August 2009 Archives

While feverishly working on work-related paperwork, today I upgraded to Final Cut Pro Studio 3. I chose to do a clean install of the software, and the install took hours! At this point anyway, everything seems to have gone off without a hitch: FCP3 running on 10.6.

We had what appeared to be snow in Manhattan Beach last year--the ash from the fires was falling from the sky. The smoke from the fires this summer is still north of us. The amount of smoke is just unbelievable. Keep in mind that the smoke you see in the picture below hides the north mountain range. These smoke clouds rise astoundingly high into the atmosphere.

(Click the image below to see a larger version.)

In the wee hours of this morning, around 4:30AM, I had my first experience with augmented reality. No, I wasn't dreaming or doing drugs. This was the real thing, just augmented!

"What is augmented reality?", you ask.

Let me explain.

I love Yelp, an application for my iPhone. Yelp is a social network in which those who participate share information about businesses. I first learned about The Veggie Grill through Yelp. Hundreds of people had eaten there, had liked it, had rated it highly, and wrote glowing comments about it. So I tried the restaurant, and now it is one of my favorites in LA.

The new version (3.0) of the application has a hidden feature. Apparently fearing the trolls at the Apple iTunes App Store wouldn't approve this new concept because of the jackasses at AT&T, no one knew the application had "The Monocle!"

Yes, it's sort of like a one-eyed Oracle. You launch the new version of Yelp on your iPhone and then shake the phone violently. After two attempts, the screen welcomed me to "The Monocle!"

Now, I hold my iPhone, running Yelp's Monocle, up in front of me and peer through the screen, which has activated the camera and shows me, on the screen, what is actually out in front of me--reality. As I move the iPhone around in 3D space, overlays appear in the direction of restaurants ahead of me in that direction--augmenting reality in real time with overlaid information. I just follow.

I can touch any of the overlays, which contain a name and up to a 5 star rating to get detailed information about the restaurant. The Monocle guides me to the location I choose!

This is nothing short of radical!

Imagine the day you walk in front of a restaurant and the Monocle shows you the menu. Or, you walk by a store and the Monocle shows you the sale items inside!

I ordered Snow Leopard from Apple so it would be waiting for me when I arrived home from the east coast on Friday. I was most annoyed that Apple required a signature for the $50 shipment (I ordered the family pack)! Since I wasn't yet in LA when the FedEx truck stopped by, I had to go wait in line at the FedEx shipment center (5 miles away) to pick it up.

The intent in ordering it was to have it at the door; otherwise, I could have just driven to the Apple store which was only 1 mile away and stood in their awful lines. I'm completely over waiting in line to get Apple's products! Annoying!

I installed the OS on a laptop I use as a spare. I haven't always had good experiences upgrading Apples operating systems: slower processors they claim fall within their specs have run so significantly slower with previous upgrades as to be rendered useless. So I wanted to try it on the machine I use least, first.

It appeared to work fine. In fact, much to my shock, the machine seems to run faster! Maybe the speed difference is the result of the new 64 bit OS? So I then installed it on the newest machine in the house, the iMac that serves as a media server. It too had no install issues. Today, I'll try another machine.

The one new feature I've noticed that I really like is in System Preferences under Date & Time: Time Zone: Set time zone automatically using current location. The system checks the known location of wireless devices to locate the physical location of the machine and sets the clock accordingly. Immediately locating me, the system identified my city/state, and then set the time accordingly. I love this feature. As much as I travel, this should come in very handy!

These long, crazy-looking clouds can grow to be 600 miles long and can move at up to 35 miles per hour, causing problems for aircraft even on windless days.

Known as Morning Glory clouds, they appear every fall over Burketown, Queensland, Australia, a remote town with fewer than 200 residents. A small number of pilots and tourists travel there each year in hopes of “cloud surfing” with the mysterious phenomenon.

Similar tubular shaped clouds called roll clouds appear in various places around the globe. But nobody has yet figured out what causes the Morning Glory clouds.

This shot was captured by photographer Mick Petroff from his plane near Australia’s Gulf of Carpenteria.

link: Mysterious Tubular Clouds Defy Explanation | Wired Science | Wired.com

I'm sitting here by the ocean absorbing a moment of tranquility. You see so many unusual things here. A guy just rode by, hands free on his bike, using his hands to text message.

There's just something very, very wrong with a society in which any of these things happens, and yet, all of them happened in the same tragic situation:

• A woman is murdered (swimsuit model)
  
• All teeth are pulled out of her skull (to prevent identification)
  
• All finger tips are cut off (to prevent identification)
  
• Her body is discarded in a dumpster
  
• The body is identified by the serial numbers on the breast implants
  
• Her presumed murderer apparently commits suicide
  

(In this photo, the murdered is embraced by her husband who is the presumed murder who committed suicide after fleeing the country.)

In five different events in LA this weekend alone, five people were murdered.

This is why I never watch the local news! Our culture disgusts me!

While appreciating their search functionality, I've been rather ambivalent about Google. But in recent days, I've decided it's time for me to explore other options aside from using Google exclusively for so many things.

Yesterday I went to demonstrate setting up a free Blogger account. Now Google requires the user give Google a cell phone number to set up a free account! This isn't an option. Claiming the need to reduce spurious blog accounts, if you want a Blogger blog, you must give Google a cell phone number. Google will send that number a code which then must be input to continue the setup process.

This makes me angry.

How dare they!

But it gets even worse!!

Quoted directly from Apple's response to the FCC, Apple claims that one of the reasons the Google Voice App (which would allow iPhone and I think iPod Touch users the ability to place phone calls from their device without using AT&T, a corporation I loathe) was rejected from the iTunes App Store:

In addition, the iPhone user’s entire Contacts database is transferred to Google’s servers, and we have yet to obtain any assurances from Google that this data will only be used in appropriate ways. These factors present several new issues and questions to us that we are still pondering at this time.

What?! I wonder if the end user would have even been aware of such a devious action?! Oh it would probably have been buried deep within the bowels of some user agreement 99% of us just click "I Accept" without reading.

In my mind, this is despicable conduct.

Yes, Google has become too big, too powerful, and is collecting too much information. I no longer trust them.

Their criminal conduct should be prosecuted!

Former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge says he successfully countered an effort by senior Bush administration officials to raise the nation's terror alert level in the days before the 2004 presidential vote.

[Source: Ridge: Bush officials sought to raise terror alert before '04 vote - CNN.com]

This is like watching a horror film.

Marion Nestle, NYU professor and blogger at FoodPolitics.com, gave a great presentation at the GEL conference about why we have doubled the percentage of our US population that is over weight in just 25 years. She offers these sensible ways to control your weight and eat healthfully:

• Eat Less
  
• Move More
• Eat Fruits and Vegetables
  
• Don't Eat Too Much Junk Food
  
• Enjoy Food

Watch her presentation:

Marion Nestle at Gel 2009 from Gel Conference on Vimeo.

Similar to lottery winners, with no financial prowess or discipline, most pro athletes go completely broke in less than 10 years after retirement. In fact, 60% of retired basketball players go broke in 5, and 78% of football players in 2! Athletes are forced to sell their homes, sell their championship rings, and file for bankruptcy.

link: Cosmoloan » The 6 Main Reasons Why Most Pro Athletes Go Broke

Several years ago I purchased a pair of Ultimate Ears headphones (earbuds) for my iPod, the DoubleFi. I thought they were crazy expensive at the time, but I loved them. They had two speakers (high and low frequencies) and sounded awesome.

As a first generation sound isolating earbuds product from Ultimate Ears, they had a few issues. Getting them to fit in their case wirhout bending them could be challenging at times. (They are designed to bend but then must be reshaped to fit your ear.) The wire was so very thin and flimsy I feared I would accidentally break it or pinch it in two with the case. And the wire around the ear that allowed the earbud to form fit was a bit problematic. In fact, over time the metal of this wire became exposed and would easily scratch the back of the ear if you weren't careful when putting the earbuds around the ears.

I replaced the earbuds a few weeks ago with the TripleFi 10vi earphones with voice capability. The voice capability means the earbuds included a mic on the wire of the right earbud. Additionally, the earbuds have a tiny control button built in to the wire. The button will pause/restart playback, advance the song, and initiate voice control.

This product was about twice the price of the DoubleFi I was replacing. I was once again reluctant to spend so much money on earbuds. Would three speakers really sound any better than two? Would I be able to discern any difference at all?

The answer is a resounding yes. I love these earbuds! Ultimate Ears has addressed all of the previous issues I had noticed with my first pair. So, not only do these sound clearer with a more expansive sound field, they wear better, have an improved case, ear fit, and thicker wire--not too thick, but not at all flimsy.

The built in mic is not just convenient for making phone calls, which I couldn't do with my previous earbuds. I also use it regularly for voice control of my iPhone.

I recommend these earbuds. Pros: They are comfortable and have superb sound quality. Cons: They are expensive.

I get to meet and have engaging conversations with a number of amazingly bright people around the world as a result of my work. Today, on the way to the airport with Wayne was another such opportunity. Some noteworthy points from the conversation:

American society is built on three pillars: representative government (democracy), capitalism, and the Judeo-Christian ethic. After World War II perhaps the strongest pillar was democracy with an emphasis on civic responsibility.

Subsequently, democracy and civic responsibility has been overshadowed by capitalism, which has been elevated to the point of a religion focused on short term material gain in our modern culture. (He also added that the ultimate end of unfettered capitalism is one surviving corporation that has endured the fight of "survival of the fittest." Is that what we really want?)

Couple this with a significant shift in the original basis of the Judeo-Christian ethic: a move away from service to others, the golden rule (do unto others as you would have them do unto you), and love/compassion to a new emphasis on the self, personal gain in both power over others and materialism.

I recently heard a minister at a wedding say that if you will put your trust in God, "he will bless you with material gain beyond your wildest imagination." A couple of days ago I read an article in the NY Times about a thriving religious empire that profits (at staggering levels) from prodding people's superstitions with the notion that the more you give to their ministry, the more God will give to you in these difficult financial times; therefore, you should sacrifice and do without to give to them. (What charlatans! I'm delighted their "ministry" is under investigation for fraud and tax evasion.)

Hopefully (but doubtfully) we have seen the end result of the horrific marriage of this distorted view of the Judeo-Christian ethic and unfettered capitalism--the collapse of the entire financial system in the United States with significant collateral damage to the financial infrastructure of the entire world. Interesting to me that the nations that all along controlled the greedy capitalist machinery of their economy have already seen economic recovery!

In the process of a small number of people in this nation becoming exceedingly rich, we have done long term damage to the financial health of the nation our children will inherit.

Are we really that selfish and evil as a people? I suspect so, as we continue to allow the same greed and selfishness to dominate the health industry rather than caring about the health and physical well being of the people in our nation.

But my favorite quotation from our conversation: "Challenge the status quo every chance you get."

We went to see Julie and Julia
last night. I wasn't particularly wild about seeing it as I recalled thinking Julia Child was a bit odd, based on my limited exposure to her when I was a child. Well, having seen the movie, she was I guess, but wonderfully so.

The movie was just great fun, and Meryl Streep quickly becomes Julia. They did a great job weaving the two stories together. I really enjoyed the movie.

8 ways reform provides security and stability to those with or without coverage

1. Ends Discrimination for Pre-Existing Conditions: Insurance companies will be prohibited from refusing you coverage because of your medical history.
2. Ends Exorbitant Out-of-Pocket Expenses, Deductibles or Co-Pays: Insurance companies will have to abide by yearly caps on how much they can charge for out-of-pocket expenses.
3. Ends Cost-Sharing for Preventive Care: Insurance companies must fully cover, without charge, regular checkups and tests that help you prevent illness, such as mammograms or eye and foot exams for diabetics.
4. Ends Dropping of Coverage for Seriously Ill: Insurance companies will be prohibited from dropping or watering down insurance coverage for those who become seriously ill.
5. Ends Gender Discrimination: Insurance companies will be prohibited from charging you more because of your gender.
6. Ends Annual or Lifetime Caps on Coverage: Insurance companies will be prevented from placing annual or lifetime caps on the coverage you receive.
7. Extends Coverage for Young Adults: Children would continue to be eligible for family coverage through the age of 26.
8. Guarantees Insurance Renewal: Insurance companies will be required to renew any policy as long as the policyholder pays their premium in full. Insurance companies won't be allowed to refuse renewal because someone became sick.

Learn more and get details: http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/health-insurance-consumer-protections/

(Thanks Mary Julia!)

My cousin and I walked down to the Gulf during a recent visit home. There just is no more beautiful beach on earth!

and you are making them fabulously rich!

The ugly fact is that every year we fail to reform the existing system, that failure condemns tens of thousands of people to die—either because they have no insurance or because their insurance companies deny coverage or benefits when they become ill.

via Truthdig: Drilling Beneath the Headlines

In Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture, author Ellen Ruppel Shell asks, "What are we really buying when we insist on getting stuff as cheaply as possible?" Her answer: a low-quality food supply, a ruined economy, a polluted environment, low wages, a shoddy educational system, deserted town centers, ballooning personal debt, and the loss of craftsmanship.

link: Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture - Boing Boing

I had a great visit with the family. My cousin, Susan, came in from Birmingham. She is such a hoot. I hadn't seen her for a really long time.

And we also got to spend some time with my Aunt Floyce, another relative I hadn't seen in forever.

My sistoid unit is having a big birthday tomorrow; so, we got to celebrate the big event. (I have to rub it in since I already went over the hill!)

What a delight!

This 10 day trip, officially now referred to as the "Trip from Hell," has been filled with travel issues: Delta!

Most of the flights on which I flew were late. One flight was horribly late. First we had to wait on the airplane to drive over from the hanger. (What was that about?!) Then we had to wait while the flight crew piddled around on the plane for an extended period of time. (What really was the issue?) Then we finally boarded only to sit and wait for paper work. Then we sat for about 45 more minutes waiting for the independent fuel contractor to fill the jet with fuel--followed by yet another paper work delay. (Odd they wouldn't have anticipated the need for fuel!) Then something in the cockpit quit working, and we had to wait for maintenance to arrive. They worked on the issue for about 45 minutes and feared we would have to all get off of the plane. Fortunately they fixed it--finally! Then my luggage wasn't on the flight when we finally landed, hours delayed, around 1:00AM! At least, during all of this delay, we had air conditioning on the plane unlike a previous flight delay on another leg of this trip in which we sat in sweltering heat on the runway with no air conditioning.

Today I've had two flight delays. This delay is significant: about 2.5 hours because of a delayed inbound flight.

As far as I am concerned, this is all just rotten management on Delta's part. I've had a significant increase in flight issues in the last 3 months. Delta always wants to blame someone else: like the "independent fuel contractor." But ultimately, in my mind, it all boils down to rotten management!

The immorality of unfettered capitalism never ceases to disgust me: the wealthy stealing from the people who need the most. But to then turn around and work them into a worried frenzy about cooked up lies to empower the wealthy to continue to rob from these needy people is unconscionable.

The "death councils" that will decide who lives and who dies, direct access to your bank accounts... on and on. This from the industry who actually does decide who gets treatments covered and who doesn't and who can not be held accountable for the many people denied coverage that not just severely impacts their quality of life but even kills them. Has no one stopped to wonder why people don't file lawsuits against the insurance industry? You can't. The had congress protect them from that as it would eat into their outrageously immoral profits.

We have the most expensive healthy care in the world and are among the lowest ranked in the world for health. What is wrong with this picture? And then to frighten the elderly and the ill with lies to keep their money flowing into the coffers of the most wealthy is nothing but the worst evil. Hell will not be hot enough.

And why doesn't the media report on all of this? Have you paid attention to the number or advertisements the medical industry puts on CNN, for example?????

Journalism is dead.

I've had a wonderful few days visiting with my family in Pensacola, Florida. I had forgotten several things about my home town that I love: August is hotter than hell itself, and Pensacola has more than its fair share of extreme conservatism and ugly, ugly racism--interesting to me that the two often seem to go hand in hand.

What brings this up? I got a good look at the most unattractive faces of two racists during my visit. We had a birthday dinner for my sister's upcoming (big!) birthday. As we were leaving the restaurant, two elderly people got into their car. Their bumper sticker read:

I Haven't SeenThe Birth Certificate

OK, so they want to be victimized by and spread unfounded, ignorant, propaganda. Regrettably, in this country, ignorance thrives. People can be easily victimized by ignorance to help others achieve their ambitions. People can profit from the ignorance of others: I'm sure they bought the bumper sticker, probably through a contribution.

But then I became outraged when I saw the two stuffed monkeys in the back window, one on each side, one eating a banana. This older couple isn't just ignorant, they are filled with and wish to share their hatred, their bigotry, their racism, the evil that has infected their hearts.

I sincerely wish I had been able to get to my camera fast enough to take their picture and include it in this post. I want people every where to know what racism and hatred looks like. It's very deceptive.

I loved the Oar House, started by Jezebel, with whom I had my picture taken. It's a relatively new restaurant in Pensacola, near the end of Pace Boulevard. Naturally, everyone has fun with the name.

They have good food, good prices, and a great view in the harbor.

A great expose of what senators and congressmen are bought and owned by the healthcare industry to stop helping the American people get better healthcare. As I have written before, we need return to government by, for, and of the people, not the corporations!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Get the facts before you open your mouth! Excellent expose of the disgusting manipulation of ignorant people to accomplish the agenda of the super wealthy! Everyone needs to watch this entire clip. Rachel has done an superb job of reporting facts.

The real average American can not afford to be lied to by corporate spin so corporate interests can continue to steal your money.

He makes the claim the people around the world are more alike than they are different. His musical demonstration is nothing short of brilliant. He speaks very little in this audience participation, and I had never heard his speaking voice before. I was actually really shocked! But don't worry, be happy.

World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale from World Science Festival on Vimeo.

Source: Laser Bread @ Flickr

Tonight I realized that the one thing I really dislike about where I live, Manhattan Beach, is the lack of diversity, the "sameness" of the town.

Tonight, in Santa Monica, I got to see a more colorful crowd of varied ages, interests, and looks. While less than the fratboy scene in Hermosa Beach or the craziness (but fun for a visit) of Venice Beach, Santa Monica seemed to have more energy about it. Each of the beach communities here in Los Angeles has its own interesting personality.

Even with the camera securely mounted on a tripod and using a time delayed shutter release to avoid camera shake, the long exposure shots blurred (the top one is the worst) because of the constant and strong gust of wind coming off of the Pacific. The wind was so intense (and very, very cool for August first) that everything was wet with salt spray, including my glasses.

Clicking each picture displays a larger image.