Firstborn

Forbes published an article about a study done by Norwegian researchers. The study alleges that the firstborn in a family is likely to have a higher IQ than the subsequent children. Although my little sister may take issue with the study, I'm quite confident that this is accurate...

Un-DRMed Music

According to the Inquirer, sales of un-DRMed music have risen between 17% and 24%. Gee, I suppose it takes a rocket scientist to figure out that people are more likely to purchase something they can use more widely, whether it's music or not.

For whatever reason, the RIAA and MPAA view sales of un-DRMed music as potential lost revenue. If they had two braincells to rub together, they'd realized that a 24% increase in sales is an INCREASE IN SALES. duh...

Ron Paul

He's unelectable, given all his good sense, but a guy can dream...

Vote Ron Paul!!

Free and Alive!!

Ron Paul's Blog

Blogger browsing

When clicking "next blog" on the banner at the top of blogger sites, I wish you could select to only browse blogs of a certain language. Now that I think about it, I think being able to browse blogs by a certain subject would be cool, too...

Social networking for fatties...

Sometime last year it sank in that a lot of the men in my family have heart problems. Between that and looking in the mirror every morning, I decided to change my lifestyle somewhat to make it more likely that I'll last long enough to see all my kids graduate and get married.

I'm not a very disciplined person, by nature, so the change wasn't drastic. I started going to the gym, and asked my wife to cook more with my health in mind. My wonderful wife just happens to be a fantastic cook (if everyone who eats her cooking is to be believed), and she made minor adjustments to our food for me.

A year later, I've lost 25 pounds, but also increased my muscle mass significantly. I think, at least this time, results are their own motivation.

This brings me to the subject of my post...

With Myspace and Facebook all the rage, it's only a matter of time until every social niche has its own social networking site built to cater. Fatsecret is just such a site for people using diet to alter their phyisical being. It's something of a cross between a wiki and a forum. People can contribute content to diet information, recipes, share success and failure stories, and network with each other for encouragement. The site is free, and doesn't seem to feature advertising. As with most websites, I'm curious what their business plan is and how they plan to make money, but in the mean time, it seems like it has some potential as a social networking niche site. If dieting is of any interest to you, this site may be worth a look.

Seen on a t-shirt...

Don't be afraid - I'm right behind you using you as a shield

Overheard at the office...

Co-worker 1:
"Mexico becoming the 51st state is a win-win situation. They have a proven track record of not being able to run their own country, so we can provide them with a better government and increased prosperity. We'd benefit from the increased land in Mexico, their natural resources, tourism, and the hard workers."

Co-worker 2:
"All the hard workers are already here. The only ones left in Mexico are the ones that are too lazy to come up here.

Regarding the iPhone

A letter from Chris to Buzz Out Loud about the iPhone:

"Look, I don't get it. I'm sorry, I've tried--I mean, I really have--but I just don't get it. I mean, if I told you there is a new phone coming out and it had a 2G connection and Wi-Fi with a Web browser, no Java applications, no themes, no native applications, no flash support, no keypad, no replaceable battery, no external memory support, no VPN support, no e-mail support, no GPS, a standard 2-megapixel camera, no infrared, and no BT keyboard support. You'd think it would be some sort of budget phone. Then I tell you it's white and it's going to cost a fortune, and people go nuts. Man, I really don't get it. I feel like the only sober person at the party. Chris"

Confederate Motor Company

I showed this to my wife. She didn't get it.

Transformers

I'm really looking forward to the new Transformers movie. I loved Transformers as a kid, but I'm a little concerned that the new Megatron is now some sort of spaceship instead of the handgun that he was in the 80's. Is this some pathetic play for political correctness, or is it just easier to make a movie when the head badguy transforms into something that is more along the lines of the rest of his crew. After all, Starscream is a jet...

Star Wars Stroller

I'm a big Star Wars fan. This gives me ideas...

Big man...

It takes a big man to cry, but it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man.– Jack Handey

10 Driving Commandments

The Vatican released the "10 Commandments of Driving" today.

Included in this list is "Thou shall not drive under the influence of alcohol. Thou shall respect speed limits." Too bad that, "Thou shalt not touch little boys" still hasn't seemed to emerged from the Vatican.

A notable commandment is, "Thou shall not consider a car an object of personal glorification or use it as a place of sin."

Ferrari responds: Link to Reuters.

You have to love Catholicism and any other religion that makes it up as it goes...

English as the Official Language

English as the official language.
Ok for .gov for cost savings.
Ok for business to try to attract any customer.

Recently, Oak Point, Texas, made English its official language. I think this is one of the more polarizing issues around right now, but I've come to view it in fairly clear terms.

There's a group out there that rallies around the flag, declares their patriotism, and demands that you only be allowed to speak english in America. Having to "Press 1 for English" is un-American, they declare! All should be subject to this, according to them.

The other group is opposed to any standardization of language. This group includes people that speak english as a second language, and the liberal-tending people that support anything that is declared "un-American." They view the movement to standardize on English as racist and small-minded.

Both have valid arguements, but I've decided there's a compelling arguement for a middle ground: MONEY. After all, the American Revolution wasn't about personal liberties, religious freedoms, or the right to bear arms, it started because of money. No taxation without representation, and all that...

I think the Government should standardize itself on English, based purely on a cost reasoning. It costs money to produce forms, translate government proceedings, etc. If we only conducted government business in English, there is a savings to be realized.

Private industry, however, should not be subject to these limitations. If a business finds that it can attract profitable customers by catering to multiple languages, it should have that right. That's pretty much what's in place now, which is why we don't have to press 3 to hear German, 4 for French, etc., because it's not profitable for the companies to cover those languages. If I, as a consumer think that having to press 1 for English is too much of an imposition, I am free to take my business elsewhere. I suppose a niche industry might pop up at some point based on only doing business in English.

Personally, I'm going to do business where I get the best rates, the best service, etc., even if I have to press 1 to be transferred to English speaking helpdesk in India...

MPAA is more important than you!!

“Our law enforcement resources are seriously misaligned,” NBC/Universal general counsel Rick Cotton said. “If you add up all the various kinds of property crimes in this country, everything from theft, to fraud, to burglary, bank-robbing, all of it, it costs the country $16 billion a year. But intellectual property crime runs to hundreds of billions [of dollars] a year.”

In other words, your car getting stolen, your house broken into, or your bank account pilfered is not as important as the oxygen thieves at the MPAA getting to gold plate their bathtub as quickly as they'd like.

Cotton is spearheading the new effort, christened the “Campaign to Protect America,” as chairman of the newly formed Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy.

I'm so glad that they are going to "protect me." I suppose they are going to do it by forcing DRMed music down my throat that I can't play in more than 30% of my digital devices. I feel safer already.

http://www.contentagenda.com/CA6452245.html.

A Commercial We Can All Relate To...

They got me with this one, too...

Apparently, you don't have to burn a flag just because it touches the ground.
http://www.snopes.com/holidays/flagday/burnflag.asp
Who knew?

Thinkgeek

For those of you with geeks in your life, keep Thinkgeek.com in mind for gifts and special occasions. After all, who doesn't need their own realistic lightsaber?

AT&T willing to spy for NSA, MPAA, and RIAA

If someone at AT&T said they didn't really take this stuff seriously and they were just trying to avoid costly lawsuits and prosecution, I might cut them some slack. The problem is that they just seem so eager to be at the forefront of throwing their users under the bus.

Article from ARS Technica

When Money Just Doesn't Matter

How about a keyboard with 113 individual little displays, one in every key?

You can preorder one for the perfectly reasonable price of US$1564.37

http://www.artlebedev.com/everything/optimus/

In case you missed it, it's still a keyboard...

SPB Softwarehouse

If you have a Windows Mobile Pocket PC, SPB Softwarehouse is a company that you should keep an eye on. They have several compelling software add-ons that make your device even better than it was before.

SPB Mobile Shell

This may just be the best improvement you can make to your PPC. It adds an optional screen that appears when you activate your device. It shows the time, weather, upcoming appointments, and waiting emails, texts, and voicemails, as well as battery and signal strength.



















The best part about the Mobile Shell, though, is the SPB menu. When you activate it, it provides EASY one-handed activation of functions and applications, something sorely lacking from the standard Windows Mobile. The picture really doesn't show the screen to screen navigation that makes it so intuitive and easy to use.



















The standard Windows Contacts screen can be replaced by the SPB Contacts screen. This screen adds a numeric pad to the screen, allowing you to punch a few buttons to bring up your desired contact. This is particularly helpful for PPCs with slide-out keyboards. Without this, you have to either scroll through your entire list of contacts, or open the slideout keyboard.



















The last great main feature it adds is a tabbed plug-in for the today screen. My favorite tab is the photo dialer, but it also adds a smart launcher, time and alarms tab, and weather. Other SPB software can also be integrated into these tabs.




















SPB Backup

What can I say? This is the gold standard backup software for the PPC. I use it. It works perfectly. I do wish that there was some sort of script that automatically offloaded backup files from your storage card to your PC, but besides that, this program has everything you need to back up and restore your PPC.

SPB Phone Suite

This is the batch of little things that your phone has been missing. You may or may not have known it, but it is.

Probably the biggest addition are the Phone Profiles. This allows you to not only configure several different notification profiles with different volumes, vibration, blinks, etc., it allows you to set them based on time, appointments on your calendar, if you're in the car, etc. For example, you can set the phone to automatically switch to the Meeting profile when your calendar has an appointment. You can also manually select a profile and then tell it how long to keep that profile before switching back to normal. This is especially helpful if you are forgetful about taking your phone off vibrate.























































There's also a great Today Screen plug-in that, optionally, can be integrated into Mobile Shell. It adds a picture dialer (a richer version than the one included with Mobile Shell), message counts, a button that makes it easier to turn your radios on and off (bluetooth, phone, wi-fi, etc.), and a profiles button.



















When you recieve phone calls, you can configure Phone Suite to ask you if you want to reply with a text message. This is handy for when you are in a meeting and someone calls, you can simply blast an SMS message back to them letting them know you recieved their call, but will have to call them back.



















There's also a nice Photo call log. It adds photos to the standard call log, making it easier to scan through and find the call you are looking for.



















Another great feature is the call filtering. You can set it to accept all calls, reject all calls, reject only callers on a blacklist, or accept only callers on a whitelist. Very handy for people that might want some peace from their phone, but still want a select few callers to be able to reach them. It occurs to me that someone with an annoying ex might find use for the blacklist, too...

So, you think you're a man?

The Bataan Memorial Death March is a challenging march through the high desert terrain of White Sands Missile Range, N.M., conducted in honor of the heroic service members who defended the Philippine Islands during World War II, sacrificing their freedom, health and, in many cases, their very lives.

There are two routes offered:

The GREEN route is the full 26.2-mile Bataan Memorial Death March. Awards are presented to the top two finishers in each category. Those marching the 26.2 miles will be able to experience, in part, what Soldiers endured during their long forced trek through the Philippines.

The BLUE route is 15.2 miles in length. This shorter march is designed for participates who would like to memorialize Bataan but do not wish to march the full 26.2-mile route. There are NO awards given for this shorter march.

The Bataan Memorial Death March honors a special group of World War II heroes. These brave soldiers were responsible for the defense of the islands of Luzon, Corregidor and the harbor defense forts of the Philippines. The conditions they encountered and the aftermath of the battle were unique. They fought in a malaria-infested region, surviving on half or quarter rations with little or no medical help. They fought with outdated equipment and virtually no air power.

On April 9, 1942, tens of thousands of American and Filipino soldiers were surrendered to Japanese forces. The Americans were Army, Army Air Corps, Navy and Marines. Among those seized were members of the 200th Coast Artillery, New Mexico National Guard. They were marched for days in the scorching heat through the Philippine jungles. Thousands died. Those who survived faced the hardships of a prisoner of war camp. Others were wounded or killed when unmarked enemy ships transporting prisoners of war to Japan were sunk by U.S. air and naval forces.

The Army ROTC Department at New Mexico State University began sponsoring the memorial march in 1989 to mark a page in history that included so many native sons and affected many families in the state. In 1992, White Sands Missile Range and the New Mexico National Guard joined in the sponsorship and the event was moved to the missile range.

In 2003, for the only time in its history, the memorial march was canceled. Operation Iraqi Free required extensive deployment among the units that usually support the march and event could not be safely and efficiently conducted.

Since its inception, the memorial march has grown from about 100 to some 4,000 marchers from across the United States and several foreign countries. While still primarily a military event, many civilians choose to take the challenge. Marchers come to this memorial event for many reasons — personal challenge, the spirit of competition or to foster esprit de corps in their unit. Some march in honor of a family member or a particular veteran who was in the Bataan Death March or was taken a prisoner of war by the Japanese in the Philippines.

What participants say about the course:

• I've done 17 marathons - this was unreal. I wasn't prepared for the sand.
• I wasn't prepared for all the loose sand - many miles of this and a lot of it uphill.
• This course was nice due to the dirt. Not much pavement to pound the feet and joints.
• I was shocked as to how difficult walking 26.2 miles could be. I've been on a lot of forced marches but none were harder than this.
• Training for this course like a regular marathon doesn't quite do the trick. I should have done a lot of hiking, hills, rough terrain type training.

For more info:

http://www.bataanmarch.com/

Mobile Phones, Revisited...

Over the past year, I’ve had the opportunity to carry every model of Windows Mobile device that Cingular/AT&T offers. One would think that since they run similar software the user experiences would be similar, but such is far from the truth. The phones written about here are what I’ve actually carried for a minimum of two weeks. If your favorite WM5 device isn’t listed, it’s because I didn’t actually carry it. If you think I’ve missed out on a great phone, please let me know. What follows are my opinions on the various devices:

Windows Smartphones

The Smartphones don’t have a touchscreen, but instead rely on direction pads, keypads, and tumbwheels for navigation. These devices are geared towards email and communication-centric customers, but have a powerful PIM as well. The ability to sync Email, Contacts, Calendar, and Tasks wirelessly with your Exchange Server makes them an invaluable system.

Cingular 2125

The Cingular 2125 is a candy bar style phone no longer offered. It was manufactured by HTC. We have a couple of these in use, and the people using them won’t give them up. As of late last year, a ROM upgrade enabled the Direct Push technology and wireless syncing with Exchange 2003 SP2 is a breeze. The phone is compact, durable, and easy to use, although the usefulness is limited by the lack of a full QWERTY keyboard.

Cingular 3125

Software-wise, the 3125 is almost identical to the 2125, the biggest difference being the form factor. The 3125 is an uber-cool flip phone, reminiscent of the Motorola RAZR. It also has external buttons for playing media, although you’d probably want to utilize the micro-SD slot for any sort of music storage. The biggest limitation of this phone is the lack of a QWERTY keyboard.

Samsung Blackjack

The Blackjack, despite having an unfortunately similar name, is not related to the Blackberry… Thank goodness! It uses a thumbwheel, directional pad, and QWERTY keyboard for navigation on the largest screen available on a Smartphone. It comes with the best IM software I’ve seen, by OZ. Early versions included two of the standard, low-profile batteries. More recent versions have included a standard battery and an extended battery that increases the bulk somewhat. I’ve been making use of the standard battery, and have been able to go all day with no issue. The slim profile, large(ish) screen, and QWERTY keyboard team up to make this a very compelling choice for your travel companion. Also, it seems they can frequently be had for less than $200 with incentives.

Windows Pocket PCs

The Pocket PCs (PPCs)are like Smartphones on steroids. They will do all the same things the Smartphones will do, and more. These devices all feature touchscreens. With Smartphones, there is typically an application included to view office documents. With PPCs, Pocket Office is included which allows you to actually edit the documents. Our company is very spreadsheet-centric and this has come in handy quite a few times for users to do a quick edit on a spreadsheet and email it off to a co-worker while at the airport. There is also a terminal services client included which allows you to open a remote desktop, say, on a server. It’s a little awkward, but beats having to leave a baseball game and drive into the office when you need to reboot a Windows machine.

Cingular 8125

The Cingular 8125 is the most prolific phone in our company. This is in part due to the early release, and partly due to its low cost. It was a good start, and remains a good value in the marketplace. It has a relatively good battery life due to its slower processor, but still manages to have the power needed to accomplish most tasks. Navigation is a little tricky, as this model doesn’t have hardware buttons for the Start menu or to close a window. Those must be touched on the screen, which is tricky without a stylus. The 8125 also offers 802.11b wireless networking, although it can be a little hard on the battery if used for an extended period of time. The keyboard backlight is a little troublesome, as it can’t be adjusted and shuts off too quickly, in my opinion.

Cingular 8525

This is my favorite device, the one I keep coming back to. It improved on the 8125 by adding extra hardware buttons and a thumbwheel for one-handed navigation. Its faster processor provides for a snappy response when selecting an application. It offers wireless networking in the form of 802.11b/g, another improvement over the 8125. The keyboard has a light sensor so it turns on the backlighting as needed, solving the problem that the 8125 had with the keyboard backlight turning off too soon. A recently updated ROM from HTC provides a few minor bugfixes, as well as a few added features. While it’s a little on the heavy side, it fits nicely in your hand.

Palm Treo 750

I think Palm is heading for bad times. Putting Windows on a Treo was their admission that their Palm operating system wasn’t going to cut it. Then, the execution of this phone is horrible. The problem is that it’s like they didn’t even test this device. There are a lot of great things about it, but there are some software conflicts that make it a worthless phone. More on that later. First, the good stuff. Palm put some extra thought into making this device especially one-handed friendly. There are some proprietary applications bundled in that improve operation over the standard Windows mobile configuration. These include a picture dialer and a chat-style text message viewer that threads your incoming and outgoing text messages in a more natural conversation format than a typical inbox-style. The fantastic hardware switch that flips you from ring to vibrate can be found dutifully stationed at the top of the phone, as in previous offerings. Other Palm-specific Innovations can be found here. This would have been a really compelling package, except that Palm didn’t quite figure out that the phone should ring reliably. For reasons unknown, every Treo 750 we rolled out stopped ringing or vibrating. It was fixable with a reboot, but the user would realize that they’ve missed several calls, and then have to completely reboot their phone for the ringer to work again. Palm offered a bulletin stating that one of its “improvements” might be conflicting with the Windows software and disabling the voice dialer might fix the problem. We had mixed results with this “fix” and honestly, if a piece of software conflicts with the operating system, isn’t that just a poorly designed piece of software? As of today, the last of the Treo 750s were turned in and replaced with Cingular 8525s. I’m willing to try this phone again after AT&T releases an updated ROM, either fixing the problems or moving the phone to WM6 altogether, but until I can count on the phone ringing when I get a call, forget it!

HP hw6925

This PPC sports a built-in GPS. If it didn’t have the worst screen of the bunch, poor battery life, and an awkward pancake-like form factor, I’m sure it would be a great choice. My friend works at HP, and carries one of these. He explained that it was cutting edge at the time of its conception, but the time to market was so long that it was surpassed by nearly every phone out there. We still have one of these phones in the fleet, and I use it as a loaner when someone’s phone dies or if they need GPS navigation.

Sopranos

So yesterday was the final episode of the Sopranos on HBO. I managed to get through the day without having it spoiled for me, except that the universal consensus is that the final episode wasn't befitting of this series. Oh well.

I'm about to start the 6th season of Sopranos on DVD. Maybe I'm cheap, but I'll get my Sopranos fix from Blockbuster.com and save myself the cost of HBO.

Coming back...

It's probably a bad sign when you procrastinate your blog entries into the next year. I've got plenty to say, so I'll just need to buckle down and enter it.

See you soon...