Archive for November, 2008

Exciting News!

Since I was a child, I dreamed of writing articles, stories, and poems that would make money.  Now I have that chance.  At least on a small scale.  A site named Associated Content allows people to submit material for publication.  When these items are reviewed and placed on the site, the author is paid for page views.

I have published two of my previous blog posts there.  My profile is located here.  You can find my article on the Eee PC here.  And my article on the bailout of the automobile industry is here.

I would really appreciate it if you would visit these pages and give me a page view.  I would love it if you could pass on the links to people you know that might be interested in the topics.  Every page view puts me closer to making a little bit of money.

Let me say, also, that money is not my only motivation.  I really just want to share my ideas and perceptions with as many people as possible.  It might seem vain to think that what I have to say might be interesting to a wide variety of people, but it’s something that I have to believe.  I have been writing since elementary school and I think I’m pretty good at organizing my thoughts and presenting them in an interesting way.  If you disagree, please leave me comments so I can take your ideas for  improvement into consideration.  I am passionate about sharing my ideas and writing in a concise, engaging way.

So please visit my articles at Associated Content and help me share my ideas, earn some money, and hone my writing skills.  Thank you!

2008
11/20
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Insanity in the News

Sometimes you’re just in awe at the weirdness and scope of the news.  Today is one of those days for me.  Here goes.

The local Maserati dealership closed (as if every community has one) – after being open for only a few months.  I could never have predicted that, with the abounding prosperity everywhere.  I mean, who doesn’t want to spend  $140,000 on a car?

Think your mail smells funny?  You might want to make sure your postal worker isn’t smoking crack on the job.  Seriously – what the heck is going on?  I don’t really care what you do outside of the job as long as it doesn’t affect your work.  But smoking crack is going to definitely affect your work, especially when part of your job is driving around residential neighborhoods.

Ridiculously, McDonald’s is trying to defend the french fry with claims that it’s high in potassium and fiber.  Anyone who buys that as a reason to feel okay about eating McDonald’s fries has absolutely no brain.  If you’ve ever had some of these fries, you know that they’re soaked in grease (fat) and covered in salt (sodium) and that continued consumption is just a recipe for early death via heart attack.  If, despite that, you still want to eat them because you think they taste fantastic, that’s your bad decision to make.  But don’t claim you are eating them for the potassium and fiber, that’s not fooling anyone.

As with anything involving money and property damage, there is now a dispute about the responsibility for the demise of Lake Delton due to the flooding back in June.  Everyone wants the dam to be rebuilt and the lake re-filled.  I’ve got a different perspective.  Being a man-made lake, the flooding in the area and consequential draining of the lake showed how risky it is to interfere with nature’s existing landscape.  We should learn that filling the lake and rebuilding homes on the land surrounding it is a mistake, only to be wiped away again in the wake of another natural disaster.

When I was 14, I would have turned my mom in for smoking pot, too.  But the disturbing part of this story is that the mother is 30 … that means she gave birth when she was 16 (which is not unheard of, but still should be highlighted).  Also disturbing is that she didn’t try to keep her drug use secret from her children to at least create the illusion that she didn’t condone such behavior.  Once again, I don’t really care what you do in your free time.  But if you do illegal things in front of your children (like smoke pot), the state needs to come in and put those kids in a home with responsible parents.

A ten-year-old sixth grader is being investigated for the kill list she wrote.  People are arguing both sides of this, that she’s just a child and needs guidance, and that she should be punished like anyone else.  Here’s the truth: anyone who takes the time to do this is severely disturbed and needs professional help.  Whatever else they decide is irrelevant, as long as she gets professional treatment.  Without it, this girl’s future is seriously at risk.

Perhaps the weirdest story, one couple is stuck in Florida with their pet kangaroo and pet goat.  Residents of Wisconsin, they were on vacation with their pets when their RV went up in flames.  It’s not crazy to me that they have a kangaroo and goat – I’d love to have a kangaroo.  But what’s really weird is that they have their own clothes and designer diapers … and they have a daybed for one of them (the other sleeps with them).

I’ve got nothing to say … the news is crazy enough all on its own.

2008
11/20
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Automotive Bailout Problems

As I write this, I’m watching Meet the Press that I recorded earlier.  The topic of the day is the potential bailout of the US auto industry and T. Boone Pickens’ energy plan.  And I bet I’m not the only one absolutely sick of hearing about corporate bailouts. And plenty of people who know that I am a fairly liberal person are surprised when they hear me say that I don’t approve of the various corporate bailouts.

Here are some of the problems I see.  As an individual with a household to take care of, I need to be responsible with my money and have enough foresight to anticipate potential future problems.  There is no one that will bail me out if I make bad decision after bad decision for years.  As a matter of fact, I have watched both my parents deal with the problems created from serial bad-decision making.  With help from relatives and friends and repeated visits to bankruptcy court, they are no closer to being financially comfortable than in the past.  Regardless, in order to survive and thrive, we all need to be financially responsible and adapt to changing markets, job outlooks, and changing needs.  The American automotive industry has failed to execute this most basic responsibility.  Technology is amazing and has come so far, yet the big 3 have failed to keep up with this technology and give consumers the vehicles they want to buy.

GM claims to have more hybrids and vehicles that get over 30mpg than any other car company.  These statistics may be true, however, the amount of cars GM has on the market far exceeds that of any other company.  In addition, I can’t believe that people will buy the claim that gasoline consumption of 30mpg or more is an accomplishment.  For one, check out this article from Mother Earth magazine in 1979 about a car that achieved 75mpg.  IN 1979!  Furthermore, there was the legendary EV1 produced by GM in the 1990’s that, of course, required no gasoline at all.  There is even more information on the history and evolution of electric cars on this page.  Here’s the clincher, though.  Without taking into account the alternative engines and power sources for vehicles, we were still achieving 30+mpg 15-20 years ago.  When I graduated high school, I bought a car that consumed 35mpg and wondered how awesome consumption would be in 10 years, 15 years, etc.  Well, it’s been 12 years and we haven’t come far.

Right now in the mainstream auto industry, there are only a handful of cars that have achieved anything of note in the consumption department.  There is the Toyota Prius, available all over the country, and with an mpg rating of about 48.  As a Prius owner, I can say that we have consistently achieved about 50mpg with regular use.  There is also the Honda FCX Clarity, a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle available only in California right now.  The previously-available Honda Insight (and set to come back for the 2010 model year, according to Honda’s website) had a spectacular consumption rating of 70mpg. Also notable is the Smart car, with gas mileage of up to 41mpg (and an incredibly cute design), and the Toyota Yaris, with gas mileage of up to 40mpg.  Both the Yaris and the Smart car have affordable sticker prices, high gas mileage, and nice feature availability.

The other hybrid models on the market are feel-good cars.  They improve gas mileage nominally, making the yuppies, soccer-moms, and wealthy feel like they are doing something for the environment and saving money and fuel while still driving the car they want to drive.  In fact, most of these vehicles have consumption ratings lower than my 2004 manual Kia Rio, that gets me about 34mpg.

So the cars that are really making a dent in consumption are foreign models (which probably have more American-made components than most “domestic” models – even Harley-Davidson uses a carburetor from Japan made by Keihin Fuel Systems).  Obviously, Detroit dropped the ball here and is flailing in it’s attempt to catch up.

There are some companies that are changing the landscape of the auto manufacturing industry.  An example of what can be done to achieve 0mpg, while maintaining a sports car look and performance, is the Tesla, with its price tag of over $100,000.  This car is beautiful and serves those with lots of money who prefer the fancy cars.  Another important company to watch is Aptera.  This car is a two-seater on three wheels – basically an enclosed motorcycle.  Its hybrid model gets 100mpg, while there is also an electric model that (obviously) uses no gasoline.  There are also many new commuter car companies making small (1-2 seats) cars just meant for going short distances on a daily commute, like Commuter Cars Corporation, Motor Development International, and Zap (which stands for Zero Air Pollution).

Why does this all matter?  This matters because, no matter what you believe, the oil supply on this planet is finite.  The price of gasoline will skyrocket again and we will all be feeling the pain.  By buying gasoline in the present, we are funding those we consider to be our enemies.  The continued use of gasoline will continue to pollute the environment and accelerate global climate change.

The cutting edge technology is not coming out of Detroit, and it’s nobody’s fault but their own that they decided to stop being innovative.  Our country should not be funding the antiquated businesses and technologies embodied by the traditional American auto industry.  GM, Ford, and Chrysler all deserve to lose a whole lot of money, downsize like crazy (if not close) and restructure their entore business models, if they remain in business.  If the government wants to invest in jobs for Americans, we need to be financing the new companies with new ideas about fuel and technology.  Investing in these companies would keep America on the cutting edge of technology and provide plenty of new manufacturing and sales jobs as the industry grows.  The failure of Detroit to keep up with the changing market and changing world conditions does not constitute an emergency on the part of American taxpayers.  Period.  Let them take responsibility for their actions.

2008
11/16
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An Eeevolution in Computing?

For a few months prior to September, my old laptop (a giant Toshiba Satellite) was on the fritz.  The power button wouldn’t work.  The battery couldn’t charge (or keep a charge when it actually did get charged) because the adapter/charger didn’t fit right, so I had to jiggle it around until it sat just right and then try to keep everything from moving to make sure it would stay powered.  At the end of September, I replaced it with my new Asus Eee PC 701SD that runs a customized version of Xandros Linux.  It’s been some time and I have had a chance to adjust to my new “netbook” and have customized it to suit my purposes.  I figured I should share my opinion with others who might be interested.

Obviously, the small size of the machine needs to be addressed.  My particular model has a 7″ screen.  Being such a tiny laptop, the size is a big adjustment.  But for me, it’s been wonderful.  See, I have tiny hands and could never properly type on a regular-sized keyboard because my fingers don’t reach that far.  The miniature keyboard on my Eee is perfectly sized to fit my small hands.  In addition, it’s easy to take my computer with me and not feel like I’m lugging some giant expensive piece of equipment with me.  I love the 7″ size … but there are also 8.9″ and 10″ versions which may be more suitable for others who have larger hands or difficulty seeing.  The small screen isn’t difficult for me to use and read, but I can see how it would be difficult for some people to use the tiny screen.

When it comes down to the operating system, the consumer has a choice.  Microsoft Windows XP is available, as is a customized version of the Xandros distribution of Linux.  I have read that XP runs well on Eee’s, but I have no evidence for this as the Eee that I bought runs Linux.  For most users, I would strongly recommend purchasing the Eee with XP due to the learning curve involved with Linux.  That said, I am glad I am using Linux again.  Before you decide to buy an Eee with Linux installed there are some things you need to consider.  While there is an “Easy Mode” that includes tabs with links to various applications, websites, features, and settings, it is only really appropriate for children or people who have never used a computer before. Click here to view a screenshot of Easy Mode.

An alternative to using the “Easy Mode” is to enable Advanced Mode.  Steps for this process can be found here: http://wiki.eeeuser.com/howto:getkde.  Parts of this process can be relatively easy, but if the easy methods don’t work, the other options require a basic knowledge of the Linux file system, shell commands, and package utilities.  Depending on your exact version of the OS, you may need to even do a little hacking and internet research to figure out a solution to your specific problem, as I did.  Enabling the Advanced Desktop Mode was worth every minute of time and ounce of brainpower that I used to get it to work because I now have a nice, normal desktop without clutter.  If you are new to Linux, though, you want to make friends with someone who knows a lot about it in case you have trouble and invest in a couple of basic books to serve as guides.

Another altogether different way of getting a more normal desktop is to install a different OS.  The great thing about this is that there are many Linux distributions that have been customized to fit the Eee’s small screen and work with its limited hardware ability.  Just pick your favorite distribution (ex. Ubuntu, Mandrake, SuSe, Fedora) and type it into your favorite search engine with “Eee” and you will see a good list.  The catch here is with the 701 SD’s in particular.  The previous version (without the SD label) has an Atheros wireless card which is pretty universally supported by Linux.  The newer version with the SD specification runs a Realtek 8187Se wireless card.  There are drivers for this card on the Linux distribution that comes pre-installed.  However, it is difficult to find other Linux distros that support the card out-of-the-box.  I may have found a working driver and instructions here, but I have yet to try this out as I did get the default OS working with KDE so as of now I don’t want to mess with things too much and install another distro.  Feel free to give it a try, though, and leave a comment below to let everyone know if it works or not and any particulars about your system/distro/software that may have enabled it or made it more difficult.  Other than the wireless driver problem, the other Eee customized distros seem preferable to the preinstalled one due to the advantage of more customization capabilities.

The other important aspect of using the Eee is the software that’s available and that runs well.  I’m going to outline what I am using and why.  The web browser I use is Firefox.  Firefox has good support for common third-party plugins like Flash, Acrobat reader, and other multimedia extensions.  It is also easily customized with themes and add-on tools that make browsing a better experience.  I also use Firefox’s sister app, Thunderbird, for email.  It was a little frustrating at first, because it didn’t leave much screen space for actually reading and composing email, but I found a great theme (MicroThunderbird) and customized the toolbar at the top of the window to only display icons (and the small ones, at that) and there is now adequate space on my small screen.  I was using Opera for both tasks because it integrated both functions into one program.  But I found Opera didn’t recognize Flash, despite having installed the plugin properly.  It also used up an inordinate amount of screen space, so it became cumbersome.  For the office suite, I am currently using OpenOffice.  This is preinstalled with the operating system and, despite the problems other people have reported with OpenOffice taking up too many system resources, I have had no problems with it.  If, however, you are looking to use your Eee to create documents that others will open using MS Office software, you will probably want to look for a more compatible option.  One option I have found for word processing is Adobe Buzzword.  It’s a great online word processor that allows for saving as a Word document or a .pdf.  That can be useful when creating something like a resume.  However, that doesn’t solve the problem presented with an incompatible spreadsheet or presentation.  For this I plan on trying ThinkFree.  Their product is available online and as a purchased software product on your computer.  It can synchronize your compuuter’s documents with your online storage account.  It runs on Windows, Mac, or Linux and is supposed to have the best compatibility with MS Office among its alternatives.  They also have a version customized to run on the small-screened netbooks that keep popping up.  I will review this seperately once I have given it a sufficient trial run.  In the meantime, if you have any experience with ThinkFree, please leave a comment about it below.  I am using a note-taking software called BasKet Note Pads as a replacement for OneNote, which I became pretty reliant on while working in the Windows world.  I did experiment with a couple other similar programs, but found I intuitively understood BasKet much more quickly than the other ones.  There are plenty of powerful graphics editors available for Linux, but due to the system resources needed for running them, I am pretty much doing my editing online at DrPic.com.  If I need something more powerful i can just run to my desktop machine where I have Adobe Photoshop Elements installed.  It has all the tools I need and more.

If you need software above and beyond that list, you can certainly find a Linux application that does what you need it to.  The Linux community stretches across the globe and chances are someone somewhere has written that application – and it’s either going to be free or very low-cost.  The Linux community also provides plenty of online support for newbies and experienced users.

Overall, I think the Asus Eee line of computers, and my 701 SD in particular, provide great value and usability for the average person.  There is the additional bonus of having a webcam and microphone included.  At a cost of around $300 (what I paid for mine) you really can’t go wrong.  If you need extra storage space there is a slot for an SD card.  There are a total of 3 USB ports.  There is also an ethernet port and monitor port, so you can plug in to your wired network or use and external monitor (or your TV, if it has that capability).  My Eee is my favorite gadget, and I can’t wait until the Asus Eee Top comes out so I can replace my Vista box!

2008
11/07
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