Mike's Blog

Pandering Idiots

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 02:54:00 +0000

Obama vs McCain? Dumb versus Dumberer... Is anyone besides me sick of idiocy like "we should buy up all the bad mortgages and write down the losses" or "let's declare a three month freeze on foreclosures?" Does anyone that wants to run the place have a clue? If we elect another pandering idiot who refuses to face that fact that this country needs to return to living on what we make and EARNING what we want, then we deserve what we get...

Check out Bob Barr... (The libertarian)... He's the only guy making any sense...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXQ9Op8thmA

The Democrats had an Armed Wing of the Party?

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:37:00 +0000

I am in the middle of a book entitled "Redemption: The last Battle of the Civil War" by Nicholas Lemann. This book is entirely disturbing to me as it discusses a period of history I, and I suspect most of us, know very little about. The time frame is the early to mid 1870's in the post-Civil War South, at the tail end of reconstruction. It's basically detailing the methods that white terrorist organizations used to essentially reverse the outcome of the civil war, returning the black populations to effective slavery or serfdom.

These terrorist organizations were known as white leagues and they were, as the book describes, essentially armed adjuncts to the democratic party, working through intimidation and violence to unseat the Republican party which they considered to be full of carpetbaggers and negroes. This shameful and shocking period is described, and includes murder and thuggery that one would never imagine possible in our country. It makes me wonder if what is going on in Iraq right now is all that different from what went on in Mississippi and Louisiana not much more than 100 years ago. No matter how messed up we think this country is, it is ironic to me that the first major party to run a black candidate is the very same party that worked to impose virtual slavery on the freed blacks less than 150 years ago.

I'm still in the middle of this book; but so far I find it completely fascinating and it really makes you think. Check it out here: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/10/books/review/Wilentz.t.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/People/L/Lemann,%20Nicholas

Dark Horse - James Garfield

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 23:38:00 +0000

I just finished the book "Dark Horse: The Surprise Election and Political Murder of James A. Garfield" by Kenneth Ackerman. I just can't say enough good about it and in this season of McCain versus Obama it's even more relevant. The behind the scenes look at the Republican convention, the politics, the whole process was just fascinating. I couldn't put the book down! This book really paints a picture of a time when the US was more innocent and naive in a lot of ways, but more brutal and cutthroat at the same time. If you've ever wondered how these guys like James Garfield and Chester A. Arthur got elected and what they are about (OH C'MON!! SOMEBODY BESIDES ME MUST BE INTERESTED IN HISTORY!), then this book is a really excellent read illuminating not only those people but a truly fascinating time in our history... Oh for the days when you could just march into the white house and let the president know you need a job... :-) Great book... Check it out! http://kennethackerman.com/darkhorse.html

I hate Google

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:37:00 +0000

OK: Google is over the top... They claim that nirvana is "when you walk up to the terminal and it knows what you want before you ask" or some such craziness. Anything to get quoted in the press... I'm disgusted...

http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,25642,24343384-5014108,00.html

The first Phone Book?

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 19:53:00 +0000

Here is something kind of fun... The very FIRST phone book from 1878. Only 40 pages and no numbers... Just names! Someone bought it for $170,000!!

http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/video?id=541

Save your phone book! Who knows what they will be worth once the internet puts them under! :-)

THUNDERSTRUCK

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 01:28:00 +0000

Latest book review... Thunderstruck by Erik Larsen was AWESOME. The backdrop for the story includes two threads; Marconi and his development of the "wireless" and all the politics and intrigue associated with that, and then a Dr. Crippen, who was married to some overbearing and domineering woman whom he eventually carved up into tiny pieces. The story follows the paths of each of these until the point they intersect.

You can read about the book here; but its extremely interesting to read about the advances of technologies and how they come about. This all occurred in the early 1900's; but the story could have been about any silicon valley startup today. Young aggressive entrepreneur, new technology and a rush to push it into the mainstream before its really ready... Lots of competitors and intrigue and incredibly high stakes.

We then follow the personal story of Crippen and his overbearing wife and how he dealt with a very unsatisfying life, until he meets his soul mate and cracks... It all comes together in a OJ Simpson-esque chase across the Atlantic, brought to you in living newsprint thanks to the miracle of wireless communications. This book in addition to being a really good read, makes you think about how technology changes our entire society. How one guy can change the world with nothing more than an idea and a will to make it real.

I've also read Larson's Devil in the White City awhile ago, and this book is just as good... Highly recommended!

Six Man Football Rocks

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 04:24:00 +0000

I have to say that one of the best parts of living in Texas is high school football. The kids pour their heart and souls into it, even at little 'ol schools like our own NYOS Charter School. And every week is an event. There are even websites dedicated to tracking the kids progress, speculating on pre-season rankings, and the whole nine yards! The following site covers our school (look for Austin NYOS): http://www.sixmanfootball.com/index.php

We've had three of the boys playing now and its amazing how important grades and such become when you can't play... All the kids enjoy it, the games are very competitive and there are memories being created that will last a lifetime.

Go JAGS!

What you need to know about Credit Scores...

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 21:56:00 +0000

For the folks in the room who wonder about credit scores, I found this excellent article from a 20-something journalist who writes on debt amongst our young ones... Anya Kamenetz wrote a book called GENERATION DEBT that seems to imply kids today are doomed. Haven't read it, but I'm not buying that... But regardless, the attached link is very informative! Happy Reading!

http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/article/generationdebt/103708

Update to the MacBook saga... Where are my applications?

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 14:27:00 +0000

OK: Time to update my loyal readership (are you out there?) on my MacBook. Probably the MOST IMPORTANT application of all is my checkbook program. Historically it was MS-Money which was an awesome program. I went to get a native Mac application to replace it, because of course we can't have any of that evil Microsoft stuff running anymore, but this is where the wrinkles began... It appears that Apple has not really got enough of a user base to entice application programmers to develop decent tools... Moving from MS-Money, which clearly has been used and tweaked based on "zillions" of users complaining and moaning has thus resulted in a quite a fine and highly tuned user interface has made just about anything else very sad in comparison. It appears there is a Quicken available, but the reviews indicate the Apple version is a pale imitation of its regular product and I was finding nothing but complaints. I ended up buying (and at $60 bucks, not cheap) iBANK from IGGSoftware, which LOOKS nice, until you find out that they DO NOT have zillions of users complaining, but rather about five of us... While I remain committed to my MAC-only SW policy, I really hope there are more of us MAC users out there and that someone takes up the gauntlet of providing decent personal productivity apps... PLEASE!! ??

Starbucked...

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 01:50:00 +0000

OK: This book by Taylor Clark is pretty interesting... As someone who never had been in a Starbucks until I met my wife, the whole thing kind of escaped me... But I'm a cheap a$$.

Funny story... I used to be sent to various Starbucks to get my wife her crack... err... drink. Once I went to a Starbucks that I had not been to in about six months and started rattling off the extremely complex incantation in the drive through... There was a pregnant pause as I completed the spell, and then the lady on the other end of the box says very tentatively... "Ah... Is this... Bekki?"

I'll never forget it... But anyway, Taylor is NOT a Starbucks fan as far as I can tell, but he does seem to be pretty fair in his assessment of them... I just wish I had bought their stock way back when... Un-flippin' believable...

OK: Problem Solved

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 01:42:00 +0000

OK: Here is an interesting post from MIT. They evidently have cracked the code on storing solar energy in the form of hydrogen (think Fuel Cell); thus making large scale solar possible...

Check it out... My energy obsession may be at an end! :-)

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/oxygen-0731.html

The Two Headed Man!

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 02:40:00 +0000

Check it out! My step son got hold of the Apple... Durn kids know more about this stuff than I do... *sigh*

So you CAN Fart in a Jar!

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 03:10:00 +0000

I always used to joke with my kids that we could solve the worlds need for energy by "farting in a jar." But it turns out that the truth is stranger than fiction!! Check out the following link!!

Out of Africa: Cooking with Human Waste

The end of the world sux...

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 02:11:00 +0000

OK: I've kind of lost interest in the end of the world... We bought some of the Green grocery bags and I'm now more religiously throwing my plastic stuff in the recycle bin, so I'm convinced the tide has now turned. Heck, I even remembered to bring the green bags to the store once!

I've decided to focus on something more upbeat: Politics. I recently completed the new Obama book "From Promise to Power" by David Mendell. David has followed Obama from the beginning of his Illinois career. It's quite an interesting book and I walked away with a much better opinion of him. Prior to the book, I considered him a hard core flaming liberal who happened to be very intelligent (other than the flaw of being a hard core flaming liberal) and most importantly, just SPANKED Hillary in the debate I managed to watch. The guy is very smooth and quick on his toes. Now I've modified my position. He is a hard core flaming liberal with a pragmatic side. I honestly think he will moderate his positions when the hard cold facts of reality hit him on the head.

Anyway, nice read and I recommend it! Check it out here for a summary:

MACBook: It just "sorta" works!

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 05:48:00 +0000

Well; I broke down and bought a new MACBook and I have to say I love it. Only problem is my printer which is currently attached to my old PC (and I hope to keep it there as a print server) is inaccessible to the MAC. I also need an EASY replacement for MS Money; but I'm a little afraid as all there appears to be is MAC Quicken 2007 (not even 2008!! I hate that)...

But anyway, other than these issues, this computer is the most intuitive, integrated thing I've ever seen... I bought the "Apple Office Packge; (iLife?)" and that was it; everything else I would EVER use was included, included photo and movie editing, all the iTunes stuff, and a bunch of other cool stuff; including a really slick email front end...

MAC: It just "sorta" works! Now if only I could print this message! :-)

End of Suburbia?

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Thu, 29 May 2008 13:17:00 +0000

Another Peak Oil related post... Looks very eye opening (I still need to watch the video clip, but it was long, so later...)

http://media.putfile.com/end-of-suburbia

Back to demoralizing...

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Thu, 29 May 2008 13:07:00 +0000

This site is very interesting: http://www.futurescenarios.org

It lays out the post-oil scenarios and implications... Lots of bad outcomes. Have not had a chance to really dig through it, but it does a very good top down job of describing possible futures depending on how things go...

Enjoy!

Finally, Some Good News...

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Thu, 29 May 2008 04:26:00 +0000

Well, finally some good news... Evidently photovoltaics are finally getting to the point where they can generate electricity in commercially viable amounts, or in other words, cheap enough that it can be sold into the power grid.

http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/tech_talk/2008/05/photovoltaic_moores_law_on_tra.html

They are predicting that solar could be competitive as early as 2015. Obviously, solar is not the complete answer to base load requirements, but if it can augment, its a step in the right direction. Interesting stuff!

Tiny Shards of Plastic Will Do Us In...

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Thu, 22 May 2008 00:24:00 +0000

Oh great, just when I thought I had run out of things to obsess about, I find out there is a massive collection of tiny shards of plastic covering an area in the pacific BIGGER than the entire continental US that is destroying the Ocean...

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/freeheadlines/LAC/20080519/GYRE19/health/Health

Evidently, all of the trash on the planet that can float, eventually is winding its way out to the ocean where it breaks into a zillion tiny pieces due to the sun and weather, but being plastic and all, it never really goes away. It's killing fish and stuff, which is rippling through out the environment, and guess what, you can't clean it up because there is no way to actually get at the stuff in any realistic way.

Evidently, all the trash collects in the ocean in this "special" spot that has been created by the currents and prevailing winds and so on... I'm sure I'll find more good news, but this is it for tonight... *sigh*

Of Leeches and Mid-Wives?

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Mon, 19 May 2008 23:57:00 +0000

Boy, here is another interesting bit from the "Oil, be seeing you" blog:

http://oilbeseeingyou.blogspot.com/2006/12/of-leeches-midwives.html

It's basically saying you better figure out how to eat right and practice good hygiene, because big medicine is going down... If the end of oil does not get it, I think economics will... We are putting more and more of our wealth into healthcare for what appears to be very limited benefit at this point and the system is going to collapse, particularly once the bleeding heart libs make it "universal"... Contrary to my sainted mother's assertion that everyone else in the world does it, I can't see us all working our butts off just to pay everyone elses doctors bills because they want to smoke, drink, and over consume to the point of killing themselves.

Oil Be Seeing You

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Sat, 17 May 2008 14:04:00 +0000

Here is a very interesting blog about peak oil... As this guy points out, there is also an issue with "peak water"... Does the good news never end?

http://oilbeseeingyou.blogspot.com/2008/03/peak-water.html

To see the general blog which has a lot more stuff, just go to this link: http://oilbeseeingyou.blogspot.com/

Good luck out there!! I think I'm going to learn how to can and harvest rain water now... *sigh*

The Man Who Invented Hitler...

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Tue, 06 May 2008 00:16:00 +0000

I'm currently reading a rather interesting book on the "making" of Adolf Hitler. Evidently, when he was gassed in World War I; he got "hysterical blindness" which the medical class of the time considered a disease of wimps... So the shrink (Edmund Forster) who worked on him gave Hitler a "god complex" and thus cured him. Evidently Adolf couldn't see Germany loose a war, and thus made himself blind. By convincing him that he was going to fix all that, Dr. Forster thus created a monster and ended up signing his own death warrant a few decades later.

This is extremely interesting so far, so I may post again on this as I get farther along... You can check out the synopis at the following link: http://www.amazon.com/Man-Who-Invented-Hitler-Making/dp/0755311493

Things that are a pain in the a$$

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 04:46:00 +0000

Apple and Google (Picasa) take the honors today... First, the scenario. I purchased an external hard drive to put my iTunes and Photos on as my puny 38GB drive was consumed and I could barely bring up the machine without bizzare disk related problems. The biggest culprits were iTunes and Picasa (photos) so I thought to my self, "self, why not move the big stuff to the BIG drive?"

Woe is me... Two days and many hours later, I finally got iTunes move, while Picasa files are still not complete... I cannot believe something this obvious to want to do is SO HARD!

Damn all software people... :-(

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 19:09:00 +0000

My, this is depressing. The guy is sitting out earth day. But, I totally get his lament about ethanol and wonder why the goverment is not getting real here?

http://www.news.com/8301-10787_3-9925556-60.html

Is ANYONE aware of a good reason for ethanol?? Hmmm...

Go see Leatherheads - George Clooney

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 01:00:00 +0000

I was reading that Clooney's new flick, Leatherheads was not doing all that well, which is a crime if you ask me. The movie was outrageously funny and well acted by all involved. Neat premise and original... C'mon people! They'll stop making movies like this if we don't go see them!!