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Life moves fast. Don't miss a thing.

2010-03-25T19:12:00.004-04:00

You gotta go full screen with this. She has the most amazing smile.

Apple Investigates Own Supply Chain - Finds Abuses

2010-02-28T23:09:00.004-05:00

This is regarding the article in UK's Telegraph -
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/7330986/Apple-admits-using-child-labour.html

Apple investigated its own supply chain and found numerous abuses. More than half of the factories audited force workers perform 60+ hour work weeks. 35% shortchanged their workers on salary and benefits some even employed child labor. Worker Safety and Environmental regulation compliance was equally abysmal.

Kudos for Apple for doing this. However, I find one thing telling and another I find disturbing.

The simple reason that the things we buy are so cheap is that so many corners are cut. If this led all companies to inspect and demand, upon threat of termination, that all products be made in compliance with international labor laws then all the gadgets and junk the Western world lives for are gone. I would happily pay the premium for a few key gadgets, but would cut down overall.

The thing that I find disturbing is that this is unlikely to happen. Apple can threaten termination, because they will always find a factory willing to work with them. Palm, for example, does not have such leverage and makes me wonder the conditions which my Pre smartphone was manufactured under. Even if Apple makes perfectly good on correcting all of its supply chain's ills, very few companies will even attempt to make such corrections next to nil will succeed.

I Hate the Stock Market

2010-02-23T22:15:00.002-05:00

The single reason stock prices matter is because the market says it does. If I ever find out who declared that the market should matter, I'll strangle their descendants.

My fortunately brief experience with the market was working for a Fidelity call center about ten years ago. After learning about the fraud that is the DOW, the absurdity of short selling, the inanity of trading options on indexes, and the general fickleness of the market I completely gave up on it.

There were days, after having access to very detailed, up-to-the-second quotes on any index or exchange you could possibly think of, that I would leave work completely ignorant of what the market did that day. Bliss.

Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse!

2009-10-19T16:35:00.006-04:00

Voyager I, launched in 1977, is the fastest moving human-made craft. It is travelling so fast due to gravity assists from both Jupiter and Saturn.

VOYAGER I (heavens-above.com/solar-escape.asp?/ 2009 10 19)
17.082 km/s

x 60 seconds = 1024.92 km per minute

x 60 minutes = 61495.2 km per hour

x 24 = 1,475,884.8 km per day

x 365 = 538,697,952 km per year

Betelgeuse is a red, supergiant that is anticipated to go supernova at almost any moment.

BETELGEUSE
640 light years (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betelgeuse accessed on 2009 10 19)

x 9,460,730,472,580.8 (light years in km)
6,054,867,502,451,712 km (6 quadrillion km)

So ...

6,054,867,502,451,712 km (6 quadrillion km)
÷ 538,697,952

11,239,819.048823322795925535651563 (11.2 million years)

So, if Voyager I were aimed towards Betelgeuse it would take more than 11 million years to get there.

Now let's say we have a different craft using a different propulsion system. I got these technologies and numbers from Wikipedia's Spacecraft Propulsion page (and I'm sure I don't understand most of it). Now let's choose a few of these technologies and see how much faster we can get to Betelgeuse.

100 km/s (Field Emission Electric Propulsion (FEEP))
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_Emission_Electric_Propulsion

x 60
6,000 km per minute

x60
360,000 km per hour

x24
8,640,000 km per day

x365
3,153,600,000 km per year

Then ...

6,054,867,502,451,712 km (6 quadrillion km)
÷ 3,153,600,000 km per year

1,919,985.88992 (1.92 million years)

1,000 km/s (Bussard ramjet)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bussard_ramjet

x 60 60,000 per minute
x 60 3,600,000 per hour
x 24 86,400,000 per day
x 365 31,536,000,000 per year

100,000 km/s (Antimatter Rocket)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimatter_rocket

x 60 6,000,000 per minute
x 60 360,000,000 per hour
x 24 8,640,000,000 per day
x 365 3,153,600,000,000 per year

Thusly ...

6,054,867,502,451,712 km (6 quadrillion km)
÷ 3,153,600,000,000

1,919.98588992 (less than two thousand years)

So, if we wanted to, if there were reason enough, we could get to Betelgeuse in less than two thousand years using technology that is expected in a reasonably acceptable amount of time.

Now, why should we care ... ?

Falcon's Fair

2009-10-16T01:19:00.002-04:00

One day the Falcon saved former President Carter.

President Carter had come to Emersonville for the Annual Popcorn eating contest where the Falcon had been the grand champion for ten years running. Carter, a former peanut farmer, thought that peanuts were close enough to Popcorn to give him an advantage.

The contest began and towards the end, just as predicted by the ESPN sports entertainment analysts, it was the Falcon and Carter neck and neck. The Falcon, however, had a plan.

From the treetops of Emersonville's prize spruce tree came a screech. Frightened children ran for cover as Redwing, the Falcon's falcon, came swooping down toward Carter. The Secret Service agents, 20 years past their prime when they were assigned to the ex-president, couldn't respond fast enough. The bird was about to claw President Carter's eyes out ... but Carter had a plan.

Redwing heard no more than a hum as a spinning, red, white and blue shield smacked him up into the air and crashing down onto the plates being prepared for the parsley eating contest.

Captain America bounded onto the scene and retrieved his shield. He confronted the Falcon, who had snapped, reverting back into Snap Wilson, his former alter ego, that had been supressed by his Falcon persona, before he became Captain America's side kick, before his mother and father were killed in Harlem.

Meanwhile, President Carter hadn't lost a beat. He was almost to the bottom of his seventh bowl of popcorn and was already reaching for the butter and salt to season his last bowl.

The Falcon and Captain America were in a stare down, the hush broken only by Carter's choppers. Then Captain America's achilles' heel, his chronically dry eyes, got him again: he blinked.

The Falcon sprung through the air and tackled Captain America. They traded blows, rumbling through the Historical Plaid displays.

President Carter was just about to finish the final bowl of popcorn and break the Falcon's record when he started to choke. The Falcon, now controlled by his alter-alter-ego, Snap Wilson, stopped to chuckle at the old man and was hit broadside by Captain America's shield.

The Falcon kicked the shield out of Captain America's hands and it soared to the edge of the fair grounds where it fell onto and crushed the first daisy of spring, thus nullifying the entire festival. -- The first daisy of spring, as is well known, dictates where and when the festival should be held.

President Carter's face was turning blue, his Secret Service agents unable to remove the Heimlich-inator out of its vacuum-molded, plastic packaging. With the fair and the popcorn eating contest now invalidated, he was about to choke to death for nothing.

Captain America and the Falcon, unaware that they too now fought for naught, both raced to the shield. Captain America got to it first and kicked it towards the Falcon. The Falcon was unpreppared and braced himself for the impact when the Falcon's falcon, Redwing, flew in front of the shield, sacrificing his body and sending the shield back across the fair grounds.

President Carter stood up for one last gasp when Captain America's shield hit him in the back, making him throw up all the popcorn he had eaten.

Moved by the death of Redwing, the Falcon's falcon, Captain America put his hand on his former sidekick's shoulder. But the Falcon sucker-punched Captain America and took to the skies, declaring that he will get revenge on Captain America AND President Carter both ... when and where the next, new official daisy of spring blooms and the fair's eating contests are again held.

NOT TO BE CONTINUED ...

This is Another Test

2009-09-08T19:13:00.003-04:00

The previous post was sent from Gmail's web app. But this one isn't.

-- I sent this eMail from my Palm Pre

This is a test post

2009-09-08T19:08:00.003-04:00

Meaning that I should delete it at some future point.

2009-06-18T23:46:00.003-04:00

[Bill] guesses the Red Sox don't mind losing to the Marlins in 5 innings. After a 2 _ hour rain delay, they call the game just as it starts to clear.

2009-06-18T20:57:00.002-04:00

[Bill] is getting rained on at Fenway Park.

2009-06-10T13:09:00.004-04:00

[Bill] slept unfortunately.

2009-06-06T09:13:00.002-04:00

I suspected it wouldn't take long to find something I was less than happy with.The Pre is awfully short on Preference options.

2009-06-06T08:32:00.002-04:00

I got it! Immediate first impression, coming from the Centro, I love the keyboard.

2009-06-06T07:31:00.002-04:00

BTW, sending pictures from this corner of the mall is tricky, so I'll upload those later.

2009-06-06T07:29:00.002-04:00

Sprint employees are hard at work. Promotional ads are up. Satisfying that they are using superlative language.

2009-06-06T07:09:00.002-04:00

Me and two others [in line]. Store manager walked in, chuckling. I think he was unimpressed.

2009-06-06T06:44:00.002-04:00

The employees are in and setting up all the crap for the launch.

2009-06-06T06:37:00.002-04:00

The mall walkers are doing their laps. The mall is beeping to itself. Whirring machines war against dirt. All to an Easy Listening soundtrack.

First in Line!!!

2009-06-06T06:12:00.005-04:00

I am both thrilled and disappointed. I really do want to see a great turn out for Palm and the Pre, but knowledge that I AM getting mine makes it bearable.

2009-06-06T05:50:00.002-04:00

Have Dunkin' Donuts; will travel.

2009-06-06T04:43:00.002-04:00

Okay, I'm up and about to shower. I can already feel the fog that I'm going to be operating through today.

Me, Pre-Palm Pre

2009-06-05T23:52:00.004-04:00

Yeah, I'm excited. I'm about to try to get what ever amount of sleep I can get.

Malden Residents Not Allowed to Have Acne

2009-04-12T20:13:00.005-04:00

I dreamt last night that the city of Malden, where I live, was given some special health benefit. I have no idea what said health benefit was, but the trade off was that acne was now forbidden, as the skyrocketing costs of acne treatment would presumably offset what ever this great new benefit was. The residents begrudgingly went along with the new rule.

There actually was some kind of Zit Zquad that would come door to door to ensure that the public was conforming to the new rule. The device they used was one part needle-nose pliers and one part tube-of-benzoyl peroxide. I don't think I have to explain how the device was used. Consider yourself lucky if you can't figure it out.

Well, the ZZ came to my house to remove my acne. In real life, right now, I have two zits: one of the bridge of my nose and the other in between my eyebrows. In my dream, these were relocated to my navel. The Pimple Pliers didn't hurt, oddly enough.

To confess, I intentionally mischaracterized the Zit Zquad. It was too easy and too fun not to. The guy who came to my house wasn't like Nazi Germany's SS at all. He enjoyed his job and performed it with a smile. He was barely more than a kid; early twenties at most. He also wore some kind of a colored safety vest so you knew this was the official guy and not some perv who just did it for thrills.

The Palm Pre Comes With An Actual Mirror

2009-01-10T16:13:00.005-05:00

Complete with greasy fingerprints, too.

This is the kind of thing that is likely to get axed in the final version, not because it's a bad idea - No, it's an AMAZINGLY FANTASTIC idea - but simply because it's an extra component and drives up the cost by that little bit more. Palm's smart to add the Sprint logo to it, even if it only increases the likelihood that the mirror will remain.

This is smart, obliterate-the-box thinking. On every other device that area is completely unused, but Palm, clever as they are, found a great, simple, obvious use for it.

Me, I Think

2009-01-03T16:56:00.019-05:00

Here is an essay that I wrote for my College Writing II course back in the summer of 2004 that I ultimately failed. This was the spark that got me to Mass Rehab that got my ADD diagnosed and got the ball rolling that led me to my shrink, medication and then back to school. That I'm not in school at the moment is its own issue.

This essay bounces around a bit chronologically because I was keeping, too strictly, it turned out, to the five questions Professor Mason gave us to work from: Explain what led to my decision to pursue a college education, explain why I chose Bunker Hill Community College as my initial step toward a college degree, explore and explain the various courses I have taken, or courses that I am interested in, briefly explain my personal methods of study and examine how my life outside of the college affects my academic pursuits, discuss my future plans and ultimate goals.

I only list the questions to explain why time shifts around. You can probably find where my answer to each question begins if you're bored. I don't think I've edited anything from the original document. If it turns out I did I'll delete this and the previous sentence and deny I ever wrote them.

Me, I Think

My life has been a disappointment to my friends and family, I’m sure, but mostly to myself. I’m 31 years old, still living with my folks with no solid plans for my future. I’m smart and creative, but I can’t seem to get any where. I believe my problems stem from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, which I was thought to have a mild case of when I was twelve. Treatment brought results, but was not continued, and I struggled through high school, my first college attempt, and life in general.

I have never really stuck with any thing long enough to get good at it. Coming out of high school I was into music and I played the drums. Then I wanted to design things and I attended a school for Drafting. Then it was Acting and I joined the Theatre program at Bunker Hill. Then it was Web Design and I taught myself HTML. Then it was back to drums and I took more lessons. Then I was thinking of Graphic Design and researched several programs, but couldn’t get financing. Then I sold my drums, wanting to write songs, and bought a multi-track recorder and a few guitars. Then wanted to learn Screenwriting and bought a few books and took a few courses. Then I stopped. I jumped into things hard and would hit a wall every time. I then jumped into something else, often something I had abandoned before. I was going in circles.

I decided to put some things away. I gave up on acting. I sold my guitars and my recorder. I may play drums again, but only as a hobby. I still dabbled in Web Design, but was not for hire. I still did Graphic Design, but I did not seek new projects. I chose to focus on Screenwriting.

Then a cakewalk of a reception job landed in my lap. The day was mine to do as I pleased as long as I answered the infrequently ringing phone and attended to the rare guest. There was no more perfect job for an aspiring writer, but I could not maintain effort and, more and more, each day was squandered with mindless internet surfing. The office manager had, over time, given me small tasks, but I had problems following through. Then, without warning, I was fired. Her concerns were valid, but I resented not being given a chance to correct them. So, again, I had nothing to show and no where to go.

After the shock wore off, the void that is my life scared me. I soon had the idea to go back to college to earn a degree in Graphic Design, which I discovered a talent for when I first attended Bunker Hill. This idea didn’t come from the impulsivity of my ADD, as many others have. I have been drawing since I was very young, but rarely freehand. I was always more comfortable with a ruler in my other hand. I would draw new logos for my favorite bands, making sure the letters were evenly spaced. I would make a cassette inlay card for my some-day band, making sure each consecutive panel was smaller than the last to fold properly. In my senior year of high school, I took a computer aided drafting course and now designed on a computer. It wasn’t until Bunker Hill that I received praise from informed people.

Knowing that Graphic Design had strong career potential, I would research schools every couple years. Some approached the field from the business side, but the best ones were, first and foremost, art schools. I liked the New England School for Art and Design and Mass Art, both of which have connections to other schools to explore other areas of study.

That being said, I chose to return to Bunker Hill Community College because it is a quick, inexpensive way to a degree due to its low cost and its two-year Associate Degree. But I am concerned that the line between inexpensive and cheap has been blurred in the Graphic Design program’s use of a design application that has barely advanced in ten years, while others now dominate the industry. I don’t think it’s because of licensing issues. The application’s developer, Adobe, has a history of being education-friendly. It is possible that the older program serves as an introduction to the more complex applications later on. I am trying to contact the department head to learn the answer. If need be, I can learn the new applications on my own. I have always been good at that. It’s the theory behind the choices that I need to learn.

Bunker Hill is also a safe choice. As a returning student, there will be few surprises. I’m familiar with how the school works and I already know the layout. I’m finding many of the same personell, though some have changed offices. The MBTA buses and trains that I’ve taken for years let me off at the front door. The school is also close to my long-time home in Malden. There’s no learning how to live somewhere else while learning new skills.

Mostly, however, I’m coming back to erase the two wasted years at Bunker Hill a decade ago because I had no focus. I joined the Theatre program on a whim. In my second semester I began taking Graphic Design classes, while staying involved with Theatre, to the detriment of my other courses. I failed College Writing II, Intermediate Desktop Publishing, and Foundations of Music because my mind was stuck in the auditorium. I took Play Production four semesters in a row, paying for two of them, for no extra credit. In my final semester, I withdrew from two courses, failed one and got an A in another. The capper was my switch into the Music program, for what reason I don’t remember. At the time it was fun, but I wasn’t thinking about a degree. I wasn’t thinking about my future at all.

After high school, I made a couple attempts at formal education. I studied Drafting at the then recently co-ed Women’s Technical Institute, and there was the mess that was my first Bunker Hill attempt. I finished WTI with a 3.97 GPA, but the idea of a professional job terrified me. I had an irrational fear that one bad interview would prevent me from getting any others, so I only made a few phone calls and never went on an interview.

But I also did a fair amount of self learning. Through books and the internet, I taught myself Web Design and Screenwriting. Both of these were supplemented by eight-week classes at community education centers. A designed websites for a friend’s band and a local playwright (actually getting paid for the latter), but I left when I tired of how the two major internet browsers displayed the same code differently. But I have accomplished more regarding screenwriting than any other effort. I have written at least one absolutely dreadful, but complete, first draft of a screenplay. I also helped crew an independent film and traveled to Los Angeles to attend a Screenwriting conference.

As I now return to Bunker Hill with the goal to get a degree (of all the crazy things), I am looking forward to the Why of the Graphic Design theory courses. I have a talent for design, but I work too much by feel. I am unable to spend too much time planning. I have to jump in. I think this is part of my ADD. Design patience is a big part of what I hope to learn.

The few credits that transfer into the Graphic Design program gain me some freedom to explore Photography, Painting and other creative courses. I enjoy taking pictures, but I want to learn how to better capture what I see, such as low light situations. Painting, oil or watercolor, would be an exploration into the uncharted. I also may take a second drawing course beyond what’s required. I want to learn to do perspective drawings of subjects from my imagination.

To satisfy the science requirement, I very much want to take Astronomy, which my previous credits do not save me from, fortunately. I am a big fan of space science and exploration. It started in the early 90s when I became a Trekkie, but I have since become a member of the Planetary Society, the largest, private space interest group. I have been following the various robotic missions exploring the planets in our solar system and dream about life on extrasolar planets circling other stars. A major challenge for this class will be my hatred of all things math, but with help from a calculator and some formulas, I should get through it.

And although I’m now shooting for a Graphic Design degree, my mind is too full of story ideas to give up on screenwriting. I want to take some online Writing courses at either the Gotham Writer’s Workshop or the UCLA Extension school. There is also a summer program with the New York Film Academy in Hollywood, Los Angeles that I am interested in. That would also be a trial run at life in southern California. But only if focus allows.

As for what draws me to creative things; I have a fair amount of raw talent that allows me to try many things; from art, to sports, to performing, etc. I think I crave praise and where I find it, I stay. My focus problems keep me from success, but those talents again allow me to find something else to be good at.

But a degree is impossible if I do not get my focus problems properly diagnosed and treated. They tint/taint every memory I have. If it’s not ADD, I don’t know what it is. It is not just an inanimate obstacle, however daunting, that can be overcome with raw effort. It has arms to pull me down, teeth to tear me to pieces and a voice that it knows hurts me. It is alive.

But as savage as this monster is, it is not all bad. In fact, my daydreams are a major source of my creativity. My mind is forever dreaming up new scenarios. Often, it’s only after following one of these thoughts long enough do I realize that I have something worth developing. I fear that this well from which I draw might be lost with the medication side of treatment.

There is still another aspect to this increasingly complex thorn in my side. In spite of all the problems it causes, at times, it allows me to focus very intensely. As Edward M. Hallowell, M.D. and John J. Ratey, M.D., both of which have ADD, write in the preface of their book, Driven to Distraction, “The syndrome is not one of attention deficit but of attention inconsistency; most of us with ADD can in fact hyperfocus at times” (x). There are times when nothing exists outside of my current project. This is also what allows me to continually jump into new projects and do well in the beginning, while everything is new and stimulating.

And if that wasn’t enough, I also am an expert procrastinator. I can see how distractions can delay the start of a project, but I don’t understand how distractibility makes procrastination the problem that it is for me. As it is, I handed in a half-finished version of this paper because I didn’t get started until the day it was due.

There is something about deadlines that I find difficult to work with. I can’t feel them until they’re on top of me. When playing baseball as a kid, I remember being a better hitter after there were two strikes against me. Sleep is another. I can’t get my brain in gear until late in the evening and then stay up until early morning to finish. Then I sleep late and the struggle starts again. This cycle has already affected this College Writing II course.

But I have had some successes. The screenplay I wrote and, over the past year, I’ve lost 87 pounds with Weight Watchers and am 25 pounds from my goal. That is absolutely an accomplishment, but I can’t feel it emotionally. I’ve been close too many times only to fail. I don’t know when my attitude will change, but I believe it will be a choice.

As for my actual study habits, it’s been so long since I studied at someone else’s pace that they can’t be good. When I’m being creative I can have either music or a ballgame on in the background. But when I’m reading or learning something new, I need things to be quiet, although I have experimented with classical music. I also have trouble prioritizing, if my friends or a television program I’m interested in is calling.

My immediate goal, is to earn an Associates Degree in Graphic Design, making Dean’s List each semester. I will be signing up for the joint enrolment program with another Massachusetts school, but I will also apply at the art schools mentioned earlier. I would also love to take classes in England, as a base to explore Europe. I’ve also thought to continue my education in Southern California to see if I really want to live there. Doing Graphic Design for a film company would pay the bills, while building contacts for my budding Screenwriting career.

I’d like to win some kind of award where I would give a speech at some kind of reception. I don’t think I’ve ever written that statement before, but it’s such a common image in my daydreams that I can’t imagine it’s not a desire of mine. I have no idea what I’d say. I can’t remember the vision ever getting to the first, “Thank you.” It’s about everyone looking to me for what I’ve accomplished. Again, I think this is me craving praise.

I suppose my ultimate goal is to be successful working in film, music, or some other creative field, dreaming up screenplays and designs, supporting my parents with my talents. I’d like to be living in a sunny location like San Diego, sticking to a schedule of my own design.

But still, I fear that these goals, short term and long, will not be accomplished. That my ADD will eat away at my desire as it always has and I will again be stuck working at nothing jobs for nothing pay. I suppose the first thing to do is confirm the diagnosis and start treatment, but procrastination has delayed the start of that, too.

Works Cited

Hallowell, M.D., Edward M., and John J. Ratey, M.D. Driven to Distraction. New York: Touchstone, 1994.

What Cartoon Character Am I?

2008-09-18T21:22:00.003-04:00

Your Result is: Snoopy

Snoopy (from peanuts)is loyal and kind but makes smart remarks at times. He's adventurous and funny.

DO NOT DO THIS POLL. It's a simple, stupid poll, yet it demanded to know my birth date, which I gave as 1970, January 1st. Accurate enough yet still completely wrong.

Then I skipped through what had to be 40 offers for absolute garbage. I hope the bank whose address I gave doesn't mind the children's book offer I was forced to agree to.

If I was getting anything of value, then some of this maybe might have made some tiny bit of sense, but as it was just the stupid poll answer it was unbelievably retarded.

In fact, I changed my mind. I think everyone should do this poll and elect to receive every piece of nonsense they throw at you. Just give a fake name and a real address to a business that you hate. Don't be a jerk, though. Giving the real name of someone else and sending this crap to them would be harassment.

Instead, you need to waste the advertising company's money. The company trying to swindle this information out of you will become momentarily rich, but if enough companies tire of this tactic, they'll stop using it and we won't be bothered by it anymore.