Live Eagle Cam on uStream.tv
Posted By RichC on April 13, 2010
Pretty cool uStream.tv video that gives a live look into a bald eagles nest …
Does the Microsoft Kin resemble the Palm Pre
Posted By RichC on April 13, 2010
Although they are late to the party, Microsoft is targeting the younger demographic with a social networking smartphone made by Sharp called the Kin 1 and Kin 2. The one with the slightly larger screen sure looks like the Palm Pre to me?
Microsoft Corp. introduced a family of cellphones tailored to young consumers, seeking to improve its fortunes in the mobile business through a device designed around social-networking features.
The two phones, dubbed Kin One and Kin Two, were designed by Microsoft with touch-sensing screens and slide-out physical keyboards. They will be offered in the U.S. beginning in May by Verizon Wireless, the carrier owned by Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group PLC. Vodafone will sell the devices in the fall in the U.K., Germany, Italy and Spain.
Fresh squeezed OJ – the best way to start a tax preparation day
Posted By RichC on April 12, 2010
As a morning routine, I’m a coffee and anti-oxidant grape juice drinking kind of guy, but since we had a few extra oranges left over I’ve been fresh squeezing them for a morning citrus treat.
Mmm … sunshine and fresh squeezed OJ … breakfast doesn’t get much better than this!
Speaking of ‘the day’ – April 15th – I’m finishing up what is a lousy time of the year for me and most Americans who pay income taxes … about half the people living in this country – how is that fair? Nevertheless, those hard at work in Washington DC are finding new ways to ‘serve us.’ They are busy spending what we don’t have and making new laws we don’t need. So as a reminder to be sure and file your 
taxes by April 15th so they don’t have to borrow and print so much money [sarcasm].
Gulp … my risk level is too high if the IRS will be asking for more bureaucratic bloat to enforce the latest new health care legislation.
Subaru still considering diesel boxer engine for U.S. if fuel price drops
Posted By RichC on April 11, 2010
Although the cost to bring a diesel Subaru to the US is high (new model, service training and parts inventory, etc) but knowing how Volkswagen diesel buyers love their little diesels, the fit for Subaru and their loyal following seems perfect. Who driving a Subaru doesn’t want 40 mpg in a solidly build 4 wheel drive utilitarian vehicle?
http://green.autoblog.com/2010/04/11/subaru-still-considering-diesel-boxer-en…
Its hard to believe that we first reported that Subaru could bring its much-anticipated diesel engine here to the U.S. over three years ago. Between then and now, the company has remained indecisive due to high diesel fuel prices and stringent emissions requirements here. Needless to say, the diesel boxer is still nowhere to be found stateside, but this might change soon.
The company’s first horizontally-opposed boxer diesels have rolled out in Europe, and Subaru’s executive vice president Tom Doll said the diesel engine is a hot seller over there, so much so that Subaru total sales are increasing. Doll tempered our excitement by saying Subaru is not confident that the U.S. is ready for the oil burner just yet and that bringing the powerplant here will require a lot of things to fall into place perfectly. Doll told Ward’s Auto what will need to happen:
The emissions requirements in the U.S. are significant. And given the price of diesel fuel, where it is right now, it really does not pay to bring the vehicle into the U.S. We’re trying to see what happens. As the market sorts itself out, we’ll get ready, and then look at bringing the car (here).Our chance of getting this powerplant seems slim but new CAFE regulations requiring upwards of 35 miles per gallon by 2016 could convince Subaru that the time to offer Americans a diesel is now.
Which takeover would be better for Palm and webOS users?
Posted By RichC on April 11, 2010
After the stock bouncing on Friday, Palm Inc shareholders and smartphone users continue to speculate just was will happen to their financially troubled company. Rumors continue to be battered around (article below) as having interest in Palm – the latest being HTC Corp.
On a personal note, I am beginning to embrace my Palm Pre after a less than enthusiast year (giving up some appreciated features of the PalmOS). I’ve found the improvements with the current webOS 1.4.1 release to be excellent and the new 800 mhz patch making the phone super responsive … as well as an overall appreciation for “Synergy” and the ability to multitask using “cards.”
Palm shares rise as takeover rumors persist
Shares of Palm were up 11.6 percent in early afternoon trading on Nasdaq, following a report in Taiwan’s Economic Daily News that HTC Corp that the world’s No. 5 smartphone maker has "opened discussions about an intent to acquire" Palm.
A U.S. spokeswoman for HTC, Linda Mills, said the company does not comment on rumors, but added: "To the best of my knowledge this is just a rumor."
A spokesman for Palm, which makes the Pre and Pixi phones and develops WebOS phone software, declined to comment.
HTC ranks behind bigger smartphone rivals Nokia, Blackberry maker Research in Motion, iPhone maker Apple Inc and Motorola Inc in the global smartphone rankings, according to research firm IDC.
HTC’s phones are based on software developed by Microsoft Corp and Google Inc’s Android software. A Palm deal would give HTC its own operating system software as well as Palm’s established U.S. brand.
Still, a deal would likely come with a price tag of more than $1 billion for a company with a small market share in the shadow of Apple’s iPhone and the Blackberry’s ubiquity among corporate and government users.
Palm’s stock soared earlier this week as investors covered short positions on renewed speculation that the smartphone maker might be an acquisition target.
The talk on Wednesday was focused on Lenovo Group Ltd as a potential bidder for Palm.
Palm has for years been mentioned as a target for larger companies hoping to enter the mobile market or expand their presence.
Analysts have termed unlikely a Palm buyout by technology hardware makers like Dell Inc, citing the cost of buying Palm and integrating its technology.
But recent concerns about Palm’s viability, and have stirred up more talk. In the past 6 months, its stock has tumbled nearly 70 percent, slashing it market capitalization to about $780 million from $2.4 billion.
The 68th reunion of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders
Posted By RichC on April 10, 2010
The Doolittle Tokyo Raiders will hold their 68th Reunion at the National Museum of the Air Force, located at Wright Patterson Air Force Base April 15-19, 2010
For Additonal Information check the Greater Dayton EAA’s (GDEAA) Aviation Events page.
Wikileaks video generates controversy in biased reporting
Posted By RichC on April 10, 2010
Wikileaks.org, a news-ish organization organization that publishes anonymous submissions and leaks of sensitive documents operating under the moniker of the “Sunshine Press",” is in the hot seat again with recent Internet based journalism (info from Wikipedia). Their story selection or submission (depending on point of view) shows little attention toward responsible journalism or concern as to the harm that may come as a result of their reporting, instead they are following leading the trend toward more sensational and editorial journalism publishing stories from anonymous sources and ‘leaks.’ For the cable news folks, editorializing seems to sell advertising … I’m not sure what the intent is for Wikileaks – perhaps philosophical points of view?
The event at the middle of the recent firestorm (see a Wikileaks PDF) is a classified video taken by U.S. helicopter gunships engaging a group of Iraqi men gathering in 2007, an attack which unfortunately killed Reuters news reporting personnel and injured a couple children. There wasn’t all that much doubt that some in the group were armed and therefore the helicopters followed ‘rule of engagement’ (according to reports). Explanations from the U.S. government about the event has been less than clarifying and do little to get out front of the story; war is a difficult and ugly business.
Wikileaks hurts coalition peace efforts in Iraq and does a disservice to the business of journalism by reporting the story from a bias. Their promotion of an edited version of an encrypted military
gunship video only stirs the pot in an area of unrest in order to secure peace. Their notations, highlights and arrows did little to provide a balance report and most likely adds to the tension in Iraq. The ‘short’ version has been widely circulated and is less than fair to U.S. troops who operated daily in Iraqi hot zones. To be fair, there is also a full version of the unedited video on YouTube … but it is less widely circulated. It is equally disturbing, so take caution before viewing (below).
War, combat and killing to deal with when battling guerilla insurgency; it is made all the more difficult when organization operating under the guise of ‘journalism’ bias their stories in order to prompt a point of view.
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Patched Palm Pre to run at 800mhz; so far so good
Posted By RichC on April 9, 2010
The weekend has arrived none too soon and I’m securely at home and safe to patch my Palm Pre. I’ve been anxious to see how well it runs with the processor clock speed boosted to 800mhz. I know I’ll need to be careful when overtaxing the processor, but knowing Scott Bilik reads this once in a while and has worked with mobile 
processors, perhaps he can offer up a few pointers on theTexas Instruments OMAP3430 processor found in the Palm Pre. Stock it runs at 500mhz, and does get hot when I’m using MyTether to connect my notebook via WiFi … especially if I’m charging. So now that I’m up to 800mhz I’ll be extra cautious.
After doing about a 15 minute test, I can tell you it is much, MUCH faster in launching application and navigating between functions. Switching program to program is as fast as as finger swish. Emails load much fast as does the camera and photos. Where I really notice improvement is in how quickly images display to the screen. All in all, I hope this continues to work well.
As I write and post this, I’m testing MyTether with a WiFi Sprint connection. It’s running just fine and is actually faster in downloading by over 400Mbps compared with my last test on InternetFrog. (doesn’t always tell the story though)
Audi A3 TDI luxury hatchback has high mileage but high price
Posted By RichC on April 9, 2010
Mark Phelan, a columnist at the Detroit Free Press, offered a balanced article on the small A3 TDI by Audi. I’ve been ogling the luxury hatchback as an eventual daily driver for my long jaunts. Disappointingly the lack of the excellent Audi Quattro feature and high price for a small car has shying away. Still, having another fuel efficient and clean diesel offers options … if you can find one to buy (looked but can’t even find them to test drive).
The luxury hatchback uses today’s technology to create an exciting driver’s car that comes within an eyelash of the 35.5-m.p.g. standard that takes effect in 2016.
That’s the good news. High fuel economy and exciting performance can coexist. The new standards need not mean the end of enjoyable, exciting cars.
The bad news is that the A3’s power and efficiency come at a stiff price. The Audi’s base price approaches $30,000. Its diesel engine, dual-clutch transmission and other advanced features can push the compact hatchback’s price to painfully high levels.
via freep.com
Humor from a “What pets write in their diaries” email forward
Posted By RichC on April 7, 2010
Day 983 of my captivity…
My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.
The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet.
Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a ‘good little hunter’ I am.
Bastards.
There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of ‘allergies.’ I must learn what this means and how to use it to my advantage.
Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow — but at the top of the stairs.I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches.
The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released – and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded.
The bird has got to be an informant. I observe him communicating with the guards regularly… I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe. For now…………..
Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee
- lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
- digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.