My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on August 7, 2008

Here’s a great cellphone story that was published over at the more national Palm blog, but it actually comes from my neck of the woods. The customer email praises the durability of the Centro, which reflects politively on at least one of Palms’ designs; both my wife and daughter should feel good to have such a solid little smartphone. They are also in significant company since 2-million Centros have been sold in less than a year!

Takes a licking, keeps on clicking

Built-in QWERTY keyboard: check.
One-hand navigation: check.
Instant ringer-off switch: check.
Ability to survive a fall from a super-duper roller coaster ride followed by a drenching in the pouring rain: check?

It wasn’t exactly in the product spec, but one Palm Centro user in Ohio shared this story about how his Centro survived all that and still works as good as new.

I own a Palm Centro through Sprint and wanted to tell you how amazingly well it’s made. On Friday, I was at our local amusement park, King’s Island. While on a roller coaster, my Palm Centro fell out of my pocket, flew through the air, and landed on the roof of a building.

-Stephen H.

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Tags: Cellphone, centro, palm, smartphone, watch

Posted By RichC on August 6, 2008

Although Volkswagen fans have been tempted with thoughts of a two place VW roadster before, we are once again seeing the plans and a prototype being resurrected. Autoweek put out a few details that have me wondering if I really want to put any more money into my MGB. According to the article, “VW chairman Martin Winterkorn is planning to unveil a concept version of the lightweight two-seater at the Los Angeles show in November. If public opinion is positive, the new car could be in showrooms by 2011.”

The “cut-rate Lotus Elise” design will offer a mid engine design with “GTI levels of acceleration — 0 to 60 mph in 6.9 seconds.” It will also offer excellent fuel economy with engines option from a 170 HP 1.4 liter twin turbocharger TSI gasoline fuel powerplant to the 125 HP 1.6 liter TDI diesel and be linked a seven-speed DSG transmission. I’ll bet some of the hyper-miler types will be able to squeeze some pretty impressive fuel efficiency out of a 2200 pound car and the TDI powerplant.

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Posted By RichC on August 6, 2008

Hmm … I stumble upon this irritation today while having lunch at Panera Bread. In the past it has been a enjoyable lunch stop when on the road in different cities as I can check and respond to emails, etc. Unfortunately it has been getting more and more difficult to access what you want, when you want at more and more public hotspots — including hotels. Not only does Panera Bread limit users to 30 minutes access during the day, but they are also blocking certain domains. One example is the site “tinyurl.com” which has become a popular way to share long cumbersome links. Many users of email groups, forums and the popular Twitter have adopted URL shortening, but unfortunately Panera customers will not be able to access them.

Pet peeve number two has to do with the 30 minutes of access as today I was in the middle of updating a GoogleDocs online spreadsheet and zap … no more access. Grrr. (BTW, I’ve tried KLC Consulting’s SMAC 2.0 in order to switch my MAC address and ‘steal’ another free 30 minutes, but the ‘trial version’ doesn’t work with OS Vista)

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Posted By RichC on August 6, 2008

Volkswagen’s 2009 small SUV, the Tiguan, hasn’t exactly taken North America by storm, but at least VW finally has a vehicle to compete with Honda’s CRV and Toyota’s Rav4. I wouldn’t say that Volkswagen has struck out with the Tiguan, but in my opinion they have at least two strikes against them. After owning a 1998 Toyota Rav4 for 11 years (my wife’s car), the functionality of the Tiguan falls significantly behind even the older Rav4. I was surprise at how small the space was behind the hatchback fifth door compared to the sideways opening door of our “boxier” Rav4; from what I could tell, there looked to be about as much cargo space as a VW Golf. (Speaking of VW Golf, check out the next generation A6 VW Golf.)

Strike two for me was the price. The Tiguan window stickers I glanced at were all close to or over $30,000 mark. This is pretty steep for a small compact SUV and parallels what one might expect from competitors mid-sized SUVs. That said, sitting in any seat was very comfortable and along with the huge sunroof and non-plastic feel, I wouldn’t mind at least test driving one — but I’ll wait for the TDI diesel!

Here’s what the folks at Motorweek had to say:

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Posted By RichC on August 5, 2008

Just a quick mention that a book I recently finished reading and have highlighted in the sidebar, “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solder,” goes on sale in paperback today. Along with this release, the 26 year old Ishmael Beah has made a couple of appearances on ABC television. (ABC’s Good Morning America and on Nightline — see below)

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Posted By RichC on August 5, 2008

Although I don’t watch reality TV programming including “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” or even read our local papers’ opinion letters, my daughter thought enough of the letter to the editor below to mention it to me. I’m unsure if it was the political content or the fact that her roommate is from Poland, but it did stimulate a little breakfast table discussion. It is nice to know that a few of the positive aspects of my political views are appreciated by my children.

The letter to the editor was well written and poinent as we approach another election. It is an excellent reminder and warning for Americans who may have forgotten “what America is all about.” I’ll be remembering Danuta Connell’s comments, “de-motivating and harmful effects,” when I enter the voting booth this November.

Akers’ story shows true America

Recently, my 67-year-old mother from Poland visited Cincinnati. During her two-month stay, my husband and I were able to show her many, many places, and introduced her to the best Cincinnati and America have to offer. The highlight of her stay was the privilege to witness the “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” experience in West Chester Twp. As much as she admired it, the entire concept was very difficult for her to understand. People just do not do things like that in her native country. She also saw online the makeover story of the Hughes family from Lexington, Ky., and was moved to tears. She left the country one day before the Akers family returned from their well-deserved vacation, but she made me promise her an update upon her return to Poland.

This being an election year, I would like to remind us that the Akers’ story is what America is all about. We take care of each other and we do not need government to tell us what we need or what is good for us. We are best when we take care of each other.

I was naturalized an American citizen 25 years ago and could not be more proud of it. I grew up in Poland under the communist regime and have experienced first-hand the de-motivating and harmful effects of that system. I immigrated legally in 1982 in search of freedom, hope and opportunity, and found them in abundance. America is great because of its great people, privately owned businesses, creativity, compassion and, most importantly, freedom.

Danuta Connell
West Chester Twp.

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Posted By RichC on August 4, 2008

Yet another aviation post from Airventure 2008. This one unique in that the crowd was able to see but hardly here the electric-powered experimental ElectraFlyer C piloted by Joe Bennis. He made 3 passes over the main air show runway to the smile of Electric Aircraft Corporation president Randall Fishman. The specifications are pretty impressive for those filling up with aviation fuel: The 18-hp motor charges in as little as two hours at a cost of about 75 cents with a 110-volt charger. It cruises at 70 mph, stalls at 45 mph, and has a top speed of 90 mph and a flight duration of 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

According to EAA Airventure Today, “the motor direct drives a 45-inch ground adjustable, two-blade PowerFin carbon fiber propeller, which lifts the ElectraFlyer-C at a climb rate of 500 to 600 fpm. Takeoff rpm is 2800. The motor draws power from a custom-built lithium polymer battery pack; batteries are projected to have a life of 1,000 cycles. Weighing in at 78 pounds, the battery pack produces 5.6 kilowatt hours and can be recharged in as little as two hours using a 220-volt charger (or six hours with a 110-volt charger).”

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Posted By RichC on August 3, 2008

A the private company Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (Space X) funded by Internet entrepreneur Elon Musk, failed for a third time to launch into space. The Falcon 1 launch on Saturday evening was from Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean was carrying three small satellites including one for the Department of Defense. While watching the onboard video, even a novice could tell something wasn’t right shortly after first stage separation. As the second stage rocket engine ignited, it began to wobble and as the seconds ticked away it oscillated even further. Shortly after 4 minutes into the flight, ground control lost signal from the two-stage Falcon 1 rocket. According to the webcast, launch control acknowledged that “there has been an anomaly.”

The company is based out of Hawthorne, California and employs 525 people. The disappointment is a third unsuccessful launch since the first Falcon 1 launch in March of 2006. Besides the satellite payloads, yesterday’s rocket was carrying the ashes of 208 people who paid to be carried into space, including astronaut Gordon Cooper and Star Trek’s James Doohan — “Scotty.”

In addition to the unsuccessful Falcon 1, Space X is developing a much larger rocket called the Falcon 9. The first stage of the new rocket has nine engines with the intention of shuttling cargo to the International Space Station after NASA winds down the Space Shuttle program in 2010.

Elon Musk released a statement which indicated the company will continue with its space flights, mentioning that the four flight is scheduled in the fourth quarter of this year and addition flights are already being prepared.

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Posted By RichC on August 2, 2008

I wanted to archive a couple keyboard shortcuts pertaining to trademarks and copyright symbols when keyboarding at the computer. Not many people outside the printing and publishing world know about keystroke combinations that can be used for special symbols. (Note: If you are using a reduced keyboard –ie. a notebook computer without a separate numeric pad, you may need to hold down the Fn key when using the section of numeric keys highlighted on your computer)

To Create The Copyright Symbol ©
* Windows – ALT + 0169 (hold down ALT key and type 0169 on numeric pad)
* Mac – Option + g (Hold down Option key and press the g key)
To Create The Trademark Symbol â„¢
* Windows – ALT + 0153
* Mac – Option + 2
To Create The Registered Trademark Symbol ®
* Windows – ALT + 0174
* Mac – Option + r

It’s legal to claim a trademark “â„¢” in order to uniquely identify the source of your goods and/or services and protect your intellectual property, but it is not legal to use the registered trademark symbol “®” unless that trademark is “officially registered” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Here one that is a little less important, unless your sending something to your sweetheart!
To Create The Heart Symbol ♥
* Windows – ALT + 3
* Mac – Click Edit, then Special Characters. Find the heart symbol and click Insert.

EDIT: Link to a few HTML special entity codes.

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Tags: symbols accents copyright trademark

Posted By RichC on August 1, 2008

So far so good. Switched to Time Warner Roadrunner broadband and everything is running a bit better than Cincinnati Bell Zoomtown DSL.

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