EPIAC'S PLACE

The End of the Road

2008-08-07T11:02:14Z

LiveJournal was the first blogging platform I used when I was getting my feet wet with blogs. I had no idea what "blog" meant but I had an open mind and was willing to learn.

For more than four years I've been posting daily entries into Epiac's Place trying to please my readers, and at the same time, learning the English language. As you probably know, my native language is Spanish. It has been a rewarding intellectual ride. As I gathered more experience, I realized that LiveJournal was not the best platform for my growing blogging needs. That took me to WordPress where I opened a blog dubbed Lingua Franca. This blog was started on January 1, 2008.

I decided to keep Epiac's Place as a backup blog in case WordPress would crash or something like that. It happened to me once with a blogging site called WordCharm. So far, my experience with WordPress has been extra-ordinary. Everything I need is there at the tip of my fingers. In my humble opinion, it's the best blogging platform available today on the Internet.

In view of the above, I have decided to mothball Epiac's Place and keep on posting my daily entries at Lingua Franca. I take this opportunity to thank the staff of LiveJournal for all their guidance and support during the four years I used their software. It was an exciting blogging education. To my readers, I encourage you to switch to Lingua Franca by clicking here. You will find the same type of content you have been reading here.

Thank you very much once again, and I shall wait for you at Lingua Franca. Good Bye and Welcome!

Joke: Aching Testicles

2008-08-06T07:59:41Z

The testicles of a midget hurt and ached almost all the time. So he went to the doctor and told him about his problem.

The doctor told him to drop his pants and he would take a look. The midget dropped his pants. The doctor stood him up onto the examining table, and started to examine him. He put one finger under his left testicle and told the midget to turn his head and cough, the usual method to check for a hernia.

"Aha!" mumbled the doctor, and as he put his finger under the right testicle, he asked the midget to cough again.

"Aha!" said the doctor once more, and reached for his surgical scissors. Snip-snip-snip-snip on the right side… then snip-snip-snip-snip on the left side.

The midget was so scared he was afraid to look, but noted with amazement that the snipping did not hurt. The doctor then told the midget to walk around the examining room to see if his testicles still hurt. The midget was absolutely delighted as he walked around the room and discovered his boys were no longer aching.

The doctor asked, "How does that feel now?"

The midget replied, "Perfect Doc, and I didn’t even feel it. What did you do?"

The doctor replied with a smile, "I cut two inches off the top of your cowboy boots."

And the midget lived happily after. Adieu!

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China's New Buildings are Breaking Traditional Shapes

2008-08-06T02:41:41Z

Photograph of the new Sinosteel International Plaza in Tianjin, China.

China is a large country with a history that goes back as far as the human collective mind can remember. China has one of the world’s oldest people and continuous civilizations, consisting of states and cultures dating back more than six millennia.

It has the world’s longest continuously used written language system, and is the source of many major inventions, such as what the British scholar and biochemist Joseph Needham called the “four inventions of Ancient China”: paper, the compass gunpowder and printing.

After the death of Mao Zedong, the new generation of political leaders decided to change the future of China by accepting Capitalism and mixing it with Communism in order to compete with the West. They called this economic and political strategy, “one country two, systems”.

“One country, two systems” is an idea originally proposed by Deng Xiaping during the early 1980s, for the reunification of China. He suggested that there will be only one China, but areas such as Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan can have their own capitalist economic and political systems, while the rest of China uses the “socialist” system.

Based on this pragmatic economic and political strategy, China launched one of the most spectacular economic growth the world has even seen. This dramatic economic growth is often referred to as “China’s economic miracle”.

Everywhere you turn your head these days, China is being heralded as the next big thing. There’s no question the country is on the rise—you can witness the stunning economic growth, massive modernization programs and the rising standard of living in the cities.

Its GDP is growing by 10 percent a year. Industrial production is galloping ahead at an annual rate of 17 percent. Its economy is now the second-biggest in the world, behind only the U.S., and there are predictions it will assume the top spot as early as 2020.

China’s integration into the world economy has been astonishingly rapid. Since its adoption of the “Four Modernizations” a generation ago (agriculture, industry, science and technology, and defence) China’s share of world economic output has grown from 3.4 per cent to almost 12 per cent in 2000.

One of the most visible signs of China’s economic growth is its modern architecture. China is now fertile ground for constructing spectacular buildings challenging those of Dubai. Visitors to China’s Summer Olympic Games will marvel in awe as they enter the Olympic venues.

Chins has embraced the so called “Green Architecture”. Green architecture is truly touching new heights with the amazing structures that are being built across the globe. These green skyscrapers are not only magnificent fresh designs that help the planet cool down and recuperate from the scars left by man but also add give modern cities a cool new look with designs that are shaped to dazzle and bamboozle all of us.

Currently under construction in Tinajin, China and to be completed in 2012, the 1,175-feet Sinosteel International Plaza and the 289-feet hotel next to it, have hexagonal windows that make them look like the inside of a beehive. The windows are designed in five different sizes, placed in an energy-efficient configuration that will take the most advantage of the sun and wind. This allows the structure to use the minimum possible energy from conventional energy sources.

Besides their rounded corners and weird windows making them look unlike any building ever built, that odd facade serves a more important purpose. Chinese architects MAD Ltd, designed the honeycomb-shaped exterior shells to actually hold the buildings up, freeing up more floor space. This amazing new construction taken up by the architects at MAD, once again shows China’s economic miracle in action. and the spread of green architecture across the globe.

Source: de zeen design magazine

Joke: Sleeping Pills

2008-08-05T10:04:55Z

An exhausted looking blonde dragged herself in to the doctor’s office. “Doctor, there are dogs all over my neighborhood. They bark all day and all night, and I can’t get a wink of sleep.”

“No problem, I have good news for you,” the doctor answered, rummaging through a drawer full of sample medications. “Here are some new sleeping pills that work like a dream. A few of these and your trouble will be over.”

“Great,” the blonde answered, “I’ll try anything. Let’s give it a shot.”

A few weeks later the blonde returned, looking worse than ever. “Doc, your plan is not working. I’m more tired than before!”

“I don’t understand how that could be”, said the doctor, shaking his head. “Those are the strongest pills on the market!”

“That may be true,” answered the blonde wearily, “but I’m still up all night chasing those dogs and when I finally catch one it’s hard getting him to swallow the pill!”

I had a bad night and couldn’t get of wink of sleep either. I’ll go back to sleep, but I’m not taking a pill. Arrivederci!

Alexandr Solzhenitzen is Dead

2008-08-04T11:04:59Z

Alexandr Solzhenitzen (1918-2008)

Today is a gray and sad day for all of those who feel a passion for liberty. Being free is a sensation that you can only appreciate when you don’t have it. People like Nelson Mandela, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and John McCain were imprisoned for a long time and came back to tell us how it was like. They know in spirit, flesh and bone what freedom means.

I read last night that Solzhenitsyn had died. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the Nobel Prize-winning author whose books chronicled the horrors of the Soviet gulag system, has died of heart failure, his son said Monday. He was 89. Stepan Solzhenitsyn told The Associated Press his father died late Sunday, but declined further comment.

I first head about Solzhenitsyn when I was studying at the University of Costa Rica. I was very young then; only 18 years old. I purchased his 1962 short novel dubbed, “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich,” at the college library and read it in one night. The impressions of this book has lasted to this day. It was, and still is, difficult to understand to what degree a human being can be degraded by another human being. Hommo homini lupus (Man is a wolf to man) were the famous words of Plautus more than two thousand years ago.

I tried to read his most famous book, “Gulag Archipelago”, but couldn’t find it. Perhaps I would go out later today and see if it’s available in Panama City.

Through his writings, Solzhenitzen made the world aware of the Gulag, the Soviet labor camp system, and for these efforts, Solzhenitsyn was both awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970 and exiled from the Soviet Union in 1974. He returned to Russia in 1994. That year, he was elected as a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts in the Department of Language and Literature.

When Alexandr Solzhenitzen’s “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich,” appeared in the thick monthly literary magazine Novy Mir back in November of 1962, taboos were shattered. Buried secrets were unearthed. And the Soviet Union was shaken to its foundations.

Solzhenitsyn’s short novel described a single day in the life of a carpenter caught up in the Soviet Union’s secret network of slave labor camps, where starvation, bitter cold and punishing work regimes were the rule and, it has been said, the average life expectancy was only one winter.

The author was working as a provincial math teacher, and his greatest work,“The Gulag Archipelago” was still to come. But “One Day” was to shock the U.S.S.R. and the world.

Even though he received shelter and many awards while he was exiled in the West. He had the courage to criticize Western culture for what he considered its weakness and decadence.

In a testimony to the U.S. Congress on July 8, 1975, Solzhenitsyn said:

"Until I came to the West myself and spent two years looking around, I could never have imagined to what an extreme degree the West had actually become a world without a will, a world gradually petrifying in the face of the danger confronting it . . . All of us are standing on the brink of a great historical cataclysm, a flood that swallows up civilization and changes whole epochs."

Today is a gray and sad day for those who understand and cherish the value of freedom. Rest in peace Solzhenitsyn; you’ve earned it.

Joke: Satan's Sister

2008-08-04T10:44:45Z

A few minutes before the church services started, the congregation was sitting in their pews and talking. Suddenly, Satan appeared at the front of the church. Everyone started screaming and running for the back entrance, trampling each other in a frantic effort to get away from the evil incarnate.

Soon the church was empty except for one elderly gentleman who sat calmly in his pew without moving, seemingly oblivious to the fact that God’s ultimate enemy was in his presence.

So Satan walked up to the man and said, “Do you know who I am?”

—The man replied, “Yep, sure do.”

—”Aren’t you afraid of me?” Satan asked.

—”Nope, sure ain’t.” said the man.

—”Don’t you realize I can kill you with one word?” asked Satan.

—”Don’t doubt it for a minute,” returned the old man, in an even tone.

—”Did you know that I can cause you profound, horrifying AGONY for all eternity?” persisted Satan.

—”Yep,” was the calm reply.

—”And you ‘re still not afraid?” asked Satan.

—”Nope,” said the old man.

—Totally perplexed, Satan asked, “Why aren’t you afraid of me?”

—The man calmly replied, “Been married to your sister for 48 years.”

If I got a faint smile on your face, I feel totally satisfied. If not, I’ll try harder next time. Bye now!

The Record Cost of Beijing's Summer Olympic Games

2008-08-03T17:12:53Z

The National Stadium, venue of the opening and closing ceremonies with a capacity of 91,000 persons.

After a long wait of seven year, the Chinese people are anxiously waiting for the opening of their spectacular 2008 Summer Olympic Games next week.

The 2008 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad is a Summer Olympics event, that will be held in Beijing, People’s Republic of China from August 8 to August 24, 2008. 10,500 athletes are expected to compete in 302 events in 28 sports, just one event more than the 2004 games.

This will the most expensive of all Olympic Games ever held. The Chinese government has promoted the games to highlight China’s emergence on the world stage and has invested heavily in new facilities and transportation systems.

When the Chinese Communist regime planned the budget for the Summer Olympic Games years ago, the budget was estimated at 30 billion Yuan. However, by the end of March 2008, the estimate has gone up to over 400 billion ($58.5 billion).

According to “Zheng Ming Magazine”, The Beijing Olympic Games are listed as the top priority of the four major tasks in 2008 by the Chinese Communist regime. After China won the bid to host the Olympic Games, the Chinese Communist regime estimated that the cost would be between 28 to 30 billion Yuan; this included the cost for building stadiums, the Olympic Village, a complete transport package and subsidiary facilities.

However, the budget kept going up every year. By the end of March 2008, the cost has gone over 400 billion, and more funding is required from the central government to cover the cost for security, subsidiary facilities and maintenance work.

The Olympic Games have been used by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as another one of their “face projects” and they are trying to beautify things at all costs. According to the latest estimate by the Beijing Olympic Game Organizing Group, the total expenditure in relation to the Olympic Games will be as high as 65 billion U.S. dollars, equivalent to 450 billion Yuan. The current total cost will be five times the cost of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

Driven by the “face project” mentality, the CCP officials are extremely extravagant when it comes to spending money and this is the fundamental reason for the record cost of the Beijing Olympic Games.

When will the Beijing’s 2008 Olympic Games raise its curtains? It’s a symbolic number marked by the number eight. The Beijing Olympics will be broadcasted live starting at 8:08:08 in the morning of August 8th (US EST). It will be at 8th second of the 8th minute of the 8th hour of the 8th day of the 8th month (August) of the 8th year in the millennium. (8:08.8 08/08/2008).

If you like huge entertainment exhibitions, this event should be on your top list. Earlier in 2007, former IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch had said that he believes that the Beijing games will be “the best in Olympic history,” Remember that August 8th is next Friday. Au revoir!

Top Browsers Market Share - July 2008

2008-08-02T11:09:52Z

July is now over and soon we will hear soft children's voices singing the classical Christmas carols. It's incredible how time flies. It was only yesterday I was toasting for a Happy New Year 2008.

Now that July is over, I'm eager to find out who was the winner in the monthly web browser's frantic race. According to statistics from Net Applications, Mozilla Firefox continues to be the clear winner and Safari the clear loser.

Below is a table showing the performance of the top browsers:

Top Browsers Market Share - July 2008
(Expressed in Percentages)

Web Browser	July	June	Difference
Internet Explorer	73.02	73.01	0.01
Firefox	19.22	19.03	0.19
Safari	06.14	06.31	0.17
Opera	0.69	0.73	0.04
Netscape	0.69	0.67	0.02
Others	0.24	0.25	0.01
Total:	100	100	0

Comments:

Mozilla Firefox continued to increase its global market participation, but not at the expense of Internet Explorer which held its ground in June. Almost one of every five Internet user uses Firefox as its preferred browser. I would have sworn Firefox was going to reach the 20 percent landmark in July as a result of the fanfare created by Firefox 3. However I have to admit the new version did pretty well. It reached 5.67 percent of the market in July compared to 2.31 percent in June. That's pretty good.

With more and more Web 2.0 applications becoming available, the browser is becoming as important as the operating system. And, with the proliferation of mobile devices and the many new ways to access the Internet, the browser becomes ever more critical. Users are demanding more features, better security, complete site rendering compatibility (standards), and now rendering speed is becoming a differentiator.

Apple Safari is losing its charm. It lost 0.17 percent in July even though the iPhone was raising eyebrows everywhere and the Mac computer was selling like hot cakes.

Opera browser for desktops is not attractive to mainstream users. Their hot spot is in the mobile arena where they lead the pack by a wide margin.

And last, but certainly not least, Netscape is a die hard guy. Even though AOL pulled the plug from this legendary Internet icon, it still attracts web users. In July it crawled to a 0.69 percent global market share tied up with Opera.

That's it folks. Let's keep our fingers crossed and see if Mozilla Firefox breaks the 20 percent barrier next month. Arrivederci!

Cartoon: Suppressed Sexual Activities

2008-08-02T09:36:31Z

I take it you haven't had sex for a while.

No further explanation is required. Good Day!

Delicious Site Revamped and Renamed

2008-08-01T11:22:59Z

I have been using del.icio.us for several months, and let me tell you, I don't know what I would do without it. What I like about this site, is that no matter what computer or browsers use, I can access all my bookmarks by just clicking a few links.

Normally I use about five different browsers for my blogging activities. Each one of them serves a different purpose. Therefore, I needed a place in the cloud, where my favorite bookmarks are readily available. That's where del.icio.us comes in handy.

To my pleasant surprise, Yahoo's Development Team made a marvelous job by revamping the Delicious website and changing the name of the place. Notice that it's not del.icio.us anymore. Now the spelling has been updated to Delicious. I like the new name better. It's a no brainier to spell it.

Yahoo has revamped Delicious, saying the site for storing, describing, and sharing Web site bookmarks is faster, easier to use, and has better search abilities.

The speedup comes from a new server system that's snappier and more reliable, Yahoo said on its Delicious blog on Thursday. "You may not have noticed, but the old back-end was getting creaky under the load of 5 million users," the company said.

The older Delicious limited descriptions of bookmarks to 255 characters, a cap that gave some appeal to rivals such as Magnolia, but the new Delicious raises it to 1,000 characters. Though Yahoo is working to unify its profiles, Delicious accounts are still separate from those at Flickr and Yahoo Mail. Users will need to log into their accounts and get a new browser cookie.

Here's Yahoo's official word on the changes:

Speed: We've moved to a new infrastructure that makes every page faster. This new platform will enable us to keep up with traffic growth while ensuring Delicious is responsive and reliable...
Search: We've completely overhauled our search engine to make it faster and more powerful. Searches used to take ages to return results; now they're very quick. The new search engine is also smarter, and more social: you can search within one of your tags, another user's public bookmarks, or your social network. Now it's easier to take advantage of the expertise and interests of your friends, not to mention the Delicious community at large.
Design: Finally, we've updated the user interface to improve usability and add a few often-requested features (such as selectable detail levels and alphabetical sorting of bookmarks). Our goal has been to keep the new design similar in spirit to the old one, so all of you veterans should be able to jump in without any confusion. At the same time, we're hoping that newcomers to Delicious will find it easier to learn.

Today Jerry Yang will meet with the enlarged new Yahoo Board of Directors where he could find stiff and angry faces. After successfully fending off takeover attempts by Microsoft and billionaire Carl Icahn, Yahoo Chief Executive Jerry Yang could face a new group of critics today: mom-and-pop shareholders.

One shareholder who won't attend is Carl Icahn. In a blog post Thursday morning, Icahn wrote: "It will not do shareholders or Yahoo any good to have the annual meeting turn into a media event for no purpose."

Icahn said he had met with Yang and board Chairman Roy Bostock and while he still disagrees with them on many points, he said, "I have great hope 'this will be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.' "

I hope everything ends well at the shareholder's meeting. In my opinion, Jerry Yang has done a tremendous job at Yahoo in its takeover struggles with ubiquitous Microsoft. There are so many things Yahoo can do to contribute to the development of Web 2.0. The new Delicious 2.0 is a good example. Good luck Jerry!

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How Did They Place My Photograph on a Building?

2008-08-01T09:29:18Z

If you want to know how to place your face in 58 different backgrounds, please click here. The name of the site is PhotoFunia; and in my opinion, it’s a pretty cool site. By placing your photograph in any of the different settings and inserting it on the Internet, you can get your 15 minutes of fame.

All you have to do is upload your handsome photographs from the computer’s hard disk and select your favorite background. Voilà, your face is up there for the whole wide world to enjoy. Adios!

Spain is in Love With Electric Cars

2008-07-31T19:27:53Z

It’s encouraging to read about the comeback of the electric car after it was nearly crushed by the oil industry in California. I’m talking about the unfortunate case of the GM EV1 of the 1990s.

If you have been following my posts, you are aware of the promising cars that are now being manufactured by Tesla, Toyota and Aptera. I’m very excited about this issue, since it will be a step in the right direction to lessen the emission of greenhouse gases.

According to Triplepundit, Spain aims to put 1 million electric cars on the road by 2014. This great news was announced by Spain’s Minister of Industry, Business and Tourism, Miguel Sebastian, on Tuesday. It clearly shows how serious the Zapatero government is regarding saving energy and boosting energy efficiency in Spain.

The Plan, which Spain’s Council of Ministers are expected to approve August 1, will be implemented this year and carry on through 2011. It’s estimated that Spain will save between 5.8 and 6.4 million tons of oil over the three-year period as a result of this energy reduction plan.

“The electric vehicle is the future and the engine of an industrial revolution,” Sebastian told members of the National Industry Commission. Higher oil prices and growing use and intensity of fossil fuel cost Spain some 17 billion euros last year, according to the Minister.

Spain’s legislators are currently studying legislation to provide incentives which will increase the use of public transportation, promote substitution of incandescent light bulbs with lower consumption bulbs, and provide mobile phone coverage in subways. Also among the measures being considered, are reducing fuel exports by 11 percent and reducing speed limits in cities.

If only our government officials would pay attention to the green provisions being taken by responsible legislators in other countries. Panama is in dire need to adopt these energy conservation measures with a deep sense of urgency.

Joke: The Lawyer's Information Game

2008-07-31T11:27:09Z

A blonde and a lawyer are seated next to each other on a flight from LA to NY. The lawyer asks if she would like to play a fun game. The blonde, very tired, just wants to take a nap, so she politely declines and rolls over towards the window to catch a few winks. The lawyer persists (as lawyers tend to do) and explains that the game is easy and a lot of fun. He says, “I ask you a question, and if you don’t know the answer, you pay me $5.00 and vice versa.”

Again, she declines and tries to get some sleep.

The lawyer, now agitated, says, “Okay, if you don’t know the answer, you pay me $5.00, and if I don’t know the answer, I’ll pay you $500.00.”

This catches the blonde’s attention, and, realizing he won’t stop bothering her till she plays, she agrees to play the game.

The lawyer asks the first question, “What’s the distance from the earth to the moon?”

The blonde looks at him blankly, reaches into her purse, pulls out a $5 bill, and hands it to him.

“Okay,” he says with a twinkle in his eyes. “Now it’s your turn.”

She asks him, “What goes up a hill with three legs and comes down with four legs?”

The lawyer looks puzzled, takes out his laptop computer, and searches all his references. No answer. He taps into his cellphone and searches the net and Library of Congress. Still no answer. Frustrated, he sends e-mails to all his friends and coworkers. But, none of them know the answer, either. After an hour, sweating he wakes the blonde and hands her $500.

The blonde says, “Thank you,” and rolls back toward the window.

The lawyer, now thoroughly agitated, demands, “Well, what’s the answer?”

Silently, she reaches into her purse, hands him another $5, and goes back to sleep.

That's it folks. I'll bet this lawyer didn't enjoy his trip to the Big Apple. Good Day!

Source: 100 Best Lawyer Jokes

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Oil Prices Are Now Flying South to Mexico

2008-07-30T09:11:14Z

It's amazing what collective action will do. After the bizarre performance of oil prices last month, the American people decided it was time to take action and they did.

They started to drive less and kept their bottoms aways from their cars. That deteriorated gasoline and diesel demand to such a point, that the oil companies had no other choice but to drop their gasoline prices. "We're seeing some worries about demand destruction in oil, so I think that's creating some fear among investors and leading them to sell," said Tom Pawlicki, commodities analyst with MF Global Research in Chicago.

The U.S. Transportation Department said Monday that U.S. drivers logged 9.6 billion fewer vehicle miles in May—or 3.7 percent—compared to the same period last year, the biggest drop ever for the historically busy summer driving month. And demand for oil in the U.S.—the world's thirstiest consumer— continues to fall, dropping by 891,000 barrels per day in May compared the same month a year ago, the Energy Information Administration said Monday.

Oil prices tumbled more than $2 a barrel yesterday, finishing at their lowest level in seven weeks as a stronger dollar and beliefs that record prices are eroding the world's thirst for energy sparked another dramatic sell-off. The drop—which surpassed $4 a barrel at one point during the day—was a throwback to oil's nosedive over the past two weeks and outweighed supply concerns touched off by a militant attack Monday on two Nigerian crude oil pipelines. It was oil's seventh decline in the last 10 sessions.

Prices at the pump are poised to dip even further, and could cost as much as 25 cents less by Labor Day, AAA spokesman Geoff Sundstrom said. "People say typically prices shoot up like a rocket, but fall like a feather. But this time ... it looks like it's different," Sundstrom said. "The retail sector is interested in bringing these prices down as fast as they can to stimulate business in their convenience stores."

In another sign that high prices are curbing Americans' consumption for fuel, retail gas prices fell further below the $4-a-gallon mark. The average price of a regular gas fell 1.7 cents to $3.941, according to auto club AAA, the Information Service and Wright Express.

The declines accelerated after oil briefly dipped below $122, a key resistance level that triggered technical selling by computers programmed to dump oil contracts once prices fall under a certain threshold. "Once we break through $120, we could easily slide through to $100," said Darin Newsom, senior analyst at DTN in Omaha.</p>In the trading pits, oil continued on a two-week sell-off. Light, sweet crude for September delivery fell $2.54 to settle at $122.19 a barrel in the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the lowest settlement price for a front-month contract since June 10. Oil has now fallen $25.25 from its trading high of $147.27, reached July 11. According to Oil-Price.Net, the price for crude oil as of this morning,---Wednesday July 30, 2008 at 03:59 a.m.---was $122.02 per barrel.

Many oil analysts say the market's momentum points to further declines. Is the energy bubble over? I don't think so. Oil has bounced back from big drops more than once in the march to fresh records over the past year. Is the $4 per gallon nightmare almost over? Probably not, but we can hope while we keep our feet away from the gas pedal. Good Day?

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Joke: Government Aid Genius

2008-07-30T07:39:30Z

A modern day cowboy has spent many days crossing the barren Texas plains without water. His horse has already died of thirst.

He’s crawling through the sand, certain that he has breathed his last breath, when all of a sudden he sees an object sticking out of the sand several yards ahead of him.

He crawls to the object, pulls it out of the sand, and discovers what looks to be an old briefcase. He opens it and out pops a genie. But this is no ordinary genie. He is wearing a FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) ID badge and a dull gray suit. There’s a calculator in his pocketbook. He has a pencil tucked behind one ear.

---"Well, cowboy," says the genie. "You know how I work. You have three wishes."

---"I’m not falling for this." said the cowboy. "I’m not going to trust a FEMA genie."

---"What do you have to lose?" "You’ve got no transportation, and it looks like you’re a goner anyway!," said the genie matter-of-factly.

The cowboy thinks about this for a minute, and decides that the genie is right.

---"O.K., I wish I were in a lush oasis with plenty of food and drink," said the thirsty cattleman.

***POOF***

The buckaroo finds himself in the most beautiful oasis he has ever seen, and he's surrounded with jugs of wine and platters of delicacies.

---"O.K., cowpoke, what’s your second wish," said the Fema genie.

---"My second wish is that I was rich beyond my wildest dreams."

***POOF***

The wrangler finds himself surrounded by treasure chests filled with rare gold coins and precious gems.

---"O.K. cowpuncher, you have just one more wish. Better make it a good one!"

After thinking for a few minutes, the cowboy says, "I wish that no matter where I go, beautiful women will want and need me."

***POOF***

He was turned into a tampon.

The moral of the story: If the government offers to help you, there’s going to be a string attached. Good Day!

Source: Bits & Pieces

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The Merger Between Sirius and XM is Now a Fact

2008-07-29T16:11:15Z

Sirius and XM Radio announced today that
they closed their long-awaited merger.

After a long wait of 17 months, the merger between the only two giants of satellite radio–Sirius and XM Radio–is finally over. The combined company, with more than 18.5 million subscribers, is now called Sirius XM Radio. It is set to rank as the second-largest U.S. radio company, based on annual revenues.

Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.’s $3.3 billion buyout of rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. will mean millions of subscribers will be able to receive programming from both services, while executives say it will create huge cost savings for the industry.

Sirius XM Radio will offer more than 300 programming channels spanning exclusive shows, such as those of Howard Stern and Oprah Winfrey, and à la carte programming. Subscribers will be able to select certain programs from each of the two former companies under one package.

The new programs are expected to begin rolling out in early fall. And as the companies previously stated, subscribers can continue to maintain their current service plan. Subscribers will not have to buy new radios to receive a mix of programming from both services, according to the companies. But if they want to pursue a special pay-per-channel à la carte option, they will need new sets.

The companies voluntarily agreed to a set of conditions, including a three-year price cap and an 8 percent set-aside of “full-time audio channels” for public interest and minority programming. They will also adopt an “open radio” standard that may lead to a greater variety of features in radios and greater competition among manufacturers.

XM investors will receive 4.6 shares of Sirius, and the ticker symbol will now trade under “SIRI.” Sirius XM Radio will be headquartered in New York, and its wholly owned subsidiary XM Satellite Radio will remain in Washington, D.C.

I used to work in Panama at a call center that provided customer service to XM Radio clients. I’m happy that both companies are finally joining efforts to provide satellite radio service to the U.S. market. The possibilities of upgrading the quality of sound and programming are enormous. I only regret that satellite radio is not available in Panama. Good Day!

Joke: Some Things You Just Can't Explain

2008-07-29T10:18:39Z

Milking a cow is sometimes difficult to explain.

A farmer was in a bar drinking and looking very depressed. His friend asked him why he was looking so depressed and he sadly replied, “Some things you just can’t explain. This morning I was outside milking my cow. As soon as the bucket was filled, the cow kicked it down with her left foot, so I tied up her left to a pole.”

—“I began to fill up the bucket again, she kicked it down with her right foot, so I tied her right foot to a pole too.”

—“As soon as I finished milkin’ her again, she knocked down the bucket with her tail, so I took off my belt and tied up his tail with my belt.”

—”As I was tying up her tail, my pants dropped down, then my wife came out and well, trust me, some things you just can’t explain!”

Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. Auf wiedersehen!

A New Search Engine Wants Google's Place

2008-07-28T21:03:51Z

Cuil claims to be the biggest search engine available today.

Today the Internet is very much alive and buzzing with news that there’s a new kid on the block. It’s all about a new search engine called Cuil launched today. Developed and run by the husband-and-wife team of Stanford professor Tom Costello and former Google search architect Anna Patterson, Cuil is pitched as being bigger, faster, and better than Google’s flagship search engine in pretty much every way.

Anna Patterson’s last Internet search engine was so impressive that industry leader Google Inc. bought the technology in 2004 to upgrade its own system. She believes her latest invention is even more valuable—only this time it’s not for sale. Patterson instead intends to upstage Google, which she quit in 2006 to develop a more comprehensive and efficient way to scour the Internet.

Patterson joined Google in 2004 after she built and sold Recall, a search index that probed old Web sites for the Internet Archive. Patterson enjoyed her time at Google, but became disenchanted with the company’s approach to search. “Google has looked pretty much the same for 10 years now,” she said, “and I can guarantee it will look the same a year from now.”

Cuil is pronounced “cool.” Backed by $33 million in venture capital, the search engine started processing requests for the first time early this morning. Tom Costello’s—Anna Patterson’s husband—Irish heritage inspired Cuil’s odd name. It was derived from a character named Finn McCuill in Celtic folklore. Cuil is also an old Irish word for knowledge.

Rather than trying to mimic Google’s method of ranking the quantity and quality of links to Web sites, Patterson says Cuil’s technology drills into the actual content of a page. And Cuil’s results are presented in a more magazine-like format instead of just a vertical list of Web links. Cuil’s results are displayed with more photos spread horizontally across the page and include sidebars that can be clicked on to learn more about topics related to the original search request.

Cuil is just the latest in a long line of Google challengers. The list includes swaggering startups like Teoma (whose technology became the backbone of Ask.com), Vivisimo, Snap, Mahalo and, most recently, Powerset, which was acquired by Microsoft Corp. this month. Even after investing hundreds of millions of dollars on search, both Microsoft and Yahoo Inc. have been losing ground to Google. Through May 2008, Google held a 62 percent share of the U.S. search market followed by Yahoo at 21 percent and Microsoft at 8.5 percent, according to comScore Inc.

Google welcomed Cuil to the fray with its usual mantra about its rivals. “Having great competitors is a huge benefit to us and everyone in the search space,” Watson said. “It makes us all work harder, and at the end of the day our users benefit from that.”

As a business proposition, Cuil is obviously a big challenge. While search is a monetizable business, it’s hard to change the behavior of a generation of Web users who think “Google” is a verb. No other search engine has come close to entering the public consciousness like this. Of course, Cuil doesn’t have to trounce Google on day one. It took Google quite some time to surpass Alta Vista and Yahoo in the search wars.

“The taste is in the pudding”. People will love or hate Cuil by the way it handles their information thirst. Only time will tell if Cuil will be a killer application or just a flash in the pan. Adieu!

Joke: The Amazing Blind Man

2008-07-28T10:35:38Z

An universal icon of a blind person.

A blind man walks into a restaurant and sits down. The waiter, who is also the owner, walks up to the blind man and hands him a menu.

“I’m sorry, sir, but I’m blind and can’t read the menu. Please, just bring me a dirty fork from a previous customer. I’ll smell it and order from there.”

A little confused, the owner walks over to the dirty dish pile and picks up a greasy fork. He returns to the blind man’s table and hands it to him. The blind man puts the fork to his nose and takes in a deep breath.

“Ah, yes, that’s what I’ll have—meatloaf and mashed potatoes.”

Unbelievable, the owner thinks as he walks towards the kitchen. The cook happens to be the owner’s wife. He tells her what had just happened.

The blind man eats his meal and leaves.

Several days later, the blind man returns and the owner mistakenly brings him a menu again.

—“Sir, remember me? I’m the same blind man who came here a few days ago.”

—“I’m sorry sir, I didn’t recognize you. I’ll go get you a dirty fork.”

The owner retrieves a dirty fork and brings it to the blind man.

After another deep breath, the blind man says, “That smells great. I’ll take the macaroni and cheese with broccoli.”

Walking away in disbelief, the owner thinks the blind man is screwing around with him and tells his wife that the next time the blind man comes in he’s going to test him.

The blind man eats and leaves.

He returns the following week, but this time the owner sees him coming and runs to the kitchen.

He tells his wife, “Mary, rub this fork on your panties before I take it to the blind man.”

Mary reluctantly complies and hands her husband the fork. As the blind man walks in and sits down, the owner is ready and waiting.

“Good afternoon, sir, this time I remembered you and I already have the fork ready for you.”

The blind man puts the fork to his nose, takes a deep whiff, and says, “Hey I didn’t know that Mary worked here.”

Yep, this guy has an unbelievable nose. Bye-bye!

Electric Cars Are Making a Noisy Comeback

2008-07-27T18:34:34Z

Photograph of the 100 percent electric 2008 Tesla Roaster vehicle.

The one good thing which seems to be coming out of the astronomic prices of gasoline and diesel, is the introduction of electric and solar cars. Companies like Tesla, Aptera, and Toyota are dead serious in making excellent electric cars which will give gasoline cars a good run for their money. If you have been following my recent postings here, you know what I’m talking about.

Tesla Motors, Inc. is a Silicon Valley automobile startup company focused on the production of high performance, consumer-oriented battery electric vehicles. The first Tesla store opened in Los Angeles, CA on April 2008. Before I forget, let me add that two of Tesla backers are Sergey Brin and Larry Page cofounders of Google Inc.

Despite Tesla Motors’ well deserved reputation as a high-end car manufacturer, it’s still very much a startup—the company’s $150 million in funding pales in comparison to coffers held by large automobile companies like Ferrari. As a result, Tesla has strived to create a atmosphere of style and sophistication at its showrooms without breaking the bank.

Tesla Motors’ first production vehicle, the Tesla Roadster, is an all-electric sports car. The company and reviewers state that the Tesla Roadster accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds. It has a top speed of 125 mph (limited for safety) and can go 220 miles on a 3.5 hour charge. If you have a heavy wallet, you can add sweet extras like a painted carbon fiber top for $3,200 or a premium leather interior for $1,800. The cost of powering the vehicle is estimated at $0.02 per mile.

Prototypes were introduced to the public in July 2006 and featured on the cover of Time Magazine in December 2006 as the recipient of the magazine’s “Best Inventions 2006—Transportation Invention” award.

Demand has been high for the first “Signature One Hundred” set of fully equipped Roadsters, which sold out in less than three weeks,and the second hundred sold out by October, 2007. As of May 2 2008, more than 600 Tesla Roadsters have been reserved and 400 more are on the waiting list.The first production model was delivered to Elon Musk, Chairman of the Board, on February 2008 and were in general production by March 17, 2008.

A solar car is on the design table. Tesla plans to offer home roof mounted solar-photovoltaic systems that will offset power used by the home charger, allowing 50 miles (80 km) of travel per day without burdening the power grid.

Tesla is also currently working on a sedan, known as the Model S, which will be introduced as a 2010 model.It’s being designed as an alternative to cars such as the BMW Series and the Audi A6, with an estimated price of $60,000.

Future plans include a more affordable third model. The development and production of this future model, code-named “BlueStar”, will be funded by profits from the Model S sedan. According to Tesla, if everything goes according to plans, the BlueStar will be released in 2012 with a price tag of around $30,000.

Purchasing a Tesla Roadster is an involved and lengthy process. To reserve a car, first you’ll need to make a $5,000 deposit, which is mostly just to show you’re serious. To actually get a place on the 1,100 person long waiting list, you’ll need to cough up another $55,000—making a grand total of $60,000.

Of the 1,100 people on the waiting list, 600 are for the 2008 model, which has a base cost of $98,000. The remainder of the list is for the 2009 model, which has been upped to a $109,000 base value, mostly to account for the weakened dollar.

Tesla is currently telling customers that the waiting list is one year long, but production is only just ramping up so that time frame may change. By the end of July there will be around 12 cars on the road, most of which are owned by company board members and investors.

For the time being, cars are being assembled at a rate of about 4 a week, with expectations that the company will be able to finish 40 a week early next year.

Paying more than 100 “grands” for a car is a lot of money for mainstream customers; which means that for the time being, the Tesla Roadster will be a niche vehicle for opulent customers. However, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel with the introduction of the “BlueStar” which is expected be released in 2012 at around $30,000. If you’re interested in this baby, start fattening the piggy bank on your bed table.

For more information on the 2008 electric Tesla Roadster, kindly click here. The photo gallery will knock your socks off. Good Day!

Soaring Gasoline Prices Makes Batman Switch Bikes

2008-07-27T08:37:14Z

I really enjoyed this witty picture which I found by accident while surfing the web. Even though it's hilarious, it does show the pinch many people are experiencing all over the world due to unprecedented gasoline prices.

At home we only use our car for essential tasks, like going to the supermarket or driving during heavy rainy days. Bus and taxi service are very bad in Panama and sometimes you really need to use a car to do your things. Other than those special cases, we prefer to take a bus which costs 25 cents a ride within the city. There's no way we can make ends meet paying $4.36 for a gallon of gasoline.

Yep, I understand your frustration Batman. I wonder if you can capture your adversaries with your new fuel-efficient bike. Good luck!

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Joke: Band-Aids on the Mirror

2008-07-26T12:37:15Z

Flynn staggered home very late after another evening with his drinking buddy, Paddy. He took off his shoes to avoid waking his wife, Mary. He tiptoed as quietly as he could toward the stairs leading to their upstairs bedroom, but misjudged the bottom step. As he caught himself by grabbing the banister, his body swung around and he landed heavily on his buns. A whiskey bottle in each back pocket broke and made the landing especially painful.

Managing not to yell, Flynn sprung up, pulled down his pants, and looked in the hall mirror to see that his butt cheeks were cut and bleeding. He managed to quietly find a full box of Band-Aids and began putting a Band-Aid as best he could on each place he saw blood.

He then hid the now almost empty Band-Aid box and shuffled and stumbled his way to bed.

In the morning, Flynn woke up with searing pain in both his head and butt and Mary staring at him from across the room.

She said, "You were drunk again last night weren’t you, Flynn?"

Flynn said, "Why honey, do you say such a mean and humiliating thing?"

"Well," Mary said, "it could be the open front door, it could be the broken glass at the bottom of the stairs, it could be the drops of blood trailing through the house to your bed, it could be your bloodshot eyes, but mostly…..it’s all those Band-Aids stuck on the hall mirror."

Source: Bits & Pieces

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Toyota Will Use Solar Panels in Prius Hybrid Cars

2008-07-26T10:43:16Z

Photograph of Toyota’s popular Prius hybrid vehicle.

It’s encouraging to see how some innovative automobile manufacturers are replacing fossil fuels with ethanol, electricity and solar energy to run their vehicles. Such is the case of Toyota Motor Corp.

A recent Nikkei story revealed that Toyota is planning to offer solar panels on its popular Prius hybrid vehicle. The solar panel option will be available on the next generation high-end Prius model when it receives a redesign in 2009. Toyota Motor Corp. will then will become the first major automaker to use solar power for a vehicle, according to the article published on July 7th.

The paper said Toyota would equip solar panels manufactured by Kyocera Corp. on the roof of the high-end version of the Prius when it redesigns the gasoline-electric hybrid car early next year, and the power generated by the panels would be used for the air conditioning system.

If this manufacturing scheme works, I’m sure other major car manufacturers will follow suit. When they do, it will be music to Al Gore’s ears.

Google Embraces the Electric Car of the Future

2008-07-25T22:07:22Z

Inside photograph of the Aptera Typ-1 electric car to be released by the end of the year.

I’m so happy to read all over the Internet the different approaches companies are taking to dodge the mortal blows of high gasoline prices. Wind power and solar power seem to be on the top of the list of alternative energy resources.

Thanks to Toyota, electric cars are back on the spotlight. Some of them are plug-in hybrids, which means that they use both gasoline and electricity to run. Others are 100 percent electric.

The electric car that captured my attention is the Aptera Typ-1 (photographed above), manufactured by Aptera Motors based in Carlsbad, California. The Aptera Typ-1 is an all-electric, two-seater, three-wheeled car whose streamlined shape might look at home in a Jetsons cartoon. Each street-legal vehicle has an approximate price tag of less than $30,000.

The electric version of the three-wheeler would drive 120 miles per charge, while a hybrid version due for release near the end of 2009 is meant to achieve 300 miles per gallon. The vehicles are supposed to accelerate to 60 miles per hour within 10 seconds and recharge from a 110-volt outlet. If all goes well the company plans on a four-wheeled model capable of sitting up to five people hitting the streets in the not-so-distant future.

This concept car of the future has a unique design. The prototype features high-tech touches such as rear and side cameras instead of rear-view side mirrors to further reduce wind drag. There’s a solar panel on the roof to provide a bit of extra power.

Google is investing $2.75 million into electric-vehicle maker Aptera and battery start-up ActaCell. The announcement, which follows Google’s request for proposals from companies with electric car technologies, came Tuesday during the Plug-In 2008 conference in San Jose, California.

Having the backup of a company with deep pockets like Google is a sure bet that this classy electric car will hit the California street by year’s end. By then the car of the future will surely be here! Way to go Google!

Drinking Digital Beer or Digital Milk

2008-07-25T05:25:38Z

Simulation of drinking digital beer from an Apple iPhone or iPod touch.

By now you already know that the Apple's iPhone is much more than a phone. It's really a full-fledged computer with an operating system of its own. Some of its applications are sold through Apple App Store while others are completely free.

The picture above is an ingenious iPhone application dubbed, "iBeer 2.0" which you can buy at an Apple App Store. This application simulates the process of enjoying a nice glass of cold beer. The whole process is: brew, wiggle, drink, shake and burp. If you don't like beer, no problem; there's the option of drinking milk. You can run this application through an iPhone or iPod touch.

The YouTube video showing a guy drinking beer and a lady drinking milk is absolutely hilarious. You have the option of drinking from your right or left hand. iBeer 2.0 is totally interactive. When you shake the glass, you can even create a digital beer head. Pretty cool isn't it? Bottoms up!

Source: Bits & Pieces

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