than I do; they have awful plastic surgery. How could I afford something better than their sad results?
Have you seen this stuff?

Meg Ryan: before and after

Why did she let someone take her picture? Is there no fix for the mistake on her face? It's like the Joker treatment from Batman. I'm freaked out. I flee from the suggestion of plastic surgery.

kick me again...

2006-04-18T13:55:00.000-07:00

I got kicked in a movie theater.

Nancy, Mike, and I went to see Firewall (which I rate a C+). We walked into the theater a few minutes before the lights were to dim and the previews begin. We made our way toward the front, looking for 3 open seats. In the 4th and 5th rows I saw lots of open seats, and I headed that direction, leading my friends with me. I tip-toed over a couple girls and sat down. Maybe 15 seconds later I hear a guy from another row telling my roommate that our seats were saved for some other people. "What?" I asked, leaning back to that guy's row. I confirmed that he had said that, and then replied, "All these seats? I think the official policy is that you can only save one other seat besides the one you will be sitting in." Then the guy got angry and growled, "Oh yeah?! Why don't you go ask them yourself?"
me: "Because I'm not confused, and I am fine sitting right here."
guy: "You can't just take other people's seats! You guys are *******!"
me: "Uh, ok. Well if you saved them, then how 'come we're sitting in them?"

Then as the previews were beginning another guy snuck up behind me and said
guy 2: He I'm not trying to be a ********, but I got here 45 minutes early so that I could save 13 seats for my friends, and they will be here soon and so could you please just move."
me: "Look, this isn't a ward activity; it's a public movie theater. You can save one seat for another person. ...Where would you even want us to sit?"
(he pointed to the front corner of the theater)
me: "No, we're not going over there, those seats are terrible. We got here, we sat down, and then people started telling us that these seats are saved. Well sorry, they weren't saved. "

I then turned around to sit back and watch the screen. I few seconds later I felt my seat launch me forward, it took me a split second to realize why--guy 2 had just kicked my seatback with his legs with all the angry frustration he could muster. Lucky for me the seats are well padded. Unlucky for him Nancy was now provoked and unleasing her verbally fury. I turned to look and saw that his legs were stretched out fully between his seat and the top of my seatback. Guy 3 from behind guy 2 stood up and said, "(to guy 2) Get your feet down right now! Get 'em down, now!" He reluctantly removed his feet from my seatback. Then other people started "poaching" his seat reserves. Insults were hurled. The seat poachers said, "Tell your **** friends to get here on time." or "There's no ***** saving seats."

I'm not saying that trying to save one or two seats is terrible, but you should do it with a coat, with a adhesive tape, or with a theater usher. If your friends show up late, don't get all crazy about it: especially not when you're trying to save two entire center rows through the previews.

After the movie, my 6'2'' 260 lbs roommate said that he was hoping they'd kick our seats again so he could "lay the smack down."

british version

This also reminds me of the Kevin Bagoyo set of events.

Jordan, Bryant, and James Compared

2006-04-17T15:41:00.000-07:00

Let's compare Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Lebron James:

I would like to compare the 3rd year NBA statistical averages for these three. (Michael was approx. 23.2 yrs old; Kobe was 20.8, and James will 21.3 at the end of their 3rd regular seasons.)

So 3rd NBA year stats for Michael Jordan top 7 categories, Lebron James' top 5, and Kobe's top 1.

Which categories are most important? Tough question: I'd say that fg%, 3pt%, tot. rebounds, steals, blocks and low turn overs are most important.
In those categories we have the scores Michael 3, Lebron 2, and Kobe 1. I guess that means that Lebron is on-pace to be double the player that Kobe is, and 66.6% of the player that Michael Jordan was, in my bogus determination.

NFL draft approaching...

2006-04-11T16:11:00.000-07:00

Who should the Houston Texans take for the 1st round pick in the NFL draft this year? Some say Vince Young; most of the press says Reggie Bush. What are the normal people saying?

Posted by: Michael Simmons at March 27, 2006 04:55 PM

Oh my goodness, listen to all these Texans fans from Houston saying that vince young would be a better pick than reggie bush!!!! I can't believe you guys think that picking vince young over reggie bush is actually a good idea. What is it that you guys want? Do you think that the Texans organization are actually going to pick vince when an awesome talent like reggie bush is waiting in the wings? I can't believe how blinded you guys are. I'm a diehard Texans fan just like anybody and reggie bush will be that big piece of the puzzle. Vince young being from Houston does not mean anything if you can't win with him. Have you seen how many times m. vick has gotten hurt due to running? link

It's true that some Texas fans may be medically blind, but I must admit that I cannot truly believe that Mr. Simmons owns a TV. If he had a TV he would've at least seen some of the circus-freak-show highlights of Vince Young putting on "one of the most dominating individual performances in college football history, accounting for 467 yards of total offense (200 rushing, 267 passing) and three rushing touchdowns (including a 9 yard TD scramble with 19 seconds left)."link Even the blind people in Texas could feel the inferno of heat that came from Young's scorching performances in the past two seasons.

"Have you seen how many times m. vick has gotten hurt due to running?"
And what about Michael Vick getting injured? Vick is 215 lbs and 6'0'' after 6 years in the NFL. Young is 233 lbs and 6'5'' coming out of his junior year of college. I see a major difference here. Vince hasn't gained all his weight, and he's 5'' taller. An even bigger, more powerful bull Vince will be; Vick is a sprinter with a football helmet on.

"Vince if like Vick is not a good Fantasy player but a fun player to watch them run for their lives." Young doesn't run for his life. Have you even seen him run? He is comfortable, calm, methodical; he is tall enough to see everyone. He glides easily for the yardage that a RB should be getting. Soon he will get to his full NFL weight; he won't be getting injured much. It seems like most QBs get injured when they are small and light-weight, and they don't see people diving over the line into their patella. Young will see them coming, and will be running for an 80-yard TD. The dude survived a car hitting him. (See bottom.)

Reggie Bush is crazy good. Everyone agrees to that. "Bush is a great player but when has a 190 pound running back carried a team on his shoulders to the big game?" That's a good question. Barry Sanders couldn't do it by himself. Reggie Bush has a long way to go to prove he's as good as Barry Sanders.

"Reggie Bush: This guy can run like a beast."
No, I definitely wouldn't describe his running as beast-like. Lindell White was the beast-runner for USC. Bush is more of a finesse runner. He doesn't run straight ahead if there isn't a big hole. As a matter of fact, I'd take Lindell ahead of Bush. He'd be a better bang for one's buck.

"Wouldn't Bush have had better stats if he were the lone star player on his team?"
You can speculate and say, "He would have had double the total yardage!"
If that's true, then how did he get dominated in the Rose Bowl by the Texas defense even with his supporting cast? Maybe other team defenses would've had an even easier time containing him then the Longhorn D if he were the only star! He better have the same supporting cast in the NFL or he will become an expert on the ceiling design of the NFL locker rooms.

The bottom-line: Can Vince carry a team himself? Yes. Can Reggie? Who knows.

And about the Wonderlic scores:

All I need to know about Vince Young is that he came up with one of the greatest performances ever in the Rose Bowl. In the fourth quarter, I saw (USC coach) Pete Carroll throw every kind of blitz at Vince. I saw Vince read the blitz and beat the blitz. I don't care what his Wonderlic score is. The only score I care about is 41-38. --Sean Jones, a member of the Oakland Raiders' personnel department link

If the Texans want to sell tickets, then they should give Vince a call and a big NFL QB check.

Even if Young ended up being a bust, which would mostly happen if there were injury, Houston wouldn't abandon the Texans team. Instead they would be more deeply endeared. But that's a small risk in my mind.

Something you may not know about Vince Young:

At the age of 7, Young was struck by a vehicle while riding his bicycle at the corner of Tidewater and Buxley streets in his Houston neighborhood. The accident nearly killed him and left him hospitalized for months[5]. Today, he credits this event for making him into a tougher man. link

correct thinking

2006-04-11T10:30:00.000-07:00

"Feminism is all about the power to choose. Half a century ago, it is likely that my current stay at home status wouldn't have been mine to accept or reject. Instead it simply would have been the way it was. That was the case for the brilliantly stifled Betty Friedan, an Ivy League educated genius who launched the modern women's movement when she wrote "The Feminine Mystique" after finding herself literally imprisoned by societal expectations that she confine her interests to home and hearth. Twenty years later, Friedan re-explored the lives of American women in "The Second Wave", in which she argued that the assumption that every woman should construct a life centered primarily around earning a wage could be just as limiting as previous social paradigms."-source

What are the names of the multi-company CEOs...

2006-03-22T19:51:00.000-07:00

They Rule
Check it out, at least once or twice.

Searching Our Senses: The Future of Search Engines

2006-03-15T13:40:00.000-07:00

"Let's see. What words would help me find the information/media that I have interest in?" I might think as I plunk my fingers down onto the black, dusty keys on my computer's QWERTY keyboard in my small, dimly lit duplex living room. Those words have a magical quality on the information highway. Like keys to invisible doors that open up to clandestine paths, they work semi-mystically to quickly access information that empowers me. I just need that special key. Some people have got it, and some people really don't.

Right now, it's all about keywords. Maybe my friend Spacehum would be able to fill in some entertaining stories here about search engines. He works for a company that helps client companies improve their google rank (as in how soon do you see a company's web site in google search results).

But in the not too distant future, we certainly won't be limited to the yellow-page-type indexing that we have now. Certainly the present indexing is superior to a phone book, but we have so many other ways of referencing information.

What new ways will we index and reference information? Well we don't just see words with our eyes; what about colors, light intensities, and shapes? What if I don't know the word for a shape? (dodecahedron?) We could search for similar shapes, colors, etc., using a graphical search engine.

What about the other sensory data references?

Could we have an audio search engine? ("My car is making a weird noise. Here is the digital recording. Please match this noise with a data base of sounds and their corresponding diagnoses." Or "I heard this song. What is the name of this song, and what are the lyrics?")

Could we have an texture/touch search engine? ("It is a soft fabric that feels like this..., what fabric is this?")

Could we have an olfactory search engine to find a preferred perfume--to identify any smell.

Could we have a taste engine? "What was the name of this bread, again?" or "I like this restaurant. What restaurants in this area serve food that tastes like this?"

Can we digitize the 5 senses?

We'll see.

Music tracks

2006-03-13T17:18:00.000-07:00

Track: 03 -- If She Wants Me
Artist: Belle And Sebastian
Album: Dear Catastrophe Waitress

link to listen at Amazon

Also the track called "You Don't Send Me" is nice.

Track: 03 Crowning Of A Heart
Album: The Secret Of Elena's Tomb
Artist: And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead

link to Amazon

Write Messages to Congressmen

2006-03-09T00:49:00.000-07:00

link

Follow this link to easily write emails to your representatives in Washington, D.C.

It might take a couple tries, but it's quite convenient.

I just sent some messages about illegal immigration to my three listed reps.

Talent

2006-03-08T00:40:00.000-07:00

Universal Computer Support

2006-03-07T09:54:00.000-07:00

While we think about having state-sponsored healthcare and other gov't programs, why don't we also consider starting a state-sponsored computer operations support program. You don't want people to get left behind just because their computer has a problem.
You could have a center where people could bring in their sick machines. The computer Docs could work their magic, and the information gap could be closed a little more.
Maybe employers could provide computer health plans for their employees.

Isn't computer care a universal right, just like human healthcare?

(look at this poor computer with the sad eyes...)

footprint on my mind

2006-03-07T09:41:00.000-07:00

People in information systems are using the term "footprint" in odd ways.

Just now, listening to NPR, I heard a man describe the 30 mile radius of wireless internet access as a "large foot print."

I'm not sure how much I like calling an effective wireless communications area a "footprint."

People also describe cell phones' dimensions as footprints. Why does everyone differ the use of words such as "size" or "dimensions" in favor of "footprint"?

I guess footprint is the cool new term. I guess I should go into nano-footprint studies so I can collect all the future research money.

PANDA

2006-03-06T17:22:00.000-07:00

I have an HP iPaq h6315. Some people call it a smart phone. I think a smartphone is a flip-phone or a candy-bar-style phone with expanded software features.

What I have is different. It is a pda and a phone. It is a "pdphandonea." It is a "paphanda." It is a "panda."
Panda!
That's the name for the convergence device category (as far as I'm concerned). If you don't believe me, then check the wikipedia page.

Angry Spaghetti Sauce Against North Dakota

2006-03-06T13:54:00.000-07:00

It makes me very angry that someone is trying to tell me what I can and can't do! Some people think that abortion is horrible, and liken it to murder.

It's obvious to everyone that I didn't make the choice to get pregnant, so it's awesome that I can kill the baby inside me and go on with my life! Maybe next time, baby! Why would you even want to bring a baby into this world?

Without abortion, I'd have a baby that I would hate and it would grow-up to be a criminal, for sure. The "lesser evil" is for me to killing it. Mercy killings aren't so bad. They make my life easier, and thus, society's collective life is better.

Abortion helps society and dead baby avoid pain and suffering. Who would even bring a baby into this horrible world. Now that I think about it, "life" in general is filled with pain and suffering. We should give mercy killings out more generously!

Let's put some mentally handicapped people to sleep--to the gas chambers with the terminally ill! They are sad and suffering, anyway--guaranteed. We must kill them. It should be illegal not to kill them. Society shouldn't pay to prolong their suffering, should it?

My downstairs neighbor also seems depressed. I'll "off" him next week. Human kind will be better off. I think he speeds in his car, and steals grapes at the grocery store--clearly hurting society. I want to live in a society that eliminates these inefficient pleasure-producers.

Hey, I've suddenly a become a capitalist when it comes to the choice of sacrificing my pleasure-convenience vs. obeisance to archaic religious ideas.

Warning: Wal-mart Running a Business

2006-03-01T14:15:00.000-07:00

If you want to work at Wal-mart, be advised--Walmart is guilty of not running an adult day-care facility. Don't believe me? An "embarrassing" internal memo revealed it recently.(News Link: AFL-CIO)

The profitable Wal-mart may try to hire the healthier people first. (*gasp!)

How dare they successfully make $10 billion in profit and decide to keep on making more, instead of immediately giving some of it to me. (Oh wait, I actually believe they can keep their profits--I was just getting a bit envious.) Here's one of my favorite parts:

A congressional study estimated each Wal-Mart store costs taxpayers an average $108,000 a year for its Wal-Mart workers’ children who are enrolled in state children’s health insurance programs. In 2004, Wal-Mart made nearly $288 billion in revenue in 2004 and made a $10 billion net profit, according to Fortune magazine.

At the state level, working families and health care activists are seeking legislative support for “Health Care Disclosure Acts” that will enable states to determine which corporate freeloaders are shifting their responsibility to provide health care coverage for their employees onto state taxpayers.

Am I suppposed to not laugh?

Wal-mart is freeloading? Wal-mart doesn't have the responsibility to provide health-care to employees. The state taxpayer doesn't have that responsibility either. The INDIVIDUAL PERSON has the responsibility to provide for health care for themselves and family. I know that some people don't share this view.

If a person doesn't have employer-provided health care at their place of employment, then they should find private health insurance. It does cost money, but that's ok. It's a good decision to not freeload off gov't, and an even better idea to enact legislation to eliminate freeloading by our citizens. Wal-mart isn't freeloading, the citizens are. Don't get fooled by the false dichotomy.

Wal-mart isn't perfect, but this AFL-CIO attack on Wal-mart's "embarrassing memo" makes me want to laugh, to continue my education, and then to cut any legal cords binding me to these ridiculous, envy-spewing organizations. If the cords can't be cut, then I will just have to legally defend myself.

Take off the training-wheels, people. You really can keep yourself alive and happy.

You can do it.

"You", not "everybody else."

*ahem.
"You."

How Long Gender Discrimination Will Continue

2006-03-01T13:37:00.000-07:00

news link: SF Gate

A surname-hyphenating pregnant woman wasn't given a promotion to become captain of the police force. The lieutenant surname-hyphenating pregnant woman thinks she was the best candidate for becoming a police captain, to the point that she's suing the city over the issue. They gave the job to a male lieutenant while she was on maternity leave. She is suing the city for discrimination.

How to look at this:
1) She was tricked into getting pregnant by a man, and then her backward, neo-con city police chief thought that a mother can't do the job of a police captain and a mother. She wanted to become the captain, but he pushed his belief that she needed to stay at home with the baby onto her, unjustly. Then they gave her old potential-position to a non-female. She is the victim of gender discrimination.

2) A police lieutenant got pregnant when she was all lined up to become the next captain. The chief told her that she'd fill the next vacant captain spot. When the spot was vacated, she was pregnant. Pregnant women are not best suited for being police captains. The position needed to be filled, anyway. While she was on maternity leave, the position was filled by another qualified applicant.

How long will this type of discrimination continue?

Probably as long as women do get pregnant and men don't. Probably as long as women look carefully for men with higher paying, more stable jobs, and men continue apathetic about their spouses's employment advancement.

all you base are belong to us

2006-02-24T15:22:00.000-07:00

We finally got the script together.

Camera Shy

2006-02-23T18:30:00.000-07:00

...Nancy is sure to love this posting.