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.