If anyone doubts that I am a rain magnet, look at this. We had clear weather all day. When I left work at 4pm there was a freak, albeit typical storm only where I was riding home on the south side of Nashville. When I got home the sky was completely clear again! To steal a phrase from Dave, “Go Figure!”
Why not add a low resistance fan and a small generator to an EV (electric vehicle) as a supplementary system? You are looking at 50-80mph winds while driving on the interstate that are going to waste! The latter being hurricane wind force. I do not expect this to fully charge a EV battery solely by the wind turning a fan in the radiator opening. We do have regenerative breaking which is the same used in diesel trains that recharges the batteries of a vehicle while breaking by using the resistance of the electric motor, we do have gasoline motors that charge and extend the range as in the Prius. The fan system (What I would call the SCS or Supplemental Charging Systems) doesn’t have to be a big drag on the car. It doesn’t have to have a massive generator. Just something that could charge a second set of batteries that are dedicated to illuminating the headlamps and gauges or the radio and windshield wipers. Or it could simply add voltage to the main battery array. In addition, the “radiator” fan could also be only active when NOT applying the accelerator. No resistance on normal driving but it could supplement the regenerative breaking component and only charge on deceleration. Simply done with an electronically controlled, fan shaft, clutch mechanism. If you can extend the range of an EV from 100 to 110 miles, that is 10% and that is HUGE!
Although it is a great tragedy that some famous people died this month, I think we are going overboard with the media coverage. Steve McNair was a great football player and should be recognized for his accomplishments. Michael Jackson was the best at what he did and no one disputes that. The part that doesn’t sit well with me is how much coverage they are getting. All channels on TV have been going over this repeatedly until it appears as if nothing else is going on anywhere that is news worthy. You have to listen and look between the lines to find the stories that IMO should be our focus. Let the people who want to mourn the fallen “stars” do so but don’t force feed the rest of us.
The list goes on and on! There are other things we could at least be sharing the media time with. It shouldn’t ALL be about a pedophile and a Cheater no matter how great they did their job!
Is ANYONE going to speak out about Steve McNair and his infidelity? It is a tragedy and a huge loss to the sport community but what about his family? How humiliating could it be to find your husband was murdered by his 20 year mistress! Steve McNair may have been a great football player but he is NO HERO! He is perpetuating a miserable stereotype that unfortunately influences hundreds of thousands of young kids who look up to these athletes for inspiration. One of the major down sides to this is that kids see the bad side of these athletes and the media does NOTHING to show it in the light it deserves. They do not put any negative tone on the fact that Steve McNair, as well as many other athletes, was cheating on his wife and kids right in the public eye for all to see. No shame in his game at all! He bought a 19 year old girl and Escalade and an apartment. They he paraded her around in front of all his friend and the community to see. He took her out drinking and partying. Then in her immature mind thought it necessary to murder him and kill herself.
1st off Steve McNair put himself in this situation. This time his fame couldn’t get him out of it like when he got out of a drunk driving conviction a few years ago. Secondly why is no one speaking out against his actions? We are being pummeled with highlight footage of his glorious football career but no one is showing the pain he has caused. What are we telling out children?
This is SAD! He is NOT a hero. He was a person with fame and fortune that was no better than a million other people that lie and cheat on their spouse, their family and cause pain to people who love them.
Do a google search for this phone number and be amazed how many people are being harrased by this automated telemarketer. I am on the Do Not Call registry as are many other people. I have found out the company responsible has been “warned” a threatened with fines but so far nothing has changed. They are doing business as usual! This is annoying as hell! They actually have numerous numbers they call from. I had 6 of them programmed into my last phone. Check this link to google.
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=301+882+9986&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq=301+882+9986&aqi=&fp=dMlfxuRvj0I
Two technologies that have been around for a very long time and could save us gobs of money if utilized to their potential. Wind & LED lighting!
I have been interested in alternative energy sources for years. I came up with an idea of my own and while researching to see if had been done, which apparently it has not, I found this great DIY website!
Here are some awesome devices people made!
A new law was passed in TN that allows firearms to be carried into bars and all establishments that serve liquor. Yep! Let me 1st state that I am firm believer in the right to bear arms. I think people should be allowed to carry a gun and protect themselves where ever they go.
With that said, I do not feel very good about this Guns/Bars law. Although I won’t say they should repeal it, I will say that I believe it should be mandatory for a bar owner to post a sign out front stating their policy. The law provides for the bar owner to deny guns in their establishment if they so choose simply by posting a NO GUNS ALLOWED sign on the entrances. I believe we should go a step further and REQUIRE a sign “for” or “against”. The law also states that you cannot drink alcohol in the bar if you choose to carry a firearm with you. I personally do not want to go into bars with drunk people and if the people that carry a gun do not drink. I doubt many of the millions of tourists that visit Nashville and are a large chunk of our local economy would like it either. We would appear to be the Old West and many people would simply go elsewhere for their vacation!
I know “law abiding citizens“ don’t cause trouble..blah blah! Law abiding citizens can be pushed into situations they are not used to handling. How can a law abiding citizen defend themselves with a gun in a room full of innocent bystanders in close proximity? YOU CAN’T! Your carry permit training does not put you in situations that police are specifically trained for. Someone innocent person will get shot. I understand that criminals do not obey the law. I understand an individual my have some false sense that they could successfully stop a criminal in a bar without accidentally killing someone else. That’s all fine and good. I just don’t want to be there when they try and most likely fail. Someone could very easily bump you in the panic of a gun fight and you could shoot your spouse or your friend or the nice person across the room.
Everyone has rights to defend themselves. They do no have the right to further endanger innocent people. This is why it is illegal to drive drunk. Not to protect the drunk driver but to protect the innocent bystanders. Yes, people still drive drunk and they still kill people but imagine what it would be like if driving drunk were perfectly legal! MANY MANY more people would do it. The death rate would skyrocket!
Now if making drunk driving were legal but you had to ride on specific roads to do it, I would simply avoid those roads as often as possible. Same goes for the bars that allow guns. I would simply avoid them!
ABC news did a piece that highlighted the fact that most people, even with a carry permit and range experience are not well suited to use a firearm in a public scenario. I believe the training to obtain a carry permit should be much much more strict than the Single Sunday afternoon class that is required now.
Below is a transcript of the report from the Friday, April 10, World News with Charles Gibson on ABC:
DIANE SAWYER: …. If you had a gun, can you be sure you could use it in a crisis?
Could an ordinary citizen count on being able to defend himself if he only had a gun? The Bethlehem Pennsylvania Police Department, working with ABC News, created an experiment, to show what happens when average Americans react under stress. At Wheelenburg College, the police go over gun basics with students. The gun is real but filled with paint ammunition. Our training is already more than almost half the states in the country require to carry a concealed weapon. Joey Dolan thinks he’ll be good at self-defense since he’s spent countless hours hitting the target using a gun that shoots plastic pellets. The police tell him he has one of our guns to use in a test of self-defense later. In the meantime, it’s a lecture.
Suddenly, the room under attack. The instructor is down, a student hit. Joey struggles to get his gun out, but it’s stuck in his shirt. He can’t even get it out to aim it. Had this event been real, police say Joey would have been killed in the first five seconds. Look at how your body undermines your decisions and your accuracy with a gun in crisis. Under extreme stress, your blood is actually pulled from your skin toward your muscles in case you need to flee, your heart pumping three to four times the normal rate. Your hands have less blood. They’re less dexterous. Your reaction’s delayed. Like this student, who freezes in his seat, hands on his desk. In seconds, he’s peppered with shots.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE STUDENT: No one ever gets hit in the movies, obviously. In real life, I got hit like five, six times.
SAWYER: And, while this woman started firing right after the armed intruder burst into the room, she makes a terrible error. She stands up and takes a hit to the head even though she believes she has already taken out the intruder.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE STUDENT: I think I hit you in the head, wasn’t it, at the top of the- [UNIDENTIFIED MALE POLICE OFFICER #1 POINTS TO HIS LEG] Oh, I got you there.
SAWYER: And what about the risk that you’ll hit an innocent bystander. This woman comes within inches. Which is why police spend months and months training in ways designed to override the adrenaline and pounding heart in a crisis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE POLICE OFFICER #2: -rounds coming back at you, you got outside environments, people are screaming, running. It’s too much for a normal person who’s never been trained to deal with. It’s overwhelming.
SAWYER: Police say so many of us don’t really know what we could and could not do in a crisis with a gun.UNIDENTIFIED MALE POLICE OFFICER #1: Don’t put yourself in a situation unless you are truly confidently prepared for it because, without training, you lose it.
SAWYER: And police also ask: Do you know the risk of hitting an innocent bystander? We have much more tonight on this special with children with teenagers. Again, it’s called "If I Only Had a Gun."
Look at this crazy weather that seems to follow me!
You CAN watch fantastic looking movies on your iPhone
You CAN”T Transfer them to another computer even if you made the video and own it!
You CAN take pretty nice pictures on the iPhone
You CAN’T move or delete them on your iPhone (u need to use iTunes) huh?
You CAN’T copy your pics to your PC without using a 3rd party app. iTunes does not have that feature. You can use Picasa from Google.
You CAN play all of your favorite music and even songs you wrote yourself
You CAN’T move or delete them without iTunes. You have to use a Jailbreak application to “break” your phone, then buy a 3rd party application.
You CAN’T use the iPhone for file storage
You CAN’T use the iPhone throughout the day without multiple battery charges.
You CAN’T sync your files to multiple computers without 1st putting the files on the computer via other means. Otherwise syncing to an empty folder on the second PC will delete the files from the phone.
You CAN use the fantastic technology known as Bluetooth.
You CAN’T use Bluetooth unless its is paired to an Apple headset only. No file transfers, phone or computer pairing. Basically USELESS!
You CAN brag that you have a cool ass phone that plays lots of games
You CAN’T beat a Blackberry for simplicity, reliability and COMPATIBILITY!!!
I am about ready to return this toy and go back to my 2 year old Blackberry curve and actually be able to manage it.
Who would make such a non-intuitive, bloated and restricted piece of software such as iTunes? Uh lemme guess. Apple? Yep! I bought an iPhone (which is pretty dern cool and FAST!) only to learn that you cannot manage your phone or it’s contents without installing the resource hogging, bloated and invasive application called iTunes! OMG!! I can only imagine that Apple people love it despite all it’s annoyances. For me, it may be the main reason I return the iPhone and go back to Blackberry where I can simply drag and drop any file I want via a standard USB mini cable to a folder structure that I can control. With iTunes you have to “Sync” everything. Uh what if I want to use my iPhone and I have multiple computers at different locations? Yep. I have to install iTunes on each of them and then sync each PC to the iPhone. WEAK! You can’t even use it to transfer files. The Blackberry, when simply plugged into your USB port, no drivers or software necessary, acts as a removable drive just like a thumb drive. You can drag and drop any file you want and then transfer it to any PC, MAC or Linux computer with NO SOFTWARE REQUIRED!
I can only assume Apple wants to make it so difficult for PC and Linux users to use the iPhone for all it “could” be that they will “just buy a mac”.
The iPhone could really be a great tool but it is just not ready for the corporate world. You won’t see many large companies installing iTunes on corporate PCs just so users can sync their phones. It takes way too much resources (Services that always run in the background even when iTunes is off) away from the PC that is most likely doing WORK for the company. Small companies that want to be “in” and have the finances to burn may buy iPhones. I believe the rest of the business world will stick with Blackberrys for now.
Why do people insist on backing there car into parking spaces? Does it save you time by making pulling out faster? No! You actually spend MORE time backing in a pulling out than you would pulling in and backing out. When you back up, it is harder to maneuver the vehicle so backing out into a wide open space behind a parking space is much easier than backing into a tight narrow parking slot. I see people everyday with their cars backed into spots at work. Almost all of them are crooked and in danger of getting/giving dings from adjoining car doors. Just pull straight in and back out. You will save time, dings on your car and you won’t look like an idiot who can’t park! 
Some people have mild personalities and some have very outgoing personalities. I see people through my life that have mild personalities and they live a life of relative anonymity. People never hate them and people rarely write about them. As an actor mild can give you a long and meaningful career but rarely does it put you on the magazine covers or on the entertainment news. People with larger personalities, especially actors, athletes and entertainers are in the news no matter if it is good or bad. Extroverts gets noticed. This can be great if all the dice roll your way. Conversely having an outgoing personality can be just as bad. There is rarely an indifferent take on extroverts. People either hate you or think your the best. Unlike the mild introvert who most people never even form an opinion about. “Oh John? Yeah he is a nice guy a guess”.
Sports can be a good analogy for this phenomenon. When a baseball player swings safely and gets base hits regularly, people do not often notice and he surely never makes the highlight reel. When a player swings for the fences every time, he will be on the news every time. Even though he will hit foul balls and pop outs just as often as he gets the big hit, he will get noticed more and as a result more people will form strong opinions about him. “I HATE THAT GUY, HE POPS OUT ALL THE TIME!” or “HE IS AWESOME! HE SWINGS AWAY AND TAKES THE RISK TO SCORE THE BIG HOME RUN!” The same in basketball the guy who is taking the risky shots is the guy in the media and public eye. Hence more opinions will be formed. The guy who scores 15 solid, safe points every game will most likely never get on the news and no one will wear his number on a sports jersey. In golf when you lay it up often you will be consistent and never make the public awareness. If you swing big you may hit the long ball but you may go wide in the bushes as well.
The bigger you swing or the bigger your personality, the more risk for some thing great or terrible to happen. There is rarely indifference or middle ground. You either hit the home run or you pop out. They either hate you with a passion or love you with a passion.
Here is a story covered by WSMV in Nashville
http://www.wsmv.com/video/19782602/
There is a "scam" that has made it’s way to Middle TN. It apparently has been going on for 3 or 4 years now starting out in California and spreading throughout the country. It has reached us here. The issue is called "Skimming".
Skimming is when a criminal attaches a card reader device to an existing card reader device on an ATM or a gas pump. This device captures the card number and stores it for later retrieval. The criminal uses this device in conjunction with spy camera mounted either on the ATM or pump and out of site or off in the distance and zoomed in tight on the keypad. They use the camera to capture the PIN as it is entered by the unsuspecting consumer. The criminal can then use this combined information to withdraw CASH from other ATM machines after they make their own FAKE card with the stolen card number and PIN. ATM machines inside stores can be at risk as well. I have found at that there are many unscrupulous merchants that are working with the skimmers and allowing them to set up shop on their ATM units in exchange for a percentage or "fee". Also some of these criminals are actually buying used ATM machines off of eBay and setting them up themselves. Debit card theft is on the rise in relation to Credit card theft. With a stolen credit card the criminal has to buy a product or service and then sell it for money. With the debit card theft, the criminal can steal cash. Easier for them and much more difficult to trace or get caught.
I investigated with my bank and found out that they do not charge for using your Debit Card as a Credit Card. So the safe way to purchase gas at the pump is to select CREDIT and swipe your DEBIT card. No PIN is necessary. As a result, the criminal whole stole your number cannot run the card for CASH without the PIN. The safe way to with draw cash is using your PIN at an ATM "inside" or at least "at" your bank location where security is much tighter.
This is just a little reminder to everyone as to how powerful a handgun can be. This was my .44 Magnum. It was not the most power ful handgun in the world anymore. Infact it is only about 1/4 as strong as the newer crop of power guns. Please be careful and use some sense when owning and shooting firearms.
Due to alot of SPAM and the often erronious assumption that my “Blog” is a forum, I am removing commenting from my new blog posts. Thanks!
When I say it rains in Nashville, I mean it rains in Nashville. Not the surrounding areas. NASHVILLE! We get a surprising amount of rain here. It is POUNDING outside right now!
We have had cable tv for years now. We haven’t upgraded to digital but just the basic cable. Between the basic cable and the internet we pay $110 a month. The picture SUCKS! I guess we kinda just got used to it. Yesterday I decided to hook up a basic antennae to a digital converter and the picture is as clear as a DVD. We get about 10 OTA, over the air channels with a $5 antennae. Unbelievable. With Cable with get about 50 channels but 40 are crap. Religious shows, Spanish shows, info-mercials and home shopping. I am now shopping for a higher quality antenna and will connect it to all the TVs in the house. Oh and BTW, the OTA HD quality is just as good as Digital HD Cable! FOR FREE!!!
The intentions of our American forefathers were simple. Read this slowly and think about each part and add the words "for all" after each one. I believe that is the original intent. You could even add "law abiding citizens":
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Justice (for all) law abiding citizens
Tranquility (for all) law abiding citizens
Common Defense (for all) law abiding citizens
General Welfare (for all) law abiding citizens
Liberty (for all) law abiding citizens
These ideals and goals have been spread so very thin throughout the generations. Through the ever expanding growth and the diversity that comes along with it, the boundaries of those very ideals are being pushed into grey areas that overlap ideals that are NOT those of the forefathers. The very freedoms we hold dear and those that our Constitution is based on are being diluted to the point of unrecognizable and dissected into as many bits and pieces as there are people with opinions and no longer bear resemblance to the original intents. I could address each point above but I see no point. We all have our own opinions and take on it all. Suffice it to say I believe we are no longer on the path that we started down in the beginning. With uncontrolled growth of people and especially government, this is inevitable.
I remember when changing the spark plugs on a vehicle took about 10 minutes. Sunday I had to change them out on Amanda’s SUV. NOT a 10 minute job! You do not have simple access to the rear plugs you have to remove the entire intake manifold assembly, all the attached hoses, throttle body and a few emissions devices. While I was in there I figured best to change out the PCV Valve as well. That require even more disassembly. Had to get fuel injection rack and wires out of the way along with the plenum. THEN I could change out the PCV. No wonder this is like a $400 job at the Mazda dealer!
I have been on the National Do not call registry for years now. A couple weeks ago I started getting auto calls from the 314 & 301 area codes. They are SPAMMERS trying to solicit business and get your name. I tried to block the number by adding it to my phone and giving it a special MUTE ring so it never calls me but they are switching numbers daily and also leaving voicemail on my phone. Minutes that I HAVE TO PAY FOR! So far these are the one’s I have gotten this week alone!:
314-433-3319
314-259-1340
314-667-5307
301-882-9986
My phone provider of AT&T cannot do anything except charge me $4.99 a month to give me the ability to block all UNKNOWN callers. Which is silly because I don’t want to block ALL unknowns. What if someone needed me for an emergency and had to call from a hospital phone or a borrowed phone?
The FCC is aware of this and has yet to fine the companies even though they know who they are. READ THIS!
Let’s hope the FCC gets off their A.S.S. and starts to levy some of the $11,000 dollar, per incident fines they are threatening.
I have never understood the Republican party with respect to governance. One the business side of things, the Republican party believes government should stay out and let the free market rule it self. They believe that businesses and consumers can determine on their own what is right, wrong, good or bad.
On the other hand, in the religious conversation, Republicans want to dictate and govern over every little aspect of faith and beliefs. They do not feel that people or organizations can determine on their own what is right, wrong, good or bad.
Hmmm?
After reading over my last post, I got to thinking. Would I buy a new car if they made something inexpensive and got good gas mileage? Honestly, I don’t think so.
When our country was fat and the economy was cooking only a mere 2 years ago, people consumed! We bought everything and anything we fancied as it was all so easy. With that mindset, we bought new cars whenever we wanted. If they offered a new color, we could trade in our 1 year old car and buy a new one. “Tack on the difference in the loan!”. Auto makers knew this and they churned our cars like mad. The industry grew. Hindsight being 20/20… they grew too much.
In the distant past people bought a new car when the car they had could no longer be cost effectively repaired. It was a BIG deal for a family to go out and buy a new car. Even then, most people bought what suited the family needs and budget. I believe those days are upon us again. More and more people are looking at their car as transportation and not the play toy. People, including myself are looking at our budgets with much more scrutiny these days. We are cutting back on all we spend our money on. The car, which we know is a depreciating asset is now becoming the tool it was originally intended to be. We are buying less new clothes, less dining out, less money on vacations etc. It only seems logical that we would spend less on our transportation. We are repairing the old car and keeping it on the road longer. Not giving much thought to that new whiz bang hot rod car that just came out. We now spend our money on paying off old debt, saving in preparation for a possible job loss, paying for higher medical bills, higher grocery bills, higher gas prices, utilities etc. We simply do not have the “spare” money in our budgets to replace a car that works just to buy a “new” one. Some people will still need to buy a new car but I believe they will do it when it’s completely necessary and not just for the hell of owning a new ride.
I see the only way the auto industry is going to survive is to downsize substantially. They need to match the demand. We can’t have more people making cars than we do buying them. It is simple supply and demand.
Thought we might actually make it a whole day without rain. I was mistaken!
The auto makers seem to be echoing the same beliefs. They seem to believe that people want giant SUVs and trucks. They are worried that if they do not continue to build big SUVs, people will simply hold onto the older ones they already have! What a crock!! That is small thinking and the leaders who perpetuate that should step down as THEY are the reason the companies are behind the ball.
People only want what they are told. I am sure everyone believes that they choose what they want because of their own needs. I am sure that is true to an extent. But entertain this thought… How many people needed Ford Excursions or Cadillac Escalades BEFORE they were made. Probably none. I don’t remember anyone ever saying that they wish someone would make the SUVs and trucks BIGGER. Industry created the want in us by making the product and saying it is better. I even remember some commercials comparing a new bigger SUV to the old smaller ones. There have been numerous pickup truck commercials geared towards the cave man in us guys showing the new BIGGER truck next to the old wimpy truck. We believed them and bought the bigger one. Damn the gas mileage or extra 5 minutes a day it takes to find parking spaces suitable. We wanted BIG!
If the auto makers would simply make commercials that portrayed big as stupid and very much out of style, people would not “want” big anymore. Look at the Prius… It wasn’t big nor very flashy when it came out but when a few Hollywood starts thought it was cool, people wanted them! The Smart car? It doesn’t get as good of gas mileage as the new VW Jetta with it’s new clean diesel. The Smart car has a 1.5 year waiting list because it’s cool! It’s not big.
Big is out. WAY out. Then why are the auto companies still making full size consumer trucks, SUVs and minivans? Why hasn’t the full size truck been moved to the back lot where it has always been and the new sleek, fuel efficient and modern vehicles moved out in front for all to see. When I drive by dealerships, I still see the big cars out front. That alone would make most energy and money conscience people drive right by. I say make and put out the cars people need and can afford. Let the people who still want big simply go to the back of the dealership and choose what they want. The auto makers and dealers need to TELL people what they want by SHOWING people what they want and in reality NEED. Fuel efficient, stylish cars that we can afford.
Kia, Hyundai, Honda & Toyota seem to be on top of things. Why can’t the big 3 get it?
Being a good team player does not need to include completely giving up your focus on yourself and your individual goals or achievements. You can have a balance. Work for the team always but keep you best interests in mind as well. I believe this is true in the work place as well as sports.
Catch phrases about teamwork are everywhere in the work place from inspirational posters to emails to executive speeches. it’s all fine and good until someone from the “team” gets let go to downsize or someone on the “team” get’s passed up for a promotion for the person who is less of a team player and strongly focuses on their own advancement. In sports, the team player often gets traded for the “star’ with individual stats and focus.
I will simply say, have balance. Keep the team in front of you and your daily work but keep YOU everywhere else.
Usually 3 of us go on the annual ride. This year we had a good friend Tony join us for a weekend of riding and camping. A 33% growth to the the size of our group! He rode his powerful Honda Valkyrie! This is us by the Buffalo river in Arkansas. Tony hopes to join us on more annual rides and we are looking forward to it.
We are back from our annual ride. More details to come after I recover a bit!
