First Story

Bicycle Dreams Movie

2012-01-02T07:17:00.000-08:00

The Meaning of Life

I don't watch movies regularly. I rarely go to theaters to watch current box office hits. Once in awhile I will rent or purchase a DVD that catches my interest. Bicycle Dreams is just such a movie (http://www.BicycleDreamsMovie.com).

In 2008 I made a 9 day, 930 mile, solo journey by bicycle from CT to Lisle, IL. Unless you have experienced this kind of thing first hand it is very difficult for me to describe what goes on during these 9 days of mental isolation. However there are people in this documentary film that seem to be able to put the experience in words that others may understand.

Bicycle Dreams is a documentary about the 2005 Race Across America (RAAM) which takes place every year. It is a grueling bicycle race across the US. There are no rest-days, stages, feed zones, TV cameras or huge crowds. Very simply it is ultra-endurance athletes racing to cross America from San Diego, CA to Atlantic City, NJ as fast as possible. The route distance in 2005 was 3051 miles and it was completed in just over 8 days by the men's solo division winner.

What I like about this film is that it has nothing to do with the technical aspects of ultra-endurance cycling, or the support teams, or equipment. This film is about the human aspect of pushing the human body to the absolute brink of collapse. The riders interviewed explain what it feels like to go many days without much (if any) sleep. About hallucinating while bicycling down the road in the middle of the night. They turn on their support crews, and openly weep due to complete physical and emotional exhaustion.

Why are these things important to me? I cannot say I experienced the same things as these riders, however some of the rider's statements resonated deeply with me. The land doesn't care who you are and how hard you trained. The mountains have been here millions of years before us and will be here millions of years after we are gone. Magnificent scenery that entertains our brains with beauty at the same time abuses our physical body. Heat, cold, wind and rain all working against us, and yet.. beauty all around.

Our egos don't like to be involved in a grueling mundane activity like cycling through flat endless landscapes. Our ego craves glory and praise, but does not want anything to do with the hard work that must be done to achieve any goal. So our mind finds ways to occupy itself during this boring test of our physical and emotional will. First it brings songs to the forefront of our consciousness. Sometimes happy songs, but mostly repetitive songs that match the sonic entrainment of the cadence of the pedals.

When the music in our heads ceases, or your ego has said "enough of that tired song", the demons from our past and our subconscious come to the forefront. The pain we have seen, caused, and suffered through comes to the surface. Images from our past are brought into plain sight for us to re-hash and figure out once again. The ego becomes broken down to the point there is only the here and now of our current situation.

The pain of the ride becomes (once again) a joy. The beautiful scenery enters into the mind, and instead of becoming a challenge it is now an inspiration. A long freight train, which earlier in the journey was seen as a noisy obstruction, now becomes a helpful break from a 30 MPH head wind. The ego is gone.

Moments after my ride ended, all of this was immediately sent down into my subconscious. The ego was gone for quite some time, and there was nothing but a lot of inner peace. The movie Bicycle Dreams reminded me of what it took to get my mind to that state, and now makes me long for it once again.

Avis Car Rental Rips me off .. and perhaps you too!

2011-11-12T16:02:00.000-08:00

AVIS: YOU SUCK!

Today Avis sent me an e-invoice for an $0.80 toll from the Illinois tollway. I never use the I-Pass box that is glued to the windshield of the rental car. I always pay cash. In addition to the $0.80, Avis charged me an $7.50 CONVENIENCE FEE!

I'm tired of being ripped off. If you ever wondered why people are camping out and protesting against banks and big business, it is because folks are tired of being ripped off. Plain and simple.

And ...uh oh.. you just lost another customer... Avis - We try harder (to piss you off!).

Ride A Bike Today

2011-05-03T06:27:00.000-07:00

Ride A Bike Today!

Have the big oil companies given you cash back from their record profits? What, they haven't? Here I thought they would have celebrated with all the people that contributed to their grand success. If you purchased your gas with a Discover card you would get 1% cash back at the end of the year...woo hoo!. But that 1% isn't free. Someone is paying for that somewhere.

So ride a bike 1 or 2 days per week as your only mode of transportation. You will be paying yourself by not burning gas as well as helping yourself to a healthier lifestyle.

Birth Certificate or IQ test

2011-05-01T12:54:00.000-07:00

IQ Test required for Presidency?

Donald Trump continued to conduct the "sideshow" to force a birth certificate for Barack Obama to be "revealed". President Obama published the long-form birth certificate from Hawaii to put an end to the freak show and get on with fixing problems created by predecessors.

So here are a few facts:

1) Barack Obama was born in Hawaii in 1961.

2) He had a American mother and an African father.

3) He went to Harvard Law School and received a law degree.

4) Millions of Americans are descendants of people from "other places"

Folks like Donald Trump and Rush Limbaugh prove only one thing when they foster the "birther" movement. They prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are racists. They cannot stand the fact that a non-white person is the president of the United States of America.

OK boys and girls. So what if (in addition to a valid birth certificate) America required a certified IQ test for eligibility for the office of the President of the United States of America. Yes! Let's devise a test so that no idiots could ever be the president. All applicants must pass the test AND all test answers will be made public.

We may just find that a few folks past and present wouldn't qualify. I say YES, the US should require an IQ test to simply qualify to run. Anyone scoring below a 115 need not apply. Step on up Rush, Sarah, and Donald...let's see how you do!

Grade	Range	Percent
Genius	144	0.13%
Gifted	130-144	2.14%
Above average	115-129	13.59%
Higher average	100-114	34.13%
Lower average	85-99	34.13%
Below average	70-84	13.59%
Borderline low	55-69	2.14%
Low	<55	0.13%

Bike Trails

2011-04-12T03:49:00.000-07:00

Getting things started

I attended a meeting in town last night where people were discussing progress on bicycle trails that are built or planned. The ultimate goal is to have a bike trail that runs from CT to the Canadian border. The trail in our town runs through some scenic areas along the Housatonic River.

Trail "champions", interested citizens and a US Government employee were in attendance. The ideas being discussed were emotion filled and some folks were getting excited about the ultimate possibility of this trail being somewhat of an economic stimulant for the area. All great stuff.

There's a trail just west of New Milford that starts in Wassaic, NY and runs to Millerton, NY. Nice paved trail the whole way (ours will be crushed stone instead of ashpalt). the plan for the Wassaic trail is / was to go from Wassaic to Chatham, NY, some 46 miles from the starting point. (http://www.hvrt.org/) This effort was started in the 1980's. Here we are in 2011 and there are still many segments of the trail to be completed. However the activity is increasing.....why? The town of Millerton has seen economic improvement from trail riders. When 55,000 extra people visit your town each year, there will be a financial up-tick.

Looks like our trail will be complete in 2041..... ??

Heritage Mandolin

2011-04-10T17:23:00.000-07:00

Musical Heritage

Every once in awhile we need to reflect on things. Sometimes physical things in the world have absolutely no meaning whatsoever; they just serve a purpose or function. Sometimes things in the physical world have value beyond any monetary assessment.

In the early 1900's my grandmother "earned" a Gibson "A" style mandolin by selling salve (soap) door to door. When I was growing up this mandolin sat on my father's bureau. Every once in awhile me or my brother Jim would pick it up and bang out some notes on it. Even though it was in tough shape, we still managed to learn "Lady of Spain" or the mandolin solo in Maggie Mae (Rod Stewart).

During the 1990's my brother decided to have the mandolin refurbished by a professional luthier. It took several years to repair, but the instrument was delivered to my father. He was amazed at the restoration, and a friend of my brother's picked it up and started playing some bluegrass on it. I'm told the sound was amazing.

In May of 2010 my dad passed away. A few months ago my brother "loaned" me the mandolin to play. My son picked it up and learned some songs on it straight away. A few weeks ago I picked it up, and with the help of a mandolin chord chart managed to make some useful sounds on it.

As I hold this instrument it is as if I can feel the energy and love of those relatives that have gone before me. The sound is soft and warm. Not a stinging, piercing sound that sometimes comes out of newer instruments. My skills are woeful at best, however I feel absolutely no shame in my abilities as I play this piece of family heritage. I am proud to hold this in my arms and know that it was also played by my father and also his mother.

US Consumers can control prices at the pump!

2011-03-06T07:58:00.001-08:00

People Control the Price at the pump!

Oil industry experts have concluded that the US consumer can control prices at the gas pump. It can be accomplished if the oil consuming population reduced its consumption by just 3%. What is 3% besides just a number? Here are some everyday items consumed along with what 3% would be:

A large pizza -

15 inches in diameter is 176.71 square inches. Most folks don't think of a pizza in terms of square inches, but there it is. The typical pizza is cut into 8 wedges or slices. One piece of pizza would then be 22.08 square inches. Three percent of the whole pizza is just 5.30 square inches or just about 25% of a single piece. Or in plain terms 3% of a pizza is 1 quarter of a single slice.

6 pack of beer -

A six pack of beer is 72 fluid ounces. 3% of a six pack is just 2.16 ounces or what is sometimes referred to as the "dregs".

1 mile -

There are 5280 feet in one mile. 3% of that distance is 158.04 feet.

1 US Gallon -

There are 128 fluid ounces in a US Gallon. 3% is 3.84 ounces

1 Hour -

60 minutes in a hour. 3% is 1.8 minutes.

72 ° degrees F -

3% = 2.16 ° degrees F

By now you are getting the picture. 3% is pretty much nothing. So if all drivers in the US were asked to reduce their weekly driving by just 3% it could be done! How? Combining trips, car pooling, telecommuting 1 day per week. The result would see prices at the pump reduced based on simple supply / demand economics. If the oil producing nations have too much supply on hand, the prices will drop. In addition if US households that use #2 diesel fuel for heating would drop their thermostats by just a couple of degrees, the savings would be even greater. People should understand that a simple 3% sacrifice on their part will have significant results for the entire country.

Oil is not the answer.

2011-02-23T05:36:00.000-08:00

Middle East Shuffle

The middle east is in the process of having the deck re-shuffled. People of countries that were ruled by dictators are standing up and having their voices heard. Armies are backing the people of these countries. The US government propped up these leaders so there would be stability in the region. Oil supplies would continue to finance the countries and feed the USA's unquenchable thirst for oil.

Well, that's all going to be thrown in the crapper! So now what?

Simple solutions:

1) Everyone reduce usage by 3%. This magic number has been verified to be able to drive global prices downward. If collectively the US dropped usage by 10% it could counteract the price increases that are being driven by global instability.

2) Alternative energy blend. Alternative energy does not have to be an all-or-nothing proposition. I use the word blend because consumers will need to gradually blend in alternative energy sources with their existing systems. Gradually the alternative can replace the legacy energy systems.

3) Examine our lives and behaviors as consumers and ask ourselves "do I really need to live this way?" Simplify our lives and focus on the things that are intrinsically important to us.

What do you think?

Fix it locally first

2011-01-16T13:40:00.000-08:00

Local First

A snowstorm just blew through town on Tuesday. There was a lot of snow that remained on the roof. In this area we are expecting a mix of snow / sleet / freezing rain and rain. I know I need to clear the snow off my roof.

What do I do? I take care of it. It has to be done, no questions asked.

Your town has a problem. Perhaps it needs new storm drains or funds to fix eroding roadways. What does your town do? Fix it? Or, apply for state funding and conduct special meetings to determine if funds should be shifted from one account or another to fix the roads. Once a decision has been made it can be brought forth to the local population for a vote to decide if funds should be shifted. 2 - 3 years later a decision may finally be made. However by then the roads need complete replacement and the amount of money requested is too low... and the whole things starts over.

While waiting for someone like State or Federal government to fix our problems, the problems have grown in size and scope. Add into the discussion partisan politics and problem solving enters a world of stale-mate. Where this takes us is to the place we are at with our current political environment; partisan bickering and stale-mate on important issues and decision.

What if the State's and Federal governments set limits as to total funding any town / city receives based on population? One amount given per year, that's it. Cities and towns would have to look inward to solve their problems. The only exception to this would be in the case of natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, or earthquakes.

We are at the point now where we must solve all problems locally first. We need to look inward to solve problems first. Our solutions must serve our local citizens before they serve political interests. In our little town we have BIG financial problems. There are very few major businesses that create good paying jobs. Most citizens commute to a larger city to work. Therefore the town has to rely on homeowners property taxes to pay for its list of budget items. Taxes have gotten too high resulting in many "for sale" signs throughout the town. The town has determined that adding strip malls is the right way to go. Those businesses do not add high paying jobs to the area. They provide minimum wage jobs that do very little to improve the town's financial situation.

The town needs to look at each and every issue and plan for self funding budget. Our state is one of many in the US with huge debt.

Work local, work together to solve local problems.

Try This!

2011-01-10T18:09:00.000-08:00

A week without hate

This weekend we have seen the destruction done by anger, hate, rage and mental illness.

So here's the challenge for this week: Live 1 week without hate. How would you do this?

1) Remove the word from your spoken vocabulary.

2) Remove the thought of hate from your mind.

3) Be aware when you are angry and ask yourself about why this emotion has come up inside.

Some fun examples are:

If you catch yourself saying something like "I really hate peas! (or some other vegetable you don't like). Think about it for a second. Do you really hate the pea pod or the plant? Did the plant sneak up on you while you were sleeping at night and threaten you? Of course not! And of course you don't hate peas. You may not like how they taste, but there is no reason to literally HATE peas.

You find yourself commuting home from work in some heavy traffic. You get in a long line of traffic in the right lane because you know you will be making a right turn up ahead. You leave a gap in between your car and the car in front of you. Somebody cuts you off to jump in the right lane just when you are about to make the turn. You want badly to yell, flip the bird and start saying all sorts of hateful things. But instead, you smile... laugh and think to yourself "glad I'm not him"

Try this for a week.

TSA procedure

2010-11-17T16:51:00.000-08:00

Decide With Your Dollars

Are you tired of the crazy, ineffective search procedures at the airport? You have choices! Take the train, drive your fuel-efficient car. A San Diego man took video of himself during his TSA search procedure. It can be quite invasive. I have been exposed to the full range of screening because I am on the TSA's special list. Here's a sample of some of the fun I've been through:

Glasgow, Scotland - All belongings taken out of luggage and spread over an 8FT folding table. Scanned for explosives. Found nothing. I was told to "collect my things" and proceed.
London - Given an highly invasive search by a large man wearing a turban in the UK. His hands were everywhere. The entire time I was staring at a sign that read "You will be arrested if you resist the mandatory screening procedures.
London - Virgin Atlantic - Unable to use the Internet to check in. Arrived at the airport and couldn't use the Kiosk to check in. Found an agent, he needed to place a phone call and 30 minutes later, I was able to check in. Proceeded to the baggage check in and was told I could not check a bag because my "record had been locked out". The baggage agent spent another 30 minutes on the phone before my bag could be checked. Fortunately I arrived at the airport 4 HOURS EARLY!
NY JFK - Checked in for my Virgin Atlantic flight to London. Got my boarding pass, checked my luggage without incident. Was just about to give the gate agent my boarding pass to board the plane. A hand grabs my shoulder and a TSA agent says "Sir, please step out of line". My belongings were spread out on a table and I was given an invasive pat-down search. Nothing found (of course) and I boarded the plane.
Toronto, ON - Air Canada - Unable to check-in using the internet or Kiosk, I have stood at the agent counter for upwards of 45 minutes waiting to be cleared.
White Plains, NY - Air Canada - 1 hour waiting to be cleared.

Last week I decided to drive to Toronto. I got to the Peace Bridge at Buffalo. The immigration agent asked why I was entering Canada, where I was going and when I was returning. I told the agent and drove to the Peace bridge toll. Paid $3 US and drove right in.

I have taken the Amtrak Acela Express train from Stamford, CT to Baltimore. Put my credit card in the kiosk, got my ticket, went down to the platform, got on the train and had a comfortable ride to Baltimore.

As citizens we have to decide what level of privacy invasion we are willing to endure.

Linda? 50 MIL would have done a lot

2010-11-06T15:30:00.000-07:00

Linda - 50 million would have .......

If someone said to you "Here is 50 Million dollars, now go start a small business and help get some people back to work". You might take some time to do research to see how you could start a business that would put people to work and put some profit into your pocket.

Linda McMahon, along with her husband Vince, have built the entertainment empire which we all know as the WWE. A world of fake wrestling matches with people that are all jacked up on steroids. Everyone knows it is not real, but for some it is a form of entertainment. If you are into that sort of thing it is great.

Linda also spent 50 million dollars on her campaign to seek the office of US Senator to represent the people of the state of CT. A campaign that was not successful. 50 million dollars spent on negative TV ads, huge campaign signs on business and homeowner lawns. All for nothing. 50 million dollars.... gone.

Most people in New England heat their homes with #2 home heating fuel. The fuel is also known to some as diesel fuel. The fuel prices are controlled by world markets. Senior citizens on fixed incomes are hostages of this market. If the price of fuel oil gets too high, senior citizens have to make a choice between paying other bills, eating or heating their homes. Most choose to buy food first, and not heat their homes.

There is a low-tech solar heating system that would allow senior citizen homeowners to augment existing heating systems with free, solar hot water heat. A solar hot water heat panel converts the sun's infrared rays into heat. The heated fluid in the solar collector is circulated in a heat exchanger located in a tank, or directly in radiant floor heating. This provides free solar hot water heat.

Linda. I have a question for you. Do you think you could have invested 50 million in a business that starts to build low cost solar hot water panels to assist our senior citizens in the cold winter months? You could put many lower-skilled people to work building the panels. You could use your mega-marketing power to advertise the systems, and you could use your lobbying power to change legislation so that more small businesses could become certified installers of these systems.

Could you have done all of this with $50 million? I think I could have. Think about this: What if you started the business 4 years ago and put hundreds to work and kept senior citizens warm in their homes. After all of that you decide to run for the US Senate based on your work to serve the people of the state of CT? Hello? You would have won the election.

Serve the people first and good things happen!

Another Cyclist Down

2010-09-21T17:48:00.000-07:00

Cyclist

http://gothamist.com/2010/09/20/brooklyn_cyclist_killed_during_envi.php

Once again a cyclist has been struck and killed. I implore you to read this article. The next time you see a cyclist you can remind yourself of Andrew Wolf and the good work he was doing. How his life was cut short. Regardless of how you may feel about bicyclists it is important to remember they are not surrounded by metal like a person in a car.

Political Idea

2010-09-04T05:25:00.000-07:00

Put the money here

In the state of Connecticut, senatorial candidate Linda McMahon (of WWE wrestling fame) has committed to spend 20 million dollars of her own money on advertising so she can defeat her opponent Richard Blumenthal. I'm not sure how much Dick Blumenthal will be spending to stage his counter-attack, but it will have a high price tag for sure.

So here's an idea for both of you:

Why not pool your money, start a business in CT, and start to create real jobs for people. I'm sure with 20+ million you could easily get things started and start to hire. Perhaps a solar energy company that provides solar hot water heating to the millions of citizens in Northeastern U.S. that use #2 diesel home heating oil for their heat source? If you both put aside your personal aspirations for power and focus your money back to the people you claim to want to help, it would have immediate results.

Once successful you could run for office siting your ability to put people to work for real, and then the voters would line up to cast ballots for you.

What do you think candidates? Do you have the guts to pull a move like this?

Losing the lunch pail

2010-08-09T05:33:00.000-07:00

A push-up is a simple thing

For those not around during the 1960's, we used to see these advertisements on TV sponsored by the President's Council on Physical Fitness (http://www.fitness.gov/) that showed a guy cranking out push-ups. All the while the announcer says "A push-up is a simple thing".

The point of the advertisement was to let people know that their health relied upon them staying physically fit. If we look around we see our US society in general is overweight and out of shape. We are in awe of professional athletes that are in top condition while we sit on the couch watching them on TV.

Two weeks ago I stepped on the scale and noticed I weighed 10 more pounds than I should. I remembered the TV commercial about the push-ups and thought: "I wonder if I did some push-ups (and sit-ups) at the start of each hour, would I be able to lose this weight and get back into shape?"

Last week I started with 5 push-ups and 5 sit-ups at the top of each hour during the work day. I work a sedentary job, so I thought it might be good to do this throughout the day. It was tough the first couple of days, but by the end of the week I was doing 10 sit-ups and 10 push-ups each hour. Here at the start of week - 2 I will kick it off with 8 & 8 each hour and see how it goes. In addition I'm attempting to ride my bike each day for at least 1/2 an hour.

Willys Jeep Dream comes true!

2010-07-16T15:40:00.000-07:00

Saw It in a Dream!

I have been working on restoring a 1962 Willys CJ5 Jeep for years. I had the engine re-built by a professional, but hadn't been able to get it started for years. So this blog entry will capture some events that led up to the dream... and the success!

I got the engine back from the guy that did the re-build. Mounted it on the frame. Hooked up the transmission and got the clutch working. With the help of my son I pushed it out to the driveway, turned the key and it never really got started. We pushed it back into the garage and I started to think about what could be wrong.

Years had gone by and nothing.

Last weekend I had a dream that I went out to the garage, hooked up the battery, turned the key and it started. Well, I tried that and nothing happened.

Last night I stared at the Willys Universal Jeep Service manual for a few hours. I used a magnifying glass to be able to follow all the electrical lines. I went back out to the garage and noticed the wire that was supposed to be on the IGN contact on the key switch was actually attached to the ACC contact. So last night I switched that. I turned it over at 4 PM today and got flames backfiring out of the carb, and gas pouring out of the exhaust. Previously we had replaced the standard distributor with a solid state modern replacement.

I put the original distributor back in and set it at a neutral position. Turned the key and it started!

2010 Tour de France

2010-07-06T13:53:00.000-07:00

What's Happening this year?

If you are new to the sport of cycling this whole 3 week Tour de France thing can be confusing. The race is 4 days old (lasts 21 days) and already things have gone absolutely crazy! In the past the race stages were fairly predictable. Teams like Discovery or the US Postal service calculated all they needed to do to put the General (Lance) in the lead. Lance is older now. Although his team mates are very good, he has fallen 2+ minutes behind the race leader. Is this a concern? Should it be a concern? Today's stage contained 7 stretches of cobblestones. This is similar to riding off-road on bikes with very skinny tires. Lots of flats and lots of mechanical failures can occur.

Lance must chip away at the time gap each and every day. Tomorrow's stage 4 is relatively short. It is difficult to make up for lost time on short, flat stages.

Yesterday there were many crashes on what was described as "greasy roads". Bike riders and motorcycles were hitting the pavement. Quite unusual!

In the past Lance has "won the race" in the mountains, either the Pyrenees or the Alps. The race is not at the mountain stages, yet Lance has quite a bit of time to make up each day. This is his last Tour de France. In the upcoming days we will see what he will do to recover the lost time.

Bike Give-away day

2010-06-27T16:21:00.000-07:00

http://www.newmilfordspectrum.com/opinion/article/Bike-Day-organizers-laud-the-community-support-534719.php

Its for the kids!

Old Tyme Barn Raising (deck build)

2010-06-27T15:37:00.000-07:00

http://picasaweb.google.com/jplynch019/DeckProgress#

What can happen when a few friends get together to get something done!

Well done guys, thanks for the help.

Deck Progress

2010-06-13T16:27:00.000-07:00

The Deck Project

The old part of the deck is gone. The dumpster is loaded and ready to be hauled away tomorrow (06/14/2010). I will order the lumber and we will start the build soon!.

Pictures are here: http://sites.google.com/site/wreckmydeck/

Drill Baby Drill

2010-05-25T16:16:00.000-07:00

Endless Oil Spill

If you will recall, certain politicians were heard saying "drill baby drill' during the 2008 Presidential campaign. Now there are 1 million gallons + of raw oil per day polluting the Gulf of Mexico. Were these politicians under the impression there would never be a spill or a damaged well? These things are built and maintained by humans who can make mistakes. Of course there would be problems!

I flew over the coast of the Netherlands last week where vast windmill farms are being built. Clean energy. I've flown over the central US and have seen the windmills being erected. Solar panels are being put on almost every building in California.

This oil spill may never be sealed. It could leak for the rest of our lives. Drill baby drill? Sorry that's not the answer.

Latest Book

2010-04-04T16:20:00.000-07:00

The Art of Happiness: At Work

The Dalai Lama and Howard Cutler, M.D. - ISBN 1-57322-261-5

So you say you aren't happy at work? Well this book is the follow on to The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living (same authors). If you are looking for specific methods or techniques or methods to achieve happiness at work you may not find it in this book.

The Dalai Lama is a peaceful, thoughtful, funny guy. He is a simple Buddhist monk that just happens to be the earthly leader of Buddhism and the Tibetan people. He offers some thought on happiness in general and the Author Editor Howard Cutler tries to direct that thought and apply it to the western working world.

The book is a quick read at 212 pages, and it does offer some exercises in meditation at the end. It is written in a conversational narrative style which adds to its readability. If you are interested in other points of view on the human condition with regards to work you may find this book enjoyable. The Dalai Lama is not "about" money, status, power or ego. He has no real job, and has no real career path. He just "is".

When asked what it is that he does for a living his response is "I do nothing." Interesting.

Windows 7 - Underimpressed

2010-03-28T05:20:00.000-07:00

Thinking about upgrading?

Years after apple came out with some fancy icons and ribbons, MS decides they can do a "me too" with those things. Mostly desktop action upgrades involving windows that snap to the border, shake the underlying windows away and re-shake to bring them back. Windows gadgets that you can splatter on the desktop, and some faster ways to change the resolution of your screen. Your desktop background can now become a scrolling slide show. You can set up your own themes or choose them from a selection. Themes were introduced with Windows 3.1 just in case anyone is keeping track.

As usual Microsoft can't guarantee there will be a driver available for an older device such as my trusty HP Laser Jet 4 printer but of course it still works. (see previous post on how MS and HP did not continue to support a perfectly good flat-bed scanner!).

Fix it or chuck it?

2010-03-18T03:48:00.000-07:00

Fix it or Chuck it?

Several years ago I purchased a set of standard Bose over the ear headphones (http://www.bose.com/assets/images/shop_online/ae_headphones/ae_headphones_si_lg.jpg) . They list for $139 on the Bose web site but I picked them up at a discount store for $89. They sound great and do a good job of eliminating any outside noise.

The headphones have a design such that a plastic rounded "Y" shape holds the ear cups to the head band. This "Y" is made out of a hard plastic. Within a year this plastic part broke in a couple of places: 1) at the junction of the "Y" and 2) at a pivot point on the headband. With only a 1 year warranty I wasn't able to get them replaced or fixed by Bose. Hmmm try to fix these or just throw them away?

Krazy Glue? Wrong kind of plastic. The glue won't bond. Epoxy? Tried that and it lasted for awhile then broke. Think, think, think......

5 years later.... PVC glue used to cement ABS plastic pipes for plumbing! I'm sure it won't last forever, but they are sounding pretty good for right now!.

Travel Oriented Design

2010-01-31T05:25:00.000-08:00

Trains

http://www.newstimes.com/default/article/Communities-could-grow-around-rail-stations-342040.php

Just finished reading this about communities re-building around rail transportation. People are starting to ditch their cars and live / work in small communities (similar to the way things are done in Europe). Imagine yourself filling the tank on your car once a month! Fifty dollars a month to run your car. Better yet, imagine not owning a car at all! If you needed a car you could just rent one for a short period of time. The cost of a rental would be much less than automobile ownership.

This article mentions towns in my area that are considering plans for commuter rail stations where there are none in operation today. These small towns had train stations that were used decades ago, but were shut down because everyone purchased cars.

I could see myself owning a single car that is used only periodically.

New Security Focus

2010-01-07T17:00:00.000-08:00

The Joke is on us

The new "focus" on security at airports is a joke. History has always shown that air travel is a matter of trust. As a passenger you put your blind trust in many things:

1) Your ticket is accurate and you have a seat
2) Luggage (whether or not you pay extra) gets to the same place you are going
3) Luggage is not too damaged when you arrive
4) Mechanics have thoroughly checked the equipment
5) Pilots have adequate experience
6) Pilots are not drunk or sleeping
7) There are no psychos on the plane to try and bring it down
8) There are no psychos on the ground trying to take the plane down

The list could go on and on.

After 9/11 I was added to the TSA's "Watch List". It is my belief that I was put on the list because of my Irish surname. You may be thinking "There were no Irish guys involved in the 9/11 attacks!" That is a true statement. However the Bush government had to do "something" after 9/11. So millions of innocent people were put on "lists" to be given additional scrutiny for no real reason.

Christmas rolls around and a guy from Africa buys a ticket with cash... one way to Detroit... no winter coat... no checked luggage.... his father goes to the embassy and says he's suspicious.... and no one does anything. However if I buy a round ticket, with a credit card, through a travel agent...I will be searched...and searched, and phone calls will be made... before I can board the plane. Truly, this system doesn't work and it is a joke.

Funny Hockey Kid Sayings

2009-12-27T09:26:00.000-08:00

These kids crack me up!

Here are some funny things the 8 year old kids on the hockey team I coach have said:

( A week before Christmas after scoring the go-ahead goal a player skates along the bench to tap the gloves of his teammates and says)" Merry Christmas boys!

Coach entering the locker room says: " Hey Ryan, what's happening?"
Ryan: "Just checking out your excellent hair style!".

Coach: "For those of you who were at last night's practice this is the same drill we did last night."
Chris: "Coach, we had practice last night?"
Coach: "Yes"
Chris: "Was I there?"
Coach: "No, you were at religion class, that's why you don't know what is going on."\

Health Care

2009-12-21T12:16:00.000-08:00

Dentist Visit

I visited the dentist last week for my twice annual checkup. My dentist asked me if I knew about any changes with my health care policy for next year. I mentioned that the deductible was going up. He responded "That's Obama-care for you!".

I thought .... WHAT? All of these problems the economy are in are the result of miserable policy for the previous 8 years. The new health care legislation will not take effect until 2013!

I have a feeling my dentist had figured out a way to make money from the insurance companies. The insurance companies figured out how to make LOTS of money from the employers.... who in turn agree to policies where the employee contribution has steadily gone up for years.

So now having some control on run-away costs is going to cut into his profits! My news to him is to rent more of the office space sitting empty in his building BEFORE blaming the current administration. And he better take a look at the mirror at the vestibule of the church. Is there a touch of racism going on there?

good bye facebook

2009-12-16T04:10:00.000-08:00

No more Facebook

Deactivated the facebook account today. A friend had just purchased a droid phone. After he set the phone up, he noticed that Facebook profile pictures were showing up on his phone ??? He wasn't asked to "merge" that information. It just happened. Did Facebook ask for my permission to transmit my profile photo to this person's phone? Nope. Did Facebook or Google ask the phone user for permission to do this? Nope.

Sounds like the phone is going back to the store, and I've decided to shut down FB. It was tough deleting all that information. Its all there. Everything you ever wrote on the "wall" is still there.

First Acela train ride

2009-12-01T17:44:00.000-08:00

Good ride!

Took the Acela train for the first time today. Good, stress-free trip. I have taken the high speed train in the UK in the past. Much like the Virgin trains over there.

If you ever get the chance I highly recommend it.

Kid Fun!

2009-11-30T03:58:00.000-08:00

Not a care in the world!

Here you are reading this blog. In the back of your mind you are perhaps thinking about the health care crisis, the financial melt-down, 2 ongoing wars that have no meaning, H1N1 flu or any of a million other things.

Do you remember what it was like when you were 7 or 8 years old? Did you worry about any of the world's problems back then? Did you sit quietly contemplating what the next move the government would make? Of course not. You were most likely out having some sort of fun.

I coach a youth hockey team of 7 - 8 year old kids. Over the past weekend they skated their hearts out to win a tournament championship in 2 overtime periods. They walked away with a cheesy trophy in their hands and HUGE smiles on their faces. The elation of those kids when the winning goal was put into the net was almost indescribable. It was as if they had just won the Stanley Cup in 2 overtime periods. The joy on these kids faces was amazing.

And for just a few moments....... the coaches of these kids were allowed to forget all the cares and burdens of the world, and themselves be kids once again.

Way to go Ice Hawks!

64 Bit Fedora

2009-11-23T06:35:00.000-08:00

Still Not Ready

I decided to create a Fedora 12 x86_64 bit Live CD to see if my HP Pavilion dv6000 laptop would work (meaning all or most device drivers are there).

Answer is?............... nope. Video driver was so messed up I couldn't even navigate the menu. Its a shame that HP themselves are not confident in any OS's fully supporting this machine. They pre-loaded it with Windows Vista 32 bit and more or less said I was "on my own" if I wanted to go 64 bit.

So what will it take? All hardware vendors just keep putting out 64 bit hardware only. Commercial users of the equipment will begin to "demand" their vendors provide 64 bit drivers and applications. Then maybe we'll get there.

Flu Away!

2009-11-10T03:53:00.000-08:00

Lots of Flu Cases

I'm quite sure someone at the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has the statistics on how many flu cases have sprung up already this year. Either the seasonal flu or this H1N1 strain that's going around. I haven't seen these stats but I can tell from those around me this year's flu season is going to be a whopper. Usually the kids on the ice hockey team don't get the flu until sometime in December. Almost 1/2 of the team has been affected already. My son has come down with something real nasty and he's not doing so good.

Did you get your flu shot? Did you have the chance, decided not to, and now you might be regretting it? The national news services have covered this story quite extensively and you may be "sick" (sorry about that pun) of hearing about it, but this is big. A co-worker has lost a 24 year old nephew to H1N1. It struck swiftly and in 1 week he went from healthy to gone.

Wash your hands often, take your vitamins, and take care of yourselves!

Mind Clutter

2009-11-02T03:47:00.000-08:00

Twitter "Tweeter" gets blasted!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/technology/02twitter.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

I never wanted to be an angry blogger (a theme I will repeat often here). I once had a Twitter account. My company was conducting a "Customer Conference" in Florida where the conference speakers (I was one of them) were urged to create Twitter accounts so the customers could "follow" our speaking sessions throughout the conference. I thought .... ok, I'll give this a try. And so I began my adventure in Twitter.

Just as with Facebook, it takes a few seconds to open an account. I read through the tutorial and then "followed" an avid "Tweeter" Lance Armstrong. Pretty soon I am seeing that Lance is going out to dinner, somewhere, or he's flying in U2's private Jet to a concert in Glasgow, or he's training in the mountains of Colorado. He is publicly applauding cancer survivors and posts links to websites that have the stories of their survival. Lance also posts up "Tweets" from his infant son Max. Entertaining for awhile... Sort of like spend a day in the life of Lance Armstrong.

Ok, its my turn to start Tweeting....... so on the personal side of things:... Just cut the lawn... Just poured myself a beer rewarding myself for cutting the lawn. Changed the oil in the tractor.... Ate pizza.... Who cares?

Along comes the Customer Conference and I'm Tweeting.... eating breakfast in the "Champions conference room"...... giving a presentation on StreamWeaver in the "Hubbard Room" @ 10:30!... All of a sudden 2 months into this I'm thinking ...... This is dumb. I close the account and leave Twitter forever.

As you will see in the article above, when technology just doesn't do much good, it is time to let it go. Goodbye Twitter... you're just not my cup of tea.

War Journal: My Five Years in Iraq - Richard Engel

2009-10-10T10:47:00.000-07:00

War Journal: My Five Years in Iraq - Richard Engel

Regardless of your age or political affiliation you should read this book. Most people outside of Iraq really have no clue about the problems there. After 9/11 we blindly followed an idiot saying we should invade and occupy this country. Yet this country has had nothing but religious based conflict for the last 1300 years! There will never be any winners in Iraq. The various people of the many religious sects that comprise the country will never get together on any kind of coalition government. The US style of democracy will never work in this region. If you have a son our daughter that is nearing their teenage years they should read this book BEFORE they they enlist in the military and get sent over to a place that is absolutely hopeless.

Richard Engel has spent over 12 years in the middle east and speaks fluent Arabic. He was born in Oyster Bay, Long Island, NY. His father was Jewish and his mother is Swedish. By living with, working amongst, and speaking with the people of this region Richard has a good understanding of this culture. He has met with political figures and the common people of the streets. He even was allowed a 1 - 1 meeting with President George W. Bush to give him the situation on the ground. Richard did not hold back, but spoke his mind about this situation that our country should not be in.

When you read his book you will come to understand that Richard has seen too much senseless death and destruction and it has affected him. I would not be surprised to find out he is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. No human can witness the level of destruction that he has and walk away unaffected.

MSNBC will air a special from Richard Sunday, October 11, 2009 called "Tip of the Spear" ( http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33107901/ns/nightly_news_with_brian_williams-tip_of_the_spear ). I highly recommend that you watch this program. Perhaps the US will finally figure out there is no such thing as "winning" in either Iraq or Afghanistan. These are lawless lands controlled by vicious war-lords. The solution that no one will ever speak of is similar to what happened in Hiroshima or Nagasaki. Or we can just get out and learn from these mistakes.

Floods in the Philippines

2009-09-27T13:48:00.000-07:00

Global Warming the Cause?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8277018.stm

Makes you wonder. Tropical storms dumping more rain. Atlanta Georgia flooding after years of drought. Here's the thing: Satellite pictures from space show the polar caps melting fast. So where is that water going? Immediately into the oceans. But also more moisture in the atmosphere. Here in CT we have had a very cool, wet summer.

All of this can also result in a snowier winter as well. More moisture in the atmosphere could result in large snow fall amounts.

Book Review

2009-09-19T17:30:00.000-07:00

War Journal: My Five Years in Iraq - Richard Engel

I will be writing about this book when I finish. I'm about 175 pages into this book. Every American of reading age should read this book to understand what is really going on in Iraq (and Afghanistan). No sugar coating, media filtering. This book will educate you on the situation.

Visual Studio 2008 update

2009-09-18T05:04:00.000-07:00

Bad Decisions

I never wanted to be an "angry blogger". Just want to be a happy guy. Well Microsoft requires with VS Studio 2008 that you run a script if you want to use their command line compiler. Simply put you need to run vcvarsall.bat BEFORE you can issue the cl.exe command to compile and link. All of this convoluted stuff just to run a command line compiler. jeez!

Microsoft fails .... yet again

2009-09-17T16:24:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Visual Studio 2008

Well Microsoft. I gave you just one more chance. And you freakin blew it! All I simply wanted to do was install a C/C++ compiler so I could continue to code my own little utilities and programs. I didn't want anything fancy. I even un-installed all previous compilers and versions so you would not get confused. I worked hard for you. Tried to make sure your install would go smooth and your over-bloated .NET crap software wouldn't puke!

But alas. It was not meant to be. I tried to compile a simple helloworld.cpp program and I got: Unable to Locate component mspdb80.dll. Please re-install your product.

Bill Gates you've got to be freaking kidding me! It is supposed to be a simple C/C++ compiler. People in the open source world are now cranking out great FREE tools and you charge thousands for this crap that won't even install! All of Microsoft should be totally embarassed and ashamed of yourselves. You are weak, arrogant freaking losers!

You get a D- grade for your product. If I were you, I'd go back to the basics and figure out where all of this went so terribly wrong. No wonder Apple computer can put up simple commercials that say you suck and millions of people agree (of course Apple sucks too, but that's a different story).

Shame, shame, shame!

Old School wasn't so bad

2009-09-10T16:14:00.000-07:00

Old School / New School Balance

Well I have resisted this topic for awhile. I am a HUGE fan of change and going modern but sometimes ..........

Here goes:
In the world of software development it is a common practice to track bugs in some sort of bug tracking system. The simplest of these could be a text file or a spreadsheet. The elaborate can be a system that is tied to development activity and a CRM / call-center system. Anyways, the purpose is to serve the customer in a timely fashion when they find a bug in your software.

In my career I have used spreadsheets, databases, Lotus Notes, PR Tracker, Siebel, etc. Lots of tracking products to help in managing software bugs. The more elaborate these systems become, the more difficult it becomes to switch to some other system.

My company has decided to just dump Siebel to go to salesforce.com. This was done completely in the dark without a plan. The transition is in total chaos and has affected every aspect of the business. Most of all this WILL affect the end customer, and that is wrong. Why should the customer suffer because we are unable to get our fragile house of cards in order? People that are assigned to this project are simply doing things to put a "check in the box" that say I have done my part, and then blindly walk away from the mess they have left behind.

How can anyone in good conscious take this attitude? What about the support reps that have to speak with the customer directly? What do they say? I'm sorry Mr. or Mrs. Customer. I can't log your call because we have no system in place to do that. Wait a minute, let me get a piece of scrap paper from the trash and maybe I'll get it into some system where maybe some day you may hear that we've briefly looked at your problem.

We've gone 25 years in reverse!

TV competition

2009-09-07T15:08:00.000-07:00

DirecTV vs. Comcast

As of September 1st DirecTV no longer carries the Versus channel. If you don't know, Versus used to be called OLN (Outdoor Life Network) and was known for carrying specialty sports programming like cycling, NHL, hunting and fishing, mixed martial arts, etc.

Comcast owns Versus and there's some sort of battle going on between DirecTV and Comcast. So in the blink of an eye, Versus is gone. DirecTV battles this by opening up a bunch of new channels (for free) to their subscribers including some new sports programming.

Before this battle happened I did not get the Biography channel, or Planet Green channel. Now I get them. Also DirecTV decided to support the HDMI interface from their box to the TV.

Perhaps this battle with Comcast is a good thing?

Irish Wake

2009-08-30T16:32:00.000-07:00

Goodbye Ted

Whether you liked him or disliked him Ted Kennedy got the traditional Irish Wake (sans drinks). The point behind the Irish wake is to celebrate a life and not mourn for "our" loss. I watched the wake on TV and thought it was a great send off. The Senator's story about sailing in rough seas with Ted was classic!

Everyone dies. That is a fact. Even Jesus Christ himself croaked. Without getting too Disney "corney" it is the circle of life. I like the Irish wake because it is the ultimate send-off. One more for the road (stairway to heaven). Sometimes people are "taken from us" too early and that is very sad. Sometimes folks go way into overtime, extra innings, playoff holes, etc, and people think what a long, full life.

Cheers Teddy and good luck in the perpetual senate chambers.

Driving USA

2009-08-28T18:06:00.000-07:00

I have driven from CT to IL a couple of times over the last few months. I would highly recommend taking a road trip across this great country of ours. Every time I drive I see cool things and people. In the dark in a heavy downpour of rain I got lost. I missed the turn-off to stay on I-80 and ended up on I-94 toward Michigan. I took and exit and stopped into a gas station at 5:00 AM. A friendly employee gladly put me back on the right track and reassured me that lots of people make the same mistake I did. Especially in a dark and rainy night.

Journalists freed

2009-08-05T04:37:00.000-07:00

N. Korea releases 2 US Journalists

Something strange happened yesterday. People actually discussed a problem and a resolution was achieved. Of course it took an intervention from Obama, Bill & Hillary, Al Gore, etc. Kim-jong Il wants the US to "pay attention" to him. He stirs the pot just to be noticed.

So it took a visit from Bubba Clinton to satisfy his ego. The good news is that the two reporters will not be spending 12 years in a labor camp. This event also shows that having a discussion with people before lobbing bombs at them might just work!.

High Tech in Sports

2009-07-31T05:17:00.001-07:00

Fast Swim Suits Shatter records

There is a recent buzz in the sports world over high-tech swimsuits being used at the 2009 World Swim Championships being held in Rome. Records are falling left and right and sometimes by more than a few seconds! The governing body of the sport (FINA) plans on banning the suits which are mostly covered in polyurethane.

I'm in favor of keeping the suits. All sports have seen some sort of evolution with regards to equipment used. In ice hockey the skates used to be these heavy clunkers with steel blade holders and very thick leather boots. Today the blade holders are lightweight plastic and the boot is no longer leather, but a combination of Kevlar, leather, and carbon fiber. The speed of ice hockey has increased dramatically because of the changes in the equipment.

Golf clubs called "woods" are no longer made of wood. They are made of high tech Titanium. Guys are smashing the ball further than they ever had.

Seems like the swim suits should stay.

Mass hysteria or real illness?

2009-07-30T05:22:00.001-07:00

Workers in China get sick

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/30/world/asia/30jilin.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

This article in the NY Times discloses a factory town in China where many have fallen ill. The workers say the cause for their illness is the smoke from a plastics factory 100 yards from their workplace. The government says the illness for the "whole town" is all in their heads and they are suffering from mass hysteria!.

Cheney Is Linked to Concealment of C.I.A. Project

2009-07-12T06:43:00.000-07:00

Truth we all knew coming out?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/12/us/politics/12intel.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

This article begins to reveal that both Bush and Cheney hid from the US Congress a secret counter-terrorism plan that included torture. Yes, Nancy Pelosi at times seems quite goofy and confused. How she is speaker of the house is beyond me. As soon as she "stumbled" with her words about what she was told when Bush / Cheney made their cases about torture she became labeled. Her credibility shot!

Leon Panetta found out from subordinates about the program and immediately shut it down. Understand when you read this article that all of this was planned. The Bush / Cheney administration did not care about the average citizen. This was apparent when they happily committed our families to fight a war based on lies and mythical threats. The Bush / Cheney's only concern was about personal wealth and gain. Something they thought they would acheive by bullying their way into the oil fields of Iraq. Their plan was to liberate the people from Saddam and take the oil from right under their feet. We all know now this didn't work.

With their main mission being based on lies, they needed to invent terrorist threats from Iraq. Let the toruture begin! In the past the CIA has proven that torture does not yield credible intelligence. A person being tortured will say ANYTHING if they think that will stop the torture.

Now it is becoming clear why Cheney went public after leaving office. He is looking to deflect things back on the Obama administration to take the upcoming heat from himself and George W. Dick and W. do not, nor did they ever care about US citizens. Hurrican Katrina is proof they don't give a rip about someone trying to eek out a living each and every day.

Contador vs. Lance

2009-07-11T05:35:00.000-07:00

Making a statement

With a series of powerful pedal strokes, Alberto Contador quickly ripped away from the pack where former champion Lance Armstrong was riding during Stage 7 of the 2009 Tour de France. Alberto has won the tour and believes he deserves the respect of all riders. Lance has stated he is there for the "team" but deep down the 7-time champ wants to win very badly. Both riders are on the Astana team. The team was formerly backed by the Kazakstan financial system which is now broke. Lance is funding the team out of his own deep pockets. So essentially Alberto has rubbed his bosses "nose" in it. Lance was visibly upset that Alberto was not riding for the team, but for himself.

So Stage 8 is occuring as I write this. this stage has only two big climbs on it so it is unlikely that Lance will try to regain his dominence. Alberto can rack up a larger time gap (currently 2 seconds ahead of Lance ) if he attacks at the end of today's ride. Watch the post stage interviews to get an idea of what each will do. Contador does not participate in post ride interviews with the English speaking media. Lance was noticably upset with Contador. Lance tipped us off by stating the climbs that are long, but not steep are not his specialty (but they are Alberto Contador's). The Alps hold some steep climbs that may favor Lance. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds.

2009 Tour de France

2009-07-07T16:12:00.000-07:00

Old dog still can hunt!

You may not be in touch with the world of professional bicycle racing. However everyone has heard of Lance Armstrong. His 7 Tour de France (TDF) victories are unprecedented. His miraculous recovery from his death sentence of testicular, lung and brain cancer surpasses anything he has done on the bicycle. Over 750 million yellow "Livestrong" bands have been sold to fund cancer research to beat this terrible disease.

Lance Armstrong decided to retire from professional cycle racing after his 7th victory. He remained physically active by participating in marathons and mountain bike events. He worked to raise awareness for his Livestrong campaign. He decided there was no better platform for him to promote his Livestrong campaign than the professional cycling theatre. So he returned.

And after 4 stages of the 2009 Tour de France he is tied for the lead. What does this mean?

If you have not been following this race you may want to tune into Versus. The event is on everyday (except for 2 rest days). There is something very unique about bicycle racing. Imagine travelling 150 miles every day on a bicycle (in only 5 hours of riding) for 21 days! There is nothing like this sport.

Palin calls it quits

2009-07-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

Alaska's Governor says: Buh bye!
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/04/us/politics/04palin.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

So she's had enough? As usual there are two sides to any story. So lets take a look at them shall we?

1) Sarah Palin chose to parade her family in front of the media during her run as Vice Presidential candidate. This was a choice that she, John McCain and her family made. I suppose the theory behind it was to show America that they were just "regular folks" out to make a difference. No more politics as usual. This would be a Vice President that people could identify with and stand behind.

The problem for Palin was her somewhat strange and interesting background. Meetings with religious whackos, her husband Todd's affiliation with a group looking to have Alaska seceed from the US, the out of wed-lock birth of her daughter's child, and of course her Down's syndrome baby. Whew! That's a lot to throw at the average Joe (not Joe the plumber) to consider.

Her family has been scrutinized quite heavily. If her decision to leave office was to regain some privacy and have somewhat of a normal life, she may in fact have made a wise choice.

2) Or; Palin has become dilusional and believes she can make an honest bid for the White House in 2012. This is interesting too and makes the Saturday night live skit involving John McCain and Tina Fey come to life! To recall the skit, John McCain says the campaign is out of money and he is now advertising on QVC (home shopping network) because that is all they can afford. At that point Tina Fey (playing the part of Sarah Palin) says she's "going rogue" and slips off to the side to sell "Palin 2012" T-shirts!

If Sarah Palin is going for 2012 she needs to perhaps think about things for a moment or two. She needs to start reading the newspaper for REAL and understand what is going on in this complicated world of ours. In order to become a serious candidate she has to have more broad-based appeal than the religious right and dirty old men that want to see a "babe" in office as their president.

Here is the most disturbing part: Sarah you asked the voters of Alaska to trust you with their sacred vote. You promised them change and results (which you may have provided). However you also promised them a full term as Governor. You are quitting with 1 1/2 years left in your term! You asked the voters to trust you to do the job and now you are bailing out with 1 1/2 years to go! What is up with that Ms. Palin? As President if things get too tough for you will you up and quit that job?

You should do the job you were elected to do, and do it well. Only then will you gain the trust and respect of the people of your home state. This is not just another talent contest.

MJ, Farrah, North Korea, Darfour

2009-06-26T15:11:00.000-07:00

Star Struck?
I'd like to start this by stating the painfully obvious..... Everyone dies. Even Jesus himself couldn't avoid it.

I've never been the type of person that has been overwhelmed by popular figures. My only brushes with fame have been with professional ice hockey players: shook Gordie Howe's hand at a youth hockey banquet when I was 12 and was standing next to Chris Chelios while my son played hockey against his kids in a spring league in Illinois.

I don't understand how people get drawn into the life of these pop icons. Regardless, two people died. The impact of their passing will be felt by their families and loved ones most. Those people that spent the most quality time with them.

Yet North Koreans are being starved to death each and every day by their delusional leader. Genocide in Sudan's Darfour region have left many innocent dead. Many that never had a chance to get basic housing, shelter food and clothing.

So for the poster girl and the boy singer that never wanted to grow up we say ... good bye. And for the hundreds of thousands on the verge of going in North Korea and Sudan? There is not much anyone can say.

2009 Trek Across Maine

2009-06-17T18:17:00.000-07:00

Follow Our progress
http://sites.google.com/site/2009trekacrossmaine/

Thief at the pump!

2009-06-14T15:32:00.000-07:00

Watch your wallets!

Keep a close eye on the gas pump prices. They are edging up. Last year they shot up in an all out assault against you the consumer. So foolish the oil companies were. People could not afford the rapid price doubling so they decided to stop driving. Oil production was not adjusted resulting in too much oil in the market place.

This summer the oil companies are trying to sneak up on us. Prices will creep up just a penny or two per day until all of a sudden we're back up to $4 per gallon again. This is not a result of supply and demand! This is blatant gouging by the oil companies on an already depressed economy. Two weeks ago I payed $4.29 per gallon when returning a rental car. This was in Orlando, FL where the Disney theme is to have you leave all your money in Florida. Your wallet should be completely empty when you leave the "Happiest place on earth!"

Oil Industry expert Thomas Kloza has said the consumer can control the prices at the pump. If each American conserved just 3% per week, oil prices would plummet. If oil hungry China and India conserved we might again see prices under $2 per gallon. The consumer has the power through supply and demand economics.

Lord Stanley gets a new care taker

2009-06-13T03:18:00.000-07:00

Pittsburgh Penguins Win 2008 - 2009 Stanley Cup

Two games ago the Pittsburgh Penguins looked as if they had met their match going against the powerful Detroit Red Wings. They were shelled 5 - 0 in an embarrassing loss that could have resulted in the series ending with a fizzle. Instead the youthful team rallied to take it all. A wild save by Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury put the final exclamation point on an exciting series.

All in all this year's playoff run was as exciting as I've seen in years. Great young teams making their run for the cup. Exciting play from teams like Chicago, Washington, Boston, San Jose! Hopefully the NHL has acquired some new fans and can keep the excitement up for years to come.

Giving Cyclists a bad rap

2009-06-09T17:43:00.000-07:00

Not a good example

I was on my usual bicycling commute home from work yesterday. At the top of a modest hill I came upon another cyclist. I was going just a bit faster than he was so I looked left, saw there was no oncoming traffic, announced "on your left" and passed him. A traffic light was up ahead. I stopped at the light (it is the law). The guy I passed came bombing down the hill and blew through the red light, right into traffic. As we made our way to the next light, he rode through that red light. we happened to catch the next light green. The light after that one was red at a very busy intersection, and he rode through that red light as well.

Friends of mine have commented that they HATE bicyclists on the road because they don't obey traffic rules and regulations. I follow the rules because I'm on the roads every day. I want to earn the respect of motorists by following the rules. This selfish idiot doesn't care about anyone but himself.

At the last intersection he went through I had enough. I decided to take an alternate way home to avoid being associated with him. I rejoined the road he was on about 7 miles later. And again I witnessed him ride through another busy intersection. What a jerk.

Mouse in the shed

2009-06-07T17:29:00.000-07:00

No time to be humane!

I have been battling mice in the garage and shed for 10 years. Mice come in a few different flavors / colors. You've got your standard nasty grey house mice, and your cute brown and white field mice and your all white lab mice.

The standard mouse trap has been improved someone in the past few years. the copper bait plate has been replaced with a plastic paddle. You load the paddle with a little peanut butter, set the trap and a few hours later ... SNAP! You've got em! Field mice tend to be much smarter than the house variety. To field mice have developed a very soft touch and can slowly lick the peanut butter from the plat without tripping the trap.

So I go out to the shed yesterday and watch a momma mouse grab a mouthful of her little babies, and make a run for it! I can set a trap and bag the mom, and that will wipe out the rest of the younguns (nothing to eat).

Ahh, rural life.

Dump and chase doesn't work!

2009-06-07T03:31:00.000-07:00

Detroit 5 - Pittsburgh 0

Hello Pittsburgh Penguins? Anyone home? You tried a dump and chase offensive strategy in games 1 & 2 in Detroit and it didn't work. You changed to a neutral zone transition with crisp, pin-point passing in games 3 & 4 and you won. HELLO? Why in the world would you go back to dump in chase in Detroit. Also, please arrange for an eye-exam for Marc-André Fleury. He's missing some that he should be saving.

That's all I'm gonna say about that!

John Deere Era coming to an end

2009-06-06T16:21:00.000-07:00

Cub Cadet in - John Deere out

Ok. The Cub Cadet Tractor 1054 tractor arrived on Friday. Since 1999 I've been cutting the grass (5.76 acres) every weekend on a John Deere LT 166. It has taken me 5 hours to cut the lawn every weekend. The Deere has a 46" cutting deck and a 16 HP 2 cylinder engine. Engine has always run exceptionally well.

Today I cut the lawn with the Cub. It has a 26 HP engine and a 54" cutting deck. The ground speed on the Cub is about 2 times as fast as the John Deere. Total cutting time: 3 hrs.

I keep thinking about all of the hours wasted on the John Deere. I'll fix it up, clean it up, and sell it.

Should Chelios call it quits?

2009-05-31T04:36:00.000-07:00

47 and still going!
The 2008-2009 NHL Stanley Cup finals got underway last night. The match up includes the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings (viewed on NBC during the weekends, Versus during the week). Detroit won the first game 3-1 and that isn't too much of a surprise as they dominated their division all season long. This post is not about who will win or who will lose, but about the question of a 47 year old playing in his 23rd year in the NHL.

Chris Chelios started with the Montreal Canadians in the 1983-1984 season. His career is outstanding and he's hoisted the Stanley Cup 3 times in his career. Nowadays he barely sees any playing time. He was not on the roster for last night's game. Detroit signed him to a 1 year contract as late as September 9, 2008 (season just about started!). Click here for his stats on the Red Wings web site ( http://redwings.nhl.com/team/app?page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8446053&service=page&tab=crs )

When does a player like Cheli lose effectiveness in a game? Visibly he has slowed down and he is not the player he used to be. Also, the size and speed of today's NHL player is quite a bit different from when he started. Hockey used to be known as the sport where "size didn't matter". Unfortunately now these guys have to be 6' 2" to even get looked at.

Hockey is one of those sports where you need to play at least 3 times per week in high-intensity game situations. Otherwise your skills get rusty. Chelios does not get enough time on the ice so it stands to reason that he is a risk to Detroit's success every time he steps on the ice?

Is Chris Chelios secretly trying to surpass Gordie Howe's record of age 51 as his official retirement age? Mr. Hockey (Gordie Howe) was an unbelievable player. Some would argue that Mr. Hockey was much better than Wayne Gretzky because back in his playing days a player had to not only skate, shoot, and score, but defend himself when things got rough. Wayne Gretzky relied upon Marty McSorley his entire career for physical protection. To Cheli's credit he has not needed protection from anyone in his career.

Only Chelios knows when it is time, however Detroit may make the decision for him. Financially can they afford to keep him on the payroll? Should they bump him off the roster for a young player that they are looking to develop for the future?

There is one other aspect of this discussion. Chris Chelios has taken on the role of mentor to young defensemen just starting out. He knows the position quite well and Detroit has allowed him to take on the role of mentor. His next move might be as an assistant coach!

( http://www.freep.com/article/20090530/COL22/905300367 )

Mind / Body Battle

2009-05-30T09:29:00.000-07:00

Which one wins?
I don't know if you've experienced this or not. Yesterday my mind "knew" that I had to get out on the bike and ride to get some miles in before the upcoming Trek Across Maine. My body had settled into 4 days of inactivity due to business travel. Right up to the point where I was making my decision to go ride the mind / body struggle raged. The "body" was fighting desperately to remain complacent. "Go sit in a chair and rest, you are tired, you do NOT want to go out on that bike! You know climbing those hills is difficult and it makes you sweat and gasp for air."

Meanwhile over in the brain cavity the mind is gently reminding me "You need to put in the miles. You know you have to put in the miles. You have done this ride 100 times so you know you can do it. You once road to Chicago for Pete's sake! You can do this!.

Body: "The roads might still be wet, you might not have gotten enough sleep last night, your muscles might cramp!"

Mind: "Don't be a wussie! Get out there and ride! You know you really want to and it always makes you feel great!"

Well of course the mind won. I went out and rode 24.10 miles in about 1 hour 15 minutes. Naturally I felt good after the ride.

GM Skateboard Chasis

2009-05-27T04:58:00.000-07:00

Future Wasted
(http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/02/21/futurecar-report-on-the-gm-skateboard-car-on-youtube)

Watch the video which was aired on Discovery Channel's Future Car show in 2007. The concept for this car has been around far longer. So GM, if you had this great idea so long ago, why didn't you do something with it? Why didn't you partner with a company like Praxair to start to build the hydrogen fleet infrastructure needed to support this idea (and any other future hydrogen fueled car)? Why didn't you create a product line road map that steadily moved your market from gas guzzling SUV's to the skateboard concept? Why were you slow in doing this?

Toyota and Honda took a chance on hybrids and they sold like crazy. Ford jumped in late with the Escape. Consumers expect that car companies from all over the world will evolve and change to a new way of thinking about transportation. The seeds were planted in the minds of baby-boomers back in the 60's and 70's. The children and grandchildren of that era are still waiting.

There is an argument that says hydrogen is not efficient to make. It takes just as much energy (or more) to produce the amount of energy that will be used. The theory is correct in some ways, however the real trick is being able to "crack" water into hydrogen and oxygen by using solar power. A method exists today of creating the hydrogen, compressing and storing it using solar voltaic cells. The problem with this scenario is just about anyone could generate their own energy for their home or car from the sun. That would potentially put a lot of big oil and energy companies out of business.

So it is OK to watch large financial institutions fail, and auto makers go bust, but it isn't OK for Shell to take a hit? Why not? They've been stealing from the average consumer for years. Payback's a bitch!

Rail Trails

2009-05-25T03:01:00.000-07:00

10 Miles on Rail Trail
As part of a Memorial day weekend bicycle ride with my brother I had the opportunity to ride on the Farmington Valley Greenway Rail Trail ( http://www.fvgreenway.org/maps/Map-2008.pdf ) We took the trail for about 10 miles from Unionville to Simbsury, CT. What a great way to make use of land after the trains are gone. Families out riding, walking and roller blading on the smooth paved path. Lots of people in all different stages of physical fitness going out in the fresh air getting some exercise.

Memorial Day

2009-05-24T03:07:00.000-07:00

Why you have Monday off
(http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html)

This day has become the kick-off for summer, but of course that was not the original intention of Memorial (or Decoration) Day. Set aside as a day for local towns to decorate the graves of those fallen in service to the country. So as you are snapping open that beer, grilling burgers, splashing around at the lake, take a moment to remember and reflect on those who have served.

Smack!

2009-05-23T04:06:00.000-07:00

Deer hit

At 2:17 AM this morning I wake to the sound of squealing car brakes. I said that sounds like someone locking up the brakes to avoid a deer. An hour later I see a flat bed wrecker truck taking away a car. I asked my wife, did you hear any "bones crunching" after the tire squeal? She said yes.

The deer population here in New England is out of control. In the autumn I have seen as many as 15 deer standing under a pear tree in our yard. They snack on the pears and leave me big smelly gifts on the grass. Imagine for just a bit, our world without humans. The deer population would not be at the level it is today. Natural predators and disease would keep things in check. There are no longer wolves roaming in southern New England to take down the deer. Occasionally some coyotes may take on one. But the new predators of the deer are now Fords, Chevy's, etc.

Ever hit (or been hit) by a deer before with a car? I hit one in MN and here's the story:

I was on my way home from playing in the King bees band ( http://www.leonlive.com ). The time is roughly 2:30 AM. I am driving my sweet 1986 Chevy Cavalier 4-door.
I pull up to a 4-way stop sign and come to a stop. Off to the left I can see the deer's eyes glowing from the reflection of my headlights. As I start to hit the accelerator I see the deer start to charge straight at me! The stupid deer runs right into the front left quarter panel and it is laying on the hood with its eye laying on the windshield. This sort of freaks me out. There's a deer laying on the hood of my little car with its eye looking right at me. In a panic I reacted by turning on the wiper blades. All of a sudden the deer "wakes up" and takes off running. I go outside to see the extent of the damage. The front left quarter panel is all smashed in. Jeez!

I guess until the deer get another predator our cars will have to be their #1 enemy.

Precious Life Gone

2009-05-22T03:48:00.000-07:00

Read This
(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/baby-p/5367201/Baby-P-death-mother-and-her-boyfriend-jailed.html)

The only thing that comes to mind after reading this story are words from a Neil Young song:

I see a woman in the night
With a baby in her hand
Under an old street light
Near a garbage can
Now she puts the kid away, and she's gone to get a hit
She hates her life, and what she's done to it
There's one more kid that will never go to school
Never get to fall in love, never get to be cool.

Keep on rockin in the free world.

NY Times

2009-05-21T04:34:00.000-07:00

California is Broke!
(http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/us/21calif.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2&partner=rss&emc=rss)

Ever wonder what would happen if a state went absolutely broke? Can't pay for anything any more and is deep in a financial hole? Well I guess we'll all be finding out soon enough. The state of California plans on selling things like the Los Angeles Coliseum to help pay down its debt.

If you have ever traveled to or live in Southern California it is easy to see the place is a "land of excess". So much (or the perception of) personal wealth flaunted around. Housing prices in CA went through the roof and a large portion of the rest of the country followed suit. Artificially inflated prices to gain more wealth for the wealthy and making the gap even larger between the "haves an have nots".

So what is the answer? Bust the state up into smaller manageable sections? Create a more elaborate system of taxes to ensure payment for all necessary services? Give California to Mexico? Here ya go amigos! More turf for you to fight your drug wars on.

Where does the money come from to fight the wildfires that are usually set by some whacko? What about earthquake relief? That money will have to come from somewhere. California is a big, big state with big, big problems. Other smaller states in the union need to keep their eye on this situation.

Light Bulb

2009-05-20T03:48:00.000-07:00

Who are you?

User
You reach over to turn on your lamp so you can have a little extra light to read a book. All of a sudden "pop" ! The light bulb burns out. You turn the switch off, remove the bulb, throw the old one away, and replace it with a new one. That would make you the USER of a light bulb. For you the only thing that matters is whether or not you get light after you turn the switch (provided your lamp is in good working order).

Sales
You've recently quit your job as an Encyclopedia Britannica sales person. Online encyclopedias such as Wikipedia have done you in. You decide to embark on a new career in the field of light bulb sales. You believe your future is bright .... (ahem). As part of your extensive sales training your learn general facts and terminology. Soon you are spewing words like luminescence, watts, and praising the average hours per bulb based on its fine characteristics. You can go on for hours about soft white, clear, incandescent, florescent, halogen and all sorts of varieties. Most importantly you have learned the pricing model for these products based on the geography and competitive landscape. You are ready to SELL!

Engineer
You know all there is to know about how lightbulbs work. You know about the flow of electricity, the vacuum in the incandescent bulbs, the innate gasses in a florescent bulb and the maximum surface temperature attained by halogen bulbs. You know the MTRBF (mean time rate between failures) for each type of bulb and you have most likely run performance tests that prove your theories out. You have studied the thread patterns for placing the bulb in the lamp sockets and have pondered a variety of different ways to screw in a lightbulb. You have wondered about the effects of the elements on outdoor bulbs and have most likely experimented with different types of bulbs for the winter versus the summer. You have done tests to see if a bulb lasts longer in a DC system versus an AC system. You may have even dabbled in the world of dimmer switches to study their effects on the life span of various light bulb systems. You know light bulbs!

Subject Matter Expert
You have spent years building up your personal profile with marketing materials that proclaim your greatness in the world of light bulbs. You've seen a light bulb once, but you had to hire 4 engineers to install one for you. You are currently booked on a public relations tour across 15 cities to discuss the future of lightbulbs for the next half century. When approached and questioned about the technical details of any given type of bulb you immediately transition to a story about a lone sherpa from Nepal that once scaled Mt. Everest 2 times in one day just to retrieve a special light bulb for the Dali Lama. Of course you can't answer the question that was posed to you. As a subject matter expert you don't know jack-bo-diddly squat about light bulbs. But hey! You sure look good in that Armani suit!

Tractors

2009-05-19T04:03:00.000-07:00

Tractors

Decisions, decisions. I have 5.76 acres of "lawn" to mow every weekend. in 1997 (or sometime there about) I bought a John Deere LT 166 lawn tractor. Designed to do 1 acre of land in a very short time. Back then I was mowing 6/10ths of an acre. I think I bought it for about 3k back in 1997. Here's a picture of it on the left. Current problems with this old workhorse are: Starting to "use" oil, which means after 5 hours usage every weekend the engine is wearing out. Mower deck wheel supports are worn out. New supports need to be fabricated and welded to the deck. Mechanism to raise and lower the deck has been sub-functional for some time. Rear left tire has a slow leak. I have to fill it with air before each use. Both headlights no longer work. The contacts on the bulbs have been worn down by vibration.

I have performed the following repairs on this tractor (in no particular order). Replaced: exhaust box, front body part containing the hood hinge, steering gears, tie rods, transmission, seat springs, several deck lift yokes, several mower deck belts, 2 drive belts, 3 batteries, modified the deck pulley covers (old bolts stripped and snapped off). Several tune-ups and oil changes.

This tractor has a 46 " cutting deck and at one time did a good job climbing the hills. But it is dying.

I'm at a crossroads here. Home Depot has a Cub Cadet SLTX 1054 with a 54" cutting deck for $2599. The larger deck will allow me to finish the acreage in a shorter time. Brand new means it will last at least 10 years like the John Deere did (with proper care and maintenance). Bigger engine means I could be burning more gas than I have been (5 gallons every 3 weeks).

There is of course a 3rd alternative:

There is a 1941 Farmall "A" for sale on our town. Looks in pretty good condition. There is a reason those old Farmalls are still around and still in use on many farms. They were built to last. I haven't made a phone call to the owner to find out what comes with this thing (if anything) or how much it will cost.

I have seen these with 2 types of mowing decks: 1) that sits under the belly of the tractor and 2) the deck that is pulled behind the tractor powered by a rear PTO shaft. Quite a versatile beast though. It would come in handy for many things.

New US Auto Fuel standards

2009-05-18T13:04:00.001-07:00

NY Times
(http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/19/business/19emissions.html?partner=rss&emc=rss)

President Obama announced New Mileage and Fuel standards for the auto industry. Well its about time! Automakers haven't done a damned thing about this since the 70's. Even then the effort was led by Japanese automaker Datsun (Nissan).

Take a few minutes to think about what you use your car for (day in and day out). You go to work in it, you drop the kids off to school or activities, go shopping, etc. All the little short trips that are usually within a few miles of the home. If you've decided you don't want to take public transportation, walk or ride a bike then the NEXT thing on your mind should be fuel economy. With all these little trips you want to get the best fuel economy as possible. So buying a 1988 Chevy Suburban with a giant V8 in it probably doesn't cut it for you.

Now that our Auto industry is in the "crapper" people need to start thinking differently about these common aspects of their lives. Walking 2 miles to the store and back is good for your health (exercise fresh air) and good for the environment. Commuting to work by bike can be an amazing experience. Especially for those in the mid west. You can practically commute without working up too much of a sweat (depending on the direction of the wind).

Save the vans, minivans, and giant SUV's for the long haul trips where comfort is the #1 requirement. Even better, ditch your minivan or SUV for a small commuter car. Then RENT one when you need to go on a long trip. Overall you will save more money than if you owned another gas guzzler.

Adrift

2009-05-15T12:55:00.000-07:00

Adrift

I recently finished reading a book titled "Adrift: Seventy-six Days Lost at Sea" by Steven Callahan
(ISBN-13: 978-0-618-25732-4 ). It is his personal story of the capsize of the 21 FT sailboat he built himself that he was circumnavigating the Atlantic Ocean in. He successfully made the first segment of his trip from North America to Europe, and sailed down to Spain. The last part of his adventure he was supposed to participate in a race back across the Atlantic.

In the middle of the night his small sail boat takes a hit (Steven later guesses it was a whale that hit him) and the boat sinks. He manages to deploy the survival life-raft as well as gather up some items he may need for survival at sea until he can be rescued.

One of the things I found fascinating about the book was his resourcefulness. It is well known that with out fresh water a human can not last long at all. Drinking sea water is deadly. Steven manged to grab 2 solar water distillers used to convert sea water (or urine) to drinking water.

The solar stills he used had problems throughout the 76 days. He tried to capture rain water (when it did rain) but the coating on the canopy of the life raft made the water undrinkable.

Last week I finished a 20 oz plastic bottle of Gatorade G2. I took a look at the clear bottle and noticed it had a punt (dimple or indent) in the bottom. As I stared at it I saw that 2 of these bottles along with a piece of pvc pipe running through the caps of each could be used as a solar still. Well I've built one and I'm testing it out. If it works I'll post some pictures of the contraption.

Technology

2009-05-14T17:59:00.000-07:00

Technology

Ok, I've got Survivor, Detroit Red Wings, Facebook, Skype all going at one time. I almost can handle this much mental overload! Good news is I haven't missed a thing except the Bruins. There is no live streaming for them that I can find.

Planes, trains, autos

2009-05-13T17:22:00.000-07:00

Planes, Tains and Automobiles

For several years I have traveled to Chicago from the East on a regular basis. Just about all of these trips were made by plane. Last month the company announced restrictions in travel. I picked up a rental car deal for cheap and drove the 13 hours each way. Air fare prices continue to rise. I can grab a train from Albany, NY to Chicago, then grab a metra to Lisle. Train tickets round trip will run $200.

Here's the issue: I can not sleep on planes or on a train. I need to be comfortable and have complete silence. A 16 hour train ride could wear me out more than the drive.

Or I could just decide not to go at all.

2009 NHL Playoff Season

2009-05-12T16:32:00.000-07:00

Exciting Hockey

The 2009 NHL playoffs are turning out to be quite exciting! Young talented guys playing the game for pride and for fun. Last night's Chicago Blackhawk's game was one of the most exciting games I've seen in a long time. The Pittsburgh-Washington series has been excellent as well. For the folks in Chicago this is long over due. Its been awhile since the mid 1990's when the Hawks were in the hunt.

I tried to get a look at the Detroit-Anaheim series on HD, but the game was blacked out. I was able to pick up the game over the internet and connect it to the TV. the picture was horrible, but at least I could get the game.

The Carolina Hurricanes (formerly the Hartford Whalers) have a solid team as well. They aren't flashy or exciting, but they know how to win. Boston had a strong regular season, but have stumbled a bit in the playoffs.