As if hurricanes aren't enough, the island of Kaua'i had a reservoir/dam fail yesterday due to recent heavy rains. Several hundred million gallons of water rushed through the breach clearing everything that stood before it. Entire houses, portions of the forest, telephone poles, and even underground water pipes were swept away. One person is confirmed dead and several are missing.

If that wasn't enough, it's not over yet. The rain continues to fall and other reservoirs could also go (including some on the other islands). Flash flood warnings and watches are extended into Friday so anything could happen.

It wouldn't be a bad thing to say a prayer for the people of Kaua'i.

The morning paper has the story, with pictures.

One example is the photo below. Between the foreground and the house in the back stood two homes. Both are completely gone, along with the people in them.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have an early meeting this morning that I need to prepare for so I gotta go.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You've probably had this dream (some might call it a nightmare). You know, the one where you are yelling as loud as you can but no one seems to hear you. Sometimes, I feel like that when a survey finds that more people know the names of the cartoon Simpsons family than the freedoms protected in the US Constitution. Marge? Yes. The First Amendment? What's that?

I don't know how reliable this survey is and I don't know who/what is the McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum. But if the survey is accurate, what does this say about us? What does it say that people know the names of the American Idol judges but can't name a single US Supreme Court justice or their state's justices?

I wonder if you don't know what your freedoms are, why would you get upset about loosing them? I mean, if you don't know what they are, you won't miss them. Right? Until you want to express your opinion on a subject and the government arrests you and puts you in jail without charge, for as long as they want. Until you want to go to church but you find that it is now illegal to worship in any way other that the One True Way the government orders you to. Until you no longer know how your tax money is being spent because the government is no longer required to tell you and the press because of, you know, September 11th.

I hope people wake up soon. At least, before we no longer have the freedoms most people apparently don't know they have.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Perhaps my web host pair.com realized something was wrong when other people who use MT all had problems posting. Perhaps not. I don't know. All I know is the 505 errors suddenly stopped and all is now well. Go figure.

Posted by DanS at 06:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The idea of using fuel cells to power our vehicles has been the holy grail of inventors for decades. The dream of using a device that is powered by by something as common as hydrogen and oxygen, with water vapor as its only byproduct, has led to millions of dollars in research. However, except in a few instances, hydrogen/oxygen fuel cells have not proven to be practical.

Another approach is the carbon based fuel cell. The University of Hawai'i has developed a fuel cell that uses charcoal and air to create energy. The chief advantage of this system is that charcoal, or carbon, is a renewable resource. Further, you can store and transport charcoal much more easily than hydrogen.

Other cells typically use hydrogen as a fuel. However, useful quantities of hydrogen are impractical or difficult to create, store and distribute. Typically, you get hydrogen by burning fossil fuels to create electricity to split the hydrogen atoms from methane (itself from fossil fuels) or water. Burning fossil fuels to create hydrogen is extremely energy inefficient. That is, you may as well just use the electricity directly then use it to create hydrogen. The solution to this problem is nuclear power. However going nuclear has its own set of problems - practical and political.

In addition, whether compressed or in liquid form, it is difficult, if not impossible, to contain hydrogen without some leakage. This leakage can lead to rapid reactions (i.e., explosions) or other less spectacular, but no less serious, mechanical failures.

On the other hand, charcoal/carbon fuels have their own problems. Chief among these, as noted in the article, is how to feed the solid powdered charcoal into the fuel cell. Also, even though the article kind of down plays it, creating charcoal releases various gases collectively called green house gases. In addition, the byproduct of the carbon fuel cell is carbon dioxide - another so called green house gas. Whether such gases are the cause of what is referred to a global warming is still open to debate.

In any case, research into fuel cells continue. Perhaps someday a practical fuel cell will power your car, but it probably won't happen very soon.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The MorningPaper has an article on something called Watsu®. The term is a combination of water and shiatsu massage. As you might imagine, the therapy is done in a pool and is said to provide temporary relief to all manner of afflictions.

I have no idea if any of these statements are true nor do I think it is a cure for what ails you, but I could think of worse ways of getting a massage. Maybe the next time I'm on the Big Island or Kaua'i I'll look into one of these. YMMV. Insert disclaimer here.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm trying out a different theme to the site so things won't look the same. In fact, what you see may change from day-to-day as I experiment with the style sheet. I like to shake things up every once in awhile as a way of teaching myself how to use the system, templates, style sheets, and such.

So, hang in there and enjoy the ride (as it were). Posted by DanS at 04:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Here in Hawai'i, our weather is usually pretty nice. The temperatures rarely go the extremes. We hardly ever see a tornado. And it's been over ten years since the last hurricane (crosses fingers).

But every once in awhile, nature reminds us just how insignificant humans are. Over the last few days, we've been hit by heavy rains, including thunder and lightning. On Kaua'i, over a 24-hour period, 18 inches (about 46cm) of rain fell. Flooding in the usual areas has occurred and traffic gets really bad as people slow down due to limited visibility.

That said, Hawai'i wouldn't be as green as it is without the rain; so I'm not complaining. Especially now that the sun is coming up in a glorious display of orange, blue, and purple colors painted across the sky.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What goes from zero to 60 miles per hour (mph) in three seconds, has a top speed of 180 mph, and never needs to stop at a gas station? Meet the Mullen GT electric car . Now, don't ask any questions about whether it makes economic or even environmental sense to pay almost $125,000 for this car. If you do, you're probably not going to buy this because it doesn't make much sense from those points of view.

But then, tell me what sense does it make to spend money to buy a Ferrari or any of the other super cars? People don't buy this class of car for those reasons.

Don't get me wrong, if I had the money I would snap up the latest Ferrari in less than three seconds. But I don't have that kind of money. So I have to weigh the cost versus the benefits.

Truth be told, even if I did have the money, a super car certainly wouldn't be my every day car because it's not very practical. I mean, I'm too old for a two-door sports car and I'm way past the point that I enjoy crawling under a car to work on it. Then there's the mileage, gas or otherwise. And finally, the opportunity cost is so high that you can buy several less costly vehicles for the price of one of these.

That all said, if anyone wants to give me a Ferrari; my email address is to the right.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sometimes, being popular is not a good thing. For example, I went to the local Apple store this past weekend to get the new 1GB Nano. I knew I was in trouble when the doorway of the store was nearly impassable due to the number of people trying to get in and out.

After squeezing my way in, I saw two lines of people, each about 20 deep, at the cashiers. I don't know for sure what everyone was buying, but I could guess. So, I reluctantly went home and ordered everything online. By everything, I mean a black 1GB Nano, an additional dock, and an additional cable for the dock (no, the dock doesn't apparently come with it).

Since I've heard of problems with the nano getting scratched, I decided to go to the Martin Fields site and order the overlay screen protector . The thin membrane is designed to protect the nano's fragile display (Long time readers may remember that I got something similar for my Motorola Razr. The protector for the phone works so well that I thought I'd get one for the nano). In addition, I ordered their leather case to protect the rest of the nano. I don't know if this this the best case but it looked good enough.

Although the nano should arrive on Friday and the Martin Fields stuff probably early next week, I still wish I could have just purchased everything at the Apple store. More when everything arrives.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sorry, no post today. There is a hearing tomorrow on a legislative bill that I am tracking. So, I will be a busy person while I work on that.

Aloha

Posted by DanS at 06:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pineapple was once called the king of crops in Hawai'i. By that they meant pineapple fields covered the face of the land with only the bent over shapes of immigrants working the fields to interrupt the orderly rows. Those fields provided work for many a laborer from China, Japan, and the Philippines.

But as the times changed, and the land itself became more valuable than the pineapples grown on it and foreign competition drove pineapple prices down, it became more and more difficult to justify planting pineapples.

So, although it was a sad day, it should not have come as a surprise that Del Monte announced yesterday that after 100 years here, it was shutting down pineapple growing operations in Hawai'i .

Over 700 workers will have to find other employment as Del Monte phases out its operations. However, there is interest in the land from another company that may use it for other agricultural purposes (no, not Kona Gold). Agriculture in the islands has had to diversify to survive. Right now, coffee, cocoa, grapes for wine, macadamia nuts, and a host of other crops are being grown in our rich soils.

That said, it is doubtful that any one crop will once again reign as king, but perhaps it is for the better.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Speaking of testimony, I've been hit twice with the task of drafting testimony with less than 24 hours to do so. Which, as you may have noticed, has left me no time to do anything with this site. Sorry about that.

When this type of situation occurs, bad things happen. First, all other work has to go on hold while I put out these fires. Many times, the work put on hold is itself pretty important. Secondly, 24 hours doesn't give me a lot of time to analyze the proposed bill. Some of these bills are very long and make a lot of changes. Hence, I am not able to, many times, offer much in the way of insightful thoughts. In fact, mostly, I try to find the one main thing the measure is trying to do and project what the impact to the affected parties would be (I think I've mentioned it before but when I first went to a seminar on bill writing, put on by the Legislature, the presenter said; in any legislation, someone is helped and someone is hurt. Hence, to analyze a bill, one must determine what is the bill intended to do, who is affected, what is the impact, and what new problems the measure would create (all solutions create new problems). Wise advice to anyone reviewing bills.).

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

You know the drill...

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sorry, no post today either. I have the legislative hearing this afternoon and we are still revising the testimony.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sorry, no post today. I have a meeting in the morning and then have to prepare testimony for a legislative hearing on Monday.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As some of you may know, Hawaii is one of the few places in which you can snow ski in the morning, water ski at lunch, and surf in the evening. Snow ski? Well, okay, conditions may be more packed ice than packed powder but the white stuff does fall at the summits of Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, and sometimes Haleakala. This picture was taken this morning from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory cam atop Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawai'i.

The weather conditions at that time was below zero degrees temperatures (Celsius), winds of about 30 knots, and a relative humidity of about 98 percent.

I don't know if it's fogged in or if the winds are blowing the snow around making conditions next to impossible to see very far. In any case, it's very cold, windy, and you don't want to be in this kind of weather. Even if you do like to ski.

Posted by DanS at 06:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The folks over at the UK Register site have a longish Camera Labs review of the new Nikon 200 10.2 megapixel prosummer digital camera. Although this camera has received mixed results from at least one other reviewer, Camera Labs' bottom line is:

There's very little to fault about the Nikon D200. It's very robust, has great ergonomics and a wide array of features, while handling superbly and delivering excellent image quality...

Ultimately until the market responds, Nikon has delivered the best mid-range digital SLR yet, boasting professional quality at a highly affordable price point.

Of course, "affordable price point" is in the wallet of the beholder. A quick price check finds the D200 body and 18-70mm AF-S IF-ED Nikkor Lens going for about $2000 USD. To me, that is a lot of money.

Posted by DanS at 06:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This week is a really busy one. I have long meetings today and tomorrow. In addition, tomorrow is the opening of the Hawaii Legislature so posts, if any, may be short. That said, the Supreme Court has ruled on the Federal government's attempt to further centralize power over the states. I have not had time to read the 62-page opinion but on the face of it, the feds used a curious tactic to try to prohibit the use of controlled substances. Said substances were used to end people's lives under Oregon law. The subject of the right to die is a very complex one and deserves more time than I have right now. Perhaps tomorrow or Thursday.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sorry, no post today. It's a state and federal holiday celebrating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sorry for the late post for yesterday. I had uploaded it but did not "publish" it so it didn't appear until this morning. My apologies for that.

Speaking of yesterday, I was on the island of Kaua'i for a meeting at the new court house. The site is located across the street from the airport so it is in easy walking distance. I think the courthouse opened last year, though I could be wrong on that, but the point is it's new and I've never been there before.

My camera phone picture of the court didn't turn out so well I'm using a photo from our internal website. To me, it's an impressive building, although I'm told tourists sometimes mistake it for a hotel! Perhaps the court needs to put up a sign saying what it is.

The inside is also impressive. The conference room we used had one of those screens that drops down from the ceiling. A new laptop was hooked up to a LCD projector so information could be displayed on that screen. The only thing is the location of the floor electrical/data outlets don't let you rearrange the desks. The conference room seems to have been designed to provide a passive experience. That is, it seems that the architect expected someone to stand at the front lecturing to people passively sitting there. What we wanted to do was have an open discussion where everyone participated. So, to that extent, the design of the room made it difficult, but not impossible to do. Note to you planners out there, think about how to make rooms as flexible as possible so that what people need to do is facilitated.

Posted by DanS at 06:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As I've mentioned before, I believe in paying my way on the Internet. So, when I download and use a program that is released as shareware or donateware, I pay the fee. I reckon that if an author has created something with the expectation of getting paid for it, then not getting paid would tend to reduce the probability of his or her continuing support/updating of their creation. Hence, if the program has worth to me, and I wish to use it, I will pay the author.

One of the places I visit on a regular basis is Dr. Jerry Pournelle's site. As he puts it, his site is paid for using the public radio model. That is, he asks for reader donations and as long as enough comes in to pay for the place he will continue to post. It sounds fare to me. He is a professional writer and wishes to get paid for his creations. What I write is for free and I don't expect any such payment in return.

One of the ways to pay for Dr. Pournelle's place is via Paypal. Paypal is a relatively painless way of making Internet payments. It's by no means the only way, but it is fairly common.

In any case, as I have done in the last three years, I recently paid my $36 using Paypal (I paid by credit card in prior years) but noticed that Paypal was calling it a subscription that would automatically renew unless I specifically requested termination. The help screen says there would be link to terminate the subscription but when I looked for such a link, I couldn't find anything.

If I take Paypal at face value, then my account should have been automatically debited last year and should automatically occur again this year around the end of the month. I know it did not automatically occur last year but can't say what will happen later this month. If I remember to check back, I'll let you know what happens at the end of this month but I sure hope I don't get charged twice...

Posted by DanS at 06:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Hawaii Legislature officially opens next week Wednesday so it's kind of appropriate to note that a state senator has begun blogging. Senator Gary L. Hooser , representing the good people of Kaua'i, has a LiveJournal site and has been posting since November of last year. He should be applauded for opening another path for conversations from not only his constituents but from 'netizens as well.

Drop me a line if anyone knows of other local legislators that have blogs and I'll be glad to list them here (both Republican and Democrats are welcome). So far, I've found Representative Jon Riki Karamatsu (blogging since 2002) and Representative Brian Schatz (blogging since 2004).

Posted by DanS at 06:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Speaking of local blogs, the Hawaii Legislative Reference Bureau has one that links to interesting legislative topics such as a meth offender registry in Tennessee (similar to a sex offender registry but instead lists those convicted of methamphetamine offenses), a California telecom bill of rights , and the emerging topic of bioprospecting ("searching for, collecting, and deriving genetic material from samples of biodiversity that can be used in commercialized pharmaceutical, agricultural, industrial, or chemical processing end products."). Interesting stuff.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What has 200lbs of thrust, two wheels, and runs on roofing tar?

A rocket propelled bicycle, of course. The folks over at Popular Science have a short story about the bike and the rocket scientist who designed and built it. They say it does zero to 60mph in about five seconds, which is faster than most cars can accelerate. Still, riding a bike traveling that fast must be exhilarating, to say the least.

The article says

To ignite it [the roofing tar], Pickens placed a model-rocket motor inside the engine. A button on the handlebar fires the model-rocket motor, which in turn sets off Pickens's larger motor by lighting the roofing-tar fuel.

What next? A rocket propelled skate board?

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Speaking of fish stories, a Great White shark was spotted in Hawaiian waters. Although it's not possible to say with certainty how many such sharks cruise local waters it is not something that seems to be common. One long-time diver said in 40 years of sports diving he had seen Great Whites only twice.

That said, a Great White estimated to be between 18 - 20ft (5.5 - 6m) was spotted late last week and was recorded on video tape. The video has been shown on local TV but I can't find a source for your viewing pleasure. The clip I saw showed the huge shark brush the under side of the dive boat, partially lifting the boat out of the water with the flick of its (the shark's) tail.

The photographer was lucky that the shark wasn't in a hunting mood because such a shark could have easily cut the diver into two piece with just one bite.

Anyway, welcome to all our mainland visitors who want to splash and cavort in our safe waters. Except, that is, when a Great White shark is around...

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm back at work now and I guess, staying up late and getting up early for all the Christmas festivities must have lowered my resistance. By Monday night, I was aching in all my joints, coughing, and had a sore throat. I tried going to sleep at 8:30pm (20:30) but awoke every hour or two until my usual wake up time of 4:45am.

Staying at work on Tuesday was really difficult because the A/C was turned down so much my nose (and other appendages) was turning blue. But since I needed to be at work for a scheduled conference call I came in and stayed the day. I didn't make it in after that but have recovered enough to drag myself in for the last day of the work year. But enough whining. As a poet once said, it could be verse.

Posted by DanS at 12:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This is my last post for this year. My next one will probably be on Tuesday, January 3rd, 2006. I wish you all the best in 2006. May we have peace, joy, and understanding.

Happy New Year, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sorry, no post today.

Posted by DanS at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sorry, no post today. I'm at home trying to get over a cold. I am slowly getting better but I can't wait until my head no longer feels like it is full of cotton.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I hope you and yours had a wonderful Christmas. We know our grandchild did. What with this being baby's first Christmas, you better believe we spoiled the kid rotten. Of course, the toy he liked the most was the simple rattle that we got as an afterthought from Longs Drugs. That said, I'm sure he'll eventually grow up to appreciate his other toys but he really likes the rattle...

Posted by DanS at 06:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A poor orphan girl named Maria
Was walking to market one day

She stopped for a rest by the roadside
Where a bird with a broken wing lay
A few moments passed till she saw it
For its feathers were covered with sand
But soon clean and wrapped it was traveling
In the warmth of Maria's small hand

She happily gave her last peso
On a cage made of rushes and twine

She fed it loose corn from the market
And watched it grow stronger with time

Now the gift giving service was coming
And the church shone with tinsel and light
And all of the townfolks brought presents
To lay by the manger that night
There were diamonds and incense and perfumes
In packages fit for a king

But for one ragged bird in a small cage
Maria had nothing to bring

She waited 'til just before midnight
So no one would see her go in
And crying she knelt by the manger
For her gift was unworthy of Him

Then a voice spoke to her through the darkness
"Maria, what brings you to me?

If the bird in the cage is your offering,
Open the door and let me see."
Though she trembled, she did as He asked her
And out of the cage the bird flew
Soaring up into the rafters
On a wing that had healed good as new

Just then the midnight bells rang out
And the little bird started to sing

A song that no words could recapture
Whose beauty was fit for a king

Now Maria felt blessed just to listen
To that cascade of notes sweet and long
As her offerings was lifted to heaven
By the very first nightingale's song

Merry Christmas, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sorry, no post today. Even though the year is winding down, things get busy around here because the Legislature opens next month. Hearings are already scheduled for our budget requests before the session even officially begins. So, move along. Nothing to see here.

Note: since Christmas falls on Sunday this year, I will probably do my Christmas post tomorrow (although that could change, depending on what happens between now and then).

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The local Republican controlled radio station is touting the low rate of inflation and points to this as proof that Republicans know how to run the economy efficiently. Once I stopped laughing and got up from rolling on the floor I thought about what I call hidden inflation.

Hidden inflation is when you get less of a product or service but pay the same price as before. The cost, per unit of product increases, but the price you pay stays relatively level. Hence, the price increase is hidden.

I recently saw what may be an example of this when we went shopping for dog food. Dog food you say? Yes, dog food. We went to the Longs Drugs (a very popular store here in Hawaii that sells everything from sushi to slippers) to buy some dog food for our grand dog. It seems little "Chica", a terrier-mix breed may have an allergy to some types of dog food. We don't know yet what she is allergic to so we decided to try different brands of dog food and see her reaction to each. But in reading the ingredients on the back of the cans, we found this had very little relation to what the front of the can said it contained. For example, if it said "Hearty Beef" (all names are fictitious to protect the guilty) on the front, the back label ingredients would say water, poultry products, barley, rice, wheat, etc., followed somewhere by "beef byproducts." So we took a look at a can saying, on the front, that it was "Lively Liver." But the back label said water, poultry products, barley, rice, wheat, etc., followed somewhere by "liver." In fact, every single can of dog food we looked at, regardless of the brand or what the front of the can said it contained, had the same major ingredients: water, poultry products, barley, rice, wheat, etc.

Another example, SWMBO recently made up some goody bags for Christmas. Part of what she included were some small bags of candy. These small bags were part of a larger bag that held about 20 of these smaller bags. She noticed that while the price had not gone up much since last Christmas, the number of smaller packets contained in the larger bag had decreased and the weight of each smaller bag had also gone down.

A last example, some products have made the change from the English measurement system to metric. But instead of doing the math and just labeling it with the correct metric equivalent to what was there before, they gave you less and then listed that metric equivalent. Since most people don't carry calculator with them and don't know the conversion tables even if they did, it was a sneaky way to cover a cost increase.

While I certainly haven't taken any kind of scientific survey of products, I get the feeling that there are many other examples of products or services that have been reduced but without lowering the price. This literally increases the price per unit but hides the cost increase (or at least attempts to hide the increase).

But the net effect is you pay more if you purchase the same amount you used to get.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

In a way, they are right. There is a war on the winter solstice.

Posted by DanS at 06:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

On a lighter note, a high tech ground penetrating radar was used to scan the foundation of the Hawaii Supreme Court building where I work. The radar was used to find a hollowed out time capsule cornerstone that was set by King Kamehameha V, a Freemason, in 1872. Although accounts of the day noted the laying of the capsule, and its contents, it was unclear exactly where it was placed. But using the radar, a geologist found it in about 10 minutes, surprising everyone as to how quickly it was found. Plans are to lay a commemorative plaque to mark the location of the capsule (which will be left sealed).

As an aside, King Kamehameha V died 10 months after laying the stone capsule. He passed on his birthday at the age of 42. It is not clear as to what he died of but it may have been heart or kidney disease. He was the last direct descendant of King Kamehameha I, the first king to rule over and unite all the Hawaiian Islands.

Posted by DanS at 06:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hmmm, the sweet smell of ceder fills the air as strong hands shape the wood. Sand paper meets timber as it slowly reveals the form within. Then, after two weeks of hard work, the wood is sealed in six to eight coats of epoxy to keep the water from ruining the board. The hollow core wooden surf board, that is.

Although Hawaiians, who invented surfing, originally used solid core wood surfboards, almost no one now uses wooden boards. Except for these guys. A company in far off Maine called Grain Surfboards is making wooden surfboards and charging people $1,500 USD to buy one. Although cost is a disadvantage to using a wooden surfboard, the surfers buying these board say the "wooden boards handle like a dream, absorbing the jolts and bumps of the waves to create a ride as smooth as silk." YMMV. Use at your own risk. Watch out for splinters.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One of the Christmas presents I got for SWMBO is the Motorola RAZR V3c (no, it's not a secret, I've already given it to her). The V3c is very similar to the V3 that I have but is designed to work on CDMA networks (like Verizon Wireless) and is EvDO compatible (although, and I could be wrong about this, I don't think that is available yet in Hawaii).

Cosmetically, the V3c has a dark gray finish that I rather like and a slightly different keyboard layout (in place of the web key, the V3c has a key for the camera. I like this tradeoff because I use the camera much more than the web. YMMV. Another keyboard difference is that the menu key is gone. I'm not sure I like this change as much because I tend to use the menu key a lot.). Speaking of the camera, my V3 came with a VGA (640X480) resolution camera while the V3c comes with a 1.3megapixel version. To store all those pictures, you get a relatively spacious 30MB to work with.

The case that Verizon sells for the V3c is okay but I like Motorola's version better because it (the Motorola version) completely covers, with clear plastic, the internal display (which is a fingerprint magnet if there ever was one) and has a removable belt clip (the Verizon version is permanently affixed and not that easy to use).

The operating system that comes with the V3c is also slightly different. I don't know if it boots up and shuts down faster than mine because of this or if the V3c has a faster processor. But in any case, the interface does seem to be more responsive.

I haven't yet taken it outside so I can tell you if Motorola has fixed the problem of not being able to see anything on the display screen when outdoors and the sun is shining but I'll let you know when I do.

Overall, I think SWMBO likes her new phone and so do I. That said, I'll wait for my carrier (Cingular) to bring out a rumored version 2.0 of the V3, Real Soon Now. This version supposedly has more storage, a sharper camera, and perhaps even a version of iTunes for playing audio files. Why this phone hasn't been released yet, given it's almost Christmas, is anyone's guess.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sorry, today is going to be a very busy day so I gotta' go.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sorry, but the next few days will be very busy around here so I may not have a post up every day. Talk amongst yourselves until things settle down a bit.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The CEO of Google has a short article on good management called Google: 10 Golden Rules . Although, there isn't much new here (they tip their hats to the writings of Peter Drucker in the late 1950s), it's worth reviewing what works in the technology areas:

• Hire by committee.

• Cater to their every need.

• Pack them in.

• Make coordination easy.

• Eat your own dog food.

• Encourage creativity.

• Strive to reach consensus.

• Don't be evil.

• Data drives decisions.

• Communicate effectively.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This haunting image was made from the submerged deck of the battleship USS Arizona looking upwards towards the structure that memorializes what happened here on December 7, 1941. A date which will live in infamy...

The US National Park Service has a short history of the events leading to the beginning of what we call World War II.

Thank you to all who had their lives taken from them that early Sunday morning. Their supreme sacrifice, and the sacrifices of thousands of others, eventually bore the fruit of peace, for which we are eternally thankful. May they rest in peace, secure in the knowledge that their sacrifice was not in vain.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I find Hawaiian words being used for company names all over the place. Yet another is a Paia Electronics , located in far off Edmond, Okalahoma. I'm not a musician so I've never heard of them but they apparently sell build it yourself electronic kits that feature analog circuits. For a segment of the public with golden ears, the sounds that come from digital electronics is not as pleasing nor, according to them, as accurate as those that flows through analog circuits. Hence, there is a small minority of the buying public that is willing to spend almost any amount to have amps, pre-amps, and other electronics with analog components.

Well, Paia has analog circuit-based components but they sell them at very reasonable prices. For example, their Vocoder , something even I have heard of, sells for $139USD, (not including a power supply or front panel). Other devices are similarly priced. The bottom line is buying similar products from other vendors would cost you several times what you pay here. YMMV. I have not bought anything from these folks. Insert disclaimer here.

The Hawaiian connection is the middle name of John Paia Simonton, from which the company apparently got its name. Although the site says it's not related to the small Maui town with the same name, it doesn't say how John got such a middle name. In any case, the English translation of the name can have several connotations (depending on if and where the 'okina and/or kahako are placed). The one I kind of like the most roughly translates to garbled sound. As in not being able to clearly make out what music is being played...

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Talk about the weather outside being frightful. The weather over the weekend was, as they say, unsettled. Yesterday morning dawned bright and clear. But by noon, the sky was filled with black clouds bringing sheets of rain, lightening, and thunder. There was even a report of a funnel cloud. No report yet of locust plagues but who knows?

For us, we momentarily lost power. Sometimes, this causes more problems that it just going out for a longer period because delicate electronics don't like getting zapped by power going up, going partially down, and then back up so rapidly. Even though we have quality surge protectors, one of our security cameras went poof. Fortunately, we have a spare so we were back up in a few minutes but I think I need to get a line conditioner to smooth things out.

Posted by DanS at 06:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The MorningPaper ran a story about shipping discrimination to Hawaii . The paper checked 50 websites and found that more than half refuse to provide free shipping to Hawaii even though they routinely do so for the lower 48 states.

In addition, the shipping rates that these sites charge are double, and sometimes triple, what the residents of other states pay. So, for example, we pay over $20USD for even the smallest package sent via UPS. This, even though the US Postal Service offers a shipping rate of $7.70USD to ship two pounds ANYWHERE IN THE 50 UNITED STATES in no more than three to five days. I don't understand why these companies don't use this US postal service. I mean, the US Postal Services comes to your business to pick up the package just like the other guys. And unlike the other guys, the postal service delivers on Saturdays . So why not increase sales to Hawaii when it doesn't cost you anything more and, in fact, costs your customers less?

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The lava from Kilauea volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii continues to make its way to the ocean. Occasionally, the land that is built up due to the lava cooling breaks off and falls into the ocean. The Honolulu Advertiser has a story on just such a lava bench.

This first shot is what this area of the Big Island looked like before the break.

This second shot shows what it looks like now with a huge chunk of land having slid into the ocean. Let this be a warning to all you folks who hike out to get pictures of the lava flowing into the ocean. The land you may be standing on could break off and cause your death.

When these so called lava ledges/benches do break off, you sometimes end up seeing lava pouring out of lava tubes like the photo below. That is molten rock shooting out like water from a fire hose. That is how a new ledge will develop and perhaps how the Big Island will get even bigger.

As always, if anyone is interested in some hot, prime ocean front property, see your local realtor. I'm sure they'll give you a good deal and maybe throw in part of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A barrier to more people in Hawaii shopping on-line is the problem of shipping. Up until a year or two ago, UPS provided Ground Shipping rates. However, they decided to stop such service and provide only one or two-day service. As you might guess, the cost of next day or second day air delivery is substantial. By substantial I mean more than $20 for even the lightest shipment.

So when I find a website like Amazon that provides reasonable shipping costs, I will order things from them. On the other hand, I recently tried to buy something from New Egg. When I went to the checkout page, I was surprised to see an option of UPS ground for shipping to Hawaii. I was over joyed! Ground shipping to Hawaii was back! So I picked that option and finished checking out. But a day later, much to my dismay, I got an email from New Egg saying they didn't really have UPS ground shipping and that I had to pay for first or second day air (which was almost double the cost of ground).

Now, I am not a lawyer but it seems to me New Egg made an offer to sell me an item at a certain price and then offered various shipping options. I accepted that offer and submitted payment in the form of a credit card. In a court of law, that is one definition of a contract. Break that contract, and I can sue. Although I don't actually plan to do so because it's just not worth my time and money, a class action suit might be workable.

In any case, one must wonder why the people who put the New Egg site together didn't program the shipping so that delivery addresses in states they don't serve are locked out. For example, Sears.com does that by making sure you can't enter the state of Hawaii in the address field. While I deplore Sears for ignoring my state, and Sears obviously by making such a decision will get zero business from 1.5 million potential customers, at least they are up front about it. New Egg, on the other hand, appears, in my opinion, to be pulling a bait and switch.

So, I will be ordering my Antec Aria case, AMD 64 3200+ CPU, ASUS A8N-VM CSM motherboard, Seagate SATA NCQ 160GB hard drive, and other assorted bits and pieces from someone else (I'm putting together a Windows Media Center PC. Yes, I know, it's Windows. But the Linux equivalents aren't. Equivalent, that is. You have to do too much compiling and hand tuning to get these things to work, if you can get them to work at all and hardware support, especially for HD, is rather sparse.).

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Well, another "Black Friday" came and went. I didn't get anything for myself but we did get a bunch of stuff for the grand kids. I won't say how much we spent but look for the Disney(tm) store earnings to go up this year :)

Posted by DanS at 06:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On a sad note, actor/comedian Noriyuki "Pat" Morita passed away last week. I have no doubt that his life story will be made into a movie, someday. It is an inspiring tale of overcoming both physical and soul draining obstacles. From spinal tuberculosis to being "intered" in an Arizona camp during World War II. From working in the computer industry to the early days of trying to break into an entertainment business that was/is mostly white skinned to being nominated for an Academy Award(tm). His life is an inspiration to all and reflects the best of the human spirit. May he rest in peace.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, just how hard is it to shoot a lock off? You know, like in the movies when the someone needs to get through a locked fence. The actor pulls out his/her pistol and shoots the lock. Well, the answer, according to The Tactical Solution is: Very hard. They tried a 9mm, .45ACP, .223 (5.56mm), .308 (7.62mm), and a 12 gauge Brennke slug. The only round that was able to do enough damage to blow the lock open was the slug. None of the pistol rounds even penetrated the outer casing of the lock and the rifle rounds either bored nice round holes or actually blew parts off the lock but the lock still held. Only the slug did enough damage to open the lock. Of course, as the site notes, there are different was of shooting the lock (rather than hitting it in the center) so your mileage may vary. Don't do this at home. Insert disclaimer here.

With that, tomorrow is the Thanksgiving holiday here in the U.S. so I will be off. In addition, I will be taking Friday off to do my part in keeping the Hawaii economy robust and growing so no post on Friday either.

Have a Great Thanksgiving and Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Although I had created my first website sometime around 1996 (almost 10 years ago!), I didn't start my more or less daily posting until October 20, 1999.

During that time, many changes have occurred. In 1999, among other things, Democrat Bill Clinton was President and Hawaii had a Democrat for Governor. A judge found Microsoft to be a monopoly. And COBOL programmers around the world worked feverishly to fix millennium bugs before the year 2000 dawned.

Now, we have a Republican President, a Republican Congress, and a Republican state Governor. Microsoft is still a monopoly and has learned to buy as many politicians as it needs. I guess this is supposed to be progress. In any case, a belated happy blogging anniversary to myself and all 11 regular (and irregular) readers. Mahalo for stopping by.

Speaking of posting, next week Thursday is the Thanksgiving holiday in the US. I will also be taking the next day off so there probably won't be posts for either day.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

All is quiet at the Seto Shack. Except for the stray cat that decided that our screen door looked like a nice place to sharpen his/her claws. At 3:30 in the morning. While making the most awful noise known to human kind. Other than that, no problems here. Move along.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

WARNING: Adult content. It seems people find all kinds of new ways to use their iPods. In fact, those inventive folks in the UK are selling an iPod that is, ahem, sure to bring a smile to some women's faces.

Enter the iBuzz. An attachment for your iPod that vibrates in time with your music. Just plug one end into your iPod and the other, umm, into some place else and turn up the volume.

Also on some people's Christmas lists is the SP9004. What is that? It uses oxygen and propane, has a laser sight, bolt action, and is electrically controlled....No, it doesn't connect to your iPod. So what does it do? It fires potatoes. That's right, it's a spud launcher. Just what Johnny wants for Christmas. YMMV. Insert disclaimer here.

Posted by DanS at 08:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

The background story on the writing of this poem.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Wicked Cool Shell Scripts site has a listing of over 100, now wait for it, shell scripts. I didn't find anything on doing a time stamp but there may be something for you.

Sorry to hear that fellow Daynoter John Dominik is in need of employment. A few good thoughts/prayers/a good job couldn't hurt.

Other than that, I have some stuff to do before I leave early today so I've gotta go.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I know I'm probably giving my 11 regular readers (as opposed to you irregular ones - ed.) whiplash by breaking one of the 10 rules of blogs by not focusing on only one topic. But hey, that's the way my mind works. I'm interested in all kinds of things (and he can't avoid talking about them - ed.).

So I was surfing the 'net reading that preeminent business commentator Robert Scoble and came upon a link to the Dilbert Blog. From there, I followed a link to a cartoon called "Pearls Before Swine." The cartoonist uses the metaphor of animals and their stereotypical characteristics (e.g., rats are, well, ratty) to make social comments that are funny and insightful. For example, this panel with a crocodile made me laugh. Then think about how sometimes people end up in the jobs they have.

Getting back to Mr.Scoble, he may have hit on one of the major paradoxical truths of successful businesses in Robert Scoble's post on, among other things, Google. The truth? That if you focus only on making money, you won't make as much as if you focus on making stuff that people want to use and are therefore eventually willing to pay money for. In the case of Google Maps, the primary customer may not even be the average person. Perhaps the money is on the cool applications that can be built on top of Google's Maps. But there is no way even Google can predict which types of applications would work well. So, the genius of Google is in creating the infrastructure that developers then use to create their own applications which fill a need and by doing so, creates oodles of money for Google. It may sound like the same thing, but it's not. Deciphering the difference is the difference between being fabulously successful and wondering what happened to your job.

Posted by DanS at 06:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sorry, not much going on around here in the Seto Shack. Maybe something tomorrow. Until then, have a good one.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Okay, I know you've been waiting for this ... San Francisco in Jell-O(r). No, not EssEff covered in Jell-o. I mean a model of SF made of Jell-O.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Over the average lifetime, the US Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics says many people of the baby boomer generation hold an average of 10 different jobs. The reasons for moving to another job are many, but this list of Seven Questions Employees Should Ask Before Joining a Startup is a good start at keeping you from making a serious mistake when you decide you need a change. The list attempts to balance the upside of moving to a startup (energized work atmosphere, little bureaucracy, an opportunity to make a significant contribution to the company and make a significant amount of money, etc.) with the significant risks. That is not to say you shouldn't switch jobs. Far from it. Sometimes you have to take a risk. But, I think, you need to carefully weight the benefits versus the risks and not make a hasty decision. YMMV. Insert disclaimer here.

Posted by DanS at 06:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Speaking of legs. Some runners experience what they call a "runners high." If such a thing exists, then the participants of the Ironman Race in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii this weekend will be ecstatic after swimming a "2.4-mile ocean swim, 112-mile bike race and 26.2-mile run. Competitors have 17 hours to finish."

As a prelude to the race, there is a fun run called the Underpants Run which, as the name suggests, everyone runs in only their underpants, shoes, and a smile (not to be confused with the women's only "Nylon Run").

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Speaking of the art of management, Delphi, the largest US auto parts supplier filed for bankruptcy over the weekend. CNN is reporting that employee wages, which are very generous, may be cut by 50 percent, medical and retirement benefits may be reduced or eliminated, and many will probably loose their jobs.

On the other hand, management gave themselves a benefits raise one day before filing for bankruptcy. In addition, "Delphi also has been plagued by an accounting scandal that the FBI and the SEC are now investigating. Six people have resigned because of the investigation, including Delphi's former Chief Financial Officer Alan Dawes." It is dis-heartening to see mis-management being rewarded with increased benefits while they drive the company into bankruptcy.

So it goes in todays upside down world where mis-management is rewarded while employees are left out in the cold.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sorry, no post today. Tomorrow's big news is the rumor that 15-year-old golfer Michelle Wie will be turning pro. Supposedly she is set to sign deals with two companies worth as much as eight to $10 million a year. We shall see if Miss Wie signs with Sony and Nike...

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

When it comnes to dogs, there's an old saying that there are no bad dogs, just bad masters. I think there's a lot of truth in that. It seems to me, most dog trainers teach the masters, not the dogs. Through the ages, certain behavior patterns have been bred into dogs so the animals instinctively know what to do, it's the masters that need the help.

One of the better known people trainers is a man by the name of Cesar Millan. The 36-year-old Millan, originally from Mexico, has made it is life's work to correct the problems of dog owners. When he first came to California at the age of 21, he noticed that the biggest problem people had is treating their pets like humans. He found people gave their pets unconditional love, but no discipline nor exercise.

Yet, dogs build their social systems around a hierarchical order of who is top dog. Once the dog knows its place in the system, order is restored and peace reigns. But we humans try to make the dogs into equals, which can at best confuse the dog and at worst turn the dog into a sociopath that will have to be put down.

Millan will be coming to the Hawaii Convention Center on October 15th to give a seminar on how to train you to train your dog. There is a charge for the seminar. Millan's website is www.dogpsychologycenter.com. There is also an article in TheMorningPaper. YMMV. Insert disclaimer here.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It looks like Fall has indeed sprung. Its been raining since yesterday and I don't know if this is significant but the animals are beginning to line up two by two.

In any case, I have an early morning meeting to prepare for so I gotta run. But before I go, thank you to fellow Daynoter John Doucette for renewing the daynotes.com domain for the Gang.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Working in a large governmental agency, like working for a large private corporation can, over time, suck the soul out of your body like Coke out of a bottle. As a result, many people become sticklers about insignificant details but loose sight of what the agency or business is really trying to do. That is, serve their customers. But that doesn't mean it has to be that way.

Kathy Sierra created a User Focused Employee Guide. Some of the ideas in her guide are:

• Language matters. Frame everything in terms of the user's experience.

• Speak for real users... not fake abstract "profiles".

• Put pictures of real users on your walls. Act like they're as important to you as pictures of family members and pets.

• When product features are discussed without taking into account how it helps (or hinders) the user kicking ass, adopt a slightly confused, mildly annoyed look...

• Blog about it

There are other ideas in her guide but it's all good. The bottom line is the customer is not the enemy so do not treat him or her as if they were. Focus on making them more productive. Focus on helping them to do their job better. Focus on that, and everything else drops away as irrelevant.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So, they're at it again. Those robot vehicles in search of Sarah Connor tasked with driving a course without human intervention. The last DARPA Grand Challenge wasn't exactly a ringing success but with the cash prize doubled to $2 million USD, things are heating up.

Starting tomorrow through October 5th, 43 teams are vying for 20 slots in the final challenge set for October 8th. In order to get to the finals in Nevada, the teams must compete in preliminary heats at the California Speedway in Fontana, California.

The finals will require the robotic vehicles to travel a 150-mile (about 240km) course within 10 hours (about 10 hours). The course route will not be announced until two hours prior to the start.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I think I've been interested in photography since I was in elementary school and had a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye. Later, when I worked at the family printing business, I used the darkroom to process film, slides, and prints. There was something almost magical to see the image appearing out of a white piece of paper, made yellow by the safe lights. To see the rich tones, from pure white to pure black, never failed to fascinate me. To this day, I appreciate black and white images more than color.

That said, every once in awhile I run across a site that intoxicates the senses with the pleasure of form and, in the case of the Liquid Sculpture site, movement.

This site displays images, taken with a high speed flash, of water droplets (note, you need to fully enable javascript for the images to display). You've probably seen photos of milk droplets or such but photographer Martin Waugh plays with colors and substances to create, yes, liquid sculptures. All the content is copyrighted so I won't be showing you any examples but feel free to go to his site to take a look.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

One of nature's wonders is "The Flying Mobulas of the Sea of Cortez".

Although I live on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, I've never seen these manta ray like animals. But it must be amazing to see these sea creatures coming up out of the water flying through the air and splashing back down into their watery home.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am not a happy camper right now so take what I have to say with a grain of salt. [insert disclaimer here]

That said, for those who are tasked with managing a large, multi-location network, using any tool that will help you do your job is highly prized. Unfortunately, within this context, it is common to confuse what the goal is. That is, the overall goal should be to assist the organization in meeting its mission. For some, this is manufacturing and for others a service. For us, it is the administration of justice.

However, the confusion comes in where some Information Technology (hereinafter IT) managers begin to think of the network as their own and that employees are invaders that, at best, must be tolerated and, at worst, must be tracked/blocked/spied upon.

Recently, under the guise of implementing a large network-based application, our IT division began surreptitiously installing a very costly program called LANDesk. I say surreptitiously because other than notifying a committee that does not regularly report to employees, IT refuses to let anyone know about the installation. They refuse to put up a notice on the internal intraweb site (which is what the site is for). They refuse to send a memo to all division explaining what the software is for and why it is being forced down on all desktops, via the network, without their prior knowledge or consent. In other words, they seem to be very closed and are essentially telling everyone else to "bug off" because IT knows what they are doing and no one else does nor needs to know. Of course, I don't know what IT knows but I note, yet again, IT has apparently hired a consultant to do the installation and configuration for them. Perhaps I'm wrong, but this would tend to indicate IT doesn't have the in-house expertise to install and configure such an application. But I digress.

LANDesk has several modules intended for different situations. But for users, the modules that affect us are: one that secretly "inventories" the users PC, one that surreptitiously allows IT to watch whatever is on your screen (in real time), and the one that can take over control of the PC itself. I would not be surprised if IT already reads all the emails coming and going within our system. But, I guess, that may not be enough in the war against employees. IT now seems to want dominion over all desktops attached to the network.

There are many unfortunate problems with this situation. The most important, right now, is that LANDesk does not seem to be compatible with some types of security software such as anti-virus and anti-spyware utilities. And by incompatible, speaking just for myself, I mean LANDesk will corrupt data to a point in which the user must reformat the drive. Within one week, I got between five and 10 blue screens of death and various other Windows errors that locked up my PC. Any of these episodes may have been the one(s) that finally caused by PC to become inoperable, but I can't say which one in particular did the deed. Although it is possible the installing of LANDesk was coincidental to my problems, common sense tells me otherwise.

In any case, I had to reformat my drive and re-install my applications. Needless to say, I am less than a happy camper because this occurred during the time I was working on the internal project I've mentioned before. This project started nine month ago and culminated in a 75 page report (30 pages of which are data tables) that I recently finished. Fortunately, I kept multiple copies of the report in different locations so when my PC went down, I still had access to the draft.

Did I mention I am not a happy camper?

Lastly, central control of all PCs on the network opens a door for a worm or virus to be spread, all at once, to every PC. Stunningly, IT seems to be blind to this possibility and has no procedures or policies, written or otherwise, for the physical security of the workstation that controls LANDesk nor any procedures or polices to cover the eventuality of an employee accidently, or on purpose, either spreading a virus/worm or the taking of confidential information from employee's PCs. This, even though it is common knowledge that the most common vector for spam has been internal IT employees stealing the information and selling it to spammers.

To me, the purpose of the network is to help employees do their job of meeting the mission of this department. However, it seems IT has decided users are a virus that must be stamped out, or at least controlled. This is, apparently, regardless of the consequences and without transparency or accountability.

More tomorrow when I will talk about the changes to MT 3.2 (and why this site is looking so strange).

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I'm having problems "upgrading" to MT 3.2 so things may look a bit strange (or not at all, depending on whether I get this working).

I've also had to reformat my c:\ drive because of problems with an application our IT people are installing. More when I have time.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 02:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sorry, no post today. Maybe tomorrow. Or Not.

Posted by DanS at 08:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sometimes people focus on the process rather than the goal.

For example, even as communities all over the United States welcome the survivors of Hurricane Katrina (including here in Hawaii), I guess I shouldn't be surprised that at least one area, Majestic Oaks, Ocala, Florida (what is it about Florida that attracts such people - ed.) is refusing to accept any survivors.

According to this Ocala Star-Banner article (be aware that the HTML for that page seems borked so you may need to Google for another source), the community of Majestic Oaks has a homeowners association with deed restrictions that prohibit their housing survivors of the storm.

That is, it seems the homes are considered single-family housing. Thus, housing more than one family is prohibited - even in times of emegency.

If that wasn't bad enough, a Navy helicopter pilot, hearing from the Coast Guard that immediate assistance was needed to rescue survivors from the rooftops of homes due to the flooding, diverted from his flight and, by doing so, saved 110 victims of the storm before returning to base.

His reward for using his iniative and acting like the kind of citizen we would like to think we are? He was pulled from flights and was assigned to administering a dog kennel. His commander says this is not a retaliation (wink, wink) for his not keeping to his mission of delivering supplies but medical authorities report the commander's nose grew three inches mmediately after he spoke (you can read more about this story here).

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Citizens have to take personal responsbility for doing what needs to be done in times of emergency. Sometimes, this means ignoring rules/regulations and relying on your individual common sense of what has to be done.

Loosing sight of the goal and focusing only on the process can sometimes lead to absurd results like the two examples above. But if we want to be a free people, rather than government controlled drones, we must act. Thank God for people like this Navy pilot who exhibited, by what he did, what I consider to be actions in the highest tradtions of our country.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We are gathered here, representative of the major warring powers, to conclude a solemn agreement whereby peace may be restored. The issues, involving divergent ideals and ideologies, have been determined on the battlefields of the world and hence are not for our discussion or debate. Nor is it for us here to meet, representing as we do a majority of the peoples of the earth, in a spirit of distrust, malice or hatred.

But rather it is for us, both victors and vanquished, to rise to that higher dignity which alone befits the sacred purposes we are about to serve, committing all our people unreservedly to faithful compliance with the understanding they are here formally to assume.

It is my earnest hope and indeed the hope of all mankind that from this solemn occasion a better world shall emerge out of the blood and carnage of the past - a world founded upon faith and understanding - a world dedicated to the dignity of man and the fulfillment of his most cherished wish - for freedom, tolerance, and justice.

The terms and conditions upon which the surrender of the Japanese Imperial Forces is here to be given and accepted are contained in the instrument of surrender now before you.

As supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, I announce it my firm purpose, in the tradition of the countries I represent, to proceed in the discharge of my responsibilities with justice and tolerance, while taking all necessary dispositions to ensure that the terms of surrender are fully, promptly, and faithfully complied with.

Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world and that God will preserve it always. - U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur aboard the USS Missouri anchored in Tokyo Bay.

Monday is a holiday so probably no post.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:15 AM | Permalink

Not only do our thoughts and prayers go out to the people hit by the recent hurricane, but many Hawaii residents are heading their way to help. From medical doctors and nurses to civil engineers and utility workers, many are already on the ground doing their best to lend a hand.

For those of us who can't go, you may wish to consider donating some money to any of the worthy emergency organizations. I'm linking to the American Red Cross but feel free to choose the organization of your choice.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:36 AM | Permalink

I'm still cranking away on the project that is due next week Thursday so I gotta go.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:52 AM | Permalink

Well, no, not actually. You've probably heard of the Internet phenomenon referred to as the Flying Spaghetti Monster, or Pastafarians, as some adherents are called. Wikipedia has as good an explanation as anyone else on this passing fad so feel free to follow the link and see what the noise has been all about.

Posted by DanS at 09:01 AM | Permalink

Sorry, no post today. I'm really busy at work trying to finish a project due next week Thursday so I gotta go. Until then, talk amongst yourselves.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

According to this BBC report, Dr. Nguyen Phuoc Huy, a medical doctor in a poor area of Vietnam, couldn't afford the $30,000 USD cost of buying an endoscopic system. Said system is used to view the interior of the human body to aid in diagnosing various problems. It is especially useful in minimally invasive surgeries where a relatively small incision can be made for the camera lens and then the doctor's hand is guided by the image provided by the endoscope.

Not knowing much about optics or computers, the good doctor taught himself what he needed to know, consulted with others when he ran into problems, then designed and built his own endoscope for about the cost of the scope itself ($800).

I love this kind of ingenuity where you take what you have, learn what you need to learn, and then create something useful on a tight budget.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Pavement artists have probably been around as long as there have been, well, pavements. If you like that kind of temporary art, then you might like this guy who does 3-D renderings that are amazing.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

In another earlier post, I said native Hawaiians were in no danger of going the way of the Dodo bird. But perhaps I spoke too soon because no sooner did I say that, then the US Census Bureau released the latest census numbers which indicate, over the last four years, that the number of native Hawaiians declined by 1.3 precent (279,651 down from 283,430). Sigh.

Obviously, it is unclear, and probably too early to tell whether this is a statistical anomaly, the start of a trend, or a reflection of Hawaiians moving to other states [/irony]. But if this trend, for whatever reason, continues it may portend even more bad things in store for us...See the story here.

Posted by DanS at 09:17 AM | Permalink

The TV and movie industries have, for the most part, been a good source of income here in Hawai'i. Not only are they mostly environmentally friendly, but in addition to the well paid union jobs they create, you get free advertising probably worth millions.

From Hawaii Five-O, Magnum PI, Lost, to various TV shows, movies (e.g., Jurassic Park and Raiders of the Lost Ark) and commercials, Hollywood has been, on balance, mostly good for Hawai'i.

But in some cases, and not necessarily the ones listed above, there are behind the scenes efforts to get "special consideration" or incentives from government and businesses. By that I mean tax credits, free/reduced sound stage rents, free/reduced housing, free/reduced air fare, etc. The unstated threat is that if you don't give the producers such consideration, they will either leave and go somewhere else where someone will accommodate their demands, or not come in the first place.

Unfortunately, sometimes it works. Places like Canada and Australia provide huge tax credits, worth millions of dollars, to come and film in their locations. Hollywood has responded by filming in these countries specifically because of these inducements.

But the question is always, do you get more benefits from these films than the cost of these considerations? Oftentimes, this is a difficult question to answer because of the problem of measuring the benefits. Figuring out how much direct taxes are paid by the companies is usually doable. The problem is in figuring out how much taxes are generated by people viewing the movies/TV series and deciding, on that alone, to come to Hawaii and spend some money.

That question aside, local and state governments, all over the country, have joined the tax giveaway sweepstakes. This is not only for movies. I'm talking about tax adjustments/credits for just about every business there is.

But this article says many, if not most of these efforts end up being huge scams where taxpayers end up holding an empty bag.

Although I'm not saying there shouldn't be incentives for business, I am saying you to have to carefully consider the costs versus the benefits by following up and evaluating the programs. Otherwise, all you are doing is stealing from the poor and giving to the rich.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:15 AM | Permalink

There is more than one way to get to the moon and planets, which way is the best is now beginning to be debated.

Even as the space shuttle is set to return tomorrow, NASA understands that it needs a replacement for the aging shuttle fleet. The questions is: replace it with what? What is the mission? What criteria should be used to determine what the next manned spacecraft should be able to do?

This Popular Mechanics article says it may look something like the illustration on the left. According to the article, the "primary requirement is to 'ensure crew safety through all mission phases.'" One would think that is a given, but perhaps I am mistaken. The other stated goal is to have a vehicle able to go beyond Earth orbit.

The article is kind of fuzzy on the details but it appears the Lockheed Martin shuttle would be made up of three parts (crew module, mission module, and propulsion stage), each launching separately. The modules would then dock in low earth orbit (LEO) and continue on to its destination, whether the space station or the moon and beyond. While this certainly makes for mission flexibility, I think it increases the complexity and the number of things that could cause mission failure.

For example, it could take six to nine or more launches, depending on the mission, to assemble the required modules in LEO. As we should have learned from our experience in building the International Space Station, a lot of things can and will go wrong while trying to assemble a multi-module space craft in LEO.

I could be wrong, but I seem to remember a debate, during the early part of the race to moon, whether to go directly there or use multiple launches and assemble in LEO and then go on to the moon. The decision was to go directly to the moon because, it was determined, it was simpler (and simpler is more reliable and usually safer).

Nonetheless, I guess the closest analogy is one of a train and its modular design. When bigger payloads are needed, you add more engines and then more cars to carry more cargo. Don't need to carry more but want to go farther? Add more propulsion and fuel. In other words, you configure the craft to meet the mission.

Another big change, but perhaps a retrograde one when returning, is the shuttle would not glide back to Earth but rather, would use parachutes. Much like the spam-in-a-can capsules of the 1960's and 70's. Thus, the dream of a shuttle that could fly into space and fly back, much like the commercial aircraft of today, would end.

Whether this is the winning design is too early to determine, but I wonder if the design criteria shouldn't be made clearer, first.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Molly E. Holzschlag came to Hawai'i. She took some photos. Here they are (released under Creative Commons Some Rights Reserved license). The photo below shows Koko Crater (also known, in Hawaiian, as Kohelepelepe). Immediately above it is the only official public outdoor shooting range on the island of O'ahu. Just above the range is the famed (and usually very crowded!) Hanauma Bay Nature Reserve.

Photo by Molly E. Holzschlag.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

And then there's this from Yahoo! News UK/Ireland:

Cracks are appearing in the UK thong market with sales down nearly 20% in the past year. Ever since the buttock-baring item of women's underwear was worn by a catwalk model in 1997, G-strings have been all the rage. Today sales of thongs remain firm among women aged 25 and under.

But demand from older women has started to sag, new figures show.

Between May 2004 and May this year G-string/thong sales dropped 17% nationally, according market researchers TNS Fashion Trak.

Their figures show that more discreet, 'shorts-style' knickers are becoming more popular.

But despite its recent dip in form, the thong, which remains a must-have 'chav' fashion accessory, is far from a thing of the past.

They still account for £38m of the £165m women's underwear industry.

Rachel Argyle, from TNS, said: "The bottom has not completely dropped out of the thong market, not yet.

"There is still a future for the thong. There is just a wider range of more comfortable alternatives out there."

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Kind of a slow day in the Seto Shack so I'll leave you with this site that has data map visualizations of various kinds.

By that I mean various people have mapped data onto a globe. Some of what I think are the more visually interesting examples are below. Be forewarned that it is a graphic intensive site and probably requires a broadband connection.

Light output.

Death penalty nations/states.

Telecommunications capacity.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:23 AM | Permalink

First up, congratulations to the Hawaii Judiciary Internet site team. The Hawaii site has been chosen as one of the top 10 judiciary sites in the US for 2005 according to JusticeServed.com.

The Internet team has worked very hard in making the site useful for court users and I'm sure they will be pleased by the recognition.

Again, congratulations to the entire team!

Posted by DanS at 08:53 AM | Permalink

I have a bunch of stuff to do today so I don't have a lot of time this morning so here are a few quick links:

Opera 8.02 was released. The change log says there are three security fixes and a few bug fixes. If you use Opera, you may wish to upgrade as soon as possible.

According to this article, a Idaho attorney's license to practise law was suspended for 11 months. The attorney allegedly asked one of his clients to pose in the nude, in lieu of his regular fee. The client did so, in fear that she would not otherwise be able to get representation in her divorce proceedings.

As if the Lamborghini Gallardo wasn't exclusive enough, they've come out with a special edition (SE). I don't know what's so special about the SE but it "is equipped with a permanent 4WD, 6 speed gearbox, aluminum space frame, ESP and ASR, ABS, ABD, air conditioning, as well as two front and two side airbags...In Europe it will be available at a list price of € 141.500, -- excl.VAT."

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 10:28 AM | Permalink

On a lighter note, I thought the Japanese were wild about vending machines but some folks over in the UK may have topped them. It seems pub patrons in Bath can now get their pints and crisps then go over to the vending machine and get their sex toys. Whoa. Sex toys? Yup. Sex toys.

This article here says four pubs have agreed to have the vending machines installed and are reporting a brisk business. While the idea has not exactly spread far and wide, it does open itself to penetrating questions as to its appropriateness.

Posted by DanS at 09:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Speaking of the Japanese, Sony Corporation, that paean to proprietary closed formats and non-competitive practices, is reported to be party to a payola scandal. It appears that Sony may have violated state and perhaps federal law by paying radio stations, through intermediaries, to play their music. The report says Sony must pay a $10 million dollar fine and stop the illegal practices. I am shocked. Shocked I say, that Sony would stoop to such practices.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:13 AM | Permalink

When I heard about something called high definition radio I said to my self: "Self, they have to be joking." I mean, it's like that commercial for a cleaning product that gives you high definition windows.

But then, I read this Wired article about high definition radio and I saw the error of my ways. There really is such a thing but I've heard it referred to as digital radio.

But as nice as digital radio probably is, the problem with almost any new technology is the chicken and the egg question. Here in Hawaii, we don't have any digital radio stations (on the other hand, we do have chickens and eggs). So, I'm not likely to buy a $250 digital radio. In fact, I won't be buying either one of the satellite radio (XM or Serius) receivers because we don't get either signal out here in the Pacific.

Why don't we have such services? Perhaps two reasons.

I think it's partly the cost. It takes a bunch of money to come here and set something up for a relatively small population (about one million, not including chickens or eggs). But little do these companies know that we are so starved for selection that when almost any new store opens here, it quickly becomes the number one in gross sales across the entire US. Whether it's Krispy Kreme donuts or Costco warehouse, their number one stores in sales, nationwide, are here.

But mostly, I guess, it's because there's no competition. Almost all the radio stations are owned by the same company so why spend money to differentiate yourself from the other guy?

Posted by DanS at 09:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Fellow Daynoter Rick Hellewell sent this link about flesh eating caterpillars. The first of this type of caterpillar was initially identified here in Hawaii. I happened to see a short story on this on a local TV station and all I can say about the creature is that it's really creepy. Nudge, nudge. Creepy. Get it?

Thank you to Rick for the link (Disclaimer: he had nothing to do with the pun - ed.).

Posted by DanS at 09:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Speaking of fellow Daynoters, Phil Hough has mentioned, several times, a TV series called TopGear. The series, set in the UK, reviews several types of motor vehicles, although they favor the high performance end of the spectrum.

Recently, a US cable channel called The Discovery Channel picked up the series and started broadcasting it on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The listing of shows doesn't exactly match the current offering across the pond but Phil tells me it sounds like what we see is similar to the current series so perhaps the episodes aren't too old.

In any case, whether the shows are current or two or three years old, I can't wait until the episode reviewing the Ferrari F60 runs. I don't know for sure, but I think the F60 was called the "Enzo" when it was released in the US in 2002. The F60/Enzo took its cues, in great part, from the then current Formula 1 cars. This Ferrari, or almost any Ferrari, has always been my favorite dream car (as in only in my dreams will I ever own one).

If you are into performance automobiles, check you local listing for TopGear. It's TopStuff.

Posted by DanS at 09:19 AM | Permalink

Over the weekend, a missing hiker from Texas was found after six days of wandering the lava fields on the Big Island of Hawai'i. It seems the 41 year-old man decided to see the lava flowing into the ocean. At night. Alone. Without telling anyone where he was going or what he was going to do.

Rescuers spent days combing the barren waste land trying to find him but it was a 15 year-old boy, flying in a tour helicopter, that finally saw the man's distress signal.

The Boy Scouts have a saying about always being prepared. Perhaps this is the lesson to take from this man's predicament.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:16 AM | Permalink

I spent most of the time I have for a post this morning trying to respond to a comment left by fellow Daynoter Phil Hough. Unfortunately, my response got bounced. Several times. From two different email servers (pair.com and gmail.com).

So I took a look at the email address Phil left in his comment and compared it to what he has on his site and noticed it was different. Hence, I decided to respond to the address on his site rather than the one he left on the comment and that seems to have gone through (at least it hasn't come back at the time of this writing). Crossing fingers that it went through.

Sorry Phil if it doesn't but I tried.

In any case, all I have time for are a couple of links:

"Vista" is what the next version of Microsoft's operating system will be called. It used to be codenamed "Longhorn" but now you can call it Vista. You can visit the Windows Vista site here. But I'm not sure if the 2006 ship date will be met and, if so, what features will ship when it does. While I'm sure there will be a lot of changes under the hood, I've heard that there won't be much that you won't be able to get in Windows XP. But all of that is just speculation and we will have to see what happens.

As a follow-up to my latest post on Wal*Mart's anti-union tactics, I got an email from the Deputy Director of Communications of an outfit called American Rights at Work. She tells me they've created a website www.walmartworkersrights.org that details what she says is "the retail giant's unfair practices in the workplace and a platform for activists to communicate their opposition to Wal-Mart's anti-union behavior."

I don't know who she is nor who pays for the site but with that disclaimer, feel free to check it out.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

No, this is not a picture of the newest Star Trek starship. It's a CD player. A tube CD player. What does it cost? The Shanling T300 lists for $6,995 USD. You can read a review here or check out the manufacturer site here.

I'm no audiophile, so I can't tell you if it makes any sense to add tubes to a digital player. But then, who said anything audiophiles do make any sense? Especially if they pay almost $7,000 for a CD player. I mean, to people who pay hundreds of dollars for half-a-metre long patch cords that are made of "five nine" copper/silver/gold plate and covered in graphite mesh to reduce "resonances", spending this kind of money for a CD player sounds reasonable.

But for me, I'll trot on over to the local hardware store and buy 14-gauge lamp cord and make my own.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

It seems to me, there are two kinds of bloggers. Those who talk about everyday subjects and those that write about out-of-the ordinary subjects.

But one example of someone who can do both is Wil Wheaton. His recent post on gambling in Las Vegas is excellent (I've linked to one but there are a series of good ones there). If I may be so bold to say that I think this is some of his best writing, so far.

Wheaton has a knack of setting the scene and drawing readers into his world. He makes it easy to see things through his eyes. To experience his feelings as your own would be, if you were in his shoes (and if you're in his shoes, he says to tell you he wants them back. No questions asked.).

Wheaton kind of reminds me, in a good way, of the writings of author James Thurber. Readers are propelled forward into a world few will ever actually experience. But the trip is nonetheless interesting.

Although I get no amusement out of gambling, Wheaton obviously does and writes about it in ways that transports the reader into Wil's world. The sights, sounds, and impressions paint a picture of what it would be like to be there. Good stuff, this.

Posted by DanS at 08:31 AM | Permalink

Thirty-six years ago today, man first walked on the moon. Perhaps, in my lifetime, we may yet go back.

Posted by DanS at 08:27 AM | Permalink

And finally, Scotty has been beamed up. Actor James Doohan, who played the role of the engineer on the TV series Star Trek passed away today. He was 85 and reportedly suffering from pneumonia and Alzheimer's disease. May he rest in peace.

Imua!

Posted by DanS at 08:25 AM | Permalink

Fellow Daynoter John Doucette posted some bad news on Wednesday. His dear wife Emma has been diagnosed with skin cancer. I don't know what the prognosis is but I'm sure some good thoughts and prayers sent his and Emma's way would be appreciated.

Whatever happens, I hope John and Emma know they have friends who care.

Posted by DanS at 08:00 PM | Permalink

Many people think that living in Hawaii must be paradise. In many ways, it is. But as a few people find out each year, not everything is sweet and light. According to this article (scroll down to the police reports):

A 50-year-old visitor from Connecticut was allegedly robbed twice in less than five minutes yesterday while walking along Ali'i Drive in Kailua-Kona.

Derrick Schull told police he was walking south along Ali'i Drive at about 3:25 a.m. just north of Lunapule Road when a dark-colored sport utility vehicle stopped alongside him. He said three dark-complexioned males in their 30s got out and demanded his wallet. The suspects then forcibly took the wallet and its contents and drove off in a southerly direction.

About five minutes later, the victim said, four males walked out of some bushes, confronted him and demanded his wallet.

When the victim told them he had no wallet, the two young adults allegedly punched and kicked him before fleeing the area.

The victim suffered minor injuries and refused medical attention.

Ali'i Drive is the main road in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawai'i. To be accosted twice, much less once, on a main street just reflects the problems associated with illegal drug use. The users quickly begin a life of crime, if they haven't already, to get money to buy their drugs. As these people become bolder, I think we will see more and more of these kinds of incidents.

Heck, Honolulu city hall was broken into and computers stolen. Twice. In one week. If city hall isn't safe, where is? That said, it doesn't mean we should all stay in our homes and never leave. These kinds of incidents are not the norm, life does go on. So get out there and live your life as you choose. Just be aware that, sometimes, bad things happen.

Posted by DanS at 08:54 AM | Permalink

I've talked before about the differences between Sam's Club/Wal*Mart and Costco. I've noted how Costco treats its employees with respect by paying a living wage and benefits while Sam's Club/Wal*Mart rabidly adheres to its anti-union, poverty-level benefits and wages while awarding their executives multi-million dollar salaries.

One must wonder how Costco stays in business with such cut-throat competition. But according to this article, Costco's CEO Jim Senegal says: "We pay much better than Wal-Mart. That's not altruism. It's good business." Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti goes on to explain: "From day one, we've run the company with the philosophy that if we pay better than average, provide a salary people can live on, have a positive environment and good benefits, we'll be able to hire better people, they'll stay longer and be more efficient."

Who'd a thunk it? Treat people well, earn their trust and, more likely than not, they will work harder and be more productive than people who are treated like chattel who are one step above slaves.

Because Costco's employees are more productive ($795 of sales per square foot, versus $516 at Sam's Club), Costco's labor costs are actually lower than Wal*Mart's as a percentage of sales. What's more, its labor and overhead costs (classed as SG&A, or selling, general and administrative expenses) are 9.8% of revenues, compared to Wal*Mart's 17%.

Perhaps reflective of this, Costco's executives walk the walk when you compare their CEO salaries to Wal*Mart's. Costco's CEO gets $350,000 a year, Wal*Mart's CEO gets $5.3 million. It seems Wal*Mart executives feel they have to pay themselves well to hire and keep the best executives. But when it comes to employees, said employees are fungible, so why bother.

But, as this article appears to show, the business bottom line is that if pay a living wage and treat your employees with respect, you can hire and keep good employees. These very same employees, if management does its part, can make you profits beyond your dreams.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The US Public Broadcast System (PBS) is running a series based on the Jared Diamond book Guns, Germs and Steel. The Pulitzer Prize winning book, first published in 1997, sparked a debate regarding the relationship between "geographic, cultural, environmental, and technological factors which have led to domination of Western culture in the world."

Diamond's view provides a new way of understanding the world by trying to answer the following questions:

• Why were Europeans the ones to conquer so much of our planet?
• Why didn't the Chinese, or the Inca, become masters of the globe instead?
• Why did cities first evolve in the Middle East?
• Why did farming never emerge in Australia?
• And why are the tropics now the capital of global poverty?

The answers he found are provocative. According to his theory, what you could do, to a great extent, depended on what resources were available to you. And what resources were available to you was, to a great extent, based on luck (or geography).

For example, in order to progress from a hunter-gather society to a farming one, you must have plants and animals that can be usefully domesticated. Lacking such resources, he contends, no matter how intelligent you are, you cannot progress up the ladder towards what we now call Western civilization (such that it is).

Animals dramatically increase the productivity of farming, through their meat, milk, leather, dung, and as beasts of burden. Without them, farmers are trapped in a cycle of subsistence and manual labor.

Of all the animal species in the world, only 14 have ever been domesticated. 12 of these are native to Eurasia. One, the llama, is native to South America - and the farmers of New Guinea managed to domesticate the pig. But pigs can't pull plows, and until the arrival of Europeans in the twentieth century, all New Guinean farming was still done by hand.

Whether you agree with his theories or not, it is, I believe, a different way of viewing history and perhaps a useful way of predicting the future.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:03 AM | Permalink

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:15 AM | Permalink

NASA is rightly proud to document the success of its Deep Impact mission to comet Tempel 1. Locally, the Keck Observatory, on the island of Hawai'i, has released preliminary data. However, since the data are in the hundreds and thousands of megabytes in size I've decided not to download it. The initial report indicates the infrared spectrometer picked up the impact debris immediately and found the following:

"The IR continuum began to brighten immediately after impact, and brightening continued for the next hour. Spectral lines of H2O appeared almost immediately, and continued to brighten thereafter. The first instrument setting (28 minutes on source) revealed spectral lines of H2O (7 hot-band lines)), C2H6 (5 Q-branches: RQ2, RQ1, RQ0, PQ1, and PQ2), and CH3OH (many lines). The second setting (24 minutes on source) yielded additional hot-band lines of H2O,along with lines of HCN (six lines), C2H2 (tentatively two lines),CH3OH (many lines) and OH prompt emission."

Posted by DanS at 12:51 PM | Permalink

The word photography has as its roots the Greek words phos (light) and graphos (written, drawn, or recorded). Taking things literally, this set of Flickr images paints with the light from the common sparkler.

Posted by DanS at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

One of the counter-culture slogans of the sixties and seventies was to question authority (another was "Better dead than Red." This takes on new meaning in the conflict between Red and Blue states. But, I digress). According to this Wired article on the events of September 11, a study found that those who relied on their own judgment and sources of information, and therefore evacuated the towers rather than listened to 911 operators who told them to wait for rescuers to reach them, survived. Those that waited, died.

In addition, the common procedure for passengers of a hijacked plane, at that time, was to do nothing and wait for authorities to deal with the situation. Fortunately, the passengers of United Flight 93, hearing, via cell phones, of the attacks, disregarded the procedures and took independent action.

The bottomline seems to be that in an emergency, each citizen must make their own assessment of what to do rather than to rely on authority. This is at the same time empowering and frightening because of the possible consequences. However, free people everywhere are willing and able to make such decisions and this study, for one, seems to say we are usually right.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 12:46 PM | Permalink

A Daytona Beach, Florida woman won a court case in which a judge found it legal for her to go topless during a political protest.

It seems there is a local law that exempts nudity as part of a political protest. Hence, when she went topless, as part of a protest, she was within her rights to do so. I say, down with tops! Full speed ahead.

In other news, backless panties are back in the spotlight. Tired of showing your thong straps when wearing your low cut jeans? Tired of the label from your high cut panties showing everyone what size underwear you wear? Well then, wear backless panties instead and everyone will think nothing comes between you and your Calvins.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The contract I was working on since the beginning of this month was completed last Friday. I don't know if I'll ever have to do that again but clearly, this kind of effort can be successful only if a lot of people are persuaded to work together.

I was lucky enough to have a team of people who made the contract a priority and helped move it forward in what must be record time. From beginning to end in three-and-a-half weeks is amazing when you consider it takes about that long just to get the tax clearance.

I can't name the people who helped out but I hope they know that I'm thankful for their assistance.

In other news, I am a brand new grandfather. My wife's daughter gave birth to an eight-pound baby boy. He is having some health problems but is getting stronger every day. It is hoped that he will come home from the hospital in about a week or so.

And finally, since I finished the contract and can now reformat my hard drive, I will do my twice annual hard drive deep cleaning. The deep cleaning is intended to get rid of the rubbish that Windows seems to collect over a period of time. As the registry gets bigger and bigger, my computer runs slower and slower (and gets less reliable).

That said, I do have to say Windows XP Pro is much more reliable than earlier versions and perhaps, once the next version comes out in a couple of years, I won't need to do these deep cleanings so often.

By the way, you Linux lovers out there shouldn't get too complacent because I have to do the same thing with whichever version of Linux I may have at the time. The installation and upgrading of applications, under Linux, is so inexact that it is a miracle that you can do any work with a Linux box. The sad thing is, I don't see it getting any better anytime soon because the world of Linux is still so balkanized and I don't see any solution (save one distribution taking control of the market).

Even if one distribution did take control, I don't know if that would be, on balance, better than what we have now. Linux is flourishing because, it seems to me, there are so many different versions that you can find a distribution that suits what you need to do best rather than having to settle for what you get.

If only the different distributions could settle on a core set of directory structures and utilities such that application developers could stop worrying about the differences. If this were to occur, Linux would be set to really take off because installing and upgrading applications would become trivial.

However, as I've speculated before, I don't think this will happen anytime soon (although there have been efforts to do this) because the distributors don't see any advantage to themselves to do so. As long as they think they can lock people into their own distribution by being different, they will continue to do so.

In any case, I'll probably wait until the end of the week to wipe the drive just in case anything should come up. So don't expect any updates on Friday. Monday is a national holiday (Independence Day) so there won't be any post on that day nor probably Tuesday, as it usually takes me two business days to get everything reloaded and back to how I like it.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The ability to create your own holograms has been around for years. But this kit here seems to be the easiest, if not the least costly, way to go.

For $139USD, you get everything you need (except an R2 Unit to transport the image to Old Ben) to make your own 3-D image. The kits comes with a laser, instant film, various accessories, and instructions.

Posted by DanS at 08:18 AM | Permalink

High atop a windswept, extinct volcano on the island of Hawai'i are some of the better, if not the best, astronomical sites on Earth. The Mauna Kea Observatories include 13 telescopes run by eleven different countries, including the world's largest optical/infrared scope, the Keck Observatory.

Hence, it is not surprising that Mauna Kea was factored in to NASA's Deep Impact mission to comet Tempel 1. According to this article, NASA planned the impact of its probe so that telescopes on Mauna Kea would have the best view possible.

Assuming that the July 3rd mission goes as planned, the Hawaii observatories (and their sister observatories on the island of Mau'i) should have the first, and perhaps best views, of the experiment.

Posted by DanS at 09:17 AM | Permalink

I'm still working on the contract that needs to be done by this Friday. The contract itself should arrive from the mainland today. But we can't sign the contract until we get the tax clearance from the federal Internal Revenue Service and the Hawaii Department of Taxation. I emailed the Hawai'i tax office last week Thursday, but have not received a reply.

This is coming down to the wire but, it seems, all I can do is wait.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:46 AM | Permalink

I'm getting awfully burned out working on this contract. There are various requirements, some of which I have no influence over because they involve outside agencies.

As we come down to the last week before closing the fiscal books for the year, things will get even more stressful. This is my way of saying that there may not be updates for the next couple of days (or next week).

Posted by DanS at 10:33 AM | Permalink

Airplane! What is it? It's a form of transportation that flies through the air, but that's not important now. And don't call me Shirley. It's been 25 years since Jim Abrahams and the Zucker brothers brought to the screen one of the funniest movies, ever -- Airplane!

Although, perhaps you have to understand the times in which the movie placed itself to understand most of the jokes, it is still funny today.

Congratulations to all involved.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:40 AM | Permalink

Sorry, no post today. I'm working on finalizing a contract that needs to be done by the end of this fiscal year (June 30th). There are all kinds of hurdles that have to be cleared before I can do that. At this point, I'm not optimistic that it can be completed. But, I am doing my best.

Until that's done, things may be a bit sparse around here.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:50 AM | Permalink

Sorry, no post today. Itś a state holiday (King Kamehameha Day) so I have the day off.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 10:07 AM | Permalink

The UK Royal Society's Biology Letters published a twins study that found a genetic link to women's ability to achieve an orgasm.

Abstract:

Orgasmic dysfunction in females is commonly reported in the general population with little consensus on its aetiology. We performed a classical twin study to explore whether there were observable genetic influences on female orgasmic dysfunction. Adult females from the TwinsUK register were sent a confidential survey including questions on sexual problems. Complete responses to the questions on orgasmic dysfunction were obtained from 4037 women consisting of 683 monozygotic and 714 dizygotic pairs of female twins aged between 19 and 83 years. One in three women (32%) reported never or infrequently achieving orgasm during intercourse, with a corresponding figure of 21% during masturbation. A significant genetic influence was seen with an estimated heritability for difficulty reaching orgasm during intercourse of 34% (95% confidence interval 27–40%) and 45% (95% confidence interval 38–52%) for orgasm during masturbation. These results show that the wide variation in orgasmic dysfunction in females has a genetic basis and cannot be attributed solely to cultural influences. These results should stimulate further research into the biological and perhaps evolutionary processes governing female sexual function.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I've had my Motorola Razr V3 for a couple of weeks now and have a better feel for its strong and weak points.

Weak Points:First, the volume of the ear piece is too soft. If I'm walking along the street, normal traffic noise drowns out everything coming from the phone. Speaking of volume, the feedback tone from pressing a key is also too soft.

Secondly, when outside, both the external and internal display screens are unreadable. Even with the backlight on, which shouldn't be required outside, all I see is a shiny black rectangle. Changing the brightness does not help. Not being able to read the screen is a *BIG* problem when trying to use the address book, check email/text messages, or just about anything that requires seeing the screen.

Thirdly, speaking of shiny screens, before I installed the Martin Fields Overlay Plus protective plastic film on the displays, they would attract fingerprints as if by magic. It is almost impossible to use the phone without leaving unsightly fingerprints all over the screens. Now that I have the overlays, they stay much cleaner. Not to mention they protect the displays from minor scratches.

Fourthly (is that a word? - ed.), the voice activation system, which allows you to save voice commands linked to phone numbers, is not all that great. You have to speak at a specific volume at a specific speed for it to recognize the command. Once you get it to work, it is a bit more convenient than trying to type in a phone number (especially when outside and you can't see what you are typing on the display) but it takes awhile for the processor to make the match and start dialing the number.

Fifthly, the images from the camera are not very sharp. Everything looks fuzzy, although the colors are true-to-life. On the other hand, I'm not sure what a camera is doing on a business class phone. But if they are going to have one, why not make it sharper?

Strong Points: It is very thin and easy to fit in just about any pocket. Thus, it is more convenient to take with me than any other phone I've owned.

The wide keypad is easier to use. It seems many companies have made phones so small that you need a stylus to press the keys. Is this progress? I don't think so. I need a phone that I can use. This one works for me.

The mini-USB port is a convenient and secure way to move data back and forth. While I could use the phone's Bluetooth capability, I find a USB cable is simpler (and probably more secure).

I've had no problems with dropped calls. I was afraid that switching to this phone would result in less reliable connections (which is what happened to my wife when she switched from a Motorola StarTac to a LG 3200). But so far, and I haven't exactly yet taken it to places like Waikiki where reception is bad, I've had no problems with reception.

I'll update things after I've used it more.

Posted by DanS at 09:22 AM | Permalink

We've all heard or read about elderly people who, thinking they are pressing on their car's brake pedal when they aren't, drive full speed into store windows/other cars/pedestrians/the nearest tree.

Bad as that may be, this incident really frightens me. Imagine you are on a flight from San Diego, California to Hawai'i. You're sitting there, several miles up going at hundreds of miles per hour minding your own business when you notice an elderly man get up and head towards the restrooms.

Nothing to get excited about. Right? Except instead of opening the door to the restroom, he begins to open the EXIT DOOR. Let me repeat that, he begins to open the door of the plane while said plane is traveling hundreds of miles per hour, miles in the air.

If that doesn't get your heart pumping, I don't know what does. Fortunately, his trying to get the door open did not succeed and a spokesperson for the airline said it's not possible to do so while the cabin is pressurized (assuming here that you have to pull the door inward to open it).

Still...

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The race to make space more affordable, relatively speaking, took another step forward recently when the SpaceX Falcon I launch vehicle tested its first stage engines on the launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California (read an article here).

The privately funded reusable rocket was developed by South African and co-founder of PayPal, Elon Musk. As CEO of SpaceX, Musk is developing two rockets, the Falcon I and V. The FI, at a price of about $6 million USD, has a low earth orbit lift capability of 670kg while the FV, costing about $16 million, can reach escape velocity while lifting 6,000 kg.

Posted by DanS at 08:46 AM | Permalink

Lord, guard and guide the men who fly
Through the great spaces in the sky.
Be with them always in the air,
In darkening storms or sunlight fair;
Oh, hear us when we lift our prayer,
For those in peril in the air!
Mary C. D. Hamilton (1915)

Eternal Father, grant, we pray,
To all Marines, both night and day,
The courage, honor, strength, and skill
Their land to serve, thy law fulfill;
Be thou the shield forevermore
From every peril to the Corps.
J. E. Seim (1966)

Lord, stand beside the men who build,
And give them courage, strength, and skill.
O grant them peace of heart and mind,
And comfort loved ones left behind.
Lord, hear our prayers for all Seabees,
Where'er they be on land or sea.
R. J. Dietrich (1960)

Lord God, our power evermore,
Whose arm doth reach the ocean floor,
Dive with our men beneath the sea;
Traverse the depths protectively.
O hear us when we pray, and keep
Them safe from peril in the deep.
David B. Miller (1965)

O God, protect the women who,
In service, faith in thee renew;
O guide devoted hands of skill
And bless their work within thy will;
Inspire their lives that they may be
Examples fair on land and sea.
Lines 1-4, Merle E. Strickland (1972) and
adapted by James D. Shannon (1973)
Lines 5-6, Beatrice M. Truitt (1948)

Eternal Father, Lord of hosts,
Watch o'er the men who guard our coasts.
Protect them from the raging seas
And give them light and life and peace.
Grant them from thy great throne above
The shield and shelter of thy love.
Author unknown

Eternal Father, King of birth,
Who didst create the heaven and earth,
And bid the planets and the sun
Their own appointed orbits run;
O hear us when we seek thy grace
For those who soar through outer space.
J. E. Volonte (1961)

Creator, Father, who first breathed
In us the life that we received,
By power of thy breath restore
The ill, and men with wounds of war.
Bless those who give their healing care,
That life and laughter all may share
. Galen H. Meyer (1969)
Adapted by James D. Shannon (1970)

Lord, guard and guide the men who fly
And those who on the ocean ply;
Be with our troops upon the land,
And all who for their country stand:
Be with these guardians day and night
And may their trust be in thy might.
Author Unknown (1955)

Have a Great Memorial Day, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 10:39 AM | Permalink

Speaking of putting things in ones knickers. I don't believe this one is real but I link to it as a public service. This site says they are selling women's underwear with a built-in transmitter that will tell you the location, heart rate, and temperature of the wearer. The transmitter is supposedly powerful enough, using only a watch battery, to send its signal to a satellite. From there, you can use the companies software called "pantyMap(r)" to locate your loved one...

Yah, right. If you believe that, I have some ocean front property on the Big Island that I'll sell for a substantial discount.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I've been using cell/mobile phones for about 15 years. Up to last Monday, I'd lost only one phone. That phone somehow slipped out of the plastic holster that was clipped to the waistband on my trousers. It happened while I was getting into my wife's car. This occurred outside the courthouse where I work and I never found the phone.

On Monday, while getting into my wife's car, which was parked outside the courthouse where I work, my cell phone slipped out of the plastic...well, you know what comes next. Sigh. Two phones. Same place.

So that evening, I went to Cingular and bought the Motorola Razr V3. The price for this phone has dropped to as low as $100 from Amazon.com but, I think, that's after mail-in rebates and you all know what I think about mail-in rebates.

So far, I like the fact that is thin and light. But for my large fingers, what I like more is that it is relatively wide. When I was shopping for a new phone, many of the phones had tiny little keys. I have no idea how anyone is supposed to use them much less a six-foot tall Hawaiian with large hands.

Now that I have a new phone, I can begin getting accessories for it! My first is a leather case so that I can keep its anodized aluminum case scratch free. My second is a scratch resistant film called the Martin Fields Overlay Plus. Hopefully, this will keep the 2.2 inch color display from getting scratched or covered with visible fingerprints. My next accessory is the Motorola PhoneTools and USB cable.

This software allows me to, among other things, transfer wallpaper images and ring tones to my phone from my PC. This saves me money since I don't have to pay nearly $2USD per wallpaper or ring tone. I can also download to my PC photos that I've taken with the phone's camera. It also provides for easy creation and backing up of my address book and can sync with my calendar.

The only problem I've had isn't with the phone itself. It's with the Cingular voicemail. I don't use voicemail because I don't use my phone that often so I had Cingular turn that feature off. But with it off, and my phone off, people get the strangest message when they try to call my cell. What they here is a recording saying to enter the 10-digit phone number they are trying to reach. If they do that, what they'll get is a recording saying the number doesn't exist.

What doesn't exist is a voicemail box but the recording doesn't say that. It says the number doesn't exist. Not a GoodThing.

But that's a problem with Cingular, not the phone. The bottom line is I am very happy with my new toy valuable communication device. Now I need to see what other accessories I can buy for it.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The Register is reporting a story about a woman in the UK who fainted while shopping. She apparently fell and hit her head in the process and was subsequently rushed to the hospital. Upon reaching there, the hospital personnel heard a buzzing sound coming from, ahem, somewhere between her legs.

During the pelvic examination, it was discovered the woman was wearing a pair of "vibrating knickers" called "Passion Pants." The panties feature a 2.5 inch vibrator, which the hapless, but happy and satisfied, women had *cough*, inserted where you would expect to insert such a device.

Posted by DanS at 08:35 AM | Permalink

Japan's Mainichi Dailey News is reporting some very racy stories from cab drivers. It seems that some women passengers are willing to trade sexual favors for free rides in the cabs. According to the article, 18 of 50 cab drivers reported getting propositioned while on duty.

Some of the stories appear rather far out there but I guess stranger things have happened. Note: don't follow the link if you are offended by strong sexual content [NSFW].

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So, I'm back here at work and am under an avalanche of email. I want to get started on that as soon as possible so there won't be a post today (other than this one).

It would be helpful if I could access our email server from anywhere on the Internet, but due to security concerns from our Information Technology people, this is not possible. To get around this, I gave people my home email address but only a few actually used it.

I guess I shouldn't complain because I'm not supposed to do work from home, anyway. That said, I checked my phone mail on a daily basis and returned messages as needed.

Perhaps someday our IT people will hire a consultant to setup a secure mail server. Until then, access is restricted to only those on our Intraweb.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sorry, no post today.

Posted by DanS at 01:40 PM | Permalink

Did you know that the worst sulfur dioxide air pollution site in the US is a volcano? Kilauea volcano on the Big Island of Hawai'i to be exact. In fact, when the lava flows into the sea, a cloud of, among other things, hydrochloric acid is produced (you can read more about this from Yahoo! News here).

Now, before we go too far, you potential visitors out there don't need to go running and screaming like the Japanese in fear of Godzilla. It's mostly something residents of the Big Island need to be aware of. Ongoing studies are being done to determine just how bad this toxic mix is to residents (visitors don't need to worry too much because they aren't exposed long enough to have long-term, ill-effects. YMMV. Insert disclaimer here). But it is well known that the state of Hawai'i has the highest asthma death rate in the country.

Although, here on O'ahu, we are usually too far from the Big Island to have any problems, it does reach us when the winds are from that direction. When it is, we have what we call "vog", short for volcanic smog. But when the trade-winds return, all is blown out to sea.

Posted by DanS at 10:10 AM | Permalink

Speaking of smoke. With a hot, dry Summer fast approaching, it's brush fire season here. The latest is a fire in the Nanakuli area on the island of O'ahu. The fire has come close to burning some homes but so far, the fire fighters have been able to literally beat back the flames.

And, to coin a phrase, where there's fire, there's smoke. This story from KHON-tv tells of school closings due to the negative health effects of the thick smoke coming from the fires.

Posted by DanS at 10:08 AM | Permalink

For you Foodies out there, comes the UK Guardian Unlimited's The top 50 things every foodie should do. Some examples are: dismember a chicken (is that legal everywhere? -ed), eat lunch at Le Grand Véfour, slurp udon noodles in Takamatsu, and squeeze a fresh pineapple on the island of Lana'i.

Posted by DanS at 10:07 AM | Permalink

Speaking of the month of May, the Indianapolis 500 race is this month. I caught some of the practice runs on TV and am amazed at the huge cajones courage of these drivers. I mean, who in their right mind would drive a race car in excess of 225 mph around a 2.5 mile loop just inches from the outside wall? A split second of inattention will ruin your whole day...

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 10:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

For you WordPress users out there, version 1.5.1 went gold yesterday. The changes include bug fixes, enhancements, and an important security fix.

If it's the month of May, it must be National Masturbation Month [those easily offended, please exit here]. I kid you not. Of course, the sponsor of this event sells, among other things, sex toys. You know, vibrators, dildoes, and pumps/sleeves/rings. But I'm sure that has nothing to do with their sponsorship.

Their, ahem, handy shopping guides "serve as a resource for quality products and information..." I will say no more.

And finally, having solved all the other more pressing public policy problems of the solar system, this university has figured out the best angle to skip stones across the pond.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sorry, no post today.

Posted by DanS at 08:58 AM | Permalink

What with the last of the Star Wars(tm) movies set to debut in a couple of weeks, you didn't think I would let that pass without some kind of mention.

Well, the folks over at HowStuffWorks have created a series on how the lightsaber works and some common household uses for one. You can read the article here.

It slices your morning bagel...

...and warms your coffee.

It also trims your hedges.

So versatile. So now.

Posted by DanS at 08:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

For you women out there who want that oh so sexy look of hard, fake boobs, there's now this bra. The makers of the Evolution Bra(r) "features a sculpted, graduated cup 'specially designed to mimic the appearance of cosmetic breast implants.'" Oh. My. [insert here your diety of choice - ed.].

I dunno. I guess it's not bad enough that you want to appear to have bigger boobs. But now you want your false bigger boobs to look fake? You won't be happy until your high hooters look hard? Where did the US education system go wrong? Don't answer that.

Speaking of educational systems, this is an update on the take-over of the University of Hawai'i President's office from yesterday's post. Michael Moore's website is now linking to a live feed from within the office.

While I'm sure the old saying that any publicity is good publicity is correct, I don't know if the President appreciates this kind of notoriety. This kind of tactic tends to harden extreme positions rather than lead to artful compromise. But, I guess, kids will be kids.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A soda pop can, a candy bar, and the sun. Supposedly, that's all you need to start a fire by using this technique here. Essentially you use the chocolate to polish the concave bottom of the pop can. Once you have a polished surface, you can then use it to focus the sun on tinder. Said tinder is then used to start a fire. Note to all hikers, take a lighter and a cell phone, too.

Posted by DanS at 08:41 AM | Permalink

Speaking of Aussies (and Kiwis, too), the photo below was taken yesterday at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific inside Punchbowl Crater in Honolulu. Members of the U.S. Marine color guard stand at attention as an Australian flag waves during Anzac Day ceremonies. Anzac Day commemorates Australian and New Zealand soldiers who have died in wars.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:38 AM | Permalink

Did you ever wonder why some articles in the press didn't make any sense? Perhaps it was because a public relations (PR) firm wrote it and was trying to spin the story to their customer's advantage. This guy writes a short, interesting post on what PR firms do and why.

It's fascinating how PR firms sometimes plant stories by getting unwitting reporters to do their bidding (Move along, these aren't the droids you're looking for - ed.). Especially interesting is how you plant one idea, get it into the media, and then point to the idea as confirmation of what you are saying.

Terrific stuff. Anyone who thinks critically should arm themselves with the tools provided by this posting because one thing is sure - these people aren't stupid and they will come up with new ways of fooling people.

Speaking of critical thinking, this post is a humorous look at PR speak. It translates what Adobe is really saying regarding the merger with Macromedia. Dude! Good job.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:26 AM | Permalink

Today marks the 35th anniversary of the near fatal explosion on NASA's Apollo 13 mission to the moon. At the same time it was NASA's worst and finest moments. The story behind the story is that Apollo 13 made it home, due in large part, to a simulation done a year before the explosion for Apollo 10.

As part of training, the flight teams go through various scenarios. Each scenario is carefully scripted and is intended to prepare everyone for possible problems. The fear is that if you come across something you haven't prepared for, you may perish because you don't have the time or you do something that irreversibly leads to your death.

Such was the case in a simulation for Apollo 10 much like what eventually happened. A flight simulation in which the fuel cells failed, at about the same point in the mission as actually occurred, resulted in the simulated deaths of the astronauts because they didn't have procedures required to power the various systems (and didn't have the time to come up with them in real time before running out of oxygen).

However, even though the simulation indicated developing such procedures were critical to the crews survival, NASA decided the possibility of losing the fuel cells was unrealistic and therefore did not order such procedures to be developed.

Fortunately, for the Apollo 13 crew, James Hannigan, the Lunar Module branch chief felt otherwise. He ordered his deputy, Donald Puddy, to form a team to come up with a set of procedures that would work. Just in case. Critical to the procedure, that the team came up with was the idea of reversing the power flow, via umbilical cables, from the Lunar Module back into the Command Module to provide the current required to re-start all the systems.

It is doubtful that the crew would have survived the actual emergency had not these procedures been developed before hand and solutions found for problems that just could not be solved in real time.

You can read the fascinating account of human systems dealing with mechanical and electrical systems from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers article, here. It was indeed, their finest hour.

Posted by DanS at 08:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Some of you may have noticed that the Daynotes.org site went away last week. It seems the Registrar did not notify the domain owner that the registration was about to lapse, so the registration did lapse. The Daynotes Gang decided it wasn't worth the cost and trouble to get the domain back (the registrar wanted $75!) and have therefore decided to just go let it go and stay with the Daynotes.com and Daynotes.net sites. Your understanding in this matter is appreciated.

Posted by DanS at 09:31 AM | Permalink

There be wholphins aplenty at Sea Life Park on the island of O'ahu, Hawaii. The cross between a whale and dolphin, while rare, is not unknown. The mother of the new wholphin is herself a wholphin. Mother and calf both seem to be doing fine. Read more here from the Honolulu Advertiser.

Happy Tax Day and Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:28 AM | Permalink

There are many books and movies based on the premise commonly referred to as a "fish out of water." That is, you take a person of one culture/race/age/gender and place them in a different culture/race/age/gender. You then step back and watch the hilarity ensue as each learns about the other.

This web page chronicles the travails of an American in Japan. In this case, a Black-American teaching English to Japanese students in what we call junior high school (children around the age of 10 to 12 years old). We see, through his humorous writings, a culture, at times, very different from ours.

Now, the Japanese culture has been around for a long time. Over that time, it has evolved into being a very complex, and to a certain extent, caste oriented system. One of the ways of describing a complex system is to note it's paradoxes. These tend to illustrate not only the tension within any system, but also the range of behaviors exhibited within that system.

This American teacher, using the lens of his own culture to examine his surroundings finds startling, and many times humorous, insights. I can't quote anything here because he has copyrighted his site (Bad JuJu) but believe me when I say you will probably want more after reading everything there.

Warning: There is strong language in his writings. If that offends you, do not go there.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Some students over at Purdue University, with way too much time on their hands, three-peated by winning the Rube Goldberg Machine Contest. The contraption, in 125 steps, removed the batteries from a flashlight, replaced them with new ones, and turned the flashlight on. There is a link on their page to a 3.4MB QuickTime(r) 61-second video of the machine in action. Unfortunately, the video doesn't do a very good job of following the action so you may want to forgo the download.

Speaking of Rube Goldberg, this story from Wisconsin chronicles the sad tale of one Tim Bender. It seems Tim was cleaning up the garage in preparation for moving to another house. While doing so, he accidentally knocked over a can of spray paint. Said can landed square on a hammer. Said hammer punctured the can, which sprayed paint into the air. Said paint fumes spread to the gas fired water heater. Said water heater had a pilot light. Said light ignite the paint fumes. Said fire burned the apartment and most of the contents. Rube would be proud, even if Tim isn't.

Speaking of things that may not be wise, check out the Hoverwing. For a mere $8,000 you too can go hovering across the lake at break-neck speeds.

And then. There's this...

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Sorry, I have a meeting first thing this morning that I have to prepare for so I gotta go.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:38 AM | Permalink

Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith United States Army

Spouse: Birgit Smith
Children: David A. Smith, Jessica M. Smith
Parents: Donald and Janice Pvirre
Hometown: Tampa, Florida Graduated Tampa Bay Technical High School

Enlisted: October 1989 Completed Basic and Advanced Individual Training at Ft. Leonard Wood, MO

Assignments: 82nd Engineer Battalion (Bamberg, Germany), 1st Engineer Battalion (Fort Riley, Kansas), 317th Engineer Battalion (Fort Benning, Georgia), 9th Engineer Battalion (Schweinfurt, Germany), 11th Engineer Battalion (Fort Stewart, Georgia)

Deployments: Persian Gulf War, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Operation Iraqi Freedom

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:

Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with an armed enemy near Baghdad International Airport, Baghdad, Iraq on 4 April 2003. On that day, Sergeant First Class Smith was engaged in the construction of a prisoner of war holding area when his Task Force was violently attacked by a company-sized enemy force. Realizing the vulnerability of over 100 fellow soldiers, Sergeant First Class Smith quickly organized a hasty defense consisting of two platoons of soldiers, one Bradley Fighting Vehicle and three armored personnel carriers. As the fight developed, Sergeant First Class Smith braved hostile enemy fire to personally engage the enemy with hand grenades and anti-tank weapons, and organized the evacuation of three wounded soldiers from an armored personnel carrier struck by a rocket propelled grenade and a 60mm mortar round. Fearing the enemy would overrun their defenses, Sergeant First Class Smith moved under withering enemy fire to man a .50 caliber machine gun mounted on a damaged armored personnel carrier. In total disregard for his own life, he maintained his exposed position in order to engage the attacking enemy force. During this action, he was mortally wounded. His courageous actions helped defeat the enemy attack, and resulted in as many as 50 enemy soldiers killed, while allowing the safe withdrawal of numerous wounded soldiers. Sergeant First Class Smith’s extraordinary heroism and uncommon valor are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the Third Infantry Division “Rock of the Marne,” and the United States Army.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:26 AM | Permalink

The MosNews.com site has an article about a man who may have saved the world. According to the report, on September 26, 1983, Lieutenant Colonel Petrov was in charge (a Lt. Colonel, in charge?) of the Soviet Ballistic Missile Early Warning System. He was the man who was responsible for pressing the button that would launch the Soviet missiles in retaliation to a US first strike.

At about half-past midnight, Lt. Colonel Petrov's monitoring systems indicated that the US had in fact launched a single missile towards the USSR. A few seconds later, two, then three, four, and finally five in bound missiles were supposedly detected.

Petrov was dumb founded. None of the launch scenarios he had been trained for covered this contingency. Why launch only five when the US had thousands of missiles? What to do? He had but minutes to decide whether to irrevocably launch the Soviet Union's missiles against the US.

Fortunately, for everyone, he had the courage to make the decision that this was a false alarm. Which indeed it was. A "bug" in the warning system had created the false report.

Now, I don't know if Petrov knew before hand the system was riddled with problems but, in any case, having a human being in the loop is what may have saved mankind from a nuclear winter.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

In its April 1st issue, the respected American Scientific magazine editorializes by admitting that they were wrong on "creationism, missile defense and global warming."

In retrospect, this mag-azine's coverage of so-called evolution has been hideously one-sided. For decades, we published articles in every issue that endorsed the ideas of Charles Darwin and his cronies. True, the theory of common descent through natural selection has been called the unifying concept for all of biology and one of the greatest scientific ideas of all time, but that was no excuse to be fanatics about it. Where were the answering articles presenting the powerful case for scientific creationism? Why were we so unwilling to suggest that dinosaurs lived 6,000 years ago or that a cataclysmic flood carved the Grand Canyon? Blame the scientists. They dazzled us with their fancy fossils, their radiocarbon dating and their tens of thousands of peer-reviewed journal articles. As editors, we had no business being persuaded by mountains of evidence....

Good journalism values balance above all else. We owe it to our readers to present everybody's ideas equally and not to ignore or discredit theories simply because they lack scientifically credible arguments or facts. Nor should we succumb to the easy mistake of thinking that scientists understand their fields better than, say, U.S. senators or best-selling novelists do. Indeed, if politicians or special-interest groups say things that seem untrue or misleading, our duty as journalists is to quote them without comment or contradiction. To do otherwise would be elitist and therefore wrong. In that spirit, we will end the practice of expressing our own views in this space: an editorial page is no place for opinions.

Having read that, I too must confess that I've been wrong. After long discounting the right-wing wackos deeply conservative who are against everything from fluoridation of drinking water (which they recently persuaded the local county council to make it illegal to fluoridate water in the city of Honolulu) to death with dignity (not to be confused with sticking electrodes into prisoners and running 120volts through them until their brains and internal organs fry), I must admit I was wrong.

How could I have been so fooled by human-based science? Doesn't faith-based science explain everything? Who needs scientifically controlled studies? Doesn't the universe revolve around the Earth?

Doesn't faith-based education teach everything anyone should know? Who needs pedagogic theory?

Why shouldn't the President use faith-based criteria to determine how to spend billions of tax payer dollars?

Doesn't faith-based medicine heal all (who needs doctors, hospitals, and medicine anyway)?

And finally, recent events suggest the need for a faith-based judicial system. Surely that would better than an independent judiciary, right? Who needs the Constitution and the rule of law when you can proudly carry the Bible into the courtroom and rule directly and solely from that?

Yup, how could I have been so wrong? I guess you just have to believe and ignore reality.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So enough with the boring stuff. How about a few happy links?

This guy likes origami. But not just any origami (the Japanese art of paper folding). He likes doing stuff like rhombitruncated cuboctahedrons, truncated icosahedrons, and greater stellated dodecahedrons. One example of his work is below:

This guy likes his Mac Mini. He likes it so much he decided to hide it in an old Dell case so that no one would know he was using one and steal his.

Then there's these guys who like high powered projectors. They have a series of photos created by projecting images on to the side of what looks like a cooling tower of some sort (much like the ones for nuclear reactors). Once at their site, click on the link at the top corner of the photo and it will take you to the next image (the site is not in English but I think "weiter" essentially has you go forward one image).

For you guys who are into robotics, Radio Shack is launching a robotics kit called the Vex Robotic Design System for $299 that will give you the parts needed to contend in the FIRST competition.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This local story about the finding of a WWII-era sunken Japanese submarine off the coast of O'ahu is starting to get national attention so maybe it will be of some interest to you. It seems that near the end of World War II, the Japanese built three huge submarines capable of carrying, launching, and recovering aircraft.

By huge I mean about 400 ft. long (about 122m). By comparison, a present day Virginia class attack submarine such as the USS Springfield SSN 774, is only 377 ft. (about 114m) long. While it is true that the current Ohio class ballistic missile submarines, at 560 ft. (about 171m), are longer, you have to remember we are talking about 1940s technology here. Fully loaded with fuel, these "Sensuikan Toku" class of diesel/electric submarines could sail one-and-a-half times around the world without refueling.

Each of these submarines held three torpedo-bomber aircraft with enough parts to build a fourth. The aircraft were hangered in a water tight compartment until made ready for flight. Within seven minutes, the planes wings could be unfolded, float pontoons attached as landing gear, and the plane launched, via catapult (see the illustration below).

The original mission was to fly over the west coast of the US and drop rats/insects infected with bubonic plague, cholera, dengue fever, and typhus. This mission was changed to a secondary target of the Panama Canal. This, in turn, was changed to a third target closer to the Home Islands.

Two of these submarines were captured at sea, a week after the Japanese surrender in 1945. These two, along with some other captured Japanese submarines were sent to Pearl Harbor for evaluation. While there, our allies the Soviet Union decided they also wanted to study these subs. Things being what they were at that time, the US decided to sink the subs off the coast rather than let the Russians have a look.

There they rested until a University of Hawai'i research submarine, Pices, came upon the monster submarine last week Thursday (see the photo below).

For more information on these leviathans follow this link here.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:50 AM | Permalink

A memorial service was held over the weekend at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. It was part of the 62nd anniversary reunion of the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team, made up of Americans of Japanese ancestry (some of whom where "interned" when World War II began). "Pierre Moulin and his 6-year-old son, Martin, paid their respects after laying a wreath during the ceremony. Moulin is from Bruyeres, France, a town that was liberated by the 442nd during World War II."

Read more from the Honolulu Star Bulletin here.

Or this article from the Honolulu Advertiser. The photo below, taken at another location, is of "Former Sgt. Seikatsu Kikuyama, left, and former Pfc. Robert Ito."

Posted by DanS at 09:27 AM | Permalink

I recently talked about how I try to solve the asymmetrical information problem by using a third-party expert called the Better Business Bureau. Today I want to talk about mail-in rebates.

A lot of businesses use mail-in rebates as a way of getting you to buy stuff you wouldn't otherwise. The way it's supposed to work is you buy the stuff at full price with the business's promise that when you mail in the verification you will in turn get a check equal to the amount promised by the seller.

When it works, the seller makes money because they traded an item they wouldn't otherwise have sold and the buyer eventually gets a check in the mail that reduces the cost.

The problem seems to be that it usually doesn't work that way and that's because it appears it's not designed to. For example, about 40 percent of the buyers never send in the forms in the first place. The reasons vary but the point is businesses know there is a good chance the buyer will never even try to get the rebate.

Clearly, if the business wanted to sell something at a lower price it could just put the item on sale. Why make the customer go through a delayed process with all kinds of onerous requirements? A cynical person would say because the harder the business makes the process the fewer people will request rebates and, here's the payoff, the less costly it will be to the business.

In addition, even if the customer sends in the properly filled-in rebate forms and all required verifications, there is a short-term economic incentive to delay or even ignore the process. By that I mean if you delay sending out a rebate for say, three months, that is a free three-month loan to the business. Score one for the business.

If the business (or third-party rebate company) conveniently loses or says they never received the forms/verification it gets even better. Many customers, after waiting patiently for their rebates, but not having received them, follow-up with the business only to be told nothing was ever received and that they should submit the forms and verification again. The problem is most businesses require the original forms and verifications (usually sales slips and UPC codes cut from the box). If you've already sent those in, there is no way you can send them in again. If you send in copies, the companies, if they respond at all, will say the customer failed to send in the required original documents. Score another one for the business.

So it is interesting to see the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), for the first time, has entered into consent agreements with computer superstore CompUSA and their third-party processor Q.P.S., Inc. The agreement, based on allegations that CompUSA failed to pay, "in a timely manner, thousands of rebates for products sold under the CompUSA and QPS brands. Under the terms of the settlement with the superstore, CompUSA will pay consumers who purchased QPS products at CompUSA their due or past-due rebates, which ranged from $15 to $100 each." One hopes you don't have to send in original sales receipts to get the rebates.

The bottom line is mail-in rebates are scams that work. One way to stop it is to stop buying stuff with rebates. If you refuse to do that, at least require some kind of delivery confirmation when you mail your rebates in. That way, you have a legal confirmation that the envelope was delivered to their address, who signed for it, and when. If they still refuse to pay, immediately file a complaint with the FTC and the Better Business Bureau. But don't come crying to me about rebates because I never buy anything with a mail-in rebate. YMMV. Insert disclaimer here.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

My back is hurting again so I'm at home trying to recover. See you all here tomorrow. Sorry.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

RetroCrush has a cool set of of web pages with what they call the Top 100 Greatest TV music themes. Included is one of the better ones (see number 13 here). Although, I guess, I could be a little biased. ;>

Posted by DanS at 09:10 AM | Permalink

I, like a lot of people, buy stuff via the Internet as well as from local stores. When I'm shopping online, weighing on my decision as to what site to buy from includes, but is not necessarily limited to, availability of what I want, at a price I am willing to pay, from a place that I trust.

The first factor is easy. Either they have what I want or they don't. If they have it, they pass the first hurdle.

The second test is a little harder. Usually, I'm shopping for the lowest price. But not always. If the lowest price is from a place I don't trust, I'll start going up in price until I find a place that I do trust.

The third factor, trust, is where things can get dicey. Why? Because I have to give my name, address, phone number, and credit card information to an entity that, in many cases, exists only online (i.e., they don't have a retail store where you can go to buy the item). For all I know, the website could be a front for the Russian mafia and they are just collecting this information so they can steal my identity.

In economic terms, there exists the problem of asymmetric information. I would be giving much information to them but I don't have any information about them. Typically, when this occurs, the trade (i.e., the sale) does not happen.

Internet sales are not unique in this situation. For example, most of us don't know how to grade beef. I mean, one cut of steak looks pretty much like the next one. As one way of solving the information problem, we have a government agency (in the US it's called the USDA) to create and enforce safety and quality standards. So, the theory goes, if I walk into a Alpha Beta grocery market and see a USDA grade "prime" beef steak, I should have a reasonable expectation that it meets certain minimum standards. If I then decide to go next door to Ralph's Market, and see another steak, also graded USDA prime, but costing five percent less per pound, I would have a reasonable expectation that the two steaks would have similar characteristics and that I can then buy based on price (If I didn't have a trusted third-party to consult, what I was willing to pay would probably do down, perhaps to not buying at all, and would lead to economic inefficiencies.).

The main point of this is we need a way to get information that can be used by us to determine whether to trade and, if so, at what price. If we don't get the information, the tendency is either not to trade or to lower the price we are willing to pay (to allow for the possibility that what we are getting is worth less than what the seller is saying it is). Asymmetrical information is also at work when you buy a car, get a bank loan, or buy a house.

Hence, the use of a trusted third-party, whether public or private, who has information that I need, is one way of creating a situation where a trade can occur. For me, that trusted third-party is usually the Better Business Bureau. While the BBB is funded through business membership dues, it functions, if it functions at all, only when it remains neutral in disputes between businesses and customers. If that neutrality is ever brought into question, the BBB could lose it most valuable asset, the trust of customers. Without this trust, many trades would not otherwise occur or occur only at much lower rates.

So, it's surprising to me just how many Internet-based companies either aren't members of the BBB or refuse to work with the them when disputes with customers arise. Note here that the mere fact that there are business/customer disputes is not necessarily an indicator of a bad business. Especially if they resolve all of these disputes to the satisfaction of the customer/BBB. But I digress.

Back to a current example. I've been thinking about replacing the stock Intel supplied CPU cooling fan on SWMBO's PC (Prescott, 2.8E). This fan is way too small for the heat that is coming off the CPU and Intel should be ashamed to have mis-designed it. I've already added two 80mm case fans in addition to the existing 120mm and power supply fans but it's just not enough to keep the CPU fan from spinning at its highest speed as it vainly tries to cool the over heating core. The sound of that fan is truly irritating, even though she has the case under the desk she uses.

Recently, I decided enough was enough and it was time to find a solution. My search narrowed down to the Zalman CNP S7700-AlCu and the Thermalright XP-120. I chose the Thermalright based on its lower weight (the Zalman exceeds the Intel motherboard limit of 450 grams by weighing 600 grams) and reviews. But when I started looking for sites where I could buy one, I was stymied by either it not being in stock, the business had an unsatisfactory rating from the BBB, or they had it in stock and had a satisfactory BBB rating but were selling for $20 more than other sites (about $67 USD vs. $47).

I am in a quandary. Do I pay the $20 premium, keep looking, go with the Zalman instead, or just forget about it and don't buy anything? I haven't decided yet. How you decide to buy stuff may be different from me. But if you can't trust the business to adhere to simple business ethics and sell at a fair price, would you (should you?) give your financial information to them? You decide. YMMV.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:46 AM | Permalink

Sorry, no post today. I have to prepare for a meeting this morning. See you all here tomorrow.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:56 AM | Permalink

The world is full of dichotomies. And sometimes, people are required to reconcile differences that may not be reconcilable. For example, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is tasked with regulating civil aviation to promote safety while at the same time promoting civil aviation (see the FAA summary of activities here).

Another recent example is the fight between using fear as a motivator in the US elections versus freedom. In this context, the choice is between the fear of loosing a single cent through someone illegally copying something versus the millions that could come in through the freedom to innovate.

So it is interesting to see technology giant Sony hire, as their CEO, Howard Stringer, the head of their entertainment division in the US ( see the story here).

Sony, for some time, has been walking a fine line between trying to protect its entertainment content with DRM while at the same time promoting hardware that works best without such DRM.

The dichotomy, to a great extent, has resulted in customers avoiding Sony DRM locked hardware. For example, many of their early Apple iPod clones required you to convert to Sony's proprietary ATRAC format while refusing to support the more open MP3 format. But Ken Kutaragi, head of Sony's video game unit and father of the PlayStation hit the nail on the head when he said Sony lost its lead in electronics when it (Sony) became timid when concerns over content rights trumped technological innovation ( see the article here).

Interestingly, if rumors are correct, the race for CEO came down to Kutaragi and Stringer. Time will tell whether choosing gaijin Stringer was wise but I don't think an emphasis on DRM, over innovation, will win Sony any new customers.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:14 AM | Permalink

Few people feel the need to travel four miles in four or five seconds. On the ground. In a vehicle. But some do. This article tells us about the latest attempt on the land speed record (the current record holder is held by the British ThrustSSC Team at about 763 mph).

I think I've talked about the North American Eagle team before (or maybe not) but their attempt deserves whatever publicity they can get. To a great extent, this is a backyard DIY effort. They've had to beg, borrow, or buy really cheap whatever they could get towards this effort to reach 800 mph on land. Some would say this is a foolhardy way of making an attempt. And they may be right. But then, if you look at the first aircraft built by the Wright brothers, you could probably make the same assertion.

The question though, has to be why do this? Only these guys can answer that but in the words of former US President Theodore Roosevelt, as quoted on the ThrustSSC site:

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out where the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred with dust and sweat and blood. At best, he knows the triumph of high achievement; if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Most of you are too young to remember musician Martin Denny. He passed away recently at the age of 94. But in the late 1950s and into the early 60s, he was at the forefront of a style of music that is described as a "fusion of Asian, South Pacific, American jazz, Latin American and classical."

I can still remember listening to my dad's copy of "Exotica" and the top five hit on the national charts " Quiet Village".

Even today, there are those, like The Forbidden Sounds of Don Tiki that carry on the tradition.

I think Denny and band mate Arthur Lyman were regulars at the Honolulu Elks Club (BPOE 616, where I was also a member), and from what I understand, he was a true gentleman and was always willing to help others. Indeed, while he was recently in declining health, he still performed at a February 13th fund raiser for the victims of the Asian tsunami.

You can read more about this pioneer of music from a Honolulu Star-Bulletin article here or the wikipedia link above.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:23 AM | Permalink

I've got a meeting to go to first thing this morning so I gotta go.

In the mean time, what with the Oscars coming up this weekend, all you wanna be sci-fi film makers may want to check out this how-to rotoscope site.

It gives you the step by step process to create a light saber-type effect for all you Star Wars fans.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:28 AM | Permalink

Speaking of cute, getting your morning coffee from Starbucks (a coffee company, for those who have been living in the Sudan for the last 10 years - Ed.) is sometimes made easier by using a gift card. You know, those little plastic debit card things that people give to each other as gifts when they can't think of anything else to give and don't want to give cash.

Well, it seems Starbucks has designed a special one for sale only in Hawai'i (see image below and story from the Honolulu Advertiser here). Apparently, some enterprising people are auctioning them on E-bay and making a pretty good living at it.

While I am certainly no expert in collecting gift cards, this one does look pretty nice. Maybe I'll go and get one the next time I'm in the area (how can you miss running into a Starbucks, they're everywhere - Ed.).

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me. - Hunter S. Thompson (1937-2005)

The great, the one, the only, the father of Gonzo Journalism, Hunter S. Thompson took his life over the weekend. His path was never one that would end quietly, in a rocking chair. So, I guess it is a fitting end to a life lived on the edge.

So long and mahalo.

PS: See his last ESPN column here and the wikipedia bio here.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:30 AM | Permalink

Kudos to little Maui based Letarte Swimwear for making the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition (and here). While I can't see too many women spending $150 USD for a very tiny bikini (not to mention having a wardrobe malfunction), I guess they must be doing OK.

Posted by DanS at 07:50 AM | Permalink

Speaking of jokes, here's GQ magazines top 100 jokes of all time. Since this is a family friendly site I can't repeat my favorite but this one will do:

I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off. So I ran over and said "Stop! Don't do it!" "Why shouldn't I?" he said. "Well, there's so much to live for!" "Like what?" "Well... are you religious?" He said yes. I said, "Me too! Are you Christian or Buddhist?" "Christian." "Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant ? "Protestant." "Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?" "Baptist" "Wow! Me too! Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?" "Baptist Church of God!" "Me too! Are you original Baptist Church of God, or are you reformed Baptist Church of God?" "Reformed Baptist Church of God!" "Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915?" He said, "Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915!" I said, "Die, heretic scum", and pushed him off. (Emo Philips)

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:47 AM | Permalink

So the Grammy music awards were handed out yesterday and for the first time, there was one for Hawaiian music. The newly created Category 69, which comes under Field 14 - Folk, included five nominated Hawaiian music albums: "Some Call It Aloha Don't Tell" by the Brothers Cazimero, "Amy & Willie Live" by Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom & Willie K, "Cool Elevation" by Ho'okena, "Ke'alaokamaile" by Keali'i Reichel, and "Slack Key Guitar, Volume 2," an instrumental compilation.

I really appreciate the coverage both the Los Angeles (front page) and New York Times gave to the category. But Hawaiian music is such a diverse category that having but one award to give was bound to cause some bit of controversy.

The first controversy is defining Best Hawaiian music album as being 51 percent Hawaiian. I guess that means that if you sing anything on the album, 51 percent of it must be in Hawaiian. For some, this was too little. These purist wanted 100 percent Hawaiian language and nothing else. Others, thought that any percentage was too high because Hawaiian music can be sung in English and be just as rich, they say, in meaning as 100 percent Hawaiian.

The second controversy is combining instrumental and vocal music into one category. Four of the five nominees were vocal, or mostly vocal. The lone instrumental was a compilation of several solo musicians playing what is known as ki ho'alu (slack-key tuned guitar).

The third controversy, and perhaps the biggest in the short-term, is Grammy members from across the nation being eligible to vote for the best Hawaiian album. Open voting for all members tends to skew things towards the middle of the road. That is, if you aren't familiar with a type of music, but you have to vote on one as being the best, people tend to choose the one that is the most familiar to them or, at least, least foreign to them.

I can imagine a voter in Massachusetts hearing, for the first time, a Hawaiian chant by Keali'i Reichel and wondering what the heck is going on and why does he sound the way he does (his voice would not be considered very musical by western standards). This is indeed unfortunate as Mr. Reichel is considered by many Hawaiian people to be a living treasure. An embodiment of hundreds of years of Hawaiian chant. Perhaps his soul doesn't translate very well across the miles.

My personal favorite, Ho'okena is a good example of contemporary Hawaiian music. By contemporary I mean the use of western music theory in the creation of new music as well as modernization of old Hawaiian chants.

The Brothers Cazimero were in the forefront of what is now called the Hawaiian renaissance. This period, centering on the 1970s, found Hawaiians gaining an appreciation of the many great accomplishments of their ancestors. This resulted in a renewed interest in canoe building and racing, hula dance, Hawaiian language (the idea of Hawaiian language only schools got their start during this period), and Hawaiian music.

But, in fact, none of the four albums with any Hawaiian words won. Instead, the instrumental compilation won the first Grammy for Hawaiian music. This is not to take anything away from the great solo musicians who played on this quiet and reflective album but what is Hawaiian music without the power of the Hawaiian language?

I can only hope that having a Hawaiian album category Grammy will open the world to the best of Hawaiian music, both the instrumental as well as language and that, in the future, there will be two Hawaiian music categories.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

It's going to be one of those days today. I have hundreds of pages of reports to read and much research to do so I gotta go. Sorry for the short shrift.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:34 AM | Permalink

According to the Chinese calendar on the wall today is the first day of the new year, 4702 - the year of the rooster.

There is an update for yesterday's instructions on the Firefox work around. I did not know that you also need to change the Firefox configuration by typing, in the window where you usually type in the URL for a site, the following:

about:config

This should bring up the configuration file and display line after line of configuration strings. Use the filter to find the lone instance of "idn." Once found, double-click on that line and change the default from true to false.

NB: Doing this may make it impossible to access certain sites. If you need to access such a site, you may want to use another method of avoiding the vulnerability.

It's going to be a really busy day today so I gotta go.

Aloha

Posted by DanS at 07:47 AM | Permalink

Speaking of which. Ahhh the pleasures of modding your hearse with two machine guns and a flame thrower. What could go wrong? See more here. YMMV. Use at your own risk. Don't do this at home.

Posted by DanS at 07:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

And then there's the high speed photos of bullets going through crayons, light bulbs, soda cans, etc. See more here.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:31 AM | Permalink

I realize that the local TV news business is a very competitive one but I wonder why they do some of the things they do. For example, this concentration on going "live" to report a story. One local TV station (KHNL) sets up their camera just outside their front door and then trumpets the fact that they are live on Nimitz Highway. Said highway runs past their front door so I guess they aren't lying about the location but it's not exactly the truth either.

Then they will cut away from that shot and go "live" from "Kalihi". While the station is in the Kalihi area, where they are actually broadcasting live from is just outside their back door. From there they sometimes cut back to their "Weather Center." Said weather center is a chair inside their studio.

Even when some of these stations go live at a location other than their studios it doesn't make any sense. I saw one live shot (KITV) done after 22:00 at the state Capitol. The only thing is the Capitol was closed, the lights were out, and nobody was there. Except the reporter. The station could just as easily have done this story in the studio with a picture of the Capitol building in the background. But, for whatever reason, they were "live."

All I can say is, "So what?" What does going live to a location have to do with a story that is not occurring at the time the station goes live? Do stations get rated by the FCC on how often they go live? Do stations get higher advertising revenues by the number of live stories they do? Does going live prove anything?

All I can say is there seems to be a inverse relationship between the number of times a station goes live and how well and how in depth that station does the news. Perhaps, this is not a coincidence.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'm at home again today because of the flu that will not die.

In the mean time, I know many of you have a need to build a rotary dial cellphone. So, here it is.

Posted by DanS at 09:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I had intended to write this post yesterday but was derailed by the tragic crash of a US Marine helicopter in Iraq. All aboard were killed, including 26 soldiers home-stationed at Marine Corps Base Hawaii and one US Navy medical corpsman from Pearl Harbor. Their stories are just starting to be told.

But the story I'm about to tell today is the story of 1st Lt. Nainoa Hoe. Lt. Hoe was not part of the helicopter incident but rather died a few days earlier. In reading fellow Daynoter Brian Bilbrey's post on Wednesday, Brian listed the names of three soldiers killed in Iraq, one of which was Hoe.

Brian's post got me to thinking that I should tell you folks a little more about who Lt. Hoe was.

It is sometimes easy to forget that each of these soldiers has their own story. Each has families, parents, and other relatives that care for them. Each had dreams of what they wanted to do with their lives once they got back to the Real World.

Lt. Hoe was no different. Hoe was a native Hawaiian and graduated in 1995 from the Kamehameha Schools, a school founded by Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop in 1887. From there he went to the University of Hawai'i (UH) where he graduated with an undergraduate degree in Management Information Systems and then on to a Masters in Business Administration. While at UH, Hoe enrolled in the ROTC program, rising to Brigade Commander in his last year (the highest leadership position possible). He graduated tops in his ROTC class and fourth nationwide (out of about 4,500).

In further recognition of his leadership qualities, Nainoa was named U.S. Army Pacific Reserve soldier of the year in 1998.

But besides the obvious leader he was, what kind of person was Lt. Hoe? People have described Nainoa as charismatic, serious, precise, well-mannered, and unassuming. But, at the same time, he loved to sing karaoke and be with his friends.

Perhaps it was some of these qualities that attracted the young woman who would soon become his wife. Emily (I love that name) said they met through the Internet in November 2003, exchanging photos and information in an online match-making service. At the time, he was stationed at Fort Benning, Ga., going through Ranger school with a goal of eventually working for the FBI as a special agent. She was a student attending a college in Oregon.

"When I saw his picture and saw his smile, there was something about it that really drew me in," Emily said. They arranged a meeting in Oregon, "and it was one of those love-at-first-sight kind of things."

They were married, in a simple ceremony, about six month later. On the beach in Hawaii Kai. At sunset. With just their parents attending. Just before being sent for additional training and then on to Iraq in October.

On Saturday, January 22, 2005, Lt. Hoe sent an e-mail to his wife telling her that he had just found out he would get a two-week leave in February. He was excited that he would get the opportunity to see her and that he wanted them to spend their time in Hawaii. The e-mail went on to say that "he was going to love me forever and how he couldn't wait to see me," Emily said.

Two hours later, while on foot patrol in Mosul, Iraq, where U.S. forces have been mounting stepped-up raids and patrols ahead of national elections scheduled for this Sunday, shots rang out. As if in slow motion, a spray of bullets came flying his way. And even though he had body armor on to protect his chest and back, a bullet struck him from the side, passing through a gap in the protective vest and into his chest.

He is survived by his heartbroken parents (Allen, a Vietnam veteran, and Adele), a younger brother (Nakoa, also in the military and being deployed to Iraq) and his loving 21-year-old wife - Emily.

Whether you support the war in Iraq or not, remember that there is a story behind each and every name on the list of soldiers. Remember that there is a price to pay for being in Iraq. And remember that, sometimes, that price is paid in the blood of soldiers like 1st. Lt. Nainoa Hoe. May he rest in peace and may his death not have been in vain.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:14 AM | Permalink

Go Lava Dogs

Our thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of the Marines killed in the helicopter crash in Iraq. Twenty-seven of the killed were home-based at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, located in Kane'ohe, O'ahu, Hawai'i.

Posted by DanS at 07:05 AM | Permalink

Fellow Daynoter Rick Hellewell sent along this link to an interesting NASA photo of the Big Island of Hawai'i. The two big white spots are the snow-covered tops of the volcanoes Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea.

Many people do not realize that we do get snow in Hawaii. At least, that is, on these two volcanoes. While it's not usually the kind of snow good for skiing, many people do enjoy snow boarding down the slopes. However, as there are no ski lifts, you have to walk or drive back up.

By the way, Mr. Hellewell is a computer security expert so you would do well to peruse his site. Highly recommended.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'm still at home trying to recover from the flu that will not die. I couldn't get to sleep last night until after midnight and got up four hours later coughing.

Hence, there isn't much of interest going on here at the Seto Shack today. Hopefully, I'll be back at work tomorrow and there will more interesting things to talk about. Or not. Tune in tomorrow to find out.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:42 AM | Permalink

I'm still at home today but am feeling better than I was yesterday. Unfortunately, that's not saying much as all of my joints are still sore, I didn't get much sleep because of the caughing, and nothing I eat has any taste.

Speaking of feeling better, thank you to all of you who sent suggestions and/or links to possible solutions to my Thunderbird e-mail program problem yesterday. It is heartening to have so many people willing to help.

I read some of the support forum messages and determined that my prefs.js file had become corrupted. This probably occured the night before when I shut down and Windows did a blue screen dance of death.

Since I didn't have a backup of the prefs.js file (I know, my bad), I had to create a new profile and then copy the mail from the old profile into the new. This solved the problem and I am backup and running.

Again, a big mahalo to all of you who sent in suggestions.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:28 AM | Permalink

I'm at home today fighting the flu. If that wasn't bad enough, when I started up the Mozilla Thunderbird e-mail program this morning, it asked me to create an account as there were none.

As you might imagine, this is not good news because Thunderbird is saying there isn't any mail since there isn't any account.

After backing up the profile folder, which has all the mail sitting right there, I tried re-installing Thunderbird.

No luck. I just can't seem to get Thunderbird to use the default profile with all my mail in it. Sigh.

I'll check out the Thunderbird forums to seem if others have reported this problem before and if there is a work around. If not, I guess I can always swich the some other program.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I'm back. But I don't have much to say nor much time to say it. The Legislature opens tomorrow but we've already had two or three "informational" hearings. There's another one this afternoon that I have to go to (and help write testimony for).

Speaking of a house of cards, this guy has taken things a bit far.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:40 AM | Permalink

Are you stuck in a job where no one knows who you are or what you do? Do you want to move up in the corporate world? If you answered yes to both of these questions its time to get moving.

First, you need to get out more. By that I mean you need to take on assignments that will take you into other peoples' spheres of influence. For instance, some people hate PC support or being on special cross-department projects or committees. But if you think about it, each situation brings you into contact with other people, especially higher management, and gives you the chance to help them do something they want done. This is a recipe for getting your name out there where it might help when promotions come along.

You can probably think of other situations that at first glance look like something to avoid, but if looked at as an opportunity, can be turned to your advantage. The main point is, you want to plant that seed in management's mind that you are someone who has expertise and can get things done because in the end, it's who knows you and what you know that could get you that promotion.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Part of what I do at work is answering questions. Sometimes that's easy to do and sometimes it's not. But one of the hardest things to do is to do a comparison of U.S. state courts statistics.

Each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico has its own court system. Each, as it should, is tailored to the special needs of its area. New York, being one of the older systems around, has town and village justice courts, city courts, district courts, surrogates' court (no, I don't know what types of cases it hears), county courts, and several other types of courts. And unlike any another state that I know of, New York calls it courts of general jurisdiction its Supreme Court (which is why, when you watch "Law and Order" on TV, most cases are tried in that court) and what everyone else calls their Supreme Court, New York calls Courts of Appeal.

As you get to newer states, like Alaska or Hawai'i, you see much more streamlined court structures. Both have only four (courts of limited, general, intermediate appeal, and last resort) levels.

Within each court, are judges. But when is a judge not a judge? When you have chancellors, commissioners, domestic relations commissioners, domestic court commissioners, magistrates, masters, marital masters, masters-in-equity, or referees.

So when I am asked a seemingly straight forward question like "What is the average caseload of a judge of general jurisdiction across America?" I quake in fear and loathing knowing I will be treading across dangerous ground. In order to answer such a question, I need to know the total caseload and the total number of judges.

The first problem is defining what is caseload? Do you want the number of cases filed, terminated, or pending? Or do you want the number pending plus the number filed, minus the terminated? Or do you want just filed minus terminated? Once you decide that, you have to define what you mean by terminated. Does that mean a case has come to verdict? Or do you include those who have pled guilty before or during a trial? What happens if the case is appealed? Is the original case terminated but a new case is opened?

But wait, as they say on late night TV commercials, there's more. What is a judge? As noted earlier, not all cases are heard by what is termed a judge. Do you include cases heard by chancellors but not masters? Or magistrates but not referees? All? None?

Very quickly, trying to answer the simple question posed earlier becomes a nightmare of footnotes because each state does its job in a different way so trying to compare statistics across states can become almost meaningless.

And yet. Comparisons to other states, or in this case national statistics, are potentially powerful tools for, among other things, managing a courts system, for determining and justifying the need for additional resources, and for planning. So, we do such comparisons. Just remember, when you do it, that you are treading on shaky ground. And include a lot of footnotes.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:03 AM | Permalink

It's doubtful I will be doing a post tomorrow (New Year's Eve). Not only because I'm too lazy, but also because a big storm is coming and the forecast is for winds of 60 mph (about 97 km/h, 52 knots, or 27 metres/sec). What with our electrical grid going down with seemingly the softest whisper of wind, it is likely we will be without power for awhile. Already there have been scattered reports of power outages and this is just the beginning of a long, windy weekend. Sigh.

So, from the Seto Shack here in the Pacific Ocean, we wish you and yours a Happy New Year!

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

As the year comes to a close, it is sometimes instructive to reflect back on where we've been, where we are, and where we may be going.

The New Yorker magazine has a book review of Pulitzer Prize winning author Jared Diamond's "Collapse".

The old saying that those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it seems to be the basis for this book. Diamond analyzes how cultures fail. That is, looking back at the Vikings in Greenland, Easter Islanders, the Anasazi of the American Southwest, the Mayans, and the modern-day Rwandans, Diamond finds some similarities. Namely: soil, trees, and water.

According to the review, Diamond seems to be saying societies fail when they mismanage these specific environmental factors.

Diamond indicates the Norse settlers in Greenland practised a Northern European brand of dealing with the environment. While this may have worked in Europe (and there is a debate about that), it was, according to the review, a disaster to the ecology of Greenland that eventually led to death by starvation.

Likewise, Easter Island is now completely devoid of trees where forrests once stood. Each of those trees was felled by a human. Without trees, the land died and when the land died, so did the inhabitants (Someting similar may have occured on the Hawaiian island of Ni'ihau. Archeological finds have discoverd what once was a thriving culture. Now, the island is essentially devoid of trees and ground cover leaving a wind swept, barren landscape used only, up until a few years ago, for target bombing by the military).

The review is rather lengthly but if you have the time, it may be helpful in understanding some of the lessons from the past.

Speaking of lessons from the past, the U.K. Guardian Unlimited has an article looing back at empires from Constantine to Bush.

In this time of Christmas, the article goes back to when the Church first celebrated Christmas. How the date of December 25th was chosen and how the Church focuses on Christ's birth and death but shies away from many of his teachings. Teachings that upset people and if followed, would mean having to change behaviors that people don't want to change.

Both articles, whether right or wrong, should lead you to thinking about who we are and what roles we play in life because if we don't, there may not be a role to play.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

And now, the 2004 Office Attachments Awards.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:50 AM | Permalink

The reports of death in Asia are truly horrifying. But some early reports of the damage caused by the tsunami indicated that there was no warning. I think this will turn out to be untrue.

First, if you are near bodies of water and feel an earthquake, immediately move to higher ground. The earthquake that created the waves was of such magnitude that everyone would have felt it and the waves created would take several minutes to arrive.

Second, if you are near a body of water and the water rapidly drains from the shore, run immediately to higher ground as the waves will be arriving in a matter of seconds to a few minutes. Note that a tsunami is typically a series of waves and the first may not be the largest. Further, there may be gaps of several minutes or even hours between the waves.

Unfortunately, this part of Asia is not covered by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) located in Ewa Beach, O'ahu, Hawaii.

The PTWC, using a series of water-level gauges placed around the Pacific Basin can track and predict the path of a Pacific-wide tsunami minutes after it is generated. Even though there were no such sensors in the part of Asia hit by the recent tsunami, the PTWC sent warnings, based on the magnitude of the earthquake, to Asian countries telling them of the possibility of immediate tsunami damage. Apparently, the warnings were not heeded.

For more information, see this site here.

Posted by DanS at 09:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Joy to the World, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the World, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.

Mele Kalikimaka and Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 12:00 PM | Permalink

Well, I couldn't let this go by without linking to it. Hint: The author calls herself the "Cat Pee Vigilante." No, she does not go around squirting cat urine on deserving bad guys. Follow the link to Amazon to see what she is up to.

Okay, so it's not the greatest. But hey, I'm doing the best I can while on vacation...

Posted by DanS at 03:15 PM | Permalink

I'll be doing my semi-annual computer deep cleaning today and Monday. This entails reformatting the drive and reloading the applications. During this time, I will be off-line until I can get the security updates re-installed.

On Tuesday, December 21, I start my Christmas vacation and will not return until the New Year. Hence, posting will be light and late. That is, there may be a day or two (or three) with no post and when there is one, it will later in the day (I usually get up at 4:45 in the morning during the week but when I go on vacation I like to sleep in until 6:00.).

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:47 AM | Permalink

I've been out of school for a year or so but I could have used this catapult watch. That's right, a small catapult is attached to the watch and reportedly has a range of about eight feet (~2.4m). Professional drivers on a closed course. Don't try this at home (go to school and do it there). YMMV.

Posted by DanS at 07:49 AM | Permalink

C|Net is reporting that Wal*Mart stores are selling a house brand of electronics called, *cough*, iLo. I'm not making this up. iLo. As in iLo quality. I'm no marketing maven but is this really the best brand name? In Hawai'i, the word for someone who is crazy is lolo. Perhaps they should have called it uLoLo.

Posted by DanS at 07:47 AM | Permalink

Here's another idea that perhaps should have been re-thought (or at least moved to a different part of the store). Gillette is announcing a new shaver for women. A vibrating shaver. Now, if you think about it, this could have several problems (and at least one unintended use...). Since this is a family friendly site, I'll only talk about the problem of trying to shave sensitive areas while the sharp implement you are using is vibrating. Is this a good thing? Does this make sense to anyone? I dunno.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

What if you had your own atomic clock? How big would it be and what would you do with it? According to this article here, atomic clocks the size of a grain of rice are coming, if not in your cell phone tower or GPS already.

The clocks are still in development but are accurate to within one second every 300 HUNDRED YEARS. If they can be made reliable enough and cheaply enough you could find one in your alarm clock in a couple of years. Or not. Depending on if you want to sleep in another 15.00000000000000000001 minutes.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sorry, no post today. Things to do, places to go..., wash, rinse, repeat.

Okay, so I lied. Here's something for fellow Daynoter John Dominik and family:

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It's that time of the year. What time is that? It's Christmas tree decorating hints with Iris and Fern. They're the Katz and they know how to setup a tree until it's purrrfect.

Okay, so it's not a deep political examination of the underlying problems of the Bush administration and how they thought once Saddam was captured all hostilities would cease since the Iraqi resistance was clearly so hierarchical and unable to act as autonomous units, unlike ours which were so well equipped and trained (is that a run-on sentence or what? -ed.). In fact, more U.S. soldiers have died in the year since the capture of Saddam then the year before. In fact fighting has intensified in the year since Saddam has been captured than the year before. In fact, all the Neocon *pundits were wrong. They were wrong about the weapons of mass destruction (remember those?). They were wrong about "Mission Accomplished." They were were wrong about how to conduct the war. They are wrong about how to end the war. They are wrong about Abu Ghurayb prison. They were wrong about the break down in society that occurs when a political power vacuum exists. Dead wrong.

And yet, he got re-elected. Well, all I can say is don't blame me, I voted for Kerry.

Posting will, through the end of the year, remain light and spotty. Some of this is because things are so busy at work and partly it's I will be on vacation later this month.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

"You go to war with the Army you have, not the one you might want..." - US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

This is the latest slap at the US Army by the Secretary of Defense. Does his statement provide aid and comfort to the enemy? Does this statement rise to the level of treason? Perhaps not, I'll leave that to others to decide. But I believe his statement is just one more indication of his war against the Army and his supreme arrogance.

Even some neo-cons are demanding his resignation. The story quotes a former Lt. Colonel as saying "He is an extremely talented man but he has the tragic flaw of hubris. His arrogance is unbearable." In a Salon article, retired Colonel David Hackworth describes Rumsfeld as "an arrogant assh*le" who went into Iraq thinking it would be "Mission Accomplished" in a few days and then the Iraqis would be throwing parades and showering our troops with flowers.

Leaving aside whether he is or is not arrogant, the more important question is whether Secretary Rumsfeld is a good leader. Do his actions aid the war effort or make it more dangerous for our troops on the ground? Do his policies facilitate the efforts of the troops or do they make it more difficult? Does the man understand, in the words of Ellen Glasgow, that "All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward."

In any case, with people like Secretary Rumsfeld in the Bush administration, who needs enemies?

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sorry, no post today. Things are really busy as we get ready for the Legislature to startup (our first hearing is on December 22nd!).

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:23 AM | Permalink

Fast Company has an interesting article on creativity and six myths that have become associated with the topic. According to a study done at the Harvard Business School, the six myths are:

1. Creativity comes from Creative Types

2. Money is a Creativity Motivator

3. Time Pressure Fuels Creativity

4. Fear Forces Breakthroughs

5. Competition Beats Collaboration

6. A Streamlined Organization is a Creative Organization

I have a few comments that are perhaps addressed in the original study but isn't in the Fast Company article.

Creative Types. I agree that creativity isn't confined to only one type of person. So I think the lesson here is to be open to creative suggestions from whichever the source may be. That said, creativity, like many, if not all, other human traits is probably distributed on a normal bell curve. That is, some people have more of it than others. If true, it should follow that if you need creative types, you would want people with an abundance of that trait.

Practically speaking, that is easier said than done. Hence, the lesson truly is to be open to creative suggestions from all of your employees.

Money as Motivator. There's an old joke that says: "Money isn't everything, it's the only thing." But, I think, what the study is saying is while money certainly is a motivator, once a certain level of need is met, more money doesn't lead to more creativity. Rather, other higher needs ( as Maslow would say) come into play. Needs such as social, esteem, and self-actualization. The lesson for the good manager then is to match people up with what is motivating to them at the time, not just throwing money at people (feel free to send some my way though - ed.).

Time. Another human trait that seems to be described by the normal bell curve is productivity. While people in the study indicated they worked best when under time pressures, the study seems to indicate just the opposite. In other studies I've seen, productivity when plotted on the y-axis versus anxiety on the x-axis indicates if there is no anxiety, that is no pressure, there is no productivity. Conversely, where there is a lot of anxiety, there is also no productivity. The lesson here is that while there needs to be some anxiety to have productivity, too much anxiety will actually decrease productivity. Hence, if people really are under the gun, the trick is to remove as many other distractions as possible so that people can focus on the one most important task.

Fear. While there is a popular myth that creativity comes from the depths of depression, this study found that people are most creative when they are happy. The lesson is, fear is certainly a motivator, but the best motivator seems to be happiness.

Competition. There is a place for competition. But the article says internal competition stifles communication (since sharing information, without receiving something of value in return, is a competitive disadvantage). And since no one person can know everything, isolating that person will usually not lead to creative ideas. The lesson is internal collaboration can lead to synergistic effects. These effects can then lead to creativity.

Streamlined. If streamlining your organization is a euphemism for downsizing. And if downsizing is a result of bad management decisions, then creativity will suffer. The article indicates that creativity seemed to suffer the most prior to the announcement of the downsizing because people knew something was coming, but didn't know what. Hence, they felt helpless and spent more time preparing for the worst then being creative. The lesson is, if you will be firing people, give people accurate, timely information as soon as possible. Employees can see whether an organization is running well. If it isn't, they know people will be layed off. The lesson for management is to deal openly with the problem as soon as possible rather than draw it out and go into denial.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Remember Pearl Harbor. The lessons of this act of war are many. Know your enemy. Know his intentions and capabilities. Think through various scenarios and have plans to deal with the most likely. These lessons have relevance today. Unfortunately, they have yet to be learned by those in command.

Posted by DanS at 07:13 AM | Permalink

Perfection is a difficult standard to live one's life. But, though incredible struggle, if reached, perhaps people don't have enough left to maintain that level for very long.

Iris Sun-Ru Chang, at one time or another, was a best selling author (three books), award winning writer (New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Newsweek), and reporter (Associated Press and Chicago Tribune).

From what I can find out about her, she was also a perfectionist. Perhaps this came from her parents, who were second-wave Chinese immigrants. Not to blame her parents but the Chinese revere perfection. This is reflected in, among other things, their art - including their writings.

As with many things, being a perfectionist, if that's what she was, has both good and bad points. One of the good points is that she wrote with a clarity polished so finely that it brought understanding to complex issues. For example, she talked about racism, its roots, and how it seems to occur in cycles. That is, racism, according to Chang, is not an issue that is dealt with and then is never again a problem. She talked about how it occurs in cycles, perhaps related to the economy, and that how, sometimes, things don't occur in a linear fashion. How sometimes, things don't get better. That's it's possible to regress and return to a lower state then society was before and to stay there.

The bad is that through her writings she uncovered the worst of who we are and it seemed to create a rage within her soul that burned like a meteor blazing across the night sky. Her books illuminated acts of unspeakable atrocities that can only be described as inhuman. And yet, they were done by humans against other humans.

Perhaps, as the fire within her consumed her will for life, her physical and mental health began to decline. Until one day last month, on a country road in California, she stopped trying to be perfect.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I have some more training on the new information management system that the Judiciary is working on. The training runs all day, every day next week so posts may be short, if not sweet. Thanks in advance for your understanding.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:07 AM | Permalink

Two weekends ago the city did some road work near our house. The work, which consisted of paving the an intersection about block away, required the temporary closing of the road. So, the workmen setup a five foot high by five foot wide sign saying, "Road Closed." You would think this would be enough for cluefull people to know that, you know, the road was closed and you should take an alternate route.

But no, at least 20 or 30 drivers, over a period of about three hours, drove around the sign. Of course, having driven around the barrier they found the road closed and impassable. But if that wasn't enough, one person, driving a Range Rover complained so loudly about not being able to drive on the road that I could hear her from about 75 feet away.

Clearly, these people have no business driving a two-ton projectile known as a motor vehicle. These kinds of people make me think that we need better licensing procedures. Presently, once you pass the drivers exam, you never again need to prove you know how to drive safely. Maybe making it tougher to keep a driver's license isn't the best solution but I don't know of any better way to keep these people off the road. If not for our safety, then for their's.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Keeping in mind the sources for vnunet.com story, it says that in the weeks running up to Christmas, expect the percentage of spam emails to hit 90 percent of all email. If that weren't bad enough (if true - ed.), spammers have been working overtime with social engineers to find new ways to get you to click on their emails/links/fake e-card Christmas greetings/phishing attacks.

As they used to say on that old TV show, "Let's be careful out there."

Posted by DanS at 07:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tomorrow is a national holiday (Thanksgiving) so I will be off. In addition, I will be taking Friday off so there will not be any post until next week Monday.

Have a Great Thanksgiving, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:48 AM | Permalink

Reporter Kevin Sites has become well known recently due to the video he got of a US Marine shooting a man laying in a mosque in Iraq. I have not, until now, commented on this incident because finding the truth in wartime is a very difficult task.

This much I know: it is true, in this war and many others, that combatants have feigned death so as to either evade being killed or to lure his or her enemy closer so a killing blow could be delivered.

It is also true that, to put it plainly, the micro-objective in war is to kill your enemy before he can kill you.

But this objective is constrained by various international agreements that the US is a signatory to. In addition, the US military and federal government have rules and/or laws regarding the conduct of combatants and treatment of the enemy, wounded or not.

If we are to be a nation of laws rather than of men, if we are to behave as civilized people in an uncivilized world, we need to carefully investigate this incident and determine what is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Saying that no investigation should be done, without first knowing the truth of the situation is, to say the least, short sighted and, in the long run, just another nail in the coffin that is our "policy" in Iraq.

For one version of the truth, you can visit Mr. Site's own blog where he states what he says he saw and did here. Yet to be heard is the Marine that fired the shot nor the Iraqi survivor(s) mentioned in the post. But until all sides have been heard, I think it would be premature to comment further.

Posted by DanS at 07:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

For those of you who work in offices and have too much free time on your hands, this link leads to some examples of what you could do to your cubicle mates abode while he or she is away. Insert standard disclaimer here. Do not attempt this at home. Professional driver on a closed course.

Posted by DanS at 08:04 AM | Permalink

Warning! Religion discussion. Come back tomorrow if you are offended.

First, let me say I am a Christian and belong to what some may describe as a conservative Protestant sect. Further, I believe there are some things about God you simply have to accept on faith because there isn't any way to otherwise make a rational decision. The problem, to me then, is determining which situations to accept on faith and which to use rational thought.

That said, I like to think that God gave people a brain to think things through. That He gave people the ability to critically examine questions and come to rational conclusions. Indeed, that one of the ways He reveals the wonders of His creation is through science.

Unfortunately, many people seem to have problems dealing with complexity. That is, if they can't wrap their minds around a problem they automatically fall back to faith. This isn't necessarily a GoodThing.

Mankind came out of the Dark Ages by, among other things, questioning things based solely on faith and examining them using the scientific method. By throughly comparing the evidence to what appears to be reality, we may come to a better understanding of what is truth.

Still, having come this far, we are always dangerously close to reversing course and heading towards our own Dark Age. What we come to think as being normal society is but a thin veneer covering a multitude of irrational fears and very angry people. Get within range of these people and we could see the worst of McCarthyism and the Scopes trial return.

Evidence of this is this recent Gallop pole that says 45 percent of Americans believe God created humans about 10,000 years ago.

While I fully understand that Darwin's theory of evolution is just that, a theory, and while I fully understand polls can be very misleading - the theory of evolution sure seems to explain a lot of what we observe to be reality. In fact, it seems to explain more things than just relying on what I believe to be misguided faith.

And here we come to the crux of the matter - when is it appropriate to use faith and when is it appropriate to use our minds and the scientific method to reveal God's truth?

I can't give you that answer but I fear for all us when people apparently so easily disregard what science has revealed.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The US NASA folks over at the Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California successfully tested their third, and last, X43 scramjet yesterday (see the story from NASA here).

The unpilotted research aircraft reached almost 7,000 mph (~11,000 kph) during its 10-second run before gliding back to earth and splashing down into the Pacific. But data received during the brief flight will go a long way towards moving the state-of-the-art forward. It is extremely difficult to reproduce, on the ground, the kind of speed needed to operate scramjets. Hence, this real world test is helpful to gain the information needed to determine how well this type of air-breathing engine performs.

Posted by DanS at 09:21 AM | Permalink

As mentioned earlier, Cingular rolled out the Motorola Razr V3 [Note: the Cingular site doesn't seem to be compatible with Firefox. Using IE got me further along but I still got page display errors. Perhaps this is why, when I typed in my ZIP code, the site said I was located on Kaua'i. Which is not a bad place to be, but I am actually on O'ahu.] yesterday. But not only is it being sold at the ridiculous price of $499, the price is actually discounted by $100 from the even more ridiculous list price of $599!

But wait. There's more. From what I understand, the price is only good until the end of December. If true, what the price will be in January is unclear.

But wait. There's even more. If pricing at Motorola wasn't a bad enough problem, this article from Engadget says there may be problems with quality control in four other Motorola models. With that kind of record, one has to wonder what problems may be lurking in the V3.

High prices and reported low quality. Is it any wonder that Motorola is sliding down towards third place?

Posted by DanS at 07:48 AM | Permalink

Speaking of Dark Ages, this ZDNet article says Lexmark printer software includes spyware that phones home when you use their printers. I don't know if it does but if so, you may want to remove their software, if you can.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sorry, no post today. I'm on vacation and will be back on Monday.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Internet rumor is that the Motorola Razr V3 (requires Flash to view the site) will apparently go on sale in the US through Cingular this coming Monday. Unfortunately, rather than have a price similar to the UK, where the V3 is already available for no cost with a new subscription , Cingular will price it at about $500USD with a two year minimum contract.

Sigh. I feared Cingular might do something like that. Although, I suppose, much of the blame should be pointed towards Motorola for having variable list prices based on what they think they can extort the market will bear.

But how does this build good will? How does this build the trust required to be willing to purchase a product? It appears Motorola isn't concerned that Samsung is eating its way towards second place (Nokia is number one and Moto number 2 according to this TheRegister article here) and will probably overtake them sometime early next year by selling exceptional phones at reasonable prices.

Motorola has been, for some time, trying to find its way back to the top of the field - a position it held since the beginning of the cell phone revolution. While technically speaking, the new V3 is a positive step in that direction, they may have more than neutralized that advantage by pricing the phone out of reach of 99 percent of the people Motorola hopes to sell to.

One can only hope that Motorola, and Cingular, see the competitive advantage to dropping the price, Real Soon Now. Otherwise, they will have wasted this opportunity and Motorola will continue the long, not so slow slide into oblivion.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

My post yesterday got some push back comments on what is truth. While I agree that what is truth is a many sided jewel that must be examined within its context, that is not to say all we can ever do is sit in circles contemplating our navels and discussing the meaning of truth. If that's what we did we would never progress. The reality is we make determinations on what is truth all the time. How we reach our conclusions may differ, but determining the truth is a common thing to do.

Before I get any further, let's briefly review some of the basics. First, my definition of truth. Truth is an accurate description of reality.

Second, why is it important to find the truth? At the bottom line, get the description wrong and you may die. Hence, finding the truth is critical to our longevity.

Third, once the truth is determined, I believe it is universal. That is, it is the same for everyone, whether they believe the truth or not. Whether they are White, Black, Brown or Yellow. Republican or Democrat. The truth is the truth.

Fourth, my discussion will not end the debate on what is truth. That debate has raged for centuries and will probably do so for more to come. But I hope you can understand where I am coming from, even if you don't agree with me.

That said, to determine truth, people have used various tools. Some look to the great philosophers. Others look to religion. Others look to Nature to reveal her truths.

Science itself grew out of a need to create a tool to better determine the truth. Rather than sitting on the steps of the Parthenon discussing truth, people decided to create theories and then to test them (see the debate between inductive versus deductive logic). Does the Earth circle the Sun or is it the opposite? Is disease caused by spirits or bacteria?

Another tool for determine truth is the courts. Witnesses testify that what they say is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. What is decided may or may not be based on reality but we nonetheless must make the determination. We cannot do otherwise. Life itself would become a confused babel of conflicting stories if we didn't.

So what was I talking about yesterday? Let me explain what I mean by giving you a recent example. If people say they are concerned with traditional marriage and family values, do these people then do everything they can to enable everyone to have a decent place to live, food to eat, health care, and a good school to send their children to? Do these same people who so revere marriage also then want to make divorce illegal? That is, if marriage is something sanctified by God, who are they to thwart His will with a civil court proceeding to dissolve that marriage?

In conclusion, while finding the truth may be a slippery endeavor, not everyone has problems determining the truth. Our founding fathers knew what the truth was. In July of 1776 they wrote: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. -- That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, -- That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it..."

Truth that was self-evident. In other words, it was so obvious that only those who refused to acknowledge the truth could deny it.

We can, and must decide what is truth, test whether we are right, and move on. Thus, one of the paradoxes of life is that while we may never know the truth, we have to make assumptions as to what that is, determine if it conforms with reality, and then move on. The alternative is to have philosophical discussions that provide much heat, but no light and, more importantly, will surely lead to our destruction.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:27 AM | Permalink

There are differences in the types of rewards employees receive based on whether you work in the public or private sectors. In the private sector, if you do well, you may get a financial bonus, extra days off, stocks, or some other financial renumeration.

However, in the public sector, at least here anyway, the rewards are less tangible but no less appreciated. Most public employees, by law or tradition, don't get financial rewards. In fact, most public sector worker base salaries are substantially less than their private sector counterparts to begin with. We also pay substantial parts (40 percent) of our medical, dental, and optical plans.

So what do we get? Last Friday, I attended our Incentive and Service Awards ceremony. I was invited to come and celebrate my 20 years of public service and decided to do so. Along with the recognition, you get a pen and pencil set, a certificate, and picture with the Chief Justice and Administrative Director.

These small items are appreciated. But what makes the ceremony so moving and significant to those who attend is the recognition that these celebrants are more than just employees, they are public servants.

Few people in the private sector will ever understand the depth of commitment to serving the public that these people have. Yes, I know, just about everyone has or has heard of horror stories when dealing with public servants. But truth be told, those incidents are in the minority. In fact, from my own experience, I've had more problems with people in the private sector providing shoddy or nonexistent service than in the public sector (see my problems with the various private shipping services versus the exemplary service I get at the US post office). I also know that independent survey after independent survey of the public who have actually received services confirms the high level of service.

But back to the ceremony. Part of the ceremony is the recognition of individuals who have, over many years, excelled. These employees receive special recognition. In listening to why they were chosen, I am struck by the level of commitment and perseverance embodied in their stories.

These individuals struggle everyday working within a system designed to be inefficient (Why do you think we have three branches of government? If you want efficiency, check out any dictatorship). But the recognition is not for their struggle, laudatory as that is, rather it's for their reaching nearly impossible goals within the financial constraints forced upon them.

Many of the incentive awardees noted the countless hours of uncompensated overtime they put in. One recipient, heading up an information technology project, spends 80 hours per week working to make it succeed. The toll on her health and family is evident (I hadn't seen her for about a year and almost didn't recognize her due the changes reflected in her face) but she perseveres.

Another awardee, overcome with emotion from the recognition she received could barely speak. Tears flowed down her face as she haltingly, and with quiet dignity, tried to express her thankfulness for the support she received from her co-workers, supervisors, friends, and family and what an honor it was to serve others.

I know much of what I've said will probably fall on deaf ears. There are those out there that will judge all people by one or two bad experiences. Others, who haven't even had any contact with a public servant will adhere to a biased caricature of what we do and who we are. But you should thank God that there are people like these women working to serve the public. Because if they, and all of the other public servants, decided it wasn't worthwhile, things would truly go to hell in a hand basket.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:18 AM | Permalink

With all the things going on in the world I forgot my Daynotes anniversary date had come and gone. It was 20 October 1999 when I started this journal. It's interesting to see the arc of my writing. Some things have changed, others are the same. For all eleven of you who have stuck with me from the beginning - thanks.

I hope you've learned as much as I have over these few years.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I know this story is going to sound like the bad plot from a 1950s TV show but I'm not making this up.

Michelle Trainor took her two dogs, Grubby and Murdoch, for a walk last week. Nothing remarkable about that. But read on.

As they were walking along, Murdoch playfully nudged Grubby over a 50 metre high embankment. As Trainor looked over the bank to check on Grubby, the edge gave way and down Trainor went. She continued rolling down the bank until she impaled her chest on a tree branch. She lay there stunned for several hours before awakening. When she awoke, the pain from the tree branch was so bad she decided to pull the branch out with her bare hands.

Then, still in much pain, she heard her cell phone ringing. Unfortunately, she had dropped it half way up the bank as she fell and she was in no condition to climb up and get it. So what did she do? She told Murdoch to go get the phone. And...he...did. The dog rescued from the dog pound helped to rescue his master.

But there's more. Trainor called her husband who came looking for her. But due, by then, to the darkness, he could not find her. So Trainor sent Murdoch up the hill and the dog led Trainor's husband back to her.

All is well now but I guess you could say dogs are women's best friends too. See the story from New Zealand here.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:31 AM | Permalink

From the way too much is better sector of digital cameras comes the Hasselblad H1D 22-megapixel camera. You read that right, 22MP. Each high resolution image takes up 132MB so Hasselblad includes a 40GB "Image Bank" external hard drive for image storage. Connection to a PC is via FireWire. The camera body accepts Hasselblad HC lens. Not that any of that matters since the price is so high ($21,995) you don't even need to ask.

Posted by DanS at 08:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The first of three locally filmed TV shows went down the tubes yesterday. Hawaii, the one that I thought had the best understanding of the place its title names, fell, I think, to two problems.

The first is being against ABC's phenomenal show Lost (also filmed here). The second was story lines that were just not very believable nor interesting. That's not to say the acting (and the actors) were not good. They were. But the material they were given to work with just didn't cut it.

Aloha o'e to Hawaii, a noble effort that fell short of the mark.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:54 AM | Permalink

This being the silly season, it's nice to see news that doesn't involve lies, damned lies, or statistics. This story here tells of the bravery many people can exhibit, given the right circumstances.

According to the article, a Long Island, New York car dealership exploded and erupted in flames. But instead of people running away, people in the area ran directly into the burning building and pulled survivors out of the rubble. This, even as the second story of the two-story building threatened to collapse around them.

If only the two major party candidates could demonstrate even half the courage these people showed.

Posted by DanS at 09:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

When I used to work for the Hawaii Department of Budget and Finance, lo those many years ago, one of my major job functions was drafting responses for the Governor's signature. At the time, and I'm not sure if this is still true, all letters from the public got a response.

As a practical matter, no Governor can read and respond to all correspondence sent to him or her. So, if the subject matter and draft response are not politically sensitive, the Governor may never even see the original letter nor the response back. Usually, the Governor's staff will make a determination whether the Governor needs to read the original letter and response. If not, such mail is usually parceled out to the appropriate agency for review and drafting of an appropriate response.

If the response is going out over the Governor's signature, most, if not all states, have machines that can write the Governor's signature using a pen attached to said machine. The resulting signature is, for most purposes, indistinguishable from a "real" one.

Sometimes, if the subject matter of a response is particularly thorny, and the Governor (or his or her staff) wants to be insulated from having to give bad news to the respondent, the letter will go out over the subject matter department's signature rather than the Governor's.

But the absolute worst kind of response to draft is when the original letter writer refuses to accept the government's response. This occurred especially when a member of the public felt wronged by the "system" and wanted some decision reversed or other action taken.

Rightly or wrongly, these kinds of follow-up letters tended to get canned memos called "Thank you for your letter, please drop dead" responses. The drop dead memos were intended to get the person to stop writing to the Governor (and most times it worked) while politely acknowledging the sender. But at least the person writing in always got a response.

In my post on Friday criticizing O'Reilly for disenfranchising millions of US citizens by disallowing contest submissions from states outside the continental US, two Daynoters commented I should put the burden on myself and ask O'Reilly why they did this. Bowing to the greater wisdom of my fellow Daynoters, I sent the following to O'Reilly yesterday:

I was all set to enter the contest tied in to Robert Bruce Thompson's new book "Building the Perfect PC." But as is the case when I enter these things, I carefully read the contest rules. Imagine my dismay when I realized O'Reilly had [apparently] decided to disenfranchise millions of US citizens by saying only people living in the "continental" US could enter.

I realize the number of O'Reilly books sold in Alaska and Hawai'i may not count for much, but why go out of your way to create ill will?

People like to say the Internet is about conversations. Well, one way of killing a conversation is to tell people they don't count. Indeed, tell them you don't even want to hear from them is a good way of ending things real quick.

I hope, in the future, that your company will honor the fact that there are 50 states in the United States of America and that opening lines for conversations are better than saving a few bucks for shipping.

Aloha,

Dan

As of this writing, I haven't received a reply. If I do, I will post it on my site (even if it's a thank you for your letter, please drop dead response). But I'm not holding my breath because, unlike public agencies, private businesses aren't accountable to the public.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:33 AM | Permalink

This article says the probability of Murphy's Law (What can go wrong, will) being exhibited can be calculated by the formula above. The variables are:

U = urgency
C = complexity
I = importance
S= skill
F = frequency
A = aggravation

Use a number between one-to-nine for all of the variables except "A" (which is set constant at 0.7). The interesting part is the assertion that you can control some of the variables and therefore affect the probability. YMMV.

Posted by DanS at 09:03 AM | Permalink

When is Hawaii and Alaska not part of the 50 United States of America? When it comes to contests at O'Reilly and Associates. O'Reilly is running a contest to promote a new book from former Daynoter Robert Bruce Thompson (see the contest here). I offer for your review what some of the rules are and intersperse them with my comments.

From the "Official Sweepstakes Rules":

This promotion is intended for play and participation in the United States only and shall be construed and evaluated according to the laws of the United States. Please do not participate if you are not a legal resident of the United States and located in the United States at the time of entry...

Okay, if I read this correctly, you have to be legal resident of the United States at the time of entering the contest. I am a legal resident of the state of Hawai'i. Hawai'i is part of the United States and has been so since about 1959-60. Ipso facto, I am a legal resident of the Unites States.

SWEEPSTAKES OPEN ONLY TO LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE 50 UNITED STATES...

Yup, same as above. I qualify to enter.

7. Eligibility: Sweepstakes open to legal residents of the continental United States...

Oh oh. Are residents of Hawai'i legal residents of the United States? Yup. But Hawai'i (nor usually Alaska) is considered to be part of the continental Unites States. Sigh.

So yet another contest is closed to me because I live in Hawai'i. I don't want to leave the impression that it's only O'Reilly & Associates that do this. I've seen other contests that say they are open to all US citizens but then say they are actually only for the lower 48. I wonder why they choose to disenfranchise millions of people and create bad will towards their products?

Yes, I know, the two major parcel shipping companies (FedEx and UPS) have changed their shipping rates such that both imply they don't want business to or from Hawai'i. But that doesn't mean there aren't other shippers. There are DHL and the US Postal Service (USPS). Personally, I like the USPS. They are just as fast, to Hawai'i anyway, as the other shippers, but deliver on Saturdays and charge about 50 percent less than the others. I really don't understand why more people don't use the USPS.

Oh well, I guess I won't be buying this or any more of O'Reilly's books.

Posted by DanS at 08:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

And finally, for those of you who need help pushing your shopping cart around the market, there's this guy in the UK who built a pulse jet engine to help speed things up. As in 50 mph (~80kph). The engine housing glows with the heat of 600°C (~1,000°F) but hey, at least you don't need help to get to your car...

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:50 AM | Permalink

Even though the book and movie The Right Stuff focused a lot on pilot Chuck Yeager (which is not a condemnation of the book, just an observation), one of the stand out characters was Gordon "Gordo" Cooper.

His optimism, humor, supreme coolness under stress, and yes, perhaps cockyness (when asked who was the greatest fighter pilot he ever saw he always replied, with a smile "You're looking at him") shined like the sun blazing into his Mercury capsule's window. Cooper, age 77, died yesterday at his home in California.

Posted by DanS at 09:24 AM | Permalink

I'm calling this a win for the good guys because, I think, it points out the fact that commercial "speech" can be regulated. As a sidebar, it's amazing to me how people can spin unwanted commercials into something called "speech". Corporations don't speak, buildings don't speak, people do.

In any case, I am extremely happy that the US Supreme Court has let stand a lower court ruling that the "Do Not Call" list does not run afoul of the US Constitution.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

First there was Pimp My Ride, now there's Trick Anything. Personally, I kind of like the lawn mower. But then, I've always been a sucker for a big pair of, ahem, hood scoops.

Posted by DanS at 08:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The state of Florida has been hit with one hurricane after another this year. While I'm sure there's no connection between these ActsOfGod and the stealing of the 2000 presidential election, I think it would be a good idea for Florida Governor Jeb Bush to resign and offer to sacrifice a fatted calf to atone for his sins. Unfortunately, I don't think that's going to happen any time soon.

In the mean time, there are a lot of fellow Americans in need of help in hurricane ravaged Florida. If you have the time/resources to lend a hand, you may want to donate to the relief agency of your choice. If you don't have a particular agency in mind, consider the American Red Cross.

In a similar vein, fellow Daynoter Mike Barkman appreciated the work of the Salvation Army. If you would like to make a donation in his memory feel free to do so.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:42 AM | Permalink

I'm at home today due to a cold. I've been having problems with an ear infection, sore throat, and now congested nose so I've decided to stay home today and get some rest. See you all back here on Monday (if the creek don't rise, etc...)

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:55 AM | Permalink

Today's post is devoted to the passing of fellow Daynoter Mike Barkman.

Each of us plays many roles in life. Michael John Barkman was a husband, father, retired pharmacist/entrepreneur, and member of the Daynotes Gang. But more importantly, Mike was a rich man.

No, not in the way you are probably thinking.

Mike was rich in the way Emerson described Thoreau as being rich: "He chose to be rich by making his wants few..."

Mike was rich in having found a soul mate not once, but twice in life.

Mike was rich in the love of his children: Sue, Ross, and step-daughter Joanna.

Mike was rich in his beloved home in Rotorua, New Zealand.

But what struck me about Mike was that he wast most rich in his positive attitude and outlook on life. I think this was reflected in the name of his site, Icarus Ascending. In the many email discussions I've had with Mike over these too short years, he has always been a gentle man with an ever positive disposition. Even when he announced his medical problems, he never let it get him down. He would even joke about it saying whatever pain he was enduring was better than the alternative.

When, one day not too long ago, he wrote about the new prescriptions he was given I did some checking on what they were. From that, it became clear to me that Mike probably didn't have a lot of time left as these powerful and very toxic drugs were given only as a last resort. But you would never have known it from his postings or emails. Indeed, his last post ended with this ever positive sentence: "So that's me up-to date; still in there swinging!"

In closing, I'd like to say thank you to Mike for making me richer because of his example on how to live one's life:

If you aim for the sun,
You'll get close
to the heat.
Better that your wings melt
Than never to have flown.

Aloha O'e.. /Dan

Posted by DanS at 07:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Way, way back when I was in high school [wasn't that during the mesozoic era" -ed.] I was a fan of Maurits Cornelis Escher (better known as MC Escher, no relation to MC Hammer - ed.). But this site here has gone one better and actually built models of some of his objects.

The thing is, some of the models look like the originals only from certain angles, which is logical since many of Escher's object could not exist in our reality. Hence, I'm not sure what point is trying to be made. Is it to show that some of them can be made? If so, so what? I dunno.

Still, it is interesting to look at and you can probably guess where my wallpaper for the week comes from...

Posted by DanS at 09:29 AM | Permalink

I guess this site is for real but Virgin Galactic says they will be offering space flights to customers in two to three years. VG will be using three spacecraft built by the same company as Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne and will charge passengers (astronauts?) $170-200,00 USD.

Posted by DanS at 09:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Does economic status correlate with well being? How do you define well being? Interesting questions and someone at the American Psychological Society (sorry, I have no idea who they are) did a study (summary here) on just this subject:

Our thesis is that well-being should become a primary focus of policymakers, and that its rigorous measurement is a primary policy imperative. Well-being, which we define as peoples’ positive evaluations of their lives, includes positive emotion, engagement, satisfaction, and meaning (Seligman, 2002). Although economics currently plays a central role in policy decisions because it is assumed that money increases well-being, we propose that well-being needs to be assessed more directly, because there are distressingly large, measurable slippages between economic indicators and well-being.

Posted by DanS at 09:56 AM | Permalink

If the thought of loosing your bicycle because someone used a Bic pen to open your expensive bike lock was bad, think how'd you feel if your kids opened your gun cabinet using the same technique. See the story here.

Posted by DanS at 09:52 AM | Permalink

Who would have thought Santa Cruz would have a radio station that plays only Hawaiian music? Or hula studio, outrigger canoe club, ukulele club, or plate lunch stand? But according to this article from the Santa Cruz Sentinel here, things Hawaiian are going over swimmingly in far off California.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:51 AM | Permalink

It's not exactly my cup of tea, but about 19 million people in the US tuned in to watch this TV series called Lost. It's about stranded survivors of an airplane crash. I only watched the first 10 minutes of it (it is one of three TV series being filmed in Hawai'i) so I can't give much of a review but I don't think I'll be watching more of it.

I then switched channels to one of the other series filmed here called, now wait for it, Hawaii.

I like Hawaii's heart, it tries to capture what this place is about much as Hawaii Five-0 did in its day. But the writing needs to be better. Somebody needs to edit the story lines for common sense. For example, I'm tired of seeing the good guys busting down the front door but leaving the back door uncovered so the bad guys can use it for their escape. Phuuulease. Stop that. Right now.

Having said that, at least Hawaii has a sense of place. The third series filmed here, North Shore, could very well have been set in Orange County, California (where most of their writers must be from). If they don't integrate what this place represents into their stories I won't be watching it either.

Still, three series in town is good for the economy so keep watching America!

Posted by DanS at 08:46 AM | Permalink

I'll be in training learning how to access the Judiciary's new Information Management System (JIMS). Specifically, I'll be learning how to access the databases so I can do ad hoc queries. The training runs today through Friday so posting will be light.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:20 AM | Permalink

Congratulations to fellow Daynoter Frank McPherson for being named by the Detroit Free Press as one of Michigan's best websites.

You can read his post announcing his achievement here.

Posted by DanS at 09:27 AM | Permalink

Speaking of things that aren't. A tip for a restaurant is not legally required. I know this seems obvious to most people, but one restaurant owner learned this when he had a customer arrested for not leaving a large enough tip. According to the story (see the follow-up here), this restaurant requires an 18 percent "gratuity" when serving large parties.

Said customer didn't feel the service received warranted such a large tip and left only 12 percent. The owner, enraged by the small tip, called the police and had the customer arrested.

Upon further reflection, the customer was released without charges as it is not a legal requirement to tip. In other news, restaurants start adding mandatory service charges for treating customers with disrespect.

Posted by DanS at 09:15 AM | Permalink

Speaking of volcanoes. Okay, so I wasn't talking about volcanoes but Mauna Loa on the Big Island is acting up again. But I can't get too excited about it, even if Mauna Loa is the largest volcano in the world, because its happened before and is a natural hazard of living next to a volcano.

The scientists there use very accurate GPS monitors to track the movement of the ground (because it's easier to track than magma underground) to infer what is happening below the surface.

In addition, seismic activity has recently picked up but it is too soon to say when there will be an eruption. Even when it does, and it will at some point, it typically takes about nine to 10 months for the lava to flow from the caldera down to inhabited areas (and it's been about 3,500 years since it reached the ocean).

Having said that, you probably don't want to be in the way of molten lava. And while there have been efforts to divert flows away from structures, the results have generally have been inconclusive at best (although there was some success in Iceland).

In any case, when it does start flowing, it is one of natures wonders to see. The glow from the lava can be seen for miles.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:56 AM | Permalink

Talk like a pirate day is Sept 19 so mark it on your calendars. Now. Before you forget. I'll wait.

Arrr. Now that you're back you bilge rats, let me run you through with me trusty cutlass.

Posted by DanS at 08:18 AM | Permalink

Fox's Bill O'Reilly responded to a letter from a person by the name of Jack Mehoffer. As Fark.com puts it, he'll soon be getting some letters from Mike Hunt and Heywood Jablowme.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:15 AM | Permalink

Fellow Daynoter Dave Markowitz has a nice essay on the Assault Weapons Ban or go to this site here if you want more information.

Personally, I don't think taking away the freedom to own whichever firearm I want has made the world one bit safer so I don't care if this sunsets. In fact, I wouldn't loose any sleep if the Patriot Act also left the building.

I've also finally gotten around to remembering that Dr. Keyboard has put up a passel of posts for your dining enjoyment.

Posted by DanS at 09:14 AM | Permalink

For those two people out there who are interested in government accounting comes this article from the National Review that tries to explain why out national debt is actually tens of trillions of dollars more than the Administration is willing to say it is.

It's called cash accounting and massively distorts the true economic consequences of increasing spending while reducing revenues. Whichever accounting system is used, the debts will still come due. In fact, some of the debts are already here and is mounting.

But I guess it's not something that is important to most people (until your taxes go up).

Posted by DanS at 09:13 AM | Permalink

If the government comes to your house saying they want to borrow your land for military exercises and that they will clean up the land afterward - run, run for your life. The military needs to be ready for the missions set before them. One way towards that goal is to practice using “live” ammunition. The problem with using things that go boom is sometimes they don’t. That is, the artillery or mortar shells sometimes don’t explode and instead embed themselves in the ground. Hence, when it comes time to clean up the land and return it to the owner, well, all I can say is don’t tread too heavily upon the land.

Posted by DanS at 09:37 AM | Permalink

Not that I'm going to rush out and buy a high definition TV set but I've begun to research what's out there and what's around the corner. One of the things that I find interesting is the swing back to projection TVs.

I think it was the early 1970s or so when the first large screen consumer TVs came out (e.g., the Henry Kloss designed Advent VideoBeam TV) and all of them were projection models. At the time, these things were huge and most had three light sources (one each for red, green, and blue) that were carefully aimed and focused at special, highly reflective white screens.

So now comes electronics giant Sony to turn projection TV on its head with a black screen. The Sony screen supposedly adsorbs all light except pure red, green, or blue. The theory about this is to absorb the random ambient light that most rooms have, especially during a sunny day, and reflect back only the light from the projector. Hence, contrast should be improved giving deeper, richer colors even with high ambient light.

Whether this screen technology actually works I can't say. But if it does, it would bring us back full circle.

Posted by DanS at 08:56 AM | Permalink

Speaking of circles, one has to wonder about the management at Friendster. They recently fired an employee for, apparently, blogging (see this site for additional links) that they had switched from JSP to PHP. If this is true, and I don't have any reason to doubt it, you have to wonder what closet they keep their brains in because they surely aren't walking around with them.

Even if you take it at face value, it's not like you can't tell they've switched to PHP since the extensions on their pages changed. So if a cluefull person knows of the change, can you still claim it is a trade secret? I...don't...think...so.

In any case, if you are a member of Friendster, you may want to re-evaluate your use of that service and take a look at one of their competitors (see this site that lists a few alternatives).

</bush>

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:54 AM | Permalink

I see that Steven Den Beste is saying he has stopped writing essays for his site (at least for now). He lays out his reasons which, in large part, as I understand it, is based on being worn down by people who would email him with unwelcome comments.

If this is the case, the world is a lesser place because of it. That's not to say I agreed with everything he had to say nor the way he said it (not that I'm in a position to judge). But at least he laid out his thoughts in a rational manner paving a road through the wilderness that is the Internet.

I can only imagine the time and effort he must have put into his long essays as I find it sometimes difficult just to do the short links and occasional short essay I do (even taking the weekend and most holidays off as I do).

In any case, it's his life and if doing what he was doing wasn't rewarding to him, he has every right to go off and do something that is. But I get the feeling, to extend the metaphor quoted on his site: painters gotta paint, singers gotta sing, and writers gotta write. I figure he'll turn up somewhere, somehow.

Posted by DanS at 08:19 AM | Permalink

I had a link to Doc Searls site regarding a series of photos he took of the sunset near his home in California. I guess he noticed the link and he offered to make available the original 5MB versions of the images to anyone (the link back to here) interested. As soon as I can get them, I'll use them as wallpapers for my desktop.

As an aside, to show how classy Doc is, he didn't say anything about the three grammatical errors (now fixed!) that I had in the short post linking to his site. I guess it's just one more reason why he gets millions of visitors and I get eleven... ;=}

In any case, thanks Doc!

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:38 AM | Permalink

Ukulele is just not one of those musical instruments that many people want to hear or play. I mean, when was the last time you saw an air ukulele contest? Or saw Eddie Van Halen burning the strings out of one with his fingers? Rather, you are more likely to see Bob Hope and Bing Crosby crooning with a uke than you are The Who. It's just considered to be too light weight for serious musicians.

But one man, by the name of Jake Shimabukuro is getting some good press (as is the instrument itself here) during his Summer tour across the US and Asia. Shimabukuro, who is from Hawai'i, has been putting on his dynamic shows for awhile now and if you've never seen someone who can play, really play, the ukulele, then go see him.

I say go see him for two reasons. The first is because I can't find samples of his music at the usual places so you can't otherwise hear his music. The second is because when you see him play live you see the energy that Shimabukuro exerts while using every last ounce of expression that the instrument can produce.

As always, his music isn't for everyone. But if you ever get a chance, spend a few minutes listening and see if you don't agree that there is no one better out there right now.

Posted by DanS at 08:55 AM | Permalink

Somehow, I find it poetic justice that the company that sued JibJab, the site that used Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" in a satirical Flash animation, may not have the copyright after all. During research on the song, JibJab defense lawyers found that Ludlow Music was not the copyright holder and that, in fact, the song was in the public domain and had been so for some time.

Ludlow Music quickly dropped its suit but is still maintaining that it has the copyright. No word yet on when a Veterans for Truth, Justice, and Ludlow Music RIAA/DRM site will emerge from the slime.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:54 AM | Permalink

"Why, of course, the people don't want war. Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece. Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship."

"There is one difference," I pointed out. "In a democracy the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars."

"Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country."

Reich-Marshall Hermann Göring in G. M. Gilbert's Nuremberg Diary. New York: Farrar, Straus and Company, 1947 (pp. 278-279) as quoted in Snopes.com.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:10 AM | Permalink

TheForce.net published a rumor that employees at Industrial Light and Magic recently had to sign a non-disclosure agreement regarding episodes 7, 8 and 9 of the Star Wars saga.

As many of you know, George Lucas originally sketched out his space-based opera in three groups of three. The first two sets of three have been completed (or soon to be when episode 3 is released next year). But Lucas has been quoted as saying he would not do the last trilogy.

Who knows if the rumor is true and even if so, does that mean Lucas plans to do that last three?

Posted by DanS at 08:38 AM | Permalink

I've talked before about this site here that has panorama views of all kinds of places. From the Moon to Easter Island they have 360° panoramas (Note that you need the QuickTimeTVR plugin and a compatible browser to view the images.).

I recently went back to the site to take a look around and found this panorama here of the statute of King Kamehameha that is in front of the building called Ali'iolani Hale. By turning in the opposite direction, you can also see across the street the only royal palace on US soil - 'Iolani Palace.

Ali'iolani Hale, was built in the 1870s to serve as residence for then King Kamehameha V. Tragically, the king died before moving in. Having no children, the Kamehameha dynasty came to a heart breaking end with his death in 1872.

Approximately 20 years later, in 1893, on the very steps of Ali'iolani Hale where I now work, American interests, with force of arms illegally overthrew the remaining monarchy and established one of their own as President of Hawai'i.

Sometimes, as I walk the halls that Hawaiian kings and queens have trod, I am filled with sadness over what once was, but will probably never be again.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:40 AM | Permalink

Tomorrow is a state holiday commemorating Hawai'i statehood. While this not considered a GoodThing by all people, I think the majority would not want to be citizens of any other nation (other than perhaps the Nation of Hawaii).

In addition, I need to do some house cleaning so I'm taking Monday off. So, no post for tomorrow and maybe Monday (although I may get around to doing one so feel to drop by to check).

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:54 AM | Permalink

Sometimes, you don't know how good you have it until you are about to loose it.

ThePhoneCompany is always an easy institution to trash. I mean, for most folks, the phone company you have is not by choice. Rather, it's a regulated monopoly and the one you get is based on where you live. And for the most part, it's the least evil way of doing it (I could go into the economics of it but that's a post for another day).

But you know, for the most part, I've had excellent service from our phone company - Verizon Hawaii. Especially if you compare it to our CableProvider - TimeWarner Oceanic.

For example, you may remember my experiments in the past running dual Internet access via DSL from Verizon and cable modem from TimeWarner. The cable modem would loose its connection on a daily basis (and usually more than once a day) while the DSL would just keep working.

When I call TimeWarner service I would wait on hold for more than 30 minutes at a time only to be told a technician couldn't possibly come out to check things earlier than two weeks later. When they finally did arrive, of course, everything would be working.

On the other hand, in the last two years or so that I've had DSL, I've only had two outages. When I called (at around 10:00 am) I got a person on the second ring and he arranged for a technician to arrive that afternoon (he came around 2:30pm). The problem turned out to be a wiring issue across the street caused by some construction going on. Things were fixed by 3:30pm.

The second was over this past weekend and involved one of their routers, which they fixed about six hours later.

I even found out recently that Verizon is rolling out fiber to the door. Once that is completed, you can choose 15Mbps or 30Mbps. That's right, 15Mbps or 30Mpbs to your house. Unfortunately, Verizon Hawaii is being bought by another company, the Carlyle Group (see the story here). So my guess is fiber to the house won't happen for us.

I hope, should the sale go through, the Carlyle group will invest money into upgrading the systems, including fiber to the house. But given its business plan, I don't think that's going to happen (taking on 1.5 billion in debt, then promising not to increase rates for 10 years. Yeah right. Wanna' buy some beach front property on the Big Island?). My guess is (insert disclaimer here), even what we have now will deteriorate. But what can you do? It's ThePhoneCompany.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:07 AM | Permalink

Many people come to Hawai'i for the scenery. For those on the Big Island of Hawai'i, that scenery keeps getting bigger all the time. But not everyone comes just for the amazing views, the Honolulu Advertiser has an article on scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory that have been studying volcanos and the movement of molten rock for years.

They do important, perhaps someday life saving, work. Take a look at their site for live web cams of the source of the lava, Pu'u 'O'o, Kilauea vent. During the day, there isn't much to see, but I am told at night, you can see light from the glowing molten lava.

Note that the photo below was taken at a location down slope from Kilauea where the lava eventually enters the sea:

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:52 AM | Permalink

What if Ludwig was alive today and decided to do a variation on the theme of Stairway to Heaven? If you're interested, click on the link and find out (note that some of the MP3 files on the site are about 300K).

Posted by DanS at 08:05 AM | Permalink

At the height that the lonely plane was flying at, the weather was extremely cold but clear. So clear that the intense morning sun glinting off of the windows as the plane made its final turn towards its destination would have temporarily blinded anyone seeing the reflection. Still, the aircraft successfully aligned with the city far below as the bomb bay doors trundled open exposing the lone bomb tucked within.

At the appointed place and time, the bomb was released and quickly picked up speed as it fell towards its target. When it reached its designed altitude above the city a perfectly shaped spherical charge exploded compressing the radioactive material within causing it to reach critical mass. In that instant, at 8:15, on the morning of August 6, 1945, a burning flash of light filled the sky as the Japanese city of Hiroshima was engulfed in a pressure wave never before experienced by any city on this planet.

The pressure wave at ground zero moved at almost a 1,000 miles per hour. Even after it had traveled a mile away it was still moving at almost 200 miles per hour. What wasn't destroyed by the pressure wave was burned by the heat. At ground zero, the temperature rose to 7,000F. Stone melted and sand became glass. Within hours, gamma and neutron radiation killed those who survived the pressure and the heat.

Let us remember what happened that day, the lives that were ended, and pray that we never have to see such a flash of light again.

Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:35 AM | Permalink

For you l33t h4x0rs out there comes a translation project worthy of your talents. The NHV (New Hacker Version) Bible from the folks over at the ChristianHacker site here appears to be an effort to translate the Bible into hackerspeak. Whether this is for real or just a parody I don't know. But for what it's worth, they provide a sample of what John 3:16 would look like:

F0r G0d $0 l0v3d th3 w0rld, th@t h3 g@v3 hi$ 0nly b3g0tt3n $0n, th@t wh0$03v3r b3li3v3th in hi|v| $h0uld n0t p3ri$h, but h@v3 3v3rl@$ting lif3.

Posted by DanS at 09:19 AM | Permalink

One of the images from NASA's Cassini mission to Saturn and Titan (see it here) looks an awful lot like the "Death Star" a certain space movie. One hopes that the menacing image is just a trick the mind sometimes plays.

Posted by DanS at 08:21 AM | Permalink

Day One of the meetings that will not die actually ended early yesterday when the Adobe file the speaker was looking for couldn't be found. This probably wasn't related to the fact there were over 20 files in the directory with descriptive names like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

I've talked about meetings and how if you don't use tools such as written agendas and facilitation you end up wasting a lot of people's time. Such is the case, so far, in the three day marathon of meetings I'm attending this week. The meetings focus on deciding which legal forms to use in the Judiciary's new court information system. Each island uses different forms and the intent is, where possible, to consolidate on one version. Remarkably, progress is being made but is awfully slow going because of the lack of focus that naturally occurs when you bring over 25 people together to discuss anything.

Oh well, if you ever have to lead a meeting, make sure you know how to use facilitation because, if you do, you can make things flow much faster and end up with a product that is better than if you didn't use facilitation.

Speaking of which, I gotta' go.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:19 AM | Permalink

Starting yesterday afternoon, things got very hectic around here because the servers (and/or the switches/routers/DHCP/Notes servers) that the token-ring users (I think the majority of people in the Judiciary are still on token-ring) use went down. I don't know what the problem is or when it will be corrected. In the mean time, since I'm on Ethernet, I can access everything except our internal Intranet web sites and so I emailed our Information Technology people to get the rest of our office switched over.

So, while I work on that, there's no time for a post. Sorry about that.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:06 AM | Permalink

Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's fame has now made it to Wired (see the story here). The short article notes the continuing popularity of Bruddah Iz's version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" on the iTunes site as well as making it to number one on Microsoft employee buying list on Amazon (Microsoft? - ed.).

Obviously, his type of music is not for everyone but many people, having heard this song, can't keep it out of their head (and hearts) and so are buying it from iTunes and Amazon.

Posted by DanS at 09:15 AM | Permalink

My hosting service, pair.com, is having problems again with their mail server so I can't send any mail. The problem was reported yesterday morning (HST) but as of this writing, they are still working on it and have no estimated time for completion of repairs. Sometimes mail will get through and sometimes it won't so, I guess, you'll just have to wait for my words of wisdom to reach your email box [g].

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:55 AM | Permalink

This article from the NewScientitst website says noted physicists Stephen Hawking has changed his mind about black holes. Up to recently, he postulated that everything that fell into a black hole was destroyed. But according to the article, Hawking will recant this belief at the 17th International Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation in Dublin, Ireland next week. Of course, we will have to wait for the conference to see what he actually has to say but if true, this could radically change our understanding of black holes.

Posted by DanS at 09:46 AM | Permalink

In other unrelated news, foreign female workers in Saudi Arabia are sometimes sexually abused by their employers. When the women become pregnant, they (the women) are then charged with "illegal pregnancies" and thrown in jail where they are further abused and tortured. No word yet if the US House of Representatives will reduce the foreign aid to Saudi Arabia by an additional 10 cents.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:43 AM | Permalink

When I was much younger, I loved building plastic models. Most of them were cars but I also built planes, rockets, and even a ship or two. But what I did cannot be compared to those master modelers that build stuff for movies or TV.

One of those masters is Martin Bowers. He has all kinds of scratch built models including ones from Space 1999 here.

This link here is to a five-foot long model of the Star Trek Enterprise 1401-D. It includes a full lighting package using neon lights!

It is too bad that with the coming of computer generated images, the need for miniature models is on the decline. That being said, feel free to spend some time taking a look at some really amazing work.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:21 AM | Permalink

The July 12, 2004 column from Bob Lewis talks about making business decisions (The column will disappear behind his lead curtain at the end of the week. You have to give his company permission to spam you to retrieve it later.).

Specifically, do you compete on features or price. Smart companies realize they have to chose one or the other, not both. I am reminded of my time at the local bank while working on my Masters. The bank had a rule that all customer calls had to be answered by a person, not a phone mail system. Thus, it seems, the choice was to compete on features. But, unfortunately, the bank also cut the number of people available to answers these calls by, if I remember right, more than half.

Imagine, if you will, working at this bank. Your management tells you they value what you do. They also say they value their customers. But what management does is drastically cut the staff available to answer calls from these customers. What message is management sending to staff and how much trust do you think employees have in what management tells them?

Now, imagine you are a customer of this bank. You need to talk to someone about your bank statement (which seems to be off by a couple of thousand dollars, perhaps because the bank outsourced some of their back room offices). So you call and hear either a busy signal or the sound of the phone ringing. And ringing. And ringing. What message has management sent to this customer and how much trust and loyalty will this customer have?

Even smarter companies realize they have to be consistent in their choices. That is, they can't say they will make their decision on a case by case basis so that sometimes they choose features and sometimes price. If your business is to prosper, you have to choose one or the other and then consistency apply that choice to all situations. Choose unwisely and your business eventually may go under. Don't choose at all (or choose both) and your business will definitely go under (or be bought by someone else).

So, as in many things, it's about the choices you make. Choose wisely.

Posted by DanS at 08:52 AM | Permalink

One of the classes I took while working on my Masters in Public Administration was taught by a futurist by the name of Dr. Jim Dator. One of the tools he uses is called alternative futures.

While no one, including futurists, can predict the future, the process of creating and then temporarily "living" in alternative futures (plural) opens the mind to the possibilities available therein.

However, not all scenarios lead to what I would define as beneficial outcomes. In fact, some scenarios are down right frightening.

Such is the case with a dream (nightmare?) I had last night. I awoke at about 3:00 am with a vivid recollection of the dream. Usually, I have problems even remembering I dreamt at all much less remembering the subject of the dream but this one was so disturbing that I can remember the details even now.

In this future, the U.S. military has decided that they have had enough of a president who had misled the people. A president (and vice president) who had a hidden agenda. An agenda that led to the killing of thousands of military personnel in a war that was not justified. A war that was run from Washington that tied the hands of commanders even to the extent of telling them how many troops they would need.

In this future, the military decided that things had gone too far and so they (the military) took over the government and instituted martial law. Security, which had been high before under civilian control became a heavy blanket covering all aspects of American life. One could not travel freely without approval of the local military provost marshal. Citizens were subject to strip searches at the whim of roving bands of military personnel. And all elections were "postponed" until the threat from external forces were countered.

As I said, it was a bad dream...

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:41 AM | Permalink

Busy day today so no time for a post. Sorry.

Posted by DanS at 08:43 AM | Permalink

So, we liked staying at the Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki so much we decided to come back for the July 4th holiday and watch the fireworks from the room. The view from our 30th floor room was terrific. We actually looked down at some of the fireworks and we were so close that the windows rattled every time one of the bigger ones went off.

Unfortunately, I guess a lot of other people decided to to stay here so it was a lot more crowded than the last time we were here. In fact, the pool was so busy we spent most of our time out shopping [g]. I got a silk aloha shirt from Avanti and a couple of golf/polo shirts from NikeTown. SWMBO also bought a pair of shoes from Nike. We also went to the DFS Galleria Hawaii with its huge one story high aquarium and got a few trinkets to mark our stay in Waikiki.

Posted by DanS at 08:05 AM | Permalink

I've ranted before about the poor service Hawaii gets from the two major parcel delivery companies. Either they get things here faster than the two-day service (so they take boxes off the truck and hold them in their warehouse until later) or they do what FederalExcrement did last week.

Before we get to that, let me give you a time line of events. At a little before 11:30 am HST, on Tuesday, June 29th, I ordered some software from Amazon. I paid additional for second-day air shipping in the hope of getting the package by Friday, July 2nd. According to the Amazon processing screen, with 2nd-day air the package was in fact scheduled to be delivered on Friday.

On Wednesday, June 30th, the package was picked up by the shipper at about 3:30pm Mountain Time Zone, in Texas. From there it went to Memphis, Tennessee. For those of you without a GPS plugged into your brain, the package went from West to East. I guess the shipper uses their hubs even if it means it's farther away and even if it means they won't deliver in two days. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The package arrived in Memphis on Thursday, July 1 at about 2:20 pm (Central Time Zone). It was held there all day and into Friday and then into Saturday. I don't know why it was held in Memphis when if it had been put on a plane to the west coast and then on to Hawaii it could have been here on Friday. But it wasn't. Instead, it stayed in Memphis until late Saturday when it was finally put on a plane heading West. I don't know how many stops it made on its way here but it finally arrived in Honolulu Sunday evening, July 4th. Since they don't deliver on weekends or holidays, it stayed in the warehouse until Tuesday, July 6th, SEVEN DAYS after I ordered the software. Sigh.

And people complain about slow government service. Well, if it positively has to be there by a certain date, don't use these guys. Use the U.S. Postal Service instead. At least they deliver on Saturdays.

Posted by DanS at 08:02 AM | Permalink

Speaking of bums. Some people say life is a journey, not a destination. Well, here's a couple of guys who are doing both. They quit their day jobs and began a bicycle journey across the U.S. They have a blog here where you can follow their adventures.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:00 AM | Permalink

I had a couple of posts ready for uploading this morning when I found out the Administrator of our Policy and Planning Division (which our office comes under) passed away of leukemia yesterday.

I worked closely with Larry Coldiron during this past legislative session on the Judicial Salary Commission and got to know him pretty well.

Larry was the kind of Administrator who trusted the people who worked under him. He would hand assignments to me and would let me do them the way I felt was best. That's not to say he wouldn't check on how things were going or always have a back-up plan ready to go, but in the end, when reviewing what you had done, he would very rarely make changes to your recommendations because he felt you were now the expert on the subject and knew best what to recommend.

Larry was a retired officer from, I believe, the Air Force. He never discussed his military service but I believe it shaped who he became. Organization, a clear chain of command, and responsibility for your actions were the watch words of his life. Conversely, he would give credit to those under him before allowing anyone to give him any praise for the good work of his division.

Larry was also a Christian. When I went to visit him in the hospital during his first bout with leukemia he had a Bible by his side and a framed picture of the Lord on the counter of his room. But what was most important, he had the love of Christ in his heart.

Larry had been fighting his cancer for several years. At first, it appeared the treatments had worked but the disease came back stronger than the first time. Larry fought as hard as he could but in the end, he didn't make it.

A better, braver person person you could not find. He will be missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.

Farewell, good friend.

Posted by DanS at 09:05 AM | Permalink

Not much going on right now other than listening to some patriotic songs from iTunes (Independence Day here in the US is July 4th) while I work on correcting the problems with the PERL scripts. The webmaster got around to changing the permissions on one PERL script yesterday so I was able to change the path therein, thus fixing the problem with our voting page in about 10 minutes.

Now I need to persuade him to do the same to the search engine script so I can change the path there. By the way, yes the problem was the paths. My best guess is the directory where our intraweb site was stored was sym-linked to another directory. By deleting the link and creating a new directory the absolute path, of course, changed. Hence, the scripts which use absolute paths all failed.

I know where the changes need to be made, the problem is getting the webmaster to alter the permissions on the files so that I can make those updates.

Baby steps. That's how government works. Baby steps.

Monday is a holiday so I will see you folks back here on Tuesday.

Have a Great (Long) Weekend Everyone - Aloha!

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. --

Posted by DanS at 09:46 AM | Permalink

According to this story from CNN here. The state of Utah and the US government are suing the Boy Scouts of America for almost $14 million USD to recover the costs of fighting a fire allegedly started by unattended camp fires built by a group of Boy Scouts.

Posted by DanS at 10:11 AM | Permalink

Legislatures are frequently taken to task for creating stealth tax increases through the use of "fees." By upping fees, they can go back to their home states and trumpet how they held the line on taxes while at the same time increasing revenues to pay for more government programs.

Well, legislatures aren't the only ones. Take a look at your cell phone bill and you'll see all kinds of add-on fees that you aren't told about when you sign up. This article from MSNBC (see it here) seems to be saying many of those fees are either mislabeled, vague, or downright lies. In other words, these private companies raise the cost of using their services by creating fees out of thin air (car dealers also do this by adding fees for "license processing" or just calling it ADM for Additional Dealer Markup - i.e., profit) and since all of them are doing it, you have no choice.

I can still remember certain people saying deregulation was supposed to bring lower prices and more choices. Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe it depends on whether there is competition or not. It may be too early for a good determination, but this grand experiment in reforming government doesn't seem to be meeting the stated objectives.

Posted by DanS at 09:15 AM | Permalink

I'm back at work today. But my back, if anything is a lot worse than it was yesterday. I don't know why, but it started getting worse last night. This morning, just sitting here for a few minutes and I'm in pain. I've even changed chairs trying to find something that will support my back and not hurt so much.

Oh well, I guess I'll take a couple of aspirin and wait until I leave at 11:00am for my CAT scan (see How It Works here).

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:56 AM | Permalink

I'm at home again today. If all goes well, I'll be back at work tomorrow.

Speaking of doctors. Acknowledging that they spend more care hitting golf balls then attending to their patients, surgeons in the US will begin new procedures to ensure that the foot they amputate is the one that is supposed to be cut off.

Beginning July 1st, surgeons are supposed to take a "time out" to confirm they are operating on the right patient, that they have correctly identified the body part to be worked on, and if there is more than one part, that they have the correct one. You would think surgeons would already be doing this but I guess in the factory like atmosphere that operating rooms have become it is not. See the full story here.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:55 AM | Permalink

If anything, my back is worse today than it was yesterday. Since sitting puts more pressure on my back than standing, and since I write this while sitting, there won't be much of a post. Sorry about that.

If you think Hawai'i has some big waves, check out this one that hit Japan recently. Where's Mothra when you need him/her/it?

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:57 AM | Permalink

Speaking of even more important stuff, I would appreciate it if you could send a few good thoughts to Fellow Daynoter John Dominik's family as his elderly mother apparently fell down the stairs and his not doing well. Also, if you have the time and are so inclined, send Fellow Daynoter Mike Barkman a few good thoughts as he continues his fight with his own health problems.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:38 AM | Permalink

You know, sometimes I read this stuff and wonder if these people are for real. I mean, there is enough strange things in the world without having to make things up. And yet, people do.

Whether this item is one of them I'll let you decide. TheRegister is reporting that the British Ministry of Defense has developed an anti-grenade vaporizing force field. I kid you not. According to the article here:

The new electric armour is based on a highly charged capacitor connected to two separate metal plates on the tank's exterior. The outer (armour-plated) plate is earthed while the insulated inner plate is live.

Posted by DanS at 09:14 AM | Permalink

Also out of the UK is this BBC report that says the Swedish Navy will be the first to deploy a so-called stealth ship. The new class of ship has a hull made of carbon fiber and above water surfaces angled so as to deflect radar waves rather than reflecting them back to the sender. The sum total of the changes reportedly reduces the radar "signature" by 99 percent.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:13 AM | Permalink

I guess I've been in a reflective mood lately remembering the past Los Angeles Lakers greats. And a big part of my time in Los Angeles (1976-1980) was associated with listening to music. I had a Marantz AM/FM receiver (see a picture of, I think, the model I had then here) with Altec Lansing speakers.

Most of the stations I listened to have long since either gone under or changed formats so many times no one can remember what they started with.

But along with the music were the DJs who spun those platters. I can remember the authoritative voices of Jim Ladd, Pat "Paraquat" Kelley, Mary "The Burner" Turner, Jeff Gonzer, Ace "The Space" Young, and B. Mitchell Reed of KMET and I think Brother Bob Cole from KKGO Jazz (I could be wrong on the last one, its been a long time).

This was a time in which "free-form" album oriented rock still had a chance. In fact, for awhile, KMET was number one in LA based on their focus on playing good, but not necessarily commercial music. So instead of the three minute song followed by commercials, they might play a Led Zeppelin opus like "Kashmir" or "Stair Way to Heaven" while other stations played "Mandy" by Barry Manilow.

It was that kind of era. But as in all things, its time came and went.

Posted by DanS at 08:51 AM | Permalink

I forgot to mention that tomorrow is a state holiday (King Kamehameha Day), not to mention a federal holiday in memory of President Reagan, so I'll be off and no post for tomorrow.

Have a Great, Long Weekend Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:01 AM | Permalink

I know all eleven of you have been anxiously waiting for my vacation pics so here they are. I have to say that they aren't my best work but I was more into relaxing then trying to do anything artistic. Still, you can't go too far wrong taking pictures of the sunset in Hawai'i ;).

As usual, clicking on an image will link you to a full-sized version. Note that some of the images are about one MB in size so let discretion rule your decision...

By the way, there is a lot of "pixelization" in most of the images due to the imaging software (Paint Shop Pro 8) that I used to correct some of the colors. I didn't notice the problem until I had worked on most of the images. I found that the automatic contrast enhancement function does bad things and needs to be used with care, if at all.

Left, looking towards the Hilton Hawaiian Village lagoon in the middle distance and the yacht harbor in the foreground (That big blue thing farther out is the Pacific Ocean. Just trying to be helpful - ed.).

Center, straight out to sea.

Right, towards Magic Island of Ala Moana Park.

In-room computer workstation with my Dell laptop connected via Fast Ethernet. You can also see the all-in-one fax/printer to the right. They even provided a ream of paper in the desk drawer.

These are some of the sailboats coming in from the usual Friday evening race held off of Waikiki and Ala Moana.

This is a shot pointing straight down towards the pool on the fifth floor deck.

A shot of the yacht harbor taken from the pool deck.

Obligatory sunset shot number one.

Obligatory sunset shot number two.

Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 10:16 AM | Permalink

The latest rage locally are these magnets shaped in the form of a yellow ribbon (available here for $5.25 USD). I see them on cars and trucks all over town and have apparently even become valuable to thieves. Get yours now before everyone else has one. YMMV.

Posted by DanS at 09:29 AM | Permalink

A slow day here at the Seto Shack. I think I'll be able to have the vacation pictures (Run! Run for your lives - ed) up tomorrow. Until then, remember that "ignorance may be bliss, but it isn't a virtue." - Bob Lewis (1999)

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:09 AM | Permalink

This past weekend SWMBO and I went into Waikiki for an early anniversary vacation. We usually take off during the July 4th weekend but due to her job obligations, it doesn't look like we will be able to do that.

So we stayed at the Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki. The hotel is in Waikiki but is not on the beach as it fronts the yacht harbor. Nonetheless it is a very nice hotel. We had a room on the 29th of 33 floors with a view extending from the the Hilton Hawaiian Village (where we stayed last year) to the Magic Island end of Ala Moana Park.

The room was recently renovated and includes high speed Ethernet access to the Internet ($8.95 USD per day extra). We had a nice time playing tourist and laying out at the pool. So much so we'll probably come back some time.

I'll try to get some pictures up as soon as I can but it may be awhile.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:09 AM | Permalink

The sweet smell of plumeria will always be associated, in my mind, with the month of May. I can remember, when I was in elementary school, stringing lei made out of the beautiful flowers. At that time, almost every yard had a tree laden with the white, yellow, pink, and red blossoms. So near the end of the month, the call would go out to all the homes to bring as many flowers as possible to the schools.

We would then string the flowers together so to make lei each about two feet (~0.6m) end-to-end. While this is usually too short to give to someone, it's not too short for the purpose we were using it for.

Monday is the Memorial Day holiday in the US. A day set aside to honor our nation's sons and daughters who have died while serving their country in the armed forces during times of war.

Each and every one of the tens of thousands of graves in the National Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu will have a plumeria lei laid around their gravestones. It is but a small way to to honor those who gave their last full measure of devotion to our country and a way to teach children that freedom is not free.

I'll be taking the day off and will be back here on Tuesday (Lord willing and the 'crick don't rise) but give a good thought for those who have died for the very freedoms we seem so intent on giving away. We can hope that their deaths will not have been in vain.

Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:25 AM | Permalink

Vehicle size can help in some situations and hurt in others. Take a look at when size hurts here where you'll see what a MiniCooper looks like after a crash into a barrier at 40 mph versus what a Ford 150 full-sized truck looks like. Draw your own conclusions. YMMV.

Posted by DanS at 08:24 AM | Permalink

Not much going on in the Seto Shack today so I'll leave you with this:

He who fights against monsters should see to it that he does not become a monster in the process. And when you stare persistently into an abyss, the abyss also stares into you. - Friedrich Nietzsche

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:28 AM | Permalink

When you decide to steal fuel out of a camper by siphoning it out of the tank, be sure you choose the gas tank rather than the sewage holding tank. See the story here. Eeeeeuuuuuuwwwww.

Posted by DanS at 08:24 AM | Permalink

From: sjon
Subject: MT Promises
Date: Tue, 18 May 2004 02:56:59 -0700 (PDT)

{quote}If anything, the history of software indicates just the opposite. I mean, most programs OpenSource or not, aren't around very long. {/quote} For a few programs that are crucial to business I agree with you. For others I agree more with Mark. These days -almost- no business survives without spreadsheet. So for spreadsheets there will always customers ready and able to pay. Same goes for text processing, web serving, fire walling etc.

Blogging software -for example- is not a crucial tool. I bet you can go back to notepad/vi if everybody puts a $500+ price tag on their software.) As you mention most programs aren't around very long (except some bug ridden DLLs in Windows of course -EvilGrin-) so when a free program comes along for a noncrucial task all the non-free programs get priced out of the market, not overnight but after a time. At the same time the market grows enormously because lots of new users jump in, free is a good introduction price. When the free program disappears most people either switch to another free program or just stop the activity -blogging- and move on to other things. The result is that very few people use the commercial program which means it either has to raise it's price to survive -downward spiral- or drop the price to -almost- free. Neither strategy will pay the bills. Thing is once people get used to having something free it's difficult to make them pay for the same thing again.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:23 AM | Permalink

On a lighter note, this PhD candidate was interested in "fundamental models of robot, animal, and human locomotion and manipulation." So he built a robot that could do origami, the oriental art of paper folding.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:50 AM | Permalink

So the votes are in and . . . Jasmine is safe. In fact, I hear on the radio that so many people voted for her that she came in number 1. All I can say to Simon, Paula, and Randy is "Yo, eat 'dis." Aloooooha.

Now to be serious for a moment. Jasmine will probably be voted off next week and all of the people who hate her because their favorite lost this week will be happy. Or not.

But remember this: Hawai'i is a small state with about a million people. Tuesday night, Hawai'i generated about a million or two votes for Jasmine. At this point, it takes over six million to be safe. Obviously, a lot of other people other than just those in Hawai'i voted for her so don't blame Jasmine or Hawai'i for your loss.

Second, American Idol has always been about popularity. Was Kelly the best singer in year one? Was Reuben in year two? So don't be surprised if year three is won by Diana (who I think is a very good singer but not the best of the final 12).

And lastly, don't ever challenge the people of Hawaii. Even today, we are made up of many immigrant people. Said people have the guts to leave their homelands to better themselves in a foreign land. This type of people can not be described as wall flowers like Simon may think. Rather than shrinking and running when challenged, they will get in your face and punch you in the nose. So back off.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:44 AM | Permalink

Speaking of planning for the worst, while I have supported Jasmine Trias, the sole remaining American Idol contestant from Hawaii, and one of the final four left in the TV show contest, I think her time to leave has come. Clearly, she needed to do very well last night but I don't think that happened.

If she has a problem, it's that she doesn't seem to have a very powerful voice. I don't know if it's because she gets nervous and runs out of breath or if she hasn't learned how to, as they say, sing from the diaphragm. This has caused her no end of problems as the other three contestants either already knew how, or learned very quickly.

I now wonder why she never did. Did her coaches think she didn't need to? Did she think she didn't need? I don't know. All I know is she is the now the weakest singer of the four and will probably have the fewest number of votes and therefore be off the show tonight.

If there is anything that could save her, it is indignation on the part of her fans over the way she was treated by the judges last night. I know the judges are there to stir things up but, for goodness sakes, she's only a teenager and you don't have to be mean about it. And mean they were. So I voted early and often just because I was so pissed off irate at them for making her cry.

Whatever happens tonight, I'm sure all of Hawaii supports her and I hope that brings some comfort to her. Seto out.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:16 AM | Permalink

Sorry. No post today. I had to hit the ground running this morning to do some stuff at work. I hope to have something worth your while tomorrow (Lord willing and the crick don't rise).

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 11:39 AM | Permalink

Even as we seem to have reached a tipping point in our voluntary adherence to the rule of law, it's heartening to find a story like this one. It seems a father and son where out for a Saturday morning motorcycle ride (they refer to the bike as a Kawasaki quad. I think people here in the US call it an ATV. See some examples here).

Apparently, the pair hit a wedge of wood, suddenly halting the bike and throwing them over the handle bars. The bike followed and ended up on the father, pinning him in place. With his father unable to move and in critical condition, the son, with every rib in his seven year-old body broken, hiked 2km (~1.25 miles) through the brush to tell his mother and get help.

Upon reaching the house and relating the location of his father, the boy collapsed from his injuries.

Posted by DanS at 08:48 AM | Permalink

My back is bothering me again so I'm at home.

Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:52 AM | Permalink

Most new ideas aren't new. So when I heard someone was coming out with a six-wheeled car my thoughts went back to the 1970s and the Tyrrell P34 Formula 1 car. But as this site notes, there were others before that.

Posted by DanS at 08:09 AM | Permalink

When I was in high school, as was the custom then, the MorningNewspaper would list notable accomplishments of young people around the state. Mostly, it was listings of students who had gotten scholarships or won awards for various skills such as speech or math. But one day, I read the name of a fellow student who was in the Boy Scouts. It seems he had attained the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest advancement rank in Scouting. This is indeed a high accomplishment as only about four percent of all Scouts ever reach this level and something, I would think, to be proud.

But, I guess, each person deals with life in different ways. Let me explain. I saw the student the day after his name was published in the paper and congratulated him on his attaining Eagle Scout status. His response sadden me. What he did was threaten me saying he did not want his friends to know that he was an Eagle Scout. I can only speculate as to why he would not want his friends to know what he had accomplished. Was he fearful that his friends would think less of him? I don't know but, if so, one wonders what kind of friends he had.

I was reminded of him in relation to the recent national controversy over whether photos of flag draped caskets of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq should be published. It seems the current administration, for whatever reason, feels that no one should see such photos. In fact, someone who published some photos was fired from her job.

I think I can understand how the grieving family of some soldiers may not want any publicity about their son or daughter's casket coming home and I'm certainly not going to stand in judgment of them. But I think these people could perhaps take some comfort if they understood the depth of caring and grieving we all feel when one of our young men and women falls in battle. I wish they could understand that the these mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters do not stand alone. That a country proudly stands beside them, whether they support the war or not, and that the healing process can be easier when they can accept the love of others.

There is a posting from U.S. Marine Lieutenant Colonel Strobl that is an account of escorting home the remains of one Lance Corporal Chance Phelps who died in Iraq recently. I don't know if the post is apocryphal or not, but even if it is, it doesn't matter. What matters is it tells the powerful truth of who we are. If you can read that post and not have a tear come to your eye then something is wrong with you.

I know the story is true, even if the details may not, because I have seen the respect and reverence paid to the returning remains of soldiers who died in the Vietnam War. To this day, when the unidentified remains, in those same flag draped caskets are brought to Hawai'i for identification at the Army Lab, there is a solemn ceremony, usually televised on local TV news.

I know the story is true because when my father-in-law was laid to rest, the Honolulu Police force turned out by the hundreds to honor him. They even shut down the main highway through town to give a clear road to his motorcade to the cemetery. Once at the grave site, a U.S. Marine Corps detachment provided full military honors to their fallen comrade.

I want every grieving parent to know that they don't stand alone in their sorrow. That "from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom; and that this government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:36 AM | Permalink

As noted yesterday, things have kind of slowed down around here. I'm still waiting for the Legislature to drop the axe on the Judicial Salary Commission recommendations but other than that, nothing of importance is going on.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:09 AM | Permalink

Anzac Day in New Zealand is held on 25 April each year to commemorate New Zealanders killed in war and to honour returned servicemen and women. The day has similar importance in Australia, New Zealand's partner in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps at Gallipoli. The ceremony itself has been continually adapted to the times, but has also steadily acquired extra layers of symbolism and meaning.

Anzac day is also commemorated here in Hawai'i through a solemn ceremony at the National Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. Hundreds attend the ceremony, including the press, which televised the ceremony on the news yesterday.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them. - Laurence Binyon's 'For the Fallen'

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:35 AM | Permalink

Our office is in an uproar as as we get re-wired for CAT6 cables. Presently, I think, we have old CAT3 wires which worked fine for our 16MB token-ring network. Now that we are finally moving into the 20th century (yes, I know, we're in the 21st century) and Ethernet 100MB, we need better wiring. So I gotta go as the cable guys are here and are about to cover my desk and computer in plastic.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:20 AM | Permalink

Speaking of fellow Daynoters, a new one has joined these hallowed ivy covered walls. Check out Rick Hellewell. According to his site, Mr. Hellewell "work[s] for a governmental agency in Sacramento as the Senior Information Security Officer." Hmmm, Sacramento, the capitol of California (or as Ahhnuld says, Kah-lee-for-nee-ah). A governmental agency? Which could it be? Read his site and find out, if you can.[g]

I have a 10:00 a.m. hearing at the Legislature, in the capitol city of Honolulu, Hawaii so I gotta go.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:09 AM | Permalink

For all you budding Steven Speilbergs out there take a look at this guy's instructions on how to build the equivalent (he says) of a $1,500 SteadiCam_® for $15. As you videophiles out there already know, the SteadiCam_® rig is a portable stabilization platform used to hold movie/video cameras while moving. The rig smoothes out the natural up and down motion that occurs when walking. But as the sample videos show, it doesn't seem to do anything for left and right motion. In any case, if you want that smooth motion unedited tracking shot like the opening sequence to Robert Altman's "The Player", but don't have the moola, check it out.

Posted by DanS at 09:08 AM | Permalink

Speaking of Hollywood, it was like something out of a Hollywood movie. According to the story here, famed California Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger was swimming off of Maui last week when he came upon a man on a Body Board who seemed to be in trouble. When the Governor asked the man if he needed assistance the man said yes as he had muscle cramps and could not swim in on his own. The Governor then towed the man in to shore perhaps saving his life.

The Governor's only comment was "I'll be bock", to Maui, that is.

Posted by DanS at 09:06 AM | Permalink

Some people describe life as being a journey rather than a destination. To the extent that is true, I think American Idol contestant Camile Velasco has had an interesting journey. The gentle soul from Maui made it past the tens of thousands of people who thought they had talent but didn't and made it down to the final nine.

In my heart, I knew she would not make it much farther because she didn't (yet) have the confidence in her self that is needed to be a good performer. From what I've read in the local papers, last week was the 10th time in her life that she had performed before an audience. It is no wonder then that her nerves betrayed her.

Having said that, I don't think a pop idol is where her path lays. She appears to be most comfortable in singing hip hop and perhaps if she concentrates on recording rather than singing live she can grow into herself and find the confidence she needs. Whichever path she takes, she has made Hawaii proud of her and I wish her the best in her future endeavors.

As to the others who remain in the show, I have to wonder how some of them are still around. Could it be, as two of the three judges said last night that voting is based on personality, or something as simple as where you are from rather than how well you sang the night before?

Given some of the remaining people I would say yes.

In any case, tomorrow is a state holiday (Good Friday) so I will be off. Have a Great Weekend Everyone and I'll see you, God willing and the 'crick don't rise, back here on Monday - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:35 AM | Permalink

I have a legislative hearing to go to this morning so I gotta go. Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:19 AM | Permalink

says Google is launching an e-mail service called "Gmail."

UK motorists "squawked with rage last night as police revealed plans to fit speed cameras on HAWKS." That's right, "specially-trained birds in the new flying squad will prey on speeding drivers spotted by their cop handlers." See the story here.

"A woman in central China who paid for breast enlargement surgery ended up with an unwanted bonus - two extra breasts." See the story here.

In an effort to help the national debt, Taco Bell is pleased to announce that we have agreed to purchase the Liberty Bell, one of our country's most historic treasures. It will now be called the "Taco Liberty Bell" and will still be accessible to the American public for viewing. While some may find this controversial, we hope our move will prompt other corporations to take similar action to do their part to reduce the country's debt.

Japanese engineers are reporting sporadic bouts of electrical interference which may be caused by a simple mistake. Apparently the support wire in certain women's underwire bras have been made out of a kind of copper originally designed for use in fire alarms. When this copper comes into contact with nylon and body heat, it produces static electricity which, in turn, is interfering with local television and radio broadcasts. Government officials will be releasing a announcement that all women must immediately remove their bras and to stop wearing them until further notice.

Happy looF lirpA Day - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:12 AM | Permalink

Sorry, no post today. I'm drafting some testimony in support of the Salary Commission's recommendations so I have zero time to post anything. Come back tomorrow. Thanks.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:50 AM | Permalink

Speaking of hell, here is a site that says she rides through the Chernobyl area. On her motorcycle. More than once. And lives to tell about it. With pictures. Why. Am. I. Writing. Like this [watched too much of William Shatner - ed.]?

Most of the pictures appear to be hers although some look like she copied them from other sources and one wonders how she got photos of herself if she was the only one riding [tripod and self-timer? - ed]. In any case, it's interesting to look at. In a creepy sort of way. Enjoy.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:20 AM | Permalink

Whether you are in the public or private sector, each of us has many bosses. Each of these bosses have different wants but in some ways they are alike: they want to be paid first and they want to be paid now.

For the private sector, the question is how to balance the business versus the stock holders. That is, there is an ongoing tension between investing in your business/employees and paying out dividends to stock holders. As a large business owner, if you get the balance wrong, you go out of business. So it is important to get it right.

But sometimes, the stockholders forget that the money is generated by a well run business. Indeed, if the business is not running well, there will be no stock dividends. Nonetheless, the stock holders want money and if they don't get it from business X, they will get it from business Y.

One interesting comparison is this article from the Wall Street Journal comparing warehouse giants Costco and Sams/Wall*Mart. The first pays their employees a living wage and good medical benefits (as a government worker, I pay three times more in medical costs then Costco employees) but doesn't pay that much in dividends to investors. The other, pays as little as possible to its workers but keeps its investors happy by paying steady dividends.

This is not an easy question to answer and I can't say one way will always work over the other. But in my opinion, if you have good employees, the long term prospects are better for them then the one that squeezes the life out their workers.

Posted by DanS at 07:51 AM | Permalink

Today is a state holiday commemorating the birth of Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole.

This article here from Israel is a proof of concept that pigeon enabled internet is faster than ADSL. The birds, using TCP (transmission by carrier pigeon), transmitted 4GB of data faster than an ADSL could have in the given time.

In the News

Date: Thursday, 1 Apr 2004 00:00:00 +0100
From: Petri Ojala
Subject: Press Release: McDonalds and EUnet join to offer Global "Internet in a Lunchbox"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

McDonalds and EUnet join to offer Global "Internet in a Lunchbox"

Amsterdam, The Netherlands -- April 1, 2004 -- McDonalds, Inc. and EUnet, Ltd. today announced an agreement which will allow people to access the Internet in virtually everywhere. Access to the Internet is fast becoming a requirement for leading businesses who wish to communicate globally at any place, any time.

"Our restaurants offer the market's most cost-effective solution for daily food substance requirements and together with EUnet we take this small step for our businesses but a great leap to the mankind", says Kechap Mustard, senior vice president for marketing at McDonalds restaurants. "The Information Superhighway will be a significant part of our future and we want to participate in building it. Every highway needs restaurants and together with EUnet we will meet the great demands of the new information society", he adds.

EUnet, the largest commercial Internet service provider in Europe, will together with McDonalds install wireless Internet connectivity via WiFi to every McDonalds restaurant. A revolutionary CRC-free product, McEUnet, will be used to provide access to the Internet for everyone, from small children to senior citizens. "Later we will offer our customers a complete McEUnet-meal with a png of the month. Together with the planned McEUnet birthday party service we will provide a full range of solutions to our customers who need wireless access to the Internet", said Mustard.

"Way to mans heart goes through his stomach and together with McDonalds we can get there. EUnet's goal is to bring the Internet to every dining table and now it's finally for real. McDonalds restaurants are also children's favorite and now we make it possible for children to learn the Internet before they can even read or write", says Glenn Kowack, EUnet CEO. "We haven't accomplished Internet to the belly button yet, but we are very near a breakthrough. Our research staff is already working hard to create recyclable access to the Internet to save the nature. CRC-free McEUnet IP addresses are already recycled", Kowack describes the new service.

###

All brands, products and service names mentioned are trademarks or registered service marks of their respective owners.

.

In other news, software giant Microsoft Corporation (MS) announced today that the Windows GUI (code name Foghorn Leghorn) has been ported to Unix and will be on sale next week Thursday, April 1st. Noting that MS had already ported Office to run on Apple's OS X, based on a variation of Unix, MS founder William Gates III (hereinafter SRW: Sir William of Redmond) said it wasn't that difficult to do. SRW went on to say he was sure that MS would soon dominate the market for GUIs running under various versions of Unix and Linux and that both KDE and Gnome would soon be a thing of the past.

Posted by DanS at 08:07 AM | Permalink

Speaking of religion, this just in from the looF lirpA news network:

From: looF lirpA News
Subject: MICROSOFT: Bids to Acquire Catholic Church
Date: Thursday, April 1, 2004 7:16AM

MICROSOFT Bids to Acquire Catholic Church

By Hank Vorjes

VATICAN CITY (AP) -- In a joint press conference in St. Peter's Square this morning, MICROSOFT Corp. and the Vatican announced that the Redmond software giant will acquire the Roman Catholic Church in exchange for an unspecified number of shares of MICROSOFT common stock. If the deal goes through, it will be the first time a computer software company has acquired a major world religion.

With the acquisition, the Pope will become the senior vice-president of the combined company's new Religious Software Division, while MICROSOFT Chairman Raymond V. Gilmartin and CEO Steven A. Ballmer will be invested in the College of Cardinals, said MICROSOFT Chairman and Chief Software Architect William H. Gates III (or Sir William of Redmond as he now prefers to be called).

"We expect a lot of growth in the religious market in the next five to ten years," said Sir William. "The combined resources of MICROSOFT and the Catholic Church will allow us to make religion easier and more fun for a broader range of people."

Through the MICROSOFT Network, the company's on-line service, "we will make the sacraments available on-line for the first time" and revive the popular pre-Counter-Reformation practice of selling indulgences, said Gates. "You can get Communion, confess your sins, receive absolution, keep Windows from Blue Screening -- even reduce your time in Purgatory -- all without leaving your home."

A new software application, MICROSOFT Church 2004 (code name Third Horn), will include a macro language which you can program to download heavenly graces automatically while you are away from your computer.

An estimated 17,000 people attended the announcement in St Peter's Square, watching on a 60-foot screen as comedian Don Novello -- in character as Father Guido Sarducci -- hosted the event, which was broadcast by satellite to 700 sites worldwide and via the Internet using Media Player 666 technology.

The Pope said little during the announcement. When Novello chided Gates, "Now I guess you get to wear one of these pointy hats," the crowd roared, but the pontiff's smile seemed strained.

The deal grants MICROSOFT exclusive electronic rights to the Bible and the Vatican's prized art collection, which includes works by such masters as Michelangelo and Da Vinci. But critics say MICROSOFT will face stiff challenges if it attempts to limit competitors' access to these key intellectual properties.

"The Jewish people invented the look and feel of the holy scriptures," said Rabbi David Gottschalk of Philadelphia. "You take the parting of the Red Sea -- we had that thousands of years before the Catholics came on the scene."

Stung by the criticism, MS "Evangelist" Robert Scoble said "Wait until Third Horn ships and you run it on a TabletPC."

But others argue that the Catholic and Jewish faiths both draw on a common Abrahamic heritage. "The Catholic Church has just been more successful in marketing it to a larger audience," notes Notre Dame theologian Father Kenneth Madigan. Over the last 2,000 years, the Catholic Church's market share has increased dramatically, while Judaism, which was the first to offer many of the concepts now touted by Christianity, lags behind.

Historically, the Church has a reputation as an aggressive competitor, leading crusades to pressure people to upgrade to Catholicism, and entering into exclusive licensing arrangements in various kingdoms whereby all subjects were instilled with Catholicism, whether or not they planned to use it. Today Christianity is available from several denominations, but the Catholic version is still the most widely used. The Church's mission is to reach "the four corners of the earth," echoing MICROSOFT's vision of "a computer on every desktop and in every home".

Gates described MICROSOFT's long-term strategy to develop a scalable religious architecture that will support all religions through emulation. A single core religion will be offered with a choice of interfaces according to the religion desired -- "One religion, a couple of different implementations," said Gates.

The MICROSOFT move could spark a wave of mergers and acquisitions, according to Herb Peters, a spokesman for the U.S. Southern Baptist Conference, as other churches scramble to strengthen their position in the increasingly competitive religious market. Messages left on Linus Torvalds answering machine asking for comments were not returned by press time.

KBviaNewsEDGE

Copyright (c) 2004 Night-Rider / Tribone Business News Received via NewsLEDGE from Desktop Dodo, Inc. and Parody Communications: 03/25/04 19:20

Posted by DanS at 07:50 AM | Permalink

This picture of US troops trying out a new game for physical training. It's called mortarball. They use a reduced charge to propel the ball at a low enough speed so as to be able to hit it with the bat. An earlier try came to an unfortunate end when a full charge was used. However, the trooper, now called "Lefty" is doing well in a hospital in Germany and should be able to return to duty in a week.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:46 AM | Permalink

If you are in business, and most of us are in one way or another, you have to focus your efforts. But sometimes its possible to focus on the wrong thing. Like profit, for example. As a business person, if all you focus on is profit, you may get some, for awhile. But in the long run, you will go out of business because business is not about profit, it's about serving customers.

It's about finding a customer need and fulfilling that need in a way that customers are willing to pay you money. Out of those individual decisions comes your profit.

Most business people intuitively know this because, at one time or another, we are all customers. We all know how we want to be treated so it is not a huge leap to understand how to treat your own customers.

But as businesses grow and mature, it is easy for the CEO to lose his or her focus on the customer. Life becomes an endless round of meetings. Mergers. Proxy fights. In other words, the customer is no longer the focus.

But it doesn't have to be that way. For example, this article from Inc. on an airline called JetBlue. The CEO, David Neeleman, regularly flies his airline not as a passenger in first class but as a flight attendant. He goes row by row personally meeting the needs of his customers.

By doing so, he stays in direct contact with who his customers are and what they need. When was the last time Bill Gates was at your local CompUSA getting your feedback on MS WindowsXP? Or when was the last time Scott McNealy sat down with you to discuss how Sun Microsystems could better meet your needs? Never?

Guess which company provides better customer service? I'll wait while you think that over. In the mean time, the profits are rolling in for JetBlue.

Does all this mean JetBlue is infallible? Not in your life. This is the same company that released

the names, addresses and phone numbers of its customers in September 2002 in response to an "exceptional request from the Department of Defense to assist their contractor, Torch Concepts, with a project regarding military base security." [See the full article here]

JetBlue have much to explain for that misstep, but they understand it was a mistake and will pay for it.

It is one of the paradoxes of life that the more you focus on profit, the less profit you will get. You decide where your focus should be.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:51 AM | Permalink

I'm having some medical tests done so I'm off today.

Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:59 AM | Permalink

I'm now in a holding pattern as the powers-that-be decide whether we need to amend the salary recommendations sent to the Legislature earlier this month. However, the time available for these changes are rapidly running out. I hope to know for sure what will be happening by the end of the day.

Posted by DanS at 07:13 AM | Permalink

Things are getting busy around here again. We may need to amend the Salary Commission Report. It would be inappropriate to say more so I gotta go.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:41 AM | Permalink

Fellow Daynoter John Dominik has started up a side business of making pens out of various kinds of wood. From the pictures, they look beautiful. I've asked him to make a rollerball in burl. When the particulars are worked out and he sends me one I'll try to post a picture of it here. But knowing John, I'm sure it will be beautiful and worth the price (he has introductory pricing so put your orders in soon!).

Posted by DanS at 07:50 AM | Permalink

Speaking of the need for cunning linguists, the yourDictionary.com site has a list of what they say is the top 100 most mispronounced words. From Arctic to zoology, get the right stuff there.

Posted by DanS at 07:49 AM | Permalink

Like for example, this story here about the poor folks in Aliso Viejo, California (I've never heard of such a place) who were set to ban di-hydrogen monoxide from their fair city. H2O, sometimes known as water, is used in the manufacturing of many products so this would not have been an easy thing to do.

I don't make these stories up folks, I just report them. Well, okay, on April 1st I have been known to make up a few but only on the 1st. Really.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:47 AM | Permalink

I'm over due to implment my semi-annual deep cleaning of my c: drive. I had to wait until my salary report was done before blowing everything away. But now that I'm done, my drive has been wiped clean. Hence, it will be a day or two before I can do any surfing for your viewing pleasure.

Hopefully, by tomorrow I will have things back to near normal and I can do a regular posting.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 06:35 AM | Permalink

Speaking of hoaxes, the one about a woman killing her boyfriend with an iPod is a hoax. The mast head is HeadLined News.com. First, this is a parody of CNN's Head Lines News. Second, the URL for the site is liquidgeneration.com, not HeadLinedNews.com. Clicking on their terms of service or contact us takes you to their home page, including an animated intro featuring "I'm too sexy for my shirt" background music.

Posted by DanS at 07:44 AM | Permalink

Whether this story about a robotic, very large scale XY-plotter that can print your house using concrete squirted out of a tube is a hoax is anyone's guess. But the closer we get to April 1st the higher the probability any story is.

Posted by DanS at 07:43 AM | Permalink

Prayers and Thoughts to our friends in Spain - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:42 AM | Permalink

If you're like me, you probably don't know your bosons from your femions. For those few of you out there that do, here's an article that talks about what may be the first observation of the Higgs boson, sometimes called the "God Particle." In related news, I hear Sophia Coppola and Mel Gibson are in talks with the researchers for the film rights. No word yet whether Marlon Brando will be cast but Al Pacino says he definitely wants in. [g]

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:36 AM | Permalink

It seems Jennifer Balderama will be moving on to another venue, so until she shows up again I'm reading Margaret Cho. Know that Cho uses strong language and is passionate about causes that you may disagree. Having said that, her blog is a series of short essays about things. All kinds of things. Some funny but most are serious and insightful into the feelings of this Korean-American stand-up comedy queen.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:24 AM | Permalink

Monday is the last scheduled meeting of the commission. The report, including about 50 pages of appendices, is 77 pages long.

The problems with these types of reports are at least two-fold: (1) No one reads past the executive summary, and (2) No matter how rational and well written it is, the question is political.

First, people are busy. Legislators are even more so. Each year, thousands of bills are introduced (Bill SB2763 meet Bill HB2264). No one has the time to read each one, much less understand the complex issues involved.

Hence, when a 77 page report hits legislator's desks they have to rely on others to read, understand, and report to them. Sometimes these others are his or her own staff. Sometimes it is the committee report from the committee the bill is assigned. Sometimes it's from interested members of the public who give testimony before the committee. And sometimes it's from lobbyists paid to put forth a particular point of view.

Second, in the Legislature, all issues are political. This is not a Bad Thing. Politics has been described as the art of the good deal. If a deal is good, then by definition all parties can live with the consequences of a bill. In order for that to happen, everyone must be listened to and accommodated. This is a cornerstone of a democracy, not a barrier to it.

Having said that, deciding who gets helped and who gets hurt is not an easy task because no matter what you do, you will be making someone angry at you. Perhaps angry enough to vote against you and perhaps angry enough to persuade others to follow their lead.

So, even though I think the Commission has done an excellent job of discussing the issue of judicial salaries and even though I think I've written a report, based on objective data and criteria that reflects that discussion, I'm not entirely sure what will happen at the Legislature.

Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:22 AM | Permalink

So, there are now two singers from Hawai'i in the American Idol TV show contest. The first was Maui's sultry Camile Velasco and now comes young Jasmine Trias. Both have amazing voices but the question is whether they have that "star" quality that the producers are looking for. So far, they haven't shown their best but if they want to get into the finals that is what they must do. Good luck to all but especially these two. All Hawai'i is proud of their accomplishments.

Oh, by the way. For those of you calling in to vote for your favorite singer, here's a free secret tip that will increase the chances of getting in. After you finish dialing, if you hear a ring tone, hang up. The American Idol phone system is setup such that if you reach their number, it picks up immediately, without a ring. So if you hear a ring, what you are hearing is the phone system queuing you up to hear a recording telling you all circuits are busy. So remember, if you hear a ring, hang up and dial again. Really.

Camile Velasco and Jasmine Trias

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:07 AM | Permalink

I've talked about the problems with shipping items to Hawai'i before. But recently, things have gotten even worse. Many Internet businesses no longer ship to Hawai'i. This is because their automagic order systems only have look-up tables for the 48 contiguous states. What you have to do is call or fax your order in if you want to ship to Hawai'i or Alaska.

Obviously, this should cut down on customers from here, although I'm not sure why they would want to decrease their sales. I can only blame the shippers like UPS and FedEx for these problems as they, as far as I know, provide the data in the first place.

All I can say is the U.S. Postal Service provides more reliable, fast, and cheaper service than either of the two above. The problem is, most businesses don't like to use the postal service. I have no idea why, other than the postman comes only once a day.

In either case, two recent orders from Amazon both came via the postal service and each arrived within two to three days. Not bad considering its price is about half the cost of the other two.

I still have to wonder though, why companies write off customers from two states?

Posted by DanS at 08:29 AM | Permalink

Since sometime last week, I've been unable to reach the Daynotes.org site, Dr. Pournelle's site (Chaos Mannor), Brian Birlbrey's Orb Designs, or Robert Bruce Thompson's site. I did an IP address lookup and found all are using 64.246.16.16. I know some changes have been made to the firewall at work so I reckoned it was too much of a coincidence to be a conincence - if you get my drift.

On a hunch, I decided to check the major spam blacklists and found a site that did a meta-search of several such lists. Iplugged in the IP address and came back with a hit at a place called Blars.org. I have never heard of this site but if he lists you on his black list you have to pay him to have your IP researched and perhaps removed. If it turns out he was mistaken he will refund you money but you have to pay upfront first.

I have no idead if this is why our firewall is blocking access to 64.246.16.16 or if there is another reason (I'm getting a time out error).

Until this is figured out, all I can do is telnet to my Unix account on the mainland and use Lynx to view the text of their sites or view them from my connection at home. Sigh.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:08 AM | Permalink

NPR has an interesting audio story on coin tossing. Many statistics textbooks use the coin toss to illustrate random chance. As it usually goes, the books talk about how if you toss a coin enough times, you will get heads 50 percent of the time and tails 50 percent of the time. But NPR says in reality, things are not so neat. They say the randomness, if there is any, seems to be introduced by the person tossing the coin. If the coin is mechanically tossed, that is if it is tossed the same way every time, it will land the same way every time. Thus, they are saying coin tossing may not be a random event. Extrapolating from this, you could say if a person could master tossing the coin in a particular way, they could bias the outcome.

I'm working on the draft report of the salary commission (about 75 pages, single-spaced) and hope to have it done for their review tomorrow or Monday. So I gotta go.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:28 AM | Permalink

Polaroid announced the June availability of the new x530 digital camera using the Foveon X3 direct image sensor. See the camera here at the Foveon site.

The X3 technology reportedly mimics how images are captured on film by using three layers, one for each of the primary colors rather than one layer with specific colors captured at specific sites. Thus, the X3 technology is apparently "the first and only image sensor that captures full color at every point in the captured image." The results of which can be seen in this gallery of photos. Of course, the proof would be to directly compare images taken with a film camera vs. the X3 technology vs. other digital cameras. Perhaps someone will do this, if it hasn't been done already.

In either case, the photos look very good.

Posted by DanS at 07:52 AM | Permalink

The Salary Commission meeting is this morning so I gotta go.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:11 AM | Permalink

Encouraging news to hear that progress is being made on developing a vaccine against one type of lung cancer. The article states non-small cell lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. with more than 150,000 people dying from the disease each year. But preliminary results, of a very small sample, indicates some success. Of the 43 patients in the study, three had full remission and seven had the disease stabilize and not increase in size.

Posted by DanS at 08:33 AM | Permalink

No post today as this is a U.S. holiday.

Posted by DanS at 08:09 AM | Permalink

Over at Larry Lessig's site he has a copy of a letter to the editor by Christine Bolzan talking about the whole CBS Super Bowl debacle. It's a short letter and starts thusly:

We Americans need to rethink whether CBS and its parent company Viacom should continue to be trusted to broadcast on our publicly owned airwaves.

That pretty much sums up my thinking about CBS right now. The heads of this company have shown that they are unfit to be entrusted with the public's airwaves and should be removed immediately.

Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:57 AM | Permalink

Sorry, no post today. I have a legislative hearing tomorrow morning so things will be sparse around here today and perhaps tomorrow. I'll try to have something worthwhile tomorrow but no guarantees (or your money back - ed.).

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:23 AM | Permalink

Ever since I first saw the grandfather of all dog shows, the Westminster, I've wanted to go to New York and see it. Alas, I probably will never do so but I do get to watch it on TV each year.

Of course, I had lost hope that any manly dog would ever win in my lifetime. I mean, I saw poodles and pekinese but no Labrador or German shepard. Indeed, I've seen rats larger than some of the winners (and they probably had more courage than the winners. Heck, some of those dogs pee on themselves when they see their face in the mirror). Indeed, most winners easily fit into the silver bowl trophy and many have jumped in and done just that.

So you can imagine my joy this morning when I woke up to find that a Newfoundland had won the 128th annual Westminster! Yes! All 150lbs (~68kg) of him. Now, that's a dog. Oh, he doesn't fit in the silver bowl so I guess he'll just have to use it as his water dish...

Posted by DanS at 07:58 AM | Permalink

September 21, 2004. Mark that date on your calendar right now. Okay, finished marking it? Right, that's the date that the original Star Wars trilogy will be made available on DVD! Its been what, 25 years since the first Star Wars movie hit the screens of movie theaters but no DVD. Until September 21 (did you mark your calendar as I asked you?)

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi will be available in a four-disc set that includes a bonus disc filled with all-new special features -- including the most comprehensive feature-length documentary ever produced about the Star Wars saga and never-before-seen footage from the making of all three films. Each of the three films in the Star Wars Trilogy has been digitally restored and re-mastered by THX for superior sound and picture quality.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:57 AM | Permalink

Sorry, no post today. I'm working on my report and need to do a bunch of stuff...

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:56 AM | Permalink

You know, sometimes I just have to be amazed by the inventiveness of some people. Like the guy who decided it was a GoodThing(tm) to make an Mp3 player in the form of an AK-47 ammo magazine. That way, I guess, you can listen to the Grammy winners while you bust a few caps</gangsta_rap>

Posted by DanS at 08:20 AM | Permalink

I hate to point fingers, but the MorningPaper leaves itself open to such criticism when it reports, as front page news, that police shot a woman driving a stolen car saying the women was trying to give up, by raising her hands, when she was fatally shot in the head. At least, that's what was reported for days after the incident. Interspersed with these reports were interviews with the woman's relatives saying how good a person she was and how unfair and unjust it was that the police shot her.

Comes now the coroner's report which indicates, using forensic science, that in fact at the time of the shooting, one hand was on the wheel and the other was on the shifter. So much for trying to give up. She was actually doing what the officers said she was doing, trying to kill them and thereby escape taking responsibility for her life. Of course, this story is buried inside on page "B-3". Oh, she was also on crystal methamphetamine (sp?), commonly known as "ice", at the the time.

Leaving aside the tragedy that was her life, and I don't wish to cause yet more pain for her family and friends, this is why people loose respect and trust not only for the newspapers, but also the police as well (since not as many people will read page B-3 as opposed to the front page). This is a huge disservice to the community. If the apparently mistaken accusation deserves the front page, then so does the truth. YMMV. Insert my disclaimer here.

Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:27 AM | Permalink

I'm down with the flu this week. I'm coughing, I have a sore throat, my nose is running, and all my joints and muscles ache. Other than that, I'm feeling fine. 8=}

If its wasn't for the report I'm working on I would be at home resting. Back to work I go...Oh, by the way, good luck to the three people from Hawai'i who made it through to the final 32 of American Idol. They are Camile Velasco (ahem, very easy on the eyes), Jasmine Trias (word is, this is the one to watch, even though she hasn't had any "face time" yet), and that whale of a man - Jonah Moananu (just kidding Jonah!).

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:17 AM | Permalink

Business 2.0 has a list of what they call "101 Dumbest Moments in Business." I didn't read the whole list but I wanted to add one to it anyway.

During the 1980's, toursits from Japan flooded Hawai'i. They came with their pockets full of yen and spent librerally. Some businesses, focusing on short-term profits, decided to take advantage of the Japanese by over charging them. Sometimes, these businesses marked up items several thousand percent. While it may be a coincidence, most of these businesses were multinational corporations, not local companies.

For awhile, these managers were thought to be geniuses because their profits far outshone their competitors. Indeed, institutional investment managers fell over themselves trying to buy stocks in these companies. Money was to be made and seemingly everyone wanted their share.

But eventually the Japanese realized, not being as stupid as the managers thought they were, that they were being overcharged and took their business elsewhere. The economic bubble burst and these high flying managers went down in flames while the local business, that had always sought to give long-term value to their customers in the hope of earning their repeat business are doing just fine, thank you very much.

While there are no guarantees in business, those that focus on building long-term relationships through dealing in a fair manner with their customers will probably still be around 10 years from now. Learn well this lesson and you won't end up on any Business 2.0 dumbest list.

Posted by DanS at 07:43 AM | Permalink

For you chem or physics majors out there, herewith is the "Table of Condiments that Periodically Go Bad."

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:42 AM | Permalink

They too slipped the the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God...

Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:03 AM | Permalink

I see that a new Federal Trade Commission regulation goes into effect today requiring telemarketers to display their company name and phone number on Caller ID devices. Up to now, telemarketers would block the display of their names so you would not know who was calling.

Like spam, expect the company names to change to something you would normally want to answer rather than their real name. In addition, I guess the new rule is why I got three telemarketing calls over the last week when I haven't had any for months.

Posted by DanS at 07:43 AM | Permalink

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:43 AM | Permalink

Buying a new car ranks right up there with pulling teeth when it comes to ranking what people like to do. But at some point, most do (buy a new car, that is).

One of the reasons people don't like buying a new car is the confrontational atmosphere that pervades the experience. It's you against the dealer: you are trying to get the lowest price and they are trying the opposite.

As a response to this, some dealers have converted over to what is called "no hassle" pricing. That is, the price listed by the dealer, usually less than "list" price, is the price of the car. You don't need to haggle and, indeed, it wouldn't make any difference if you did. Thus, confrontation is eliminated and the customer should feel more comfortable about coming in and buying a car.

The problem is, at least here, it isn't working (we'll see later that a variation on this may, but I'm getting ahead of myself). A couple of local dealers have tried no hassle pricing. One got all kinds of government and consumer awards. It's now out of business for lack of customers. The other is barely hanging on while the high pressure dealers are raking in the money.

Why is this? Don't people want to buy a car without spending hours hassling with a salesman or saleswoman? Don't people feel demeaned by the whole process and do their best to avoid talking with sales personnel?

I was reflecting on this situation after having read "Confessions of a Car Salesman" from Edmunds.com and decided maybe it's because we feel lucky.

Think of it this way - many people like to gamble, or at least many people like to win. Yet many people will gamble knowing that the "house" has the advantage and that if they gamble long enough they will lose. But people still gamble, perhaps because they feel lucky. Or they feel they have a sure fire system that can beat the odds. Or that they are just so much smarter than the dealer and will trick him or her.

But, they are wrong. Most people (something like 99.99 percent) who gamble will not win. In fact, gamble long enough and you will not only lose, but you will lose a lot (hundreds, if not thousands of dollars).

I think such is the case with buying a car. Most people would rather gamble by trying to haggle with a professional who is much better prepared than you and maybe get a lower price than the no haggle lot. But you are wrong and you will pay thousands of dollars more because of it. You will not "get lucky" and win a lower price than the no haggle price. You will not outsmart the dealer. But there may be a system that can help raise the odds.

The system is called the Internet. People can now shop for the car of their dreams while sitting at home. While the laws in Hawai'i don't let you actually buy the car over the Internet (although your state may), you can nonetheless find the make and model you want displayed with its price. In addition, you can check places like Edmunds.com and get the "invoice" price of most makes and models. This gives you important information. Information you can use, should you feel lucky and decide to go head-to-head with a sales professional rather than buying via the Internet. YMMV. Insert disclaimer here.

Posted by DanS at 07:47 AM | Permalink

I wonder why so many people are deluded into thinking they can sing? Forget about singing well, in my experience, most people can't sing. At all. Period. In fact, most people will never be able to earn a penny singing. And yet. And yet many people truly feel that they have talent. In fact, they have so much self-esteem that if anyone tells them that they don't sing well, then clearly the other person just doesn't appreciate their great gift.

Don't get me wrong, self-esteem is good. That is, self-esteem is good if it is based on overcoming difficult obstacles through hard work and thereby becoming excellent at what you do. For example, someone who has spent years honing their woodworking skills or needle point techniques or differentiating equations, and thereby becoming adept at these skills can take pride in doing their work well.

Of course, it's not only would be singers that are afflicted by this. One need only look at any college football team to find hundreds of people who think they have what it takes to be a professional. Or take a look at the Democratic Party presidential candidate hopefuls. Only one of them will win. Yet there they are, trying to get people to vote for them. But I digress.

On the other hand, someone who thinks they can be a professional singer, without spending any time learning how to do it well, may have a lot of self-esteem, but not be a good singer. Thus, I should not be surprised that tens of thousands of people will wait in line to be told they have no talent and should be doing something else instead of trying to be the next American Idol.

Perhaps we can blame it on some of our school systems that confuse self-esteem with mastery of a difficult subject. Where teachers somehow teach "self-esteem" for doing nothing worthy of self-esteem. Where rigorous testing is deleted and replaced with feel good group sessions where everyone bleats like sheep, while sitting on the floor, in a circle, trying to sing kumbaya.

Perhaps people don't understand, or are too lazy to care, that self-esteem should come as a result of mastering something difficult. That self-esteem should be based on reality, not delusions of grandeur. That in fact there are criteria to determine whether you can sing well and that if you don't meet those criteria you should not be surprised to be told you have no singing talent.

I have six words for people who don't have any talent, or have some ability but don't want to spend the time and effort to become good: Deal with it and move on.

Comments are temporarily closed while MovableType comes up with something more effective in combating comment spam. If you need to contact me, feel free to email me using the link in the column on the right.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:02 AM | Permalink

I don't think this guy has it right yet, but it's as good a start as I've seen on converting your car into the feel, if not exactly the look of a Star Wars A-Wing fighter. So far, he's just done some paint and a few add-ons. But I'm still waiting for someone who does the "Monster Garage" treatment the way it should be.

Posted by DanS at 07:53 AM | Permalink

For about half-an-hour yesterday we experienced some of the strongest winds since Hurricane Iniki came through a decade ago. Gusts up to 80mph were reported in some areas as a cold front moved across the state. Fortunately, as quickly as it came it went although there are still areas without electricity and many homes sustained damage to their roofs.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:05 AM | Permalink

In the long tradition of public service announcements, the Seto Shack brings you this article on how to prevent Internet electrocution. Hats off to the folks at the Toque for sparking the debate on electrical security. YMMV, insert disclaimer here.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:48 AM | Permalink

Kirk: (Closeup, sweat forming on brow.)Scotty, we need those engines back on line!

Wide-shot of engine room where sparks are flying.

Scott: Aye Captain, but the di-lithium crystals are failing and I canna' do anything about it!

There was a transformer failure in one of the high rise buildings downtown this weekend. In order to remove the transformer, electricity to much of downtown, including our building, was cut off. This caused all kinds of problems with our mechanical systems (no a/c) and computer systems (no voice mail or email).

Perhaps coincidentally, I'm having problems with my PC. My scanner has quite working although unplugging it and then plugging it back in has turned the scanning light on, it isn't scanning so I think I need to reinstall the drivers. In addition, I had to reinstall the PoPMail email filter to get it to start up. Who knows what else is not working. Oh well, just another normal day.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I've got another Salary Commission meeting on Monday and I'm having another normal day getting ready for it so I gotta go.

Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:02 AM | Permalink

From ski wax to sun glasses coatings to digital displays to tennis racquet that are five times more rigid than current graphite racquets, nanotechnology is already here. Forbes magazine has a list of products that incorporate the technology.

Posted by DanS at 08:49 AM | Permalink

A couple of good links from Ian Lind's site. The first is breaking news from the Onion about porpoises evolving opposable thumbs (in the same vein as the FOO BAR RFC).

HONOLULU-In an announcement with grave implications for the primacy of the species of man, marine biologists at the Hawaii Oceanographic Institute reported Monday that dolphins, or family Delphinidae, have evolved opposable thumbs on their pectoral fins.

"I believe I speak for the entire human race when I say, 'Holy f*ck,'" said Oceanographic Institute director Dr. James Aoki, noting that the dolphin has a cranial capacity 40 percent greater than that of humans. "That's it for us monkeys."

Thus far, all the opposable digits encountered appear to be fully functional, making it possible for dolphins-believed to be capable of faster and more complex cogitation than man-to manipulate objects, fashion tools, and construct rudimentary pulley and lever systems.

"They really seem to be making up for lost time with this thumb thing," said Dr. Jim Kuczaj, a University of California-San Diego biologist who has studied the seasonal behavior of dolphins for more than 30 years. "Last Friday, a crude seaweed-and-shell abacus washed up on the beach near Hilo, Hawaii. The next day, a far more sophisticated abacus, fashioned from some unknown material and capable of calculating equations involving numbers of up to 16 digits, washed up on the same beach. The day after that, the beach was littered with thousands of what turned out to be coral-silicate and kelp-based biomicrocircuitry."

The second is to the Spin of the Day site. Spin does its best to tell the story behind the story. For instance, a beef industry association hiring a PR firm to spin the news to say it was only one cow, the inspection system worked, and that we have a "firewall" against mad cow disease or the US Environmental Protection Agency insisting that toxic sludge is good for you.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Job Interviews. Two words that send shivers through otherwise strong people. There are few situations more fraught with possibilities and dangers. But being prepared can make the difference between being hired and being among all those still looking for a job.

Part of the preparation process is being ready for the questions that you will be asked. Unless you are applying at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory the questions won't require you to be a rocket scientist to answer. But you if you don't anticipate the questions, it is difficult to answer them well. So herewith are the top 10 questions asked by employers during job interviews (with hints as to what is a good answer):

1. Why are you seeking new employment?

2. Where do you see yourself in 5 (or 10) years?

3. Why should we hire you?

4. What are your weaknesses?

5. What are your salary expectations?

6. How did you get along with your last boss?

7. Why do you want this job?

8. What are your strengths?

9. Tell me something about yourself.

10. Do you have any questions?

Posted by DanS at 08:18 AM | Permalink

A belated Happy New Year to y'all.

I'm back at work and there is still much to do so I gotta go.

Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sorry, today is a normal(tm) day so I gotta go.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 10:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

shopping-mode=on; with_SWMBO: yes; traffic-heavy: you_bet

No post today.

Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 12:48 PM | Permalink

Merry Christmas
Christmas in Hawai'i was celebrated for the first time eight years after Captain James Cook first came to the islands. This first Hawai'i Noel was held in 1786 aboard the British ship, Queen Charlotte, as it lay anchored in Waimea Bay, Kaua'i, the same bay were Captain Cook made his first landing. To treat his crew to a Christmas dinner, Captain George Dixon ordered a pig from the village on shore, had it roasted, and then, in the spirit of the season, concocted Hawaii's first exotic drink by mixing an extra ration of the crew's grog with some coconut milk. The crew of Queen Charlotte's companion ship, King George, went ashore and played Santa Claus, distributing small gifts to the people of Waimea. Though they knew nothing about the significance of the day, the Hawaiians, with their traditional generosity, rose to the occasion. Chief Tyaana, aboard a long double hull canoe, visited Captain Nathanial Portlock, skipper of the King George, bringing him a present of some hogs and vegetables. Captain Portlock returned the gesture, which pleased the Chief very much. It was the first exchange of Christmas gifts in Hawai'i.

Posted by DanS at 08:35 AM | Permalink

Why are there so many variations of the Nigerian 419 email scam? The answer is because so many people fall for it. No doubt millions of these emails flood the globe with its false promise of getting rich quick by laundering money though your bank account. And even if only a fraction of one percent of the population falls for the scam, the senders stand to make millions.

The latest documented case is this Florida retiree who sold his stock, got a second mortgage on his home, and hocked his two cars. For more than a year, he gave virtual strangers $300,000. In essence, every dollar he had or could borrow. He even bought them gold pens, cell phones and a laptop computer.

The saddest thing about this episode is that to this day, this guy does not think he was scammed. He ignored police warnings that the deal was bogus and instead blames his losses on corrupt foreign governments. He has not filed a complaint with authorities. He is well and truly blinded by greed. A greed so strong that if he could, he would give them more money.

If only the right official were paid off. If only he didn't have to pay so many fees. If only he didn't have to hire an "attorney" in West Africa to help grease the deal. If only he had not fallen for one of the oldest scams out there.

Posted by DanS at 08:39 AM | Permalink

One of SWMBO's favorite TV sitcoms from the 1980s was ALF. So I'm sure she will be pleased that there will be a new show starring the hairy one on cable TV. "ALF's Hit Talk Show" will start airing early next year on the Nickelodeon cable network.

Posted by DanS at 08:37 AM | Permalink

My wallpaper for this week is from the European Southern Observatory. They did three images of the spiral galaxies NGC 613, 1792, and 3627. The images come in three resolutions (up to a whopping 2702 X 2301, 3.4MB full resolution) and were produced by the EOS Very Large Telescope array consisting of four 8.2m reflectors.

Posted by DanS at 08:36 AM | Permalink

My wallpaper this week is from the Cal Tech/NASA/Jet Propulsion Lab Spitzer Space Telescope.

Launched Aug. 25 from Cape Canaveral, Fla., the Spitzer Space Telescope is the fourth of NASA's Great Observatories, a program designed to paint a more comprehensive picture of the cosmos using different wavelengths of light.

While the other Great Observatories have probed the universe with visible light (Hubble Space Telescope), gamma rays (Compton Gamma Ray Observatory) and X-rays (Chandra X-ray Observatory), the Spitzer Space Telescope observes the cosmos in the infrared.

See the full article from RedNova here.

Posted by DanS at 08:02 AM | Permalink

For you Lego lovers out there comes this site that shows what the little plastic building blocks can do when you have 10,000 of them and two weeks on your hands. So what did he build? The scultpture of Homer Simpson stands four feet tall (~1.2m), that's what.

Posted by DanS at 07:20 AM | Permalink

Chevrolet is trying to come up with its own FordGT by pumping up the power in a Corvette code named Blue Devil. The article on the new Corvette goes on to say the answer to all is more cubic inches. In this case, 427 cubic inches (~7 litres) of supercharged power (625hp). The conept car, if it ever goes into production would be out in 2006 and cost about $100,000USD.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:19 AM | Permalink

A wooden Ferrari? I don't know. To me it looks like a wood veneer but I guess it could be for real. But in the water?

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A 17-year-old New Zealand student recently won the Institution of Professional Engineers award for building his own remote-operated vessel. The 1.5m long submersible has an onboard color camera and external water pumps acting as directional thrusters. The young man already has a couple of businesses interested in his design as well as the NZ Navy. Well done young Steven McCabe. Now get back to your studies and quit cutting classes.

I have a meeting of the Judicial Salary Commission to be held today in the State Capitol building so I gotta go.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:28 AM | Permalink

The first steel beam was put in place in the effort to rebuild 7 World Trade Center in New York. The 52-story building is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2005. Using lessons learned from problems identified in the Twin Towers, emergency exit stairwells will be twice as wide as required under the code so that people can exit going down while fire fighters have room to go up. In addition, in order to keep the stairwells clear of smoke, they will be pressurized.

Posted by DanS at 07:05 AM | Permalink

The State of Virginia Attorney General announced its first felony indictment of a man accused of sending spam. While I think this is a Good Thing, the article alleges the spammer sent [placing pinkie finger next to side of mouth] at least 10,000 emails a day. 10,000? Is that all? With spam filling up my email accounts I figured it was a few people sending a lot of spam. But if it's true that this guy is number 8 on the top 10 list of spammers, where is all the spam coming from?

Posted by DanS at 07:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This article describes a vaccination strategy that targets the so called super-spreaders. This is especially relevant this year due to the great demand for vaccines due to flu outbreaks in the western U.S. but can be used in any population where disease is spreading but there is a lack of vaccine sufficient to inoculate the entire population. The study concludes that innoculating about 20 percent of a population is sufficient to stop a disease if you can get to the right people.

Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:04 AM | Permalink

Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin, John Cleese and Terry Jones. Monty Python's Flying Circus is the subject of a new autobiography entitled " The Pythons" (St. Martin's/Thomas Dunne Books). One of my top 10 comedy movies of all time is the Python's "Life of Brian" so you know I'll be taking a look at this book.

Posted by DanS at 08:20 AM | Permalink

"The Far Side" by Gary Larson is on my top 10 ten cartoonists list so it should not be a surprise that I got the two-volume, 18-pound (~8kg), 1,250-page hardcover " Complete Far Side" last month. I've been slowly going through the pages looking for my favorite panel. If and when I find it, I'll post it. While the book does not have every panel penned by Larson, it has nearly every one of the weird and wonderful creatures that populate Larson's mind.

On a housekeeping note, thank you (I think ;=}) to fellow Daynoter Brian Bilbrey for reviving the broken BackChannel communications. If you are a Daynoter and haven't received the test message you should contact Brian to get this going.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:19 AM | Permalink

I have to get a bunch of stuff mailed out to the Salary Commission members this morning so I gotta go.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Boeing aircraft had a reputation for building robust products. Indeed, more than one has flown with parts of the wing missing or with the top peeled off. But the one thing Boeing may not survive is bad management. This Slate article lays out the dirty details on how management worked using two driving values: greed and hubris. It is indeed a sad tale to see Boeing spiraling down to 40 percent of market share. It is even more frightening to read that it could be out of the commercial market within 10 years.

Things at work are, as fellow Daynoter Sjon put it "normal." As in situation normal, all fouled up. So I gotta go. But before I go, congratulations to Daynoter John Doucette in his recent marriage. Congratulations and best wishes to John and Emma.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:46 AM | Permalink

I was working on this post when WindowsXP died in a blue screen of death. I'm not absolutely sure, but I think this is the first one I've seen since I installed XP. The error report said the ATI Radeon video driver is the problem so I will take a look at that (he naively said - ed). Unfortunately, the lockup took with it some of my post so I don't have the time to re-type it. So if you are interested in 360-degree QuickTime VR panorama images, go to this site here.

If you are interested in the old scifi series Babylon 5, check out this short snippet that says a follow-on is coming.

Posted by DanS at 08:43 AM | Permalink

The soon to be enemy launched his planes in three waves from their carriers 200 miles north of their target. In all, the aircraft participating in the operation included 81 fighters, 135 dive bombers, 104 horizontal bombers, and 40 torpedo bombers. The plan to hit the target was divided into five distinct phases:

Phase I: Combined torpedo plane and dive bomber attacks lasting from 7:55 a. m. to 8:25 a. m.

Phase II: Lull in attacks lasting from 8:25 a. m. to 8:40 a. m.

Phase III: Horizontal bomber attacks extending from 8:40 a. m. to 9:15a. m.

Phase IV: Dive bomber attacks between 9:15 a. m. and 9:45 a. m.

Phase V. Warning of attacks and completion of raid after 9:45 a. m.

By the end of the attack on the U.S. Navy base at Pearl Harbor, O'ahu, Hawai'i on December 7th, 1941, the U.S. had paid a fearful price:

Twenty-one ships of the U.S. Pacific Fleet were sunk or damaged: the battleships USS Arizona (BB-39), USS California (BB-44), USS Maryland (BB-46), USS Nevada (BB-36), USS Oklahoma (BB-37), USS Pennsylvania (BB-38), USS Tennessee (BB-43) and USS West Virginia (BB-48); cruisers USS Helena (CL-50), USS Honolulu (CL-48) and USS Raleigh (CL-7); the destroyers USS Cassin (DD-372), USS Downes (DD-375), USS Helm (DD-388) and USS Shaw (DD-373); seaplane tender USS Curtiss (AV-4); target ship (ex-battleship) USS Utah (AG-16); repair ship USS Vestal (AR-4); minelayer USS Oglala (CM-4); tug USS Sotoyomo (YT-9); and Floating Drydock Number 2. Aircraft losses were 188 destroyed and 159 damaged, the majority hit before the had a chance to take off. American dead numbered 2,403. That figure included 68 civilians, most of them killed by improperly fused anti-aircraft shells landing in Honolulu. There were 1,178 military and civilian wounded.

Japanese losses were comparatively light. Twenty-nine planes, less than 10 percent of the attacking force, failed to return to their carriers.

The Japanese success was overwhelming, but it was not complete. They failed to damage any American aircraft carriers, which by a stroke of luck, had been absent from the harbor. They neglected to damage the shoreside facilities at the Pearl Harbor Naval Base, which played an important role in the Allied victory in World War II. American technological skill raised and repaired all but three of the ships sunk or damaged at Pearl Harbor (the USS Arizona (BB-39) considered too badly damaged to be salvaged, the USS Oklahoma (BB-37) raised and considered too old to be worth repairing, and the obsolete USS Utah (AG-16) considered not worth the effort). Most importantly, the shock and anger caused by the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor united a divided nation and was translated into a wholehearted commitment to victory in World War II.

Posted by DanS at 08:40 AM | Permalink

In a related note, there is a new book out called Medal of Honor. The book highlights the actions of most of the living recipients of America's hightest medal for valor against an enemy, the Congressional Medal of Honor. It includes 116 recipeints, each with a two-page spread that includes photos, a brief biography, and an essay on the deeds that earned them the medal. Every U.S. citizen should read this book and reflect on the courage of these individuals. This is courage. This is honor. This is integrity.

Have a Great Weekended Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:22 AM | Permalink

You can never have too much money or too many pixels. As in 1.09 giga-pixel image made by stitching 196 6-megapixel photos into one 40,784 by 26,800 mega-picture. The level of detail far surpasses anything readily available to the general public. Of course, stitching together 196 images is not my idea of a fun afternoon but I guess it shows what can be done if you are determined enough.

Posted by DanS at 08:03 AM | Permalink

I've been so busy working on the Judicial Salary Commission work that I worked straight through with no breaks or lunch hour yesterday. Even so, its been slow going putting together some salary scenarios in Excel. I can't go into the details but the formulas to determine what a person would make are getting really complex as I nest IF and AND statements. While I think I am good at doing detailed work, this is the kind of stuff where an error can sneak in and ruin you whole day. Sigh. I guess it's better than the alternative...

Posted by DanS at 07:08 AM | Permalink

10 DIM Shopping, Days
20 GOSUB 200
30 GOTO 32767
200 SET Shopping="27"
300 FOR Days = 1 to 27
400 Shopping=Days - 1
500 NEXT Days
600 RETURN
700 GOTO 32767
32767 END

Posted by DanS at 03:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Today is the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S. Thanksgiving can have many meanings. For some, it is the calm before the storm of Christmas shopping. For others, it is a gathering of the clan where the generations come together to share in the bounty of this great land. And for the newest citizens, it is part of becoming whatever it is that makes our nation great.

But for me, 30 years ago today, I was an undergraduate student in southern California. My school was only about six hours by plane from home but it might as well as been a 100 as I could not afford to fly there for such a short time (the school break was typically about half-a-week). So I was looking forward to staying in the empty dorm and eating whatever I could heat up in my rice cooker.

Actually, no I wasn't. There are times when life can get awfully lonely. The holidays are one of those times. At least for me, anyway. Fortunately, a guy I knew from our floor in the dorm lived in town and invited me to his family's home for the holiday. To say I was thankful would be an understatement.

Through the kindness of a relative stranger, I got to enjoy a home cooked meal in an environment that is slowly dying in America: an intact family. A family made up of both parents and their son. Living in single-family dwelling. Where each is loved and cared for and values are more than what Wal*Mart is discounting on sale.

After stuffing ourselves on a great meal, we gathered in their living room and went through an album of old photographs. The pictures were black-and-white and were very old. Some of them were of a time when the parents were themselves in college. The conversation then got around to memories of their days at Loma Linda University (or what was then known as La Sierra College) and how they were friends with some people from Hawai'i.

While I realize this is indeed a small world, sometimes I'm surprised by just how small it is. First they talked about Ross and Ree Hiatt. Mr. Hiatt (even after all these years I still call him Mr. Hiatt), was to become my 7th and 8th grade teacher in elementary school. He and Mrs. Hiatt were married for 52-years before cancer suddenly took her life this year.

They then talked about a girl that they were all friends with. As they slowly turned the pages of the album, I was taken aback when I saw her picture. Her raven hair shining in the hot California sun. The smile, a little timid, perhaps from being so far away from home herself. Her eyes looking so much like my own. The girl who would one day become my mother.

There are lots of things to be thankful for today. I am thankful for a time in which families stayed together, 'til death do us part. I am thankful for Daryl Luthas' (now pastor Luthas, who would have thunk it, rascal that he was?) parents who taught their child to be an open, caring individual. I am thankful to my own parents for making the sacrifices they made so that I could attend a quality private college and be where I am today.

Thanks be to God from whom all blessings flow. And thanks mom and dad, I couldn't have made it without you.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:00 AM | Permalink

Paging AirIndia passenger Arheddis Varkenjaab, that's passenger Arheddis Varkenjaab, please pickup the white courtesy phone. The Sunday Mirror has a story about practical jokers tricking Heathrow airport officials into paging for passengers whose names, when pronounced sound like something other than how they are spelled.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:15 AM | Permalink

According to a TechCentral column, MP3.com is soon to be dead. MP3, the premier site for discovering music from independent bands, created a marketplace where everyone could listen to and legally download music. It was sort of the Internet equivalent of the small college radio station that played anything and everything. It was a place to discover music that you would not otherwise have heard anywhere else, much less the homogenized mega-commercial mega-radio stations of today.

Perhaps it was ahead of it's time, with a business plan that rode the wave of the dot com debauchery, but it will be missed because what is replacing it will not have the same feeling.

Posted by DanS at 07:23 AM | Permalink

The Houston Chronicle says NASA is finally getting around to creating a long-term plan that would return astronauts to the moon and then on to Mars. The first order of business is to get the shuttle flying again. Next is a replacement for the shuttle called the Orbital Space Plane and the completion of the International Space Station.

Posted by DanS at 09:07 AM | Permalink

For you gardeners out there, and you know who you are, comes the latest from that Tasmanian devil Jonathan Sturm. His The Pompous Git's Guide to Gardening, the Universe and Everything! can be read by following the link. "WARNING! This book contains graphic and explicit descriptions of traditional agricultural and horticultural practices, including seed sowing, harvesting, cultivation of the soil and weed control!" You have been warned so don't come crying to me if hair starts to grow on your hands after reading this. ;>

Posted by DanS at 07:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The New Despotism. Read this interview with author Gore Vidal on Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Adams, and do I dare use his name in the same company as these giants of U.S. history, George Bush.

In this context, would any of the Founding Fathers find themselves comfortable in the current political system of the United States? Certainly Jefferson wouldn't. But what about the radical centralizers, or those like John Adams, who had a sneaking sympathy for the monarchy?

Adams thought monarchy, as tamed and balanced by the parliament, could offer democracy. But he was no totalitarian, not by any means. Hamilton, on the other hand, might have very well gone along with the Bush people, because he believed there was an elite who should govern. He nevertheless was a bastard born in the West Indies, and he was always a little nervous about his own social station. He, of course, married into wealth and became an aristo. And it is he who argues that we must have a government made up of the very best people, meaning the rich.

So you'd find Hamilton pretty much on the Bush side. But I can't think of any other Founders who would. Adams would surely disapprove of Bush. He was highly moral, and I don’t think he could endure the current dishonestly. Already they were pretty bugged by a bunch of journalists who came over from Ireland and such places and were telling Americans how to do things. You know, like Andrew Sullivan today telling us how to be. I think you would find a sort of union of discontent with Bush among the Founders. The sort of despotism that overcomes us now is precisely what Franklin predicted.

But Gore, you have lived through a number of inglorious administrations in your lifetime, from Truman's founding of the national-security state, to LBJ’s debacle in Vietnam, to Nixon and Watergate, and yet here you are to tell the tale. So when it comes to this Bush administration, are you really talking about despots per se? Or is this really just one more rather corrupt and foolish Republican administration?

No. We are talking about despotism. I have read not only the first PATRIOT Act but also the second one, which has not yet been totally made public nor approved by Congress and to which there is already great resistance. An American citizen can be fingered as a terrorist, and with what proof? No proof. All you need is the word of the attorney general or maybe the president himself. You can then be locked up without access to a lawyer, and then tried by military tribunal and even executed. Or, in a brand-new wrinkle, you can be exiled, stripped of your citizenship and packed off to another place not even organized as a country — like Tierra del Fuego or some rock in the Pacific. All of this is in the USA PATRIOT Act. The Founding Fathers would have found this to be despotism in spades. And they would have hanged anybody who tried to get this through the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Hanged.

Seti call home. Those of you using seti@home may want to update your software to version 3.08. It seems there is a buffer overflow condition that could be exploited by an attacker. Said attacker would then be able to execute arbitrary code on your PC. In other words, the l33t hax0rs would ownz U.

ZDNet has a story on subpoenas filed in U.S. District Court in Utah against Linus Torvalds, Richard Stallman, The Open Source Development Labs, and others. The subpoenas are part of SCO's suit filed in March alleging that IBM illegally incorporated trade secrets from UNIX into Linux. IBM responded with its own set of subpoenas in October and now SCO is responding with more legal filings.

In my opinion, it is difficult to see the good that will come of this. SCO insists they are merely protecting their intellectual property rights, as well they should. However, there appears room for interpretation as to what rights SCO may have as it pertains to UnixWare and Linux. One must also remember that SCO views Linux as a competitor to UnixWare, and as such, these legal moves appear more as a business strategy to remove such competition than protecting their rights. YMMV.

Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:57 AM | Permalink

Speaking of Salaries (as I was in Monday's post). CBS MarketWatch has the Top 10 Most Overpaid Jobs. From wedding photographer to mutual-fund managers. From airport skycaps to real estate agents.

Jakob Nielsen, Mr. Usability himself, has his own top 10 list. Ten Most Violated Homepage Design Guidelines (the first should have been to keep headlines to fewer words - Ed.). From frozen design layouts using tiny type sizes to meaningless graphics to having a link to the home page on the home page.

RU Tuned In? Over at Time, they have their Invention of the Year. I guess, not so strangely, the invention is not really a thing, but a service. As in Apple's iTunes. Runner ups include camera phones, Dean Kaman designed water distiller, Robo-Lobster and Robo-Cat (I'm not making this up).

Another busy day working on spread sheets with various salary projection scenarios so I gotta go.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:34 AM | Permalink

As is usual around this time of year, things are getting a little busy. Most of this is tied to the legislature starting up in a few months. So in order to be ready for that, we have to start now. Right now I'm working on some salary projections based on various scenarios using escalators such as the Consumer Price Index, what other jurisdictions pay, and what local employers are paying. Setting salaries is a touchy subject so I will say no more.

In addition, tomorrow is a US holiday (Veteran's Day) so no post for tomorrow.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:28 AM | Permalink

"War is a horrible, horrible, horrible thing. There is nothing good about it. But it is sometimes necessary. And so somebody better be good at it." An excerpt from a speech at the US Air Force Academy in 1999 by an Air Force veteran of Gulf War I. He recounts the things that he remembers most about operation Desert Storm. Some are sights, some like the sample paragraph below, are sounds. All are about ordinary people doing extraordinary things. If you have the time, follow the link and read the whole thing. Thanks to Dr. Pournelle for the link.

The other unforgettable thing I heard came after the ground war had started. An F-16 was shot down in the middle of the retreating Republican Guard, and I mean right in the middle of them. A call went out from AWACS for any aircraft with ordnance remaining and the fuel to get to where the pilot was down, in case they needed 'em for SARCAP. A lot of people responded, but the first one I really paid attention to was an Army Chinook helicopter pilot, who came on the radio and said, "Look, I've got this much gas, here's my location, I can be there in that many minutes, give me his coordinates-I can pick him up." Now, everybody knew where the Republican Guard was, and everybody knew the downed pilot was right in the middle of them. You gotta remember a Chinook is about the size of a double-decker London bus with props on it. And it doesn't have guns! We kid around a lot about interservice rivalries, but I guarantee you I would follow that Army helicopter pilot into combat...and I'll never forget her voice...

And now for some humor:

An Army General, a Marine General and a Navy Admiral are all sitting around discussing whose's service is better and whose troops are the bravest?

The Admiral (well into his second or third ice tea) announces to the group, " My SEALS are the BEST in the world and to prove it I'll have one do the impossible" as he reaches for the phone.

Well the other two commanders are in an uproar and each one promptly calls for his best soldier.

When all three representatives have arrived, the Admiral states "Since it was my idea, I'm first" and turning to the SEAL, he says " I want you to go down that cliff, swim across those 10 miles of shark infested waters, climb up that shear cliff and return with with 2 bird eggs... unbroken of course.".

The SEAL (being the highly trained soldier that he is) turned running towards the cliff. After performing a triple-somersault into the water, the SEAL swam across the 10 miles (all the while beating off sharks with his bare hands) and reaching the far cliff, he began climbing. Near the top of the cliff, he grabs the two eggs and starts back down (all the time, fighting off mean birds). Upon reaching the sea he swims back across (once again fighting off sharks) and climbs back up the first cliff. He then runs back over to the Admiral and hands him the 2 unbroken eggs.

The Marine General says "that wasn't nothing," and turning to the Force Recon Marine he says " I want you to go down that cliff, swim across those waters, climb that other cliff,then move across the 4 miles of unmapped jungle and bring me back 2 eggs from the mountain on the other side of the jungle."

And with that the Force Recon moved-out. Traveling down the cliff, swimming across the sea, climbing the far cliff, moving through the jungle and upon reaching the 2 eggs, he heads back (all the while fighting off lions, tigers, bears, sharks, and mean birds). Finally reaching the General, the Marine hands him the eggs.

The Army General then says "Very nice gentlemen, but heres true bravery" and turning towards his BEST (an Airborne Infantryman), he says "I want you to go down that cliff, across that sea, up the far cliff, through the 4 miles of unmapped jungle, over the mountain and bring me back 2 eggs from the forest on the other side."

The Paratrooper looks at the General, then the cliff, and again back to the General, where he says "SCREW YOU SIR!", renders a proper hand salute and walks away.

The General turn towards the other two (both with their jaws on the table) and says "Now gentlemen, thats BRAVERY."

Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:57 AM | Permalink

I'm beginning to become somewhat of a media junky. By that I mean I've added a couple of journalism related blogs to my morning journey through cyberspace. Yesterday I came across the blog of Terry Heaton, He has a series of essays about postmodern journalism and what are the implications for change.

Here's just one snippet:

Postmodernism doesn't make sense. Its roots are buried in chaos and chance. Taking a page from MTV's playbook and inserting it into CNN's is like trying to mate a lion with a sheep in order to produce a more gentle lion. Excitement and anticipation? Oh sure, but ultimately the lion just ends up with a tasty meal.

Thanks to Ian Lind for the link.

Busy day today so I gotta go. Have a good one.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 07:53 AM | Permalink

As you might expect, my wallpaper for the week is from the dslreports site that I mentioned yesterday. This one is a shot of one of those plasma thingies. There are a bunch of others so if you have a broadband connection I encourage everyone to take a look at what they have.

Just when you thought it was safe, the money grubbers have gotten to the US Senate and the likelihood that Internet access will now be taxed grows each day. In fact, as of this past weekend, when the current moratorium expired, the way is clear for each state to immediately impose an Internet access tax.

From what was first seen as a slam dunk, a bill that would permanently exempt access to the Internet from taxes is now in deep jeopardy as special interest groups, like the National Governor's Association, lobby hard against the prohibition.

What it comes down to is these groups see nothing but the dollars they can take from your pocket if they could only tax you for accessing the Internet. This includes nascent technologies like WiFi and Voice over IP. If you don't want to pay yet another tax, contact your Senator and let them know how you feel. Do it right now because it may already be later than you think.

As most of my 11 long-term readers know, I work as a Program Evaluation Analyst for the State of Hawai'i Judiciary. Some of you probably wonder what such an analyst does so I've put together a few short paragraphs, based on what I think are some good definitions from various sources and meshed it with what I think is important.

What is program evaluation?

Evaluation pertains to the systematic examination of events or conditions that have (or are presumed to have) occurred at an earlier time or that are unfolding as the evaluation takes place. But to be examined, these events or conditions must exist, must be objectively describable, and must have occurred or be occurring. Evaluation is, thus, retrospective in that the emphasis is on what has been or is being observed, not on what is likely to happen (as would be the case in forecasting).

Why do program evaluations?

From a global perspective, the ultimate goal of scientific research is finding relations between variables. The philosophy of science teaches us that there is no other way of representing "meaning" except in terms of relations between some quantities or qualities. So on this level, evaluation provides a structure in which understanding can take place.

From a more concrete perspective, program evaluation provides some of the data that decision makers can use when determining what programs to continue at its present level of support, those that need to be modified, and those that should be terminated. They can do this because, if done well, the data can be relied upon to be objective, accurate, and relevant. The data will indicate whether a program is effective in meeting its objectives and if not, suggest where it can be improved.

Such a review needs to be done, if for no other reason, because resources are finite and therefore need to be prioritized. While the effectiveness of a program is surely not the only criteria to be used in apportioning our limited resources, it is a very important one.

But beyond determining if the program objectives are being met, an evaluation should answer the question of whether the results are producing the desired changes (sometimes referred to as outcomes)? That is, are the program objectives relevant indicators of the goal of the program?

Even though the program may be meeting its objectives, that does not mean it is meeting its goal. Hence, a large part of program evaluation includes clarifying goals and objectives. For example, if the goal is to reduce the recidivism rate of illegal drug users, then having an objective that merely lists how many pages have been photo-copied and distributed to users probably will not be sufficient, in and of itself, to determine effectiveness in reducing long-term illegal drug use.

In the end, program evaluation is critical because it gives decision makers the information they need to make rational, informed decisions regarding the status of all programs and a framework within which to prioritize what should be funded and at what level of support.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:03 AM | Permalink

The guy who took the photo on the left used to work for Microsoft. I say used to because he was fired. He was fired, according to his post, for publishing the picture on his blog and describing the fact that he worked in the printshop which is in the same building that MS has their receiving dock. His post, found here, recounts how his supervisor said the post had violated security by describing where he worked (the printshop) and that it was in the same building as receiving.

No, you can't know what specific building that is from what he said nor can you get that information from the photo. So it is not a giant leap of faith to reckon that he was fired for something else other than saying where he worked. One could speculate that MS does not want the world to know that they use computers with operating systems other than their own. I know it would be incredibly petty of MS to fire someone because they have evidence to the contrary, but I have no better explanation.

At this point, nothing can be done for this guy. But think about what kind of company you are supporting when you buy your next PC or piece of software. No, I'm not saying your buying decision should be based solely on politics, but perhaps the day is soon coming that making the right decision and the "politically correct" decision may be the same.

As for me, this is the needle that broke the camel's back (insert disclaimer here). I had been thinking about buying the latest version of Microsoft Office for our office. I am no longer thinking that. We can't yet convert over to OpenOffice, because it is still not ready for our needs, but if this is what happened, and there's nothing from MS saying otherwise, I will not buy another Microsoft product. Ever.

Skype's the Limit. If you are into voice-over IP, and liked KaZaA, you may want to check into Skype (see their site here). Their latest beta (version 0.94) came out yesterday and the best part is that it's free. I haven't tried it myself but it sounds interesting.

Press Zero to Exit. CNN Money has a list of 12 companies and the telephone escape codes needed to reach a person, rather than navigating through a maze of directories to reach the person you need to talk to. I hope someone will expand on this effort and let people know how to get around the various automated systems. In any case, see the post here to view the 12 they have.

Mail

To: Mike Hunt
From: Dewey, Cheetum & Howe
Subject: FW: Danger FYI "Warning. Terrorist plot on 28th."

Don't go to the bathroom on October 31st.

CIA intelligence reports that a major plot is planned for that day. Anyone who takes a poop on the 31st will be bitten on the rear by an alligator. Reports indicate that organized groups of al-Quida alligators are planning to rise up into unsuspecting American's toilet bowls and bite them when they are doing their dirty business.

I usually don't send emails like this, but I got this information from a reliable source. It came from a friend of a friend whose cousin is dating this girl whose brother knows this guy whose wife knows this lady whose husband buys hotdogs from this guy who knows a shoeshine guy who shines the shoes of a mailroom worker who has a friend who's drug dealer sells drugs to another mailroom worker who works in the CIA building next to the brother of the guy who cleans the toilets.

He apparently overheard two guys talking in the bathroom about alligators and came to the conclusion that we are going to be attacked. SO IT MUST BE TRUE!

Have a Safe Halloween and a Great Weekend - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (1)

The Great Shower Renovation is now over. After more than a month of having to use the shower in our front house, I am happy to say we can now use our own shower. The tile guy came back to re-grout the areas that were cracking this past weekend. We then had to wait 72-hours for it to dry before sealing it. A few hours after than and our new shower was ready.

It is so nice to be back to normal again (remember, there's no place like 127.0.0.1). Of course, we will need to do the same thing to our downstairs shower but I think we will wait until after the holidays for that.

Speaking of holidays, you have 56 days until Christmas. Breaking with tradition, I've already sent my first Christmas present to the mainland so I'm pretty much set. ;=}

Lastly, sorry for the late posting yesterday. I actually had it ready but did not have the time to publish it as I was working on finishing up the cleaning of our front house so we can get it rented out. If you haven't read it yet, give it a look.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:04 AM | Permalink

Read My Lips, No New Tuxes. Ummm, or is it no new Texas? Nope, maybe no new toxins? Nah, it's actually the rallying call of all true Republicans trying to unseat Democrats: "No new taxes." It's what our Republican Governor said just over a year ago when she was running for office. No * new * taxes. Period. End of discussion you money grubbing Democrats who just want to grab money out of our pocket for fuzzy headed social programs.

So how does Our Governor propose to pay for her proposed transit system? Yup. Raise the excise tax (not exactly but equivalent to a sales tax in other states). But that wouldn't be enough to pay for the multi-billion dollar project. So she also wants to raise the vehicle registration tax. But that wouldn't be enough either, so she wants to raise the vehicle weight tax. And the gas tax. And car rental tax. And other taxes to be named later (after, one might speculate, the approval of the project has been slipped pass the voters).

There is no magic bullet. This is exactly what I predicted would happen no matter who won the election. The budget, over the long run, can be viewed as a zero sum game. That is, if you want to spend money on a project, you have only three options: take money from existing projects, increase taxes, or do a combination of both.

If this very expensive boondogle should go forward, I will predict now she will do option three because she will have no other choice. The magnitude of the cost (once you figure in the inevitable cost overruns/graft) is just too large for it to be otherwise.

As an aside, the scope of the project includes the hated, view stealing double decked highway now PR spun as a "fly over." Fly over, I like that. It's what airplanes, miles up in the air do. Fly over. It has such a beautiful ring to it. Fly. As in soaring in the sky or as in free as a bird. This is so much better than double decked concrete freeway. Oh yes, this is so much better. Not.

I hate to blow my own horn but...I told you so. The question now is whether any Democrat is smart enough to realize there is an opportunity here? I will make another prediction - the answer will be no. Why? Because never assume any politician will forgo immediate economic gain (think of the money being transferred from everyone's pockets to a few contractors. Who then recycle those funds to the sitting politicians). This will be a cash cow with enough slop to gorge on for everyone, including Democrats. Even as each of them is slowly, one by one, picked off by Republicans talking out one side of their mouth about not raising taxes while out of the other side saying it is necessary and prudent.

Speaking of Traffic. Our City has those new fangled traffic lights that have sensors built in to detect the imminent arrival of emergency vehicles. Said traffic lights then change green so that the emergency vehicle may quickly, and hopefully safely, pass through the intersection. The traffic light sensors detect a pattern of flashes produced by special lights installed on emergency vehicles.

You can now buy such lights for your own car/SUV/truck/dilapidated run-down piece of rust. Imagine that, never having to stop for a red light again! Clear sailing through town! Never a traffic jam to slow your progress! All for only $300USD.

But wait, there's more! The devices, called mobile infrared transmitters (or MIRT for short), are apparently legal (insert disclaimer here) in at least some, if not many, states. See the story here and hope it doesn't get too wide spread where you live.

Speaking of Being Blissed Out. Neowin has screen shots of Microsoft's 4051 build of Longhorn here. Obviously, screen shots can't tell you everything about an OS but it is interesting to look at. Be aware that most of the screen shots are very large (>300KB) so don't do this without a broadband connection.

MT Feeling. MT-Blacklist anti-comment spam version 1.5 for MovableType hit the wire yesterday. Get it here from Jay Allen's site.

Sorry this posting is so late but I tried to get a section on Apple's iTunes up but just ran out of time. Maybe tomorrow. In other news, Dr. K posted. That's the good news. The bad news is the reason he hasn't doesn't so for awhile is he is getting a divorce. Sigh. This appears to be the second Daynoter to do so. Big Sigh.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The second annual Dilbert weasel awards are out (see them here). The usual suspects "win" so maybe it's not as interesting as it could be but I did download a couple of kewl wallpapers so maybe all is not lost.

Speaking of which, the President of the United States is arriving in our town tomorrow. Due to security concerns, his itinerary is not being released by the Secret Service. However, yesterday's TV newscast had a programming note saying they would go live at 8:00am tomorrow to show the arrival of an un-named personage. Said personage would then be viewed at the Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor around mid-morning and later in the afternoon, be seen at a $1,000 to $2,000 a plate Republican political fund raiser at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. The personage would then be leaving for the mainland, in his custom painted Boeing 747, around 7:00 or 8:00 pm that night.

Of course, due to security concerns, it would be inappropriate to release his name or itinerary.

My back has been acting up lately and kicked into full gear last night. It started with a muscle spasm and next thing I knew I could barely walk.

I think it even affected my sleep as I had the Student's Nightmare. You know the one where you forget about your final test in a class until it's already started so you come tearing into the classroom totally unprepared. Well, mine had a slight twist to it, not only did I come in late, but because I did, I didn't get the professor's instructions. Said instructions were that each person had been assigned a different topic to write on. Not knowing that, I did not write on the correct topic.

Speaking of school remembrances, I may have talked about this one before but it seems kind of appropriate so bare with me while I whip it out again. In undergrad school I had to take an introductory class in history. Since it was a introductory level class, and the professor understood it was required of all students, the difficultly meter was set more to the left than the right. In fact, tests were simple regurgitations of as much stuff that you could remember. No analysis. No showing you understood the underlying concepts. Just straight, wrote writing of what you had memorized. The more stuff you wrote, the higher the grade. You didn't even need to write in sentences and paragraphs - bullets or outlines were okay.

As it so happened, I had something like three or four finals in one day and, since I was not the best of undergraduate students, there was no way I could cram for that many classes in such a short time. I mean, there just wasn't enough room in short term memory for that much information so it would just sort of drain out before the end of the day. Fortunately, the history professor had given us a list of five topics that would be covered on the test. Three of the five would actually be chosen by the professor but he would not tell us which five until we were in class. Since I was trying to minimize studying working on assignments that did not return high value for my investment of time, I looked at the list of five, chose the three I thought were the ones the professor would choose, and studied those three. Fortunately for me and my future career, such that it is, I guessed right because if I hadn't, I would not have been prepared to answer any of the others. [Kids, don't do this at home. Go to your friends house instead - Ed.]

I'll be at work today but who knows if I'll make it in tomorrow. If I don't, I probably won't post as I'll be flat on my back in bed.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Ian Lind is a former big-J journalist here in Hawai'i. He was part of a dying breed - the afternoon newspaper. While the newspaper he worked for is still around (in name if not spirit), they cut him loose for reasons perhaps only they will ever know or admit.

While we may mourn the loss of his voice in print, he rose again in the form of a blog (see it here). Not surprisingly, he comments mostly on things journalistic but there is more to the man than that.

For instance, check out his galleries of photos here, here, and here.

But before you think Lind has gone soft in his old age, follow this link here to more muck raking e-journalism than you can shake a stick at.

While I get the impression that Lind would like to be part of big-J journalism again someday, I think he is nonetheless savoring the twists and turns that life has placed in his way. May your path have as many turns.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:53 AM | Permalink

Bidirectional, multiplexed backplane exhaustion. Yet another IT excuse generator can be found here. I was going to make a snide remark about our IT people being too dumb overworked to use one of these things but that would be mean. So I won't.

Not much going on in the Seto Shack today. We're still waiting for the plumbing contractor to finish the replacement of our shower/tub that started on the 17th of last month. I knew it would take longer than the contractor said it would but its been one month and it's still not finished. Sigh.

By the way, note to fellow Daynoter Brian Bilbrey, I keep forgetting to tell you that, if you haven't already, to evaluate your car insurance now that you are getting a house. I know it sounds strange to say you need to take a look at your car insurance but when you think about how a home is probably the most expensive asset most people will have and therefore want to protect from people going after in a law suit, it becomes clear that you want enough coverage on your car should you ever be, God forbid, in a collision. Otherwise, the asset that people may go after is your home. Not a Good Thing.

So, word to all new home buyers, if you haven't already, make sure you have enough insurance on the car.

Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:40 AM | Permalink

Awe and Shock. This report here says a company has come up with a math processor that does 25 gigaflops. They go on to say if you stuffed a PC with 24 of these things (pretty hard to do in many PCs since you would reportedly need six PCI slots, something rather rare), at a cost of $25,000USD, you would have a desktop computer equal in power to one of the top 500 in the world. Or not. Depends on whether they actually produce any silicon.

Excess and Stupidity. If four is okay, six is good, eight better, and 12 the best, then what do you call a car with 16 cylinders displacing 13.6 litres? Call it a Cadillac. That last bastion of incredibly bad taste has a concept car (see it here) that puts out 1,000 hp/745 kW. I am at a loss of words for describing how ugly this car looks so I will say no more.

Speaking of Retro. Ford is creating a replica of their storied Le Mans winning GT40 and calling it the Ford GT. This one has half the cylinders and half the horse power of the Cadillac but will probably run rings around the Caddy due to its lighter weight and much better handling. See the Ford here.

AWGTHTGTATA. Not if you know what that means you don't. If you don't, feel free to check out yet another listing of Internet acronyms here. B4N.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:24 AM | Permalink

The rememberences of Walter Ozawa, Deputy Administrator, The Judiciary, State of Hawai'i:

On the evening of December 7, 1941, my father was arrested in the little plantation camp of Wahiawa, Kauai. He was separated from his wife and their family of three sons and one daughter. Later, in 1942, my mother and her children were moved to Oahu and then shortly thereafter transported to Jerome, Arkansas. Then, as the war gradually came to an end, my mother and her family were moved to Tule Lake in California. Eventually, in 1945, the family was able to return to Hawai`i.

In 1989, President George Bush signed a bill authorizing payments to be paid out for a period of eight years. Along with the monetary compensation, surviving internees were also sent a letter of apology.

My mother received such a letter. Because she still primarily speaks Japanese, I sat her down, along with my wife and our youngest son at her side, and translated the letter into Japanese:

A monetary sum and words alone cannot restore lost years or erase painful memories; neither can they fully convey our Nation's resolve to recitify injustice and to uphold the rights of wrongs of the past. But we can take a clear stand for justice and recognize that serious injustices were done to Japanese Americans during World War II.

In enacting a law calling for restitution and offering a sincere apology, your fellow Americans have, in a real sense, renewed their traditional commitment to the ideals of freedom, equality, and justice. You and your family have our best wishes for the future.

Sincerely,

George Bush

As I read the letter, my mother sat quietly, hands folded in her lap, and silently cried, tears falling from her face and onto her hands. When I finished, she sat quietly for a long while, and I was worried that the letter had brought back bitter memories of pain and fear. Then, she spoke in a small voice, "Yappari...Yappari...after all, America is a great country. That the most powerful country and the most powerful person would write such a letter to a nobody like me. This is a great country after all..."

And so, my dear friends, thank you, for you honor her, and our nation, by helping Americans to remember what America should be, and can be. The Nisei Project touched many people in many ways. You now know how you touched me.

See one article here and the Nisei Project site here.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:09 AM | Permalink

Another of the downsides of living on an island in the middle of the ocean is the vulnerability to tsunami. Tsunami (pronounced sue-nah-me), from the Japanese tsu for harbor and nami for wave, are the waves generated by "earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, explosions, and even the impact of cosmic bodies, such as meteorites..." Note that some in the west sometimes substitute the phrase "tidal wave" for tsunami but unless the waves were caused by the tides, this is incorrect.

Hawai'i was under a tsunami watch last week Thursday due to a magnitude 8.0 (on the Moment scale, 7.9 on the Richter - see this site here that explains the different scales) earthquake near Japan. The earthquake, centered near the island of Hokkaido, caused one death and 388 injuries (see this article here for more details).

It also created a small (3ft/0.9m) tsunami that did only local damage.

However, there have been tsunami that have killed hundreds (see the list here) including 146 on April 1, 1946 on the Big Island of Hawai'i and 61 in 1960, also on the Big Island.

Tsunami are more common that most people realize. During the period from 1900 to 2001, there were almost 800 tsunami observed or recorded in the Pacific region. Of these, over 100 caused casualties and damage near the source and nine caused widespread damage throughout the Pacific. Without exception, during every year of this period, at least one tsunami was generated.

So when the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center cranks into action (see it here), we listen.

10:09 HST The center issues the first of what will be four bulletins. Bulletin 001 is an advisory that indicates a magnitude 8.1 earthquake occurred near Japan 19 minutes earlier. In the rush to get information out to the Civil Defense authorities, an incorrect estimated time of arrival (ETA) of 6:01pm ( HST) is given. In the open ocean, tsunami travel at about 500 mph (805km/hr). An ETA of 6:00pm would give us about eight hours to evacuate thousands of people living near the shore.

Based on this bulletin, all court administrators were notified of the possible arrival and perhaps the need to execute pre-arranged emergency evacuation plans.

10:27 HST Bulletin 002 corrects the ETA to 5:01pm HST. If a Pacific-wide tsunami was generated, we now have six-and-a-half hours to evacuate all near shore areas. Instituting such an evacuation is not taken lightly as the last time it was done, traffic grid lock occurred. Hence, authorities wait for confirmation of a tsunami approaching before issuing such an order. Unfortunately, as noted above, the longer you wait the less time you have to try to get people out of harms way.

11:11 HST The third bulletin raises the level of alert from an "advisory" to a "watch" as "BASED ON ALL AVAILABLE DATA A TSUNAMI MAY HAVE BEEN GENERATED BY THIS EARTHQUAKE THAT COULD BE DESTRUCTIVE ON COASTAL AREAS EVEN FAR FROM THE EPICENTER." The next step after watch (which is instituted after all 7.5 magnitude earthquakes) is warning. A warning means a tsunami has been generated and may impact an area within the hour.

12:14 HST The final bulletin canceled the watch as "THERE IS NO DESTRUCTIVE TSUNAMI THREAT TO THE STATE OF HAWAII." Had there been such a threat, authorities would have had four hours and forty-five minutes to get every man, woman, and child near the shore of every island to higher ground. Part of the evacuation plans for O'ahu County is the use of the public bus system. Unfortunately, said bus system was on strike at the time. Even if all of the bus drivers and mechanics had been able to get to their buses, many of the vehicles would not have been usable due to dead batteries or flat tires.

There are many lessons to be learned. The main one is we need to be able to move thousands of people out of the way in a relatively short period of time. How to do that remains unresolved. However, if we don't come up with a solution, hundreds more may die one day as it is a matter of when, not if, a Pacific-wide tsunami will come our way.

For more information on tsunami check out these sites here or here.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 10:07 AM | Permalink

The spammers have finally figured out how to send their drek through the comments section of MovableType. Hence, I have reluctantly decided to close all comments (as soon as I figure out how) so my system won't be overwhelmed under an avalanche of their bovine excrement.

If MovableType can figure out a way of filtering spam so it never gets posted in the first place I will re-open the comments. But I reckon that will not be possible.

You can continue to contact me via e-mail (see the "Links" section on the right) as usual.

Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:53 AM | Permalink

See this article here from Joel on Software on his version of the perfect office design.

Most software managers know what good office space would be like, and they know they don't have it, and can't have it. Office space seems to be the one thing that nobody can get right and nobody can do anything about. There's a ten year lease, and whenever the company moves the last person anybody asks about how to design the space is the manager of the software team, who finds out what his new veal-fattening pens, uh, cubicle farm is going to be like for the first time on the Monday after the move-in.

Well, it's my own damn company and I can do something about it, so I did.

Speaking of Design. The difference between a professional craftsman or woman and someone who thinks they are, but is not, is in the details. I have learned this both from our renovations of last year and from the recent bathroom repairs.

A professional, like a doctor, seeks to do no harm. That is, he or she protects the existing structure from any damage caused by their doing their work. For example, the first thing Bret Hill Construction folks did last year was lay down protective plastic on the floors and created a contained plastic lined wall surrounding the area they were currently working. On the counter tops, they laid down veneer board to protect the surfaces from damage.

Contrast this with the plumbers and tile guy from Creative Plumbing who did nothing to protect the floors and walls from damage. Thus, it is not surprising that we will need to paint the walls and scrub our less than one year old floors to correct the damage they caused. In addition, the tile guy gouged the brand new tub in two places. Even worse, he dumped his left over grout down our toilet, but did not flush it. Hence, the grout began to harden. If we hadn't noticed what he had done, the toilet could very well have been ruined.

As it is, I'm not sure how much of the grout went down into our sewer pipes and are even now clogging things up.

Secondly, a professional expects the unexpected. Anyone who has worked on existing structures knows that, over time, houses settle on their foundations. This means walls and floors are no longer even. So you have to expect to work a little harder to get things back to being plumb and true. This is to be expected and planned for. On the other hand, the tile guy swore up a storm when he found the wall studs a little out of kilter.

Which leads me to my last indicator. A professional respects the owners of the house as they, if for no other reason, are the people paying his salary. So, swearing like a sailor on shore leave after six months at sea is not professional conduct. Tracking dirt, gravel, and water into the house and on our wall-to-wall carpets does not reflect professionalism. Not having a project manager to check on the work of your sub-contractors is not professional because you will not know how well they do their job until you are served with the legal papers bringing suit against you. And finally, having a plumber drop off the bill before all of the work is completed does not engender trust as it appears you are interested more in money than ensuring the work is completed in a proper manner (which is probably the truth).

It is not difficult to see who are the professionals and who are not. The problem is, you can't tell the difference until after they start work. Sigh.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'm at home waiting for the tile guy to show up. I wonder if he won't and I'm afraid he will.

Here's why. When the old tub/shower was removed and the new one installed, a gap appeared between the where the floor tile ended and the new tub began. It's about a strip two or three inches wide and runs the width of the bathroom.

So I asked the tile guy yesterday about this and was not encouraged by his answer. He would be willing to re-tile the whole floor for us without, of course, telling the general contractor about it as long as we paid him (the tile guy) cash.

First, you have to remember that the floor was re-tiled around November of last year when we did the house renovations. So I don't take it kindly when someone offers to re-do the entire floor as a "favor" to us.

Secondly, what kind of workman tries to cheat his employer out of money? Let me give you a hint, a person that you don't want in your house doing any kind of work, much less tiling the entire floor.

So it's almost 9:00am HST and no one is here. In a few minutes I will be calling the general contrator and asking him where his tile buy his and when will this supposed three-day project actually going to end. Sigh.

I get the feeling this won't be done for at least a couple of weeks and may require the filing of a law suit. Big sigh.

Posted by DanS at 09:53 AM | Permalink

I'm at home while the plumbers/carpenters work on replacing the upstairs shower so there will not be any updates for today.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 04:44 PM | Permalink

MacGyver would be proud of Daryl Seaton. It seems Seaton and his wife were caught in a early season snow storm in Colorado. Stranded for two days in their SUV, they waited for help. While he had a cell phone, the battery was dead, and so would he if they didn't get word to authorities. So he took the battery from his camera and a band aid and made the call that brought the helicopter to their rescue.

Back in the day of VDTs, where monitors didn't display any graphics, much less ultra wide XVGA in 16 million colors, there was ASCII art (and yes, there was p0rn even back then). Check out this site here that goes one step farther: ASCII movies. Note that they require Javascript to be enabled.

Wallpaper for the Week. The Hubble telescope does it again in this series of images of Saturn. Taken in March and April of this year, the images show Saturn's rings at their maximum tilt of 27 degrees. The maximum occurs approximately once every 30 years and gives astronomers the best view of the planet's southern pole.

The images were taken in visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light to allow researchers the opportunity to study different characteristics of Saturn's atmosphere.

Read the full story here.

Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Posted by DanS at 07:17 AM | Permalink

Life is but an illusion. Go to this page here to see some unreal optical illusions. The page is kind of big and the bits are coming from Japan so be patient and all will be revealed. Although, not all of the illusions work for me, the first "Rotating Snakes" is pretty cool.

Otter: I think this situation absolutely requires that a really futile, stupid gesture be done on somebody's part!
Bluto: And we're just the guys to do it.

The above quote has nothing to do with anything other than I was over at Amazon.com getting something for SWMBO (shh, it's a secret) when I accidentally added the item to my wish list instead of the shopping cart. I did not realize this until I went to checkout and couldn't find one of the items I thought I had ordered.

By applying my superior powers of intellect (i.e., pure luck - ed.) I deduced what I had done and deleted the item from aforementioned wish list. Unfortunately, I didn't want to have a wish list account but I guess the fact I had added the item to it will forever more mean I have one. No, there's nothing in it nor will you find any other information there.

But this got me to thinking (a novel experience, to be sure - ed.) and I decided to checkout what the other Daynoters may have on their lists.

John Doucette's name came up for five lists but none were in Canada. I bet John didn't know there were so many of him running around.

Chris Ward-Johnson, of St Felix de Pallieres, France wants a copy of "Desserts from Your Bread Machine: Perfect Every Time: Cakes, Cookies, Pastries, Doughnuts, Sticky Buns, and Other Recipes You Never Thought You Could." Yup, I'd guess that'd be our Good Doctor K. Although I wonder where he's been since he hasn't posted for awhile.

Brian Bilbrey's name came up once but was listed in Kentucky. I don't think our Brian has moved that far south but who knows? If so, someone should tell Sally before she starts wondering what happened to her human tennis ball chaser.

Steve Tucker must be a popular name because 25 of them have wish lists. I don't know if any of these are Daynoter Steve's though.

One Dan Bowman of Modesto, California is wishing for "Embracing the Fear: Learning to Manage Anxiety and Panic Attacks". Things must be a bit tense over in the Central Valley.

Ben Ator has a passel of paperbacks too many to list.

There are four Moshe Bar's out there wishing you would buy them stuff and four Frank McPherson's.

There are three John Dominik lists, two of which are located in Minneapolis, MN. Each of the two in Minnesota (The Cadillac Engine State) have geek enriched stuff like "Teach Yourself MS SQL Server 2000 in 21 Days" and "Mac OS 9: The Missing Manual" so this indeed could be our man in Minnesota, don'tcha think?

The thing about wish lists though, if people don't know you have one, they probably won't buy anything from it. In addition, some of the lists are quite old, and if anyone actually wants any of the stuff on their list, they should update it.

Correction to yesterday's post. I have to plead massive stupidity for calling Jasc Paint Shop Pro, Photo Shop instead. I don't know why I did that, other than as a test for reader Jon Barrett (which he passed with flying colors). In addition, Aussie Don Armstrong (G'day mate) reminded me of another program that I should have considered: IrfanView. I'll try to take a quick look at it when I find the time but what I like about Paint Shop Pro is its one button "Enhance Photo" that runs a macro script which automagically adjusts the color balance, contrast, saturation, smoothes, sharpens, and clarifies the image. All I had to do was some minor adjustments here and there. This saved me a lot of time. Speaking of which, I'm out of time so I gotta go.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:38 AM | Permalink

The evening news last night was a twitter with the Aquada amphibious car (see the story here or the Flash enabled corporate site here). At a projected price of over $200,000USD, I don't think they'll be able to sell the projected 100 cars per year they say they will be building. But then, what do I know?

In any case, I'm sure it will show up in the next James Bond film with Q demonstrating how the hub caps conceal spinning knife blades and the head lights are actually lasers. But I think Miss Moneypenny will have problems demurely entering the vehicle since there are no doors so you have to climb over the side to get in.

But small quibbles aside, how fast will she go? About 100 mph on land and about 30 mph in the water according to the press reports. For $200,000 you would think it would hold the land speed record but I guess not.

The ice cream is in the refrigerator, but there is no joy in Hanapepe as word of the demise of Walter Lappert spread. Lappert's ice cream is world renown for its rich, creamy textures from 16 to 18 percent butterfat compared to the usual 10 percent in other brands. Lappert, who came to Kaua'i in the early 1980s to "retire", started an ice cream business to keep him busy.

Little did he know the business would grow to have stores not only on all of the main Hawaiian islands but also in California, Nevada, and Arizona. SWMBO and I were fortunate enough to have some of his ice cream this past July when we were staying at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki. There may be others that are as good, but there is none better.

We will miss him.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I've never considered myself to have "Golden Ears." That is, people who say they can hear the difference between $30,000USD Class-A 10-watt audio amplifiers or who use green paint on the edges of music CDs because they say it keeps the laser light from bouncing through the edge and creating spurious signals or who place their CD players on top of granite slabs suspended on bladders so as to reduce the vibrations that "color" the music.

But I don't recall ever seeing one of these people do any double-blind tests and reliably pick which is which. They may be able to tell a difference between test subjects, but not which is which nor which is "better" (Deciding what is better would be a whole section of study. Indeed, I seem to recall a study that tested a system that was very flat across the spectrum versus one that had deliberate emphasis in the low and high ends. Guess which one was considered to be the better of the two by subjects? Yup, the non-linear one.).

So it was with great amusement I read a test report (see it here) on one-metre audio cables costing between $200 to $400 per cable. Yes, that's right. For what you or I would pay for a pretty good receiver, these people pay for a single audio cable.

Yes, the cable may be made of pure silver with gold plated tips. Yes, the cables are marked for direction (I didn't know wires needed to have the direction of flow labeled, figuring electrons would flow from the source regardless which end of the cable you used, much less causing a change in timbre because of it). Yes, they are sheathed in the finest designer woven jackets.

But again, where are the double-blind tests to determine if a statistically valid difference can be reliably perceived, and if so, what objective criteria are used to determine which is "better"?

If you are interested in audio equipment, take a look at this site here that lists links that debunk the "snake oil" audio claims that these high-end manufacturers make. The money you save may be your own.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:49 AM | Permalink

You Have Spam. Silicon Valley columnist Dan Gillmor has set his sites on e-mail and finds it wanting (see it here). According to Gillmor, from spam to viruses, the vital role e-mail has served is rapidly coming to a close.

While there are solutions, the probability that any will be implemented is next to zero. The reasons for this are many. Some are economic. Some are social. All make easy solutions unlikely.

Hence, he seems to be abandoning e-mail as a failed experiment and is moving to instant messaging and RSS feads. I wish him luck because it is but a matter of time before both is co-opted by businesses just trying to make a buck.

Missed It By THAT Much. Hurricane Jimena brushed past the Big Island yesterday morning causing, thank God, only minimal damage. When you live on an island in the middle of the Pacific you take these threats seriously.

While I'm no weather forecaster, it appears there was a strong upper level high pressure region North of the islands that forced the hurricane South and eventually split the storm up into three cells. This avoided what could have been a Very Bad Thing - the direct impact of a Category 2 storm over a populated area. Had that occurred, power would have been out for months, thousands would have lost their homes, and many could have died.

Instead, surfers got a treat and farmers got some much needed rain.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'm at home today making this a long US Labor Day holiday. But there is no rest for the weary as I am still painting the interior of our front house. I hope to be done within a week but that depends on how tired I get.

In the mean time, check out any of the other Daynoters and perhaps Doc Searls.

Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha

Posted by DanS at 08:38 AM | Permalink

A Jedi Knight would you be? Careful be you what you seek. See the clone tapes of the guy who was just goofing off playing Jedi knight but was unfortunate enough to have taped what he was doing and had some "friends" who uploaded it to the Internet. See the "Star Wars Kid" and the Clone Tapes here. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Speaking of Physics. Stupid movie physics that is, or as Hollywood producers would call it, enhanced effects. This site here debunks a lot of the special effects you see in movies. From guns that fire thousands of rounds without having to reload their 30-round magazines to people running through plate glass windows without getting cut to shreds, this site has it all.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Is that an Antares in your pocket or do you just have perfect pitch? Since before music went digital, singers have tried to make their voices sound better than they were. Whether it was using their own voices to sing harmony with to creating huge rooms to act as echo chambers, singers and their record producers have tried to make the proverbial silk purse out of a sows sighs.

Comes now the latest in computer digital magic, the autotuner (see the story here)

With musicians on the road touring for weeks on end, the autotuner has become a safety net that catches the occasional clinker on days when their voices may be off. (In a nutshell, the autotuner is told what key the vocal is in and analyzes the wave form in real time. If the singer is off-key, it will adjust the pitch to the closest note in that key.)

I'm not sure which would be worse, having a singer lip-synching to a perfect recording or having them singe live but through so much digital processing that they might as well be lip-synching. I guess the question becomes at what point does a live performance cross-over?

Global Warming: Superstition or Science? See this review of the book Taken by Storm:

One errant public metaphor discussed in Taken by Storm describes the earth's climate as a greenhouse. The air's content of carbon dioxide, methane and other infrared-absorbing gases emitted by human activities has increased, especially in the last 50 years. The increase in the amount of gases in the air acts to keep a fraction of energy in the climate system that would have otherwise escaped to space. In the simplified scientific starting point, that added energy should result in some global warming.

But the climate system does not act like a greenhouse, which mechanically blocks the flow of air, and thus keeps the enclosed air warm.

Climate is not that simple. It is a rich, nonlinear system where small changes in one of its many elements or variables may cascade to greatly affect others. Compound that with millions of variables, many interacting significantly with each other as one, two, then more, respond. Intricate computer simulations try to incorporate what is known in order to get to the important point: how the climate responds to the relatively small amount of energy added by the air's increased carbon dioxide content. But the climate system is not yet sufficiently known, and therefore, the simulations include uncertainties and their consequences as they cascade through the equations. [emphasis in the original]

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 09:20 AM | Permalink

Striking Out. The morning commute today is more of an adventure then most days due to a bus drivers strike (see one short account here). Traffic, which is usually very heavy because of our overloaded highways, began slowing down even earlier than normal. Of course, it is purely coincidental that the strike was set to start on the first day of public school getting back in session. See some of the traffic cams here to see how things are going, or not, as the case may be.

Apply Yourself. Follow this link here to a paper on applied learning. That is, a paper that tries to make a link between a theory of learning and how to apply what it infers.

The human mind evolves by arranging perceptions by means of connections. Applied to learning, this means that it is important to understand how the mind makes connections, at different moments in time, and to develop tasks and learning experiences that complement the connection patterns and preferences. This paper outlines some of the categories around which adults perceive and to develop connections, and offers practical applications for online learning within the framework of those categories.

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:38 AM | Permalink

The specific image is of Mr. Tom Kobayashi, an internee at Manzanar.

Many of the images are available as medium resolution jpegs and/or high resolution tiff files for free download. Note that the tiff files can be as large as almost 20MBs so pause and reflect on this before clicking on one of them. Note also that you can purchase 8 X 10 inch or 11 X 14 inch archival quality prints from the negatives directly from the Library of Congress for something like $60US. This is a bargain seeing that Adams prints regularly sell for $175 and originals, printed by Adams, run as high as $40,000.

Another source of Adams's prints is the University of California Fiat Lux collection here. The collection includes 1,761 images from a book commissioned by the University of California to commemorate its centennial celebration. From start to finish Adams took four years to complete the task of photographing the various campuses.

Photo Credit: 87.27.6.UCSD.11.10 - Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, long wharf, sculpture of native american plaque. Contemporary Image from Original Negative by Ansel Adams, UCR/California Museum of Photography, Sweeney/Rubin Ansel Adams Fiat Lux Collection, University of California, Riverside.

And finally, over 200 images from an effort for the US Department of the Interior to document the western national parks see it here. The title for this one is: Erupting, against dark sky, "Old Faithful Geyser, Yellowstone National Park," Wyoming. (vertical orientation).

You can directly search the US National Archives & Records Administration here for this and other items.

I don't know if I've mentioned it here or not but Adam's images of the national parks, especialy Yosemite and Yellowstone are my favorites. I bought a print from the Adams Gallery called "Moon and Half Dome" (see it here) a couple of years ago. If I had the money, I'd get a bunch more.

Fair and Balanced. Not. I'm heartened to see that comedian Al Franken's new book "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right" has its sales boosted by the misguided lawsuit filed by Fox News (see the story here).

This story is filled with irony. Who would of thought a news organization, protected by the First Amendment to the US Constitution, would try to institute prior restraint on a work like Franken's? And Hollywood could not have written a character more full of himself than one of their spokesman who said; "the network was 'considering its options' on whether to pursue the case. 'We don't care if it's Al Franken, Al Lewis or "'Weird Al'" Yankovic,' he said. 'We're here to protect our trademark and our talent.'"

Talent. Is that how they view their reporters?

Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:19 AM | Permalink

Disclaimer: Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. (Insert my disclaimer here and the standard one here)

One blogger seems to be saying people are just people and you can't expect them to learn how to do everything themselves. His examples include how most people would call a plumber when they had a plumbing problem rather than, I suppose, try to fix it themselves.

I agree there is a time to do that, but I think each of us needs to have a minimum amount of understanding of how things work. So, to a certain degree, yes you must learn how to do everything. At least, everything you need to get what you want.

Let me give you a purely hypothetical analogy that is not based on any person, living or dead, in the past, present, or future. Suppose someone buys a shiny new Mercedes S600. While they may be rich, that doesn't mean they know anything about how cars operate. But the salesperson shows how to do the basics like opening the door, starting the car, and putting it in gear. In other words, the bare minimum that anyone needs to know how to get the car ready to go.

But, for whatever reason, the new owner can't seem to understand the part about opening the door. I mean, why does she have to use a key, especially one made specifically for this lock? Why can't all locks be the same so that all keys would open them? That would make life much simpler for the owner as she wouldn't need to remember where she put her keys. Better yet, have no locks at all! Why do we need locks anyway, all they do is slow her down from getting in. Clearly, locks do not facilitate her desire critical need to drive the car.

But, with the help of the salesperson she drives off the lot and takes her car home. The next day, she wants to go shopping but can't seem to figure out how to open the door. Clearly, the problem is with the door since she is rich and, by her definition, she can never be the problem in any situation. She demands that the car dealer install a new lock - which, the dealer wanting to please their rich customer, does.

Of course, this doesn't solve the problem because she still can't open the door. Well, clearly the problem must be in the poor workmanship of the dealer when they installed the new lock. Surely the problem is not with the owner so she has her lawyer write a demand letter stating the entire door must be replaced. Again, the dealership wanting to keep their rich customer, does so.

But heck if she still can't open the door. Clearly she must have a "lemon". So she fires her original lawyer because clearly he is incompetent, bad mouths him to all her rich friends, and has a new law firm sue the dealership.

So what's my point? Think about PC security. If you don't know what a network is, if you don't know why passwords are required, if you don't even understand what the fuss is about security - YOU WILL NEVER FEEL THE NEED TO LEARN ANYTHING ABOUT IT. And as long as you feel that way, you will make life less bearable for the others that do understand.

Well, you say, so what? What does it matter to me? It matters to me because I'm the guy that has to figure out what is going wrong and fix it. Even as the the person who is having problems is giving me information that has nothing to do with what is wrong. No, the network does not have to be reinstalled. No, Lotus Notes does not need to be reinstalled. No, Windows is working as designed. No, I installed all of the above in working order before I set the PC on your desk.

What you have to do is reset an expired password.

If you don't understand, at least at a functioning level, how things work, please realize the problem lies within you, not everyone else. Any resemblance to someone with brains, living or dead is purely coincidental.

Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!

Posted by DanS at 08:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)