My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on June 8, 2007

Launch time for NASA’s Space Shuttle ‘Atlantis’ STS-117 is scheduled for 7:38 p.m. EDT tonight (Friday). I’m taking a few minutes while closing out my day to listen to NASA live on the web and am amazed at what one can learn by listening to the conversations and commentary.
At 4:20 this afternoon the astronauts left the crew quarters after putting on their suits and headed toward Launch Pad 39A and their Shuttle. Mission STS-117 is the 21st to the International Space Station. Rick Sturckow will command the mission and Lee Archambault will serve as Atlantis’ pilot. Mission Specialists Patrick Forrester, James Reilly, Steven Swanson, John Olivas and Flight Engineer Clayton Anderson round out the crew to deliver the S3/S4 starboard truss segments, batteries and another pair of solar arrays to the space station. Anderson will replace Expedition 15 Flight Engineer Sunita Williams on station and Williams will return to Earth aboard Atlantis.

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Tags: nasa, shuttle, space

Posted By RichC on June 7, 2007

First … “Happy Birthday Nora” … a regular reader of my daily ramblings … and wonderful friend to my daughter. (perhaps I’m a day late, but wrote it late on June 7th.)

Second, the Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2007 that Nora is participating in as part of her engineering project at Santa Clara University is nearing … 3 month and 7 days according to the website; how’s the house coming along? (read earlier post here)

Third, I’m tired from an out of town trip, brain dead for reasons unknown and am staring at my computer’s wallpaper; the sailboat “Timeless” … which is a privately owned Freedom 35 that my wife and I decided was ‘our boat’ back in the mid-1990’s … and still is today. We regularly made a family pilgrimage to Annapolis every October to attended the best Sail Boat show in the nation, and each year came to the same conclusion — if we couldn’t afford a custom built sailboat, we wanted a Freedom 35. As the years passed, it has been move from ‘dream’ status to semi-realistic ‘goal’ status. I only hope it comes before I’m too old to enjoy it?

Click for a larger view

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Posted By RichC on June 6, 2007

It’s been an interesting 36 hours after a year of waiting for the Palm Treo 700p Version 1.10-SPNT maintenance release. The MR was announced by Palm earlier this year and followed on the heals of the 700p’s successor, the Treo 755p … but due to installation issues has been temporarily suspended. Thankfully update went fine on my Palm Treo 700p.
I downloaded the maintenance release from Palm (when it was still available) and proceeded to follow the Vista OS to Treo 700p procedure. After downloading the ZIP file (I’ve archived it here — right-click/save-as), I formated a fresh SD card and copied the entire PALM directory to the card. Some have suggested that having a ‘stock’ programmed Treo is helpful? … I didn’t. Who knows which programs can cause a problem, as some people are reporting there Treo going into a reset loop. Also, be sure you have 35 – 50 minutes for the update and that the Treo is in it cradle with power and USB to your computer.

Once you insert the SD card into the Treo 700p, all is on autopilot. Just watch and let it go through the series of screens along with multiple resets. The 9 step instructions have been removed from the Palm site while they work on problems. Fortunately for me, the software updated everything automatically as I watch the progress. Be patient … it take a while.

The final step is to resync all your data back to the phone. Be prepared to lose some registration codes if you have purchased software. Several system related setting as well as my SlingPlayer channels and icons all disappeared. I’m still not back to where I like it, but it give me a chance to reset a few things.

First day of Testing:
Today was my first day on the road traveling after the MR. I’m somewhat disappointed as a few items weren’t really fixed as I had thought. First, the ‘bluetooth’ fix is definitely better than before because a loss of BT headset connection no longer requires a reset. Unfortunately, the connection between my Jawbone earpiece and the Palm frequently drops, but it does find itself again. Example … I was driving for about 4 hours today and watched (and listened — 3 tones in my Jawbone BT earpiece) as the reconnection happen again and again. I lost count because it disconnected and reconnected so many times. Eventually I pulled the earpiece out as the tones were driving me crazy. While hanging in place on the “hook” I watched the screen come on, the bluetooth icon flicker solid blue, then clear and reconnect. No doubt the tones were continuing in the earpiece. Screen would go off after the appropriate number of seconds and then do it all over again in a couple minutes. I’m not sure about battery drain, but it sure bugged me to hear the tones over and over as the device was found again and again. Yes its and improvement, but …
Someone asked if there was a sound improvement? I asked a couple people how I sounded on the phone while driving and they said that they knew I was on a cellphone but that the voice was clear … “maybe a little tinny.” I posted another “after the MR” test in the right sidebar for those interested in listening, but I can’t brag enough about the Jawbone Bluetooth headset. (I should get a commission!)
😀

Application Switching: I didn’t notice any improvement in application switching times and in fact noticed that with Versamail 3.5.4 (email client on the Palm OS) the delay between emails and scrolling is worse? It might be something else besides the maintenance release causing the slow response — its pretty bad. (almost unusable)

I also had one crash and automatic reset today; I chose not to hang up from a phone call (press end or touch BT headset button) but instead let the other person hang up and allow the phone disconnect by itself. About 10 seconds after the other phone hung up, the Treo 700p rebooted itself. There are still improvements to be made.

On a positive note, not that it has anything to do with the MR, I had the fastest Sprint Rev A USB tethered Internet speeds on my drive to Northeast Ohio today. See the Internet Frog Speed test below below.

Stay tuned … Palm has some serious work to do, let hope they are working on a MR2?

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Posted By RichC on June 5, 2007

I enjoy the “JibJab” animated humor, and have since the political video clips a few years ago. I’ve been critical of current ‘news’ programming (although still watch them) detailing the every move of celebrities … dead and alive … I thought this one was apropos. Enjoy.

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Posted By RichC on June 4, 2007

As Terry Pluto for the Akron Beacon puts it, “The NBA has a new king!” LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers is the new face of the NBA, according to Reggie Miller of the Indiana Pacers. The Cavaliers beat the Detroit Pistons in game six on Saturday night to head into the NBA Finals to move on as Eastern Conference champions. It could not have been done without 22 year old superstar LeBron James, who commented that the fans in Cleveland deserved this trophy. Its been a long time. (click for larger photo)

But as Pluto goes on to say … It’s not just about LeBron. It really is about winning. Yes, in Game 5 at the Palace of Auburn Hills, it was nearly All-LeBron, all the time as he scored the Cavs’ final 25 points, and 29-of-30. But the real LeBron was in Game 6, when he told rookie Daniel Gibson: “Detroit is going to double-team me, triple-team before I cross halfcourt. So get that gun and get it locked and loaded, and just shoot it. Don’t second-guess yourself.” That’s the kind of blessing a veteran Michael Jordan gave to guards such as John Paxson and Steve Kerr in big playoff games. Here’s a 22-year-old James telling it to a 21-year-old rookie, who averaged only 4.5 points this season. And there was Gibson, torching the Pistons for 31 points — on only nine field goal field-goal attempts.

You might never see a box-score line quite like that again: 7-of-9 from the field, 5-of-5 on 3-pointers, 12-of-15 at the foul line. The little 6-foot-1 guard even had six rebounds. You look at James’ shooting and see 3-of-11 from the field, which doesn’t appear to be much of game. While James was in his Michael Jordan mode in Game 5 (48 points) at Detroit, he flipped the Magic Johnson switch for Game 6. He empowered his teammates, passing off for eight assists. He went inside for 14 rebounds and drove to the basket, continually drawing fouls and making 14-of-19 free throws and scoring 20 points. He didn’t make a field goal until four minutes into the third quarter. Didn’t matter, he was leading his team without shooting.

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Posted By RichC on June 3, 2007

Storms moved through our area on Sunday afternoon bringing more than an inch of rain and knocking out power. The lightning was significant around our house and according to the local news sent firefighters to three location in Butler county. After a couple close calls we heard the firetrucks behind our property and realized that a neighborhood next to our had a house on fire. The newer home at 8212 Cora Bells Court had been hit; thankfully the residents were able to escape when the fire started in the attic. My son took a few photo on his cell phone which showed flames leaping from the roof and upper windows and talked to the neighbors who complained that it took way too long for firetrucks to show up? The photo above was taken later on Sunday evening.

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Posted By RichC on June 2, 2007

I’ve suffered from Ménière’s Disease for nearly a decade now, and after a shunt surgically implanted in my middle ear to reduce pressure (NASA astronaut Alan Shepard had this surgery before his moon landing), I have been free from the diziness and vertigo induced nausea. Unfortunately I suffered hearing loss in my right ear and constant tinnitus (ringing in the ears). My point is that I’m pretty well versed on the ear, carrying for them and what options are available ‘at least’ in alternative Ménière’s treatments. So … call me naive when my wife brought home the homeopathic ‘ear candles.’ Huh, what’s are they?

Layman’s thoughts –at least the HarmonyCone supplied beeswax versions: The ‘candles’ are a long fine mesh tubes wrapped with beeswax. The small ‘tip’ end it place gently in one’s ear with a paper place to protect the hair and face from any heat or ash droppings. After lighting the ‘tube’ — ear candle — the ‘flue’ design acts as a gentle chimney as it warms, dries and draws air up the tube (this is from my layman’s perspective). After the candle is nearly down to the semi-protective paper plate (5-10 minutes) the flame is extinguished and one can look inside the remaining candle by cutting it open which in the cases of our four candles revealed an ugly mix of ‘what looks like ear wax’ and a sandy caked powder. Some have suggested that wax and yeast is removed from the ear, but the FAQ on HarmonyCone doesn’t confirm that opinion. I’ll include a photo below and you can be the judge. All in all it was a pleasant experience for about $2.00, but I feel and ear pretty much the same as before. (click for larger photo below)
🙂

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Posted By RichC on June 1, 2007

In Google’s continuing growth, they are acquiring the photo sharing company call Panoramio. The acquisition makes perfect sense as it is a content rich way to enhance Google Earth and Google Maps. Panoramio members contribute photos which help highlight locations while using maps or the virtual globe and is an impressive way for Google to enhance their ever improving software. I’ve posted a couple items a few months ago and you can see them here.

Here’s a FAQ page explaining the acquisition.

Panoramio is going to be acquired by Google!

The deal is set to close in about two weeks. We’re excited and we hope you are too! The acquisition will be an overwhelmingly good thing for Panoramio uploaders and viewers alike. Uploaders will get to leverage Google’s reach, increasing the exposure of their photographs to photophiles around the world. Viewers will get to choose from a larger universe of photographs as Panoramio becomes more widely known.

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Posted By RichC on May 31, 2007

Recently their has been some news on the HD DVD encryption code and its release. Legal angles have ensued and the debate about ‘owning’ certain numbers has a few people joking around on the techie Internet forums [link]. Some have indicated that the AACS crack mentioned in the above link is now dead and a new number has secretly taken its place … who knows? (confusion might be the best security technique going?)
🙂

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Posted By RichC on May 30, 2007

Renewable fuels including E85 and Biodiesel are tough on rubber and polymer refueling hoses. Many pumps, including my current garage based transfer pump, have ‘weepy’ hoses which soften when exposed to the new alternative fuels. Goodyear has announced a new product they have dubs “Flexwing VersaFuel” which handles most common fuels.

Goodyear Introduces Versatile Transfer Hose

VICTORIA, British Columbia, May 21, 2007 – To help North America promote alternative fuels and reduce its dependence on foreign oil, Goodyear Engineered Products has introduced its most versatile transfer hose to handle many fuel types.

Goodyear Flexwing VersaFuel transfer hose meets the needs of expanding alternative fuel markets and conventional fuel markets.

Unveiled today at the annual NAHAD hose distributor convention, VersaFuel is used in tank truck and plant operations to transfer diesel, gasoline, oil, biodiesel and ethanol blends, as well as petroleum-based products with up to 60 percent aromatic content.

It gives Goodyear Authorized Distributors the flexibility to service existing and new fuel markets with one product, according to Keith Collett, marketing manager for Goodyear’s industrial hose business. “VersaFuel helps simplify product selection, lower distributor inventory costs, and meet the needs of emerging fuel markets,” he said.

This year alone, the ethanol market is expected to surpass six billion gallons of clean burning fuel, according to the American Coalition for Ethanol, and in 2006 U.S. biodiesel fuel production surpassed 200 million gallons, the second consecutive year of triple digit growth as reported by the National Biodiesel Board (NBB).

Alternative fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel blends are good for the environment and farm industry but may aggressively attack rubber hose compounds and possibly degrade a hose cover and inner tubing, said Collett.

VersaFuel’s outside cover resists degradation from fuel blends and is abrasion resistant. The inner tube material helps resist swelling, softening or cracking possibly caused by alternative fuels, which can extend hose life and ensure metal coupling retention.

Its helix wire reinforcement reduces the risk of collapse, permitting VersaFuel to also be used for full vacuum applications.

“In addition, the hose construction helps dissipate static build-up that can lead to a static discharge near volatile fuels,” said Collett.

He added that VersaFuel’s rugged construction is designed to withstand extreme cold and heat. It operates at temperatures ranging from -30 to 180 degrees Fahrenheit, permitting use during all seasons and eliminating any outdoor storage concerns.

The hose is stocked in 100-foot lengths and seven diameters from one to four inches.

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