\Application Data\Qualcomm\Eudora.
Now open Eudora. It will automatically create toc files for all the new
mbx files. Now close Eudora and open Outlook Express and import from
Eudora. When you import from Eudora, Microsoft Outlook Express will ask
you for the directory to import from. Once again, specify the Eudora
data directory. Once the mail is in Outlook Express, you can easily
import it into Microsoft Outlook.
Sunday October 8, 2006
It looks like we might now know what caused all the major extinction
events in Earths history. The answer: Hydrogen Sulfide gas. There
is strong fossil evidence for elevated levels of Hydrogen Sulfide
during all the major extinction events. It looks like levels of CO2
in the atmosphere at levels of about 1000 ppm start a chain of events
that cause catastrophic levels of H2S to enter the atmosphere. Today,
CO2 levels are at about 385 ppm and increasing at 2-3 ppm per year.
At those rates, we have about 250 years to figure out how to counteract
this process.
But should we? If we do, we would be interfering with a natural process
of mass extinction that has been occurring periodically for at least the
last half billion years. We wouldn’t be here today without these events.
Who are we to interfere with nature?
You can read the article here.
Tuesday October 3, 2006
Anti-virus companies are upset with Microsoft regarding the next
generation of their operating system - Vista. They are complaining
that Vista locks them out of the anti-virus market. Vista might in
fact lock them out. And that’s a good thing. If they aren’t locked
out, then malicious software is not locked out either. Microsoft is
doing what they ought to be doing – producing the most safe and secure
operating system they are capable of producing. For over a decade
now, Microsoft has been accused of not doing enough to protect us from
malicious software. Now that Microsoft is locking down the OS and
preventing third party software from coming between applications and
the OS, the companies that have claimed to be concerned with our
security are complaining that the OS is too secure. What a bunch of
hypocrites. Symantec and McAfee better change their business model
quick. Because they aren’t going to gain any sympathy by claiming
Microsoft is locking them out. I want them locked out. If you don’t
lock out third party software from “corrupting” the OS, them you can’t
blame Microsoft when something goes wrong. The only way we can make
Microsoft accountable for security problems is if they have total
control of the OS. That’s not too much to ask, if you ask me. If you
don’t like it, buy another OS or just stick with XP. I applaud
Microsoft for taking full ownership of this problem. They need to do
everything in their power to prevent malicious software. We live in a
world that has an ever-increasing reliance on technology. Without
secure operating systems, we are all at great risk.
Monday September 18, 2006
Please excuse the following rant:
I have seen several TV programs about Wal-Mart over the past several
years that attack Wal-Mart for taking advantage of its employees.
Various politicians and reporters have claimed Wal-Mart doesn’t provide
health benefits and underpays its employees. The people complaining
about Wal-Mart just don’t understand the concept of a free market economy.
In the US, supply and demand set the price for goods and services.
If someone can get earn $20 an hour, why would they work at Wal-Mart
for $10 an hour. They might choose to work there for other reasons.
Maybe they like the hours. Maybe it’s within walking distance to their
house and they don’t own a car. There are many reasons. The point is –
no one is forcing anyone to work at Wal-Mart. It’s a free country. You
can move to get a better job. You can quit if you don’t like the job you
have. You are free to start your own business.
The economy of scale that Wal-Mart benefits from makes it extremely
efficient at delivering products to consumers at the lowest prices possible.
Small Mom and Pop stores cannot compete with the efficiency of Wal-Mart.
Is that bad? It’s bad if you’re Mom or Pop. But if you are a consumer,
you just got a raise. Your dollars now buy more goods.
Artificial regulations to impose fairness don’t work. For example, if one
state requires Wal-Mart pay all employees $100,000 a year, Wal-Mart will
simply leave that state. It’s as simple as that. If the congress requires
Wal-Mart to pay all its employees in the US $20 an hour, Wal-Mart might
outsource all jobs so several smaller companies to avoid the regulation.
Or it might automate more jobs so it can reduce its workforce. Or they
might pass on their increased costs to the consumers, who now have to pay
more for goods. Many of those consumers may also be employees, who are no
better off after the pay raise because they now have to pay more for
everything. It’s called inflation.
In the US, we vote with our dollars. I respect anyone’s choice to avoid
shopping at Wal-Mart. If you don’t like what Wal-Mart is doing, shop at
Kmart. If you don’t like Wal-Mart and Kmart, go to Target. If you don’t
like Wal-Mart, Kmart or Target, go to Marshalls, etc., etc., etc. That’s
fine with me. If Wal-Mart goes out of business because people stop shopping
there, it’s fine with me. I do not own stock in Wal-Mart.
One phenomenon the US has been experiencing the last 30 years or so, is
globalization. Globalization is the real reason prices at Wal-Mart are low.
It is the reason the US auto industry can’t complete. Companies like Wal-Mart
are getting blamed for problems that would have occurred with or without them.
I’m happy that at least Wal-Mart is an American company. It could have been a
Chinese owned company. If our laws put Wal-Mart out of business, it might be
replaced by a Chinese company.
What we are seeing now in the US is just the tip of the iceberg. I believe
the next 50 years will see the US standard of living become more equal with
the rest of the world. I hope we pull the rest of the world up instead of
the rest of the world pulling us down. If we approach globalization with the
right frame of mind, we can reduce poverty throughout the world and still
maintain the standard of living we have now. If we regulate US business out
of existence, we will self-destruct. Profitable US businesses (like Wal-Mart)
are our best hope for continued and increasing prosperity.
Wednesday September 13, 2006
I just started watching YouTube about a month ago, when the traditional
media was pushing the story of geriatric1927, the 80-year-old YouTube
star. Although I quickly tied of geriatric1927, I did find a couple of
interesting people that I enjoy watching. One is renetto. Renetto is
Paul Robinett. He is a self-unemployed inventor and artist. He’s very
funny. Another person I like a lot on YouTube is GregSolomon. GregSolomon
is an arrogant, pompass, self absorbed, know-it-all. He reminds me a lot
of myself. He’s funny, without trying to be funny. YouTube and the people
on it are creating a quiet entertainment revolution. It’s a taste of
entertainment of the future – real people interacting, creating their own
soap opera in real-time. YouTube takes reality TV to the next level. How
right Andy Warhol was. We will all have our 15 minutes of fame.
Now for something completely different - It’s a very exciting time to be
in the high-tech industry. We are in the process of traditional media being
transformed into media on demand. I just heard a news item on the radio
yesterday about a startup offering on demand TV over the Internet. Apple
just announced their video download service. Amazon just announced their
video download service. Over the next 10 years, PCs will move into the living
room. Simultaneously, humans are transforming themselves into cyborgs via cell
phones. We have 6 PCs and two Pocket PC cell phones in this house.
Friday September 8, 2006
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Star Trek! 40 years ago today, the first episode of
Star Trek (The Man Trap) Aired on NBC.
Monday September 4, 2006
Steve Irwin has gone to the big crocodile park in the sky. The first time
I saw Steve Irwin on TV I thought, “This guy is crazy.” I was shocked. He
was lying down in the middle of a group of Komodo Dragons as they ate a dead
pig. His face was inches away from their mouths. He handled poisonous
snakes and deadly crocodiles that together have killed hundreds if not
thousands of people. Ironically, he died from a species that is only known
to have killed 16 other people.
Wednesday July 12, 2006
This morning I read that Syd Barrett, one of the founding members
of Pink Floyd has just died. His mental instability lead to him
being kicked out of the band early on. He was the inspiration for
a lot of Pink Floyd’s best work for years to come. I don’t really
care for the early Pink Floyd work that Syd Barrett was involved in,
but without him, a lot of the great Pink Floyd music I love would
never have been made.
Saturday July 8, 2006
Today we all went to see Superman Returns at the Cinema Atlantic
Station in Midtown. I liked the movie a lot. It was very much a
homage to the first Christopher Reeves Superman movie. I loved
the fact that they based the music score on the original musical
score. The movie had a very predicable story line, but it was
very well executed. Hats off to Bryan Singer. He did a great job.
Brandon Routh did a great job of portraying Superman. I thought dis
performance was very much inspired by Christopher Reeves’ portrayal.
Tuesday July 4, 2006
The kids had a great time lighting the fireworks we bought during our
vacation in Florida. It was only $20 worth of fireworks, but I think
the kids enjoyed it more than the big shows. It’s more enjoyable when
you get to light the fuse yourself.
Monday July 3, 2006
We sent today driving back home to Atlanta.
Sunday July 2, 2006
We left Zephyr Hills headed for Sea World in Orlando. We arrived at
Sea World just after noon. We grabbed a quick bite to eat when we go
to the park. We enjoyed Sea World, however we did a LOT of walking.
The large shows have predefined schedules and they fill up fast. On
several occasions, we walked across the park only to find the show we
were going to see had already filled up. We had to stay until 10:00 pm
to see all the shows we wanted to see.
We spent the night at Tess’s friends house near Orlando.
Saturday July 1, 2006
Today we wanted to see a smaller attraction since tomorrow we would
be going to Sea World. We decided to go to
Dinosaur World near Tampa.
The park has life sized replicas of dinosaurs. Many of the dinosaurs
are not anatomically correct, but thet are close enough to give you an
idea of what it would have been like to stand next to one. I was
surprise by how large some of the dinosaurs really were.
After leaving the park, we drove to nearby Zepher Hills were we spent the
night with some more of Tess’s friends. She has friends all over Florida.
Friday June 30, 2006
We were in St. Augustine to go to the
St. Augustine Alligator Farm.
It’s one of the best alligator parks in the world. They have specimens
of all known crocodilian species. I have had an obsession with
crocodilians as long as I can remember. The last time I had visited
the park was 17 years ago. I had recently graduated from Ga. Tech and
had bought a new Toyota Celica. I wanted to go on a road trip to
celebrate. When I was there they were putting the final touched on
the exhibit they were building for Gomek. I was disappointed that I
had arrived just two months too early to see him. Gomek died after
spending 10 years at the park, so I was unable to see him while he was
alive.
This time I would have to settle for seeing Gomek’s preserved body on
display at the park. We had a great time at the alligator farm. I think
Tess gets a little tired of seeing alligators, but she tolerates my
obsession fairly well.
After leaving the park we drove to Orlando where we spent the night
with some of Tess’s friends.
Thursday June 29, 2006
We got started a little late today. We were all tired – me from kayaking,
Tess and the kids from driving. A little before noon we started off
toward St. Augustine. We arrived at St. Augustine at about 3:00 pm and
went straight to the beach. St. Augustine has a great beach - easy parking,
clean, and not too crowded (at least at this time of the year). We all had
fun at the beach. The kids played in the sand and surf.
Wednesday June 28, 2006
My last day on the river was also the shortest day. Because I had to
paddle so long into the evening the day before, I was only half a day
away from my destination – the boat ramp at Dowling Park. The day was
dark and windy with heavy storm clouds. I passed a few boaters fishing
in the river. The further down the river you go, the wider it gets and
the more boats and people you see. I was surprised when I came across
Dowling Park. I hadn’t realized I was that far down the river. Next
time I do a multi-day river trip I hope to have a GPS receiver with me
so I will be able to tell where I am.
Upon arriving at the take out point, I barely had the cell phone signal
to call Tess to ask her to pick me up. She asked if I wanted to do
anther day on the river. I probably would have if the day before hadn’t
been so long. But I was tired and looking forward to good food, a hot
shower, and a soft bed.
Tess got lost on her way to pick me up. She had no cell phone coverage,
so she couldn’t call me for help. Luckily she figured out were she was
and found me before dark. It was nice to see my family again after four
days in the “wilderness”.
I really enjoyed the trip. It was only the second multi-day paddling
trip of my life. I took the first trip (also on the Suwannee) with an
outdoor activities group while in high school. I was dangerously
unprepared for that trip over twenty years ago. I was very well prepared
for this trip, yet I learned a lot that will make my future trips even
better. I learned I don’t like Vienna sausage. I learned I miss bread
quite a bit. I learned that I should take my time and make frequent stops
along the journey to savor the moment and prevent fatigue. I look forward
to the next trip. Trips like this connect me to nature and emphasize how
artificial our daily lives are. We have transformed the world we live in
to make it exceedingly comfortable. It’s nice to be reminded what life is
like without all the luxuries we take for granted.
After Tess picked me up we drove to Live Oak Florida and ate at a Chinese buffet resturant.
We spent the night at a hotel in Live Oak.
Tuesday June 27, 2006
Upon waking up in the shelter, I noticed a small lizard inside.
I knew that it would die trapped inside the shelter, so I chased
it out the door. It probably thought I was going to eat it. Little
did it know I was saving its life.
The third day of my trip was the most difficult. It was hot and my
40 year old body was feeling the effects of the 25 miles of river I had
paddled during the prior two days. I was so tired that I forgot to take
pictures when I stopped during the day to eat. The river got deeper and
wider as I paddled down stream. I started to see sturgeon jumping high
into the air at almost every bend of the river. The sturgeon get several
feet long and can weight more than 100 lbs. Despite their size, they make
powerful leaps into the air. When they fall back into the water they
sound like cinder blocks being thrown into the river. The sight and sound
in awesome and somewhat disconcerting when you are paddling among them.
Several people have been
injured
in recent years by sturgeon jumping into them in their boats.
After passing under I-10, I stopped to call Tess. I told her I the
trip was going fine and I was on-course to meet her at Dowling Park the
next day. I ate a little then got back into my kayak as a light rain
started to fall and thunder started to rumble through the sky and lightning
lit the darkening sky in the distance. The wind picked up. The sky darkened.
I was starting to get concerned. I debated with myself whether I would be
safer on the water or on the bands of the river. Just as I had convinced
myself I’d be safer in the water, I heard the sound of rushing water. There
were shoals ahead that weren’t on the map and that no one had told me about.
Maybe these shoals ere only exposed at low water. I don’t know. My touring
kayak is not build for shoals. I paddled up to some rocks and walked my kayak
through the shoals. I wish I had a video of myself walking on those slippery
rocks as the thunderstorm blew by. It must have been quite a site.
I got back into my kayak on the other side of the shoals. I was quite proud
of myself. I was relishing my small success under harsh conditions when I
heard the second set of shoals. These shoals were very different than the
first. Instead of being spread out and rocky throughout, this one had a
large boulder in the middle with open rushing water on both sides. I foolishly
paddled up to the large boulder in the middle of the river. Almost immediately,
the strong current swung my kayak into the rushing water. I was heading down
the shoal backwards and there was nothing I could do about it. As my kayak
rushed into the rapid current, I felt a cold splash of water flowing into my
kayak. Luckily, there were no rocks that would almost certainly tipped me over.
I rushed through the fast water, backwards and wet, but upright and unharmed.
Once again I relished my small success as I sponged water out of my kayak.
As the day turning into evening, I started to look for a place to camp.
I was tired. Unfortunately the part of the river I was on had very few
camping spots. I had to paddle a couple of hours longer than I wanted to
just because I couldn’t find a place to camp. I started to get concerned
that I would have to setup my tent in the dark. I was prepared to do that,
but I wanted to avoid it, if possible. I finally found camping area near a
small spring. The camping area had a small dirt road leading to it through
the forest. They was a trash barrel and a couple of old picnic tables at
the site. I was exhausted by my long day. I must have paddles over 20 miles
that day with very few rest stops. I was so tired that I forgot to take
pictures at my campsite that evening or the next morning.
Monday June 26, 2006
On the start of the second day, I sat in my tent waiting for the sun.
As I looked out on the Suwannee I noticed a small alligator in the river.
It was one of only two that I saw during my trip. There are very few
alligators in the Suwannee except for where it starts in the Okefenokee
Swamp. The few alligators that are in the Suwannee are extremely shy
and stay submerged when people approach.
This second day of paddling was the best of the trip. A little past
midday I came across a small cold spring along cascading down some rock.
It was crystal clear and I took the opportunity to wash off a day and a
half of sweat I had accumulated. It was very refreshing. When I left
the spring I felt entirely refreshed. I can image that springs like that
were worth fighting and dying for when Native Americans lived here.
There were a few fish guarding their hatchings near the spring. They
kept their hatchings in small round pools they had made in the shallow
water near the banks of the river. They dashed off when approached,
leaving their young to fend for themselves. But they quickly returned
to resume their duties.
After getting back on the river I came across a mother waterfowl guarding
it’s newborn chicks. The mother bird faked an injured wing and dashed off
across the water to lure me away from its chicks. After getting well down
stream of the chicks, the mother bird took flight and made a very wide turn
back to its chicks. Seeing the fish and the bird protecting their young
reminded me of my own children. I missed them and hoped that they were
enjoying there time in Miami.
Late in the day I came across the Holton Creek River Camp. The camp is
part of the Suwannee River Wilderness Trail, which is being developed to
promote eco-truism in rural Florida. The camp was only two months old when
I visited and I was only the second camper to stay at the camp. The camp
has screened in covered shelters with water, electricity and ceiling fans.
The camp also has showers and bathrooms. It was luxury accommodations as
far as I was concerned. I thought I would be sleeping in a tent every
night of my trip.
After arriving at the camp I met the host couple that were living in an
RV at the camp. They were extremely welcoming and offered me ice-cold
bottled water, which I gratefully accepted. As evening turned to night,
I settled down in my 4 star campsite for the night. In the middle of the
night a noisy raccoon woke me up by rustling through the leaves near the
shelter.
Sunday June 25, 2006
We ate breakfast in the B&B breakfast area made available to guests.
I met the only other couple staying at the B&B. They were from LA.
The woman was in the area for a month on business. The man had a
Master’s degree in EE (like me) and does work involving regulations
regarding use of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Today, I would start my four-day kayak trip on the Suwannee River.
While I was on my solo kayak trip Tess and the kids would visit Tess’s
friends in Miami and West Palm Beach. After breakfast, we stopped by
American Canoe Adventures to get information regarding my kayak trip.
They were extremely helpful. They gave me directions to the nearby boat
ramp where they recommended I put my kayak in.
Tess and the kids said their goodbyes and I started off on my trip.
It was about 1:00 pm when I started my trip. I paddled for about an
hour before stopping on a sandbar to eat. It was drizzling slightly
while I was eating. During the four days of my trip I heard and saw
thunderstorms every day, but luckily they all missed me. I only had
three short periods of light rain during the trip.
Shortly after resuming my trip after eating I came across an area of
limestone that was covered with fossils of the species
Rhyncholampas
Gouldii. One of the good things about taking a trip on the Suwannee
when the water is low is that you are able to see the limestone walls
of the river that are submerged when the water is higher. It was about
5:00 pm, so I started looking for a place to camp.
I quickly came across a great campsite that I recognized from Suwannee
River trip reports I had seen on the web. I setup my tent, ate and
waited for the sun to go down. I had a bad headache, so I took some
Tylenol I had brought along. Frogs started to wake as night came.
I couldn’t believe how loud the frogs were. In spite of the frogs
(or maybe becasue of them) I slept very well that night.
Saturday June 24, 2006
This is the first day of our 2006 family vacation. We will be spending
the next week in Florida. We started off at about 11:30 am. Our first
stop is White Springs, Florida. We arrived there at about 6:00 pm.
White Springs was a much smaller town that I had expected. We had
planned to find a hotel once we arrived, but once we saw how small
White Springs was, we were afraid we wouldn’t be able to find anything.
Luckily, we stumbled upon the quaint Telford Inn Bed and Breakfast.
The 100 year old hotel once served people who came to White Springs to
soak in the medicinal spring water. The rooms were well kept and the
staff was exceedingly friendly. The Telford B&B has a surprisingly
nice restaurant so we were able to eat a much better supper than I would
have expected to eat, given the small size of the town.
The Telford Inn Bed and Breakfast
Saturday June 17, 2006
Kyle and I when to the Shogun Jump Yu-Gi-Oh tournament today.
550 people participated in the tournament. I met people that had
come as far as Chicago. We both had fun. Here are a couple of
pictures from the tournament I took on my cell phone:
Thursday June 8, 2006
Saturday April 15, 2006
A few days ago we had a tankless hot water heater installed.
Out old water heater was 10 years old and had started to leak.
We had made it last as long as we could, but it was time for a
new one. So far I am very happy with the tankless water heater.
It takes a little longer for the water to get hot, but once the
water is hot, it stays hot. This will allow us to fill our large
whirlpool tub without running out of hot water. That’s something
we’ve never been able to do before. The tankless systems are over
twice the price of a conventional hot water heater, but they are
more efficient. Over the lifetime of the water heater, the increased
efficiency should more than make up for the additional cost.
Friday April 14, 2006
During Spring Break (last week) we went camping at the Rainbow Springs
State Park in Florida. The camping sites were pretty bad.
They were packed too close together and laid out almost like
a parking lot. It’s better suited to RVs than to tents.
Luckily, we reserved a site in the corner next to the trees.
By placing our tent as far into the trees as possible we
were able to feel like we were camping in a more naturalist
environment. The park used to be a private park before the
state acquired it. The park rangers told me that there are
plans to renovate the park to make it more naturalistic.
We stayed at the park three nights. The first morning was
much colder than I expected it to be. I slept very little
the first night. Tess and the kids slept fine. We did all
our cooking a MSR Windpro camp stove I recently bought.
It worked great.
On the first day, we rented a canoe that was large enough
to accommodate all of us. We paddled from the lower park
to the headsprings of the Rainbow River. The Rainbow River
is formed by one of the largest springs in Florida. The
water is perfectly clear, so you can see the fish swimming
below as you paddle. I have never seen a clear body of
water before. I’m used to swimming and kayaking in salt-water
rivers and tea colored rivers of South Georgia. It was neat
seeing the fish and all, but I prefer the dark water rivers
like the Suwannee.
On the second day, Tess was kind enough to whatch the kids
at the pool while I did a solo day trip in my kayak. I paddled
from the lower park to the end of the Rainbow River where it
flows into the Withlacoochee River. The round trip distance
was over 12 miles. It was a significant day for me because
it gave me a rough idea of how much distance I can cover in
my kayak in a day. Since the trip took me less than 4 hours,
I suspect I could cover 15 to 20 miles in a day on my kayak,
given ideal conditions. I plan on doing multi-day trips in
my kayak in the future, so I needed to know how much distance
I can cover in a day.
During the solo paddle, I saw numerous turtles, several kinds
of fish, an otter, and several species of water birds including
a Great Blue Heron. When I reached the confluence of the two
rivers, I saw two very small alligators.
On the third day, we rented two 2-person sit-on-top kayaks.
We repeated our canoe trip from two days prior- paddling from
the lower park to the upper park located at the headsprings.
The weather was generally great during the entire trip. The
only complaint was the extremely cold first night. We had a
great time and were sorry to have to leave. But I do prefer
the vast and wild open spaces of the Okefenokee to the somewhat
confined and developed Rainbow River.
Sunday February 23, 2006
I have used HP printers ever since the model
HP LaserJet II
(almost 20 years ago (damn, I’m getting old)). But I have
recently broken that tradition. We had a very bad experience
with the HP 3330 (now replaced by the identical HP 3380).
It seems the printer is designed for very light workloads.
After about 3 years, the 3330’s fuser assembly failed. They
are known to have a problem that causes the plastic sheet in
the fuser assemble to tear apart. I replaced the part, which
cost almost $200. Now, less than 6 months later, the fuser
assembly failed again. We bought a Cannon D880 to replace
the HP. The Cannon printer seems a lot more rugged. When
I was doing research on the web, I found that the Cannon
received poor reviews. I don’t see why. It seems very well
build and I had no problems setting it up. We will see how
it holds up.
Sunday February 12, 2006
I just read that Norman Shumway, who performed the
first US heart transplant, died on Friday a day after his 83rd birthday from
complications related to cancer. In hindsight, I guess he
should have spent his career doing cancer research.
Wednesday January 4, 2006
This is one of the best reads I've ever come across.
Please do yourself the favor of reading it when you
have an hour or two to spare:
100 Dangerous Ideas
Scott-Smith.com 
