My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on January 10, 2006

Every once in a while there is something really great on world wide web that makes me wonder why I haven’t found it before. Have I been living in a cave? Pandora.com is not just another internet radio site, iTunes ‘wannabe,’ or online music player. No … its an ‘intelligent’ (and continually learning) Pandora’s Music Box.’

Amber McCarthy in her podcast with Leo Laporte (of “Call for Help” fame) covered the “Music Genome Project” last week and interviewed the founder Tim Westergren. Nothing really special about the interview an business that started as an ecommerce store, but they have truly bloomed into a unique music website — IMHO the best on the internet.

The Music Genome group has assemble music experts to sort and idenify music and song by “everything from melody, harmony and rhythm, to instrumentation, orchestration, arrangement, lyrics, and of course the rich world of singing and vocal harmony. ” What this does for a listener is to sift through the 300,000+ of songs and artists in tweaking music that not only fits your taste but offers up new music that has a very high probablity of fitting your taste. Just enter a song or and artist and the stream of matching musics starts to flow. Wow … my own personal DJ that knows my likes and dislikes.

The project began in January 2000 and went live with a broadcasting site just out of beta since September 2005. The current model is free and supported by inoffensive advertising, but they also offer a non-advertising subscription model as well. For now … build up to 100 personal stations when you sign up for a free or paid account.

Try Pandora … you won’t regret it.

Category: Music | No Comments »
Tags: pandora

Posted By RichC on January 9, 2006

In attempts to stay in sync with my daughter’s astronomy study, I’ve been doing some reading and learning. I’m barely scratching the surface in understanding this field, but find it very interesting. Our Milky Way is a phenomial site whether looked at in photos, viewed from a home telescope, or explored with the the extrodinary images returned by the Hubble Space Telescope.

The above is just a tiny section of the galaxy in an area sometimes referred to as the ‘Bermuda Triangle’ that was taken as a 2 Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) in a project called GLIMPSE (Galactic Legacy Infrared Mid-Plane Survey Extraordinaire).

A team of astronomers at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md. believe they now closer to solving the intriging mystery know as the ‘warping of a galaxy’ with images such as these. At first they believed that Magellanic Clouds caused the warping but the mass was determined to be too small to be creating the large ‘bend.’ Although the mass is small, the Magellanic Clouds pass through the dark matter and create a cosmic wake powerful enough to make our galaxy bend and flap.

They have also idenified a massive star clusters in the galaxy that they believe may provide evidence that large clusterings of stars can ‘pull in’ the galaxy. In the above photo, a cluster of stars, each about 20 times more massive than sun, pull in on a galaxy. This cluster in particular is home to 14 red supergiants which are stars that are nearing the end of their lives. As they near the end, they begin to enlarge in size, ‘voraciously’ pulling in the galaxy before eventually exploding as a supernova.

Although this ‘warping of galaxies’ is not new, as scientists have known about the Milky Way’s warped nature for half a century, they have had difficulty confirming the cause.

The cluster of stars above lies 18,900 light-years away (a light year is about 6 trillion miles) in the direction of the constellation Scutum. It is the first in a survey of 130 potentially massive star clusters in the Milky Way that astronomers will study over the next five years using a variety of telescopes, including the Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes.

The Spitzer image was taken April 4, 2004; the 2MASS image (above) on July 4, 1999. (click here for a printable 8-1/2 x 11 view of the Massive Star Cluster) image below.

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Posted By RichC on January 8, 2006

EAA Chapter 284 will feature Les Garber at our February 12, 2006 meeting. He will share and discuss his latest book, “The Wright Brothers and The Birth of Aviation” and not doubt field a few questions. Although I haven’t read the book yet, this 13 Chapter book published by Crowood Press, is said to be written from the engineering perspective dealing with the questions that Orville and Wibur Wright faced when dealing with the fundamentals of flight. Les Garber is a retired professor and hold a PhD in engineering and a private pilot himself. He is assisting Nick Engler with his Wright projects, carves propellers and has made replacement props for Mark Dusenberry’s Wright Model III (1905 Flyer).

This chapter meeting is one not to be missed and I would like to extend the invitation to others from the area who might be interested in aviation, the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) or just hearing comments from Les Garber. Meetings are held at Red Stewart Field just south of Wayneville, Ohio at 2 PM. Check the EAA284.org site for details.

Category: Aviation | 4 Comments »
Tags: eaa284, flying, red stewart

Posted By RichC on January 6, 2006

I haven’t written much on the markets, but will note that the Dow closed at a 4-1/2 year high, just under the 11,000 mark at 10,959.31 today. It was the fourth up day in a row and marks a positive tone for the new year. I suspect that investors and trader alike are sensing an end to the Feds interest raising cycle as news indicates stability in the economy.

The Labor Department said early on Friday that U.S. employers added 108,000 new jobs in December, and that the unemployment rate fell to 4.9 percent from 5 percent in November. These figures were lower than most analyse expected and viewed as a sign the labor market was not overheating.

U.S. stocks extended their new year rally on Friday, pushing major indexes to their highest closes in 4 1/2 years, as news of lower-than-expected job growth fueled optimism about an end to interest-rate hikes soon.

For the week, the Dow rose 2.25 percent, S&P gained 2.97 percent and Nasdaq rose 4.55 percent. Most stocks across markets benefitted from the optimism as advancing stocks surpassed declining stocks 2 to 1 on the Nasdaq and 3 to 1 on the NYSE. Interestingly the Nasdaq also broke above its May 2001 mark at 2,300.

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Posted By RichC on January 5, 2006

I’m still writing the year 2005 on checks and will probably continue to put 37 cent stamps on my mail for weeks to come. I thought posting a reminder to myself, and to anyone reading this, about the upcoming postage change would be a good idea. Here’s a link to a PDF updated postage file for those who want to post it in your office.

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Posted By RichC on January 4, 2006

My contact at Chrysler indicates that they will be announcing a significant drop in new auto sales for the month of December … somewhere close to 5%. To some this is going to be a surprise, to others it just puts them in line with GM and Ford difficulty in moving new vehicles as promotions can only encourage buyers for so long. My guess is that those who wanted a new car bought during the last go-around.

What’s next in stimulating new car sales when you don’t really have vehicles that compete with the best sellers from Toyota and Honda?

EDIT: The actual number are in and ‘yes’ Chrysler-Mercedes was down for the month of December, but still up 4.2% on the year. Unfortunately the same wasn’t true for Ford (down 5% on the year) and GM (down 4.3% on the year).

Category: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
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Posted By RichC on January 3, 2006

For those of us that enjoy automobiles, January is a big month of the year as auto shows debut with the gigantic North American International Auto Show in Michigan. The automotive journalist will get the first look, followed by the industry folks and finally the doors open to the public on January 14th – 22nd. Approximately 7000 journalist from around the world will cover the event in a few short days followed by an estimated 800 thousand people.

Originally the Detroit Auto Show, the exhibit has been held every year since 1907 with the exception of WWII and several years following; it was only renamed the North American International Auto Show in 1989. The show has been held in the 700,000 square foot area of Cobo Center since 1965 and has grown to include an international audience.

This is a big show and the economic impact to southeastern Michigan is even bigger … second to hosting an Olympics as far as an infusion of dollars. It is bigger than the Superbowl, the World Series, the Kentucky Derby or the Oscars! It even has more economic impact than other well known automotive events like the Daytona or Indianapolis 500. The only other Michigan event that came close was the Ryders Cup which only generates about 1/5 of the revenue. The combined the economic impact of the auto show, along with hosting this year’s Superbowl, will bring approximately 1 billion dollars to southeastern Michigan. (now if I could only aid the ailing American automotive companies … that would really help!)

If you are reasonably close and enjoy cars, consider a trip to the NAIAS this year. Further information in regard to tickets, dates and pricing can be found at the NAIAS website.

Did you know: There is enough carpet used in the displays to cover 750 football fields? Wow!

Category: Automotive, Misc | No Comments »
Tags: autoshow

Posted By RichC on December 31, 2005

I know some might think that I must be struggling through a mid-life crisis for even looking at cars like these, but “a man’s gotta do, what a man’s gotta do.” (go ahead and have a pitty party for me) Dave Lewis, at the Cincinnati BMW Store, ask me to give him a hand putting together a intro video today for an upcoming “Zero to 120” video segment of the Carbuyersnotebook. I looked at it as a just another chance to drive an exceptional piece of engineering … the BMW 650i Coupe.

There is something about the stance of this luxury performance coupe that belongs on the Cincinnati streets … perhaps it is its Bengal stance? (Who dey?) Nevertheless new styling is going to take some time for BMW lovers to appreciate. I can’t say that the 650i’s looks have taken me by storm, but driving it is another story. WOW!

First, it is a luxury car. The power mega-way leather seats adjust quickly to a perfect drivers position for me and I immediately felt comfortable behind the wheel. Controls are not overdone and look very appealing. The “iDrive” system put almost every control at ones fingertips in the wide console between the front seats. It is as easy for the passenger to control the electronics as it is the driver. Dave demonstrated some of the more detailed settings like adjusting the airflow from each vent to calling the BMW emergency help center that interfaces with the cars exceptional GPS unit. (we tried it)

I cornered my way ‘quickly’ through some neighborhood streets, I had forgotten just how much I enjoyed a ‘coupe’ with the longer door and excellent vision to the side as well as rear. The first shock was the lack of a tight turning radius. I haven’t looked up the numbers, but it did surprise me when backing out of a parking place or doing a “legal u-turn” as the GPS lady politely requests. Another item to get use to is the multi stalks on the turn signal side of the steering column. I suppose it just takes a little getting use too?

What doesn’t take getting use to is the powerful 4.8 liter Double-VANOS steplessly variable valve timed V-8; it is a engine that belongs in this Bengal tiger! It accellerates quickly and kept the 18 inch alloy wheels and 245/45R-18 all-season run-flat tires stuck to the pavement … with a little assist from the Dynamic Traction Control. I wasn’t watching the speedo, but the seat of the pant feel confirms the 6-speed SMG transmission rocketed this luxury car to 60 in its stated 5.3 seconds, I think. What stood out most was just how quiet the car was even while accelerating hard as the cabin is best defined as ‘hushed.’ I was shocked several times when I glanced at the tach to see rpm’s up around 5 and 6000 … you couldn’t tell from inside the car. I could continue to rave about all the features that ease the driver’s load, but just check out the list instead.

The car’s exterior is sleek, but nothing extrodinary or obnoxious. The subtle BMW trunk latch insignia and 650i, on the rear and dual chromed exhaust is about all anyone is going to see if I’m behind the wheel …. zoom … it is hard to drive this smooth vehicle slow. The BMW 650i Coupe is truly a well engineered luxury perfomance automobile … although at a $70plus sticker it is what one might expect.

Category: Automotive, BMW | 2 Comments »
Tags: 650i coupe, BMW, test drive

Posted By RichC on December 30, 2005

Take a look at this interesting new webpage building tool. It is ideal for people on the go wanting to put together a ‘dynamic’ homepage or ‘communications’ page … or pages … with only a browser. Protopage unleashes AJAX better than about any other web based tool. I sense we’ll be seeing many more ‘web-software’ tools similar to Protopage.

I’ve been semi-paying attention to what creative web software programs are creating using AJAX which has been explained as as a “web development technique” that assists in interactive internet applications. Companies like 37signals and Protopage are pushing server based programming as are other AJAXy programmers.

Protopage is currently a free service and easy to use. It doesn’t require registration unless you desire a personal ‘url.’ Information ‘sticky notes’ can be dragged around the screen and currently come in four ‘note’ options: 1)RSS reader, 2)sticky note, 3) link panel and 4)a search box. According to one of the founders their will continue to offer the product free and are working on improvements like adding photos. (no built in option to do that at the moment … although I was able to tweak a ‘sticky-note’ with some html code and a photo. See www.protopage.com/richc.us) The background, the stickies, title bars, and text are customizable as far as color, bold, italic, size and links. (similar to blog tools) As your content grows, you can add additional pages, make certain pages private or public and invite friends using a built in ‘marketing’ (I suspect) feature.

From building a personal homepage with personal links and info, to sharing a password with a group and building a ‘space’ together, I’m sure people will fine a multitude of uses for the Protopage concept. After tinkering with it for about and hour I was able to easily create a few pages and run through most of the selectable options. It is easy to modify content on the fly … even from cell phone connected laptops. (works great and seems fast) One major missing option for most of us is the lack of photo and graphics support. A photo uploading and display option and an appointment calendar would complete the current ‘to-do’ list feature. Add an import/export database and contact manager and this would make a great commercial CRM product as well! Protopage is a great environment in which to assemble news, links, and notes although a few more features are needed before it is ready for primetime. Its worth a look!

Category: Misc | No Comments »
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Posted By RichC on December 29, 2005

My wonderful daughter gave me a detailed biography for Christmas that I’ve just started. It is quite long so may take me some time to read and review, although I will eventually post my thoughts in the book catagory of my blog. The preface was a very interesting section from a son, and there is quite a bit of detail about this famous American that I (nor very many others) have known. So far, it is a very facinating biography. I’m purposely not mentioning the person’s real name, instead choosing to stimulate a little intellectual game with readers.

“First” clue: the person in the biography once used an alias: “Max Peck.” Any guesses? (I’ll post a second clue in a few days if this is not enough)

EDIT: Since this “Max Peck” post is still generating traffic a decade after I posted it, I’ll add a link of interest and the photo of Neil Armstrong for posterity.

Category: Books, Space | 8 Comments »
Tags: astronaut, Books, max peck, neil armstrong