Dantravels, a disinclined expat in Prague.

Carbon Fraud arrests

noreply@blogger.com (Dantravels) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:01:00 +0000

Germany has finally arrested a bunch of guys that were committing Value Added Tax fraud with carbon credits. This fraud had really hurt the carbon market and some exchanges have come up short in their efforts to protect against it.

But some enterprising brokers and banks - with poor controls - have now been put in the highly-suspect category, but are still operating.

Call me if you wish to get more information on this.

Dan

99% AND THE MUSLIM-CHINESE AXIS

noreply@blogger.com (Dantravels) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 16:19:00 +0000

The OWS movement believes that the riches and most powerful are ruining the lives for the rest of the citizens in the USA. Those at the top have the money at the expense of many, and their capricious gambling, steroid-derivative products, and vampire-like blood sucking has left the body near death.

Conservatives believe, well, hey, we are not a feudal society; we are not your overloads preventing you from attaining the position that I hold. You, too, can come and join me on my perch.

But it's the cynics like me that say to the 99% OWS crowd, what about the vast numbers of Muslim and Chinese that will soon be ruling the planet. You won't dare pull this line of thinking with them: you will be simply a small number and given no more thought than a marginalized and ignored religion that will be stomped on.

You see, the problem here is that the OWS is angy but they are only angry at the USA government when in reality they are drop in the bucket of global circumstances. I will admit, surely, that the financial market lords do indeed hold the responsibility for the latest smackdown. But these same financial powers also deserve the credit for getting us to such a lofty plane of existence. Of course the public is angry that they monster they created, that in turn took care of the creator, has selfishly created a disaster. And now there exists a generation that has not benefited as the previous 2, 3 or perhaps 5 generations have.

But considering that the OWS movement is part of a 300 million population - and many Europeans could collectively be joined to this since they too share the blame what with the same produces and similar balloonish behaviour - let us call it an even billion, together we are all less than 20% of the global population. If they are 99% of 15%, they are still only 1/7 th of the world.

(And let us be frank for just one second here and realize that the OWS does not reflect the views of the whole 99%. In my view it is more like 30% feel great affinity for what the OWS has to say, another 40% that are just angry at a composite and impotent legislature. But I believe there is a strong 30% that says, these naive liberal and even dangerously radical people are certainly hindering progress. But I digress)

Let us look at the real majority of the world's population. Let us look to the growing Muslim population fed by criminally negligent media with incendiary anti-western propaganda, and the vibrant Chinese-dominated Asian communities who have been tempted with a drug of capitalism, looking to score.

Does anyone really believe that they are going to take notice of the "99%" in a few years?

In a few years time, the powers that be will be, will in fact be massive. And though perhaps unorganized for a few generations, they will be enforcing many of their belief systems in a much faster way. They do not need to wait for the printing press, the slow dispatch of ideas and information. Their dominant views will be there mid century, setting up the new rules.

Cannot we at least acknowledge this movement of world civilizations and the need for sustenance and domination, taught over and over again in any place of learning, is going to take place at some time in the future? And if this is even a possibility, wouldn't it make sense to prepare the groundwork for some line of defense, or even a method to slow the approach of age? Should we be building muscles on the body of our livelihood rather than casting it aside and adopting one that does not favor growth, completely?

It seems that this evening out of the capitalist system is more important. Let us fight amongst the scraps and become kings of the junk yard, even out the benefits shared by all; throw the a monkey wrench in the machine works of competitve strength that has servied us so well, simply to cast blame and spite ourselves.

The result is that these local OWS detractors of vitality of the capitalist enterprise are not simply rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic, they are willfully blocking the exits and setting the lifeboats adrift.

So much for smart meters:

noreply@blogger.com (Dantravels) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 17:17:00 +0000

I like the idea of smart meters. But more thinking needs to be put into it. A perfect Doh! moment. (via Instapundit, via Slashdot. )

http://www.securityweek.com/smart-meters-interfering-home-electronics

Smart Meters Interfering With Home Electronics

READ LATER

About 200 customers of the Central Maine Power Company recently noticed something odd after the utility installed smart meters in their homes: in some cases other wireless devices stopped working, or behaved erratically.

The 425,000 installed smart meters all broadcast in the 2.4GHz frequency range. Unfortunately, so do many of the consumer gadgets we take for granted these days including routers, electric garage doors, fire alarms, clocks, electric pet fences, answering machines, and baby monitors.

"We have asked CMP to do a better job informing customers about these potential problems, and while CMP's website does refer to the issue, we don't think it goes far enough," said Maine's Public Advocate Richard Davies in an online statement. "My agency is troubled by the possibility that people may be spending their time and money fixing a problem that may be caused by CMP's meters, and that can and should be fixed by CMP."

The utility's Web site does include a FAQ addressing interference. Their recommendations are to change the location of the affected electronic device or the channel used by the device. In the case of garage door openers, physically relocating the garage is not an option. In the case of baby monitors, there is often only one frequency choice.

The electromagnetic congestion in the home is in some ways similar to the growing electronic congestion in hospitals as they acquire more and more electronic monitors all operating within a few feet of each other. Medical equipment has been known to shut down or give erroneous results when positioned close to another piece of equipment. Such interference is not new, just getting worse--rapidly.

As early as the 1940s, there was electromagnetic interference within the home. Radios and TVs broadcast at various frequencies but they were configured to co-exist. The electric vacuum cleaner was not. Nor the electric hair dryer. The worst offender, however, was perhaps the microwave oven, which, even in the 1940s, bombarded food with radio waves at or near the 2.4GHz range. Sensing there would be more congestion in the future, organizations worked to protect radio and TV, while carving out blocks that can be later used for consumer gadgets.

The International Telecommunication Union Radiocommunication sector (ITU-R) has since defined whole blocks of frequencies as unlicensed and generally available for Industrial, Scientific, and Medical use. And for a while, it seemed that there would be enough of these to last. While 900GHz and 5 GHz are also unlicensed options, 2.4GHz remains the most popular, offering the strongest signal strength over the broadest area without an unwieldy antenna. Hence most wireless gadgets in the home today broadcast at or near this frequency, including Bluetooth gadgets. That's why you see FCC ratings on blenders.

So the trouble with the smart meters is at least understandable. Ideally, smart meters will one day communicate with your washing machine, dishwasher, refrigerator, and other energy intensive devices, allowing you to control energy usage, and potentially off-loading use to times when energy is cheap.

However, if the Bluetooth stereo component or the wireless router gets in the way, those energy readings could be wonky, and perhaps the energy savings as well.

If a device can't be moved, perhaps it will allow you to change the channel being used. Most devices today default to channel six, but channels one and eleven are also viable options—at least for routers. I recently upgraded the plumbing in my house and found all my laptops no longer connected with the router. The reason? The copper tubing changed the local interference pattern among all my electronic gadgets. But once I changed the router's channel, I was back in business.

Given that we can't change the smart meters ourselves, it looks like consumers will have to get good at fixing their own electronic issues once their home becomes "metered."

Richard Herring: the Wheelchair

noreply@blogger.com (Dantravels) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:34:00 +0000

I am an avid podcast person. In the car or walking the dogs, I listen to comedy shows such as Wait Wait, Dont Tell Me, The Now Show, The Moth, News Quiz, to name a few.

Lately BBC has been picking shows for Friday night play, and I just heard Richard Herrings' the Wheelchair. It is a Morality Play, (which I just looked up and now am convinced it is accurate).

It was a touching look at the way normal citizens react to being suddenly in the presence of the disabled. Amusing and apt, he puts himself in positions where he experiences doubt and then guilt and ponders over society's outlook on the issue.

Really worth a listen. I suspect, however ,that this will disappear in a matter of weeks.

Feds Issue Train Warning | and "Source Code"

noreply@blogger.com (Dantravels) — Fri, 06 May 2011 09:56:00 +0000

Feds Issue Train Warning | NBC New York

Last night I saw Source Code. Very good, and Jake Gyllenhaal was perfect in the role. Notwithstanding some obvious plot errors (like what happens to the real boyfriend??), it was great except for one major political problem.

What would you say is the threat comparison between homegrown terrorists (as in the Oklahoma bombing) versus the Al Quaeda versions? 1 to 5? 1 to 1000? Lets now look at the efforts expended by the federal and state governments in terms of budget to police prevent these threats. I don't know the numbers, but its probably close to 1 to 1000.

So now lets look at the number of Hollywood dramas. Now we come way back down to 1 to 5.

They might as well have made the bomber a Russian spy for all the lack of historical significance. Or even due to an alien abduction, for these reports are far more significant than the Oklahoma type threat.

It drives me nuts to think of the stretch that the writers in Hollywood mus reach to simply to avoid accusing a singular group of admittedly small numbers of the whole. Islamic fundamentalist, Western hating types, do not number into the tens of thousands, I think, but they certainly dwarf those of the in country version.

It would be a bit more entertaining if movies would reflect these realities in some movies (along with always making the villain a Republican when we all know both sides have villians)

Or they should simply bring back the Russian spies and Aliens.

Florida Union Money

noreply@blogger.com (Dantravels) — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 06:58:00 +0000

Why should non union people be forced to pay for union support?

I realize, of course that taxpayers are often putting money into things they did not necessarily sign up for, like the funding of NPR.

But the union money in Florida seems so direct.

If however, a liberal congress decides that unions need funding, across the entire country, and it becomes a federal issue, I would still be unhappy, but it would have a weighty authorization behind it.

There might be a bunch of conservative causes that receive money in I similar method. Say, for example, the NRA in Idaho or NASCAR in Kentucky.

I jest, but there must be something similar.

Sent from my HTC

So Calm

noreply@blogger.com (Dantravels) — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 07:46:00 +0000

The calm Japanese people in the wake of the disaster is difficult to understand for us barbarians.

.

Lefty Standards Re Islam Hearings

noreply@blogger.com (Dantravels) — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 09:02:00 +0000

If a us senator wanted to open a hearing on italian mania groups in america, would he / should he be accused of racism against italians?
If an investigation was initiated to research the violent gangs of else salvador, would that paint all central americans in a derogatory color? i dont think so. And the same goes for the hearings on
radical islam in america,

--
Sent from my mobile device

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04032011028.jpg

noreply@blogger.com (Dantravels) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 09:08:00 +0000

Fw: Marital Bliss

noreply@blogger.com (Dantravels) — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 08:42:00 +0000

One man's solution.

Daniel

I Want The Daily On My Kindle

noreply@blogger.com (Dantravels) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 11:40:00 +0000

If Murdoch offers it, I would like The Daily on my kindle every morning, in Europe ... um earlyish.

Of Course: Iran 'smuggled arms' to Hezbollah on ambulances

noreply@blogger.com (Dantravels) — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 13:43:00 +0000

AFP: Iran 'smuggled arms' to Hezbollah on ambulances

Um... didn't we already know this?

Those people that ignored this were (probably still are) criminally negligent.

Sarah Please: Once Again, Take VP

noreply@blogger.com (Dantravels) — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 15:49:00 +0000

Sarah Palin clearly does not like to be told what to do. Not by the Republican party at least. The VP candidacy left an indellible mark that she will never be able to remove. Sarah was mistreated, treated like a nobody. She clearly despises with that role.

We certainly can see the ferocous brand cultivation nowadays, the strength of conviction, and the sheer energy necessary to be in our faces to the ends she believes she deserves: a cozy Oval Office with a rug with the correct inscriptions on it.

Sarah is proud. Sarah is strong. Sarah has a solid base behind her. But, can she be magnanimous?

I suggest that the following she has is certainly a currency to get things done. But the hatred is there, too.

This is why I am asking Sarah Palin to consider the Vice Presidency again.

Its a big ask, but she would do well to take the back seat, if only to win the race convincingly. Perhaps being the co-pilot to Mitch Daniels, for instance.

Fiscally the plans by Mitch would support much of the Tea Party and Palin backers. The cut in spending, the smaller government, all ride well for those that think the government has run wild.

Romney, Gingrich and Huckabee are all non-starters.

Perhaps a deal needs to be made. A Blair-Brown deal, but one that is honored with integrity: Mitch says, "Let me president in 2012, and you have the next shot at it in 2016 - with my unconditional support".

Crazy you say?

But it is something that would work. Face it, its the only thing that could possibly work.

Debunking White House Pro-Tax Increase Propaganda

noreply@blogger.com (Dantravels) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 12:40:00 +0000

Futuristic Tunnel: like scenes from Soylent Green

noreply@blogger.com (Dantravels) — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 08:35:00 +0000

I wonder if this tunnel will have throngs of people massing outside of it. It really seems like a sci-fi movie.

Tunnel for Obama near Mani Bhavan - Mumbai - DNA

House Moving

noreply@blogger.com (Dantravels) — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 09:13:00 +0000

We are moving house in a few weeks and I have an incredible pain in my back. I cannot see any possible way that I will be able to get over this pain, recover, in three weeks.

And then on the moving weekend, I will be only making things much, much worse again.

I am amazed at how little time I have to exercise.

I get up at 6 am. I walk the two dogs for 30 to 45 minutes. I feed dogs, bathe and then rush out the door with both kids. I travel 90 minutes to two schools and then arrive at work.

Most days I do the pickup of kids so it's an additional 90 minutes. Later in the evening, I walk the dogs again. (Most days we have a midday dog walker, or my wife does it).

My wife of course is doing a lot of stuff at home, she is no slacker.

The worst is when my wife travels, and I have to do much more of everything (cooking, bathing children, laundry).

I am just a big whinger, but I cannot understand how I will ever get exercise time.

Over 20% of Welfare Checks Spent in .... VEGAS!

noreply@blogger.com (Dantravels) — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 21:14:00 +0000

$69 million in California welfare money spent out of state | abc7news.com: "The Times analysis found nearly $12 million was spent in Las Vegas, $1.5 million in Florida, $387,908 in Hawaii, and $16,010 withdrawn from ATMs on cruise ships."

its like the old saying: "What welfare happen in Vegas, stays in Vegas."

Bin Laden and Al Gore

noreply@blogger.com (Dantravels) — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 07:41:00 +0000

Bin Laden urges a "huge transformation" in how relief work is executed, calling the number of victims of climate change much bigger than the victims of war".

Link here: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE6901DG20101001

Oh boy, there will be some on the right that will run with this.

Gossip Girl and the GMAIL App for Mobiles : disfunctional

noreply@blogger.com (Dantravels) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 20:39:00 +0000

So I challenge anyone to fix this annoying problem. The nifty gmail app for mobiles, does not work on the Nokia 6303 Classic.

It worked on the 6300.

All forums say the same thing. "This application requires a working data connection" Well duh, I HAVE that, or my three other web friendly programs wouldn't work.

Sure, sure, I have check all permissions (now even Mahmoud Amadinajad could hack into my phone). I have tried all GPRS WAP and O2-MMS settings.

I have even challenged the Gossip Girl to answer this one.

MacDonalds Food Last So Long - FREAKY

noreply@blogger.com (Dantravels) — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 08:02:00 +0000

The weird thing for me is the fact that it didn't attract bugs (although where the food was placed is not really mentioned; like does the office normally get a lot of bugs?). There are some explanations, I think.

I always hear so much about fats and salt in foods. Salt was used for preserving food for eons (no pun intended). Fats seem to have a special place in preservation when you consider how long the Twinkie lasts (and how flammable it is).

Let's ignore how too much salt or too much fat is bad for your health. But if it is not 'natural' things like salt and fat that are keeping bugs away, then what is?

This 1-Year-Old Happy Meal Has Aged Surprisingly Well - The Consumerist

Democrats unveil new logo: It’s a target. | Washington Examiner

noreply@blogger.com (Dantravels) — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 07:23:00 +0000

Link: Democrats unveil new logo: It’s a target. | Washington Examiner

love this comment.

"“Change that Matters”? You mean CHANGE THE SUBJECT"

Elitist Choices Made by the Times: Meghan McCain

noreply@blogger.com (Dantravels) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 11:55:00 +0000

I like this comment:

"Of course, McCain is the Times's favorite kind of Republican, a surprisingly uninformed "progressive" whose arguments won't convince anyone except shilling Schillingers."

Quite often they put up Tea Party people that are, well, honestly not that well informed. Why don't the interviewers basically admit they were looking for the dumb ones.

And interviewing a hippie about liberal America, espousing an idyllic lifestyle totally at odds with functioning without adult supervision is not fair?

My point is, well yes there are some dummies. But that is democracy. When the left has a win, it was because America has become more educated. According to the left, when the right has a win it is because the message was for the uneducated and they probably shouldn't be voting, or the messengers shouldn't be selling them the idea in a slogan.

Sorry, the left's elitist approach isn't going to sell.

The NY Times Splashes in the Shallow End with Meghan McCain, Brave Republican Rebel, Ugg Boot Wearer | NewsBusters.org

Microsoft Does Something Well - and Quickly

noreply@blogger.com (Dantravels) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 11:47:00 +0000

The Volokh Conspiracy � Microsoft’s Response to Russian Scandal

Russia was targeting some NGOs by charging them with theft of Microsoft licensed material.

"The security services in Russia in recent years have seized computers from dozens of outspoken advocacy groups and opposition newspapers, all but disabling them. Law-enforcement officials claim that they are investigating the theft of Microsoft’s intellectual property, but the searches typically happen when those groups are seeking to draw attention to a cause or an event. Allies of the government are rarely if ever investigated for having illegal software on their computers."

Microsoft quickly said something like. "For them, we just decided - just now - its free".

Google Reader Offline: Where is that Green Arrow??

noreply@blogger.com (Dantravels) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 07:00:00 +0000

I really use Google applications a lot. Really. I use Google Docs to advertise our flat for sale with a Sitemeter to see how few hits I am getting. I use Google Reader in condensed view to skim my top headlines and entertainment news. I use Google docs Forms function to add data for a job search, that prints out a spread sheet (so simple). I share documents, I blog (obviously), I use youtube to show videos of the family in private function, I use blogsearch.google.com functions to create feeds that list in Reader, like job searches.

But what is bugging me is that Google Reader offers an offline function, and as savvy as I think I am, I cannot get it to work.

The idea is, through the use of Google Gears, which allows other applications to work. (I use Google Gears to run Better Gmail, which simply adds some useful toolbars and small apps to Gmail). But with Google Gears, I am suppose to be able to work offline the idea being, for example, once you have connected to the internet, you can then disconnect. This would be useful when I have a weekend at the cottage, using my Nokia 6303 as a connection to internet; it is slow and annoying, but I need to use it.

There are other RSS and Reader programs (like Bloglines), but I want Google Reader.

By the way, this offline function apparently works for email and some other functions (like instead of using Microsoft Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird).

Now the specific problem lies in getting the Green Arrow to appear on my Reader. Apparently that is all I need to show how to go offline. I need to indicate where I would want the files stored at some point, but that also is not easily seen. This article lays it out pretty well, but I still got no Green Arrow.

If anyone knows how to get under the hood of this, I would appreciate hearing from you.

UPDATE:

Only an hour later, I find out they stopped it.

Damn

Good bye wave: Google plans to drop Wave

noreply@blogger.com (Dantravels) — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 05:06:00 +0000

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/web/08/04/google.wave.end/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn

That was quick.