Subject to Change

I’ve just spent a good part of the weekend recovering songs from an iPod after losing a hard drive. Thanks for writing crappy software, Apple!

I really ought to go into the iTunes recovery business. There’s probably tons of opportunity there.

I heard a commentator speculating that the reason the big three are failing is that they don’t make cars people want to buy.

Yeah, it’s just too bad that nobody wants to buy American cars.

The F-150 was just knocked down to #2 this year. I suspect that gas prices had a little bit to do with it, as does the fact that it’s only sold in the US. When I was working for a company that manufactured part of the F-150 I was stunned by how many orders we were expected to fill. I had no idea that so many cars were sold in one year, and this was only one model!

If you look at that list you’ll notice that quality, function, and price seem to be the criteria for people’s choice in cars. Is it any wonder that hybrids don’t sell well, when you have to sacrifice function and price for the technology?

Yet, this commentator was implying that the big three should make smaller (less function) cars or hybrids (increased cost) because that’s what people want to drive. What we would really like, of course, is to get the fuel economy without giving up anything. There are technologies on the horizon which seem to be a step in that direction. I’m hopeful that we’ll see real progress soon.

So, there’s this shameless promotion going on at some other Wisconsin blog. It appears to be working quite nicely. I’ll go ahead and throw my hat in the ring by saying what I can about Elliot Stearns.

Most notably, the man sure blogs a lot for a fictional character. I’m beginning to wonder how he manages to keep engaged, with as busy as his life seems to be.

From Where I Sit has been a favorite of mine since I first started blogging. Elliot discovered me during my early days and we exchanged light-hearted remarks back and forth. He is highly favored among my internet people.

On his blog Elliot has a rule that no comment should be more entertaining than the original post, but his brevity leaves everything so wide open to the most sarcastic among us. It’s so hard to resist going over there to exchange a few jabs once in a while. 

I think I ought to petition the federal government.

This blog is too big to fail.

I’ve been hearing about new wattage light bulbs, but I haven’t seen them yet. The rumor is that the standard sizes like 40 Watt and 60 Watt are being replaced by 37 and 52 Watt sizes, or something similar.

At first this sounded like a horrible idea to me, because on the surface it seems like a lame attempt to do more social engineering. Then I realized that it could be something else entirely. What if this is some way for the light bulb manufacturers to skirt or delay the new regulations on incandescent light bulbs? If I remember correctly the phase out is staged by wattage, with higher watt bulbs being taken off the market first.

So, by law you may not be able to get your 100 watt bulb in the future. But you’ll still have the 92 watt (or whatever) to fall back on, at least for a few years. If that’s the motivation, I applaud the effort by manufacturers to keep us all well lit!

I voted twice and all I got was this lousy president.

Sorry. It just popped in there. I’m really trying to wait for Obama to do something before I let him have it.

This seems like it might make a good bumper sticker, though. Should I add it to my Cafepress store?

I’ve heard a number of disappointed conservatives express the thought that Barack Obama is “not my president.” I hate to have to break it to you, but he will be. Unless you’re willing to break the law to disobey the things you disagree with there’s no escaping it. Are you going to stop paying taxes because you don’t believe in Obama’s government? Maybe you’re going to disrespect the military because you don’t agree with the way President Obama deploys them? Sorry. If you’re a conservative I know you’ll have trouble doing anything of the sort.

And another thing: on election night someone shared a story with me, of a suspiciously armed man found in Chicago. I know that at any given moment in any administration there are people out there who would like to see the president fall. If you’re one of those people, could you please do us a favor and keep your paws off Obama? The last thing this country needs is for someone to give more ammunition (literally) to the “right is racist” argument. If anything happened to the new president it would be terribly annoying and I’m not ready to cope with the fallout.

Scott Feldstein writes of the GOP failures over the past eight years. One comment in particular got my hackles up enough that I decided to comment here, rather than monopolize Scott’s space. It’s one of the lamest finger-pointing exercises of the entire Bush administration:

They failed to rescue New Orleans. 

Failed to rescue New Orleans? How exactly does one stop a category four or five hurricane? Nuclear (nucular) weapons, perhaps? From the time Katrina appeared to the time it made landfall was what, two weeks, max? Realistically, what could anyone have done in that time to shore up the badly neglected levees and save the city?

If anyone had predicted the damage Katrina would do there could have been more attention paid to evacuation of the city. Let’s not forget that the local government also failed to recognize the severity of the situation before hand. Do you remember the parking lot full of busses, which would have made fine escape vehicles, all under water? Like the lifeboats on the Titanic, they were merely decorative. In my recollection the mayor didn’t start whining for help until well after his city was sunk, neither did the governor. It was pretty clear to me as a casual observer that the local authorities were clueless and/or stubborn. They deserve to take one on the chin for not knowing they needed help, and then crying to the media instead of making the appropriate effort to get help. President Bush was embarassed in the press for not arriving on the scene sooner. Perhaps living in Texas has made him a bit jaded toward hurricanes, or perhaps he really was that insensitive to the situation. Make of it what you will. He sent FEMA and the Guard to begin the cleanup, which is what he was supposed to do.

Then FEMA “bungled” the cleanup effort. If you want to say that. This disaster was like nothing ever seen before and it should have served as a wake up call. They had difficulty managing manpower and resources, partly because there was such an interest from the general public. Our own enthusiasm was probably something they weren’t prepared for. There were also cross agency conflicts. If anything this goes to show that putting a government agency in charge is a good way to ensure that nothing moves quickly or efficiently. Can you say Universal Health Care? You may remember that I personally offered to accept FEMA work and was never tapped. In retrospect, I think I would have been frustrated at the type of assignment they would have had for me.

Hurricane Katrina is the red herring of the Bush Administration. Nothing much could have been done differently. Even in hindsight we could maybe have saved more people, but not the city. With all the legitimate gripes against this president it boggles my mind that Katrina is even a blip on the radar.

Challenge: make a light bulb more environmentally friendly without sacrificing performance.

Someone found a way to do it, and it’s so simple! Make the light bulb flat.

unlike ordinary bulbs its volume is 1/3 smaller, reducing the cost of packaging and transport. its slim shape allows bulbs to be easily stacked and prevents breakage as it does not roll.

No doubt the environmental movement will refuse to recognize this invention because it doesn’t fit their agenda. I think it makes a huge amount of sense: improved storage, less material waste, little or no effect on operation, and easier to use. All of those gains come without any sacrifices, except for the infrastructure cost to produce them. Production should require less energy because less gas is required and these bulbs could be packaged in bulk with less material waste. They also won’t roll off the table when you’re changing them and should be easier to grip when they get stuck in the socket.

Pure genius!   

Thank a serviceman or woman, even if they fought a war you didn’t like!