Saturday, March 28, 2009
Kudos to Secretary Timothy Geithner
Timothy Geithner, the United States secretary of the Treasury, flies coach. I say good for him. He is leading by example, instead of taking a private jet or even flying first class. I believe that a person's actions always speak more loudly than his/her words.
Kindle 2
For my birthday, I purchased Amazon's amazing new gadget, called Kindle 2. (Yes, I buy gifts for myself. How else am I supposed to get the cool things I really want?)
For about $350, you get the convenience of an electronic library of books available at your finger tips. What is even more awesome is you can download new books without connecting it to a computer. It has free built in wireless technology called Whispernet, which is really just code for Sprint.
I have had my Kindle for about a month now. I read it a lot at the beginning. The screen clarity is just like reading a book page. It is eerie. Also, I discovered that I love Chelsea Handler. Apparently, she is a comedienne, who I missed for the past couple of years, but I love her sassy brashness in her two books: My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands and Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea.
I can relate to her humor and sensibilities, because mine are strangely similar.
Anyhow, back to Kindle.
The prices of books are markedly less than buying the traditional hardback or paperback. The most expensive books I have seen are $9.99. Most of my books have been either that price or less. Heck, even some of the books are FREE. You can't beat that price.
But before you commit to a purchase, Amazon gives you the option of sampling a book's first few pages/chapters. Once you decide to buy it, then you can do so through the wireless connection. Amazon sends your Kindle the file of the book you purchased in approximately one minute or less. Amazon also keeps an electronic library of your purchases on its website so you can re-send the file to your Kindle should it become deleted, or otherwise lost.
It's that simple.
I'd heard of Kindle for a long time, but I was skeptical. I didn't believe all of the hype that went along with its initial launch and subsequent months of viral advertising on Amazon.com, and other websites. But in the end, Kindle has been what it was branded to be, which is a streamlined device that stores hundreds of books that are available at the press of a button.
For about $350, you get the convenience of an electronic library of books available at your finger tips. What is even more awesome is you can download new books without connecting it to a computer. It has free built in wireless technology called Whispernet, which is really just code for Sprint.
I have had my Kindle for about a month now. I read it a lot at the beginning. The screen clarity is just like reading a book page. It is eerie. Also, I discovered that I love Chelsea Handler. Apparently, she is a comedienne, who I missed for the past couple of years, but I love her sassy brashness in her two books: My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands and Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea.
I can relate to her humor and sensibilities, because mine are strangely similar.
Anyhow, back to Kindle.
The prices of books are markedly less than buying the traditional hardback or paperback. The most expensive books I have seen are $9.99. Most of my books have been either that price or less. Heck, even some of the books are FREE. You can't beat that price.
But before you commit to a purchase, Amazon gives you the option of sampling a book's first few pages/chapters. Once you decide to buy it, then you can do so through the wireless connection. Amazon sends your Kindle the file of the book you purchased in approximately one minute or less. Amazon also keeps an electronic library of your purchases on its website so you can re-send the file to your Kindle should it become deleted, or otherwise lost.
It's that simple.
I'd heard of Kindle for a long time, but I was skeptical. I didn't believe all of the hype that went along with its initial launch and subsequent months of viral advertising on Amazon.com, and other websites. But in the end, Kindle has been what it was branded to be, which is a streamlined device that stores hundreds of books that are available at the press of a button.
I got a hit from the United States House of Representatives
I must be moving up the food chain. I recently got a hit from a server belonging to the United States House of Representatives.
Octomommy
I have had all I can stand of the California mother of octuplets plus six for a grand total of fourteen!
If she refuses "free" nanny service, then let her refuse it. You can't force someone to accept your gift, even if you are Dr. Phil. You can't blame someone for not wanting news cameras and microphones in their living room, even if they are there thanks to Gloria Allred.
If octomommy is unable to tend to her spawn, then the state can remove those children from the home and place them in foster care.
Personally, it sounds as if she is in-over-her-head with this whole thing. I don't get it. She has no money, yet she was able to afford costly fertility treatments, which allowed her to conceive her eight children. Does Medicaid pay for those as well? It must, because from what I can deduce she is financially broke. (Even moreso now.) The government should look into this whole case.
But who knows, right?
If she refuses "free" nanny service, then let her refuse it. You can't force someone to accept your gift, even if you are Dr. Phil. You can't blame someone for not wanting news cameras and microphones in their living room, even if they are there thanks to Gloria Allred.
If octomommy is unable to tend to her spawn, then the state can remove those children from the home and place them in foster care.
Personally, it sounds as if she is in-over-her-head with this whole thing. I don't get it. She has no money, yet she was able to afford costly fertility treatments, which allowed her to conceive her eight children. Does Medicaid pay for those as well? It must, because from what I can deduce she is financially broke. (Even moreso now.) The government should look into this whole case.
But who knows, right?
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Japan's Navy takes to the High Seas
Japan recently dispatched a portion of its navy, called the Maritime Self-Defense Force, to hunt down pirates. Two destroyer class warships will hunt down and kamikaze pirates in and around Somali waters, located off of Africa's horn. (Okay, not really kamikaze, but they will be protecting Japanese interests in the area. It just sounded way cool.)
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Stem Cell Research
Barack Obama will reverse the Bush administration's war on stem cell research. According to sources, President Obama will sign an executive order on Monday lifting a ban on federal funding of stem cell research. This is a great opportunity for science to discover new treatments, and possible cures, to many horrible diseases.
Just imagine how far we could be today if George Bush hadn't decided, in 2001, that a single cell has the same rights as me.
Just imagine how far we could be today if George Bush hadn't decided, in 2001, that a single cell has the same rights as me.
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