Just Looking

This post has nothing to do with Lady Gaga.  Nor Michael Jackson.

If you had to choose between Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin, who would you choose?  What are you choosing them for?

If your looking for Marlon Brando or John Wayne or Humphrey Bogart or Clark Gable, you're probably an old broad.

If your looking for Rita Hayworth or Lana Turner or Mae West or Myrna Loy, you're probably an old geezer.

If you're looking for 50 Cents, you're probably unemployed and out of wine

If you're wondering what this post is all about, join the club.

Smartphones

In 2004, AT&T Wireless (the original, not the next generation), offered Nokia cell phones with a special plan in honor of the Olympics.  It was called the Olympic Gold Plan and was quite a good deal, with shared minutes, text messaging, and a limited amount of data access. The phones and plan served us well until this past week.

Then Mary found that the iphone 4 was in stock at Best Buy and got one.  I got a Samsung Captivate, an Android phone (one of the Galaxy S family).  We got them at Best Buy, because they gave us 18 months to pay them off.

Of course, we had to drop the good old Olympic Gold plan and sign up for a new 24 month commitment.  That's the part that hurts.  My monthly bill just jumped up $50 ($25 each).  Maybe we'll get tired of playing with them and can drop down to the $15 plan ($30 for two).

Right now, however, we're packing on the megabytes as we learn all that we can do.  It's a lot harder than the good old candy bar phone, but so much more fun (and frustration).

I had 200 text messages included in my old plan. Now I have none and have to pay 20 cents for each message, both incoming and outgoing.  That's not really a problem, just a fact.

One problem that I do have, is that the Captivate is so popular (and the demand so unexpected), that both Best Buy and AT&T have run out of screen protectors. I'm treating the screen very tenderly, until I can get one.

Computer woes

Finally got the computer assembled and fired it up.  No POST.  Could not hear any POST beeps, because of lack of speaker.  Seems the chassis manufacturer (Thermaltake) expected the motherboard manufacturer (ASUS) to incorporate it and vice-versa. 

Radio Shack didn't have one, so I ordered it online.  It cost $2.00.  I added a USB cable for $3.00 for a total of $5.00.  S&H was $7.00! 

C'est la vie.

Now I'm waiting patiently until it arrives and I can get on with my project.

Check back in a week for an update.

Your legacy

There’s a hot topic in the press right now. It’s all about how your internet postings may become a source of embarrassment later on in life and should take steps to sanitize your internet trail.

I remember reading a quote by the playwright Moss Hart. He said, “A bad review is better than no review at all.”

Most of us will not create a living legacy. Not a great book, a museum masterpiece, a grand piece of architecture, a memorable poem, a musical opus, or any other tangible legacy.

The sum of your postings will be your legacy.  Are you really worried about what you leave behind?  Will you be embarrassed when you are cold in the grave?

Consider this:
A tarnished legacy is better than no legacy at all.

The Wright 3

While at Graycliff, I bought a book for my grandson, Alex.


It is The Wright 3 by Blue Balliett. It's a mystery involving three 12 year olds and the Frank Lloyd Wright Robie House, located in Chicago.


Of course, I had to read it, in case Alex wanted to discuss it. I think it's a great read, in the vein of the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, Harriet the Spy, and others of this genre.


I read about pentominoes, Fibonacci Numbers, The Invisible Man (book), Rear Window (movie) and lot of other stuff. I even had break a coded message.


If you have a child in this age range, I recommend this book.

Graycliff

Yesterday, we toured Graycliff, a Frank Lloyd Wright designed summer cottage on Lake Erie.

It seems large on the outside, but small on the inside. But, then again, it's a summer retreat and doesn't have to be large.

The building is in a state of disrepair and is undergoing restoration. To me the restoration represents a contradiction. Everything is being taken back as closely as possible to the way it was in 1928, when the house was built. This is in keeping with standard historical restoration practices.

My problem is this. Frank Lloyd Wright was an advocate of using the latest technology in his designs. In the spirit of his design philosophy, upgrades should be made using modern materials that maintain the integrity of the design, rather than the integrity of the materials.

This is not going to happen, but it's a thought.

Outside of the boundaries is a cinder block building that houses the gift shop and offices. I asked the tour guide if it would be stuccoed to match the house. He couldn't understand why they would do that. I said, "To maintain the design integrity of the grounds." He seemed to think that was an absurd idea and that it wouldn't happen.

I seem to by the odd man out here.

There are a lot of articles being written about how Google and EBay monitor your searches and sell personal profiles to various advertisers.

I decided to mix things up. Every once in a while, I'll search for something strange (to me), like pig farming or taxidermy, just to confuse things.

A few days a ago, I searched eBay for accordions, blacksmithing, glass blowing, and other things I'll never use. I was amazed at the results that I got.

Now to see if I get targeted ads for any of these.

When I was a technician for anti-aircraft missiles in the army, the air force would stage mock attacks and try to jam our signals. We in turn, tried to jam theirs. This was known as counter-jamming.

That's how I view my pseudo-searches. Counter-jamming the profiling system.