Another One Bites the Dust...

This one in my home town:

The one-two punch that is Netflix (with Roku) and Redbox is kicking the pants off brick-&-mortar video rentals.

-J


Special thanks to Will Herndon for this photo.

Microsoft Math?

I'm supposed to be running Windows 7 Ultimate... but the command prompt says otherwise. ;)


Microsoft Windows Version 6.1.7600 ...?

Online Wind Assessment Tool

Here's a great site to evaluate whether or not your site is suitable for a wind power installation (as in, will it be cost effective to do so). Here's the website:

http://www.windenergy.com/wind/index.php


Check it out!
-J

Why does Java try to force the Yahoo toolbar??

I hate the fact that Java tries to constantly install the "Yahoo! toolbar" on one's machine by default. This is traditionally a practice of malware and spyware programs. I wish they'd stop! Does anyone know of a good contact email or phone number to get some feedback to the folks at Java/Sun?

Happy Mother's Day!

Ignorance is Bliss

Wii Semaphore

http://images.ucomics.com/comics/ft/2010/ft100418.gif
-J

A Must-Watch Video:

The Census

"Article I, section 2 of the Constitution calls for an enumeration of citizens every ten years, for the purpose of apportioning congressional seats among the various states. In other words, the census should be nothing more than a headcount. It was never intended to serve as a vehicle for gathering personal information on citizens."

Read more: http://tinyurl.com/RonPaul20100308

Need some cordless phone batteries?

Click here for the eBay link.

Hi All,

These are FOUR (4) SM15800 3.6volt 700mAh NiMH rechargeable batteries. These came out of my AT&T cordless phones. I had JUST bought these near the end of last year (you can see the date I wrote on them when I installed them - 9/1/09) and in December the base unit went out. I tried to have the phones fixed, but it costs more to fix the base unit than a new set of phones costs. These batteries have only a few months use on them, but are good for several years, and have lots of life left in them. They all worked perfectly when uninstalled in Jan of this year.


Best,
-Jay Harrison

P.S. Being used; these are being sold as-is, with no returns.

Back to Java...

As of Valentines Day, I'm coding Java again...

Cheap computer (no monitor)

 

    HP D500S Desktop - 1.8GHz Intel Pentium IV, 512GB,
    20GB HDD, Windows XP Professional - Refurbished
    Ships from and Sold by Buy.com Marketplace
    FREE BUDGET SHIPPING
    $5.00 Instant Rebate at Checkout
    $94.99 After Instant Rebate* (see details below)
    Buy.com price: $99.99

Thank you,
Jay Harrison, Producer & Co-Host
TechWatch Radio
www.TechWatchRadio.com

Distance feature on Google Maps

I wonder why Google Maps does not have an easy way to measure distance (in a straight line) between two points? Say for example you wanted to measure a distance "by air" for either actual air travel, or, for instance, the distance between two radio locations.

They have the [very cool] option to get directions by walking now, in addition to the regular "driving" directions. But it seems like it would be rather simple to add a "distance by air" to that drop down box. Furthermore, why have a drop-down-list-box for such few options?

Now, I know you can measure distance on Google Earth (but you have to install that), and it's been rumored that you can get something similar done within Google's "my maps" section of the site, but I've never gotten that to work. Let me know if you have! ;)

The problem with Web 2.0

The biggest hurdle in the whole "interactive" aspect of the [now aging] Web 2.0 idea is having sooo many various accounts with every website. As someone who prudently uses a different password for every site that I am a member of - it's becoming tiresome, to say the least, to keep up with all of them.

Many "help" and forum sites (including blogs) suffer from this problem. See also the watch problem in an earlier post. I'm not going to create yet another account with some unknown site just to post there. There's got to be a better way. Allow anonymous postings. There has to be a good balance between that, and getting too much spam. Using a captcha helps... Or, make anonymous posting moderated by default, and known users post immediately.

Without a better solution for this, Web 2.0, and the active participation by individuals at large, will be handicapped.


Best,
-J

P.S. You can post to this site anonymously, without having to sign-up for an "account". ;)

The Casio CA-53W watch (and manual)

It's so frustrating trying to find manuals online these days for non-common items. My most recent endeavor was trying to find the manual for the Casio CA-53W calculator watch. I have finally located it (under a different model number?) but it's the same watch. Why do companies make finding the instructions on their devices so hard? Is it because the want to sell the manuals?


If you're looking for the manual for this watch, I've posted it [hopefully] forever more at this link:
http://www.audiolightproductions.com/manuals/Casio%20CA-53W%20watch%20manual.pdf

Even with the manual it was not easily apparent on how to find the fix I needed. My son has one of these watches - I'll extol the virtues of it in a later posting - but he had somehow turned off the beep tone that you hear when you press any/every button. This is important on a watch with tiny little buttons, because when you're using, say, the calculator, you want to know for sure that your entry took on each press. The key tone is very helpful audio feedback.

Well, somehow he had turned it off on his watch, and couldn't figure out how to turn it back on - and neither could I - yet. It bugged me bad enough to go out and [finally] find the instructions on it. And that adventure took so long that, I wanted to write a post here about it and hopefully save someone else the time and grief the next time this happens to another.

In fact, in looking, I found one of those completely non-helpful sites (in the top-five results) where someone is asking virtually the same thing, and yet has never gotten it answered [real helpful to me!]. Why search-index it, without an answer? And, now that I know, I'd willingly write to help this person out, but you have to create a whole account with this forum just to post a fix... does that make sense?

The simple fix is, you go into calculator mode - since this is where most people either want it ON for button-press-confirmations, or want it OFF so that it's not noisy when they're trying to make calculations - and you press the indented set button on the side. Once is on, again is off.

I hope it can help someone else out there with the same question. Here's hoping that Google will search-index their own blogs... ;)


Best,
-J


UPDATE (20120521):
Amazon has these with free 2-day shipping (if you have ) for ~$15!

Great Biology Course

Hi All,

This Biology 101 a great 4 DVD disc set that will really make biology interesting! It's geared towards high-schoolers, but is interesting and engaging to everyone from 2-yr-olds to adults.


Now, through this special TWR offer, you can get the 4 DVD set, not for the regular price of $69.95, but get $10 off and free shipping - just enter the code RADIO when you order.

Best,
-J

PHOTOS: Flooding Of The Suwannee River At Luraville 20090411

Flooding of the Suwannee River (at Luraville) 20090411

Candidate Obama vs. President Obama: Change We Can Believe In?

Liberty

Cool Game... well, not really a game...

UPDATE 20151209: New direct location link:
http://chat.kongregate.com/gamez/0012/4066/live/FallingSands.swf

This is a neat little Java app that is more like an environment to play with, than it is a game. It's called Falling Sand, and it's quite interesting.


Click here to "play" it.

A friend of mine and I, back in high school, wrote a "falling sand" graphic application (similar to this, but more basic). Tim Hunter was his name - Tim, if you're out there, drop me a line. It'd be great to get back in touch. Tim was a phenomenal programmer, and I'll bet he made a career out of it.

JOKE: Three Contractors

Three contractors are bidding to fix a broken

fence at the White House. One is from Chicago ,

another is from Tennessee , and the third is

from Minnesota ..

All three go with a White House official to

examine the fence. The Minnesota contractor

takes out a tape measure and does some

measuring, then works some figures with a pencil.

"Well," he says, "I figure the job will run about $900:

$400 for materials, $400 for my crew and $100 profit for

me."

The Tennessee contractor also does some

measuring and figuring, then says, "I can do

this job for $700: $300 for materials, $300

for my crew and $100 profit for me."

The Chicago contractor doesn't measure or

figure, but leans over to the White House

official and whispers, "$2,700."

The official, incredulous, says, "You didn't

even measure like the other guys! How did you

come up with such a high figure?"

The Chicago contractor whispers back, "$1000

for me, $1000 for you, and we hire the guy

from Tennessee to fix the fence."

"Done!" replies the government official.

The Second American Revolution

Ron Paul on Glen Beck - last night

This is why we need freedom in Health.
Daniel Chapter One Freedom

Obama's muddle in the middle

He needs to lead, not meekly seek the brittle support of partisans.

A. Lawrence Chickering and James S. Turner

Barack Obama came from virtually nowhere to become president of the United States by promising to bring people together. His message was not bipartisan, but rather transpartisan. And it spoke powerfully to people deeply alienated by partisan conflict.

Now, President Obama has made the mistake of putting aside the transpartisanship that won him the presidency. To succeed, he must embrace it again.

Because much of the country did not participate in the election, Obama got about 30 percent of adult Americans' votes, and McCain got 25 percent. Together, they had the support of a little more than half of American adults.

But the Obama message reached the public, including those well outside the political system. They hoped the new president would showcase a new politics. They expressed a willingness - even a desire - for significant change - the sooner, the better.

Unfortunately, after his election, the new president switched from the transpartisan rhetoric of "we the people" to the bipartisan rhetoric of "we the politicians." He switched from seeking common ground to seeking the middle ground. Instead of boldly leading the people in a defined direction, he meekly sought support from a majority of the nation's politicians.

Obama has been forced to address an economic crisis that drove the partisans into their respective camps. Between election and inauguration, he worked hand in hand with outgoing President George W. Bush to gain passage, after an initial defeat, of a $750 billion bailout bill. Bipartisanship - not transpartisanship - reigned.

Lost during the bipartisan celebration of the bailout's passage was the significance of its defeat the first time around. Members of Congress from left and right had opposed the first bailout attempt in a way that expressed the feelings of Americans who are alienated from politics.

This nascent transpartisan political force was arm-twisted back into line with partisan politics. The die had been cast: The next round would be bitterly partisan.

But the Obama team missed the signal. Believing that bipartisanship worked with the outgoing president, the new administration continued on its bipartisan path. It failed.

Of the 219 Republican members of Congress, all but three voted against Obama's stimulus bill. By covering his transpartisan instincts in bipartisan clothing, the president shortchanged his strategy for cleaning up the economic and other messes he inherited from his predecessors.

The bipartisan instinct gives rise to thin, brittle, ad hoc policies that depend on compromise. The rush to pass the Obama stimulus and bailout had the odor of old politics. The $800 billion result looks a lot like the product of the kind of politics that led to $2 trillion in tax cuts and $1 trillion and counting being spent on Iraq. "Bipartisan," said one commentator, "allows both parties to pick the pockets of taxpayers without fear that they will be held accountable."

Transpartisanship integrates the best ideas and approaches from all political sectors, including any that the partisans might offer. It does not depend on support from any who choose to opt out. Most important, it consciously draws on the large segment of the population that identifies as neither Republican nor Democratic.

A small example of transpartisan policy for the Obama team's consideration would be a significant expansion of the Patriot Bond program begun in 2001. The program could allow people who want to save rather then spend their money to direct their savings toward solving the nation's economic problems.

To regain his footing, Obama must return to his transpartisan instincts. We think he is an ideal transpartisan leader. But if he fails to enlist the people in reviving our economy, the vast majority of Americans - those who opt out of partisan politics - will stand aside as the effort fails.

---

Lawrence Chickering and James S. Turner wrote "Voice of the People: The Transpartisan Imperative in American Life."
Also Jim Turner is the legal council for the Daniel Chapter One ministry, and their fight against the FTC/FDA.
For more information, go to www.DanielChapterOneFreedom.com

Glenn Beck: The Inconvenient Debt: A Detailed Look at the Latest Monetary Base Figures

Taxes...

Congressman Ron Paul's Texas Straight Talk

On Transparency of the Fed

"This week the Federal Reserve responded to the American people's increased concerns over our monetary policy by presenting new initiatives aimed at enhancing the Fed's transparency and accountability. As someone who has called for more openness from the Fed for over 30 years, I was pleased to see the Fed acknowledge the legitimacy of this need…"

Click here to read the full article: http://www.house.gov/paul/index.shtml

ARTICLE: George Soros on the Crunch

Excerpt:
George Soros said the turbulence is actually more severe than during the Great Depression, comparing the current situation to the demise of the Soviet Union.

[With the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in September] "We witnessed the collapse of the financial system," Soros said. "It was placed on life support, and it's still on life support. There's no sign that we are anywhere near a bottom."

Full text here.


(Photo taken by Jeff Ooi)

Bailouts...

Ron Paul on Obama's Foreign Policy 1-25-09

Thanks Curt Crosby!