Hurrican Ike

Hurricane Ike came on the scene when the southern part of the country just settling down after Hurricane Gustav. Ike came through Galveston with a fury of winds and rain. The surrounding area was awash in devastation, flooding, downed power lines, business closures, and rising gasoline prices.

Many people looked to relief organizations for help and they were slow to mobilize due to clogged highways and the fury of the storm. FEMA has a lot on its hand in helping those citizens who lost their homes. Unfortunately, many are having a difficult time contacting FEMA. I recall seeing a woman on the news who was in tears. She lived close to the Baytown area and her home was completely destroyed. She saw on the news that FEMA planned to be in a certain location at a certain time. Knowing her husband and she needed aid, she traveled to the location only to find no FEMA. There was a banner that boasted a toll-free number to contact a FEMA agent. The number turned out to be a non-working number and her bleak state was so very evident on screen.

The seriousness of the damage and loss is heartbreaking. People even today are struggling with no power, minimal food, and tainted water. Though our disaster organization plan seemed to be in place after the Katrina disaster, it is evident was still have much planning to do.

My sympathies go out to all of those families and I pray they will find aid through their trying times.

Pay to Have Your Bloated Computer Slim Down

What a bunch of BS. You already have to pay an arm and a leg for your new computer. Your new computer is usually chock-ful of free software that want you to pay some sort of premium later. One retailer has took that outrage to new level. If you pay Best Buy $30, they will remove all those extras that you did not want on your computer in the first place! Can you believe that!!!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/28/technology/28software.html?_r=3&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

What's Going on with Apple Quality?

So, everyone was all abuzz about the imminent arrival of the new iPhone. The new lower price was indeed attractive, plus the new amenities made it a steal. But, now problems seem to be plaguing the much sought-after device. First, there was the problem with users' not getting the stated download speeds from the 3G network. Some were reporting not even connecting to a 3G network. Then the dropped calls. One man in Houston, TX reported 12 dropped calls in one hour. That's insane! Now, users' are reporting small cracks are beginning to appear in the case of the phone. Many report the cracks near the metal "silent" switch and the headphone jack. Apple forums are busy with the numerous complaints. One user claimed the thread on the Apple discussion forum was deleted. What's going on? Apple doesn't want the bad publicity to get out. iPhones have become so popular that the Taiwanese manufacturer is going way over production limits to fill orders. Is this perhaps having a detrimental affect on quality?

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/08/iphone_case.html

Start of the Semester

Wow the beginning of a new school semester. I took the summer off and was really appreciative of the break. The change in my work schedule was difficult to manage at the end of the last semester. I had to quickly find a new way to manage my time and effectively work my school work into my new work schedule. I now work 4-12 hour days. One would think, "Great! Four days off." But, it really doesn't equate to that. With the addition of school it equates to zero, goose egg, zilch, nada days off. By the time my work day is done, I get home, feed the dog (try to spend at least thirty minutes playing with her), take a shower, eat a bite, read the Bible, play a game on my phone and it's easily 9:45-10:15 p.m. That gives me a good 4 hours of sleep before the next work day starts. Just from getting ready in the morning, the drive to work and back and the work day itself is a whopping 15 1/2 hours up and going. I have started to notice gray hairs that I never had before and a noticeable decrease in energy. Thankfully I will be retiring in October (or near there) and can dedicate a little more time to school.

Women and the Web

Talk about girl power! Women's websites are on the rise. It seems more and more women want to read blogs posts of women and their daily trials with children, family, fashion, makeup and shopping. If only this woman's blog could get that type of exposure. The New York Times reported that a very successful Mommy blog called Dooce has been a hit with many women. The site has been so successful that the Armstrongs (of whom Heather Armstrong is the creator) have quit their jobs. That's what I call successful.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/14/technology/14women.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=technology

iPhone 3G Users Reporting Problems

The popular iPhone 3G is a wonderful device and the reduced price and improved internet speeds have made it a popular cellular phone. However, Information Week reports some users have been reporting dropped calls, problems keeping a 3G connection. The problem appears to be with the device itself and not AT&T's network. The problem is thought to lie in the chipset used in the iPhone.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/personal_tech/iphone/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=210002971

How to Identify the Wealthy

So, how does one know whether the person next to them is "well-off" or not? Just take a glance at their iPhone. The LA Times says if you see a glowing red gem, they are one of only eight people that purchased software from the App Store called "I Am Rich." The software cost a whopping $999 and has no other function than to - well, let others know you are rich...or stupid? Hmmmm....

Gas Prices

Gas prices have ruled the year. The price of gas has caused Americans to actually reduce the way they drive and the distances they drive. The thought of carpooling (once a disdained idea) flourished and the lost art of walking was found. Asian car companies smiled as their fuel efficient hybrids and gas-powered cars became all the rage.

But, what was the real reason for the high price of gas? We first heard there was a shortage, then we need to do more offshore drilling, open the wildlife preserve in Alaska, use less fuel, use other fuel sources....every option seemed to ignore the fact that speculators were sitting at their keyboards clicking the price of gas up, up, and away!

Now, those same speculators have become spooked. Something spooked them and they are now selling those contracts that they never really owned to begin with...Many people disdain government regulation on capitalistic ventures. But, when it bleeds your country's citizens dry, when capitalism need to be put in check?

HDTV - To Calibrate or Not to Calibrate

Ok, what's the deal? What happened to the good old days when you just pulled a TV out of the box, plugged it in, turned it on and presto...viewing pleasure! Now we have to worry with the newer generation of LCD, Plasma, and OLED TV's that must be calibrated...by professionals no less! So, who says that I can't tell what looks best to me...they are my eyes after all. But, according to experts, you can achieve a much clearer, more pleasing picture, that is more energy efficient if you let a professional calibrate your TV.

There are cheaper options (though probably no different than one fooling around with the brightness, sharpness, color, and tint on your own) such as calibration DVD's. Some movies also have built in calibration software such as Monsters, Inc and Finding Nemo. As I have no children I don't own either of these movies and am not able to verify the validity of this claim. However, I might rent or borrow one of these movies just to search through the options on the disc for this calibration software. The only problem is, I wonder if the calibration software will optimize the picture quality for these particular movies only?

Cellular Phones Have Many Uses

Many people cannot live without their cellular phones. Daily contact with cell phones are part of normal activity. We use them for personal and business communications. They surprise us with their capabilities. But, did you know your cell phone was capable of cooking for you? If you don't believe me, watch this video and see if this doesn't make you think about your little cranial cells! http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/portable/video/x5odhh_pop-corn-telephone-portable-microon_news

Many Loved Mojave

Cnet reported Microsoft is testing new marketing techniques for Vista. By using its most powerful deterent, Vista skeptics. Many XP users were shown a new operating system code-named Mojave. A large number of the XP users were pleased with the new operating system. Their pleasure turned to surprise when they were told Mojave was actually Vista. Now, Microsoft must try to incorporate this survey into a new marketing strategy to its advantage. How many XP users do you know that have completely maligned Vista without having used it?

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-9998336-56.html?tag=nl.e703

Having Trouble with your Windows Vista Setup?

The good people at this forum offer wonderful tips to get your installation of Vista up and running. One problem some seem to have is making folder settings permanent. Vista Forums offer a tutorial that shows how to make those folder settings stick!

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/70819-windows-explorer-folder-view-settings.html

Back to School

Summer vacation is almost over and I am anxious (as I usually am) to begin the new semester. I have been refreshed by the break and am rearing to go! I just hope the new professors that I have aren't the type to load on the work the first week in the semester. I much prefer to have a schedule visible that first week so that I may structure my work schedule to allow for plenty of school time.

Has anyone else experienced problems searching for required texts that are school specific? Does anyone have any sites they can recommend that specialize in school specific texts that offer discounts? I am always interested in your comments. And if you would like, please relay your thoughts on the coming semester.

Enjoy your day!

Speed up Window's Vista Boot Time

I was reading a post in the vista newsgroup and a poster suggested one could speed up their Windows Vista boot time by changing the default boot option to boot using one processor to using multiple processors (depending on if you have a dual or quad core processor). I found a post at http://lifehacker.com/396904/make-vista-use-multiple-cores-to-speed-boot-time that also attested to this statement. I tried it myself and did notice a definite improvement in boot time.

Try it yourself and see what you think.

New iPhone

How are you enjoying your new, less expensive, more functional iPhone? I am still saddled with the old iPhone (never unlocked) and find the new additions nice. My question is how long will I have to wait before there is an app for forwarding SMS's? I know there is an app that can be used with bricked iPhones, but I never had the nerve to brick mine.

Comments?

Hello world!

Hi fellow bloggers. This is my first foray into the world of blogging so, don't flame me too badly!

I suppose a little about myself wouldn't be remiss. I am a 42-yr old female who is 1 year away from retirement. No, don't be jealous already! This is retirement from the first career only. I plan on beginning a new one as soon as my degree is completed. My tentative field of "expertise" is accounting. I don't even know how that degree plan was chosen. I was headed down the track of business administration and became so enamoured of my first accounting class that I changed my degree plan without a second thought.

I would appreciate your thoughts on my road to the future. And those that would like to discuss their own future endeavors I encourage discussion.

Until then toodles....and tell me what what you have in mind?

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