tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23645894201357669432011-07-07T21:30:18.546-07:00crank (krngk) n. 1. A device for transmitting rotary motion, consisting of a handle or arm attached at right angles to a shaft. 2. A clever turn of speech; a verbal conceit: quips and cranks. 3. A peculiar or eccentric idea or action. 4. Informal: a.) A grouchy person. b.) An eccentric person, especially one who is unduly zealous. 5. Slang: Methamphetamine. (courtesy thefreedictionary.com)GaryMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08089180039603299176noreply@blogger.comBlogger221100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2364589420135766943.post-80958214433815030722009-06-02T18:39:00.000-07:002009-06-02T18:53:42.809-07:00

Amid the babble of how music downloads are killing the recording industry, I offer a personal experience of how artists profit from appropriate marketing of download content.A year ago, I had heard of Coldplay, and although I could recognize some of their hits, I could never identify them as the artists behind any of the hits. Then, in June, 2008, their “X & Y” album in MP3 format went on sale on

GaryMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08089180039603299176noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2364589420135766943.post-1567464902298177232009-05-22T10:27:00.001-07:002009-05-22T10:30:26.825-07:00

Cheney's speech contained omissions, misstatements.I am shocked, truly shocked!

GaryMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08089180039603299176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2364589420135766943.post-3739808666504096512008-11-12T13:25:00.001-08:002008-11-12T13:43:52.698-08:00

The ongoing irony of Californians amazes me. We overwhelmingly pass a bill to guarantee minimum space standards for the livestock we eat (Proposition 2), and we narrowly pass a bill which prohibits how two consenting adults can define their relationship.The most bizarre pro-Prop 8 poster I saw leading up to the election exclaimed, "Keep Government Out of Marriage!" Huh? The whole point of

GaryMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08089180039603299176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2364589420135766943.post-83508166765246878662008-11-12T09:33:00.001-08:002008-11-12T11:56:00.807-08:00

The US auto industry has been in decline since the first oil crisis in 1973. Even during the heyday of SUV's and big trucks in the 90's and 00's, anyone with a serious forward-looking focus could see that any major blip in oil prices, oil supply, or macroeconomic health would send the industry off the cliff.Why? Because American consumers change their buying habits quickly, and the American auto

GaryMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08089180039603299176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2364589420135766943.post-24683332802435952012008-11-05T00:09:00.000-08:002008-11-05T09:18:26.732-08:00

I rarely experience chills from speeches. But tonight's acceptance speech was eloquent, humble, conciliatory, but most important, cautionary. President-Elect Obama knows full well that entering his term with a damaged economy and an obscene budget deficit leaves few options. So he asked for us to be willing to sacrifice and work harder. I hope you all heard it, too. Sign me up, let's get to

GaryMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08089180039603299176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2364589420135766943.post-6121453266453614592008-10-28T11:39:00.000-07:002008-10-28T12:19:33.112-07:00

From the Major League Baseball(tm) rule book:Rule 7.08 Any runner is out when:(i) After he has acquired legal possession of a base, he runs the bases in reverse order for the purpose of confusing the defense or making a travesty of the game. The umpire shall immediately call “Time” and declare the runner out;The real travesty is what occurred in Philadelphia last night, in what was billed as

GaryMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08089180039603299176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2364589420135766943.post-59987187864648484322008-10-21T11:11:00.000-07:002008-10-21T11:20:08.138-07:00

These videos pretty much sum up the "say anything to get you elected" spirit of John McCain over the years, followed up with a plea to Sarah Palin that she's too out of touch to be "America's Mom."John McCain and the economic meltdown:"Drill Baby Drill"John McCain: "I Know Squat -- I Don't Know Squat"Memo to Sarah: "You Ain't Our Momma!"Please don't forget to vote.

GaryMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08089180039603299176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2364589420135766943.post-21836108555621797042008-09-24T14:11:00.000-07:002008-09-24T14:31:40.973-07:00

What a surreal feeling: Vacationing in Europe while the next act in the financial meltdown of American financial markets played out.Not that I was totally surprised. Many, even the FBI, warned that the subprime mortgage fiasco would create a domino effect that would last for months, if not years. And according to some, there is really no end in sight.Why? Because of greed, plain and simple. Most

GaryMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08089180039603299176noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2364589420135766943.post-90251757795817116352008-09-21T09:22:00.000-07:002008-09-21T14:53:20.933-07:00

I'm a regular user of Adobe Reader, and that's about it. I have Adobe 6 installed, which came with the laptop or bought by my firm, but I rarely use it.So I'm not surprised to get occasional popups from the Adobe Update Manager telling me there's an update to Adobe Reader, and the upgrades are no big deal.However, today I got another popup which looked a little different, but it offered me an

GaryMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08089180039603299176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2364589420135766943.post-61161727399761836112008-09-21T04:12:00.000-07:002008-09-21T14:51:53.750-07:00

Deb and I have been in Europe (Switzerland and France, specifically) for almost two weeks, and have had a marvelous time. My favorite photos have been uploaded to Picasa. (Photos are in time order - sorry if you can't deal with the destination jumps. See the map reference if you're not sure where the photo was snapped.)It's too easy to compare Europe and the places we visited with the U.S., and

GaryMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08089180039603299176noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2364589420135766943.post-62835482386547869942008-06-13T18:54:00.000-07:002008-06-13T19:13:05.985-07:00

I've spent this week in the Paris area on one of those last-minute, frenetic business trips to provide engineering support to one of my company's partners.France and Paris had never been very high on my list of places to visit in my lifetime. I've changed my mind. The people are friendlier than I was led to believe, more of them speak English than I imagined (although my best French is "Je ne

GaryMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08089180039603299176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2364589420135766943.post-9266492043219462342008-05-15T01:52:00.000-07:002008-05-15T12:50:48.822-07:00

Back in Kauai again. One of the few places where I can regain peace in mind and heart. Get the batteries recharged.I took the photo on the left in 2007 from Poipu beach. The weather for the last few days is much different: a high pressure system has settled over the islands, blocking the trade winds, causing a buildup of domestic air pollution and Vog.Nevertheless, I love Kauai, but it is always

GaryMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08089180039603299176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2364589420135766943.post-56429731100969691182008-03-05T11:51:00.000-08:002008-03-05T12:01:07.921-08:00

So, the Brits have started to protect their texting populace from head-banging posts on the walkway. (What about those groin-high pollards? That's still gotta hurt!)I smell an opportunity for PI lawyers in this country: sue the municipality for damages when your client walks into a lamppost while texting! Any guesses as to when the first suit will be filed?External link via Gizmodo.

GaryMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08089180039603299176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2364589420135766943.post-47194484987550121712008-03-04T22:15:00.000-08:002008-03-04T23:11:17.442-08:00

This is really an update on my last post: the unnecessary pain of accurately calculating gain and loss on reinvested dividends. In that post, I chided Schwab Investments for not calculating the gain and loss and including that information on the 1099.Well, I can add E*TRADE to the same list. Same story, up to a point. E*TRADE allows the user to download the data on the various views I could pull

GaryMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08089180039603299176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2364589420135766943.post-74374392560939611162008-03-03T23:16:00.000-08:002008-09-21T14:23:47.644-07:00

Ah, the annual Income Tax ritual. Got my TurboTax here. Got my W-2's. Got my hard 1099's or the email notice I could download them. Good to go.In prior years, I dreaded the manual entry of mutual fund data. You know, you get that monthly dividend that gets reinvested? And when you finally sell the sucker, you have to account for the gain or loss summed on each of those little month-by-month

GaryMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08089180039603299176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2364589420135766943.post-79053467102445699812008-02-13T17:12:00.000-08:002008-09-21T14:25:26.857-07:00

"You don't understand it. Jobs has you tagged. He's making sure your computers don't work. If you put out this appeal to Steve Jobs and ask him to help, his reply is going to be, 'Mr. Limbaugh. Do us a favor and endorse Windows.'"- A Rush Limbaugh employee responds to Mr. Limbaugh asking if he should make a public appeal to Mr. Jobs for tech support.

GaryMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08089180039603299176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2364589420135766943.post-16456158002237286172008-01-04T18:05:00.000-08:002008-01-04T18:10:27.065-08:00

I've never been a fan of Director David Lynch, but I certainly agree with his pseudo-iPhone video in which he blasts the experience of watching a movie on a phone. (Warning, NSFW.)In any event, I laugh whenever I see iPhone commercials showing browsing speeds exceeding that of my high-powered desktop connected to a big tube. As Mr. Lynch puts it, "Get Real."

GaryMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08089180039603299176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2364589420135766943.post-58524861548452323582007-12-28T13:29:00.000-08:002008-09-21T14:10:50.974-07:00

Post-Christmas, and this is usually when people retire their holiday music selections and playlists until next November. Not so fast for me.Front-liners in the battle against the so-called "War on Christmas" would probably have my head for my use of "Holiday" over "Christmas," except that I intentionally lump music during this time of year into a well-rounded category that includes Christmas and

GaryMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08089180039603299176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2364589420135766943.post-61164292814824654082007-12-11T10:39:00.000-08:002008-09-21T13:58:03.321-07:00

So, you can now immortalize your WoW character. (The site has since been updated after some pain and grief.)Wow! I'm sure that WoW players, after spending the majority of their waking discretionary time in WoW, can't deal with seeing their character represented in only 2-D on the monitor. Just think of all the possibilities:When you're away from your game, you can take your character with you,

GaryMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08089180039603299176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2364589420135766943.post-22336549949532436512007-12-10T17:06:00.000-08:002007-12-10T17:23:12.719-08:00

I'm over my last nit with Amazon, but they still do some funny things I just can't pass up.Debbi asked for a replacement for her hand mixer, so I ordered her the high-end Dualit model 88520 through Amazon. Either because of small sampling size, weird statistics, or wacky heuristics, I was informed that people like me who bought this particular mixer also bought:Okay, so maybe I'm all right with

GaryMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08089180039603299176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2364589420135766943.post-79697480418306267182007-11-29T18:05:00.000-08:002007-11-30T12:12:05.125-08:00

Amazon and I go back a long way, mainly because I like their service. The delivery is speedy; sometimes, so speedy that I receive an order of CDs before I receive the email shipping notice, which somehow defies logic.Anyway, this year, as part of our company's Family Giving Tree holiday event, I went to Amazon to order some toys for local children. Knowing that delivery time would be close, I

GaryMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08089180039603299176noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2364589420135766943.post-21294524093331412122007-11-28T17:49:00.001-08:002007-11-29T18:35:13.807-08:00

Debbi and I usually prefer to eat in when dining, even on the rare occasions we go to a classic fast food place. It bugs me that the food is served with disposable wrappers and utensils -- just another reason to avoid standard fast food.But what about the classic Doggie Bag? After a nice meal at a restaurant with regular place settings, I feel guilty when the leftovers are boxed and bagged up in

GaryMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08089180039603299176noreply@blogger.com0