I concede that I was exaggerating a bit when I referred to my new tablet as "a GPS device, RF scanner, MP3 player, eReader, camera, digital voice recorder, hand held gaming device, clock, portable translator...." It's the "GPS device" boast that's questionable.
Well it depends on how you define GPS Device. If it's a merely a device that displays a map and shows you where you are on that map using the Global Positioning System network of satellites, then, yes, the tablet is such a device.
But if you expect the device to allow you to enter a destination and provide real-time instruction on how to get there, along with an reasonably accurate estimate of when you can expect to reach your destination, then the tablet is merely a GPS Device Poser.
On my Nexus 7, directions are provided by Google Maps, which does a very good job of routing. But something called Navigator assumes the role of proving the actual turn-by-turn directions and arrival time.
Navigator works fine as long as you follow the initial route and as long as traffic conditions do not change during the trip. For example, if you start out at home while the tablet has an Internet connection, Google Maps will check the traffic conditions and provide both a route and an estimate of arrival time that's fairly accurate. You have the option of downloading a rectangular map that encompasses the route, too, so you can use Navigator offline.
But during the trip when the Internet connection is missing, Navigator cannot adapt to a traffic problem. Well, that's to be expected, and it's no reason to find fault in the app. The real problem is that Navigator does not recalculate the trip when you deviate from the route.
On my 20-minute commute to work, I can take one of four different major routes, two of which are on state highways, both of which are littered by red traffic lights. So I like to take the back roads, which are scenic and have fewer stops, albeit longer. It's reasonable for Navigator to prefer the state highways. But when I ignore the chosen route, Navigator refuses to recalculate. Instead it provides directions to return me to the point where I went off course. So the closer I get to work via the back road, the longer the trip time. I've seen the 20-minute commute spike up to 1 hour and 45 minutes. And when I finally do come to an intersection with the highway, it will actually direct me in the opposite direction, presumably to reach a way point on it's own route.
Well there are other GPS apps, even free ones, that can provide turn-by-turn directions. Right now I'm evaluating Navfree USA: Free. It does a better job of dealing with my willful disregard of the planned route. But it's a little rough. For example, it fails to give you the first instruction at the beginning of the trip. Also you need to have an Internet connection in order to get directions to an address because it queries Google maps. (That's not an issue if you've saved your destination as a Favorite.) I'm assuming that the same is true for Points of Interest. The biggest problem with it, though, is that it will crash after 30 to 40 minutes and need to be restarted.
So alas, I'm not about to give up my Garmin Nuvi just yet. It would provide real time traffic updates in some areas and serve as a backup to the tablet in the event that I needed to follow a detour.
Edited on 2013-04-13 to add two sentences to the Navfree paragraph.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Saturday, March 02, 2013
My Geeky Reward
Recently I took my stash of credit card rewards and, all at once, I bought a GPS device, RF scanner, MP3 player, eReader, camera, digital voice recorder, hand held gaming device, clock, portable translator....
That's one heck of a reward!
Well, if you haven't guessed by now, I bought a tablet. I suppose "RF Scanner" might've thrown you off, but with the Scanner Radio app, you can turn an Android tablet into a police scanner as long as you're connected to a Wi-Fi network. Plus you can listen to the goings on of the LAPD1 from the East Coast.
The six $50 gift cards that I bought with $240 of rewards allowed me to pay for the Google Nexus 7 tablet, tax included, plus the two-year warranty extension, which I chose because I was not paying by credit card. I usually decline such extended warranty plans on the grounds that my credit card offers the same coverage. But since I wasn't using the credit card to pay for the purchase, and I was saving so much money anyway, I figured I might as well go for it. Although I do realize that the device might be obsolete before it expires.
Anyway, I love the device. I found an app that works with my public library's downloadable book collection. So if I'm in the mood to read Dave Barry late at night, I can use the app to borrow Dave Barry in Cyberspace, for free.
1 Los Angeles Police Department. The radio traffic of the LAPD and that of San Bernardino County was very popular a few weeks ago during the manhunt for Christopher Dorner.
That's one heck of a reward!
Well, if you haven't guessed by now, I bought a tablet. I suppose "RF Scanner" might've thrown you off, but with the Scanner Radio app, you can turn an Android tablet into a police scanner as long as you're connected to a Wi-Fi network. Plus you can listen to the goings on of the LAPD1 from the East Coast.
The six $50 gift cards that I bought with $240 of rewards allowed me to pay for the Google Nexus 7 tablet, tax included, plus the two-year warranty extension, which I chose because I was not paying by credit card. I usually decline such extended warranty plans on the grounds that my credit card offers the same coverage. But since I wasn't using the credit card to pay for the purchase, and I was saving so much money anyway, I figured I might as well go for it. Although I do realize that the device might be obsolete before it expires.
Anyway, I love the device. I found an app that works with my public library's downloadable book collection. So if I'm in the mood to read Dave Barry late at night, I can use the app to borrow Dave Barry in Cyberspace, for free.
1 Los Angeles Police Department. The radio traffic of the LAPD and that of San Bernardino County was very popular a few weeks ago during the manhunt for Christopher Dorner.
Tuesday, October 09, 2012
Earth is 9000 Years Old!
I did not realize until just a few moments ago that our Earth is 9000 years old, and it was created in six days. So says Rep. Paul C. Broun, a republican from Georgia. He is a member of a key congressional science advisory committee, so he must know what he's taking about.
He also refers to evolution, embryology and the Big Bang theory as "all lies straight from the pit of Hell."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/07/bill-nye-paul-broun-science-space-technology_n_1947125.html
He also refers to evolution, embryology and the Big Bang theory as "all lies straight from the pit of Hell."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/07/bill-nye-paul-broun-science-space-technology_n_1947125.html
Monday, September 17, 2012
Presidential Candidates' Answers to the 2012 Top 14 Science and Technology Questions
ScienceDebate.org invited thousands of scientists, engineers and concerned citizens to submit what they felt were the the most important science questions facing the nation that the candidates for president should be debating on the campaign trail.https://www.sciencedebate.org
ScienceDebate then worked with leading US science and engineering organizations ... to refine the questions and arrive at a universal consensus on what the most important science policy questions facing the United States are in 2012.
...We call on the candidates for President to also debate these Top American Science Questions that affect all voters' lives.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Facebook's Illusion of Privacy
...whatever you post on Facebook, you should just assume that the public can see it, because even though Facebook tries to put in protections and permissions and privacy controls, there’s really no way to guarantee that only your friends can see your data.http://spectrum.ieee.org/podcast/telecom/internet/stalking-on-facebook-is-easier-than-you-think
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Putting Water Adhesion and Cohesion to Work
I lost the grommet that allows me to attach a drain hose to my air conditioner. So I decided to see whether water's properties of adhesion and cohesion would come to my rescue.
I suspended the drain hose below the air condition drain opening. Then I placed one end of a wet, rolled up paper towel in the air conditioner, touching the drain pan. I placed the other end into the hose. The set up is shown below.
Normally, you'd just let the water drip out onto the ground. But this A/C is installed between a kitchen and a carpeted enclosed porch, and we wanted to keep the carpet dry.
The rig works like a charm. No spillage. All the condensate ends up in the bottle, which I then empty into the washing machine or the garden. In fact it works better than if I'd used a grommet to connect the hose. With the grommet, the water level had to rise high enough to breach the rim of the grommet. In fact, I used to put a piece of cotton string in the grommet to help lift the water up over the grommet ledge and into the hose. Otherwise, the water would leak out all four corners of the pan.
There is some rust forming around the edge of that unfinished knockout. I'll need to paint that at the end of the season if I don't want the rust to spread.
I suspended the drain hose below the air condition drain opening. Then I placed one end of a wet, rolled up paper towel in the air conditioner, touching the drain pan. I placed the other end into the hose. The set up is shown below.
Normally, you'd just let the water drip out onto the ground. But this A/C is installed between a kitchen and a carpeted enclosed porch, and we wanted to keep the carpet dry.
The rig works like a charm. No spillage. All the condensate ends up in the bottle, which I then empty into the washing machine or the garden. In fact it works better than if I'd used a grommet to connect the hose. With the grommet, the water level had to rise high enough to breach the rim of the grommet. In fact, I used to put a piece of cotton string in the grommet to help lift the water up over the grommet ledge and into the hose. Otherwise, the water would leak out all four corners of the pan.
There is some rust forming around the edge of that unfinished knockout. I'll need to paint that at the end of the season if I don't want the rust to spread.
Friday, July 13, 2012
How I Became Paging System Monitor
One of my unofficial volunteer work responsibilities is that of Paging System Monitor. This is someone who listens to a page over the public address system and then verifies that the pager hung up properly. Because if the person does not hang up the phone, no one else can issue a page.
Generally this doesn't happen often. But when it does, it's inconvenient. It can be embarrassing, too, if the pager continues speaking, thinking that the conversation is not getting broadcast to all the bosses.
Usually it's an easy job to find the off-hook phone, if the person included the (correct) phone extension number in the page. When you hear, "Joe Smith please call 73," for example, you can assume that the pager used the phone at extension 73. Then if the phone was not hung up properly, you (or Joe) can just call it, and that phone should ring on the second line.
But if it's one of those generic announcements, such as, "It's starting to rain. If you left your car windows open, now's a good time to close them;" or "I'll be rebooting the file server in five minutes. Please close all open files;" or "Would the janitor please come to the men's room -- it's an emergency. Please bring a mop," then the process turns into a fun game of deduction.
Well, in the case of the call for the janitor, you can assume that the phone is near one of the men's rooms." So you can walk over to any nearby office and check the phones. But if a location isn't implied, then you have to revert to recognizing the sound of the voice and then figure out whom it belongs to. This is easier than you might think. In fact, I had a good lesson in grade school in how easy "voice recognition" really is.
We were reading a story out loud, and the plot hinged on a character figuring out who someone was just by the sound of his voice. I asked the teacher how that could happen, and I expressed doubt that you can know who was speaking to you without actually seeing the person. So the teacher decided to really convince me. She invited me to close my eyes. Then one by one, each of my classmates spoke, and I had to guess who it was. There were only two out of about 30 voices that I couldn't figure out (and one of them belonged to someone named Joe, in fact). Yes, the teacher was pretty cool. But it was Open House Day, and our parents were also in the room. So I suspect she might not have done this if she weren't showing off for them.
Anyway, once you know who the person is, you can usually resolve the problem by calling his or her extension. Or you might have to walk around and find the person and then ask which phone was used. I had to do this recently for an announcement the janitor made about locking up the building. Usually he locks the building because he's the last to leave. But since he was leaving earlier than usual, he wanted to let us know that one of us had to lock up. It's a good thing I found him because he used a phone deep in purchasing that I wouldn't have guessed right away.
All this rigamarole wouldn't be necessary if the phone system's PA mode were designed to "time-out" after 30 seconds. But again, technology fails us yet again, and we resort to wasteful effort to compensate.
Generally this doesn't happen often. But when it does, it's inconvenient. It can be embarrassing, too, if the pager continues speaking, thinking that the conversation is not getting broadcast to all the bosses.
Usually it's an easy job to find the off-hook phone, if the person included the (correct) phone extension number in the page. When you hear, "Joe Smith please call 73," for example, you can assume that the pager used the phone at extension 73. Then if the phone was not hung up properly, you (or Joe) can just call it, and that phone should ring on the second line.
But if it's one of those generic announcements, such as, "It's starting to rain. If you left your car windows open, now's a good time to close them;" or "I'll be rebooting the file server in five minutes. Please close all open files;" or "Would the janitor please come to the men's room -- it's an emergency. Please bring a mop," then the process turns into a fun game of deduction.
Well, in the case of the call for the janitor, you can assume that the phone is near one of the men's rooms." So you can walk over to any nearby office and check the phones. But if a location isn't implied, then you have to revert to recognizing the sound of the voice and then figure out whom it belongs to. This is easier than you might think. In fact, I had a good lesson in grade school in how easy "voice recognition" really is.
We were reading a story out loud, and the plot hinged on a character figuring out who someone was just by the sound of his voice. I asked the teacher how that could happen, and I expressed doubt that you can know who was speaking to you without actually seeing the person. So the teacher decided to really convince me. She invited me to close my eyes. Then one by one, each of my classmates spoke, and I had to guess who it was. There were only two out of about 30 voices that I couldn't figure out (and one of them belonged to someone named Joe, in fact). Yes, the teacher was pretty cool. But it was Open House Day, and our parents were also in the room. So I suspect she might not have done this if she weren't showing off for them.
Anyway, once you know who the person is, you can usually resolve the problem by calling his or her extension. Or you might have to walk around and find the person and then ask which phone was used. I had to do this recently for an announcement the janitor made about locking up the building. Usually he locks the building because he's the last to leave. But since he was leaving earlier than usual, he wanted to let us know that one of us had to lock up. It's a good thing I found him because he used a phone deep in purchasing that I wouldn't have guessed right away.
All this rigamarole wouldn't be necessary if the phone system's PA mode were designed to "time-out" after 30 seconds. But again, technology fails us yet again, and we resort to wasteful effort to compensate.
Monday, July 02, 2012
Recalculating
I bought the GPS about one month before driving my family to Washington DC. In order to get used to it, I would use it on my work commute. I quickly discovered that it had an undesirable habit of choosing congested roads with many traffic lights.
It didn't seem to matter whether I choose Shortest Route, or Quickest Route. It was oblivious to the Avoid Highways setting. Even the intriguing Econo-Route setting made no difference. It was stuck on an undocumented mode I call "Maximize Encounters with Red Traffic Lights." And where I drive, at least every 1 of 4 traffic lights will be red on any given commute. If you know how many traffic lights (L) are on the route, you can get a realistic arrival time (if you obey the speed limit) by adding this many minutes to the arrival time the GPS claims: T = 0.5 * L. My meager 10-mile commute to work features an amazing 21 traffic lights and is ten minutes shorter at 3am when most lights are either green or disabled.
And unlike Monty Python's Flying Circus, I hate traffic lights, even when they're green. Because a green light is one that is bound to turn red just as you get to it. Of course anyone who has read my rant on traffic lights (and the follow up post) knows where I stand.
It didn't seem to matter whether I choose Shortest Route, or Quickest Route. It was oblivious to the Avoid Highways setting. Even the intriguing Econo-Route setting made no difference. It was stuck on an undocumented mode I call "Maximize Encounters with Red Traffic Lights." And where I drive, at least every 1 of 4 traffic lights will be red on any given commute. If you know how many traffic lights (L) are on the route, you can get a realistic arrival time (if you obey the speed limit) by adding this many minutes to the arrival time the GPS claims: T = 0.5 * L. My meager 10-mile commute to work features an amazing 21 traffic lights and is ten minutes shorter at 3am when most lights are either green or disabled.
And unlike Monty Python's Flying Circus, I hate traffic lights, even when they're green. Because a green light is one that is bound to turn red just as you get to it. Of course anyone who has read my rant on traffic lights (and the follow up post) knows where I stand.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Computers Outnumber People in our House
With the purchase of the HP laptop a few weeks ago, the number of computers in our home exceeded the number of humans.
I bought the new laptop because the screen on the previous laptop went dead. And while the instructions for replacing the inverter board on the Inside My Laptop site were easy to follow, the screen remained blank. For a while I used this laptop with an external monitor. But then its screen started to work again. Yet, I cannot rely on it working all the time -- it seems to dislike rebooting. It's a shame because I just bought a genuine HP battery for it, and the OS (Vista Home Premium) should be around for a few more years.
And remember the computer that I wasn't sure what to do with? Well, I loaded Windows 2000 Professional on it. It turns out that Firefox 12 runs on Windows 2000, so it's a good enough solution. However, after I installed and updated AVG Anti-virus, the computer failed to reboot. I guess I'll try the repair option and then reinstall if it doesn't work.
I did try installing XP first. But it was very slow. Plus I had the issue of an invalid CD key and no prospect of activating it. I do actually own XP, but I'm not sure how to convince the computer of that.
Another neat thing I do with this computer is I boot Dynebolic from the CD. It runs really well, but there is the issue that there's no Flash player for it. As well I couldn't figure out how to create multiple password-protected user accounts. So I wouldn't want to use it for any secret, anonymous activity, like updating this blog, without pretending it's a public computer.
I bought the new laptop because the screen on the previous laptop went dead. And while the instructions for replacing the inverter board on the Inside My Laptop site were easy to follow, the screen remained blank. For a while I used this laptop with an external monitor. But then its screen started to work again. Yet, I cannot rely on it working all the time -- it seems to dislike rebooting. It's a shame because I just bought a genuine HP battery for it, and the OS (Vista Home Premium) should be around for a few more years.
And remember the computer that I wasn't sure what to do with? Well, I loaded Windows 2000 Professional on it. It turns out that Firefox 12 runs on Windows 2000, so it's a good enough solution. However, after I installed and updated AVG Anti-virus, the computer failed to reboot. I guess I'll try the repair option and then reinstall if it doesn't work.
I did try installing XP first. But it was very slow. Plus I had the issue of an invalid CD key and no prospect of activating it. I do actually own XP, but I'm not sure how to convince the computer of that.
Another neat thing I do with this computer is I boot Dynebolic from the CD. It runs really well, but there is the issue that there's no Flash player for it. As well I couldn't figure out how to create multiple password-protected user accounts. So I wouldn't want to use it for any secret, anonymous activity, like updating this blog, without pretending it's a public computer.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tainted Chocolate For a Scary Halloween
The melamine that was found in tainted milk could be in the chocolate that's passed out this Halloween.
Please watch this "Candy Product Review 2008 of Potentially MELAMINE Tainted Treats, A SERIOUS Warning By Mike Mozart of JeepersMedia on You Tube" and warn others.
And consider giving out stickers, yourself.
Thank you.
Please watch this "Candy Product Review 2008 of Potentially MELAMINE Tainted Treats, A SERIOUS Warning By Mike Mozart of JeepersMedia on You Tube" and warn others.
And consider giving out stickers, yourself.
Thank you.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Bailout, Schmailout
Congress thinks we need a bailout. Wall Street definitely needs a bailout. What do you think?
I'll tell you what I think. We don't need it.
Our economy is self-correcting. Higher interest rates caused trouble for people who were in too much debt. They could no longer pay back their loans. As well, the ever increasing cost for gasoline and heating oil put an extra strain on the entire working class.
But now, the rates on Treasury bills are ridiculously low. This means the rates on home equity lines of credit and the interest rates on ARMs (Adjustable Rate Mortgages) have fallen because they're both usually indexed to one of the Treasury bills.
We're also seeing much lower prices for gasoline. Drivers are practically swerving off the side of the road to stare at the prices. "Wait, did that actually read $3.19? No it must've been $4.19. Let me look again."
One big problem remains. Businesses may start to fire workers because they cannot finance growth projects or even payroll. In this case, the appropriate course of action for our government is to finance projects that lead to new jobs.
Imagine how many jobs $700 Billion could start. You could create a whole oil-free energy infrastructure with that amount of money. People would have jobs, and we'd finally be independent from unfriendly oil-producing nations.
But then, what kind of jobs will the greedy Wall Street CEO's get? My advice is to put them on disability -- essentially pay them to not work. We'll all be better off then.
I'll tell you what I think. We don't need it.
Our economy is self-correcting. Higher interest rates caused trouble for people who were in too much debt. They could no longer pay back their loans. As well, the ever increasing cost for gasoline and heating oil put an extra strain on the entire working class.
But now, the rates on Treasury bills are ridiculously low. This means the rates on home equity lines of credit and the interest rates on ARMs (Adjustable Rate Mortgages) have fallen because they're both usually indexed to one of the Treasury bills.
We're also seeing much lower prices for gasoline. Drivers are practically swerving off the side of the road to stare at the prices. "Wait, did that actually read $3.19? No it must've been $4.19. Let me look again."
One big problem remains. Businesses may start to fire workers because they cannot finance growth projects or even payroll. In this case, the appropriate course of action for our government is to finance projects that lead to new jobs.
Imagine how many jobs $700 Billion could start. You could create a whole oil-free energy infrastructure with that amount of money. People would have jobs, and we'd finally be independent from unfriendly oil-producing nations.
But then, what kind of jobs will the greedy Wall Street CEO's get? My advice is to put them on disability -- essentially pay them to not work. We'll all be better off then.
Friday, October 03, 2008
More USA Election 2008 Resources
Watch the Biden-Palin debate online.
Then skip over to FactCheck.org to find out how accurate each candidate was.
The first Obama-McCain debate also is on Hulu.
Find the FactCheck.org response to it.
I wrote about Science debate two weeks ago.
Check out the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation's "Comparing the Candidates' Technology and Innovation Policies."
Scientists and Engineers for America helps you determine how each candidate voted on energy and technology-related bills while in Congress. (Its database covers all members of Congress):
http://sharp.sefora.org/
2024-10-01 LG Update links to FactCheck.org. Change SEforA links because it is inactive.
Then skip over to FactCheck.org to find out how accurate each candidate was.
The first Obama-McCain debate also is on Hulu.
Find the FactCheck.org response to it.
I wrote about Science debate two weeks ago.
Check out the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation's "Comparing the Candidates' Technology and Innovation Policies."
Scientists and Engineers for America helps you determine how each candidate voted on energy and technology-related bills while in Congress. (Its database covers all members of Congress):
http://sharp.sefora.org/
2024-10-01 LG Update links to FactCheck.org. Change SEforA links because it is inactive.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Beware Bank Phish E-mail
Experts predict Spike in Fraudulent Activity Due to Banking Turmoil
Woking, UK. 25th September 2008 An
increase in fraudulent activity is likely to follow the recent events
in the banking sector according to UK Company, First Cyber Security.
Customers with internet banking accounts are urged to take care if
asked to respond to emails from banks which have been named as being
involved in the recent takeovers and mergers.
- First Cyber Security (FCS)
So be very suspicious of e-mail asking you to click a link and login. Okay, that's just about every commerce-related e-mail. But if the content urges you to "login right away and confirm personal information otherwise your account will be suspended," be very suspicious. And never enter personal information into the body of an e-mail itself.
I recommend that you equip your browser with an anti-phishing toolbar. You can learn more about them on the CastleCops website, in the Anti-Phishing Toolbar thread.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Obama's and McCain's Answers to the Top 14 Science Questions Facing America
"Science Debate 2008 worked with ... leading organizations ... to craft the top 14 questions the [Presidential] candidates should answer. These questions are broad enough to allow for wide variations in response, but they are specific enough to help guide the discussion toward many of the largest and most important unresolved challenges currently facing the United States."
Read the candidates' answers here:
http://www.sciencedebate.org
http://www.sciencedebate.org/news20080830.html
Read the candidates' answers here:
http://www.sciencedebate.org
http://www.sciencedebate.org/news20080830.html
Friday, September 12, 2008
What Should I Do With This Computer?
I have an old computer that I'm wondering what to do with. It's a Pentium III, 500MHz, with 256MB RAM and a 10GB hard drive, with only less than 3GB left.
The case is a low profile style, so there's no bracket for an additional drive, which I do have. If I add the second drive, I'd have to attach it with double-sided tape.
The computer is configured to dual boot into either Windows 98 or Windows NT 4.0 SP. The NT partition has Office 97 installed on it. It still works. But I'd like to be able to install somewhat modern software on it and use the USB ports.
Three ideas I have:
What do you think?
The case is a low profile style, so there's no bracket for an additional drive, which I do have. If I add the second drive, I'd have to attach it with double-sided tape.
The computer is configured to dual boot into either Windows 98 or Windows NT 4.0 SP. The NT partition has Office 97 installed on it. It still works. But I'd like to be able to install somewhat modern software on it and use the USB ports.
Three ideas I have:
- Reformat the drive with a single partition and do a fresh install of Windows 2000. It would be comparable to the software configuration on my current desktop. This would get the USB ports working. But some programs, such as iTunes, no longer support Windows 2000.
- Reformat the drive with a single partition and do a fresh install of Windows XP. Not sure how it will perform on this system, though.
- Reformat the drive and install Ubuntu. Not sure what software is available -- maybe just a web browser, Open Office and a PDF viewer. And of course Emacs. Most likely no one else in the house would use the computer. And I wonder if I can get all the drivers I'll need.
What do you think?
Monday, August 25, 2008
Follow Up to "Career Doldrums"
Just a quick follow up to my previous post.
I was a bit unfair in saying that the book advises you to deal with doldrums by changing careers. That's not all it does. It's also great confidence booster, especially for baby boomers who are worried that they're too old to find a new job.
It explains the differences among the Baby Boom, Gen X and the latest generation (Gen Y. See Wikipedia's List of Generations for generation definitions.) This comparison serves as a foundation to convince the baby boomer that his/her contribution at a new company will be valued. Gen Y wants immediate gratification and frequent rewards, but Baby Boomers don't need that. Gen Y doesn't want to waste time giving their boss progress reports -- they just want to dive in to the work and finish it as quickly as possible.
The generational comparisons also help older workers understand their younger bosses, who come in to the workplace and turn it up-side-down.
So I found it interesting. And it ultimately helped me understand that I might be better off staying where I am.
I was a bit unfair in saying that the book advises you to deal with doldrums by changing careers. That's not all it does. It's also great confidence booster, especially for baby boomers who are worried that they're too old to find a new job.
It explains the differences among the Baby Boom, Gen X and the latest generation (Gen Y. See Wikipedia's List of Generations for generation definitions.) This comparison serves as a foundation to convince the baby boomer that his/her contribution at a new company will be valued. Gen Y wants immediate gratification and frequent rewards, but Baby Boomers don't need that. Gen Y doesn't want to waste time giving their boss progress reports -- they just want to dive in to the work and finish it as quickly as possible.
The generational comparisons also help older workers understand their younger bosses, who come in to the workplace and turn it up-side-down.
So I found it interesting. And it ultimately helped me understand that I might be better off staying where I am.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Resources from the "Career Doldrums" Book
I finally got around to reading "Escape the Mid-Career Doldrums: What to do Next When You're Bored, Burned Out, Retired or Fired", which I mentioned in my January 17 post, "Book Recommendations From CareerBuilder.com".
Basically, the Escape involves switching careers. This involves making extreme financial sacrifices and tapping into a vast store of retirement savings. The assumption is that you've already raised your child(ren) and he/she/they've somehow managed to become self-sufficient. For some reason, the book didn't mention playing the lottery.
This is not a book written for my generation.
Anyway, I wanted to record some of the online resources that the book offers:
www.engineeringjobs.com
Occupational Outlook Handbook -- www.bls.gov
www.hotjobs.com
www.jobbankusa.com
www.computerwork.com
www.computerjobs.com
www.dice.com
www.justtechjobs.com
Philanthropy News Digest -- news regarding fundraising and establishing a foundation.
www.foundationcenter.org/pnd
www.idealist.org
www.nonprofitoyster.com
Self Employment
www.betheboss.com
www.money.cnn.com
www.wibo.org "Boot camp" for entrepreneurs.
www.franchise1.com
www.smartbiz.com
www.sbaonline.sba.gov
Enjoy!
Basically, the Escape involves switching careers. This involves making extreme financial sacrifices and tapping into a vast store of retirement savings. The assumption is that you've already raised your child(ren) and he/she/they've somehow managed to become self-sufficient. For some reason, the book didn't mention playing the lottery.
This is not a book written for my generation.
Anyway, I wanted to record some of the online resources that the book offers:
www.engineeringjobs.com
Occupational Outlook Handbook -- www.bls.gov
www.hotjobs.com
www.jobbankusa.com
www.computerwork.com
www.computerjobs.com
www.dice.com
www.justtechjobs.com
Philanthropy News Digest -- news regarding fundraising and establishing a foundation.
www.foundationcenter.org/pnd
www.idealist.org
www.nonprofitoyster.com
Self Employment
www.betheboss.com
www.money.cnn.com
www.wibo.org "Boot camp" for entrepreneurs.
www.franchise1.com
www.smartbiz.com
www.sbaonline.sba.gov
Enjoy!
Saturday, August 09, 2008
How New Blinds and Windows Can Keep You Cool
I've had the new window shades since November, but I didn't start to appreciate them until the warm weather arrived.
The neat thing about these shades is that they open at the top and the bottom. So do the windows. (The picture is of Bali's DiamondCell - Solitaire 3/8" Double Cell Shade, which is the style of shade I bought and installed.)
So that means I can keep the top of the windows and blinds open even at night without compromising privacy. And the hot air that collects near the ceilings can leak out more easily.
It also helps that the window panes are coated to reflect the heat of the sun.
It's simple things like this that prevents us from wasting energy.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Social Networks for Book Lovers
I just learned about LibraryThing from reading Sacha Chua's blog post, "Taking book notes." LibraryThing is a social network for book lovers.
The general idea is that you enter books into your library by searching for a title or ISBN. There's also an import tool that will scan a webpage and pull in the ISBNs it can recognize. I used this to import the 106 books that were referenced on my "List of Books I've Read Recently," which I might decide to replace with some references to my library on LibraryThing.
Once you have books in your library, LibraryThing will provide links to profiles of users that have many of the same books in their libraries. You can navigate to their libraries and leave comments on their profiles.
Well, that's just a brief overview. Check out LibraryThing for yourself.
For a more in-depth discussion of LibraryThing and other such sites, check out NPR's All Things Considered discussion of social networks for book lovers.
The general idea is that you enter books into your library by searching for a title or ISBN. There's also an import tool that will scan a webpage and pull in the ISBNs it can recognize. I used this to import the 106 books that were referenced on my "List of Books I've Read Recently," which I might decide to replace with some references to my library on LibraryThing.
Once you have books in your library, LibraryThing will provide links to profiles of users that have many of the same books in their libraries. You can navigate to their libraries and leave comments on their profiles.
Well, that's just a brief overview. Check out LibraryThing for yourself.
For a more in-depth discussion of LibraryThing and other such sites, check out NPR's All Things Considered discussion of social networks for book lovers.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Help Our Airlines Save Fuel
Airlines are struggling with the ever-increasing cost of fuel. They've started to charge passengers to check baggage. Let's think of other ways they can stay aloft in this turbulent economy:
With lots of creative planning, we can yet again save our beloved airline industry.
1 Empty passengers are lighter.
2 Whatever they leave behind can be used as bio-fuel.
- Charge passengers a fee that's proportional to the total weight of the passenger plus all his/her baggage, both carry on and checked.
- Offer passengers stationary bicycles and other exercise machines to prevent DVT, but secretly use the machines to drive electrical generators, which can power such non-essential systems as entertainment, lighting and navigation.
- Offer passengers free refreshments in the terminal. Lace the refreshments with laxatives and diuretics. 1, 2
With lots of creative planning, we can yet again save our beloved airline industry.
1 Empty passengers are lighter.
2 Whatever they leave behind can be used as bio-fuel.
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