Well, it's snowed a lot here. I couldn't get out until about 3:00, needless to say I stayed home today. So I spent the day reading, writing, and working around here.
In more fun news, the board came so I could build the first prototype of the BReuTech solid state computer. I'm excited. Now for an evening of software tweaking and doing benchmarking.
The shelves came in for work, so we now have 3 times the storage in the warehouse. Which is good since our volume is going to be 7 times what it was this past year, minimum. I also spent the weekend talking to people at the Business Expo, which left me completely drained. Makes me glad it snowed, I needed a day off.
2/26/08
2/19/08
More Evidence the System is Broken
Well, I have yet another sign the system has failed. My last evidence was that I can't get a loan because I'm too responsible with my money, the same reason nobody will give me a credit card to build credit to get a loan. This time, it's that the government is willing to pay me to be less productive.
As a contractor I have no insurance. If I'm willing to pay more than I make in a year I can buy my own, but I'll pass. I actually found out I haven't had insurance for 9 months now, and didn't even know it. Lucky me. I was on my parent's plan for as long as I was a full-time student, but I was only part-time last fall and not a student at all now. Indiana just started a new public health insurance plan called the Healthy Indiana Plan, so I looked into it. And I'm not eligible because I work too much.
How can this be possible you ask? Well, they will only insure you if you make less than $20k/year or $1,700/month. So in all reality I'm better off flipping burgers for a living, I'll at least get health insurance. This is, in effect, rewarding those who don't work, or work minimum wage jobs, and hurting those of us working hard and getting an education. That now leaves me with a few options:
1) Work fewer days, cutting my productivity and pay so I can get health insurance.
2) Take a pay cut so I can be as productive and get health insurance.
3) Go to grad school so someone else pays my health insurance.
4) Quit and go flip burgers.
I have a better idea. How about the revise the plan, and offer more coverage to those working more, doing jobs that need done, and trying to make it. This plan gives preference to drug, addicted, lazy, scum wandering around contributing nothing than to those trying to help make this region more productive and sustainable. They could even give me free therapy with the plan, let me take a baseball bat to the kneecaps of a drug addict once a week, that would help release the frustration of a screwed up system that doesn't care for the people in the middle, only for those not willing to work and those who pay others minimum wage to do the work for them.
To make things even more comical (for you, certainly not for me) I'm working as a government contractor. So they're willing to give me health insurance if I do LESS work for them. It seems like a good reward to me to give me insurance for doing more work, and doing a better job.
Mitch Daniels should be thrown out of office and let's get someone with half a mind in there, I can't believe people fell for his campaign.
As a contractor I have no insurance. If I'm willing to pay more than I make in a year I can buy my own, but I'll pass. I actually found out I haven't had insurance for 9 months now, and didn't even know it. Lucky me. I was on my parent's plan for as long as I was a full-time student, but I was only part-time last fall and not a student at all now. Indiana just started a new public health insurance plan called the Healthy Indiana Plan, so I looked into it. And I'm not eligible because I work too much.
How can this be possible you ask? Well, they will only insure you if you make less than $20k/year or $1,700/month. So in all reality I'm better off flipping burgers for a living, I'll at least get health insurance. This is, in effect, rewarding those who don't work, or work minimum wage jobs, and hurting those of us working hard and getting an education. That now leaves me with a few options:
1) Work fewer days, cutting my productivity and pay so I can get health insurance.
2) Take a pay cut so I can be as productive and get health insurance.
3) Go to grad school so someone else pays my health insurance.
4) Quit and go flip burgers.
I have a better idea. How about the revise the plan, and offer more coverage to those working more, doing jobs that need done, and trying to make it. This plan gives preference to drug, addicted, lazy, scum wandering around contributing nothing than to those trying to help make this region more productive and sustainable. They could even give me free therapy with the plan, let me take a baseball bat to the kneecaps of a drug addict once a week, that would help release the frustration of a screwed up system that doesn't care for the people in the middle, only for those not willing to work and those who pay others minimum wage to do the work for them.
To make things even more comical (for you, certainly not for me) I'm working as a government contractor. So they're willing to give me health insurance if I do LESS work for them. It seems like a good reward to me to give me insurance for doing more work, and doing a better job.
Mitch Daniels should be thrown out of office and let's get someone with half a mind in there, I can't believe people fell for his campaign.
2/15/08
Sick of hearing about Apple
I used to be a fan of Apple. My first computer, in 1988, was an Apple IIe. I appreciate all the work they've done, they did create the first GUI after all. But I'm sick of hearing about them, and how "hip" they are and how they're a new standard. What have they done innovative lately? They made a thin laptop by stripping out almost all functionality. Congrats. They made the iPhone, a ripoff of the Neo1973 whose development only started after FIC had already built prototypes of the Neo. Congrats again. Some people claim their UI is so innovative, it's actually frustration over this that made me write this post. I was reading an article on Samsung's new TouchWiz UI and comparing it to Apple's UI. Apple did nothing special there. Again, they used a UI made to mimic the OpenMoko interface which had been around for a while. Thank God for Apple there wasn't more funding behind OpenMoko/FIC or else they would have been beat to the market by a long shot. Apple didn't announce until 1 year after OpenMoko, at MacWorld 2007, 3 years after development started on the Neo1973 and 1 year after it was announced.
What has Apple done lately? Nothing but marketing is my answer. They have excellent marketing and sell their items as status symbols, charging several times what they're worth and repackaging what has already been done. So seriously, shut up about Apple. Or at the least, don't bother me with their latest fads, I've already read about them and still don't care.
And to Apple: Please do something to win back the respect of those who remember you from when you were the innovator and the good PC alternative.
What has Apple done lately? Nothing but marketing is my answer. They have excellent marketing and sell their items as status symbols, charging several times what they're worth and repackaging what has already been done. So seriously, shut up about Apple. Or at the least, don't bother me with their latest fads, I've already read about them and still don't care.
And to Apple: Please do something to win back the respect of those who remember you from when you were the innovator and the good PC alternative.
2/13/08
I just joined LinkedIn to get some more business contacts, so you should look at it, or even join it if you're in the business world. It's actually a great tool.
My Profile
My Profile
2/10/08
New Link
I wanted to let people know that Kelli has started a page for our wedding, which will be updated as the info comes. I put the link in the right side bar. Enjoy.
2/6/08
Blarg
Well I've learned a lot of things while driving around lately, darn those long commutes.
1) Idiots buy silver or white SUVs. It's been really foggy and stormy lately, and the only vehicles not using lights were always white or silver SUVs. Yes, the ones you can't see in the fog are the ones making it harder. Not the red sports cars or green vans. The problem with a lot of small villages in the area is the increased volume of village idiots.
2) It's annoying when a car does the speed up/slow down jazz when you try to pass them. It's even more annoying when it's a semi hauling hogs in the pouring rain.
3) All radio morning show hosts are alcoholics who hate their lives.
4) Zoning out and missing your turn is only funny once.
1) Idiots buy silver or white SUVs. It's been really foggy and stormy lately, and the only vehicles not using lights were always white or silver SUVs. Yes, the ones you can't see in the fog are the ones making it harder. Not the red sports cars or green vans. The problem with a lot of small villages in the area is the increased volume of village idiots.
2) It's annoying when a car does the speed up/slow down jazz when you try to pass them. It's even more annoying when it's a semi hauling hogs in the pouring rain.
3) All radio morning show hosts are alcoholics who hate their lives.
4) Zoning out and missing your turn is only funny once.
2/3/08
$44.6 billion for a poor search engine? Not exactly...
Microsoft's sudden bid for a hostile takeover of Yahoo for a proposed $44.6 billion, way more than the stock is worth, may seem like an odd move. Microsoft already has a search engine, MSN, and they have all the features Yahoo does. They say they want to create more competition to help combat Google's constant growth and dominance in web search and features. Referring to Google (though it fits Microsoft themselves better oddly enough) Microsoft officials said,
"Today, the market is increasingly dominated by one player, who is consolidating its dominance through acquisition. Together, Microsoft and Yahoo can offer a credible alternative."
This is where the bull is getting too deep for me. Since when did Microsoft offer 1) more competition or 2) credibility? MSN and Yahoo are about as effective as search engines as looking through paid ads. Yahoo Mail and Hotmail are slow and ad riddled. Yahoo has been falling off for a long time, they've had layoffs and are failing as a company, it's only a matter of time before they're no longer a major player. So it looks like this merger is about as smart as HP-Compaq.
Well, here's the kicker...
Google does a lot of things. One thing they do that Microsoft wants to slow down at least is their support of open source and Linux. If you control a larger portion of search traffic and more ad revenue you can help limit the exposure to this information. Anything Microsoft can do to hurt Google now helps them. Google is now preparing to buy up some airwaves now, that would allow them to use Linux more (read: Android) and will open more people up to open source and media delivery systems. That would put the major hurt on Microsoft and all their work in multimedia systems.
So I firmly believe Microsoft has no interest in Yahoo for itself, but for a way to consolidate more traffic to a single source and put more pressure on Google. They've been making a lot of attacks on Google this past year, claiming they are involved in privacy violations and other unsubstantiated illegal activities. Now let's just wait and see where this goes.
"Today, the market is increasingly dominated by one player, who is consolidating its dominance through acquisition. Together, Microsoft and Yahoo can offer a credible alternative."
This is where the bull is getting too deep for me. Since when did Microsoft offer 1) more competition or 2) credibility? MSN and Yahoo are about as effective as search engines as looking through paid ads. Yahoo Mail and Hotmail are slow and ad riddled. Yahoo has been falling off for a long time, they've had layoffs and are failing as a company, it's only a matter of time before they're no longer a major player. So it looks like this merger is about as smart as HP-Compaq.
Well, here's the kicker...
Google does a lot of things. One thing they do that Microsoft wants to slow down at least is their support of open source and Linux. If you control a larger portion of search traffic and more ad revenue you can help limit the exposure to this information. Anything Microsoft can do to hurt Google now helps them. Google is now preparing to buy up some airwaves now, that would allow them to use Linux more (read: Android) and will open more people up to open source and media delivery systems. That would put the major hurt on Microsoft and all their work in multimedia systems.
So I firmly believe Microsoft has no interest in Yahoo for itself, but for a way to consolidate more traffic to a single source and put more pressure on Google. They've been making a lot of attacks on Google this past year, claiming they are involved in privacy violations and other unsubstantiated illegal activities. Now let's just wait and see where this goes.
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