My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on July 7, 2009

In continuing with comparison strengths and weaknesses of the Palm Pre smartphone, one of the concerns I have is over cellphone signal reception strength. The currently Sprint only Pre doesn’t have the same solid reception strength as my Palm Treo 700p (or Centro for that matter), according to the signal meter and personal observations. The photo above doesn’t demonstrate this as well as I would have hoped since putting the two phone in close proximity seemed to improve the signal bar reading on the Pre (odd?).

Nevertheless, I rarely noticed my Treo showing less than 3 bars of strength and now am getting use to having only 1 bar on my Palm Pre. I’ve not notice a significant drop in calls while on the roads, but can no long can use the phone in my basement which was generally not a problem with the Treo unless I was using the bluetooth headset. I was curious as to what other thought and started a poll last month … seems others are concluding the same.

Category: Cellphone | No Comments »
Tags: palm, treo

Posted By RichC on July 5, 2009

As we talked about the 4th of July and celebrated with family and time together this weekend, I mentioned to my World War II history buff son, that American ‘hero’ Darrell “Shifty” Powers (March 13, 1923 – June 17, 2009) recently passed away. For those that don’t know him, he was foremost a dedicated husband of almost 60 years and great father according to his family, but far better known by those who have read the Stephen Ambrose book “Band of Brothers” or watched the HBO miniseries by the same name. He was 86 and died of natural causes (after being diagnosed with cancer in 2008) and part of the famous 101st Airborne Division’s Easy Company as a paratrooper and sharpshooter during WWII. His portrayal as one of the heroic “Band of Brothers” made my son appreciate what previous generations of Americans did for our country and  in the ‘goodness’ of Americans. Hopefully for the men of this “greatest generation” their patriotism will inspire men like my son for generations to come.

It is difficult seeing men of Darrell Powers caliber pass away (perhaps I’m thinking of my aging father and father-in-law?), but good that his legacy has been preserved by historians, writers and film makers. One of the most positive aspects of Powers’ nature was the fact that he was able to reflect respectfully, as many veterans do, on the enemies he once fought against and commented about them: “We might have had a lot in common. He might’ve liked to fish, you know, he might’ve liked to hunt. Of course, they were doing what they were supposed to do, and I was doing what I was supposed to do, but under different circumstances, we might have been good friends.”

RIP Mr. Powers … you were one of America’s finest.

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Category: History | 1 Comment »
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Posted By RichC on July 3, 2009

I’ve been grumbling about battery life since moving from the Palm Treo to the Sprint Palm Pre for the past couple weeks, but it seems Apple iPhone users, besides having a high heat problem, are grumbling too. There are a few software items on my ‘disappointed’ list, but top on my software and hardware list is a short battery life at the default settings; this limited battery life is likely due to heavier than average use, a high performance processor chip (appreciated), bright crisp screen (see screen image), GPS (very nice), 3G Sprint service along with bluetooth (works great) and WiFi (surprisingly appreciated).  I’ve been reluctant to tweak the default settings and didn’t stop using battery draining features such as multitasking, phone use in weak signal areas and leaving the GPS, Bluetooth and WiFi connections up and functioning — but, after regularly finding myself low on battery by mid-afternoon on several days, I’ve decided that a few tweaks are necessary until better battery technology shows up (nothing earth-shattering on the immediate horizon as far as I know).

So … I’m making  just a few small tweaks to see how much of an improvement I will be able to notice without giving up functional use of my phone. I’m not turning off WiFi or Bluetooth and not changing how I use the phone, but I will make an adjustment to the GPS function, the checking of multiple email server intervals and will turn down the screen brightness to about 25% from 40% … which is still plenty bright. I’ll hold tight with these setting for a week or so since the holiday weekend isn’t really a fair test of my normal workday.

I have read and found that the biggest drain on battery life  is poor wireless coverage (one or two bars). Unfortunately my new Palm Pre doesn’t have nearly same “bars” indicaton as my Palm Treo did (see Poll) — note the 2 bars in the image to the right which was 4-5 bars on my Treo in the same location.  The weaker the wireless coverage, the greater the power requirements on the Palm Pre causing the battery to drain.

In this case there is a power advantage on top of speed for using WiFi when possible. When the Pre finds a strong WiFi signal that it has been authorized to connect to, it will automatically use it for data applications and only us the Sprint signal for cell voice connections.

Speaking of “automatic,”  the Palm Pre’s automatic and manual settings for power management leave plenty of room for improvement. It would be nice to have one easy access app to tweak power adjustments on the fly … and would be especially nice to have a “limp home” feature that could be set to shut down the phone before going dead. Having  just enough power to be able to make an emergency phone would really be helpful instead of looking in your pocket only to find a dead Palm Pre with all your essential data locked inside until it is recharged. Cough, cough … lesson learned … carry a spare battery (don’t have one yet) and a charger … preferably one that can be used in a 12 volt DC or in 120 volt AC.

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Category: Cellphone, Technology | 2 Comments »
Tags: battery, iphone, smartphone

Posted By RichC on July 2, 2009

Sales for the “clean diesel” Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen TDI were impressive in the month of June for Volkswagen of America. SportWagen sales accounted for 81% of all SportWagens sold. The TDI version of the Jetta and Touareg  were impressive as well, accounting for 40% of Jetta sales and 29% of the Touareg SUV sales.

American and Asian companies who have chosen to stick with gasoline, hybrid and are overly focused on their EV models should take note and reconsider the traditionally longer lasting and fuel efficient modern diesel. With both Ultra Low Sulfur petroleum diesel fuel  (ULSD) and biodiesel conveniently available throughout North America and a growing acceptance that diesel vehicles can be ‘green’ — 2009 Green Car of the Year — there are fewer and fewer reasons to not be including engines choices that are 30% more efficient than current gasoline only models.

News Release Issued: July 1, 2009 1:39 PM EDT
Clean Diesel Fuels Volkswagen’s June Sales

Over 25 percent of sales were Clean Diesel TDI’s

HERNDON, Va., July 1 /PRNewswire/ — Volkswagen of America, Inc. today announced June 2009 sales of 19,027 units, representing an 18 percent decrease over June 2008. However, Volkswagen’s award winning clean diesels posted their best sales month since their re-launch with 5,072 units, representing an impressive 26 percent of total sales.

The Jetta SportWagen once again posted its best sales month ever with sales of 1,982 units. Clean diesel TDI’s accounted for 81 percent of SportWagen sales, 40 percent of Jetta sedan sales, and 29 percent of Touareg sales.

“Volkswagen of America is encouraged by the momentum of our clean diesel TDI sales,” said Mark Barnes, Chief Operating Officer, Volkswagen of America, Inc. “It appears that U.S. consumers are starting to realize the many benefits of today’s clean diesels–vehicles that attain more than 30 percent better fuel economy while emitting 25 percent less greenhouse gas emission, all without sacrificing driving dynamics,” Barnes added.

Volkswagen also announced today that they have been named a corporate leader in Strategic Visions Total Quality Index® (TQI). For 2009, Volkswagen has the most models across the segments that were measured than any other brand–New Beetle, Rabbit, Jetta, CC, and Tiguan were all recognized as TQI leaders in their respective segments.

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Category: Automotive, Biodiesel, Volkswagen | No Comments »
Tags: clean diesel, sportwagen, tdi

Posted By RichC on July 1, 2009

According to Palm Beach Post reporter Susan Salisbury, the biofuel company Ag-Oil is planning to build a biodiesel production facility in the Agricultrual Reserve west of Delray Beach Florida. (MP3 Audio — really just testing for my Palm Pre) The facility has the potential to produce 15 million gallons of biodiesel each year from jatropha, algae and other oils. According to the south Florida company CEO Teri Gevinson, they have already planted 20 acres in jatropha.

The company, the recipient of a $2.5 million state renewable energy grant, is working with United Environment and Energy, Horseheads, N.Y.; Argonne National Laboratory, a federal energy lab in Argonne, IL., the University of Florida and the University of Southern Illinois. It has also applied for federal American Recovery and Investment Act funds.

Once completed and operational sometime in 2011, the facility and plantation on 103 acres will maintain an estimated 128 direct jobs and 915 indirect jobs, the company said.

Gevinson, owner of Ascot Development, a Boca Raton-based real estate development firm, said Ag-oil is working with South County farmers to grow the crop and mechanically harvest it.

“We are excited to be able to make something work in the Ag Reserve and to be able to change the U.S. dependence on foreign oil,” she said.

Gevinson said she purchased the land years ago and leased it to farmers who grew tomatoes and peppers there.

LINK

Category: Biodiesel, Misc | 2 Comments »
Tags: biodiesel, delray beach, florida

Posted By RichC on June 30, 2009

The new Mozilla Firefox 3.5 was released from beta today and should offer a significant speed increase with JavaScript performance (twice as fast ast Firefox 3) . There are a few icon improvements which will probably be just eye-candy to most, but the jump ahead in video and audio content for embedded HTML5 content will be appreciated by web designers.

Mozilla has been a growing force in open source software development and its Internet web browser has become second only to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer in recent years. Besides offering speed, some suggest that using Firefox is a smart security precaution since fewer exploits have been detected.

Category: Computer, Productivity | 8 Comments »
Tags: firefox, mozilla

Posted By RichC on June 30, 2009

Ever need another outlet even when you have a couple surge strips and wall outlets are full? Perhaps you need an entire wall wired and ready for the latest and greatest electrical gadget. (See Make Online – Thanks Scott)

Category: How-To, Misc, Technology | 6 Comments »
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Posted By RichC on June 29, 2009

Calling any ornithologists … or ethologists … that might have insight as to how (or why) birds fly under our covered porch, make a tight banking turn and deliver a “load” against the upper panes of our window. Mind you … our porch is relatively low ceilinged and of substantial size. (perhaps they just have a sense of humor … just as in a post from last year?)

Palm Pre photos

Category: Humor, Misc | 4 Comments »
Tags: birds

Posted By RichC on June 28, 2009

Spent the weekend outside and probably got too much sun, but it was a beautiful weekend here in Cincinnati and didn’t want to be inside. I continued the reforestation project (just kidding) and added another row of Colorado Blue Spruce trees to our backyard (Palm Pre photo above – click photo for larger). Spending time in the hot sun and working up a sweat was the perfect excuse for cleaning the pool … while in the water of course.
😀

Category: Cellphone, Personal, Photos | No Comments »
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Posted By RichC on June 26, 2009

It has been a week of celebrity deaths. I probably wouldn’t have mention them if it were only one or an expected passing — Ed McMahon or Farrah Fawcett … but with yesterday afternoon’s surprising cardiac arrest of Michael Jackson it is on my mind (and the TV cable news).

What is really sad is for all the fame and fortune, the celebrities for the most part were not able to manage their situations. From the McMahon’s battles with foreclosure and bankruptcy in his later years, to Jackson’s spending his millions, in legal battles and living a quirky life, neither seemed happy. Farrah Fawcett may to have had a better handle financially, but her beauty and popularity may have also been a curse when it came to personal relationships. Her death is perhaps the most tragic having to spend the last years battling and suffering cancer — she deserve credit for her public message when it came to dealing with the situation. I think we all fear dying in such a slow and painful way.

Maybe I’ll swim a few laps today to work off  this stress over death … then again perhaps not? (this is the first time we’ve had enough rain fast enough to overflow the pool. A record 2.65 inches of rain breaking a nearly 100 year old 2.44 inches in a single day record.  — what a mess – News Link)

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Category: Misc, News, Obituary | 4 Comments »
Tags: ed mcmahon, farrah fawcett, michael jackson