The TV newsies have been making a big deal of the big hack of the federal Office of Personnel Management, where the personnel records, security clearances, performance reports, salaries, contact information, social security numbers, everything, of 4 million civil service workers were stolen.
Wanna bet the records were stolen off Windows systems? Thank you Bill Gates for your continuing contributions to American security.
Friday, June 5, 2015
Adjusting data to fit the narrative.
NOAA and NASA have been doing this for years. They have "adjusted" the data to eliminate the last 19 year plateau in measured global temperature. The Daily Caller and Anthony Watt of the Watts up With That website describe this year's attempt to create global warming where there has been none.
NASA has been at this for a long long time. They have a data base of every temperature measurement made, going back to the invention of the thermometer. I downloaded the data a few years ago and plotted it. The number of reporting stations from beginning of the records in the early 1700's starts out small, only dozen of stations reporting. The number of reporting stations swells over the years, reaching a peak of better than 100,000 stations by the early 1980s. Then in a great purge, the number of reporting stations was trimmed back from 100,000 to 30,000 in 1983 and 1984. I wonder which stations got purged? The ones reporting colder than average temperature, or the ones reporting warmer than average temperatures? Who knows?
NASA has been at this for a long long time. They have a data base of every temperature measurement made, going back to the invention of the thermometer. I downloaded the data a few years ago and plotted it. The number of reporting stations from beginning of the records in the early 1700's starts out small, only dozen of stations reporting. The number of reporting stations swells over the years, reaching a peak of better than 100,000 stations by the early 1980s. Then in a great purge, the number of reporting stations was trimmed back from 100,000 to 30,000 in 1983 and 1984. I wonder which stations got purged? The ones reporting colder than average temperature, or the ones reporting warmer than average temperatures? Who knows?
Thursday, June 4, 2015
More Followon in Aviation Week
My Aviation Week came in today. It has a full page article on the A400M crash in Spain. Aviation Week is supporting it's earlier story, the computer engine control system screwed up, and shut down three or perhaps all four engines during or shortly after takeoff. That will do it every time. You need engine power on takeoff, you are close to the ground, and any loss of altitude means a crash. Once you get up to cruising altitude, tens of thousands of feet, you have minutes before the plane hits the ground, minutes in which to get the engines back on line.
Airbus is really worried. If the software problem is bad enough, the fix might require re-certification of the software, a lengthy (months long) process that would cost like crazy. Airbus wanted to build, deliver, and get paid for, 23 new aircraft this year. At say $100 million each, that's some real money for Airbus. If they are all tied up re-certifying the engine control software, they won't get paid.
Airbus is really worried. If the software problem is bad enough, the fix might require re-certification of the software, a lengthy (months long) process that would cost like crazy. Airbus wanted to build, deliver, and get paid for, 23 new aircraft this year. At say $100 million each, that's some real money for Airbus. If they are all tied up re-certifying the engine control software, they won't get paid.
Shepherd Smith was trashing XP yesterday
Fox News commentator Shepherd Smith said that use of the old Windows XP operating system by the IRS led to the recent break in and identity theft on millions of taxpayers.
I don't agree. Windows XP is test tested, and Microsoft has been patching it for some12-15 years. That's enough patches to plug many holes. The newer Windows are fatter, slower, and flakier than well proven XP.
The real problem at IRS is the use of Windows in any form. Windows is like Swiss cheese, full of holes that let hostiles in, and it's so big that no one understands it. The IRS ought to be running some form of Unix (Linux is a good one) which is infinitely more secure than any flavor of Windows.
I don't agree. Windows XP is test tested, and Microsoft has been patching it for some12-15 years. That's enough patches to plug many holes. The newer Windows are fatter, slower, and flakier than well proven XP.
The real problem at IRS is the use of Windows in any form. Windows is like Swiss cheese, full of holes that let hostiles in, and it's so big that no one understands it. The IRS ought to be running some form of Unix (Linux is a good one) which is infinitely more secure than any flavor of Windows.
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Followon: Airbus A400M crash blamed on engine control software
According to Ars Technica, an airbus executive said that the engine control software was "misconfigured" during engine installation at the factory, and was responsible for the crash. We think this means that some program changes that were supposed to be made at installation (for instance "remember this engine serial number" or "set engine hours to zero") were not made, or were not made properly. The executive claimed that this was not a bug in the code.
Oh really. Code that crashes an airplane ain't right. Good code will keep the plane flying even if it is "misconfigured". Aviation Week's report of a couple of weeks ago suggested that the engine control software shut off fuel to all four engines. That should never happen, no matter what.
I wonder if the Ariane 5 software hackers were allowed to work on the A400M. The Ariane 5 crash, some years ago, destroying the rocket and its expensive satellite payload happened when the engine control software suffered an arithmetic overflow and the program simply halted. In the after crash investigation, it was revealed that the software spec required the program to halt after overflow. The excuse was made at the time that this helped troubleshooting. The programmers in the Ariane case did what they were told to do, with disastrous results.
Oh really. Code that crashes an airplane ain't right. Good code will keep the plane flying even if it is "misconfigured". Aviation Week's report of a couple of weeks ago suggested that the engine control software shut off fuel to all four engines. That should never happen, no matter what.
I wonder if the Ariane 5 software hackers were allowed to work on the A400M. The Ariane 5 crash, some years ago, destroying the rocket and its expensive satellite payload happened when the engine control software suffered an arithmetic overflow and the program simply halted. In the after crash investigation, it was revealed that the software spec required the program to halt after overflow. The excuse was made at the time that this helped troubleshooting. The programmers in the Ariane case did what they were told to do, with disastrous results.
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Diehards, aka "the base"
There are three kinds of voters in the US. Diehard democrats, Diehard Republicans, and independents. The diehards, often referred to as "the base", will vote for their party no matter what. No amount of campaigning, TV advertising, door-to-door campaigning, parades, rallies, whatever, is gonna change their minds or their votes. Only the independents can be wooed by a good candidate, or repelled by a bad one.
So, candidates that want to get elected, appeal to the independents. The base will vote for them no matter what they do.
Occasionally I hear TV newsies explain a candidates actions as intended to "secure the base". This is malarkey, the base is secure, it's the independents that a candidate needs to secure.
Right now, about 40% of the voters are diehard democrats, and 35% are diehard Republicans. The other 25% are the independents, who control the election utterly.
I have never seen a breakdown of the independents, by age, sex, education level, employment, marital status, or those other things that categorize voters. So it's hard for me to figure out just what any of the herd of Republican hopefuls can do to attract independent votes. If you don't know what your target looks like, it's hard to find it.
There is general agreement on some things. Everyone wants a stronger, growing economy, with more jobs and better wages. Nobody likes ISIS. Everyone is in favor of a college education.
There is no agreement on other things. What to do about immigration and illegal immigrants. How much economic activity can we allow the greenies to stifle with regulations? Are we willing to commit American troops to straighten out the middle east? How tough can we get with the Russians over Ukraine? Can we rationalize the US tax system? Citizens should not have to hire H&R Block to file their federal income tax. Can we straighten out the patent and copyright law which suppresses innovation and enriches patent trolls?
Where do independents stand on any of these issues? Does anyone have a clue?
So, candidates that want to get elected, appeal to the independents. The base will vote for them no matter what they do.
Occasionally I hear TV newsies explain a candidates actions as intended to "secure the base". This is malarkey, the base is secure, it's the independents that a candidate needs to secure.
Right now, about 40% of the voters are diehard democrats, and 35% are diehard Republicans. The other 25% are the independents, who control the election utterly.
I have never seen a breakdown of the independents, by age, sex, education level, employment, marital status, or those other things that categorize voters. So it's hard for me to figure out just what any of the herd of Republican hopefuls can do to attract independent votes. If you don't know what your target looks like, it's hard to find it.
There is general agreement on some things. Everyone wants a stronger, growing economy, with more jobs and better wages. Nobody likes ISIS. Everyone is in favor of a college education.
There is no agreement on other things. What to do about immigration and illegal immigrants. How much economic activity can we allow the greenies to stifle with regulations? Are we willing to commit American troops to straighten out the middle east? How tough can we get with the Russians over Ukraine? Can we rationalize the US tax system? Citizens should not have to hire H&R Block to file their federal income tax. Can we straighten out the patent and copyright law which suppresses innovation and enriches patent trolls?
Where do independents stand on any of these issues? Does anyone have a clue?
Monday, June 1, 2015
NSA snooping, shall it go on?
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause supported by Oath or affirmation , and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
Notes:
1. Papers and effects in the modern age includes phone calls.
2. Oath or affirmation language supported the Quakers who refused to take oaths.
3. Particularly describing, means no blanket warrants for vast groups of people.
Right now NSA is recording every cell phone call made in the US, and over a good deal of the world. They are recording the billing information ("metadata"), number called, date, and call duration. At least that's the NSA's story. Nobody has accused them of recording the contents of phone calls, yet. NSA does this routinely without a warrant.
I think we ought to go back to the old system, where the government must obtain a warrant from a real court in order to tap a phone, demand billing records from the phone company or credit card companies. The "FISA" court is not a real court, they approve every application made to them and they don't do real legal work. They are a rubber stamp. The government should get a warrant from a regular federal court, not the "FISA" rubber stamp.
As of this minute, this might happen. The original Patriot Act passed right after 9/11 expires today. The Senate failed to pass an extension yesterday. It may well come to pass, the the Patriot Act will just quietly expire. So far no one has claimed that NSA phone snoopers have actually captured any terrorists.
Notes:
1. Papers and effects in the modern age includes phone calls.
2. Oath or affirmation language supported the Quakers who refused to take oaths.
3. Particularly describing, means no blanket warrants for vast groups of people.
Right now NSA is recording every cell phone call made in the US, and over a good deal of the world. They are recording the billing information ("metadata"), number called, date, and call duration. At least that's the NSA's story. Nobody has accused them of recording the contents of phone calls, yet. NSA does this routinely without a warrant.
I think we ought to go back to the old system, where the government must obtain a warrant from a real court in order to tap a phone, demand billing records from the phone company or credit card companies. The "FISA" court is not a real court, they approve every application made to them and they don't do real legal work. They are a rubber stamp. The government should get a warrant from a regular federal court, not the "FISA" rubber stamp.
As of this minute, this might happen. The original Patriot Act passed right after 9/11 expires today. The Senate failed to pass an extension yesterday. It may well come to pass, the the Patriot Act will just quietly expire. So far no one has claimed that NSA phone snoopers have actually captured any terrorists.
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Picking College Courses
Well, first you want to steer clear of courses in underwater basket weaving and the like, courses that don't teach anything useful or even interesting. Figure each semester course soaks up $1250 of your college tuition. You want to spend that kind of money on stuff you can use or stuff of general utility. You can learn a lot about the course by checking the course textbook. College bookstores have all the textbooks for all the courses in stock. You can flip thru them and get a fair idea of what the course is about.
No textbook? That's a down check on that course. A number of know it all professors don't assign a text book, they expect students to sort of inhale the course contents out of the air. Which is hard. In two college educations, I never learned to take useful notes. With a textbook to study, and review before the test, I did all right. Without a textbook, forget it, instant flunk out.
No textbook? That's a down check on that course. A number of know it all professors don't assign a text book, they expect students to sort of inhale the course contents out of the air. Which is hard. In two college educations, I never learned to take useful notes. With a textbook to study, and review before the test, I did all right. Without a textbook, forget it, instant flunk out.
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Active Duty.
The Army is denying burial at Arlington to a soldier killed in a helicopter crash. Army claims the soldier "was not on active duty" at the time. Which is shameful. A man dies in an Army aircraft crash, that's active duty as far as I am concerned.
We ought to find the Army bureaucrat who issued this disgusting ruling, and get him fired (if snivel service) or dishonorably discharged, if military.
We ought to find the Army bureaucrat who issued this disgusting ruling, and get him fired (if snivel service) or dishonorably discharged, if military.
Navigable Waters of the United States
The original Clean Water Act gave jurisdiction to the EPA over all the navigable waters. This was intended to limit EPA enforcement to sizable bodies of water, not every puddle in the land. Water is very common, and you can find small amounts of water, puddles and such pretty much everywhere. If we allow the EPA jurisdiction over every puddle in the US, we have given them control of most of the land across the country. Maybe Death Valley is dry enough to avoid EPA control, but few other places are.
The EPA just issued 100 or more pages of new regulation which claims jurisdiction over pretty much everywhere.
Congress ought stop this land grab. A simple law, which declares that EPA jurisdiction is limited to waters deep enough to float a boat, all year round. Such a law could be written on one side of an ordinary 8.5 * 10 inch sheet of typing paper.
The EPA just issued 100 or more pages of new regulation which claims jurisdiction over pretty much everywhere.
Congress ought stop this land grab. A simple law, which declares that EPA jurisdiction is limited to waters deep enough to float a boat, all year round. Such a law could be written on one side of an ordinary 8.5 * 10 inch sheet of typing paper.
Friday, May 29, 2015
So what did Hastart do? Really?
The public accusations are of withdrawing his money from his bank account in cash. And lying to the FBI. That's pretty thin stuff. Sounds like the prosecution is out to get him. Like any person with two brain cells firing, he made his withdrawals for less than $10,000 to avoid getting hassled for money laundering. They claim this is illegal. Yeah, right.
And "lying to the FBI" means the FBI disagrees with something he said, and so they call him a liar, and some freedom loving Congresscritters way back when managed to slip thru a statute making that a felony. Land of the free this is.
And "lying to the FBI" means the FBI disagrees with something he said, and so they call him a liar, and some freedom loving Congresscritters way back when managed to slip thru a statute making that a felony. Land of the free this is.
Thursday, May 28, 2015
We Republicans have an embarrasment of riches.
We have presidential candidates that will not quit. Just finished listening to George Pataki, former New York governor announce he is running on Fox News. Live no less.
Question: Of the dozen of more Republicans out there, which one can win the general election? Polls still show Hillary is strong, stronger than any Republican, although only by a few points. With the exception of the isolationist Rand Paul, and Pennsylvania oddball Rick Santorum, I could vote for any of the others. This morning's TV poll has five of 'em polling 10%, and the rest of them trailing off from there.
I think the winner might be the one who sets out a platform with some substance in it. So far all I see is smiling faces saying "elect me". The "Contract with America" worked for Newt Gingrich 20 years ago, it's a good schtick, someone ought to try it again.
Question: Of the dozen of more Republicans out there, which one can win the general election? Polls still show Hillary is strong, stronger than any Republican, although only by a few points. With the exception of the isolationist Rand Paul, and Pennsylvania oddball Rick Santorum, I could vote for any of the others. This morning's TV poll has five of 'em polling 10%, and the rest of them trailing off from there.
I think the winner might be the one who sets out a platform with some substance in it. So far all I see is smiling faces saying "elect me". The "Contract with America" worked for Newt Gingrich 20 years ago, it's a good schtick, someone ought to try it again.
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Morphine from Sugar?
The Economist reports that a University of California team has come up with a yeast that can do just that. No more importing of exotic flowers from the other side of the world. Now you can brew up morphine, and other opiates in your basement, just like brewing beer. Like making meth. Could make heroin much cheaper and more plentiful, just what we need.
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Summer is here, at last
It's warm enough for gin and tonic. Tall glass, fill with ice, good slug of gin, fill glass with tonic water. Slice a lime, squeeze one slice into the glass. My father once told me he planned to come down with malaria, because quinine, the key ingredient in tonic, was a specific against malaria. He figured to recover quietly drinking gin and tonic to keep the malaria at bay. Now that it is up into the 80's round here, I can relate.
Anyhow gin and tonic makes a fine warm weather drink, at least as good as my favorite whiskey and soda.
Anyhow gin and tonic makes a fine warm weather drink, at least as good as my favorite whiskey and soda.
Monday, May 25, 2015
The Invaders by Pat Shipman
New, interesting book on paleo anthropology. Addresses the Neanderthal man problem. Neanderthal man lived in Europe from who knows how far back up until 40,000 to 25,000 years ago. Then modern man, Homo Sapiens, appeared in Europe and Neanderthal man disappeared, sometime between 40,000 and 25,000 years ago, depending upon whose radiocarbon dates you accept. So what happened to Neanderthal man? Did our ancestors kill off the Neanderthals? Did they interbreed with them and absorb them, the way Americans interbred with the Indians? Did a disease wipe them out? Or climate change? or what?
Pat Shipman starts out by going thru the radio carbon dating problem. Cosmic radiation and solar radiation convert a small fraction of the carbon in the world into the radio active isotope carbon 14. Living organisms take in carbon from the environment while they live, and cease to do so when they die. The carbon 14 decays over time and a measurement of the lingering radioactivity gives a measure of age. Works back to about 40,000 years ago, at which point the radioactivity gets too weak to detect at all. Due to one thing or another, modern radiocarbon dating gives a great deal more age to ancient samples than radio carbon dating did even 10 years ago. A number of Neanderthal sites were redated recently, and pushed back from 25,000 years to 40,000 years ago. People used to think that Neanderthals and modern man co-existed in Europe from maybe 40,000 years ago until 25,000 years ago. If you buy the re done radio carbon dates it now looks like Neanderthals disappeared just a few hundred years after modern man appeared on the European scene. Which leads to the thought that modern man was responsible for the end of the Neanderthals.
The fossil record does not show direct conflict, say Neanderthal bones with butchering marks in modern man sites. Things like a Neanderthal hunting party getting wiped out in a conflict over an big kill out in the field probably would not show in the fossil record.
Shipman says that modern man had projectile weapons (bows and arrows) and Neanderthals did not. To an old technological determinist like me, that could be decisive. With a bow, the hunter only has to get within 50 yards of a deer to beg it. Without, he has to close in hand to hand and rassle it down. Deer are alert and wary and getting that close without spooking them takes a level of woodcraft that I don't have. Clearly a bow hunter will have far greater success than a hunter with just a flint knife. Shipman's argument would be stronger if he presented real evidence for the absence of Neanderthal bows. A count and comparison of flint arrow head finds from Neanderthal sites versus modern man sites would greatly strengthen Shipman's argument.
Likewise, Shipman asserts that modern man had bone needles, with eyes, and Neanderthal did not. Again, a sewn fur outfit will keep the hunter warmer than just a fur thrown over the shoulders. Again, Shipman's argument would be stronger with some counts of needle finds in Neanderthal sites versus modern man sites.
All in all, interesting and thought provoking read.
Pat Shipman starts out by going thru the radio carbon dating problem. Cosmic radiation and solar radiation convert a small fraction of the carbon in the world into the radio active isotope carbon 14. Living organisms take in carbon from the environment while they live, and cease to do so when they die. The carbon 14 decays over time and a measurement of the lingering radioactivity gives a measure of age. Works back to about 40,000 years ago, at which point the radioactivity gets too weak to detect at all. Due to one thing or another, modern radiocarbon dating gives a great deal more age to ancient samples than radio carbon dating did even 10 years ago. A number of Neanderthal sites were redated recently, and pushed back from 25,000 years to 40,000 years ago. People used to think that Neanderthals and modern man co-existed in Europe from maybe 40,000 years ago until 25,000 years ago. If you buy the re done radio carbon dates it now looks like Neanderthals disappeared just a few hundred years after modern man appeared on the European scene. Which leads to the thought that modern man was responsible for the end of the Neanderthals.
The fossil record does not show direct conflict, say Neanderthal bones with butchering marks in modern man sites. Things like a Neanderthal hunting party getting wiped out in a conflict over an big kill out in the field probably would not show in the fossil record.
Shipman says that modern man had projectile weapons (bows and arrows) and Neanderthals did not. To an old technological determinist like me, that could be decisive. With a bow, the hunter only has to get within 50 yards of a deer to beg it. Without, he has to close in hand to hand and rassle it down. Deer are alert and wary and getting that close without spooking them takes a level of woodcraft that I don't have. Clearly a bow hunter will have far greater success than a hunter with just a flint knife. Shipman's argument would be stronger if he presented real evidence for the absence of Neanderthal bows. A count and comparison of flint arrow head finds from Neanderthal sites versus modern man sites would greatly strengthen Shipman's argument.
Likewise, Shipman asserts that modern man had bone needles, with eyes, and Neanderthal did not. Again, a sewn fur outfit will keep the hunter warmer than just a fur thrown over the shoulders. Again, Shipman's argument would be stronger with some counts of needle finds in Neanderthal sites versus modern man sites.
All in all, interesting and thought provoking read.
Sunday, May 24, 2015
Cooking for one, Grilled Salmon
The secret of cooking for one is to find recipes that make up small and don't leave you with two weeks worth of leftover. Salmon, or any other kind of fish, EXCEPT frozen or previously frozen, is very tasty and all the diet guru's approve. Nobody calls it junk food. Fish comes in small packages, down to half a pound. It's pricey, but good. Fresh is best, plan to cook it the day you buy it.
Since Ice Age 2.0 is still in effect around here and the temperature on my deck was 45F, I cooked this one in the oven. Marinade it in lemon juice, fresh lemon is best but the plastic ones are OK. Then rub it down with a bit of olive oil. Preheat the oven to 350F and lay a sheet of aluminum foil over the oven's grille to ease cleanup. Cook time depends upon the thickness, but is never very long. Last night was a cross cut salmon steak 1 and 1/2 inch thick and I gave it 9-10 minutes a side. Thinner fillets cook faster. I turned on the broiler toward the end of each side's cook time to give it a bit of brown for appearance sake. The broiler is too hot to leave on for the full cook time. Plan on turning it just once, as cooking softens fish and it is likely to break up into pieces if handled too much.
If summer ever comes, charcoal grilling on the deck is recommended. Weber rules.
Since Ice Age 2.0 is still in effect around here and the temperature on my deck was 45F, I cooked this one in the oven. Marinade it in lemon juice, fresh lemon is best but the plastic ones are OK. Then rub it down with a bit of olive oil. Preheat the oven to 350F and lay a sheet of aluminum foil over the oven's grille to ease cleanup. Cook time depends upon the thickness, but is never very long. Last night was a cross cut salmon steak 1 and 1/2 inch thick and I gave it 9-10 minutes a side. Thinner fillets cook faster. I turned on the broiler toward the end of each side's cook time to give it a bit of brown for appearance sake. The broiler is too hot to leave on for the full cook time. Plan on turning it just once, as cooking softens fish and it is likely to break up into pieces if handled too much.
If summer ever comes, charcoal grilling on the deck is recommended. Weber rules.
Friday, May 22, 2015
The Computer Science major
Computer Science as a major has good employment odds. Plenty of entry level jobs are open to grads with no experience, but hold a computer science degree. There is plenty of room for career growth. You can work for big companies or little startups. There can be travel involved, there are always customers having trouble with the product, and someone has to go out to the customer's site and get things working. With some experience you can set up as a consultant and make a good deal
of money. Consultants have to buy their own health insurance, but the
rates they command make that easy.
To be employable, you need to learn to program in the C language, and it's follow on, C++. You also need Java, and Python. Check the college course catalog and make sure they offer all four languages. If they don't, think about another college. Plan to take two semesters of each programming language.
Back in the day, Computer Science used to offer courses in compiler design. Don't bother, all the compilers ever needed have been coded by now. Assembler language is also obsolete, the current compilers create code nearly as fast as the tightest assembler code, and the compiler language is faster to write, easier to debug, and easier to maintain. But, assembler is fun, I did a lot of projects in assembler over the years and enjoyed them. But I would not allow a project to use assembler today, I'd insist that it be done in C.
You don't need all that much math to program. Beyond algebra, a course in statistics is useful, integral calculus is useful, a lotta computer programs just do numerical integration. But you don't have to be a math wizz to be successful in programming.
Courses in the "domain" are good. Computer science treats the computer and the languages, it doesn't do much about the problems that computers are used to solve (the domain). I'd get in a course in economics, and a course in physics.
Computer Science will offer courses in software project management, but one is probably enough. They have been pontificating about project management for 50 years, and we still have projects come in late, over budget and inoperative. Look at the Obamacare exchanges.
To be employable, you need to learn to program in the C language, and it's follow on, C++. You also need Java, and Python. Check the college course catalog and make sure they offer all four languages. If they don't, think about another college. Plan to take two semesters of each programming language.
Back in the day, Computer Science used to offer courses in compiler design. Don't bother, all the compilers ever needed have been coded by now. Assembler language is also obsolete, the current compilers create code nearly as fast as the tightest assembler code, and the compiler language is faster to write, easier to debug, and easier to maintain. But, assembler is fun, I did a lot of projects in assembler over the years and enjoyed them. But I would not allow a project to use assembler today, I'd insist that it be done in C.
You don't need all that much math to program. Beyond algebra, a course in statistics is useful, integral calculus is useful, a lotta computer programs just do numerical integration. But you don't have to be a math wizz to be successful in programming.
Courses in the "domain" are good. Computer science treats the computer and the languages, it doesn't do much about the problems that computers are used to solve (the domain). I'd get in a course in economics, and a course in physics.
Computer Science will offer courses in software project management, but one is probably enough. They have been pontificating about project management for 50 years, and we still have projects come in late, over budget and inoperative. Look at the Obamacare exchanges.
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Smokescreen? Release Bin Laden documents after Ramadi?
TV newsies are buzzing about the release of about 100 documents off the laptops seized when we got Bin Laden years ago.
Is Obama doing this to distract public opinion from the loss of Ramadi to ISIS last weekend?
Is Obama doing this to distract public opinion from the loss of Ramadi to ISIS last weekend?
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Britain Begins by Barry Cunliffe.
I picked this up in DC last week at "Politics and Prose", a nice independent bookstore out on Connecticut Avenue. Picks up the story in the ice ages and carries it up to the Norman Conquest. Does all the archeology and all the historical sources starting with Pytheas "On the Ocean", going on thru Julius Caesar, Tacitus, Gildas and Bede. Lots of good color illustrations of archeological finds, hand axes, gold hoards, weapons, torcs. Good maps. It is heavy on archeology, light on political history. It's up to date, the last book I read on this era was Alcock's "Arthur's Britain" published in the 1970's. It does not change Alcock's story much. Apparently the archeology is settled, with little new finds after 1970.
Naturally, we readers want to hear about Stonehenge, and King Arthur. Stonehenge is dated, described and illustrated but little more is said. The elaborate astronomical speculation in "Stonehenge Decoded" is not mentioned. King Arthur is mentioned, and dated but little more is said. The problem with King Arthur is a nearly totally lack of contemporary written sources. Most of the Arthur legend that we know and love was created 600 years after Arthur's lifetime by Geoffrey of Monmouth. Many of the better Arthurian tales are romantic stories written by late medieval authors whose names and dates we know, for example Christian de Troyes. The only near contemporary writer is Gildas, who simply never mentions the name of Arthur. Bede, writing a couple of hundred years later never mentions Arthur. All we have for contemporary writing is a couple of lines from an Easter table from Gwynedd. What we have is a medieval copy of the original. Arguments against the authenticity of this document are easy to make. Too bad, I love the Arthurian tales as much as anyone, and it is a little disappointing to find so little historical evidence for Arthur's very existence.
I enjoyed "Britain Begins", but I would have enjoyed it a bit more if it had covered the political side of the story more.
Naturally, we readers want to hear about Stonehenge, and King Arthur. Stonehenge is dated, described and illustrated but little more is said. The elaborate astronomical speculation in "Stonehenge Decoded" is not mentioned. King Arthur is mentioned, and dated but little more is said. The problem with King Arthur is a nearly totally lack of contemporary written sources. Most of the Arthur legend that we know and love was created 600 years after Arthur's lifetime by Geoffrey of Monmouth. Many of the better Arthurian tales are romantic stories written by late medieval authors whose names and dates we know, for example Christian de Troyes. The only near contemporary writer is Gildas, who simply never mentions the name of Arthur. Bede, writing a couple of hundred years later never mentions Arthur. All we have for contemporary writing is a couple of lines from an Easter table from Gwynedd. What we have is a medieval copy of the original. Arguments against the authenticity of this document are easy to make. Too bad, I love the Arthurian tales as much as anyone, and it is a little disappointing to find so little historical evidence for Arthur's very existence.
I enjoyed "Britain Begins", but I would have enjoyed it a bit more if it had covered the political side of the story more.
$150 million for pure papework?
According to Aviation Week, NASA is considering paying $150 million to "man rate" an interim upper stage on the "Senate Launch System" heavy lift booster. "Man Rating" is a pure paperwork exercise, checking and recording where every bit, piece, nut, and bolt came from, and what testing it passed. Paperwork costs a lot, weighs a lot, and does not contribute to the mission.
But NASA is in love with it.
But NASA is in love with it.
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Words of the Weasel Part 40
Heard on a TV pill commercial. "Issues with intimacy". Ordinary folk say "Can't get it up."
Ballista
Pre gun powder artillery used by the Greeks and the Romans. Looked like a giant crossbow mounted on a stand. Could throw bolts or softball sized rocks. Only, it differed from the crossbow in that it didn't use a self bow (single stiff piece of wood or metal bent to shoot an arrow). The classical ballista had a skein of stretchy cord or fiber or human hair, into which a wooden arm was pressed. Pulling back the arm wound up the skein and when let go, the arm was snapped forcefully back into position, launching the projectile. Ballista had a pair of skeins and a pair of arms.
The secret of making those skeins, getting the windings stretchy enough, was lost in classical times. Later medievals used the trebuchet, a weight powered stone thrower, since no one could make a ballista any more. Modern attempts to recreate the classical ballista have never been able to make skeins stretchy enough.
Well, on TV, the History channel, they had a working ballista the other day. Looked pretty good, shot pretty well. They used an old cow skull as a target and had no trouble hitting it dead center with a bolt nearly as big as a modern javelin. Slick. They used a cop's speed radar gun to clock the projectile at 70 mph.
The History channel didn't say anything about the skeins they used. Did they rediscover the ancient secret to making them? Or did they cheat and use modern rubber bungee cord, something unobtainable in classic times?
Any how it made some fun TV.
The secret of making those skeins, getting the windings stretchy enough, was lost in classical times. Later medievals used the trebuchet, a weight powered stone thrower, since no one could make a ballista any more. Modern attempts to recreate the classical ballista have never been able to make skeins stretchy enough.
Well, on TV, the History channel, they had a working ballista the other day. Looked pretty good, shot pretty well. They used an old cow skull as a target and had no trouble hitting it dead center with a bolt nearly as big as a modern javelin. Slick. They used a cop's speed radar gun to clock the projectile at 70 mph.
The History channel didn't say anything about the skeins they used. Did they rediscover the ancient secret to making them? Or did they cheat and use modern rubber bungee cord, something unobtainable in classic times?
Any how it made some fun TV.
Monday, May 18, 2015
Hypothetical Questions
The TV newsies are having great fun asking Republicans "Knowing what we know now, would you have attacked Iraq?". The newsies love this one. No matter which way the candidate answers this one, it makes him look bad. We haven't had as good a question since "have you stopped beating your wife" made the rounds.
No Republican wants to say Bush was wrong going into Iraq. Everyone knows it was the threat of an Iraqi nuclear program that convinced Bush and the Congress to declare war on Iraq. Back in the day, our noble intelligence services produced evidence of a Saddam Hussein bomb program strong enough to convince even Colin Powell, an experienced and respected man who most of us trusted. After the invasion, no evidence of an Iraqi nuclear program was discovered, and to the credit of the Bush administration, no attempt to fabricate evidence was attempted. Today, knowing that Saddam didn't have nukes, and wasn't anywhere close to having nukes, nobody would have invaded Iraq. Everyone knows that, and there is little to be gained in asking the question, other than embarrassing Republicans, something which the average TV newsie loves to do.
Better questions to ask all candidates.
1. What will you do about ISIS?
2. What will you do to prevent Iran from getting nukes?
3. What will you do to get US economic growth back up to 3%?
4. What job killing regulations will you repeal?
No Republican wants to say Bush was wrong going into Iraq. Everyone knows it was the threat of an Iraqi nuclear program that convinced Bush and the Congress to declare war on Iraq. Back in the day, our noble intelligence services produced evidence of a Saddam Hussein bomb program strong enough to convince even Colin Powell, an experienced and respected man who most of us trusted. After the invasion, no evidence of an Iraqi nuclear program was discovered, and to the credit of the Bush administration, no attempt to fabricate evidence was attempted. Today, knowing that Saddam didn't have nukes, and wasn't anywhere close to having nukes, nobody would have invaded Iraq. Everyone knows that, and there is little to be gained in asking the question, other than embarrassing Republicans, something which the average TV newsie loves to do.
Better questions to ask all candidates.
1. What will you do about ISIS?
2. What will you do to prevent Iran from getting nukes?
3. What will you do to get US economic growth back up to 3%?
4. What job killing regulations will you repeal?
Fox News is being kind to the Pentagon
A crash in Hawaii of a V22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft was described as a helicopter crash. It killed one marine, and injured about 20 more. The Osprey program, while producing a revolutionary aircraft, has had a good share of crashes, and the Pentagon must be more than happy to call this latest one a helicopter crash. And, to soften things a bit more, the incident was described as a "hard landing", even as the video showed a column of black smoke, laced with flames, reaching into the sky. Right, a very hard landing.
The tilt-rotor Osprey combines the vertical takeoff and landing of a helicopter with the forward speed of a turboprop transport like a C-130. It's been in development for 20 years or more, and now in service. It costs a bundle. An argument could be made (has been made) that ordinary helicopters like the Jolly Green are cheaper, more dependable, their range could be extended by the use of air-to-air refueling, to give the same airlift for less money. The Marines like the Osprey and backed it all the way thru the various hurdles set up by the Pentagon to kill the program. Without the steadfast support of the Marine Corps, Osprey would never have made it to production.
I'm sure the Marine Corps is giving thanks to Fox New's support today.
The tilt-rotor Osprey combines the vertical takeoff and landing of a helicopter with the forward speed of a turboprop transport like a C-130. It's been in development for 20 years or more, and now in service. It costs a bundle. An argument could be made (has been made) that ordinary helicopters like the Jolly Green are cheaper, more dependable, their range could be extended by the use of air-to-air refueling, to give the same airlift for less money. The Marines like the Osprey and backed it all the way thru the various hurdles set up by the Pentagon to kill the program. Without the steadfast support of the Marine Corps, Osprey would never have made it to production.
I'm sure the Marine Corps is giving thanks to Fox New's support today.
Rumble in Waco Texas
Sounds like the boys really went to town, 9 dead, coupla hundred arrests. NHPR this morning had some reporter speculating about a "motive". Right. You don't need a motive for a gang rumble.
You get a bunch of gang members together, be they motorcycle gangs or just plain gangs, and some gang member will take offense at something, and pretty quick the fight is on. No motive involved, just a bunch of touchy gang members bumping into each other. Sounds like that NHPR reporter went to a nice tame suburban school and never had to lay low in the lunch room when the gang kids turned up.
You get a bunch of gang members together, be they motorcycle gangs or just plain gangs, and some gang member will take offense at something, and pretty quick the fight is on. No motive involved, just a bunch of touchy gang members bumping into each other. Sounds like that NHPR reporter went to a nice tame suburban school and never had to lay low in the lunch room when the gang kids turned up.
Friday, May 15, 2015
Airbus A400M crashes in Spain
A production Airbus A400M turboprop military transport crashed during flight testing in Spain. This is gonna hurt Airbus, the A400M project is late, over budget, and customers have threatened to bail out of the program and buy C-130's from the US.
What's more embarrasing, preliminary inspection shows that the computer engine control system screwed up and shut off fuel to the engines for no good reason.
Aviation Week has a write up here.
What's more embarrasing, preliminary inspection shows that the computer engine control system screwed up and shut off fuel to the engines for no good reason.
Aviation Week has a write up here.
Amtrak Crash.
It's been on the news ever since it happened Wednesday night. My deepest sympathies for the dead and injured.
Looks like the engineer is the cause of the crash. He departs DC on time, and 11 minutes after pulling out of the station, the train is up to 106 mph going into a 50 mph curve. He applied the brakes just as the train entered the curve and left the track. Either the engineer fell asleep (in 11 minutes?), or suffered some kind of seizure, but after opening the throttle to get the train moving, he never backed it off to a cruise position.
News have never mentioned the size of the train crew. Looks like it was just one man in the locomotive. Airliners always have two qualified pilots in the cockpit. Railroads had a two man crew for a long time.
Lot of talk about a magic automatic braking system that would have prevented the crash. I'd never heard of that one before, and I am a train fan, read the magazines, build model trains. I'm thinking a two man engine crew would have prevented the crash as well.
Looks like the engineer is the cause of the crash. He departs DC on time, and 11 minutes after pulling out of the station, the train is up to 106 mph going into a 50 mph curve. He applied the brakes just as the train entered the curve and left the track. Either the engineer fell asleep (in 11 minutes?), or suffered some kind of seizure, but after opening the throttle to get the train moving, he never backed it off to a cruise position.
News have never mentioned the size of the train crew. Looks like it was just one man in the locomotive. Airliners always have two qualified pilots in the cockpit. Railroads had a two man crew for a long time.
Lot of talk about a magic automatic braking system that would have prevented the crash. I'd never heard of that one before, and I am a train fan, read the magazines, build model trains. I'm thinking a two man engine crew would have prevented the crash as well.
Coming Home
So, after visiting daughter and son-in-law in DC for a couple a days, it came time to drive home to NH. I took the standard route, right up I95, over the Delaware Memorial Bridge, up the Jersey Turnpike, over the Geo Washington bridge, CrossBronx expressway, I91 from New Haven CT to Wells River VT. 650 miles, 10 hours. I didn't stop much. Had a nice view of the new Freedom Tower on the way into New York. That looked good. Eastbound on the GW Bridge was moving right along, much better than some past years. West bound was a mess, solid trailer trucks, bumper to bumper, not moving much, all the way back to the Whitestone bridge. It was noon, I would have expected east and west traffic to be about the same.
I toyed with the idea of breaking the trip, taking a motel and doing some sightseeing. But as I got closer to home, pressing on, and getting home seemed more attractive.
I'm about to make a resolution to not answer the cell phone in flight. Three times some robo caller hit me. I cannot read the dinky little display in sunlight and with my driving glasses. I ain't gonna switch to my reading glasses at 75 mph. Clever human factors design located the on-off button right in the way, it's hard to fish the phone out of my shirt pocket without hitting on-off, which confuses the easily confused phone software.
And the virus/flu/common cold is still alive and well. I picked up a case somehow. Resolution #2, don't leave the ceiling fan running when going to sleep. A shot of Nyquil and nasal spray fixed things up well enough get to sleep.
So that is May's adventure in traveling.
I toyed with the idea of breaking the trip, taking a motel and doing some sightseeing. But as I got closer to home, pressing on, and getting home seemed more attractive.
I'm about to make a resolution to not answer the cell phone in flight. Three times some robo caller hit me. I cannot read the dinky little display in sunlight and with my driving glasses. I ain't gonna switch to my reading glasses at 75 mph. Clever human factors design located the on-off button right in the way, it's hard to fish the phone out of my shirt pocket without hitting on-off, which confuses the easily confused phone software.
And the virus/flu/common cold is still alive and well. I picked up a case somehow. Resolution #2, don't leave the ceiling fan running when going to sleep. A shot of Nyquil and nasal spray fixed things up well enough get to sleep.
So that is May's adventure in traveling.
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Food Desert
DC could be one. I set out on an errand this morning, some 9 miles thru DC traffic. Did not see a single supermarket. Plenty of CVS's, gas stations, and the like. but no food stores. When I get back I had to two miles down H st before I found a Giant built into the bottom of an apartment building. At leastt they had parking.
Monday, May 11, 2015
Trivia
Did you know that there is NO gasoline on US 1 southbound from US 202 to the Maryland border. Well there was one new station, tucked neatly behind a screen of trees, I didn't see it until I whipped past their driveway at 65 mph. Got stuck behind a truck painting a new white line on the 2 lane section of US 202. No way to pass. Spent half an hour at walking pace. Then there were four clowns in Norristown holding up traffic waving those "Stop" and "Slow" signs even though the road was perfectly passable both ways.
And, Baltimore has matched New York City in the worst highway signage department. Coming down I95, it says "95 Express Easypass. No access to 695" Not a word about Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, the Baltimore Washington parkway, or any other destination someone might want to get to. And driving alone and reading a road map doesn't work. And there is nowhere to pull over.
And, Baltimore has matched New York City in the worst highway signage department. Coming down I95, it says "95 Express Easypass. No access to 695" Not a word about Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, the Baltimore Washington parkway, or any other destination someone might want to get to. And driving alone and reading a road map doesn't work. And there is nowhere to pull over.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Tripping
So, my 55TH High School reunion is this weekend down in West Chester PA just outside of Philadelphia. So I am driving down, mostly to avoid taking my shoes off for TSA perverts. It's about 11 hours from Franconia. So I stopped in Danbury Connecticut to visit the Danbury railroad Museum. I found the place, despite Google Maps street names not matching Danbury street signs. They have a Boston and Maine steamer, a mogul, B&M Class B15, very famous in B&M circles. I have two models of said locomotive. I took a lot of photos. They have a "lightening stripe" E-8 diesel, a PRR mail car, a NH Buddliner, a fantastic double header NYC wreaker, some cabeese, lotta cool stuff for rail fans like me.
I found a low end motel in Danbury to spend the night. America's Best Value Inn, right off exit 5 on I84. It is unpretentious, the air conditioner works, the ice is cold and clean,the wifi works. $85 a night.
Tomorrow I press on to West Chester. Ought to arrive mid afternoon.
I found a low end motel in Danbury to spend the night. America's Best Value Inn, right off exit 5 on I84. It is unpretentious, the air conditioner works, the ice is cold and clean,the wifi works. $85 a night.
Tomorrow I press on to West Chester. Ought to arrive mid afternoon.
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Don't help ISIS propaganda
ISIS just claimed responsibility Garland Texas terror strike. If believed, ISIS will gain stature among it's friends and fellow travelers. That sort of people will be impressed that ISIS was able to strike the Great Satan on its own soil, even if a Texas cop snuffed both attackers with only a handgun.
We should not offer an opinion as to the truth or falsity of the ISIS claim. Let ISIS persuade the world wide audience that it really happened that way. Give ISIS the burden of convincing skeptics that they are telling the truth. DO NOT issue a US government stamp of approval to ISIS propaganda. We should just keep it zipped. And the TV newsies would do their country a favor if they would just stop talking about the ISIS claim of responsibility.
I would rather learn the name of that Texas cop, and what he used for a handgun. Did he pack a big .45 Colt sixshooter? Or merely a skinny little 9mm Glock?
We should not offer an opinion as to the truth or falsity of the ISIS claim. Let ISIS persuade the world wide audience that it really happened that way. Give ISIS the burden of convincing skeptics that they are telling the truth. DO NOT issue a US government stamp of approval to ISIS propaganda. We should just keep it zipped. And the TV newsies would do their country a favor if they would just stop talking about the ISIS claim of responsibility.
I would rather learn the name of that Texas cop, and what he used for a handgun. Did he pack a big .45 Colt sixshooter? Or merely a skinny little 9mm Glock?
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Trac fone photography
The camera in the phone works OK, the trick is getting the photo off the phone and onto your computer. It can be done. The USB cable begins to work AFTER you go thru some totally weird finger fiddling on the phone. Then the computer will recognize the phone on the USB and display it like it was a flashdrive. Then go back to the phone, do some more finger fiddling, and your pictures will appear on the simulated flash drive. This comes off an Amazon website/help site that popped up in Google. The LG 305C manual says absolutely nothing about any of this. Clearly the Trac phone software people were retarded, none of this finger fiddling puts any new information into the phone, it's just a magic finger dance that you have to learn and memorize. If the software geeks had done their job right, just plugging USB into the phone would be all you need to do. Both my still camera's manage to work that way.
Monday, May 4, 2015
Oh you can see the body rot a coming thru the fenders
Yesterday got warm enough to wash the car. It hit 70, first time the year. Poor car has gone all winter without a wash. Not that it matters much, it's painted a mud dirt color (not my choice) and looks about the same clean or dirty.
And, as I sponged the winter filth off it, I find a smallish rust patch has eaten thru the left front fender, and more is coming up on the right. It's 12 years old, with over 100K on the clock, and it looks like it might rust out before anything serious goes wrong. We will see. Previous set of wheels ran to 140K before the rust made the rear axle fall off.
And, when she finally goes, looks like I'm reduced to some dinky little econobox. Present set of wheels is a full sized Mercury Grand Marquis, they don't make those anymore. Or anything like it. All they make today are econoboxes, minivans and SUVs.
And, as I sponged the winter filth off it, I find a smallish rust patch has eaten thru the left front fender, and more is coming up on the right. It's 12 years old, with over 100K on the clock, and it looks like it might rust out before anything serious goes wrong. We will see. Previous set of wheels ran to 140K before the rust made the rear axle fall off.
And, when she finally goes, looks like I'm reduced to some dinky little econobox. Present set of wheels is a full sized Mercury Grand Marquis, they don't make those anymore. Or anything like it. All they make today are econoboxes, minivans and SUVs.
Sunday, May 3, 2015
Tesla Battery Powered home. Payback time.
Tesla has announced a big battery, big enough to run your house overnight, for $3000. Right now, my electric bill is $100 a month, so it would take 30 months, call it three years, to pay off the battery. And that's just the battery. To live off-grid, I need solar panels or a windmill to charge the battery, and some fairly heavy duty electronics to regulate the charging and convert DC into AC. Let's guess another $3000 before I am off grid all the way and have reduced my electric bill to zero. It will take 60 months, five years, before I recover my costs, and then I am ahead $100 a month. I could invest $6000 in the stock market, and with 6% per year, that oughta be worth $8029 after five years.
You know, that battery is almost making economic sense.
I could cut my electricity use a lot by putting in a propane or natural gas tank, and buying new gas appliances, stove, water heater, refrigerator. Maybe $2000 for all that. Plus who knows how much for propane. Wouldn't help my electric bill much since half the bill is a fixed connection charge, but it might reduce the size and hence the cost of the battery I need to get thru a winter night. The battery HAS to keep the oil burner running so my pipes (and I) don't freeze before dawn. Dark lasts 14-15 hours in winter around here. The oil burner uses maybe 5 kilowatt hours over the night. The battery is advertised to be good for 7 kilowatt hours. That leaves 2 kilowatt hours for lights, TV, web surfing, and the like.
You know, that battery is almost making economic sense.
I could cut my electricity use a lot by putting in a propane or natural gas tank, and buying new gas appliances, stove, water heater, refrigerator. Maybe $2000 for all that. Plus who knows how much for propane. Wouldn't help my electric bill much since half the bill is a fixed connection charge, but it might reduce the size and hence the cost of the battery I need to get thru a winter night. The battery HAS to keep the oil burner running so my pipes (and I) don't freeze before dawn. Dark lasts 14-15 hours in winter around here. The oil burner uses maybe 5 kilowatt hours over the night. The battery is advertised to be good for 7 kilowatt hours. That leaves 2 kilowatt hours for lights, TV, web surfing, and the like.
The Sunday Pundits go to Baltimore
I watch 'em all, Beat the Press, Face the Nation, the McLaughlin shouting hour, and Josh McElween on WMUR. They all did a lot of talking about Baltimore. They interviewed politicians. The democratic ones called for an urban agenda, more money, reform of the police, improved schools. All in vague terms, no specifics. None of them talked about getting corporate investment into the cities to provide jobs. The one Republican, John Boehner, merely said that Baltimore has been run by democrats for the last 50 years, which makes it a democratic problem. Beat the Press dredged up 50 year old video of Pat Monahan predicting awful things to come.
I gotta admit that I don't know Baltimore well, so I'm pontificating from a distance. But I still think that reasonable jobs in real industry, would solve a lot of Baltimore's problems. If they really cared down there, they would pass a right to work law. Corporations won't invest in states that lack a right to work law. If Maryland became right to work, it would be the ONLY right to work state for a couple of hundred miles in every direction. Surely some company needing a strategically located facility would brave the crime problem and buy up some cheap empty lots in Baltimore and build something.
I gotta admit that I don't know Baltimore well, so I'm pontificating from a distance. But I still think that reasonable jobs in real industry, would solve a lot of Baltimore's problems. If they really cared down there, they would pass a right to work law. Corporations won't invest in states that lack a right to work law. If Maryland became right to work, it would be the ONLY right to work state for a couple of hundred miles in every direction. Surely some company needing a strategically located facility would brave the crime problem and buy up some cheap empty lots in Baltimore and build something.
Saturday, May 2, 2015
The Supremes
The word "marriage" does not appear anywhere in the US Constitution. But the Supremes are thinking about changing US marriage law to include same sex marriage. The Constitution doesn't give the Supremes the right to mess with marriage. They are going to do it just because they can.
Groovy. Real Democracy that. Allow nine out of touch lawyers to make new law for the entire country. Judges love it. Gay marriage advocates love it, easier than doing the political campaigning to get the issue thru the legislature.
New law in a democracy ought to come from the elected legislature, not the courts. Last time the Supremes made law on a social issue, was Roe vs Wade nearly 40 years ago. The voters are still sore about that one. Had abortion law been properly passed by the legislature[s], there would be a lot less resistance, a lot less hostility, and a lot less name calling, and far greater social cohesion.
I am making an argument about process, not substance. Process is important for the social and political cohesion of the country. If a thing is done fair and square, in accordance with the rules, people tend to go along with it. If a thing is done in a sneaky and underhanded fashion, people fight it. Look at Obamacare.. And, there is no need for the Supremes to dictate new law in this case. A fair number of states have already passed gay marriage laws, and the polls show enough votes out there to pass it nearly everywhere.
Groovy. Real Democracy that. Allow nine out of touch lawyers to make new law for the entire country. Judges love it. Gay marriage advocates love it, easier than doing the political campaigning to get the issue thru the legislature.
New law in a democracy ought to come from the elected legislature, not the courts. Last time the Supremes made law on a social issue, was Roe vs Wade nearly 40 years ago. The voters are still sore about that one. Had abortion law been properly passed by the legislature[s], there would be a lot less resistance, a lot less hostility, and a lot less name calling, and far greater social cohesion.
I am making an argument about process, not substance. Process is important for the social and political cohesion of the country. If a thing is done fair and square, in accordance with the rules, people tend to go along with it. If a thing is done in a sneaky and underhanded fashion, people fight it. Look at Obamacare.. And, there is no need for the Supremes to dictate new law in this case. A fair number of states have already passed gay marriage laws, and the polls show enough votes out there to pass it nearly everywhere.
Friday, May 1, 2015
House of Cards Season 1
I just got to this via a Netflix disc. I don't have HBO, or whatever pay-per-view channel first offered this. It's a modern Washington melodrama. Every one is well dressed, well coiffed, well educated, well heeled, and treacherous. It opens with the new administration stiffing senior congress man Frank What's-his-last-name. Frank goes on to stick it to the administration with a damaging leak to the Washington Post, oops Herald. Most everyone comes across as nasty. Frank, the view point character, seems to be OK but you can see a broad streak of meanness just waiting to jump out and zap someone.
What's worse, we see stuff on TV news every night, just as raw.
What's worse, we see stuff on TV news every night, just as raw.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Marketing for Dummies
Marketing is the art of getting customers to buy your product, rather than your competitors product. Marketers often put on airs and consider themselves above mere salesmen in company hierarchies. Which is sorta dumb, you need a lot of face-to-face time with real customers before you know enough to market anything.
One little known secret to marketing is naming the product. The product needs a name to distinguish it from the competitor's product, to allow customers to inquire about your product, place an order for your product, recognize your product in advertising, or even to leave a favorable comment on a website about your product.
For example Detroit used to give names to their cars, Roadmaster, El Dorado, Impala, Fury, and De Ville. Now they make do with DTS, CTS, 6000LE. None is memorable, or easy to remember.
Also, a product wants one single name. Selling the same product under two different names is counterproductive. For instance Chrysler sold the very same mini van under the Plymouth, Dodge and Chrysler names. Everybody knew it was the same minivan, Chrysler didn't even bother to change the grille. But it dilutes the advertising, and lowers the name recognition. If I run three ads for ONE product name, customers are more likely to remember that name than if I run three ads for three different names.
Likewise, once you have a decent product name, with some recognition out in the market, DON'T change the name. Datsun had established itself as a decent car over the span of 15 years, and a reasonably successful racing program. Then corporate decided to change the name to Nissan, which nobody remembers to this day. Suits at Ford decided to use "500" for the name of their bread-and-butter passenger car, instead of the long established and well liked name "Torino". It required intervention by Allan Mulally, new Ford CEO brought in from Boeing, to put the Torino name back on the car.
One little known secret to marketing is naming the product. The product needs a name to distinguish it from the competitor's product, to allow customers to inquire about your product, place an order for your product, recognize your product in advertising, or even to leave a favorable comment on a website about your product.
For example Detroit used to give names to their cars, Roadmaster, El Dorado, Impala, Fury, and De Ville. Now they make do with DTS, CTS, 6000LE. None is memorable, or easy to remember.
Also, a product wants one single name. Selling the same product under two different names is counterproductive. For instance Chrysler sold the very same mini van under the Plymouth, Dodge and Chrysler names. Everybody knew it was the same minivan, Chrysler didn't even bother to change the grille. But it dilutes the advertising, and lowers the name recognition. If I run three ads for ONE product name, customers are more likely to remember that name than if I run three ads for three different names.
Likewise, once you have a decent product name, with some recognition out in the market, DON'T change the name. Datsun had established itself as a decent car over the span of 15 years, and a reasonably successful racing program. Then corporate decided to change the name to Nissan, which nobody remembers to this day. Suits at Ford decided to use "500" for the name of their bread-and-butter passenger car, instead of the long established and well liked name "Torino". It required intervention by Allan Mulally, new Ford CEO brought in from Boeing, to put the Torino name back on the car.
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Baltimore. Lotta angry people there
Granted, Freddie Gray's death while in police custody was the trigger event, but I think there must be a lot of anger stoked up over many years to cause Monday's riot.
Judging from TV, Baltimore has plenty of blacks in important positions with the city, starting with the mayor. Ain't like Ferguson where all the city officials were white.
Then there was that video clip of a mom dragging her teen age boy out of the riot and chastising him. If there had been more citizens like that, moms, fathers, neighbors, shop keepers, that riot would not have happened. Either the rioters scared off the decent citizens, or the decent citizens were angry too, and didn't really mind a bit of rioting and the MSM coverage a riot brings.
I think a nice big Baltimore auto assembly plant, with plenty of unskilled job openings would go a long way toward preventing riots. Being out of work, with no prospects of ever getting a job, makes people angry. Having a job makes people stay out of trouble lest they loose that job.
I wonder what kind of job the Baltimore public schools are doing.
Judging from TV, Baltimore has plenty of blacks in important positions with the city, starting with the mayor. Ain't like Ferguson where all the city officials were white.
Then there was that video clip of a mom dragging her teen age boy out of the riot and chastising him. If there had been more citizens like that, moms, fathers, neighbors, shop keepers, that riot would not have happened. Either the rioters scared off the decent citizens, or the decent citizens were angry too, and didn't really mind a bit of rioting and the MSM coverage a riot brings.
I think a nice big Baltimore auto assembly plant, with plenty of unskilled job openings would go a long way toward preventing riots. Being out of work, with no prospects of ever getting a job, makes people angry. Having a job makes people stay out of trouble lest they loose that job.
I wonder what kind of job the Baltimore public schools are doing.
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
TPP Trans Pacific Pact?
Obama is negotiating some kinda deal with all the countries of East Asia EXCEPT China. We think the deal might have some tariff reduction in it. It would be nice to know how much, on what (everything? just left handed smoke shifters? Agricultural goods? who knows?) We hear talk that it will include global warming stuff, pay and benefits to workers, safety standards, all sorts of lefty greeny union stuff. Obama is on TV saying it will be good for us.
Maybe it will, maybe it won't, but since we don't have a clue as to what is in it or might be in it, who knows?
After a lotta wheeling and dealing with the other countries, they might reach a deal. At that point, it's a treaty IF the Senate votes it thru. What the Senate wants to do is amend the deal, changing it unilaterally, and then adopt it. Trouble is, the other counties will back off, because the deal changes will doubtless be bad for them. To prevent Senatorial meddling that breaks the deal, the notion of "fast track authority" was created. Congress passes a special law that forbids amendments and requires a straight up and down vote on the treaty, no funny business. As a rule, without "fast track" a treaty isn't going anywhere.
The US is the biggest market in the world, the biggest economy in the world, and very competitive. Usually trade deals help us by increasing our exports. Other countries do trade deals with us 'cause they want access to the enormous US market. We do trade deals with them 'cause we want to sell our exports there.
On the other hand, Obama is the worst negotiator in the world. Look at how the ayatollahs have jerked him around. He might be able to screw up a trade deal to the point that it looses money for America.
Maybe it will, maybe it won't, but since we don't have a clue as to what is in it or might be in it, who knows?
After a lotta wheeling and dealing with the other countries, they might reach a deal. At that point, it's a treaty IF the Senate votes it thru. What the Senate wants to do is amend the deal, changing it unilaterally, and then adopt it. Trouble is, the other counties will back off, because the deal changes will doubtless be bad for them. To prevent Senatorial meddling that breaks the deal, the notion of "fast track authority" was created. Congress passes a special law that forbids amendments and requires a straight up and down vote on the treaty, no funny business. As a rule, without "fast track" a treaty isn't going anywhere.
The US is the biggest market in the world, the biggest economy in the world, and very competitive. Usually trade deals help us by increasing our exports. Other countries do trade deals with us 'cause they want access to the enormous US market. We do trade deals with them 'cause we want to sell our exports there.
On the other hand, Obama is the worst negotiator in the world. Look at how the ayatollahs have jerked him around. He might be able to screw up a trade deal to the point that it looses money for America.
The Churchill Factor by Boris Johnson
A new book, which explores the impact upon history of Winston Churchill. Nicely written, by a Brit, who isn't afraid to use Britishisms (prang, hop it) in his writing. Without Churchill the Brits probably would have caved to Hitler in 1940. The British establishment, the aristocracy, the press, the professoriat, the business men, Parliament, the general staff, everyone who counted in England, was convinced that the Germans had overwhelming strength. They had gobbled up Norway, kicked the Allied intervention force out of Narvik, crushed France completely, occupied all the low countries, and driven the BEF into the sea at Dunkirk. Germany had twice the population of England, and a bigger industrial base. And England was still licking the wounds of the first world war. Nobody in England wanted to go thru that again, ever.
Hitler offered a deal that summer, broadcast it over German radio. It ran roughly like this. "I will let you Brits keep your Fleet and your Empire, in return you let me keep control of the continent." Had Britain accepted, the war in the west would have ended right there. The Americans were still paralyzed by isolationism, when (and if) Pearl Harbor happened, they would have gone off into the Pacific and ignored Europe. Hitler would have doubtless attacked the Russians, and without the Brits harrying his rear, the Germans might have crushed Stalin's regime that first summer. As it was, they nearly did it. Guderian's panzers got close enough to Moscow to capture a few stations on the trolley line to Moscow. Just a little bit more, and Moscow would have fallen to the Wehrmacht.
Johnson describes the key meeting between Churchill, newly elected as Prime Minister, and his war cabinet, the top five guys in the British government. Churchill was for fighting on. Everyone else was against the idea. Finally Churchill adjourned the meeting until 7 PM, and called a larger meeting of the entire cabinet, some 25-30 people. Churchill made the case for continued resistance to the larger group. Somehow, his words caught fire with his audience, the full cabinet applauded. When the five man war cabinet reconvened at 7 that evening, they proceeded to plan for war. And the Brit rank-and-file was made of tougher stuff than their establishment, they backed Churchill all the way.
I think Boris Johnson's analysis is just about right. If the Brits had caved to Hitler in 1940, the Nazi's would probably still be there, running all of Europe.
Hitler offered a deal that summer, broadcast it over German radio. It ran roughly like this. "I will let you Brits keep your Fleet and your Empire, in return you let me keep control of the continent." Had Britain accepted, the war in the west would have ended right there. The Americans were still paralyzed by isolationism, when (and if) Pearl Harbor happened, they would have gone off into the Pacific and ignored Europe. Hitler would have doubtless attacked the Russians, and without the Brits harrying his rear, the Germans might have crushed Stalin's regime that first summer. As it was, they nearly did it. Guderian's panzers got close enough to Moscow to capture a few stations on the trolley line to Moscow. Just a little bit more, and Moscow would have fallen to the Wehrmacht.
Johnson describes the key meeting between Churchill, newly elected as Prime Minister, and his war cabinet, the top five guys in the British government. Churchill was for fighting on. Everyone else was against the idea. Finally Churchill adjourned the meeting until 7 PM, and called a larger meeting of the entire cabinet, some 25-30 people. Churchill made the case for continued resistance to the larger group. Somehow, his words caught fire with his audience, the full cabinet applauded. When the five man war cabinet reconvened at 7 that evening, they proceeded to plan for war. And the Brit rank-and-file was made of tougher stuff than their establishment, they backed Churchill all the way.
I think Boris Johnson's analysis is just about right. If the Brits had caved to Hitler in 1940, the Nazi's would probably still be there, running all of Europe.
Monday, April 27, 2015
Hard Winter
How do I know? Simple, I have dug down so far in the old newspaper basket that I am starting the fire with old newspapers from two years ago. And my wood pile is pretty much gone.
Europe is further down the drain
Than the US is. This week's Economist showed a couple of telling charts. Chart 1 shows the European tax load for each employee. The Euro average is 30%. Each employee hired, hikes the employer's taxes by 30% of the new hire's wages. In short, new employees cost 30% more in taxes that what the company has to pay them. Pricey.
In the US the tax load is only 20%.
And we have a graph of "protection against layoffs", on an arbitrary scale. Europe has an average of 2.5, with Portugal leading the pack at 3. The US is only 0.25. The Brits are doing better than the European average at 1.0. Granted it's nice for workers to be protected against layoffs. But it slows the overall economy if companies know they cannot layoff workers when business gets bad. To avoid being stuck with well paid workers with full benefits, companies simply do not hire. Which accounts for Europe's horrible unemployment rate. Supporting data for the notion of American exceptionalism. America's economy is far better than the EU economy because of less tax load on employment and more labor mobility, companies are willing to hire and grow because they know they won't be stuck with unneeded workers in a business slowdown.
The Europeans have much cushier social welfare, but the cost is massive unemployment. Which would you rather have, a job, or cushy government benefits and unemployment for 10% of the workforce?
In the US the tax load is only 20%.
And we have a graph of "protection against layoffs", on an arbitrary scale. Europe has an average of 2.5, with Portugal leading the pack at 3. The US is only 0.25. The Brits are doing better than the European average at 1.0. Granted it's nice for workers to be protected against layoffs. But it slows the overall economy if companies know they cannot layoff workers when business gets bad. To avoid being stuck with well paid workers with full benefits, companies simply do not hire. Which accounts for Europe's horrible unemployment rate. Supporting data for the notion of American exceptionalism. America's economy is far better than the EU economy because of less tax load on employment and more labor mobility, companies are willing to hire and grow because they know they won't be stuck with unneeded workers in a business slowdown.
The Europeans have much cushier social welfare, but the cost is massive unemployment. Which would you rather have, a job, or cushy government benefits and unemployment for 10% of the workforce?
Sunday, April 26, 2015
The surveillance state reaches out
So I bought an HO model railcar. Inside the box was a slip of paper offering to sell me a $4 decal sheet of different road numbers. $4, last of the big time spenders.
In the upper right hand corner was this: "Due to banking restrictions, we are no longer able to accept checks or money orders drawn on non-US banks (includes postal money orders)."
Wow! $4 checks or money orders might aide terrorism. Or stamp out money laundering. $4, big money that. Or US banks want to stick it to overseas competitors? with Uncle Sam's help?
Clearly some Treasury Dept snivel servant has too much free time if he can think up Mickey Mouse like this.
In the upper right hand corner was this: "Due to banking restrictions, we are no longer able to accept checks or money orders drawn on non-US banks (includes postal money orders)."
Wow! $4 checks or money orders might aide terrorism. Or stamp out money laundering. $4, big money that. Or US banks want to stick it to overseas competitors? with Uncle Sam's help?
Clearly some Treasury Dept snivel servant has too much free time if he can think up Mickey Mouse like this.
Clothes shopping for Guys
Depressing mostly. I'm going to my 55th high school reunion shortly and I thought at my age I ought not to show up in khakis out at the knee. Littleton really only has Walmarts for guys clothes. I both a few there and then for variety, I drove over to North Conway to shop the world famous outlet stores.
Weather was poor. Overcast, cold, snowing thru Crawford Notch. Great Depression 2.0 has been hard on North Conway, it shows. Numerous strip malls and outlet stores closed and empty. North Conway is a pure tourist town, anchored by the ski area on Mt. Cranmore (home of the eccentric ski mobile lift) and a main street (Rt 16) wall to wall outlet stores. Granted it is mud season, inbetween ski season and summer season, but still, the number of dead storefronts was discouraging.
Then it's hard to find stores that carry stuff in my size. The racks are all full of shirts too small to fit my sons, let alone me. The slacks are all 34 waist by 36 inseam, I haven't worn a 34 waist since high school, which was 55 years ago. The shirts are mostly knit tee shirts with collars, the few shirts tailored from real woven cloth cost $50 apiece, a ripoff IMHO. Even more depressing are the LL Bean khakis with only the waist size marked. They expect you to find a tailor to cuff the inseam at the right length. Great, I'm really gonna get wash pants tailored, even $65 a pair wash pants.
Dunno what the chicks see in clothes shopping.
Weather was poor. Overcast, cold, snowing thru Crawford Notch. Great Depression 2.0 has been hard on North Conway, it shows. Numerous strip malls and outlet stores closed and empty. North Conway is a pure tourist town, anchored by the ski area on Mt. Cranmore (home of the eccentric ski mobile lift) and a main street (Rt 16) wall to wall outlet stores. Granted it is mud season, inbetween ski season and summer season, but still, the number of dead storefronts was discouraging.
Then it's hard to find stores that carry stuff in my size. The racks are all full of shirts too small to fit my sons, let alone me. The slacks are all 34 waist by 36 inseam, I haven't worn a 34 waist since high school, which was 55 years ago. The shirts are mostly knit tee shirts with collars, the few shirts tailored from real woven cloth cost $50 apiece, a ripoff IMHO. Even more depressing are the LL Bean khakis with only the waist size marked. They expect you to find a tailor to cuff the inseam at the right length. Great, I'm really gonna get wash pants tailored, even $65 a pair wash pants.
Dunno what the chicks see in clothes shopping.
Saturday, April 25, 2015
"Investing" in the Balsams.
For those readers outside of New Hampshire, the Balsams was a big old summer resort way up in northern NH, up in Dixville Notch. Times were hard, and the Balsams went out of business a few years ago. Now there is a push to revive the Balsams. Adding urgency is the collapse of the paper industry in northern NH. All the mills are now closed, and the northern mill towns like Berlin and Clearbrooke and Lancaster are hurting. The hurt is so bad you can see it just driving thru town. So naturally everyone in Coos County is in favor.
Trouble is, the developer[s] are saying they need government support to the tune of at least $28 million in cash, and more in loan guarantees. Money to come maybe from the state, and maybe some from Coos county. Loan guarantees to come from the State. Which means the taxpayers cover the developer's risks. If the project goes belly up in a few years, my tax dollars make good the developer's losses.
The real question is, can the Balsams be made to work? To make enough money to pay its suppliers, its workers, and service its debt. Good question, which nobody is asking. The Balsams is way far north, too far north to attract Boston skiers. The drive is just too long. The Canadians don't ski in NH much, they go north to Mt. Tremblant in Quebec. Tremblant gets more snow and more cold than NH 'cause it's 150 miles further north.
I'd like to see a real business plan, one that shows how many skiers, hikers, snowmobilers, and others it needs to cover projected costs. I haven't seen it yet.
I'm OK with spending my tax money to bring some business and employment to hard stricken Coos country. But I'd like to see that the money has a chance of doing some good rather than just getting flushed down the drain.
Trouble is, the developer[s] are saying they need government support to the tune of at least $28 million in cash, and more in loan guarantees. Money to come maybe from the state, and maybe some from Coos county. Loan guarantees to come from the State. Which means the taxpayers cover the developer's risks. If the project goes belly up in a few years, my tax dollars make good the developer's losses.
The real question is, can the Balsams be made to work? To make enough money to pay its suppliers, its workers, and service its debt. Good question, which nobody is asking. The Balsams is way far north, too far north to attract Boston skiers. The drive is just too long. The Canadians don't ski in NH much, they go north to Mt. Tremblant in Quebec. Tremblant gets more snow and more cold than NH 'cause it's 150 miles further north.
I'd like to see a real business plan, one that shows how many skiers, hikers, snowmobilers, and others it needs to cover projected costs. I haven't seen it yet.
I'm OK with spending my tax money to bring some business and employment to hard stricken Coos country. But I'd like to see that the money has a chance of doing some good rather than just getting flushed down the drain.
Friday, April 24, 2015
Grilling Hillary
The MSM is sure putting up a lotta flak aimed at Hillary. The uranium thing being the latest. Could it be that the MSM doesn't like her? And is any of the flak scoring? The registered democrats (yellow dog democrats) will vote democratic no matter what. The registered republicans will vote against her no matter what. What are the independents thinking?
I notice that the Hillary camp isn't saying much, or at least isn't getting their side of the story out to TV. Silence gives assent. If she doesn't say something, the mud will stick.
If the flak brings down Hillary, who will the democrats run? And will he/she/or it be any better? Or easier to beat?
Inquiring minds want to know.
I notice that the Hillary camp isn't saying much, or at least isn't getting their side of the story out to TV. Silence gives assent. If she doesn't say something, the mud will stick.
If the flak brings down Hillary, who will the democrats run? And will he/she/or it be any better? Or easier to beat?
Inquiring minds want to know.
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Hiking Minimum Wage
The Dems are all in favor. They think all the people making minimum wage will enjoy a pay hike and vote democratic in return. But what about all those people thrown out of work 'cause the business loses money when it pays it's unskilled labor $15 an hour? Well, they probably don't vote. In fact they are less likely to vote after loosing their jobs.
What is a just and equitable wage? And how, and by whom,should it be set? A business has a lot of claims upon it's money. It has to pay it's suppliers, the rent, the utilities, plant maintenance, advertising, the investors, wages, taxes, new product development, pensions, and lots of other things. How much should go to wages, as opposed to all those other things?
Free market thinking is that the business bids for workers against all the other businesses around. Workers, finding a business willing to pay more than their current employer, change jobs. This way the business that needs the labor the most gets it, 'cause they are willing to pay more for it. This works better than the now discredited Soviet communist idea of the state allocating workers to industries as it saw fit. And setting their wages too.
This can be hard on the workers, especially the unskilled workers, when there are plenty of workers and not enough jobs. In this case, companies don't have to offer much in the way of wages to get all the labor they can use. There are plenty more workers out there, all needing a job, and willing to work for less.
In America, labor unions solved this problem. Organize the plant, lead the workers out on strike, and management will cave. This takes some doing on the part of the workers, but it has been done, repeatedly, and it works. Management has been so terrorized by unions that it will do anything to keep their workers happy enough that they won't unionize. Non union companies pay pretty much the same as union companies, in order to stay non-union.
So, American wages are set by a combination of free market supply and demand, and union activism. Due to the long long Great Depression 2.0 that set in with the Obama election in 2008, wages have been flat since then. Companies lack customers, and everyone understands that a wage hike means a price hike which means fewer sales and hence layoffs. Nobody is very happy about the situation, but everyone figures it's better than unemployment or going out of business. So wages stay flat, and except for crazies like Boeing's machinist's union, nobody goes on strike. Everybody is waiting for the economy to get better.
So, with things sorta balanced out, but sorta shaky, is it smart, or ethical, to pass a $15 an hour minimum wage that will throw a lot of people out of work? This kinda boat rocking can tip the boat clean over and put us all in the drink.
What is a just and equitable wage? And how, and by whom,should it be set? A business has a lot of claims upon it's money. It has to pay it's suppliers, the rent, the utilities, plant maintenance, advertising, the investors, wages, taxes, new product development, pensions, and lots of other things. How much should go to wages, as opposed to all those other things?
Free market thinking is that the business bids for workers against all the other businesses around. Workers, finding a business willing to pay more than their current employer, change jobs. This way the business that needs the labor the most gets it, 'cause they are willing to pay more for it. This works better than the now discredited Soviet communist idea of the state allocating workers to industries as it saw fit. And setting their wages too.
This can be hard on the workers, especially the unskilled workers, when there are plenty of workers and not enough jobs. In this case, companies don't have to offer much in the way of wages to get all the labor they can use. There are plenty more workers out there, all needing a job, and willing to work for less.
In America, labor unions solved this problem. Organize the plant, lead the workers out on strike, and management will cave. This takes some doing on the part of the workers, but it has been done, repeatedly, and it works. Management has been so terrorized by unions that it will do anything to keep their workers happy enough that they won't unionize. Non union companies pay pretty much the same as union companies, in order to stay non-union.
So, American wages are set by a combination of free market supply and demand, and union activism. Due to the long long Great Depression 2.0 that set in with the Obama election in 2008, wages have been flat since then. Companies lack customers, and everyone understands that a wage hike means a price hike which means fewer sales and hence layoffs. Nobody is very happy about the situation, but everyone figures it's better than unemployment or going out of business. So wages stay flat, and except for crazies like Boeing's machinist's union, nobody goes on strike. Everybody is waiting for the economy to get better.
So, with things sorta balanced out, but sorta shaky, is it smart, or ethical, to pass a $15 an hour minimum wage that will throw a lot of people out of work? This kinda boat rocking can tip the boat clean over and put us all in the drink.
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
How do I get photos OFF the tracfone?
Let's see, I got the Tracfone (LG model 305c) to dial, keep a phone list, speak to the new router via WIFI, and snap a picture. It's still flaky on answering an incoming call. But I haven't found out how to get the photo OFF the cell phone. My two computers won't talk to the phone on USB. They don't see the phone in network neighborhood. The phone offered to send the photos but all it offered for destination was telephone numbers. My real telephone number is a plain old wired phone, which will not do anything with pictures except make funny noises in the earpiece.
The secret of connecting to the router is two fold. Learning how to input an alpha password using the telephone keypad, and replacing the router with a new one to which I was sure I knew the password. I might had changed the password on the old router and forgotten what it was. Old router went belly up and refused to connect to the Internet, so I bought a new one and now two computers and one cell phone are talking on it, I think.
Any suggestions are welcome.
The secret of connecting to the router is two fold. Learning how to input an alpha password using the telephone keypad, and replacing the router with a new one to which I was sure I knew the password. I might had changed the password on the old router and forgotten what it was. Old router went belly up and refused to connect to the Internet, so I bought a new one and now two computers and one cell phone are talking on it, I think.
Any suggestions are welcome.
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