Windows blog editing software

Windows 7 provides a link to an easy navigable site which allows you to install software not included in the installation download.  Some reviewers saw this out-of-the-initial-install implementation as a negative, but nothing could be easier than going to the Microsoft location and choosing what you want. The most interesting addition (for me) has been the Windows Live Writer, which provides a very nice tool to enable quick posting to a blog as well as other blog site management actions.  It is quite an improvement from the WordPress online tools.  Having a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) interface is a welcome addition.  Plus, it has a very quick installation mechanism for “plugins” which are “apps” providing an enormous expanse to the capabilities.  Many of these plugins have been available on WordPress, but this makes it easier to access and use and there are many new ones directly from Microsoft.

A couple of the more interesting apps (plugins) included a tool to insert formatted text from Word or Wordpad or other word processing programs and a mechanism for easily inserting videos. 

Windows 7 is quite an improvement.

“Cash register” cards — just a new kind of bank account

By Sam Redman

A recent article in the NyTimes about the growing popularity of the debit/credit cards available in many of the pharmacies, such as Walgreens and CVC, and at Walmart implied some characteristics to the cards which are simply not factual. You can read the original article here.

A few readers might misinterpret some of the information in the article about the requirements for these cards and their distinctions from ordinary bank debit card accounts. First, these “store cards” are bank accounts (they are just not traditional bank accounts). If you look at the fine print on the card and on their websites you will see that you are establishing a bank account at the particular bank which is actually providing the service. There are only some convenience differences. With the store cards, you don’t have to go into a bank to create the account. Plus, you don’t have to go to a bank to make deposits (or use drive-throughs). With the “prepaid” store cards you merely have the convenience that the start up and future deposits are done at store cash registers and further, these stores have extended open-for-business times (some 24 hours) to make deposits and they are open on many days (like holidays) which banks are not.

The distinction described that they don’t require credit checks is no different than most banks. Very few banks do credit checks to start their basic level accounts, which include debit/credit cards (I have directed several employees, who had not started bank accounts, because they thought you couldn’t without good credit, to Capital One and also to a locally owned bank. Both of those did not require credit checks.

And the other bit of miscommunication is that these are somehow a way for someone to get a card without normal governmental identification (immigrants were mentioned, from which one might infer that the reference was to illegal aliens). But in order to activate the card you must call a toll free number and provide your name, address and social security number. As explained on the Walmart site, “this information is needed to comply with counterterrorism laws.” If what you supply “doesn’t check out,” their site says, they will “refund the money” which you put on the card at purchase. Banks often do require a driver’s license or a state id card and perhaps that might be the only distinctive difference (but, anyone who does have a social security number can get a state id card in a matter of moments at local offices where driver’s licenses are issued).

So the real difference here is not who can qualify for one or that these are not “bank accounts,” but the convenience of not having to deal with a bank directly to make your deposits (and being able to deposit at unlimited times). While many of the store card features duplicate conventional banks, such as payroll deposit and incoming wire transfer and online account management, the banks have a few advantages such as outgoing and between account transfers, as well as no limits on deposit amounts, plus the benefit of being able to deal with a live local manager who can sort out problems face to face.

I do like the convenience of the Walmart card for certain internet purchases where I don’t wish my ordinary bank cards to be exposed (and those in-store cash register deposits are nice). But all these cards do is create the illusion that someone doesn’t have a bank account, which you must acknowledge is a very clever marketing device.

No need for a vaccine panic

By Sam Redman

A recent NyTImes article (which you can read here) described how a disturbing number of health care professionals including many pediatric offices were worried that there could be an absolute panic and an out of control situation when the H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine is available for distribution (which actually begins this week). But, I think that I have observed a system at work which will function quite well to solve that problem without much fanfare.

Here in Dallas, the grocery store (supermarket chain) pharmacies, WalMarts with pharmacies and the stand alone chain pharmacies (lke Walgreens and CVC), have been giving out the traditional flu vaccines and doing an amazingly efficient job of it, in spite of an unprecedented demand for the shots. Goodness, it seems as though there is one of those places virtually every few blocks. And because they are proportionately spread all over the city (and suburbs) appropriately by neighborhoods, this is an extremely efficient way to distribute without the management becoming a madhouse situation. Just remember, everyone buys groceries and drugstore items at those places every week and there is no panic for those essentials, is there? They do have a steady stream (like they have never seen in previous years) and sometimes the wait is perhaps 30 minutes, but this is really working quite well.

It’s a glimpse into how the H1N1 vaccine distribution will work here, because the increased number of people coming for the traditional vaccine has been fueled by the same media hype for the swine flu. Lots of people who show up actually think they are getting the H1N1 vaccine when they arrive and nearly all of them go ahead and get the regular shot just to be safe. Others are coming i just because they have concluded that they didn’t want to run the risk of being sick with both kinds at the same time and want, at least for now, the protection from the regular seasonal strain.

Many local doctors’ offices are simply telling their patients to just go to their local grocery or other pharmacy, because they (like the doctor in a recent NYTimes article who talked about the calls they are getting about the H1N1) say that just handling this year’s normal flu inoculations would have swamped their offices.

It seems likely that this same method and plan should work (and probably will) around the country. From my travels, I haven’t seen that Dallas is unique in relation to pharmacy location and inoculations, although some states may prohibit it being done this way; I don’t know.

If local physicians could just avoid the temptation of collecting their office visit fees for this “opportunity” and direct their patients to these already proven very efficient locations for inoculation, then the madness of providing the vaccines to the masses will be easily solved.

A “let’s go green” moment

By Sam Redman

Everyone’s thinking green. Occasionally, a green thought crosses my mind too

A few years ago, I visited a large Singapore home (actually quite a mansion), of course, fully air-conditioned in the tropical heat. However, I was surprised to learn (it was all proudly described by my host as we did the tour) that the kitchen was not air-conditioned. I must say that I felt quite a blast of hot air when we entered the room, which had ovens going and grills in operation and several perspiring cooks and other kitchen staff, busily working away preparing the meals for the home. There were large open windows to the outdoors and I did see an electric fan on a stand, but the outside temperature was in the high eighties.

Later, having cocktails in the cool of one of their beautiful salons, my host’s wife (who had been raised in Texas and figured that I might find the situation strange) told me that while the savings in electricity was enormous, that largely they did that because of the customs of the personnel, who had protested when all the vents were open and that room was refrigerated just like the rest of the house. So, (as nonsensical as it seemed to conventional wisdom) they relented begrudgingly, closed off the air-conditioning and opened up the windows.

But, back in Dallas (where the heat can be oppressive about 7 months out of the year), I wondered if some modification of that practice (sort of like those “Northeners” who put a freezer in their cold garage) wouldn’t work to lessen the energy expense of cooling ovens and stoves in a kitchen in the summer months in the Southwest (or anywhere). I never did anything about it, although I mentioned it once to my wife in one of my “let’s go green” moments. As you might guess, she dismissed that notion straightaway (saying something about “cruel and unusual”). I never brought it up again.

But, maybe having an oven constructed with the bulk of it outdoors and only the opening accessible from the kitchen could work. I’ll think about it later.

Leaving Twitter in the drawer

By Sam Redman

Cell phones are evolving to become everyone’s web access device for personal communication (it’s the netbook/cell phone blend) and “texting” is getting better mechanisms, namely added features which enable simple setup of group texting and auto organization by individual names (creating chronological threads). When people see all that in action on one of the newer smart phones (a few already have it)… the immediate reaction from many is often, “This just totally replaces Twitter.” If there is an actual need (or desire) for anyone to have twitter-like updates, other than from businesses providing opt-in promo spam or celebrities sending their fan-club members news (also spam), these new user interface features for SMS (texting) could simply replace twitter use quietly without fanfare, merely by fulfilling the purpose for those who actually need and want updates from their own group of contacts.

One day we all happened to notice that only a few people were wearing watches. We said… “hmmm.” Of course, it’s obvious why… we have the time displayed on our cellphones. As these simple new features (which the new smartphones already have) of “texting” auto-organization and easy group sending (they call it “broadcasting”) become ubiquitous, a quiet universal transition could occur, sort of like people leaving their watches in the drawer, and cause Twitter to become just totally passé.

I can hear it now… “Twitter? That’s so yesterday.”

Sometimes Paranoia is a good thing

By Sam Redman

(if you’re here via a web link looking for another subject, just scroll down or check the archives)

Several years ago, after reading about the dangers or risk of transmitting diseases by the simple act of one person touching an object which a contagious individual has just contacted, I started thinking about door knobs and handles in public places and wondered if those surfaces might be some of the most logical locations where transmittable bacteria and virus might reasonably be assumed to reside. From what I understand, the cleansing power of the air is enough to render a contaminated surface not harmful after a given period of time, once the moisture is gone and the oxygen does its job, but the range of time period to safety is (at least in what I have read) somewhat of an inexact detail. It has been stated from a few seconds to over several minutes in various articles which talked about “germs” and their transmission. Thinking about that, I figured that door knobs (or other mechanical devices for opening doors) in highly trafficked commercial or government facilities would be very likely candidates for the most plausible areas where residual fluids would remain in a dangerous state after being deposited from the hands of previous portal travelers suffering from the flu or a common cold (or maybe even something more serious), because often only a few seconds elapses between one person handling the door and the next one coming along and grabbing right where the previous individual touched. Just think about that person who, moments before, sneezed into his hand or merely touched his nose or mouth while suffering from some communicable illness (or maybe they just used the restroom and didn’t wash their hands) and now picture them having just gone through that door only seconds prior to you being presented that very same handle to grab. Scary.

So, about three years ago, I started doing something which for a long time garnered a glance or two, because what I was doing has characteristically been shamed as an indication of a person having some sort of psychological malady or phobia (and any of those are generally automatically considered to be misplaced). But I accepted that my particular “phobia” (fear can be a good thing) made sense and so I began using a part of my shirt or sweater (or jacket) to open doors, never touching any door handle with my bare hands. Yes, it looks a bit “wacky.” But, it is very satisfying and for me (as a sampling of one… I know it’s not very scientific, of course) it proved to be very beneficial. In previous years, I had experienced the usual run of colds and coughs and sniffles along with a bout of at least a “flu-like” illness every winter. But, to the amazement of my friends and family members, since I began my crazy “compulsive” paranoid never-touch-a-door-handle behaviour, I haven’t had but perhaps two very mild colds over three years. Sure, it might be a coincidence, but once the swine flu publicity started to spread and friends began to reflect on my “coincidental” lack of illness, I have gotten quite a few converts from the ranks of those who originally scoffed.

One thing that makes it easier for me is that I dress very casually, so having the soft cloth of a t-shirt or a Henley pullover makes it a lot easier than a more formal shirt or a business oxford cloth which is properly tucked in. In that case, I usually have on a suit jacket or a sport coat and I just use the bottom of that to grab the door. Yes, it looks wierd, but I am convinced (from my own healthy results) that this simple procedure is effective.

I say, don’t be influenced by the strange cultural customs which would pressure you into not taking a very simple precaution which is readily available from just a simple change in your routine. Start today only opening any public door with the edge of your shirt or sweater… I think you’ll thank me for it before the winter is gone.

Surprise, no catered cuisine in prison

By Sam Redman

I recently checked in on beyond90seconds.com (you can click the link to that blog in the sidepanel) and saw where Mark Horner, the very capable blog author, had posted an update about Wayne Bent going on a new fast from prison. If you recall, Bent is the guy who claimed to be the second coming of Christ, with his own interpretation of God’s plan, which he thought included laying naked and having sex with about eight or so women of his tiny group, isolated on his vast estate in northern New Mexico. This estate, by the way, is funded from Wayne’s huge personal trust fund, money which Bent accumulated from contributions in previous years, when he had a successful international ministry in operation. For Wayne’s new sexual “work,” the instructions for which he claimed had been given to him by none other than God himself, he had also enlisted several underaged girls to be included with the other gals for his sexual rituals. He only stopped short of having actual relations with the children when several exmembers started complaining to the police after Wayne described his intentions on his website. Unfortunately for Wayne, he didn’t curtail his activities soon enough, having done the first step in his seduction process, which involved having the girls lay naked with him in his bed (his legal aged virgins and a few of the attractive married women in his group, also did that preliminary “laying naked,” step, but those eventually went “all the way”). Well, all that play with the young girls got him accused and eventually convicted of sexual misconduct and he is serving ten years in a New Mexico prison.

So, now Wayne’s been there for nine months and things seemed to be going swimmingly. He was allowed multiple visitors several times a week. He was able to stay in a special prison area (probably for senior citizens, he’s 68) and permitted virtually unlimited lengthy phone calls home. He was also able to, with the help of his followers, post his rantings and railings from prison on the internet without restrictions.

But, then Wayne decided to push it and a few days ago in one of his from-prison-communications he announced that he was going on a fast because he didn’t like the prison food (although they had been going to the trouble of preparing him a special vegetarian diet, which he said he had to eat as part of his religious beliefs). Wayne wrote on his website that he was going to deprive himself of solid food (drinking only juices), then go on only water and finally nothing until he died, unless he could get his food, in effect, “catered” in by his followers. Of course, the likelihood of that succeeding would have been rather slim. I’m sure most prisoners don’t like the food and would love to have their meals catered in from restaurants (or prepared by some of their “crew” on the outside).

And then today, peeking in on the Wayne Bent website, it looks like the prison officials won’t be messed with. He was put in the prison hospital, in solitary confinement and told that he would be force fed unless he eats what they give him. That makes sense. A while back when he was doing his first prison fast (also “to death”) about a week after he was “admitted” (he stopped in a few days), I thought that they would eventually just force feed him. But, when I first read about this crazy fast, demanding to have his own gourmet cuisine delivered, I wondered if they might just opt to give him trays of food and let him deprive himself until he died. But, prisons don’t work like that… they don’t allow people to get out of their sentences by committing suicide. Instead, they put anyone who threatens to end it all on “suicide watch” (removing anything, like cord or sharp objects or other potentially self-destructive items which could be used in killing themselves). They certainly don’t let anyone starve to death.

So, it seems that he is going to be simply force fed for a while with no visitors. And while it might seem harsh and maybe even unusual punishment, really he is being treated no differently than they do any of the other “hard cases.” They can keep someone in the hole (literally for some) totally incommunicado for as long as the rebelling inmate doesn’t follow prison regulations (and that means they must submit completely to the control of the guards). And my guess is that after a week of being fed via a tube to his stomach (he’ll gain quite a bit of weight and get very healthy, probably with some liquefied meat included), he will then have a “vision” (really one of those what-was-I thinking epiphanies) that “God is telling him” he needs to go back to the regular prison life.

Lots of prisoners rebel and some fight and scream and hit guards and refuse food. Prisons don’t let them win. They force them into submission and once a prisoner rebels (as Wayne did), the guards and other prison officials have every right to put them under very harsh circumstances. Cutting off his contact with the outside world and being force fed through a tube will most likely bring him around to understanding his fate (he’s got to serve his time). Wayne will think (and later say) that he was being tortured, but the methods they use for subduing recalcitrant prisoners is very procedurally exact and they follow predetermined steps of what might be called “humane torture.” Their methods have been subjected to years of law suits and legal maneuverings, but the courts have agreed that prisons can use “reasonable” means to subdue a rebellious prisoner. Submission is their goal and they achieve it. They don’t lose very many (if any), but it won’t be pleasant. No contact with others for a while sobers up rebels. The other out of control inmates are also given a diet of only a special bad tasting all inclusive prison loaf, which Wayne might also be subjected to for a while even after he agrees to eat.

He actually had a rather remarkable situation. Multiple visits from friends several times a week. Virtually unlimited phone calls. No restrictions about his audio and written communication appearing on the web (that is a privilege most prisoners other places simply do not receive). Now he is totally cut off from even any communication with anyone (not even other prisoners and probably not even guards until he says he is ready to “play nice”). He is like a preschooler having a tantrum in kindergarten, being sent to detention.

I look for the vision really soon with that new message from heaven telling him to go back to the way it was. But this time his communication privileges might be limited. Prisons usually only restore rights and pleasures incrementally as inmates show that they are going to behave and be totally cooperative.

—- Sam

Organically grown, but then what happens?

By Sam Redman

We live in a very dishonest society. And while I think that there are perhaps obvious benefits to eating truly “organically” cultivated food, a would-be organic consumer has very little assurance that what is purchased truly meets the definition and intention of the organic philosophy. Certified to be raised without chemical fertilizers and pesticides alone is not sufficient without scrupulous inspection controls to prevent corrupt business practices from allowing incorporation of poisonous materials which they have solemnly pledged that they won’t use.

Further, if the product has had dangerous chemicals introduced further along its path from the farm to your table, the practices at the farm become irrelevant. How it was raised is important, but It is also germane to consider its condition and degree of contamination at the point the item reaches your mouth. A farm may indeed be certified at one point (and even periodically), but without very close on-going on-site inspection methods, it would be quite easy to cheat (and there is more money to be made when production can be stimulated by chemical means). Corruption abounds anywhere a dollar is to be made. It is naivety to think that the methods of policing organic farming are anywhere close to that of our flawed governmental system of inspecting meat processing and we know that those heavily financed agencies and well-staffed mechanisms are extremely inefficient and fault ridden. Lots of “organic” products are being imported from Mexico, Central America and even China. It would take a sophisticated network all over the world of military precision, resources and complexity to carry off the lofty goal of ensuring that every farm is meeting standards.

Further, the steps of transportation, distribution and eventual offering of the so-called “organic” products in the grocery are further subject to the temptations of business “ethics,” a code which dictates profit for survival. Many business persons would tell you that “there’s been a load of compromisin’ on the road to my horizon.”

Anyone involved in transporting and distributing fragile perishable food is familiar with using chemicals to keep insects away from fruits and vegetables, using “biocidal” agents to prevent rotting and employing compounds to preserve color in transit and in the grocer’s bins. All these are possible areas for compromise at any of the stages, as the items make their way from the field to trucks to the trains to the warehouses and finally to the store.

Stand around in any grocery and watch the produce clerk spraying raw vegetables and fruits with chemicals to keep them from getting brown (they call them “freshifiers”). I once saw a clerk with a can of “Raid,” who explained that “this time of year, nothing else stops the gnats.”

It’s fun to be part of the organic lifestyle… but, unless we have a way of checking these items at every step of the way, we can never have the comfort of knowing that we are actually eating what is pure and “righteous.”

— Sam

Reading what’s interesting

By Sam Redman

Television wasn’t around in my elementary school days (and was just spreading around the country when I was in the 7th grade) so books were an exciting escape for me and my brother. The local library allowed three books at a time (whatever we wanted) and my brother and I read them so fast we begged our parents to take us back for three more every few days. I went through a pattern of learning and reading progressively more and more challenging literature. I saw similar patterns with other students at my schools. The librarians (at the public library, as well those at the school library) shared a role of helping kids find just the right books which they would find interesting. By the seventh grade, I had progressed through juvenile books like Hubert Skidmore’s, “Hill Doctor” and “Hill Lawyer” and by that time was even enjoying some Hemingway and various mystery novels. But some of the students were just then getting into the “Freddy the Pig” serial books and others the Hardy Boys series or Nancy Drew (the types of books my brother and I had passed through several years before). In the library, they kept many novels about hot rods and baseball (and similar subjects) so that kids could find their own level of comprehension and interest. There was no shame in finding something that each one would enjoy.

By the time I was in high school, I saw the pattern of political correctness starting to take hold where various books (I’m sure put on the lists with the most noble intentions) were assigned for the class, but they usually were at reading levels way over most kid’s heads. I saw many students lose interest, because they were not properly gauged for individual reading level, as well as emotional and intellectual maturity.

My opinion is that allowing children the freedom to read what interests them will take them along an automatic path toward more and more challenging materials. You naturally get tired of shallow, pap literature and want to read stories with more substance. I was reading Ian Fleming (James Bond) books long before it was cool and I remember a teacher telling me that such was just junk. Another had the same take on my ragged copy Kerouac’s “On the Road” (which I had read about thirty times), but, of course, she had never heard of him because he wasn’t regarded as a literary giant yet. And while that one is probably on official lists now, it may not be applicable to everyone. People are different and should be regarded as individuals to explore and discover and develop their own reading interests.

Over the years, as I had children of my own, I have seen the situation change regarding reading. Television changed things. Young people don’t have the stimulation or need to be swept away in the pages of a book. I noticed in their junior and eventual high school classes (especially among my son’s classmates), the assigned books had a way of turning off the desire to read. I solved that by taking my own sons repeatedly to the new form of “libraries”, the used and new book stores and letting them buy a few books of their own choosing every outing. It worked. They love to read and they progressed to their own level of interests and curiosity.

The secret to keeping anyone continuously motivated to read is freedom of choice. It is good to see that there are some teachers who are daring enough to experiment (and return to the proven ways of many years ago).

— Sam

Humane Cruelty

By Sam Redman

I agree that the crime of putting dogs in the ring to fight other dogs is cruel (and should be against the law), but much of the outrage against Vick has been about his putting unwanted dogs to death using various means. It seems from many of those statements of disgust that putting a dog to death is the most severe of his infractions. Had he done that by some “humane” way would that have lessened the indignation and condemnations?

And who should set the standards for humane methods for dog (and cat) executions? Animal control groups? The Humane Society or the ASPCA? More than 700,000 companion animals were destroyed in animal control facilities and humane societies (yes, humane societies) in Texas alone last year . Millions are executed nationwide.

And what methods of execution do they use? The physical methods used to kill animals in shelters include shooting, electrocution, and decompression. Carbon monoxide gas is employed by some, having them breathe gasoline engine exhaust fumes pumped into a closed chamber. This death by exhaust is not as prevelant as it once was because of outrage from concerned animal lovers, but the other methods are equally cruel. The obvious problem with shooting is the potential for extreme pain if the person handling the gun is not competent, if the animal is struggling, or if the bullet is deflected and the animal survives. Electrocution can be extremely painful and traumatic and doesn’t always work.

Decompression chambers simulate an ascent to thousands of feet above sea level in a matter of minutes. At many shelters which use this method, decompression occurs at speeds up to 15 times faster than the recommended rate. At this speed, the gases in animals’ sinuses, middle ears, and intestines expand quickly, causing considerable discomfort or severe pain. Accidental recompression can occur when equipment malfunctions, when there is a personnel error, or when small animals become trapped in air pockets. They must then be put through the procedure all over again.

Had Mr. Vick used one of the methods employed by the “humane societies” would that have quelled his accusers? There are some inconsistencies in the placement of animal cruelty outrage. Sports figures are comfortable targets. Animal” humane” groups are left alone with their cruel, cruel executions.

This was posted as a NYtimes comment. It can be found at this location:

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