How Cool Is This

Aston Martin and Lord Foster will be re-designing London's symbol. 

I wonder why more American cities don't use a double decker bus?  Especially when the bus has "reconstituted leather upholstery . . . and wooden floors."  Civilized transportation.  The only thing missing is a wet bar.  Of course I might not never get off the bus in that case.
But at least there would be a designated driver. 

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Safaris Have Flushable Toliets?

They do on the Abercrombie and Kent Sub-Sahara tours.

I don't think a person has to totally rough it but flushable privies in the bush seems a bit much.

Apparently there are all levels of tours and services available.

Safaris are now on the list of dreams-when I get around to actually writing it down. I will probably go on one some where in the middle between luxury and roughing it.

I must remember to pack some teepee as I am sure which ever package I go on will not have flushable loos.

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7 Miles of Beaches in Drug War Zone

Lately I've been jonesing to travel, to get out of the wintery NW. Usually it is the rainy NW but the last week or so it has been more like the Mid-West than the northwest. Anyway I have been dreaming of going here: and so when I read this I started dreaming of sandy beaches, brown skinned girls, tropical elixers, and a couple of weeks free to properly enjoy them.

Perhaps the gods do not like when us mortals indulge in rapacious thoughts. Shortly after reading the above article i came across this one.

How can I enjoy booze, beaches, and babes, if I am in the middle of a drug war?

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Roughing It While Traveling Is Not Mandatory

I stumbled upon this story about an all inclusive resort in Mexico. But I had forgotten all about it, until I started dreaming about leaving all of this behind
Sure it looks beautiful, but dam it is cold here in the Northwest; when it is usually just mild and rainy.
And how can you not help imagining yourself here:
This is an all inclusive resort. I had no idea such a place on terra firma existed. Can this be Heaven? Can life get better than this? But most importantly are there bars on the golf courses?

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Dreaming of Any Place Else

Usually the Portland area looks like this, this time of year. But lately it has looked like this:
and this:

Which in turn has lead me to dream of this:

and this:
or this:
I wish my Spanish was better so I could work in Mexico. Oh well maybe some day.

What place are you dreaming of?

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Time for a Brew Down

Heaven or Heaven?
WOW! I know what I want Santa to bring me. And I have been a very good boy this year. Though if I get this slice of beervana, I can not guarantee my conduct for the coming year. Brew on.

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Beware of Brits Bearing Nokias

Hat tip to Red Ferret Journal for finding this nasty piece of hardware. This escalates CYA the factor in any relationship.

I wonder is any of the info uncovered allowed in divorce proceedings? If so Kidz you better get yours before your significant other gets theirs.

This is the key to the perfect Holiday Season-or any season-for nosy Mother F'ers every where.

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Happy Ninja Days

Just in time for those unwanted holiday guests. Whether it is a brother-in-law, mother-in-law, or ex, get the drop on awkward conversation, meetings, or dreaded arguments with this handy Ninja set.

Get your Ninja on.

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Sail Around the World from Home

How cool would it be to sail around the world-ALONE? Well for some of us it would be pretty cool. Now even for those who might not find this cool it is possible to join in a virtual Vendee Globe race.

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Spy Lens for SLR Digital Cameras

Hat tip to Will Femia at Clicked for finding this handy little add-on.

While Will is bothered by this lens on a "sportsman level"-but not a moral or sneakiness level. He says, "[T]he challenge of street photography is part of the art." I am not bothered on any level. Having been thwarted taking street photos more times than I care to remember, while living in China, this lens evens the field. And if it works as advertised, it would remove the frustration which comes with being thwarted, at least for me.

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Is the Remote the Largest in the World too?

A 700 ton Caterpillar truck is set to become a robotic vehicle.
There does not seem to be much clearance on this thing. That is too bad. Could you imagine the fun that would be had crushing things with a 700 ton vehicle?

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African Walk About

In 1997 Fran Sandham left England and walked across Africa, coast-to-coast. He published a book about his adventures called Traversa. This is definitely on the must read book list.

I love to travel but I don't believe I have the cajones to attempt this feat. I think I will stick to the arm chair on this adventure. Of course, if there are trains involved I am there.

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Computational Photography-Bringing Big Changes to Digital Cameras and Photography

I think my dream of being a photographer was laid to rest when I took Father Tom Brown's Photography class at Quincy University-God rest his soul-and he proceeded to bore everyone with long winded monologues on the history of cameras, film, and photography. I think I drooled on at least every other page of the text book as the lecture droned on. My love for photography seemed to seep away with every spittle droplet.

However with the advent of digital cameras my love for photography re-blossomed. Of course that love was soon straining under efforts to master Adobe, GIMP and other photo-editing software. One trick I used to get around this was to buy a 2 gigabyte SD card which allowed me to take ungodly amount of photos, or at least until I got close to the image I was after.

So the idea of installing imaging software into my camera and letting it fix, or alter my photos is a dream made achievable after so long denied.

Of course, it will be some years before a failed hobbyest like myself can afford such a camera and software. Never the less, it seems the dream that a schlub like me could produce decent photos is not far off.

Examples of the software technique called digital refocusing can be found here.

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Looking for a JOB?

I just came from D.C. and the city is gearing up to welcome Obama as our 44th President. And he as put out the cattle call for kool kidz and others to come to Washington D.C. and enact change. Hopefully we, the people, don't get stuck with hires like Alberto Gonzales, "Heck of a Job" Brownie, Harriet Miers or Monica Goodling.

We, the people, don't expect every hire to be the best and the brightest. But know-nothings, crooks and traitors need not apply.

So if you have been laid off or need a change of locale throw your hat in the ring. You might get hired and you can't do worse than this guy.

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Spectra-tacular

I have come across a couple of cool new things from MSNBC. No it isn't Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow, though they both kick some serious bootay. It is Spectra and NewsSkimmer.

Spectra mashes news headlines with almost as many colors as a Crayola 64 box holds. Under each main headline box are sub categories. For example under Health, that is shaded a sky blue, are subjects such as, Women's Health, Men's Health, and Sexual Health. And for each subject you pick, you get the top 10 stories of the day. As you pick the news categories you are interested in, 10 seperate colored boxes fly into middle of the screen, and begin to slowly rotate, like debris caughty up in a fat, florid tornado.

If I am not careful I can end up picking almost every topic and sub-topic. In which case it can take me an hour or more to scan through and pick out the stories I want to read. Of course all the stories are found at MSNBC's web site.

NewsSkimmer is a screen saver that "saturates your idling computer with news-filled color." And saturate it does. The screen is filled with a undulating wave of color and news. You can pick what ever news topics strike your fancy and when your computer goes to screen sve mode your news headlines come a popping out of the vibrant multicolored wave.

This screen saver seems like a good idea, however when my computer goes into screen save mode I am not usually there to see it. So even though I have downloaded this app to my laptop, I haven't actually seen much of it. Maybe others will find it more useful.

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Hostel.com is the place to find cheap sleeps on the road

I love to travel. And for me one of the essentials for traveling is getting a decent, cheap place to lay my head. I don't need a 3 or 5 star place to hold up in. I just need a place to sleep for 8 hours, take a shower and maybe catch a nap, if the caffeine wears off. If I spend more than 11 hours a day in my room I am doing something wrong. So when I found Hostels.com, I knew I had stumbled upon a little slice of traveler's Heaven.

At Hostels.com one can search for hostels and other cheap places to stay, around the world. The front page claims they list more than 26,000 places to book. All that is required is for you to pick which country and city(ies) you plan to travel to and when and helpful booking app on the front page does all the work. After a few moments it spits out a list of available hostels and other cheap places. It lists what kind of rooms are open and how much the rooms cost. You can book the rooms right then and only pay a 10% fee of the total cost. The balance is due when you check in.

CAUTION:Each place has terms and conditions, so you would be wise to read them. For example, one of the two hostels I booked in Washington D.C. does not take cash, and I must confirm my reservation 24 hours in advance, or I lose the room. Also check here for check-in times.

For each of the hostels I booked I was given clear directions on how to get to them, either by train, plane, bus or Metro. Also included where photos of the place, of staff and former guests. More importantly there was a section where former guests rated the hostel. Most seemed to like the hostels I booked, but it seemed almost every bad review was from a fellow American. I am not sure what to make of that. There was also a star-rating system for such things as Character, Security, Location, Staff and Cleanliness. For me the most important consideration is security. There is nothing worse than a fellow traveler who steals. 9 times out of 10 if some asks I would be happy to buy them a meal, or lend them a couple of bucks for beer, or a ticket to their next destination. But that is neither here nor there.

So if you are planning a trip here in the good ole US of A, or Asia, or Europe, or Africa, or South America, Hostels.com is the place to find a decent, cheap place to lay one's head.

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Cathay Pacific Spreads the Love to Economy Class

In welcomed travel news Cathay Pacific has made considerable changes to economy class on its flights serving San Fran, The Big Apple and L.A. According to Sean O'Neal at the Travel Tips section on msnbc.com Cathay Pacific has installed new seats which "have a hard-back shell and slide forward as they recline . . . and the entertainment library for . . . coach as expanded to include more than 100 movies, 350 TV shows, and 900 music CDs."

Now that is CHANGE I can believe in.

These improvements should take off the edge from what can often be rather bumpy flights, to and from Asia, at least in my experience. Cathay also offers a virtual tour of not only economy class, but first class and business class.

If only the other airlines would spread the love to economy class that would make life traveling a little better

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FURBY OR MOGWAI?

Scientists in Indonesia have rediscovered Furbys Pygmy Tarsiers. They are cute little things
as shown here. But I can't help to be a little weary.

The pygmy tarsier looks very similar to this small lovable creature:

A creature who turns into this not so lovable creature if the Three Rules are not obeyed.


I am sure most of us remember what befell Kingston Falls when the THREE RULES were not obeyed. So until scientists are sure this is not a mogwai, I say feeding time ends at 8pm.

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If You Are a Procrastinating Writer this may help

Dr. Wicked has come up with an app to help writers who would rather do anything else but write. There are several modes available to encourage writers to stop wishing and start doing. I tried out Normal and Kamikaze modes. I purposefully didn't write my goal of 10 words. After waiting for the time goal to count down the 10 minutes I so generously allotted myself, nothing happened. There were claims of being subjected to the "evil sounds" of Rick Ashley and Hanson. Or if I did not type my 10 words the app would "unwrite" any work that was completed. I waited to experience this new form of Rick-Rolling. In the end I was left disappointed. I was not Rick-Rolled nor was I unwritten.

However I liked the app. It helped me to get some writing done. I was able to separate the act of writing from the act of editing. I often have trouble doing this. Plus I was able to concentrate on writing, instead of finding any and all distractions to deal with.

If you use Dr. Wicked's Write or Die web app I would suggest opening up OpenOffice Writer, or whatever software you use to write, first. This way you can cut and paste whatever you have written and not lose any of it. However, if you forget to do this, the app does ask if you want to save to your clip board when you try to close it.

So if you are like me and procastinate on the writing front, or you just want to get Rick-Rolled in a new way, then check out Write or Die.

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Will the increase incidence of 'Cougar' attacks be far behind?

Scientists in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Briton have just finished a 2 year study of testosterone patches on post-menopausal women. The Scientists "found that a high dose of male hormone gives post-menopausal women a modest, but meaningful boost in the sex lives after a year." (emphasis mine)

Maybe this Cougar enhancing patch can be sent to Mexico City to help deal with the pill popping Grandpas. Perhaps the wife of Mexico City's mayor can encourage him to pass out the patches, for free, to the more mature ladies of Mexico City. And maybe the entire country will be in line for blue pills and libido patches if he wins the presidency. If only we could get a program like this here in the States.

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Ladies Beware of Mexico City after December 1st

Starting December 1st Mexico City will be giving away free 'little blue pills' to men 70 or older. According to Mayor Marcelo Ebrard the city is doing this "because sexuality "has a lot to do with quality of life and our happiness."" I take it the mayor is over 70 and his health insurance plan doesn't cover the little blue pill of love. Therefore, why shouldn't he use his power for good and shower the hundreds of thousands of Mexico City's 70+ year old men with boner pills?

I am not saying there will be trouble with this scheme, but blue, pill popin', boner-sportin' grandpas running through the streets can't be good.

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Bartering: The New 'In' Thing?

With times getting tough around the good old US of A, one solution making the rounds is bartering. It has been around since before money. In fact, before currencies "bartering was the most accepted form of commerce." Most bartering today seems to be between companies or small business owners looking to save dinero or move old product on down the road. NOTE: Had trouble embedding the video so linked to it instead.

Tradefirst.com operates in Ohio, Florida, and Michigan, while imsbarter.com seems to be open to most anyone-businesswise and operates everywhere.

I can see bartering extending to personal use in the near future. If the economic difficulties are prolonged, bartering could help alleviate hardship for some people. I could see families using bartering to exchange baby sitting duties, or haircuts. Perhaps some people will exchange lawn work or minor repair jobs for groceries, or rent.

The only draw back? If you guessed IRS paper work you are either a MENSA genius or a cynical bastard. Of course the IRS is the biggest pimp in the game, so they always gotta get theirs, any time you're trying to get yours.

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Learn to Love Illegal Government Spying or Get Credo

Just after the 4th of july holiday, the US Senate came back in session and gutted the 4th Amendment. It is the one that gives us citizens the right "to be secure in their persons, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

Senators passed the horrendous House bill regarding FISA. This bill, among other things, gave telecoms immunity from lawsuits challenging their actions regarding 'warrentless wiretapping.' In other words the telecoms get to walk away scott free after helping the government violate the 4th Amendment. The Senate capitulated to Bush and in an afternoon ripped the Constitution asunder. In an afternoon 69 cowards gave the president dictatorial powers to continue to spy on any American citizen, anywhere, at anytime, for any reason. The president does not have to ask a court, a judge, Congress, or any person or enitity on Earth in order to spy on you or me. This sounds like Soviet Russia to me, or some other totalitarian regime.

Only one major American phone company said no to the illegal government spying on U.S. citizens-QWEST The CEO Joseph Nacchio refused and was later prosecuted for insider trading.

But now people can sign up with CREDO Mobile They have donated to the ACLU, who has been fighting this horried bill for some time. In 2008 CREDO plans to donate money to groups like Center for Constitutional Rights which according to the Center's web site was "[F]ounded in 1966 by attorneys who represented civil rights movements in the South . . ." They have also filed a case in this very matter CCR vs. Bush

I didn't find any where on their web site where they say they will make the government follow the law and actually get a warrant. I hope CREDO makes them do this before it allows Dear Leader and his apparatchiks to spy on us. The basic plan with 200 anytime minutes is $29.99 a month. You can add unlimted texting for $9.99 a month. They have plans for fams and biz too. So check it out. do good for yourself and your fellow citizens.

UPDATE: CREDO also recycles old phones and sends phone cards to American Service Men and Women. That is one way to support the troops.

I got a dam email lying about Barack being a Muslim

I've received the email telling me Barack Obama is a scary Muslim. It also hints that is the Anti-Christ. The link above is a close enough copy of what I received. Mine also mentions a Uncle Dick who is a "Bible scholar" and a Mrs. Darlene Millican who the email claims is the wife of the pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in Sun City. I guess these two unknown but presumablily upstanding citizens are mentioned to lend a certain je ne sais quoi to the email.

The email claims that this man(Obama) 'fits every description from the Bible of the 'Anti-Christ'!" But the only 'evidence' provided is the claim that the Bible "(W)arned us that 'A man will come from the East...."blah,blah,blah. First that is not a quote from the Bible. I believe that quote comes from Nostradamus. And second while I am not a learned man when it comes to the Bible I do know something about geography. And I know Obama was born in Hawaii. Now I don't know what Uncle Dick and Mrs. Millican know about geography but when I look at a map Hawaii lies to the east of the lower 48 states. Finally the email says that "Snopes.com confirms (the claims in the email are)factual. Check for yourself." Ok. I can do that. And what do I find? Snopes.com actually debunks all of the email claims. EVERY CLAIM IS PRETTY MUCH DISCREDITED!

Anyone who continues to peddle this trashy email is an "elvish-mark'd, abortive, rooting hog! Richard III
Anyone who continues to believe such pernicious slander is not only willfully ignorant they are also a beslubbering, beef-witted, joithead. (hat tip to Shakespeare Insult Kit)

UPDATE: I forgot that as a Catholic I am use to hearing that the Pope is the anti-Christ. Also in the book Jerry Falwell and the Jews Falwell discusses his belief that the Anti-Christ is a Jewish man who is now alive. And the authors of this site claim Prince Charles meets like 25 of the 42 "Signs of the Anti-Christ." All I can say is WOW.

Portland Ignites. IP III

The third installment of Ignite Portland went off at the Bagdad Theather, one of many awesome venues in the McMenamins' empire or "the Kingdom", as they affectionately term it.

The line was much smoother this time, no waiting. At least that was the case for those who had pre-printed their tickets. I breezed right in and was getting beer and food from the killer buffet in not time. It also wasn't wall-to-wall geeks. It was all geeks but it wasn't standing room, bursting the doors off hinges, breaking freaking fire-codes, like Ignite II.

Ignite Portland is put on by the fine folks of Legion of Tech. And they did a great job. My only regret is that I am not a geek and so I miss out on the networking aspect of the event. This was made painfully clear while waiting for the presentations to begin.

I was sitting, scarfing some tasty, delectable buffet items, when the guy next to me starts quizzing me on who the various sponsors are. The only one I sort of knew was Intel Software Services. And that was only because Intel was in the name. Then he starts naming them and saying what he knows about them , Silicon Florist. He tells me oh that is Rick Turoczy's blog, as if I am in the know, as if this name means something-sorry Rick, I know who you are now. And then this dude, he is older with grey hair and bread, does the same with Strands and Toonlet. When I confess my profound ignorance regarding these companies, he turns to me and asks, "What then, do you expect to get out of this?"

Now I am use to being out of place, and being in places or events, that I don't quite fit into. For instance the WTO protests in Seattle. I keep ending up behind the police lines. Or the time I ended up in a Chinese Karaoke box, while some business men were bribing the judge sitting next to me, as I tried to hit on one of the girls sent in to "comfort' the judge. And this event at the Bagdad. I am not a geek, or a techie. I dont have a job in the "industry." But I like to go to eclectic events. And by going to Ignite Portland III I get to go to an event where smart and cool people are hanging out and I might just learn something.

And I did. I learned about buying a car for under a $1000 bucks. I learned how eggs are grown and labled. I learned about "jumping the rails" and I learned about cognative development and how it relates to robots' "learning." There were many other great presentations which should be up at the web site soon; if they are not up already. Some presentations were more polished than others, but they all did a great job and presented information on some great topics. So I salute the presentors of Ignite Portand III. I can't wait for Ignite Portland IV. I hope it takes place before my planned trip to China. I need to visit my girlfriend and her family.

Entertained. If you couldn't guess the answer. It was " I hope to be entertained." For me that is usually enought, for others I guess they need more.

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Air Guitar Championships in Portland

The US Air Guitar Association is having a contest in Portland on Tuesday night (June 24th) at Dante's on the corner of SW 3rd and Burnside. It should be a rocking time.

Dante's is a sick little joint full of hipsters, scenesters, wanna be's and suburban kids look for a kick. If you can't make it for the Air Guitar Championship, try to check it out on Monday nights. That is when they do Karaoke From Hell. You get up on a stage in front of the whole crowd and are backed by a live band. How cool is that!!!

So check out Dante's to get your jam on.

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Panorama Photos

Just checking out Magix Photo Clinic's panorama function. But instead of a making one picture I used it to layer two pictures of my girlfriend together. It is not that amazing, but I thought it was kind of cool. Plus, she looks really beautiful. Hope you like it, Fan bin.

Part II of Winning against Wall Street's New Weapons of Mass Manipulation

'Lazy' portfolios beat benchmarks again; here are top performers - MarketWatch

In the first part I talked about the term Behavioral Economics and how Wall Street is using math formulas to take advantage of investor irrationality.

In the second part I once again link to Paul Farrell-click above link-who writes on financial matters at MarketWatch.com Farrell in this article says the way to beat Wall Street rigging the game is to set up "Lazy Portfolios."

Farrell says Lazy Portfolios or "lazy investing is nothing more than the good old "Modern Portfolio Theory" put into action." He suggests investing in 3 to 11 no-load(that means no sales fee in English) index funds, either mutual funds or ETFs. Since Wall Street can't make enough money off of fees from these type of funds it doesn't push this "Nobel Prize-winning strategy" on to investors.

However, Farrell is tracking a few of these lazy portfolios. And they seem to be delivering excellent returns.

There is the Aronson Lazy fund, set up by Ted Aronson fo AJO Partners-they manage about $28 billion-according to Farrel. And his 5-year annualized return of %13.30 is pretty amazing.

Farrell also points to the portfolio set up by Dr. William Bernstein, who has written two books on investing, "Intelligent Asset Allocator" and "The Four Pillars of Investing."

And then notes the portfolio run by Bill Schultheis, who wrote the book "The Coffeehouse Investor."

I am not sure which one is the better portfolio, you should check with your financial adviser. I like these because they run automatically once they are set up, have decent returns, and don't cost alot in terms of sales fees, set up fees, and any other fee Wall Street and its brokers can dream up. Though, I am sure they are dreaming up ways around this. Get educated or get an honest broker.

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Winning against Wall Street's New Weapon Part I

Wall Street unleashes its 'weapons of mass manipulation' on you - Market Watch
If anyone wants to handle their own investing, I suggest they learn the term BEHAVIORAL FINANCE. It is also known as behavioral econ, or quant trading, or neuro investing. It has been around awhile but as Paul Farrell points out in the article linked to above, there is a new component to the the study of investor behavioral. A component which focuses on the "irrationality" behind investor buying, holding and selling.

The science of this studying has been "dominated by psychologists studying irrational human behavior.' However, Farrell says the field is now becoming dominated by mathematicians, chiefly, "University of Chicago finance professor Richard Thaler."

In his article Farrell explains that "unlike psychologists Thaler and the quant mathematicians are not interested in WHY investors are irrational." Instead they assume ". . . . financial markets and investors are irrational and always will be" [Emphasis mine].

According to Farrell the quants-as he refers to them-want to take advantage of investors' irrationality as the market goes through its up and down cycle, through use of "sophisticated quant math programs." Only investment banks, institutional investors and wealthy individuals with the resources can afford to implement these "quant programs." And so most of us smaller investors are once again left out in the investment hinterlands.

Part II looks at "Lazy Portfolios" which are Farrell's solution to the game being rigged

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Get to Know Oodle

In a June 3rd article on slate.com Chadwick Matlin claims Oodle and its platform together with Wal-Mart may save local newspapers and take on the juggernaut that is Craigslist.

Wal-Mart Classifieds opened last month. Matlin contends that this set-up will open up the playing field when it comes to classifieds. Right now Craigslist is a closed system, "you need to go through its site and manually input your wares for sale. You can't graft your own database into the Craigslist architecture."

However with Oodle, Matlin writes one can see any listing on the Oodle network. "[A]ccording to the CEO [Oodle] partners with 80,000 different sites." So anything posted at the Wal-Mart site is visible on any of the other sites and vis-versa. That my friends is A LOT of shopping.

It will be interesting to see how craigslist responds to this development.