Bill of Responsibilities

With so many things wrong with out government today, I was wondering what kind of reform would be needed to take care of it all at once. Impossible, I know. But with recent filibuster-fun the republicans were having recently,  I find I can’t help thinking about it. I’m not an economist, sociologist, teacher, or politician. Come to think of it, I’m not particularity useful at all. Still, I’ve tried to compile everything I could think of here. But, I could use your help. Please add what you know. For lack of a better name, I call it: “Bill of Responsibilities.”

 

A note on Ohio Lt. Governor Lee Fisher’s Petition to dismantle the Filibuster

Here’s a note I wrote with my signature for support for Rep. Lee Fisher’s Petition to dismantle the Filibuster.

“Though a long tradition and tool for demonstrating public and meaningful discontent with the majority, representatives have now organized and corrupted this tool into something making our own government destructive of its own ends.  In a country that puts its political hopes and blames into a national  party (instead of their local representatives), we must give the party-in-power the tools to enact what they see fit, for better or worse. This will provide the people a political track record of that party, without excuses of interference by other parties. It’s a real metric for making decisions in voting day. Unfortunately, its time for the filibuster system to go.”

 

Killer Whale Lives-Up To Name

Killer (“Shamu”) whale kills trainer at Sea World.

Well… yea.

I loved visiting Sea World in Ohio as a child. Seeing Shamu was a wonderful moment that I’ll probably never forget. And yet, even I’ll admit I wanted to make jokes at this one. “Killer Whale” isn’t a name that elicits the warm-fuzzies in us, and it isn’t supposed to. Like a police officer or a fireman, you put yourself in harm’s way long enough, it’s going to bite you. Literally.

I think I’d feel worse if I hadn’t seen a recent documentary about ocean mammal trade in Japan, funded mostly by Sea World and the Japanese Government. It details the capture and slaughter of dolphins  and whales for food and the animal entertainment industry. Shines a very poor light on the entire amusement park animal idea. This event just makes it worse.

 

Toyota Mechanical Failures and Electronic Transmissions

Akio Toyoda testified before congress today, claiming recent failures were due to floor mats and pedals again, but claims the fix includes pedal replacement, floormat replacement, and electronic reprogramming. They did not directly say that electronic failures were a cause, only a consumer concern. Nice.  Two issues come to mind…

 

New Discount P/S Cameras! A Review.

My old Canon 4 MP ELPH finally died of CCD failure, and it was time to look for a replacement. The timing couldn’t be worse, however. With more items to sell, I need pics- and now. But, with horrible noise problems and rushed software from the recent megapixel wars, reviews of current cameras were pretty dim. What’s worse, it seems some reviewers were beginning to simply accept the diminishing capabilities of the new point-and-shoot cameras to focus-on the “good” parts. Everyone seems so enamored with the megapixel count that they forget picture quality and the ability to actually capture a photo (something amazingly missing from recent cameras). I know 10 years is a long time to ask of my old ELPH, but why couldn’t it have survived a year longer?

So, with time to waste while waiting for an oil-change, I went to play with the camera display at the end of aisle 200 in the local super-mega-happy-mart. Looking at P/S cameras having from 10-12MP and prices from $80-$120, I found many surprises. Both good and bad.

 

Working Checkbook Spreadsheet. A Rare Bird?

Reading the paper today, I noticed a complaint about a very basic issue- balancing our checkbooks. More specifically, people having trouble are looking to the computer for some friendly program to help. Though this should be a pretty simple problem, it seems finding a solution is difficult. It was for me, until I stumbled across a solution many years ago.

 

Viore PLC7v95 Portable TV

For those of you who have gone and bought a Viore PLC7v95 portable TV that I discussed before, you may have found something missing. While transferring some movies to the unit, I found that it’s picky about formats. Unfortunately, Viore doesn’t describe what formats are compatible with their units. Nothing in the manual, nothing on the website.

 

Cleveland Browns Win!

We got to see hints of improvement over the last 2 games, but now a Win! Over the Steelers? Ha! Now to see if they can keep it going. Can they keep other teams from easily decoding their offense after the half (seems to happen a lot)? Can they keep their defense healthy for a whole season of game-saving? Can they pay Joshua Cribs, their only star player, enough to stay in Cleveland? I don’t know, but Browns are now fun again. Thats enough for me.

 

Fat! But, fat by Law?

Tonight, CBS news reported on the growing obesity problem in the US. Projected figures showed my home state as surpassing 50% by 2018. Of course, the usual questions were hauled-up again, without any new answers. Yes, processed foods and high fructose corn syrup are probably killing us. Exercise more? Eat less? We’ve been doing both and we’re still expanding. It’s possible that the American way of life, The Suburban Ideal, may be the ultimate cause. And, the cause could be as simple as our municipal zoning laws.

DISEASE

So many questions about America’s problems can be answered by getting out of America. When you leave, you get to see people who have universal healthcare which causes about as much social unrest as a shoe-store closing. You find people with basic understanding that educational systems are products of the funding and standards you put into them (And that science and engineering instruction is a source prosperity.. not a source of fear and disgust). And interestingly, you’ll find cultures that are now wrapped in the widespread use of soft-drinks and fast foods by their children and are now facing diabetes in their families for the first time. Oddly, they’re not ‘fat’ and that distinction is supremely important.

 

Portable DTV! But which to buy?

I know this issue has been beat to death on the web. But, now it’s time for me to finally take a look. Wife wants a portable TV for work.  Needs to be ATSC (“DTV”) compatible, have good battery life, and most importantly, portable. She DOESN’T want a laptop.

I’ve found that almost all have battery life of ~1.5 hours and require external antenna for normal operation, regardless of advertising claims. Most have the same resolution and other technical specifications. Some have digital media players, some come with external antennas.  Some have carrying handles. I’m looking specifically at quality (from reviews) and price. Though a media player sounds cool, too.

I’ve listed what I’ve found below, including a composite of reviews from other sites (Amazon, AVN, etc.), and an average price.  All except Chinese TV’s for export because… what  are you, crazy? I’ve been burned enough by Chinese “technology.”