Thoughts and Things

Here we go again.

2016-11-27T15:28:00.004-05:00

Ok. The year is quickly winding down and here I am staring at this blog and wondering what to make of it. Again. I've tried on and off to use this medium in many and no ways, which explains its lack of focus. Frankly, I do not know what that will be; however, I am setting time aside to think about it and chart a course. Let's see what the 'new and improved' recipe ends up looking like.

Roku or Apple TV

2010-09-29T19:53:00.001-04:00

For the better part of this year I have relied on Hulu and Netflix to watch TV shows and movies. Prior to this change I had invested a great deal of time to setup a Windows Media Center PC to act as my DVR. While it worked with little to none intervention, it wasn't without problems. If we ever had a brownout, the PC would not come back on or the cable box would not power up on its own so I would end up with a blue screen and no show recorded. Enter Hulu. I created an account and told it which shows I wanted to subscribe to and to show me only new episodes. Since then I'm not concerned at all what happens at home because the day after my desired show airs, it is on Hulu.

There are drawbacks with Hulu. For example, I cannot watch a show 15 minutes in, like I would w/ a DVR, with the intention to skip the commercials because the show is not available yet. However, this has not been much of an issue for me because I generally don't watch shows when they air; I watch whenever I can.

Given that Hulu and Netflix and my primary sources of entertainment I would like to get a 'box' that streams both that works well and is better than having a bulky power inefficient PC attached to the TV. Enter Roku or Apple TV. Roku seems ready to support both; see article. But there are rumors about Hulu coming to Apple TV. I've been inclined to move in the Apple direction because it's Apple so not a solid reason yet. From the looks of it, it may be Roku 1 and Apple 0, but the jury is still out. I have not purchased either a box yet, but soon I will. The question is which one.

A quick meal by myself.

2010-09-28T23:23:00.000-04:00

Soon after leaving work today I stopped by the local Chick-fil-a for quick bite before class. Today was our final test, a 3 hour marathon, so I wanted to be sure 'hunger' would not impact my performance.

When I pulled up to the parking space I lingered in the car to finish listening to a story on 'All Things Considered.' When it was done, I carelessly stepped out of the car and went in to the restaurant. Once inside I realized I left my phone behind. It was a weird feeling. I have a DROID phone which means I'm always connected to cyberspace and it is not uncommon for me to check Facebook/Twitter, etc. while on a break. This time was different. I did not go back to the car for my phone so there I sat with my food in front of me and I was totally alone.

I'm no stranger to having a meal 'alone', which I should work on but that's outside the scope this post, but I do so with phone in hand. This time it was just us: the food and me. Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable experience. I simply consumed my food, let my mind wander and busy itself with no more than the brief distraction of a car driving by. I'm sure people were still sending out twitter/facebook updates but I was unaware of whom checked in where, posted photos, liked something, etc. It was very relaxing and arguably the best way to pass the time before the long and timed test that awaited me.

Once reunited with my phone I checked the feeds for each application but it was not lost on me how much my behavior has changed since these things are so omnipresent in my life. But I don't 'need' to be plugged in all the time. Sometimes is good to just be and slow down even if the result is writing about an unplanned moment of reflection and posting it to web.

Sony's eReader

2010-09-27T20:31:00.000-04:00

Sony is out with the Reader Pocket Edition. I was turned off about the device as soon as I learned it did not support Wi-Fi nor 3G. This is classic Sony to be so full of itself and its ability to read/lead the market. An e-reader is convenient because it 1) is nimble 2) allows you to 'carry' many books w/o adding weight 3) has a screen that is conducive to reading for long stretches and 4) has ample content readily available w/o the need to plug the darn thing to anything. When it comes to 4; epic fail.

For a CNET review the link is after the jump.
Sony Pocket Reader Edition

Apple TV

2010-09-27T20:23:00.000-04:00

Looks like Apple TV is going out in 'September' after all.
Apple TV

Southwest/Airtran

2010-09-27T14:30:00.002-04:00

As someone who lives in Atlanta and often travels on airtran I'm pleased about this merger. Soon I won't care if I check a bag because they travel free on southwest. It's $15 for the first bag on Airtran.

Amazon's Kindle

2010-09-27T00:36:00.001-04:00

I've been the lucky owner of a Kindle Wi-Fi only model for the better part of a month and I like it a lot. The device is easy to use and works as advertised. So far I've enjoyed two books on it, a few magazines, and newspapers. The best part is the screen contrast is awesome. I've never felt fatigued as I do when reading on an LCD screen. I was pleasantly surprised to see how quickly I got through the books I have read so far with Kindle. I guess not having a physical marker of how much I have to go till the end has been a positive for me. The last feature I will comment about is the built-in dictionary. You can scroll to a word and the Kindle displays its definition. It is wonderful to quickly get a definition without putting your book down and either grab a dictionary or search the web.

I opted for the WI-FI only model because I read either at home or at Starbucks, both places where I have access to Wi-Fi. Outside of those places, I'm not concerned about an always on connection. I have my DROID phone for that. Besides, if I really needed to get something on the Kindle while I'm out and about, all I'd have to do is walk into a Starbucks. After all, there are quite a few of those around.

What the Kindle is not is a tablet device. The Kindle does one thing and does it great: to be an e-reader. I would add there in lies the genius of the device for it does not try to do all sorts of things for the sake of being feature rich, but the most effective e-reader in the market.

If you get a chance to play with the device, I suggest you do. It will be time well spent and you may just end up ordering one.

Netflix

2010-09-26T23:56:00.000-04:00

Fresh off its debut in Canada, Netflix may offer a 'Streaming Only' plan here in the USA. NetFlix mulls stream only plan for US.

This one is for you Chapel, wherever you are...

2010-09-26T23:44:00.000-04:00

Music is the ultimate time machine for a tune can take you back in time with just a few notes. As the evening comes to a close, Belle and Sebastian came on playing a tune that will always remind me of my days at Thirteen. Those were great years with great people.

Because it's been a while and I could use an outlet.

2010-09-26T23:40:00.000-04:00

I blew the dust off this old blog and am determined to breathe new life into it. Let's see where the journey leads this time.

Subway in Santo Domingo

2007-05-27T19:41:00.000-04:00

Say what you want about the subway under construction in Santo Domingo, it's got momentum and it will not be stopped.

Here's an article by the Associated Press on it. God save us all.

On the Immigration Debate

2007-05-22T21:35:00.000-04:00

Here's a very interesting point made by Don Boudreaux on Cafe Hayek about how muddled the debate is based on labels ascribed to immigrants and their implications. Labeling illegals as "criminals" tends to draw a very dark picture in people's mind instead of say, the people picking fruit on the fields. When was the last time you saw an ad on the newspaper for that job?

Assault on Reason

2007-05-22T18:56:00.000-04:00

Former Vice President Al Gore has a new book out titled "The Assault on Reason" I've just ordered the book, so this post won't be much of a review. If that's what you are looking for, check out this review at the NYTimes.

As I understand, the books asserts the Bush Administration, with its secret ways and little desire to take into account expert opinion on policy debates, has done away with reason and replaced it with a system that only accounts for the facts that already support its preconceived notions. I look forward to reading to book to draw my own conclusions.

I would also add that as a nation, we have had an ongoing assault on reason, from both the left and the right, for sometime now. What is that, you ask? Simply put, the politically correct left and father knows best right have dedicated a great deal of effort to shape what children read on schools. For more on that, you can read Diane Ravitch's book The Language Police.

My ultimate point is this: perhaps this is more pervasive at all levels in our nation, not just government. How often do we succumb to preconceived ideals and ignore reason? In our quest to shape the world the way we think it ought to be, where do we draw the line? As usual, I have more questions than answers.

Law of unitended consequences or just markets reacting.

2007-05-21T02:23:00.001-04:00

Today's Wall Street Journal has a very interesting article under the headline: With Corn Prices Rising, Pigs Switch to Fatty Snacks.

Basically a bushel of corn costs twice as much as it did in the last few years. This in turn makes costlier for farmers to feed livestock.

Thanks to the ethanol rush, the price of a bushel of corn for months has hovered around $4 -- nearly double the price of a few years ago. That has prompted livestock groups like the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and the National Chicken Council to call for an end to federal ethanol subsidies, including a 51-cent-per-gallon tax credit offered to companies that blend gasoline with ethanol. For now, livestock must pay up or make do with alternatives.

It certainly worth looking into how these subsidies are affecting the market. I can certainly picture someone bringing up the obscene farm subsidies so why complain about energy subsidies.

I've seen some headlines questioning how green is ethanol given the costs of producing it and its ramifications though the economy. I clearly have to read more to form an informed opinion. In the meantime, it's interesting to see the markets react.

Returning to blogging Redux

2007-05-21T02:01:00.000-04:00

Lots of changes have taken place in my life, but my computer is finally setup just the way I like it. That means I have access to my favorite blogs.

Today I was moved by a commencement speech given by US Senator Barack Obama (D) Illinois at Southern New Hampshire University. If you get a chance, read the entire thing. Andrew Sullivan has it on his blog here.

FEMA again

2006-12-06T09:21:00.000-05:00

It's been over a year since Hurricane Katrina, through its forceful winds and strength, destroyed a city exposing the plight of many if inhabitants and the gross incompetence of government at all levels.

Today the AP is reporting that an audit by the Government Accountability Office shows FEMA is still squandering money on its Katrina effort. Millions have been spent and double-payments, and claims by individuals who alleged damage to their property from Katrina and Rita.

It used to be Republicans stood for smaller government, fiscal responsibility and strong on national security. The Republican administration led by President Bush has presided over large expansion of the government and weakening of many agencies by appointing less-than-qualified political operatives to fill high level posts. While "Brownie" is no longer at the helm at FEMA, the agency is still not able to adequately carry out its duties. It is sad that more than a year later, it is questionable that FEMA would be able to adequately respond to a disaster of a similar scale without squandering its resources.

Alb

Bolton Resigns

2006-12-04T10:23:00.000-05:00

The AP is reporting Bush has accepted John Bolton's resignation to the post of US Ambassador to the United Nations. Bolton, a fiery figure, did not win the support of a bi-partisan bloc of Senators in the committee that would recommend his appointment to the full Senate. Not even a lame duck session of Congress, where Republicans still have control, could see through his renomination.

Even though Republicans and Democrats did not back Bolton the administration blames the failure of this nomination squarely on the Democrats

"Despite the support of a strong bipartisan majority of senators, Ambassdor Bolton's confirmation was blocked by a Democratic filibuster, and this is a clear example of the breakdown in the Senate confirmation process," she said. "Nominees deserve the opportunity for a clean up or down vote. Ambassador Bolton was never given that opportunity." Dana Perino, Deputy White House Press Secretary.

Nevermind that GOP Senators were not in the Bolton camp such as Ohio's Voinovich and Rhode Island's Lincoln Chaffe. According to an article on the Washington Post Colin Powell did not sign up as a supporter of Bolton and Condi Rice was quoted saying Bolton would be "closely supervised" at the UN.

We'll see who gets nominated now.

Imagine this scene in the US

2006-11-30T15:45:00.000-05:00

The Associated Press is reporting a story out of Amsterdam, where local government is poised to shut many of the windows used by "ladies of the night" in a quest to deal w/ crime. In case you did not know, prostitution is legal in the Netherlands.

My favorite quote is this:
"The biggest problem we have is with pimps on the street, not the people who own the windows,"
Here's a link to the article. Enjoy

Return to blogging

2006-11-30T10:44:00.000-05:00

It's certainly been a long time since I last posted anything on this blog. Thanks to a dear friend who has joined the blogosphere, I've decided it's probably a good time to resume posting.

As far as what topics I'll post on, "staying the course" is probably a good way to sum it up. That is, economics, politics and current events.

Fed Report: US Income Growth Slows

2006-02-24T10:16:00.000-05:00

Articles in today's Financial Times and Wall Street Journal (Typical U.S. Family's Net Worth Edged Up Only 1.5% in '01-'04 Page A4) discuss the findings of a report published by the Federal Reserve. The report points out that over the 2001 - 2004 period the median household income adjusted for inflation and before taxes only grew 1.5% to $43,200 whereas during the 1998- 2001 period it had grown at a more robust 10.3%. The report also discusses the changes in networth between the top 10% and the bottom 25%.

The net worth of the typical family in the richest 10% rose to $831,600, a 6.5% increase from 2001, adjusted for inflation. In contrast, the net worth of the typical family in the bottom 25% fell 1.5% to $13,300.

The report also notes that more families have increased their debt and a large chunk of their assets are tied to real estate.

Meanwhile, the typical family took on more debt. After declining for years, mortgage and other debt as a percentage of total family assets rose to 15% in 2004 from 12.1%, the Fed said. "The largest part of that increase was attributable to debt secured by real estate," the report said. "As debt rose over the period, families devoted more of their incomes to servicing their debts, despite a general decline in interest rates."

This is of concern because if there is a downturn in housing, many of these households will be holding assets that would be less valuable. Combine this with slow growth in real income and this could pose a threat to the economy overall because the consumer spending plays a large role in our econony.

Lastly the report also noted that during in 2004 there was a decline in savings by households
to 56.1% from 59.2%. You may have heard in recent reports that the US savings rate was in the negative, not of much concern over a quarter, but of great concern if this is a long term trend. This would mean that households would be operating way beyond their means, increasing their debt leading to a possible consumer spending slowdown.

Drug Benefit Plan

2006-02-21T09:28:00.000-05:00

An article on today's Wall Street Journal highlights that manys seniors have chided the new prescription drug coverage either because of its complexity or because the math doesn't add up for savings. According to the article there are 14.2 million seniors enrolled in these plans and only 3.2 signed up voluntary, barely a quarter. Some seniors have opted to continue doing what they were doing before: ordering their drugs from Canada.

It goes to show how well thought out the plan was, for the Drug Companies, and not for the Seniors. Had this administration really meant to help seniors, they would have offered simpler plans that really stood to save them money.

Enough already

2006-02-20T11:10:00.000-05:00

By now you have to have been on a different galaxy to escape the news about Vice President Cheney accidentally shooting his friend while hunting quail in Texas last Saturday. Some of the Sunday shows devoted a good deal of their time to this topic and I must say enough already. It should have come to no surprise to anyone that Cheney was not going to find the nearest camera and tell what happened. Much ink has been used to describe Cheney's secretive ways. While the press inserted itself in the story b/c they were not notified sooner, a man was in a hospital, suffered a mild heart attack and little empathy was shown for those most deeply affected.

I'm not fond Mr. Cheney's ways. I would prefer a more transparent way of operating, but that's how he likes it. But there are issues of greater importance and relevance that we should have honest public debates on. Iran is ever determined to have nuclear capabilities. We still don't have a solution on North Korea. Hamas is now at the helm of the Palestinian authority, Sharon still lies unconscious in a hospital bed; where does the peace process stand now? The secret surveillance program conducted by the NSA, is it legal? We are 100 days from the hurricane season, will FEMA and DHS be ready? A VP accidentally shooting a friend affects a limited number of people; these issues affect thousands, millions, humanity.

NYC Transit Strike

2005-12-20T20:22:00.000-05:00

The last time the city faced this turmoil over its transit system, I was barely one year old. Today, after facing the cold weather and long city blocks, I can only imagine what it was then. I agree w/ the mayor who declared the strike "selfish" as the TWU and the MTA gave us collective middle finger because they couldn't come to an agreement.

I am no fan of the MTA, one year they raise fares b/c of a deficit and then suddenly they have almost $1 billion in surplus.

I am also not much of an union person. I think when they started they served a noble purpose, but today they have taken a hard stance detrimental to business.

I am also opposed to across the board wage increases beyond a cost of living adjustment. It is not equitable when two individuals performing job A get remunerated at the same rate when one is not doing his job and the other is. What incentive do you have to work hard if at the end of the year that 8% is coming no matter what?

So this is a long way to say that I believe the TWU is being selfish when they put the needs of their constituency of 33700 over the needs of the riding public of 7,000,000. They represent a mere .48% of the riders, yet they crippled the engine that moves the city. (Watch Ric Burns' New York and you'll hear countless references to how NYC is one of the few places where you can live all your life and not need a car.)

According to the Wall Street Journal, the average salary at NYCTransit is $55,000. Not bad considering national median income is about $44,500. So with 8% a year increases for the next three years that's a pretty nice increase (FV=55,000(1+.08) raised to 3 = 69,284) I wouldn't mind signing up for that. I worked for a large non-profit and in 3 years my salary increased only 5,000. The MTA proposed 3/4/3 and that would bring the average salary to 56,000, 58,900 and 60,685 respectively. How many of you out there pay a premium for health insurance? TWU does not think its yet-to-be hired workers should .

Lastly, the what irks me the most is that they couldn't have continued to work, they had to strike. NYPD went long and hard bargaining for a contract, but they showed up to work. They knew their work, securing NYC, was greater than them. NYFD also bargained on an expired contract, and they too showed up because they serve a greater cause than themselves. NYC teachers, ditto. But your super friendly and helpful token booth clerk can't. Your conductor w/ the intelligible announcements can't. The bus drivers can't. You get the point. There are hard working people in NYC Transit who put in a hard day at work, who really help out and strive to provide good service, but striking is not the way to go.

We are a society governed by laws and when entities decide that there are some laws they won't follow because it does not suit them, the system breaks. It is illegal in NY for public employees to strike. An injuction was issued enjoining the Union from striking. They are lawbreakers who chose to put their wants above the law abiding citenzens of New York and lawbreakers do not get sympathy from me.

Cheney tones down rhetoric

2005-11-21T11:05:00.000-05:00

I'm listening to Cheney now and at least at the beginning of his speech and his tone seems to be softer on criticism. He says he enjoys the debate and we should have such debate. I'm staying tuned for more.

Irresponsible and dishonorable

2005-11-20T08:19:00.000-05:00

"Please tell Murtha, cowards cut and run, Marines never do." Jean Schidmt (R-OH) Much of of the rhetoric on the war is way over the top, but there seems to be no end in sight. Without offering much of a plan on how this war will be won, Republicans are attacking ferociously anyone who doesn't share their view of the war. This debate is one that we ought to have, on the course of the war, and cooler heads must prevail. It is an insult to us to watch elected officials succumb to personal insults in the absence of a substantive debate.

Let's have a real debate, we've heard way too many platitudes about this war. Let's talk action, what does winning look like? How will we know when we are there? How do we leave?

Alb