Test 1 min video from Palm Pre
Posted By RichC on February 27, 2010
Posting to Posterous from Palm Pre by email updated to webOS 1.4. (raw clip)
Palm webOS update went smoothly today
Posted By RichC on February 27, 2010
The Palm webOS 1.4 update finally arrived and we’re still in February. It has been an anticipated update that includes new video and camcorder like features. While waiting for the substantial download and nearly 30 minute upgrade process, I ended up fiddling with a new piping or cording foot that arrived for my wife’s sewing machine. The Palm Pre came to life about the time I was installing the foot on her Singer and figured I’d test both the recording ability and how well it uploaded it to YouTube (embedded below). So far so good.
Volkswagen to push “Think Blue” to the automotive forefront
Posted By RichC on February 27, 2010
Starting February 27th, Volkswagen will be implementing a "Think Blue" marketing campaign stressing the company’s focus on "sustainable mobility" which to CinciTDI and TDIClub members highlights the fuel efficiency of VW TDI diesel vehicles and the environmental awareness of new "clean diesel" TDIs and biodiesel fuel options. Volkswagen is building on the "BlueMotion" label and bringing back the successful 1960’s "Think Small" slogan which with the diminutive VW Beetle put Volkswagen on the map here in North America.
PRESS RELEASE
"Think Blue.": a signal for the environment
Environmental protection is the top priority for VolkswagenNew campaign for efficient driving and environmental awareness
Wolfsburg, 26 February 2010 – Protecting the environment is simple and everyone can help in their everyday lives. This is the message of the new image and marketing campaign called "Think Blue." which the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand is launching on February 27, 2010. Building on one of the best-known environmental labels in the automobile industry, "BlueMotion", Volkswagen is sending out a new signal for sustainable mobility.This corporate mindset is underscored by the use of blue as the predominant color in the campaign. The color is already established on the market in the Volkswagen brand logo and through the "BlueMotion" environmental label. Volkswagen is now systematically continuing this tradition in combination with innovative elements.
"Our goal is to establish ‘Think Blue.’ as an expression of our corporate mindset and a firm feature of the Volkswagen brand’s ecologically sustainable activities," Luca de Meo, Head of Marketing at the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, explained. "We have deliberately chosen an international slogan because environmental protection knows no national boundaries. The campaign is in line with the Volkswagen brand values: innovative, valuable and responsible," de Meo added.
The new advertising campaign builds a bridge from the past to the future. It takes up the thread of the "Think small" campaign that accompanied the triumphant international success of the Beetle as the people’s car in the 1960s. "The ‘Think small’ slogan symbolizes the Volkswagen brand’s achievement in democratizing mobility the world over. The challenge of the future lies in achieving efficient and sustainable mobility for everyone. Volkswagen intends to lead the way. This is expressed by the campaign: ‘Think Small’ has become ‘Think Blue.’" de Meo stated.
The "Think Blue." campaign debuts on February 27, 2010 with print ads. These will be followed by TV spots, brochures, web specials and an e-game for iPhone and iPod Touch. All the measures focus on potential savings, sustainability and environmental awareness.
Archiving: Nicknames, the Fearsome Foursome and the Fiberpile
Posted By RichC on February 27, 2010
The older I get, the less embarrassed I seem to be about publicly posting an old photo or two … or even sharing juvenile nicknames. So for posterity, figured I would archive a couple items … and leave the door open to teasing from my kids.
Moi, Charlie (Kamakaze), Rob (Oxford) and Greg (Wheels) in 1980
I was contacted this past week by a friend from high school who wanted me to update my profile on Classmates.com; she wondered if I had attended any of our high school reunions – the answer being an obvious no. I never felt all that connected to Sidney High School since my family moved to town during the last couple years of high school and then I was off to college. Several decades later, my parents are now ‘locals’ and consider Sidney ‘home.’ Although I return to visit regularly, my fondest memories are from the 16 years of growing up in rural northwestern Ohio. Don’t get me wrong, I had a positive experience, but moving is tough when in high school and the friends I made in high school went our separate ways after graduation. Still, there are times I enjoy reminiscing and remembering friends and the good times we had challenging the rules together.
The four hoodlums in the the photos were known as called ourselves “the Fearsome Foursome,” and they were my closest high school friends. We were similar in that we didn’t grow up in close knit town of 18,000 and moved there during our high school years. For a while after graduation, we stayed in touch, but as happens to most of the people I know, we drifted apart as military, school, career, relationships and children begin to fill up one’s life.
Charlie Matthews, affectionately nicknamed “Kamikaze” due to his crazy smirk/smile and growing up in Japan was the one I stayed the closest with on through college and my first decade of marriage (our trip to Florida in 1977 below). 
The long legged and fast Greg VanMatre, gained his nickname “Wheels” during football games. Greg eventually moved back to Sidney, married a SHS grad and had a family; he still lives there today to my knowledge (my mother occasionally sends a clipping from the local paper). Rob Goforth, or “Oxford” – long for “Ox” – deservingly was awarded his nickname for plowing headfirst and head down aggressively into people … generally football related — but this hardheaded behavior happened even off the field too. In any case, if one of you should run across this post, thanks for the memories! (I should have probably put more effort into staying in touch with at least a few friends from high school?)
Since I had to dig for a couple of the above photos, I figured I would also include my first ‘real’ sailboat … again it had a nickname, although less affectionately: Fiberpile … no further explanation need for those who have sail such a vessel in light winds.
President’s Health Care Summit at the Blair House
Posted By RichC on February 26, 2010
I tuned the XMRadio into bits and pieces of President Obama’s 7 hour Health Care Summit with congressional leaders at the Blair House yesterday and came away tired of hearing the same thing I’ve heard all year. It was carried live on CSPAN and picked up in whole or part by many of the cable news outlets for the best part of the day. I expected a dog and pony show and from reviews most of the talking heads, there was little to change my thoughts. On the other hand, I would like to think that there was a modicum of sincere dialog that could be interpreted as caring about doing what is best for the electorate, but in the end, I detected more self, or perhaps political party, bloviating.
What I did see was a true philosophical difference between how the Democrats would like to grow government and gain more centralized control over another segment of our country. The Republicans fro their part, were clear to express there desire to be a bit more hands-off. For their part in today’s meeting, the GOP worked to derail the existing legislation and would like to start reform fresh and piece by piece.
Conclusion: We’re no closer to health care reform or to secure the financial well being of our nation than before the summit … but it made for an interesting civics lesson.
Checking PALM stock health awaiting for 1.4 webOS update
Posted By RichC on February 25, 2010
While waiting for the expected Palm webOS 1.4 anticipated update, I’ve been thankful not to have invested in PALM stock after last years new products. As more and more competitors jump into the smartphone market and take the limelight off the Pre and Pixi phones, the concern is over the profitability (and survival) of the company … 
and resonates with investors selling off their shares.
Palm Chief Executive Officer Jon Rubinstein now really has his work cut out for him after the releasing news that Palm is slashing fiscal third quarter and full year revenue targets (article below). At the stock market open this morning, Palm stock was down to $6.50/share continuing a month long slide. Month long PALM investors have lost nearly half their share values and with the recent targets from management, the balance of 2010 doesn’t look to be offering much hope.
EDIT: WSJ 2/26/2010 update article on Palm.
Thursday February 25, 2010, 9:39 am
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Palm Inc (NasdaqGS:PALM – News) slashed its fiscal third-quarter and full-year revenue target due to slow consumer demand for its products, dashing hopes its webOS software would help it fend off bigger rivals for now.
Palm shares fell 18 percent on Thursday after it said it expected quarterly revenue of $300 million to $320 million on a non-GAAP basis, well below the analysts’ average estimate of $424.7 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
It blamed slower-than-expected consumer adoption of its products, leading to weaker-than-expected orders from operators and the deferral of orders to future periods.
As a result, it said full-year results would be “well below” its own target range of $1.6 billion to $1.8 billion. Wall Street was expecting full-year revenue of $1.6 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The warning followed downgrades earlier this week from at least two brokerages on concerns about sales of Palm phones at Verizon Wireless, the biggest U.S. mobile operator and a venture of Verizon Communications(NYSE:VZ – News) and Vodafone Group Plc (LSE:VOD.L – News).
Palm is betting on its new webOS software to help its phones compete more effectively against rivals such as Apple Inc’s (NasdaqGS:AAPL – News) iPhone and BlackBerry from Research in Motion (Toronto:RIM.TO – News).
However, after a very high-profile launch last summer of Pre, the company’s first webOS phone, the device was hurt by supply constraints and stiff competition.
Earlier this year, Verizon Wireless became the second U.S. provider to sell the Palm phones, which were exclusive to customer-losing provider Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S – News) last year.
Palm Chief Executive Officer Jon Rubinstein said the company was working closely with carrier partners to increase awareness of its products and drive sales.
“However, driving broad consumer adoption of Palm products is taking longer than we anticipated,” the executive said in a statement announcing the revenue outlook.
Palm shares fell 18 percent to $6.63 in early Nasdaq trading.
(Reporting by Sinead Carew; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
An Orca kills a SeaWorld trainer during a perfomance
Posted By RichC on February 24, 2010
I’m sad to hear when a killer whale attacks a human, be they trained for “edu-tainment” or dominating the ocean in the wild. I am bias in being pro-SeaWorld because of all the good they do to educate about the oceans and wildlife, but being part of the company in the early 1980’s, I also knew the risk in working with many of the animals in their parks. Unfortunately with animals as big as orcas, even as bright as they are, there are a few whose personalities were a bit more independent and dominate. We use to think of our “Shamus” as boisterous adolescences with tons of muscle and unspent inquisitive energy needing an outlet. Like young adults, their behaviors weren’t always predictable and injuries to trainers, while not common, can and do happen. It was sad to hear an Orlando SeaWorld trainer has died … and disturbing that it was in front of an audience.
Associated Press
ORLANDO, Fla.—A trainer at SeaWorld Orlando died Wednesday after a killer whale attacked her in front of a horrified audience.
Orange County Fire Rescue spokesman John Mulhall said paramedics were called to Shamu Stadium at the theme-park resort where they found a worker who could not be revived.
Park guest Victoria Biniak told WKMG-TV that the trainer had just finished explaining to the audience the show they were about to see.
Ms. Biniak told the station the whale suddenly came up from the water, grabbed the trainer around the waist and “thrashed her all around” to the point the trainer’s shoe fell off.
“He was thrashing her around pretty good,” Ms. Biniak said. “It was violent.”
The guests were asked to leave and the park was closed.
There have been several previous attacks on whale trainers at SeaWorld parks.
In Nov. 2006, trainer Kenneth Peters, 39, was bitten and held underwater several times by a 7,000-pound killer whale during a show at SeaWorld’s San Diego park. He escaped with a broken foot. The 17-foot-long orca who attacked him was the dominant female of SeaWorld San Diego’s seven killer whales. She had attacked Mr. Peters two other times, in 1993 and 1999.
In 2004, another whale at the company’s San Antonio park tried to hit one of the trainers and attempted to bite him. He also escaped.
In December, a whale drowned a trainer at a Spanish zoo.
At the Orlando SeaWorld, the body of a naked man was found scratched, bruised and draped over a five-ton orca named Tilikum in July 1999. Daniel Dukes, 27, reportedly made his way past security at SeaWorld, remaining in the park after it had closed. Wearing only his underwear, Mr. Dukes either jumped, fell or was pulled into the frigid water of Tilikum’s huge tank.
An autopsy ruled that he died of hypothermia in the 50-degree water. Mr. Dukes’s parents filed a lawsuit against the park later that year but later withdrew it.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press
Look for Palm webOS 1.4 on February 25th
Posted By RichC on February 24, 2010
Palm Pre and Pixi users have known about and seen many of the new feature in webOS 1.4 demos (flash, video recording) for some time; most of us have been waiting patiently
for the announced February 2010 rollout.
According to most blogs and newsy Internet sites, the webOS devices on both Sprint and Verizon networks should look for updates this week. The earlier Sprint rumored February 15th date has passed and the new date being bantered around is February 25th. I’ll be watching the Official Palm Blog, my Update App and for Palm oriented ‘tweets’ for the release.
Nearly One in Four Borrowers Underwater on Mortgage
Posted By RichC on February 23, 2010
Looks like a serious problem for homeowners, mortgage companies and banks alike. It certainly isn’t promising for the new home market either.
Nearly one in four U.S. homeowners with a mortgage owed more than their homes were worth at the end of 2009, underscoring the challenges facing any sustained recovery in consumer spending and housing. Some 11.3 million households had negative equity at the end of the fourth quarter, according to First American CoreLogic, a real-estate information company based in Santa Ana, Calif., up from 10.7 million at the end of the third quarter
Problems are concentrated in the states that have had the biggest home price declines. In Nevada, seven in 10 borrowers were underwater at the end of December, up from 65% three months earlier. Nearly half of all borrowers in Arizona and Florida and one third of borrowers in California owe more than their properties are worth.
“Negative equity is a long-term problem for us,” says Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American CoreLogic. “Some of these markets have lost from their peak 50% of their value. How many years at 5% growth would it take to bring it back?”
High rates of negative equity also raise the specter that more borrowers who can afford their mortgages will choose to walk away from their homes and rent. More than half of all borrowers in Nevada owe at least 25% more than their homes are worth. “People who are vastly underwater will look at what they’re paying compared to what they can rent, and those people are throwing their keys back,” says Daniel Alpert, managing director at Westwood Capital.
A separate study last year by researchers at Experian Information Solutions Inc., a credit-reporting company, and consultants Oliver Wyman Group estimates that 588,000 U.S. mortgage borrowers defaulted strategically in 2008, more than double the year-earlier total. The researchers identified strategically defaulting borrowers as those with perfect payment histories who suddenly stopped making mortgage payments and made no attempt to become current, even as they paid other bills.
via blogs.wsj.com
Second push for near trillion dollar Health Care proposal
Posted By RichC on February 23, 2010
After American citizens were heard ‘loud and clear’ during the Obama administration’s attempt last year to ram though health care reform, the President and a ‘agenda-driven’ liberal congress are planning to give it another go. 
In a feeble attempt to cloak the “retooled $950 billion health care plan” and continual expansion of government as “bi-partisan,” President Obama has extended an invitation to Republicans to consult over his plan on Thursday. Personally I think it is just a rouse to find a couple votes, since if this were truly a bi-partisan approach, it would include ideas from both parties. From a cursory reading of the President’s proposal, I would have thought the administration would have shown that they heard the citizens … and might have included some fiscal restraint, or at minimum offered up convincing and palatable numbers of how they plan to pay for the massive changes. The plan does little to keep government small, accountable and out of an individual’s life; instead of being strictly in the oversight role and empowering competition through free markets for best prices/best quality, they regulate with bureaucrats, expand governments power over private industry and reduce a citizen’s liberty — along with increase taxes selectively based on their philosophy of social and economic justice.
Unfortunately, the President’s current proposal is just a redraft of what already caused so much uproar. The slick marketing and misleading answers to questions does little to instill confidence that “choice” will really be much of an option when a business providing better health care plans are “Cadillac taxed” and have to compete will companies providing the minimums — why pay those 40% taxes to buy a better plan … and when they don’t, who’ll pick up that 40% that was calculated into the cost of the new legislation?
If we’re talking real reform and bi-partisan reform, the where is the tort reform, the competition from insurance plans across the country or between states? Where is the evidence that government control over health care will save money and improve care for Americans?
I knew my friend Steve Moore would be on TV this morning, so I set up the Tivo to record his appearance (above). As a respected economist and WSJ reporter, I appreciate his insight on these matters. Although h has a fiscally-conservative bias and isn’t confident government has proven it can spend wisely, he understands the economic side of the health care equation better than most and is worth listening to when it comes to fiscal sense.
My fear is that if Washington forces through the current proposal which is frighteningly similar to the 2000+ page bills we’ve already seen, Americans in the long run will pay dearly for socialization of health care in both dollars and quality of care.
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.