Saturday, May 10, 2008

My Austin Election Resource Page - Will the Web Ever Improve Democracy?

 

I find it hard to believe that candidates still spend so much money on signs, ads, phone calls and commercials when the internet makes it so inexpensive and easy to communicate. All that money spent seems so useless when a candidate can just create a free blog and discuss the issues and their solutions.

Here's an example of how a political issue can be described in a blog post. Note the references, the quotes and the charts. Also, it allows comments so you can read other opinions. There is no better and cheaper way to communicate your ideas than on the web.

Many candidates do have campaign websites, but most aren't much better than their signs. It's nothing like the example above in which issues are discussed and debated at length. They don't need fancy websites. I just want to read about the issues and their take on the issues. Also, I want to see that they've been thinking about the issues long before the campaign.

If no one reads the candidates' websites, they'll keep putting their resource into those paper signs that litter our city or those robo phone calls that clutter our voice mail. They'll keep having to pay big money for those signs and ads. And unfortunately, those with money will have an advantage.

So I thought I would do my part to help democracy, by sharing a few links where you can find all of the candidates' websites. In addition, I've included links to other important election resources. If you know of another useful resource, please leave a comment.

Voter Resources to the May 10, 2008 Austin Election

• Keep Austin Voting - best number of links
• Austin at Issue - Austin issues forum
• Burnt Orange Report's Austin City Council resource page
• Election Day Polling Places
• Statesman Endorsements
• Austin Chronicle Election Coverage

posted by Ken on 3:49 AM permalink and comments  

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Thursday, January 04, 2007

How Low Can a Towing Company Go? Incident at the S. Congress DPS Office

 

Going to the DPS office has never been fun, but today it reached a new low. I went to the Austin South Congress DPS office to renew my driver's license. After an hour in the office, I came out to find my car had been towed. But that's not what really made me mad.

My Trip to the DPS Office

Before going to the office, I made sure to get the address from the Texas DPS's website. Not being familiar with this area, I checked the South Congress location at Google Maps. I came from the north and saw the building with the street address that was listed at the website. I parked in front of the building making sure to avoid the handicap spot. I saw a police car parked near the fence so I thought this was the correct spot. The door was locked so I thought the DPS office entrance must be on the other side. The time in the office was long but not too bad. I got there at 10:13am and left just after 11:00am.

Car Towed!

When I returned to the north parking lot, I found that my car was gone. I then started to notice a couple of signs that did warn against parking there with the risk of towed. Of course I wish I had been more observant, but the no-parking sign wasn't in front of where I parked. The parking lot was for the building with the DPS address. The address was clearly on the building.

The car was indeed towed, and while I was waiting for my friend to pick me up, the towers were driving around getting ready to tow others. I met one other guy who also had his car towed. I was mad, but the next thing that happened got my blood burning.

What Made Me Really Mad

A handicap person had parked in a handicap spot next to where I had parked. I checked and confirmed that the car had a legal handicap tag on the rear view mirror. The company was in the process of towing this car. I pleaded with the guys to give this handicap person a break, but they said they didn't care. I then went into the DPS office to try to notify this person. When that failed, I returned, and fortunately, the owner of the car had made it back before the car was towed.

The towers were very mad and threatened to have me arrested for trespassing. They were also mad that I had been informing people who had been parking there that they were at risk of being towed. I informed at least two other people while waiting for my friend to pick me up.

The towing company charged me almost $200. I felt I was forced to pay. Luckily, I had my debit card and had enough money in my account (Note, they don't take credit cards.) The other person who had his car towed was also there. I fear that he may have had trouble paying this $200 charge.

Scam?

This towing company must be making a ton of money, and I wonder if the person leasing this office area is making some of this. They probably do have enough signs around the parking lot to be legal in their actions. I doubt they care, however, about the morality of their actions.

So if you do have to go to the South Congress DPS office, be sure not to park in the north parking lot. Hopefully, the tow company won't threaten me again for providing this warning.

I should note that the DPS workers were very helpful in assisting me. They did have a small sign warning about this. Hopefully, this sign will be made much bigger.

posted by Ken on 1:25 PM permalink and comments  

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Monday, June 27, 2005

It's Ipod Easy

 

What do you call something so simple and easy to use that anybody can do it? You could say it's easy as pie. But if you want to be hip, it's Ipod easy.

I just came up with this phrase over the weekend. I checked Google, and I can't find any reference to "it's Ipod easy"

Since the marketers over at Apple need all the help they can get, I thought I would make this public to help Ipod sales.

posted by Ken on 4:01 PM permalink and comments  

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Tuesday, June 21, 2005

It's a miracle! Toast with face of Jackson

 

As reported by the BBC, people claim that slices of toast with images of Michael Jackson have popped out of their toasters around the time of Michael Jackson's verdict.

They're now selling on ebay. One current sale has 11 bids with the top bid going for $10.50. It still has 5 days left. How high will it go?

Believe it or not, toast with the Virgin Mary image sold for $28K last year.

What are the chances that any of these are legitimate? My guess is that a lot of them have been crafted with the image. Perhaps they were burnt and then the images were made by scraping the burnt top layer off. Or perhaps images were made by selectively coating the bread with butter and then toasted. The coated bread will cook differently and thereby leave an image.

Here are some good lines I got from Free Republic:

• Michael's career is toast.
• It's the brownest he's been in a long, long time...
• Did you hear the one about Michael Jackson's toaster? The bread goes in brown and comes out white...

posted by Ken on 4:25 PM permalink and comments  

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Thursday, June 16, 2005

Unused gift cards, Seinfeld, and my advice

 

According to this MSNBC article, Home Depot reported on June 2nd that it has taken $43 million in income from gift cards that are unlikely to be redeemed. It's the first time Home Depot has recognized this gift card breakage.

The article gives the stat that about 10% of the value of gift cards sold goes unused due to being lost, forgotten, or expired.

At least Home Depot's gift cards don't have expiration dates or fees for nonuse. The $43 million is just an accounting thing. Since the cards are older than 2001, they figure it's very unlikely that much of that will be redeemed.

Most other retailers consider the unused cards as liability, and thus, they justify having expiration dates or nonuse fees.

I tend to agree with consumer advocate Clark Howard's opinion about gift cards:

"They are a terrible waste of money and a complete rip-off. Basically, you're taking real American money and turning it into a piece of plastic that can only be used in one store."

But I have to admit it's more personal than cash and a lot easier and less risky than a physical gift. One always feels bad when you get someone the wrong gift whether it's something they already have or something that they don't really want. And there's something just not right about giving cash. Why give anything in that case? Let's just take $50 and pass it to the next friend or family who has a birthday.

As Kramer said to Jerry in that Seinfeld "The Deal" episode where Jerry gives Elaine cash for her birthday:

"Cash? You gotta be kinding. What kind of gift is that? That's like something her uncle would get her."

BTW, that's the episode where Elaine and Jerry make "the deal" in which they agree to be intimate without a relationship. But Elaine's birthday is the final straw that broke that camel's back.

So here's my advice about gift cards. Keep the amount small (like under $30). Remember that it's the thought that counts. Adding more money to a gift doesn't increase the thought.

posted by Ken on 4:58 PM permalink and comments  

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Wednesday, June 15, 2005

New, old and odd prostate cancer studies

 

The latest study was reported today by WebMD. It suggests that sunshine may protect against prostate cancer:

"Men with high solar exposure had their risk of prostate cancer cut in half"

The main reason seems to be due to vitamin D. The article mentioned that 80% to 90% of vitamin D in the body is derived from sunlight, not from diet.

Other studies have also shown the same vitamin D linkage.

In searching around on WebMD, I found some other interesting prostate cancer prevention studies. These include Whey Protein Prevent Prostate Cancer, Broccoli Blocks Prostate Cancer Cells, Soy: Prevent Prostate Cancer, Male Baldness?, and Tomatoes Lower Prostate Cancer Risk.

Perhaps it's not the specific food, but just a low fat diet that helps the prostate. Well, not according to this study, Low-Fat Diet Doesn't Help Prostate.

Finally, the most bizarre study that I've found doesn't have anything to do with diet, excercise, or sleep. I suppose some may consider it a form of exercise. The article's title is Frequent Ejaculation May be Good for Prostate.

Of course these articles claim that more studies are required before recommendations are made for people. WebMD reported on that last study in April 2004. I wonder if more studies are under way. If there are more positive findings, I wonder what the religious right will be saying...

posted by Ken on 4:25 PM permalink and comments  

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Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Does diet soda cause weight gain?

 

This WebMD article reports on a study that finds a link between diet soda consumption and obesity.

The author of the study summarizes the results as:

"There was a 41% increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumes each day,"

However, the author makes the point that this doesn't prove that diet soda causes obesity. It might be due to people thinking that they can have the Big Mac and fries as long as they substitute a diet soda for regular. The article did give another possibility. Diet soda that tastes like it's high in calories but actually isn't may cause the body to want calories. I tend to side with the Big Mac theory.

posted by Ken on 4:40 PM permalink and comments  

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Thursday, June 09, 2005

Simpsons movie in preproduction. Worthwhile?

 

Yahoo! reports that The Simpsons movie is in preproduction. So it looks like it'll definitely be in the theaters in about two years.

Usually, movies are made after a show goes off the air. But the Simpsons episodes are still making good money so they decided to break from tradition and start on the film.

Seems like The Simpsons TV show has gone on forever. This fall will be its 17th season.

Many say that the show stopped being funny long ago. Has the show jumped the shark? Will the movie be any good?

In my opinion, jokes that combine satire and wit still make Simpsons worth watching. Here's an example from the Gay Marriage episode in which Homer becomes a reverend to cash in on gay marriages (becomes ordained minister online and prints out the priest collar). As Springfield experiences "an outbreak of marriage fever", Kent Brockman interviews Homer:

Homer, have we started down a slippery slope, where marriage becomes so meaningless that anyone could marry anything?
Oh, Kent, not anything. It has to exist.....Or does it?.....

Nothing like Homer wisdom.....

posted by Ken on 4:56 PM permalink and comments  

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Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Toyota's response to GM problems and US's future?

 

In this CNN article, the Toyota chairman, Hiroshi Okuda, said on Wednesday that he feared the possibility that US policy could turn against Japenese auto makers if the big U.S. companies like GM and Ford were to go under.

Japanese auto makers have tried to reduce this possiblity by increasing local production in the US. Many Toyotas are now built in the US. But Okuda fears there will still likely be policy changes in the US.

As GM lays off more workers and closes more US plants, the question is what can be done?

Some blame the unions with their sweetheart health-care and pension deals that they've bullied through over the years.

Some blame it on GM for not making anything people want to buy.

Some blame it on GM's management in being short-sighted by putting too many eggs in their gas guzzling SUVs and not investing enough in fuel efficent cars.

The number one thing GM needs to do along with all US companies is to innovate. Innovate to improve productivity, reduce costs, improve reliability. It requires innovation and hard work at every level. That's the only long term solution to GM, Ford and all other US companies.

I have to admit, it's not easy. Capitalism may be the best economic system, but it's essentially a non-violent war. Play by the laws and be ethical, but remember, it's a war.

posted by Ken on 4:20 PM permalink and comments  

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Thursday, April 07, 2005

Energy Bill Lengthens Daylight Saving Time by 2 Months

 

CNN reports that a new energy bill in Congress includes an extension of daylight savings time to begin on the first Sunday in March and end on the last Sunday in November.

As one Congressmen states:

"The more daylight we have, the less electricity we use"

I think he may have forgotten that although we gain an hour in the evening, we lose an hour in the morning. Unfortunately, mankind does not have the power to change the Earth's rotation to optimize daylight....

In my opinion, daylight savings time does nothing to save energy. This article also makes this point. It may be good if you like to do things outside in the evenings. But that's about it.

posted by Ken on 2:37 PM permalink and comments  

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Sunday, April 03, 2005

Favorite Cap10K Costume - Giant Cigarette

 

As I was watching the Cap10K today, a runner caught my attention with his costume. He had a giant cigarette costume. It was a foam cylinder that extended from the knees to several feet above his head. It was not just a costume but a political statement. He had the sign "Vote for Tolerance" on top. I have to admit it's very creative. I hope he gets the best costume award.

With the smoking ban vote coming up in May, this does bring up an important question. Is voting yes for the ban a vote against tolerance?

I don't smoke and don't like being around smoke. However, I accept the right of others to smoke. But it's not just a personal freedom issue. I think the main issue may be the health issue for employees who work in these smoky public places. Second hand smoke has been proven to cause cancer, and those who work in these places for years will probably be more at risk.

Current ordinance already requires restaurants that allow smoking to have fully ventilated smoking sections. Is a total ban necessary? Can't ventilation systems reduce enough second hand smoke to diminish the health risks? If that can be done, perhaps we should vote for tolerance.

BTW, a runner did have a heart attack during the run. I don't suppose it was the cigarette man...

posted by Ken on 3:42 PM permalink and comments  

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April Fool's Day Notes to Self

 

Note to self #1: When selecting image to modify for April Fool's hoax, ensure image has not already been modified. Note to self #2: Learn Photoshop (or GIMP).

Some humorous April Fool's stuff on the web:

• Fundue - desktop USB Fondue Set
• SkyTag - Green Laser Aircraft Tracker - Automatically tracks aircrafts with a laser
• iCopulate - A latex sleeve that connects together two iPods
• Executive Pong - Super fancy version of pong

The best history of April Fool's that I've found is on Wikipedia. It also lists all of the notable April Fool's hoaxes for each year starting in 2001. Here's the 2005 list. Unfortunately, it doesn't list me.

posted by Ken on 2:51 PM permalink and comments  

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Thursday, March 31, 2005

A Rare Error on Texas Quarters Found

 

Late last year, it was discovered that some Wisconsin Quarters made at the Denver Mint featured an extra leaf on the left side of the corn cob. These flawed quarters have proven to be very rare and are selling for hundreds of dollars on Ebay and elsewhere. There has been speculation that these errors may have been done intentionally by the Mint. The Mint says it is investigating.

USA Today article

A new and more disconcerting error has recently been found. This time it's on the Texas quarter. A few people around the US have come across a Texas quarter, also from the Denver Mint, which has an error in the motto "E Pluribus Unum". This motto comes from a Latin poem and means "from many, one". It was selected in 1776 and refers to the formation of one federal state from many individual political units.

Error-Free Texas Quarter	Error in "E Pluribus Unum"

As shown, the error on the Texas quarter adds the letter "H" onto "Pluribus" to make "E Pluribush Unum". Some have speculated that this might have been done by an employee of the Mint as a protest against Bush's foreign policy.

In foreign affairs, some have accused Bush and his inner circle of invading Iraq for reasons of world dominance rather than of removing weapons of mass destruction. They claim Iraq is just the first step of Bush's ultimate goal of applying "from many, one" to the entire world.

Is this rare Texas Quarter error just a simple mistake? Is it a political protest? Or perhaps there are more insidious motives? Whatever the case, be sure to keep an eye out for it.

posted by Ken on 6:50 AM permalink and comments  

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Tuesday, January 04, 2005

LBJ Museum Visit and Thoughts on Vietnam and Iraq

 

After several years in Austin, I finally visited the LBJ Library and Museum. How similar is Iraq with Vietnam? Well, that was part of my investigation.

The Museum

First of all, the visit to the LBJ Library and Museum was well worth it. It's an impressive 8-story building located near the Royal Memorial stadium on the University of Texas campus. Even if you're not interested in history, the building and it's surroundings are worth visiting. The first and second floor are mostly the museum. Also, some of the museum is on the eighth floor with an Oval Office replica. The eighth floor also provides a nice view of the stadium, UT, and downtown Austin. Floors 3 through 6 are where the archives are located which can be seen from the Great Hall. The Great Hall provides the grandeur one would expect from a presidential library. This hall is about 60 feet high. The giant 4-story archives are visible through windows, and there is a large marble staircase connecting the first and second floor.

Unlike all other presidential libraries (every president since Hoover has a library), LBJ's library provides free admission. It's open every day except Christmas. So I realized I didn't have an excuse for not visiting.

Some may think the presidential libraries offer a one-sided history of the presidents. The museums do focus more on the good than the bad that happened during the president's term. However, both the good and the bad are covered. All major historical events are covered regardless if they were favorable to the president. So for history buffs, like myself, these museums are very interesting. I'm not a resercher, so my visit was just to the museum portion of the library. Researchers with specific searches can gain access to the archives.

Vietnam and Iraq Similarities

In LBJ's famous speech in 1968 where he announced he was not going to run for re-election, he included several interesting points regarding Vietnam. Here is one excerpt:

We and our allies can only help to provide a shield behind which the people of South Vietnam can survive and can grow and develop. On their efforts--on their determination and resourcefulness--the outcome will ultimately depend.

Note the similarities with Iraq. First, it starts with "We and our allies". Note the similarities with how Bush describes our force in Iraq. We are part of a coalition, although the vast majority are US. Second, note that our goal in Vietnam is just like our goal in Iraq, "provide a shield behind which the people" "can survive and can grow and develop". In Vietnam, it was a shield against the Vietcong and the North Vietnamese army. In Iraq, it is a shield against the insurgents and terrorists.

In another portion of LBJ's speech, he recalls JFK's famous quote about Americans:

pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

The Iraqi War, like the Vietnam War, has turned into a war where this is the fundamental motivation (at least in public). Defeat in both cases mean the defeat of liberty and democracy. In the 60's, it was the Domino Theory of spreading communism. Today, it's the Domino Theory of spreading Islamic radicalism.

Well, South Vietnam did finally get taken over by the North, and South Asia didn't all fall under Communism. Time will tell what will happen in the Middle East.

One thing should be noted. There is an important difference between Vietnam and Iraq. North Vietnam had strong backing of the Soviets. Iraqi insurgents don't have any strong backing of any nation. They may have subtle backings of some in Iraq and in Arab nations. But this support is much different than what existed between North Vietnam, the Vietcong, and the Soviets.

Some of the miscellaneous history I found interesting during my museum visit:

• LBJ covered Texas in a helicopter for his 1948 Senate campaign.
• LBJ's first senate victory in 1948 was won by 87 votes from box 13 in a precinct in South Texas. His opponent claimed fraud and it took the Supreme Court to settle it.
• During LBJ's term, the Surgeon General came out with it's warnings about smoking. LBJ was a cigarette smoker and had a heart attack as a Senator in 1955. Also he died somewhat young at age 64.
• Medicare was enacted during LBJ's term plus a lot of "Great Society" legislation that was enacted as part of "unconditional war on poverty" (always thought the word "war" has been overused and abused by politicians.)
• LBJ had a special 3-TV setup in the Oval Office where he would watch news on all 3 of the major networks.
• 1968 was a chaotic year: the Tet offensive, USSR's invasion of Czechoslovakia, MLK's asassination, riots, RFK's assassination, and the wild Democratic convention. However, the year was capped off by the first moon orbit in preparation for the Apollo moon landing. It offerred the U.S. and the world the first look at what the planet earth looks like in deep space.

My favorite LBJ quote:

A president's hardest task is not to do what is right, but to know what is right.

Related Links:

• LBJ Library and Museum Home Page
• LBJ Biography
• Links to all of the Presidential Libraries Websites
• Speculation about the future George W. Bush Library

posted by Ken on 4:06 PM permalink and comments  

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Friday, December 03, 2004

Cool and Cheap Xmas Gifts

 

Just read this Wired News article on "the coolest geek shopping list ever". Usually, the cool gifts are out of my price range for Christmas gifts. But Wired also listed 30 gifts under $30. And there are several really cool ones. Here are my favorite:

• Fluorescent fish for your aquarium for only about $5 available at a pet store near you. Genetic science was used to add a fluorescent gene to zebra fish. According to the Glofish site, this was originally done with the intention to improve the detection of pollution in our waterways. After they realized of the public's interest in these fish, they then decided to sell them. You'll have to judge the ethics of this, but I would recommend not giving these to someone in the Green party (unless you like to get under their skin...)
• Cellular ring alarm If you often miss a cell phone call because you can't hear it in your purse or for some other reason, here's what might be a good solution. It's a pen or bracelet that will light up when it detects the incoming cell signal. The cost is between $10 and $20.
• Amazing money jar bank has an LCD on the lid that displays the value of the coins that you've placed in the jar. Amazingly, it adds the value as you drop them into the jar. It's only $14.95. It's a great way to encourage saving in kids.
• Block-O-Dile Tired of stepping on your kid's lego blocks? This might be the answer. It's a robot-like crocodile that eats up lego blocks from the floor and stores them for the next play time. It's only $14.99. BTW, I was always a big lego fan in my early years.
• Car charger for your Ipods It plugs into your car's cigarette lighter to recharge any USB or FireWire port device like a Gameboy or an Ipod. This sells for $18.99. Addlogicx also has some other neat USB gadgets like a USB beverage warmer and a USB miniature christmas tree with LED lights. I never would imagine these kinds of USB applications.
• Key chain WiFi sniffer For those always looking for a WiFi signal, here's a really cool gadget. It'll detect a WiFi signal and show you the strength on its four LEDs. It's selling for $24.99.

posted by Ken on 6:38 AM permalink and comments  

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Tuesday, November 30, 2004

Winning stuff. It's been ruined

 

I have a message for the advertising folks. Give up on the sweepstakes and all ads that claim that the reader has won something. I for one have had enough. The Publisher Clearing House could come to my home with cameras, balloons, and a giant check, and I wouldn't believe it. You advertising guys have ruined it. It's like spam. I refuse to even take a look at what you're selling if you're running these idiotic ads.

I can't believe how many online ads there that say "you just won this" or "pick the person and win this". Just today Wired News had the very annoying banner ad with an animated boxer with two punch buttons that said "Knock him down! For a FREE Ipod!". Please don't insult our intelligence. If we knock down the boxer, you won't be sending any of us a free Ipod with no strings attached. At best, it's something like freeipod.com where you first have to sign up with some program with lots of requirements before we get the chance at the Ipod.

Another annoying advertising ploy is the "free check" that's sent to us in snail mail. At first it looks like a real check. The amount is usually not that much so it makes it look more believable. But then you read the small print where you would endorse it, and it says that by signing the check you enroll yourself into some program which of course has some monthly fee. So the check is just a contract in disguise. One of these days, I know I'll be ripping up a real check because of these stupid "ad checks".

One reason why Google is so popular is that there are none of these stupid and annoying advertising techniques. There are no banners saying we won something. Or that you can win something by just hitting the monkey. Their ads are just links with some informative text. If there's something interesting, I'll click on it. If not, I don't. There are no advertising tricks or games. Hopefully the rest of the advertising world will learn from Google.

posted by Ken on 4:09 PM permalink and comments  

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Friday, October 29, 2004

Paid to watch TV

 

Loyalty cards idea for TV addicts

Soon you may be able to be rewarded for watching TV. This BBC article describes a new feature to be added to British set-top boxes. This feature allows the hookup of a smartcard that could act as a loyality card. As the article mentions:

"Viewers who stay loyal to a particular TV channel could be rewarded by free TV content or freebies from retail partners."

Do people really need incentives to watch more TV? How about also tying the smartcard to a stationary bike. Not only do you have to watch a specific TV channel, but you also have to pedal. Perhaps that way, the average weight of the next generation won't be 400lbs.

posted by Ken on 1:53 PM permalink and comments  

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Wednesday, October 20, 2004

Try a demo of Florida's online voting

 

Florida Online Vote Demo

Although this is funny, I for one, don't take it seriously. I don't believe the Bush family and the Diebold Election Systems company have a conspiracy to unfairly win this election. There's going to be a lot of folks keeping an eye out for anything suspicious this time. Here's an interesting Wired News Article on this.

Also, I'm a little tired of hearing the accusations that Bush and his family used their influence and tricks to win the 2000 election. Face it, George W. Bush won fair and square in 2000. The system wasn't perfect and still isn't, but it doesn't mean there was a conspiracy or anything systematically corrupt.

posted by Ken on 4:20 PM permalink and comments  

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Monday, October 18, 2004

Putin urges voters to back Bush

 

Link to CNN article

Putin didn't really endorse Bush. But he did suggest that a Bush defeat will likely give terrorists in Iraqi a sense of victory. Here's a quote from Putin that was on the CNN article:

"International terrorists have set as their goal inflicting the maximum damage to Bush, to prevent his election to a second term. If they succeed in doing that, they will celebrate a victory over America and over the entire anti-terror coalition"

I think this could have a significant affect on voters. The subtle thought that a vote for Kerry could make terrorists in Iraq and Afghan happy in any way could swing voters towards the Bush camp. Then add on top of that the already subtle feel that Kerry just doesn't have the toughness.

Based on what I've heard from Kerry and Edwards, I don't doubt they will be tough on the terrorists. But there is that nagging subconscious feeling of doubt which could sway voters.

posted by Ken on 3:19 PM permalink and comments  

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Sunday, October 03, 2004

After the First Presidential Debate

 

I was impressed by the first presidential debate last Thursday. Even though the two campaigns had scripted a lot of the debate, there was still a lot of useful back-and-forth. We got a chance to learn about issues and the candidates. And I'm grateful to Bush for agreeing to 2 more debates. Clinton had only agreed to 2 in 1996.

Quoting the First Bush

I thought Kerry scored one when he quoted from a book written by the first Bush about the first Iraqi war. The first Bush explained why he didn't march to Baghdad and how it would turn into a quagmire. This is probably going to go down in history as one of the most ironic events in American history.

I want a president who could have prevented World War II and could have avoided the quagmire of Vietnam

Iraq was neither Nazi Germany nor 1960's Vietnam. Nevertheless, there seems to be two competing issues. Bush saw a threat in Saddam that became more apparent after 9/11. UN resolutions, inspections, and bombings by Clinton failed to make any real changes in Saddam's regime. I think Bush and many of his advisors did see similarities between Iraq and Nazi Germany. And they realized once those similarities became apparent (perhaps 10 years from now) it would be too late. I wonder if we would have appreciated the Nazi threat if a British or French leader decided to invade Germany to end Hitler's regime in the early or mid 30's.

Then we have the fears of the first Bush about Iraq. He knew how the occupation of Iraq could lead to a Vietnam-like quagmire. In the 60's many of our leaders saw South Vietnam as a critical stand against communist take-over of South East Asia. In 1975, South Vietnam was taken over and communist domino theory was proven wrong.

I believe Bush Senior felt it was not his presidency, it was his son's. Only his son had the current information to make the appropriate decisions. Thus, I don't believe the senior Bush ever discouraged his son in making the decision to invade.

Another Great Saturday Night Live Debate

SNL opened last night with another great mock presidential debate. Seth Meyers did a great job at Kerry who didn't let anyone forget about his Vietnam experience. Will Forte did a good job at Bush who made sure to let everyone know how much "hard work" is being done.

Here's my favorite quote from the SNL debate. It was from Kerry's (Meyers) closing statement:

The fact of the matter is , I have consistently supported the war in front of pro-war audiences, and condemned it when speaking to groups who oppose it. That is not flip-flopping, that is pandering, and America deserves a president who knows the difference.

posted by Ken on 3:15 PM permalink and comments  

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Sunday, September 26, 2004

Presidential Debates, PBS, and SNL

 

Next Thursday will be the first debate between Bush and Kerry. Last Friday, PBS's Now with Bill Moyers discussed some problems with today's presidential debates. Now talked about how the presidential debates used to be run by the League of Women Voters. However, the two parties got together in the late 80's and set up the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD). Now the CPD runs the debates and has essentially turned the debates into dual campaign speeches. The CPD makes sure that nothing might happen that could make the candidates look bad.

Well, even though the debates aren't going to be as free-format as we would hope, it'll still be better than the conventions and the campaign speeches. At least there should be some back and forth discussion.

The best presidential debate that I remember was the 1992 Bush/Clinto/Perot debate. It's amazing that Ross Perot was able to get into this debate (This was after CPD took charge). Perot was lucky since both parties thought Perot would hurt the other guy more. Perot's presence made for a very useful and entertaining debate.

Also entertaining was Saturday Night Live's spoof on this debate. Dana Carvey played both Bush and Perot. His imitation of Perot was classic. Here is a quote from Carvey in this spoof debate that I still remember:

As we've been playing games here, the national debt has gone up by 3.2 million dollars. That's enough to buy an outhouse and a still for every man, woman, and child in Littlerock.

- Dana Carvey (as Ross Perot)

posted by Ken on 2:52 PM permalink and comments  

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Sunday, September 19, 2004

Invention Ideas

 

Kramer always had some unique invention ideas. In the "Hello" episode, Kramer hires a college interm to free up his time so he can pursue his ideas for Kramerica Industries. In this episode, Kramer and the intern pursue the idea of a rubber bladder system for oil tankers. At the end of the show, this plot connects with both Jerry's plot (his girlfriend who hated the "hello voice") and George's plot (his battle with his employer, Play Now). As you might suspect, this bladder system goes terribly bad... It is at this time that Kramer comes up with a very interesting invention: "ketchup and mustard in the same bottle".

Kramer's ketchup/mustard invention reminded me of one of my invention ideas. I've always had trouble with cavities. So I've acquired a very strict dental hygiene habit. I brush 3 times a day. I floss twice a day. At night I brush, floss, use a water pik, and then rinse with a flouride mouthwash. I've also started to rinse in the mornings with generic Listerine which is suppose to reduce plaque.

One thing that I haven't seen is a mouthwash that combines the Listerine ingredients with flouride. It would be a mouthwash that reduces both plaque and cavities. Well, this is my ketchup/mustard invention. Perhaps the name could be Flourine...

posted by Ken on 1:25 PM permalink and comments  

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More Seinfeld Trivia

 

Did Jerry ever propose to Elaine?

Yes, in the "Serenity Now" epsiode, Jerry and Elaine almost hook up. In this episode, Jerry's girlfriend gets him to let his feelings out. After breaking up with her, his feelings continue to pore out to the dismay of George and Elaine. That's when Jerry gets down on his knee and is about to propose until Elaine gets freaked out and leaves before Jerry gets the chance to officially propose. But then George "opens up" to Jerry and "scares him straight". Thanks to George, Jerry is "cured" of this emotional side. This happened right before Elaine returns to say yes.

Elaine had her own troubles in this episode when Mr. Lippman's son makes a pass at her at his bar mitzvah. Mr. Lippman and the Rabbi also hit on her as she learns of the Shiks-appeal.

Kramer has his troubles as he installs a screen door on his apartment and makes his own version of an old fashion American front porch in what he called Anytown USA.

The "serenity now" phrase was started by Georoge's dad, Frank Castanza, as a technique to keep calm. He kept yelling it through out the episode as his wife, Estelle, kept nagging him. Before long George and Kramer started using it themselves. George learns too late of this effect of "bottling up" your anger when Kramer ruins George's scheme to beat his arch nemesis, Lloyd Braun, at selling his dad's computers.

posted by Ken on 1:02 PM permalink and comments  

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Sunday, September 12, 2004

My Invention Room

 

I came across the Ars Electronica t+25 timeline which is part of the Ars Electronica Festival. This a forum where people can make predictions about the next 25 years. I particularily liked how this forum allowed people to easily contribute a prediction, vote for or against predictions, and add comments.

I contibuted the following two predictions. I signed my name ken1706 (showing my admiration for Ben Franklin.) These two predictions are part invention and part societal trends:

Prediction For 2007: New Hybrid Online Grocery Shopping Becomes Popular

Although pure electric cars never became popular, the hybrids did. Like electric cars, online grocery shops didn't do well with many going out of business during the dot-com bust of 2000.

But like hybrid cars, hybrid online grocery stores do become successful, and by 2007, 20% of people do some shopping at these stores.

In the new hybrid online grocery stores, you place your order online and then pick up the order at the store's drive-thru. Unlike the traditional online grocery store, there's no costly delivery.

The online ordering and drive-thru make it much quicker and more convenient for the shopper especially for picking up items like milk. Also, it allows the stores to have a much lower overhead. They don't need cash registers or cashiers (all orders are taken online). The stores can operate at a much higher volume in much smaller buildings and parking lots since customers don't go into the store, but merely pick their online orders up from the drive-thru.

Prediction For 2009: Popularity of Physical Video Games (PVGs) Reducing Childhood Obesity

The rise of Phyical Video Games (PVGs) has dramatically reduced childhood obesity. These new PVGs require the players to perform physical activity such as pedaling while they play the video game. Certain games reward players extra for the most pedaling. Other games just require pedaling to keep the game going.

World-wide competitions take place on the web where video gamers/atheletes compete in virtual race tracks. The games require both physical endurance and video game skill to make it through the virtual course. These competitions and their support by famous atheletes have helped to make PVGs a hit with kids in the last year.

Parents are pleased to see the connection of physical activity with video games. Doctors credit this fad to a significant reduction in childhood obesity and diabetes.

posted by Ken on 1:30 PM permalink and comments  

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Seinfeld Trivia

 

How many sitcoms of the four main characters have failed since Seinfeld's last episode? So far I believe there's been three: First, there was "The Michael Richards Show", then there was Jason Alexander's "Bob Patterson", and lastly, there was Julia Louis-Dreyfus' "Watching Ellie".

Now Jason Alexander is trying to break this "curse of Seinfeld" with the new sitcom, "Listen Up". The most important thing in a sitcom in my opinion is the writing. That's why the previous three post-Seinfeld sitcoms failed. The writing on Seinfeld was great. Both Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David did a great job at turning out creative shows week after week.

I've read over the CBS's overview of the show, and I'm not sure it'll break the Seinfeld curse. I did like the George Costanza character. Jason's character in this new show seems to share some of this. CBS's page characterizes Jason's character as "paranoid and obsessive-but-loving husband". It all depends on the writing. "Listen Up" premieres on CBS on Monday September 20, 8:30 ET/PT.

Here are some Seinfeld sayings and other interesting Seinfeld trivia that I've picked up in the last few weeks while watching reruns:

• Tub is Love: This is the episode where Elaine admits to faking it with Jerry. The saying came from Jerry as George was discussing his girlfriend with him. If you're cleaning your tub, you are serious about the girlfriend.
• Hipster Dufus: This was said in at least two episodes. The first time I heard it was the episode where Kramer convinces George to park in a handicap space. This causes a wheel-chaired lady to park in another spot where she got hurt getting out of the car. Kramer feels guilty, visits this lady, and falls in love. This women, who we never heard, breaks up with Kramer and calls him a hipster dufus (as recalled by Kramer). I also heard Elaine call Kramer a hipster dufus in the episode where she gets bit by a dog in an optical store where George was looking for a new pair of glasses to replace those he thought were stolen at the health club. Elaine became paranoid that the dog might have rabies. Kramer makes things worse my mentioning what happened to a past friend with rabies, and Elaine goes grabs Kramer and calls him a hipster dufus.
• Aqua Boy: George's name given by Jerry. This was the same episode as the second hipster dufus episode. As mentioned, George lost his glasses (thought they were stolen) and has to wear his prescription swimming goggles.
• BBO (Beyond Body Odor): Term by George while riding in Jerry's car that was "infested" with BO from a valet. Jerry couldn't get rid of this smell and was forced to let it be stolen (although the show ends with the thief having second thoughts after a good smell of it). The smell attached itself to both Jerry and Elaine. Elaine refers to it as "rampant, mutant BO". She says "Jerry thinks it's an entity."

posted by Ken on 1:26 PM permalink and comments  

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Benjamin Franklin's Biography

 

I always admire creative inventions. That's one reason I admire Benjamin Franklin. I just finished his autobiography. Benjamin Franklin's biography is not only filled with creative inventions, but also with thought-provoking philosophy, statesmanship and great writing. He was also penny-wise, industrious, and health conscious.

Some things I didn't realize was that he lived much of his early life as a vegetarian for both moral and health reasons. He also was very much of a penny pincher. These combined in actions while in his early twenties when he worked at a printing press. As Benjamin Franklin wrote "I drank only water; the other workmen were great guzzlers of beer." He thought that beer was a waste of money and a a cause of a loss of productivity and health.

I also was impressed by Franklin's philosophical thinkings. He wasn't a big church worshiper as he admits "I seldom attended any public worship". However, he developed an appreciation for religion, it's usefulness in society, and how it helps morality. After being wronged by two non-religious friends, he came to the conclusion about atheism: "I began to suspect that this doctrine tho'it might be true, was not very useful."

posted by Ken on 1:17 PM permalink and comments  

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Monday, September 06, 2004

Why a Low-Cost Digital Camera is Good Enough

 

When buying a digital camera, the fundamental question should be to ask what will be the primary purpose. For me, photos are just used to remember vacations, holidays, and other pleasant occasions. Also, photos are used to share your experiences with friends and family. None of these require paper photos. They all can be done with digital photos, email, and online albums. The only exception would be if you intend to frame your photo and hang them in your home. If you don't intend to decorate your home with your photos, then in my opinion, you only need a low-cost, low-resolution digital camera. In addition, you shouldn't worry about printing them out on paper. Share the photos with online albums or with email. Remember, a photo is only to help you remember the occasions. You don't need paper for this. You may be use to paper photos, but it's only a habit. That paper isn't really helping you remember it any better.

If you constrain yourself to a low resolution digital camera, you can save yourself a bundle. The max resolution that I would recommend is 2MB. That's even plenty if you want to print a small photo. But for online-only, you can get by with a digital camera with only a 640 x 480 pixel resolution. That's less than 1MB resolution. For monitors, that resolution is all you need. You should be able to get digital cameras of this type for less than $100. Some other nice features that may add more to the price include 3x or more optical zoom, LCD display, 16MB or more on-camera memory, and USB connection. Some of these features might put the price over $100.

If you want the best price on digital cameras, my recommendation is to avoid getting the high-resolution digital cameras. Go with the cheap digital camera. If you really must have printed photos, you may want to consider higher resolution. But if you can convert your thinking into the internet age, you'll save money (cheaper camera, cheaper printer, no ink, no paper, no postage, etc.). In addition, you may be able to get some digital cameras with 640x480 resolution for under $50 which may be good enough for you and can also make a good digital camera for kids.

Your digital camera buying guide should begin with a good overview of all the digital camera terms. Dotphoto has really good digital camera information and overview that should help you get started in your search to find the best digital camera for your needs.

posted by Ken on 4:57 PM permalink and comments  

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Another Hurricane hits Florida

 

When it rains, it pours. I can't believe Florida got hit again by another hurricane. The meteorologist in me is astounded by this highly improbable circumstance. My meteorological explanation for this is that the wind patterns and high pressure systems that caused Charley still existed to help push Frances across Florida. If that theory is true, then there might be a good chance than Ivan may also hit Florida.

The Hurricane Center still has a long way to go before in being able to predict within the mile where the eye will hit. For both Charley and Frances, they were off about 80 miles within a day of landfall. On Thursday they started showing Frances' predicted path, and it showed the path crossing right over Orlando. My brother who lives near Orlando had an interesting thought about this. On Thursday, he thought this is actually good because that means it has practically no chance of directly hitting Orlando. Well, he was right, the Hurricane's eye passed about 80 miles south of Orlando.

posted by Ken on 3:53 PM permalink and comments  

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Sunday, August 22, 2004

Hurricane Charley

 

Remember George Castanza's ambition of pretending to be an architect. Well, my ambition is to pretend to be a meteorologist. Here's a little essay on Hurricane Charley:

Last week on August 13th, Hurricane Charley hit Florida. I've tracked hurricanes for several years. There were several interesting things about Charley:

• Bad Timing for Southwest and Central Florida - Usually, hurricanes miss Florida. If they come from the Atlantic, the Bermuda High and the Gulf Stream will take the hurricane north (either towards the Carolinas or east away from land). If hurricanes make it to the Gulf of Mexico, they also go north and hit the Florida panhandle or other northern parts of the Gulf of Mexico. Charley timed its entrance into the gulf with a rare August cold front. This front pulled Charley across Florida (from just north of Fort Myers through Orlando and Daytona).
• Cuba didn't weaken it any - When hurricanes cross over land, they usually weaken and will take days over water before they strengthen. Charley stayed together as it passed over Cuba's most narrow region. I was amazed as I tracked Charley on Friday August 13th. Early in the morning it started out with 110mph winds. By noon it had reached 125mph. Then by 2:00pm, it had reached 145mph winds.
• The cold front didn't weaken it any - Often if a cold front starts affecting a hurricane's course, it will weaken it. That didn't happen in this case.
• Central Region survived reasonably well - As would be expected, Charley weakened as it moved over Florida. However, the Orlando area did record gusts of over 100mph. There was a lot of minor damage with trees down and power outages. However, the vast majority of homes and buildings didn't have substantial damage. In fact, Disney World attractions re-opened the next day. The front that was pulling the hurricane did help it move quickly over Florida averaging between 20 and 30mph. This meant there would be less time that strong winds would last and less rain.
• 90% of the major hurricane damage is near its eye and near the coast - Hurricanes might seem big, but most of the severe wind is within 10 or 20 miles from the eye. The Southwest Florida towns like Punta Gorda had a lot of wind damage. However, there was no word of any significant damages 70 miles north in Sarasota. Also, even though the eye traveled across Orlando, there wasn't near the damage as was seen at Punta Gorda. 120 miles of land weakened the hurricane substantially.

Tracking Hurricane Charley made for an exciting August 13th. My family around Orlando had no significant damage to their homes, just a few fallen trees and about a day's worth of power outage. Even most manufactured homes weathered the storm well.

Central Florida was hit much harded in February 1998 by a line of tornados which were part of a cold front. Those tornados had winds of over 200mph. The tornados killed around 35 people in the Orlando area (more than Charley killed in all of Florida). The houses that were hit by those tornados were destroyed. The difference is that those tornados just hit a very small random areas. My dad lived just about 5 miles from one tornado had hit. That torndao destroyed dozens of homes and killed 11 people. At my dad's house, there was no damage. These tornados were F3's or F4's which are very rare for Florida.

posted by Ken on 2:17 PM permalink and comments  

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Sunday, August 01, 2004

Cell Phone Costs

 

I'm still living without a cell phone. The only case where I would want a cell phone would be for emergencies such as car breakdowns or accidents. I do carry an old cell phone in my car. I have no service, but I can use it to call 911. I use to keep its batteries charged, but now the batteries won't keep a charge. So I'll have to depend on hooking it up to the car's cigarette lighter.

I do see the value of a cell phone outside of emergency uses such using it to call for a tow, or to call a friend for something important. Such a plan wouldn't require more than an hour of talk time per year. The best option that I've seen for this is the prepaid plans. The cheapest prepaid plan for very low usage is the $20 for 3 months. After 3 months, you have to recharge or else you will lose the service. So this prepaid plan comes out to about $80 per year or about $7 per month.

I still think there should be a plan that could cost less. Someone who only wants to use the cell for emergencies or near-emergency occassions should have cheaper alternatives. I wish number cloning could be done. This would allow people to share a cell number. This would cause complications if these people used the phone a lot causing contention on both outgoing and incoming calls. But if these people plan to just use about an hour a year, there shouldn't be any problem. This would allow the yearly cost to be shared across several people.

And there lies the problem. There's no incentive to the cell phone providers in offering such a service. They much prefer the $30/month or more cell phone plans. I believe cell phone cloning is illegal. There have been illegal incidents of cloning in which someone steals a cell phone id and uses that to make calls that are charged to the owner of the original phone without their permission. This of course should be illegal. But why should cloning be illegal if it is done with the owner's permission. If the cell phone owner agrees to have his phone cloned to share the costs, that should be allowed.

I have a feeling cell phone cloning won't be gaining popularity as a legitmate consumer tool to cut costs any time soon. I think my best bet is further cost reductions on prepaid plans. I think if they can cut the costs to $10 for 3 months, I may then take the leap and buy into a cell phone prepaid plan.

posted by Ken on 1:28 PM permalink and comments  

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2004 Election

 

Watched much of the Democratic National Convention this week. Fortunately, PBS had full coverage (the only non-cable station to have full coverage). One thing that I'm still not sure about is if John Kerry really served in Vietnam. No one seemed to bring this up during the convention.... Actually, even someone who didn't speak any English probably could have figured that out during this convention. Some interesting quotes:

During the Vietnam War, many young men, including the current President, the Vice President and me, could have gone to Vietnam and didn't -Bill Clinton (glad he didn't forget himself)

You cannot run. You cannot hide. We will destroy you -John Edwards (His message to the terrorists in what seemed to be an Arnold Schwarzenegger impersonation.)

I'm John Kerry, and I'm reporting for duty -John Kerry (Very witty opening line)

As someone who is open minded, I'll try to watch all of the Republican Convention. I'm probably one of those who could be best labeled an independent. I have concerns with both parties. I still think it would be good for the nation if there were a strong third party. A party that would include the social liberalism and economic self reliance. The closest thing to such a party is the Libertarian party.

I checked out the website of Michael Badnarik, the Libertarian candidate for President. The website looked good. Plus it had a lot of content. But when I looked through Badnarik's biography, I wasn't impressed. The highest public office that he has held is vice president of his college dormitory. Surely, they can get a candidate with more experience than that. He would be lucky to win a city councilman position in a small city.

I also looked over the campaign websites of several Libertarian candidates for Texas and local offices. Very few had held any public offices. I don't see the Libertarians making any advances this year.

Their best bet for the future would be if Ron Paul would run for President for the Libertarians. He would likely still get fewer votes than Ross Perot in 92. But more people would give him and the party a more serious look.

Also, like Ron Paul, Libertarians should consider running for local positions like city councilman in one of the two major parties. Like Paul, they don't have to give up on their beliefs. This can provide them with important experience and give credence to them as future Libertarian candidates.

The Libertarians do have one plan for a more successful future and that is the Free State Project. This project is trying to get around 20 thousand Libertarians to move to the state of New Hampshire where they could get enough candidates and voters to be able to get into state government. Then they hope to have a serious hand in governing where they can showcase their political philosophies in a real environment. And then they would be able to have presidential candidates with more public office experience than a VP of a college dormitory. It will be interesting to watch.

posted by Ken on 12:58 PM permalink and comments  

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Sunday, June 13, 2004

 

Never Seen Before Seinfeld

A couple months ago I watched another Seinfeld rerun that I actually had never seen before. Since I've been watching Seinfeld for at least 10 years, this doesn't happen too often. It was a pretty good episode, so I don't know why it hasn't been played more. Seems like there are episodes that get played over and over while other episodes get hardly any playing.

The main plot of this episode was Elaine's secret sexy message that she left on Jerry's tape as it was recording one of his standup routines. She meant it as a joke, but Jerry, George, and Kramer were mesmerized by it, and Jerry tried to track down this mystery woman. Elaine lets George in on the secret, which caused George to start thinking he was falling in love with Elaine. At the end, George finally tells Jerry about the tape and his feelings. Kramer also learns the truth about the tape. Elaine then realizes that her powers of erotic talk were probably too strong. The other two minor plots were George's purchase of a Chinese hair growth cream and Kramer's new camcorder.

This was the only episode that I remember George getting the hots for Elaine. Needless to say, this was a little disturbing to both Jerry and Elaine. I guess the writers had George come to his senses, and forget about such a relationship. Perhaps that's why this episode was never shown much. It may have been a little disturbing for many people...

But it was a solid and funny episode, and I'm glad I finally saw it.

Isosceles Kramer

One Seinfeld classic that was on a week or two ago was the one where they were picking up an engagement gift for the Drake (Got to love the Drake), and Kramer talks George into parking in a handicap spot. When they return from shopping, they learn that a lady in a wheelchair was hurt when she was trying to get around their car (Incidentally, Mimi from Drew Carey played a shoppper who informed Jerry of what happened.) A mob then proceeded to trash George's car, the car he borrowed from his father.

Kramer feels sorry for the woman, visits her in the hospital, and falls in love with her. He then talks George into pitching in for a new wheelchair for her. Meanwhile, Jerry and Elaine learn that the Drake and his fiancee are breaking up. Their gift, a big screen TV, was not returned and instead the fiancee gives it away.

Two little interesting pieces from this episode:

First, at the start, somehow Jerry and Kramer start talking about isosceles triangles, and Kramer mentions how he loves the name:

I love the name Isosceles. If I had a kid, I would name him Isosceles Kramer.

I guess this stuck into my mind since I've been studying names (see my posts from last year). It does follow at least one of my naming rules: uniqueness. However, it has too many syllables. That kid's nickname would likely be Iso or something strange like that. So I can't give the name Isosceles my stamp of approval.

BTW, I've given some more thought on George's favorite name, Seven. At first, I thought it was pretty close to a good name. However, it does have a major flaw that I didn't see back then. It's too close to the very common name Steven. Add a T and you have Steven. Too many people would think someone just accidentally left off the T. Also, people who quickly glanced at the name, might see Steven and not Seven.

Back to the wheelchair episode, the other little interesting thing in this episode was that this wheelchair lady broke up with Kramer. Kramer tells Jerry that she called him a hipster dufus. It's just one of many tiny humorous sayings that came out of the series.

President's Funeral and a Civil War Widow

President Reagan's death and funeral was given a lot of publicity this week. It was the last state funeral for a president since LBJ in January 1973. Since then, the only ex-president who has passed away has been Nixon. I suppose he didn't deserve a state funeral. As I was looking back at the history of presidents, I noticed Truman died just a month before LBJ on December 26, 1972. I hope Truman also received a state funeral. I would put Truman above LBJ on the list of top presidents.

Another interesting person died in the last month. It was the last widow of the Confederate Army. When I first heard this on the news, I was in disbelief. The Civil War ended almost 140 years ago. How could anyone connected to that war still be alive at the start of 2004?

It turns out that this women was 21 when she married this Civil War veteran in 1928. The man was 81 at the time of marriage. She was 97 this year when she died. So yes, she was a Civil War widow. Believe it or not!

posted by Ken on 3:06 PM permalink and comments  

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Sunday, May 16, 2004

 

Making Money with CafePress?

When Ricky Williams won the Heisman trophy back in the 90's, there was a T-shirt that got famous in Texas. It was an ingenious design that was sold outside of the typical stores since it wasn't an officially sanctioned Longhorn item. However, it didn't infringe on any trademarks. It was a silhouette of a football player in the Heisman pose with dreadlocks (Williams was famous in Texas for both his dreadlocks and his Heisman).

Since then, I've been thinking of similar creative opportunities. Back in the 90's, you had to be not only creative, but also very industrious to get an idea to the marketplace. Now it's a lot easier. There's a website called CafePress that I've used to try to sell some of my ideas. The nice thing about CafePress is that you can upload a design and start selling it on all kinds of clothes with no startup fee. Cafepress sets a base price for all of its items. You can then set the selling price above the base price for a profit. The only problem is that they have pretty high base prices. Also, there's a minimum level that you have to make in your profits before CafePress will send you a check. But for someone that has a creative and cheap side, this is great site.

I'm very glad that it doesn't cost anything to create a CafePress store since it's very hard to make a sale. I've tried twice without much luck. Albeit, my ideas were no where close to the Ricky Williams T-shirt. But I was hoping for a little better luck.

My first idea was trying to capitalize on San Antonio's 2003 NBA championship and also David Robinson's retirement. I wanted to combine San Antonio's victory, David Robinson's "The Admiral" fame, and Duncan and Robinson's status as the twin towers. At the same time I wanted to make sure not to infringe on any of the NBA trademarks. Here's the store on CafePress.

After last Thursday's amazing Laker victory, I came up with another idea. The Lakers pulled off the most amazing last second shot that I've ever seen. And that was after an amazing shot Tim Duncan made in the last 5.4 seconds in which he shot above Shaq at the top of the key. The shot went in and there was only 0.4 seconds left on the clock for LA. Surely, 0.4 seconds isn't enough time to do anything. Well, Peyton did a super pass right to Derek Fisher who did an amazing twist, jump, and shot in one quick motion. And sure enough, it left his hands before the 0.4 seconds finished. Absolutely amazing.

Although I'm a Spurs fan, I saw an opportunity here. I thought there should be 10,000's of serious Laker fans and perhaps 1000's of Derek Fisher fans. Seems like there could be demand for a memento of this incredible ending. Well, I thought of this elegantly simple way to memorialize this. A big bold number 0.4 on a shirt, cap or bumper sticker could be a perfect symbol to memorialize this feat for true LA fans or Derek Fisher fans. Another nice thing about this is that there is no trademark violation.

Well, I created the store ZeroPointFour on CafePress on Friday morning. I did a few advertising attempts, and waited. Well, looks like this may not be any better than last year's attempt. Oh Well... Maybe one of these days, one of my creative ideas will spread like wild fire on the net. I have a feeling it's a long shot. I guess it's my version of a lottery...

posted by Ken on 3:19 PM permalink and comments  

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Monday, May 10, 2004

 

The Next Google?

One interesting bit of news over the last month is that Google is going public. One thing I find amazing about Google is how it was able to become so dominant. Back in the 90's, when Yahoo was the king of search engines, who would have thought a new company could come in and take over. Also, Yahoo wasn't the only one. There were also tons of others such as excite, lycos, altavista, etc.

But with a truely better search technology, easy and simple interface, and a sensible revenue model, they succeeded even when they came late to the search engine business. I believe there are many Google's to be made in the next 10 years on the internet. Here are some of my guesses about businesses that could be the next Google.

• Digital Marketplace - One area of the web that is just barely starting to grow is the digital marketplace. This is a place that makes it easy for people to buy and sell their digital content such as music, books, videos, and images. The web should significantly lower the cost of these items to people in two ways. First, the web provides a much more efficient way of delivering these items: no manufacturing, no physical delivery. Second, it helps to reduce the middlemen like the studios and publishers.

  Lulu.com is one example of a digital marketplace provider. Payloadz.com is another. Both seem pretty small now, but in the next few years, I see these businesses growing. There still is the challenge to filter out the low quality content and highlight the quality.

• Education - Seems like tuition rates are in a never ending spiral upward, growing faster than inflation. With the web, this should end. Perhaps for public schools (K through 12), the web's impact may not be huge. But for college and adult education, the web should help dramatically. For adults, I believe the classical teaching environment awith a small instructor led class is very cost inefficient. Pure online classes should be able to greatly reduce the costs without affecting the learning. There might be occasional offline activities for tests. But most of the class could be implemented with online class syllabus, notes, message boards, web logs, videos, etc.

  In addition to the accredited education courses, I think there's opportunity for informal online education. I imagine it like a book club that would concentrate on non fiction. It could be similar to a message forum but would be time limited and follow a syllabus. Student notes could consist of web logs that would not only function as personal notes but also to help others in comprehending the material. This is just one idea. I see a lot of growth in online education over the next several years.

• Classifieds - Ebay is now the undisputed leader in auctions. They also have areas that are a lot like classifieds in which a set price can be placed on an item for a specific city. Also, most newspapers are setting up online classifieds to complement their paper versions. There are also many niche classified sites that exist for dating, cars, real estate.

  Newspapers should be worried. One thing to consider is that I can get a free email account just about anywhere on the web which allows me to keep megabytes of information almost indefinitely. Also similar, free blog services exist everywhere which allow posting of megabytes of info. So for classifieds, why pay for posting a few hundred bytes of info that lasts only a couple of days? Free online classifieds should be able to allow at least as much space as email and blogs. People can post pictures of what they are selling and detailed descriptions. The classified sites should be able to provide extensive search capability to allow people to find exactly what they are looking for. These things should make online classifieds much more useful than offline newspaper classifieds.

  To fund classifieds, advertising should be effective. It should be no less effective than advertising done in free email or blog services. And the cost of storage, servers, and bandwidth is constantly decreasing. Not only should newspapers be worried, but also ebay should be worried. I see a lot of opportunity in this. One interesting free classified site is craigslist which provides free classified services for all non-employment categories. It also has a lot of other great community features.

• Politics - The web seems to be the perfect place to educate people about political issues. Candidates should no longer have to pay huge sums to buy TV, radio, newspaper commercials. Ideally, a site would be available where people could go and learn about the issues. Discussion forums could exist that allow people to probe into the issues. The site could allow people to get a quick and fair view into the candidates and the issues, plus, it could allow people to dive down into the issues to really understand them. All this could be done very cheaply with the web. There is one site that is something like this, but it still has a long way to go, especially on local politics. It's Project Vote Smart.

  Candidates are starting to use the web more effectively, but there is still a long way to go. I believe every political leader or candidate should have their own blog where they describe the issues, philosophies, and policies. The national ones like Dean and Kerry already have ones (although most entries are done by their aids). More local candidates need to have them, and the majority of entries should be by them, not their aids. They should consider their blogs not only as a campaign tool but also as an education tool that can make the political issues interesting.

Google has shown that there is a lot of room for growth on the internet, even in areas that you might assume are pretty crowded. It'll be interesting to see who'll be the next Google.

posted by Ken on 5:45 AM permalink and comments  

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Sunday, March 28, 2004

 

The Matrix, Evil, and Violence

Finally saw the first Matrix. Although there were a few things about the movie that I didn't like, the basic plot was mind-blowing. Reality doesn't seem the same after seeing this movie. I also really liked the acting of Laurence Fishburne (who played Morpheus) and Hugo Weaving (who played Agent Smith). Fishburne's voice was perfect for Morpheus.

Sometimes the web seems like the Matrix, a virtual reality that can take a life of its own. On a more disturbing thought, I was wondering if terrorists picture themselves similar to Morpheus' team. I'm not saying they get their inspiration from science fiction. My question is about the general feeling or perception that exists. Is it similar to what existed in the movie?

For example, in the movie, Morpheus had this interesting quote as he was explaining the Matrix to Neo:

Most of these people are not ready to be unplugged, and many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it.

Wonder if the terrorist leaders build this same sense of reality where they see an epic war between their idea of good and evil. Perhaps they paint democracy, capitalism, and America as the "system", an evil "matrix" of decadence, ungodliness, etc. Perhaps they look at Americans as "so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it."

I want to make the point that I in no way sympathize with terrorists nor claim the movie The Matrix supports terrorism in any way. I just want to share my feelings on similarities in mentalities that might exist. This is part of what I found interesting about the movie.

What I didn't find interesting about the movie was the violence. The stunts where the characters were breaking the perceived physical barriers were interesting. But couldn't those powers be used in nonviolent methods?

I suppose for the typical movie audience, it's a lot "cooler" if heros and villains fight epic battles with kung fu, light sabers, machine guns, etc. I don't think most movies glorify violence. But they certainly don't do anything to glorify nonviolent methods.

Can good win over evil without violence? Could the USA have been formed without the Revolutionary War? Could slavery have been ended without the Civil War? Could Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan been stopped without World War II?

One thing that interests me is how life was in France in the 1940's under the Nazi regime. Under a Nazi regime, is terrorism justified? Of course, most of the French had no idea of the atrocites that were being carried out by the Nazis against the Jews and others. So the Nazi regime probably didn't look nearly as evil then as we see it today. So from their perspective, terrorism probably wouldn't seem justified. What would be the proper way to fight the Nazi regime back then. I guess you could always provide assistance to the British and Americans. But what if the British also lost and America never got into the war? What then? Could nonviolent resistance make a difference?

The physical fighting is not what is interesting. It's the decision about when to fight, why to fight and how to fight that is interesting. For movies, instead of more battles with kung fu, guns, and swords, I would like to see more epic battles that go on in the minds of people.

posted by Ken on 2:48 PM permalink and comments  

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Sunday, February 15, 2004

 

Auto Extended Warranty

My factory warranty for my Chevrolet expired this week. I finally made the decision to get an extended warranty. The dealership's extended warranty was quite pathetic. It only insured the car for 2 more years. I was a little worried about getting an extended warranty from the internet. Never sure if those companies are reputable and will stay in business over the years. I did find one that seemed to be good deal and seemed to be from a reputable company.

One thing I noticed during the warranty search was how hard it is to find useful information on companies. When searching google, there seems to be two main places where you can get information. The first are affiliate sites. The problem with these sites is that they get a commission if they lead you to a warranty site and you make a purchase. So you can't really trust them in giving you unbias information. There's no incentive for them to say anything bad about the company.

The other place where I found a little information are discussion forums. Often someone will ask a question or give their opinions or personal experience about one of these companies. At least this information is usually unbiased. But there are only small pieces of information, nothing too useful. There are a few sites like epinions.com that provide a very innovative forum to view others' opinions on companies and products. However, they didn't have any reviews of extended car warranty companies.

I did find one way to get some bit of relevant information about the warranty companies. Now a days, each city or region has a local better business bureau which has its database online and freely accessible. I was able to check out their ratings on several warranty companies. Of course this only provides a little bit of information, but at least you can see if there are any red flags on their service. The BBB will log complaints against the company and provide a "satisfactory" or "unsatisfactory" recommendation of the business. There are also web-only versions of the local BBBs that can also be helpful. It never hurts to have more information.

I've listed some links to local better busines bureaus entries on several extended auto warranty companies. Unlike affiliates, my information is totally unbiased, just the facts:

• WarrantyDirect
  Report from bbbnewyork.org
  BBBOnLine Report
• Warranty Acceptance Corporation - My dad almost purchased a plan from this company. They must have some good brochures. When I checked their web site, half of it was under construction. When I checked their report on the local BBB, they had a lot of complaints. Better Business Bureau of South Alabama (bbbsouthal.org)
  warrantyacceptancecorp.com web site
• 1sourcewarranty.com
  Report from denver.bbb.org

Snow in Austin

We had the most snow in Austin yesterday than any day since the mid 80's, but it wasn't too impressive. Officially, we had 1.6 inches. At my apartment, there was just a little snow on the cars and on the grass and trees. Nothing stuck to the roads. It was nothing like what I remember back up in Maryland. I remember one winter day a few decades ago when we got around two feet of snow. As a young boy at that time, it was a very pleasant surprise. Major snowfalls weren't too common where I lived in Maryland.

Motorola Marathon

The Motorola Marathon was held in Austin today. Luckily, it wasn't yesterday or the day before. Yesterday was the snow. The day before we had a cold rain for most of the day. This day was perfect. It was a little cold in the early morning, but it was nice and sunny.

I didn't run the marathon, but instead assisted a coworker who ran the full 26.2 miles. Couldn't believe how much they charge these days for the registration fee. It's 100 dollars! ($80 for early registration). But there were thousands of runners. There's something about a challenge that lures people. Whether it's climbing a mountain, flying around the world, hiking to the south pole, sailing across the ocean, or running an incredible distance, there will always be people seeking the challenge and willing to pay to try it. I bet there is a lot of money to be made here. Running has been around for awhile. There's got to be some other new athletic challenges that people would want to attempt.

There was one interesting thing I observed as a spectator in this marathon. In the mix of spectators who were cheering the runners, a lone Howard Dean supporter was holding a Dean sign. This has to be a dedicated supporter who doesn't give up easily. Perhaps if the marathon was a few weeks ago before all of the wins by Kerry, a sign might seem useful. But now, I'm afraid it's not going to help much. And even if it were still a very close race, how much difference do political signs make anyway? How many people say: "Wow, what a sign, he must be worth voting for"? I never really understood political signs. If you are going to hold a political sign during a marathon, why not be a little creative with your sign. How about something like: "A vote for Dean is a vote for good American jobs and affordable marathons"?

posted by Ken on 3:07 PM permalink and comments  

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Sunday, February 08, 2004

 

Bizarre Super Bowl Moment

New England's last second victory over Carolina topped off a great Super Bowl. There were many odd moments at the bowl this year: the Janet Jackson incident, the streaker, and some interesting ads. But the strangest thing in my opinion was from a new Viagra competitor ad. This ad was from Cialis, supposedly a better ED medication. There was nothing all that interesting with this commercial until it started listing some warnings concerning the medication such as avoidance of alcohol and possible side effects. It then gave this very bizarre warning:

Erections lasting longer than four hours, though rare, require immediate medical help

At first I wasn't sure if this was an intentional effort to amuze or just one of the many typical warnings that are listed at the end of an ad for a prescription medication. In the last week, I've seen this commercial a few other times. Also, I've seen a few commentaries on this. So it seems it's not intended to be amuzing.

My question about this warning is how would someone request medical help if this should occur? It would make for a quite bizarre call to 911. Wonder how the person answering the 911 calls would respond? And what would be the medical procedures to assist the man? Very, very bizarre....

Biographies

After buying 5 books two weeks ago covering 21 biographies, I've started with the biography of George Washington by Marcus Cunliffe. I'm slowly but surely making my way through this book, reading a little before bed each night.

What interests me about historical biographies are the circumstances that create a great person. Most all of the great people of the past had to overcome tragedies, self doubt, fear, and other issues. Also interesting are the important decisions that these famous people made, decisions that impacted history for hundreds of years.

In Washington's case, there was the decision to support the colonies over England. As the rebel movement grew, Washington tended to take the middle of the road mood. Some of his friends were loyalists and ended up leaving the colonies. Washington's decision to support the colonies seems to be heavily based on his loyalty to Virginia. It was where he grew up and was the center of his life. Interesting that this seems to be a similar decision making process that Robert E. Lee made at the start of the American Civil War.

Another interesting decision was the decision by the Continental Congress to appoint George Washington as the commander of the Continental Army. And even more interesting was Washington's decision to agree to this. Washington had won respect of many of the delegates. Also, he was from a strategically important colony outside of New England which would help build support for the war through out the colonies. However, Washington didn't have all that much military experience. His service was limited to some frontier warfare during the French and Indian War. He didn't lead at any high positions where strategic war lessons could be learned. There were many others available who had more experience for this position. Nevertheless, the Congress made the decision, and Washington accepted.

These types of decisions seem common to all people. Accepting a challenge to take on a difficult task is something that occurs in many people's lives. The person may be poorly prepared for such tasks, but he takes on the challenge, learns, and perseveres. This willingness is a trait common in many of the great historical figures of the past.

I'm about a third of the way through this book. One reason I like writing about what I read is it helps me better appreciate the book and it helps me remember it. I guess it's little bit like taking notes in school many years ago, but without the worries of grades.

posted by Ken on 3:02 PM permalink and comments  

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Sunday, January 25, 2004

 

Jerry Seinfeld's blog?

As I was watching a Seinfeld rerun the other day, I thought whether someone like the real Jerry Seinfeld would have a blog. Seems like it could be a good forum for bigtime comedians who want to do comedy incognito. Once some comedian becomes rich and famous, there will always be a lot of expectations when that comedian performs. On one hand there would be a lot pressure to meet expectations. On the other hand, you are treated like a king. People love you no matter how you perform.

If you don't have to worry about money, having a comedy blog could perhaps be interesting for someone like Seinfeld. And by keeping your real identity secret, there's no pressure. You just do what you love: create comedy. A blog definitely doesn't have the personal and live connection of stand-up comedy. But there are still a lot of feedback mechanisms like comment tools that allow authors to make some connection with the online audience. So keep a lookout for that blog by a seemingly noname with really good observational humor that has an amazing way of going full circle.

Whatever happened to the Anthrax Investigation?

Seems like the perpetrator of those anthrax attacks over two years ago may never be found. Every now and then over the last year there have been a few reports of the investigation. Sure seems like there has not been much progress.

Luckily, there haven't been any new attacks. Seems like the perpetrator(s) have either given up or went into permanent hiding. Based on what I heard about the investigation, the anthrax spores came from US labs based on DNA analysis. Seems like some scientist would be the most likely perpetrator. The question is: what would be his or her motiviation for such an attack.

One clue regarding the motivation is when these attacks occurred. It was a month or so after 9/11. Why would someone conduct an anthrax attack then? Someone who's really possessed with hate would probably keep attacking like what Ted Kaczynski did. Makes me wonder if there wasn't some other motivation. Perhaps he's a lone war hawk scientist who wanted to show the US the threat of anthrax and perhaps to help build a case for going into Iraq. I remember when Colin Powell described how much damage a small sample of anthrax did in the US when he was debating the Iraqi resolutions at the UN. One of the most deadly anthrax letters was sent to the House democratic leader. It demonstrated the danger of anthrax (a WMD that Iraq was known to possess.) I doubt there was any conspiracy, but I can see the possibility of a lone madman with an extreme neoconservative agenda.

"If we don't make a mistake, what a paradise we could make of this world"

The heading was a quote from President Truman in the movie "Truman". I just finished watching this 1999 movie on DVD staring Gary Sinise. It was a great movie. His involvement with the A-bomb was most interesting. He wasn't informed of the Manhattan project until he became President. He soon had to decide what to do with it.

Many today consider the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to be an atrocity. But at the time, such atrocities didn't seem so extreme. Fire bombing campaigns of Tokyo and Dresden had killed tens of thousands of civilians. Truman's advisors had estimated the atomic bombing would kill a similar number. Everyone back then seemed totally committed to a complete and unconditional surrender by the Japanese. It was anticipated that the Japanese were willing to fight long and hard. So the alternative to the A-bomb also meant death for tens of thousands of Japanese and Americans. So from that perspective, I think Truman made the decision to drop the A-bombs. At that time, I don't think he fully understood the long term ramifications.

Later during the Korean war, Truman faced another hard question: should he follow MacArthur's advice and turn the war into a total war using A-bombs against China if needed. MacArthur seemed to be heading that way whether Truman approved or not. Truman did not want world war III and made the very tough decision to relieve MacArthur. It was a decision that was very unpopluar in the congress and in the country, but it likely prevented a world war and more dropping of nuclear bombs. Interesting that North Korea is still a threat, and now they have nuclear bombs themselves (or are very close). So some may think MacArthur's advice would have been the best long term decision. But after World War II, presidents have realized that a total war is no longer a viable solution. A mistake that leads us to a total war is a mistake with unimaginable costs. This brings me back to Truman's quote "If we don't make a mistake, what a paradise we could make of this world."

Got Carried Away

I always enjoyed historical biographies. The movie Truman was just one of many that I've seen. A few weeks ago, I watched the documentary "Abraham and Mary Lincoln" on PBS. Well this weekend, I visited Half Price Books. As I was looking around, I found these Reader's Digest series of great biographies. Five books cover 21 world and American historical figures. At first I was trying to decide which one of the 5 books I should buy. But finally, I just decided to buy all five. Pretty big spender you say? Well, luckily, these books were all in the one dollar area. So I got all 5 books (about 3000 pages in all) for only $5.41 (after tax), and thereby, maintained the honor of this website.

Beware of the Decade-Old Pants

As you may suspect, I'm a believer of getting my money's worth of all things including clothes. Well that can be dangerous. I had these slacks that I've been wearing for about 10 years. The pants have held up well. The only problem had been the pockets which were getting some holes. I had to start putting my keys in the right pocket since the left pocket was developing a sizable hole. But besides that, the external look of the pants was fine. However, recently, I began to have a little problem with the zipper. I didn't think much about it until last Thursday while at the restroom at work. All of a sudden the barn door wouldn't close. The zipper had gone bad. Luckily, I could arrange the pants so nothing would show as long as I was careful. Also luckily, I didn't have a presentation to give. I made it home without an incident. So it looks like I will now retire those slacks. It was ten years of solid performance. Sadly, often the end comes quickly and is rarely honorable: maybe a little like MacArthur's retirement...

One last interesting note: The guy that played MacArthur in "Truman" was the same guy who played Kruger in Seinfeld (George's boss for awhile). The actor's name is Daniel von Bargen. More info can be found at imdb.com.

posted by Ken on 3:46 PM permalink and comments  

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Saturday, January 17, 2004

 

When Does a Religion Become a Cult?

Last weekend, two ladies knocked on my door. One was around 50 and other may have been her daughter. The older one started talking about God and handed me this pamphlet. I quickly and graciously accepted and let them go their way. It's been so long since I was visited that I didn't immediately recognize that the two ladies were Jehovah Witness followers. This became apparent as I glanced through the pamphlet.

I can't argue over a religion's belief in God or the Bible. But when a religion makes requirements that can put ones life at risk, it then becomes more of a cult rather than a religion. By not allowing blood transfusions or blood donations, Jehovah Witnesses become more of a cult than a religion. They are putting their members at risk. They are hurting society by reducing the blood donations.

I suppose this criteria of judging a religion can sometimes be debatable. Many religions often have requirements that can be questionable from a purely scientific point of view. Birth control is one example. Birth control makes very good sense from a scientific point of view about ensuring sensible family planning and higher standards of living in society. However, avoiding birth control doesn't in itself puts lives at risk. It makes it harder to do responsible family planning. But it doesn't make it impossible. On the other hand, refusing blood transfusions does directly put one at risk of an unnecessary early death.

My Response to the Jehovah Witnesses

So this thinking about Jehovah Witnesses motivated me to give blood this week. The blood and tissue center had another blood drive at my work site last Thursday. It's been six months since my last donation. I wonder who holds the record for the most blood donated in a life? I don't think it's safe to give more than four times a year. So if someone gave four times a year for 50 years that would be 25 gallons. That would be impressive. I don't think I'll plan for this. I'm willing to bet that in 10 years, they will have perfected synthetic blood and won't require donations any more. So it's probably not worth striving for 25 gallons. Nonetheless, I plan to keeping giving. I think I'll create a pamphlet about this, and give it to the next Jehovah Witness that comes to my door.

Some Freebie Ideas About Donating

One of the little freebies you get after giving blood are some snacks and drinks that they provide to help get your energy back and prevent fainting after the donation. Also, they sometimes give away T-shirts (although they didn't have any this time.) I was thinking about keeping that arm band that they use to cover the place where they draw the blood. Then the next time I happen to walk by a blood drive, I'll sneak in with the arm band and take advantage of the snacks. Then again, it's probably better that I just give blood. Besides, I never just happen to walk by a blood drive. So I think I'll go ahead and throw away that arm band...

posted by Ken on 5:17 AM permalink and comments  

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Tuesday, December 30, 2003

 

Christmas - Airfares, Decoration Innovation, and Carol of the Bells

Another Christmas came and went. I did my usual trek to Florida to visit family. I had to pay more for my flight this year. The best I could find for round trip was $324 from Delta. Last year I was able to book a trip for $236 from Continental. For 2001 Christmas, I was able to get a round trip ticket for $127, the cheapest Texas to Florida fair that I was ever able to get. Since that was just after 9/11, I guess that was to be expected. I actually got lucky that year. Originally, the best fare I could get was with American Airlines for $234. But in early December, they informed me that they had to make an adjustment to my schedule. Because of the changes, they allowed me to cancel with a full refund. Before canceling, I booked this super low fare with Southwest.

Around my Father's neighborhood, I noticed a lot of new Christmas decorations such as inflatable Santas/snowmen and spiral light Christmas trees. Also many people had those now common icicle lights. In the last ten years, there seems to have been a lot of decoration innovation. It has almost been as impressive as chip technology. I wonder if there's a Moore's law for Christmas decorations. Just think what our neighborhoods will look like in Christmas 2010...

Only heard my favorite Christmas carol ("Carol of the Bells") a few times. I heard a few versions of this such as "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I haven't heard any versions of "Carol of the Bells" that I didn't like. Luckily, I haven't heard any jazz, country or Jamaican versions. I'm not sure exactly why I like it. It has sort of a climatic feel, like my favorite rock song "Sweet Madam Blue" or another song I like, Paul McCartney's "Live and Let Die". I found a few bits of history about this song here.

I was trying to think of the Seinfeld Christmas episodes. The only ones that come to mind are the Festivus one and the nipple one where Elaine mails out Christmas cards with her picture taken by Kramer that accidentally shows a nipple. I don't think they ever had any heavy Christmas shows like some sitcoms. In fact, I don't think they had any episodes concentrating heavily on any holiday. I think it was probably for the best. That way it never got too sentimental. They did a good job at keeping the series away from serious topics or soapish relationships. I'm glad they did.

Perpetuation of the Species

Also over the holidays I saw the movie "Cheaper by the Dozen" staring Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt. It was a family type of movie that was pretty good. Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt play the parents of 12 children who try to find a balance between careers and family.

This movie had me thinking about the reasons for wanting a family (large or small): perpetuation of the species, parental instincts, religious duty, civic duty, family duty, loneliness, love. So far, none of these have been enough for me.

Humans are the first species that can actually decide about having children or not. Luckily, most humans still decide to have children. It does seem as standards of living increase, the family size on average does go down. I guess some of this has to do with better access to birth control. But I wonder if it's more related to education and higher logical thinking.

Also, I wonder if you disregard education and standards of living, does average family size decrease when there is less religion? Seems like religious people will use less birth control and avoid abortion which should increase family size. But disregarding this, other factors seem like it should increase family size like faith and religious duty.

This reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Kramer falls in love with Jerry's girlfriend, Pam. It turned out that Pam didn't want children. Also in this episode, Elaine questions her want for children. She meets a man who also admits to not wanting children. I think the line "perpetuation of the species" was a line that Jerry gave to Elaine when they talked about this question.

It seems Seinfeld is the longest running sitcom where none of the main characters were the father or mother of a child during some point in the series. Was this one more example of their selfishness? Is not wanting children selfish?...

Red Lights and When "To Go"

Last month I had some interesting experiences with red lights.

There's this one traffic light that I go through every Saturday morning between jogging and Starbucks. The first problem happened one Saturday morning as I was stopped at that light waiting for it to turn green. I was first in line and as I was waiting, a fire truck came from behind blaring its sirens. There were a few cars beside and behind me. It seemed that it needed to go through the intersection, so I looked both ways for clearing, and went through the red light. As I got through the intersection, I pulled to the side and looked in my rear view mirror. The fire truck ended up taking a right at the intersection in the side lane so I didn't need to run the red light after all. Then I remembered the cameras at the intersection. I'm not sure if those cameras are to ticket red light runners or for traffic monitoring. That got me nervous, but it's been over a month and no ticket has appeared in my mail. I think I did the right thing, but it might not look that way in the cameras...

The other problem at this light is that in the last few weeks it has been taking way too long to turn green. The traffic around 8:00am on a Saturday is very minimal. There's no reason why that light should stay red for more then one or two minutes. Twice it has taken around 5 minutes. Both times there were several cars waiting so it shouldn't have been a case of the sensor not being triggered. In these cases, however, I wasn't the first in line so I didn't have to decide whether to run the light or not. There's been construction around this intersection so I guess it's timing must have gotten off. No one in front of me made the decision to run it.

This brings up the interesting question of how long you should wait for a light to turn green. If the intersection is not busy and the light is not turning green, what should a motorist do? I wonder what the law says about this. This could be another case where there could be a legitimate reason for running a red light. I suppose one thing that could be done to be totally safe from a ticket is to take a right at the light and then do a u-turn.

Getting caught while doing something fairly innocent reminds me of the Seinfeld episode in which the Seinfeld team can't find their car in a mall parking garage. As Jerry and Kramer were walking around in there, Jerry had to use the facilities. Kramer warned Jerry of the bad health consequences of holding it in and convinced him to go in the corner of the garage. Jerry finally conceded and tried to discreetly do his business. As he finished, the garage police just happened to catch him.

Like Jerry, I thought I had a good reason to "break the rules", but the police saw it differently. However, I've been lucky. So far it looks like I got away with no ticket.

posted by Ken on 3:09 PM permalink and comments  

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