tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1111747390391534742023-11-16T03:42:06.447-08:00WL BLOG UNOMiscellaneous writhings on all things tech, digital cameras, music, hobbies, etc.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger86125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-111174739039153474.post-13770736842655439142017-09-09T11:05:00.003-07:002017-09-09T11:05:35.257-07:00Call me Deacon Blues <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2xC10ThgGU731CoT088nOlnUJYYtvlv1HAuxuegnINoo23VNoVDb9cNz0-JKTfTU-Mhi9xxpP4quDEoe35n36CJtzCUMBCPNstDNOnWCEG2xdVgygpkCgaSjxDeKeq3rZnYgrFHdSceta/s1600/Walter-Becker1a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="654" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2xC10ThgGU731CoT088nOlnUJYYtvlv1HAuxuegnINoo23VNoVDb9cNz0-JKTfTU-Mhi9xxpP4quDEoe35n36CJtzCUMBCPNstDNOnWCEG2xdVgygpkCgaSjxDeKeq3rZnYgrFHdSceta/s640/Walter-Becker1a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
With the untimely passing of Walter Becker, co-founder and one half
of Steely Dan this past Sunday I am deeply saddened and grateful for all
of the musical contributions and great music Walter has produced in the
1970s, 80s, 90s right on up to today. As a young kid growing up in the
suburbs of New York, the rise of Steely Dan coincided with my coming of
age and music enlightenment that fought back depression and insecurity
and the uncertainty of my teen years.<br />
<br />
I vividly remember hearing the first Steely Dan song play over the PA
Muzak system of the Kings Plaza Mall on Avenue U in Brooklyn while my
college school buddy at the time, John Lee and I were cutting class and
walking over to hang out at Crazy Eddies. I'm pretty sure it was the
spring of 1973, and the electric sitar played by Denny Dias on their
first hit single, Do It Again sent chills up my spine as we were walking
across the central mall floor space. I was hooked from that point
onward learning later that the band and their music would rapidly evolve
towards a more sophisticated jazz-like song structure with
cryptic lyrics that were almost impossible to decipher.<br />
<br />
Walter and Donald's music is forever embedded in my psyche and has
become the soundtrack to my life spanning four decades. Their music
sounds fresh and as timely as when the records and songs were released
in the eighties and nineties.<br />
<br />
I think it's fair to say that we all will miss Walter's snarky wit,
humor, intelligence in addition to all of the great music he has
composed, arranged and produced. I have posted and old review of one of
my favorite Steely Dan songs, Your Gold Teeth II from their Katy Lied
Album released in 1976.<br />
<br />
<strong>Steely Dan's Your Gold Teeth II from Katy Lied</strong> - MCA Records 1976. Review originally published on 11/18/14 on WLBLOGUNO<br />
<br />
Steely Dan (Donald Fagen and Walter Becker) composed and recorded
Your Gold Teeth II almost thirty-six years ago on their Katy Lied Album
(MCA Records) and the track sounds as if it were recorded today, fresh,
tight, and with a be-bop groove that is unforgettable and will always be
burned into my musical psyche as one of their very best jazz
compositions and studio performances.<br />
This song deserves a closer look because it fuses together so many
classic jazz elements in a song that has weird lyrics to say the least.
The arrangement is deceivingly simple and elegant with the piano, bass
and drum parts that blend seamlessly throughout the track. The guitar
solo and the underlying drum part are the highlights and placed front
and center from the middle to the end fade-out for the song. The
showpiece of this song hands down is Denny Dias' masterful guitar solo
that pays tribute to Django Reinhardt. The guitar notes ring out and are
clearly picked with a precision and jazz feel that any professional
guitarist would appreciate. Denny plays this solo with passion and goes
up and down the major and minor scales without bending a single note.
One has to admire the dexterity, timing and precision of his playing as
the solo is just nailed as soon as you hear the first few notes.<br />
<br />
On this particular track, drummer Jeff Porcaro had a lot of trouble
laying down the drum part. Instead bringing in another drummer, Donald
loaned Jeff a Charles Mingus album with Dannie Richmond drumming to help
him achieve the be-bop drumming groove he was looking for. (Dannie
Richmond drummed for Charlie Mingus and was one of the best Be-Bop/Post
Bop drummers in recent American Jazz history.)<br />
<br />
As you can see from Jeff Porcaro Instructional Video, his dexterity
and coordination is showcased as he casually performs what appears to be
one of the most intricate drumming techniques. Jeff was truly a master
of the drums and it's easy to see why he was in so much demand as a
studio session drummer. He played on hit albums by the following
artists: Bruce Springsteen, Dire Straits, Paul McCartney, Rickie Lee
Jones, America, Miles Davis, Lee Ritenour, Michael McDonald, Tom Scott,
BeeGees, Jackson Browne, Peter Frampton, to name a few.<br />
<br />
Jeff was quoted in an interview by Modern Drummer Magazine: "'Your
Gold Teeth II' is a song with lots of bars of 3/8. 6/8. amd 9/8. And
it's bebop! I could swing the cymbal beat and fake it, but that always
bothered me. After recording it, Fagen gave me a Charles Mingus record
with Dannie Richmond on drums. It had a tune that was full of 6/8 and
9/8 bars. I listened to that for a couple of days, and we tried it again
and it worked. What a cool thing! The ride cymbal on that, and on the
whole record, is an old K Zildjian my dad gave me. Unfortunately, all
the cymbals are clipped and phased on the album because the DBX didn't
work. That was real heart-breaking for those guys"<br />
The next day in the studio, Jeff nailed the drum part in one take.
His drumming was the perfect foil for Denny's spectacular guitar solo.<br />
<br />
If you are just getting into jazz for the first time, this song is a
must hear if you want to hear what be-bop is all about. Although I
described Denny's guitar solo as spectacular, most if not all of his
guitar solos are some of the most understated guitar solos in the
business. Never showy or flashy, they get the job done as he has carved
out a unique lead guitar style and tone that is instantly recognizable.
Another example of this is Denny's lead guitar parts in Aja. Usually a
record is produced and the finished product is good enough. For Donald
and Walter, this was never the case. The finished product had to be as
close to sonic perfection as humanly possible. The caliber of
professional musicians they have used over the years reads like a who's
who of the Jazz Musician's Hall of Fame.<br />
<br />
Their recording engineer Roger
Nichols used state of the art recording gear and monitoring equipment.
Forget Dolby, they were experimenting with DBX compression way before it
became mainstream and were into exotic stereo equipment and speakers
for the sole purpose of hearing the most accurate reproductions of their
work. Walter was a big fan a Dahlquist Electrostatic Speakers. They
also spend a lot of money (much to the the ABC Record Executives and
Accountant's dismay) acquiring high end esoteric stereo gear so that
they could monitor the tracks in the studio. Roger Nichols who was their
chief engineer on all of the SD albums, was also a stereo fanatic
and ran a company on the side building studios and sound rooms for
commercial accounts and private individuals. They were so into the
cutting edge of electronic stereo gear and even ahead of the curve by
choosing to use DBX compression equipment to record Katy Lied, that they
got themselves into serious trouble when recording the master tapes
with the DBX gear. It almost destroyed the Katy Lied recordings due to
some electronic gremlins that to this day were never resolved by the DBX
Factory headquartered in New England.<br />
<br />
As they became more proficient in mixing traditional jazz with rock
and deliberately cryptic lyrics, the challenge of finding even more
talented jazz musicians for their new material and albums became harder
but they were always looking for talented jazz musicians in the most
unconventional ways. They "found" Pete Christlieb by watching and
listening to the Doc Severinson Band on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show on
network television. Walter and Donald called the Tonight show producers
and auditioned the first two saxophone players from the Tonight Show
band before Pete showed up as they could not ascertain who this
fantastic Sax player was when watching the three of them play on the
Tonight show. Pete ended up being the third and final sax player to
audition and as soon as he started playing, Donald and Walter hired him
on the spot.<br />
<br />
Check out this track. It is one of many tracks that Steely Dan has
produced that provides so much technique and finesse and is one of the
more contemporary jazz pieces with a be-bop backbone that has won over
many jazz traditionalists and rock fans over the years. I believe it is a
quintessential Steely Dan song that pushed them into Jazz territory and
showcased their arranging and composing talents outside of the Pop song
structure and progressive rock genre.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-111174739039153474.post-55633576512801309712014-12-24T13:12:00.000-08:002014-12-24T13:16:29.902-08:002014 That was The Year That Was<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Another year is closing out in a few days.2014 was another eventful year. I really is amazing how truth can be stranger than fiction. The Ebola outbreak unfolded almost on cue from a horror sci fi script, very much like Guillermo Del Toro's and Chuck Hogan's The Strain. The vanishing of the Malaysian Airlines MH370 could have been a Fringe, X-Files or Twilight Zone episode. Race relations deteriorated with the Ferguson incident triggering protests across the country and the law enforcement community responding with increasing levels of deadly force.<br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="575px" scrolling="no" src="http://www.saepta.com/embed/1873/" width="329px"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
The Sony Hack also got front page news as it was a wake-up call for every business and organization that has valuable assets to protect behind their fire-walls. It really wasn't a matter of if the hack of this scale and magnitude would happen but just a matter of when. So we all know what went down, I am going to make some predictions for 2015.<br />
<br />
1) Another tech bubble and associated collapse of recent start-up companies will happen in 2015 because all of the good ideas for start-up companies have been taken and founders are grasping at straws for innovative new start-up products and services.<br />
<br />
2) The price of oil and interest rates will go up again in 2015.<br />
<br />
3) The economy will improve slightly and job creation efforts across the board will be hampered by Congress, lobbyists and special interest groups.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-111174739039153474.post-32445853659056541332014-12-16T10:29:00.000-08:002014-12-16T14:41:54.960-08:00Five minutes with my buddy Greg Kihn<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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</xml><![endif]-->An interview with Rock Star, SF Bay Area Rock Icon, published
author and Renaissance Man Greg Kihn, on what he’s been up to:</h4>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
One of the cool things about living in the San Francisco Bay area is that it
is the home base for rock-and-roll star, SF Bay Area Hall of Fame DJ and
published author: Greg Kihn. With a career as a musician with #1 hits such as “Jeopardy”
and “Breakup Song”, as a SF Hall of Fame DJ, Greg is a bona fide rock and roll professor.
He has freely shared his vast rock and roll knowledge with his fans over the
years. Greg stays in close touch with his loyal fan base and is very active in
the social media scene with his blog on <a href="http://www.gregkihn.com/">www.gregkihn.com</a>
and on his social media accounts Facebook, Twitter and Saepta.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Let me begin by saying that<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am a
huge fan of rock music that came out of the 80s, Tom Petty & the
Heartbreakers, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and of course, The Greg
Kihn Band which exploded on the SF Bay area music scene and put the iconic
Berserkley Records on the map. I am fortunate to be good friends with Greg Kihn
and we had a chance to chat and catch up on what he’s been up to.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">So Greg, how are you and what have you
been up to?</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I’m doing good Wes. Having fun! Enjoying life! I’ve got a lot of projects
going on that I enjoy working on. Plus, I’m spending time with the grand kids.
And I’ve almost caught up on sleep after all of the years of getting up at 4am
to be a morning drive-time radio DJ.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What are some of these “Projects”
you’re talking about?</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Well, I can’t say too much because some are Top Secret, but what I can talk
about is: I’m working with a LA film company on a Greg Kihn documentary; my
next novel “Painted Black” published by Open Road Media is to be released this
Spring 2015 (follow up to “Rubber Soul”); And my one of my most recent projects
has been my work as the Emissary for Saepta, a cool new social media voting and
polling website (<a href="http://www.saepta.com/">www.saepta.com</a>) that’s here
in the Silicon Valley.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You sound very busy. What’s this new
novel “Painted Black” about?</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
“Painted Black” is my new novel about the murder of Brian Jones of the
Rolling Stones. It’s a follow up to “Rubber Soul” and it again includes good
old Dust Bin Bob.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll be giving out
details on “Painted Black” real soon so check back with me @ gregkihn.com </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sounds good, I liked “Rubber Soul”,
I’m definitely going to get “Painted Black”!</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br />Greg, you mentioned social media
earlier. I see that you’re pretty active online. How do you keep the social
media engagement level so high with your fans year after year?</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Content is KING! The fans have to be compelled to return to your website on
a regular basis. How do you do that? Again, posting good content will get them
to come back. They really need to find your content and blog posts interesting
enough to read & share with other fans. The posts need to be provocative, funny
and a fair amount of wit. A good friend, Guy Kawasaki said, “Keep your fan
enchanted”. It’s good advice! I always try to keep my fans interested and
engaged so they will come back to my web site and stay a fan. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">How can you tell if your content is
what the fans want?</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
My Manager and friend Joel Turtle told me when I very first started that “I
should never do an “Act” or be something I’m not just because people want it.
Just be yourself your fans will love you for you.” I’ve taken that to heart. I
just go out there. Be myself and hope that people like me and my music and what
I have to say. Online I try to write blogs about the way I feel on anything and
everything that comes to mind, music, sports, science, current issues, what’s
happening in the Bay area and I hope that it coincides with my fan’s main
interests. I can tell if I’ve connected with the fan’s online by the comments,
number of likes & shares or by the votes on each of my SaeptaPolls.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Greg, you’ve mentioned Saepta a couple
of times now. What is Saepta? What’s a SaeptaPoll?</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Asking questions
is in our DNA. Who’s the best guitar player ever? What’s your favorite Beatles'
song? How do you buy your music?" I love asking questions and I also like
reaching out to my fans to see what their opinions are. That’s why I’ve teamed
up with Saepta. Saepta is a really cool way for anybody to create an online poll
as well as a place to go vote on current issues. Initially I used the SaeptaPolls
to spice up my social media sites. But, as time went by it became more and more
a part of my blogs and my social media experience. I use it all the time and I
want my fans, and my fans of fans, to love and use Saepta as much as I do. In
fact, I am so passionate about Saepta that I have signed on as Emissary. So
when the aliens come and they say “Take us to the Emissary of Saepta”, that's
me! My first act as Emissary is to join forces with Saepta to bring you a
chance to win a very cool Holiday giveaway! I'm giving away a Greg Kihn Band
autographed Guitar!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">(You can enter
and get more details by clicking enter below.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://get.saepta.com/kihntest/" target="_blank"><img alt="http://get.saepta.com/kihntest/" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7LIP_ipoGXdmyt2R_mdFYDJGO1EarIDcf5N1bKrRtNBZGN5qyCCyRhxCMAbZHoKn0EWg9MmuMTJqV82U3T7lOpQlOOQNZFpr0R5iX-e2SgttjJQFmkH2jXptgzW5jT7eyZPiNOZbYMhgP/s1600/600x300+Greg+Kihn+Contest+Banner-01.jpg" height="232" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Saepta sounds like a good fan
engagement tool. That’s pretty cool that you‘re giving away a signed Greg Kihn
guitar. I’ll definitely be posting a SaeptaPoll once were done with this
interview. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">So, what advice do you offer to an
aspiring musician today?</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Again content is king! The fans want new content all the time. Whether it’s
a song, a video, a show, a blog, a picture, anything that engages your fans is
content. Also, one of the most important things is that you’re true to yourself
and that you believe in what you’re doing. If you’re just doing something to be
cool or successful and rich, it probably won’t happen. But if you’re doing it
because you really love what you’re doing and that you’re passionate about it
than you will find true success.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">In closing the music, the shows, the
books and the web content you have produced consistently over the years are all
appreciated by your fans. There are some really good lessons to be learned from
your career and the content you’ve produced. I really admire the time you spend
and the ways that you try to reach out and engage your fans, whether it’s
through blog posts or these new SaeptaPolls, again it’s greatly appreciated by
me and I’m sure by all Greg Kihn fans alike. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Well thank you so much Wes and thanks to all my fans. I really appreciate
the support. And as always it’s great talking to you.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
And don’t forget to enter the Greg Kihn guitar Kihntest!</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Kihntest Information here:<br />(Click on link)<br /> </span><br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://get.saepta.com/kihntest/">http://get.saepta.com/kihntest/</a></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-111174739039153474.post-12852162170000385842014-12-04T16:27:00.000-08:002014-12-06T12:43:23.396-08:00Hornit Bicycle Horn Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqIbt3QHVX8kMHNrcyWWt3FJGsf2WuPZxftDVd16G4m7H7BvT7syKWBI6L9ThmALiapWVfqqbQwOAm_OPQI7iXTfQgcR2YIZtxzOtpIsMmD4SKyDPYPTBRoD8XIV6DayqGdwJlmVFCCz70/s1600/hornit2a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqIbt3QHVX8kMHNrcyWWt3FJGsf2WuPZxftDVd16G4m7H7BvT7syKWBI6L9ThmALiapWVfqqbQwOAm_OPQI7iXTfQgcR2YIZtxzOtpIsMmD4SKyDPYPTBRoD8XIV6DayqGdwJlmVFCCz70/s1600/hornit2a.jpg" height="251" width="320" /></a></div>
Most bicycle riders put themselves at risk whenever they are biking on public roads. Most bicyclists wear helmets and use front-facing flashing headlights and rear red LED safety flashers so they can be easily seen by drivers. Unfortunately, being seen is not enough for distracted drivers. You know the ones I'm talking about. To them, pedestrians and cyclists are invisible. If you do not make eye contact with drivers when turning at a busy intersection or in a parking lot, then you are more likely to get hit from the rear or even head on. Being seen by flashers is not enough. You also have to be heard. Studies have shown the majority of bicycle accidents occur at a busy intersection, usually a car plowing into a bicyclist from the rear , side swiping them or when making a turn. The big problem is that manual conventional bike horns and buzzers simply are not loud enough to get the attention of a distracted car or truck driver. Now there is a really cost effective product simply called the Hornit. The tag line for this new bike horn is "Seriously Loud Cycle Horn" and this is no understatement. The Hornit emits an ear slitting warning chirp at 140 decibels which is really loud and will definitely alert a distracted driver or pedestrian from a fair distance away. Retailing for $49.99, the Hornit runs on 2 qty AAA Alkaline batteries and a fresh set of batteries will last approximately 6-12 months of normal use (6 x 1 second blasts on average per day) taken from the Hornit Instruction Data Sheet.<br />
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How does it work out in the field? In the real world. I took it for a spin recently and man, this horn is loud. It saved my bacon on the first ride in a parking lot where someone was backing up with out looking. One short blast and the car stopped immediately after hearing the Hornit. Out on a public bike path, it gave plenty of warning 50 yards before approaching a woman with a baby carriage, dog and tricycle, They heard the chirp and moved to the right to let me pass, Measuring 4 inches long by 1 3/4" wide, the Hornit comes with a push button wired remote that is water resistant and comes with a nice handlebar adjustable mount. If you ride in an urban or even suburban area where distracted drivers are a big problem, the Hornit will save you and prevent collisions by making your presence known in a big way. Highly recommended as mandatory riding gear, right up there with a Bicycle Helmet and a high power flashing rear light.<br />
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<b>If you are into self-preservation (who isn't?) and want to alert the zombie distracted drivers and pedestrians with earphones on yacking on their smartphones, this is just what the doctor ordered. I give the Hornit 5 stars out of 5. Two Thumbs up. Kudos to the engineers and inventors who are also bicycle riders as the design is well thought out and custom designed for daily bicycle usage. It's a real life-saver in the most literal sense of the word!!!!</b><br />
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You can purchase the Hornit from your local bike store/retailer or directly from the good folks at Hornit on their corporate web-site here: www.thehornit.com There are a number of Youtube videos that demo the Hornit and you can hear it in action on the city streets.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="product-table"><thead>
<tr><th colspan="2">Sound</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Road Mode</td>
<td>140 decibels</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Park Mode</td>
<td>130 decibels</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
<thead>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Dimensions and Weights</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Main Unit</td>
<td>97mm(l) x 48mm(w) x 36mm(h)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Trigger</td>
<td>94mm(l) x 18mm(w) x 7mm(h)</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
<thead>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Batteries</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Type</td>
<td>2 x AAA batteries</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Durability</td>
<td>Batteries will typically last 6-12 months with normal use</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Weight</td>
<td>96g</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
<thead>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Ingress Protection Rating</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>IP Rating</td>
<td>IP44 - Protection from splashed water and solid objects greater than 1mm in diameter</td><td></td><td><br /></td><td><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-111174739039153474.post-28603352528820811602014-12-03T22:10:00.000-08:002014-12-04T16:44:33.871-08:00Deconstructing Steely Dan's Black Cow from the Album Aja<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: medium;">1977 saw the release of Steely Dan's Aja which was one of the first albums worthy of audiophile release on the Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs catalog and brought Mssrs Becker and Fagen front and center in the Jazz community as the content came closest to pure Jazz than any other album they had produced to date. Sonic perfection was clearly the goal in the production for this album and most critics and fans agree that they pretty much achieved it. Black Cow is a disco-funk composition that has a veneer and polish that was missing from their previous albums. They had the good sense and financial means to hand-pick the studio jazz musicians who were at the top of their game when recording Aja. Having a killer rhythm section with a rock solid bass line and superb drumming was the order of the day and the opening of Black Cow with Chuck Rainey and Paul Humphrey establishing the beat and groove sparks the opening of Black Cow. Victor Feldman was a well respected Jazz musician specializing in the vibraphone and piano and contributes a tasty piano solo. The background vocalists with the "So Outrageous" chorus is also a nice touch giving the song a sardonic, admonishing feel and a hipster vibe all at the same time. Before the last verse kicks in you can hear the key change from major to minor, a subtle but very effective flourish that signals that the song is headed into the closing chorus and saxophone vamps from the superb tenor saxophone master Tom Scott. Tom literally wails on the outro tenor sax solos and in my opinion is one of the most effective horn closing/sax solos in a Steely Dan song.</span></div><p>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The song works musically on so many levels and the production and execution of the song is really flawless. It is one of my favorite songs on Aja and for me is really the essence of the type of jazz music Becker and Fagen wanted to create. I really want the sax solos to last longer and it still stands up really well over time. Again a master lesson on how to create yet another iteration of jazz while adding fresh new elements all around. Every time I play it I can hear something different.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The Making of Aja Video interview with Donald Fagen and Walter Becker on Black Cow<b><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=111174739039153474&postID=2860335252882081160" name="BlackCow"><b>Black Cow</b></a></span></div>
<div style="color: white;">
In the corner <br />
Of my eye <br />
I saw you in Rudys' <br />
You were very high <br />
You were high <br />
It was a cryin' disgrace <br />
They saw your face<br />
<br />
On the counter <br />
By your keys <br />
Was a book of numbers <br />
And your remedies <br />
One one of these <br />
Surely will screen out the sorrow <br />
But where are you tomorrow </div>
<div style="color: white;">
<i>[Chorus:]<br />
I can't cry anymore<br />
While you run around <br />
Break away <br />
Just when it <br />
Seems so clear <br />
That it's <br />
Over now<br />
Drink your big black cow <br />
And get out of here</i> </div>
<div style="color: white;">
Down to Greene Street <br />
There you go <br />
Lookin' so outrageous <br />
And they tell you so <br />
You should know <br />
How all the pros play the game <br />
You change your name <br />
<br />
Like a gangster<br />
On the run <br />
You will stagger homeward <br />
To your precious one <br />
I'm the one <br />
Who must make everything right<br />
Talk it out till daylight </div>
<div style="color: white;">
<i>I don't care anymore <br />
Why you run around <br />
Break away<br />
Just when it seems so clear <br />
That it's <br />
Over now<br />
Drink your big black cow <br />
And get out of here. </i></div>
<div style="color: white;">
<i>[chorus]</i> </div>
<div style="color: white;">
So outrageous, So outrageous</div>
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<small><b>Drums: Paul Humphrey<br />
Bass: Chuck Rainey<br />
Electric Piano: Victor Feldman<br />
Clavinet: Joe Sample<br />
Guitar: Larry Carlton<br />
Synthesizer: Donald Fagen<br />
Tenor Sax: Tom Scott<br />
Backup Vocals: Clydie King, Venetta Fileds,<br />
Sherlie Matthews, Rebecca Louis</b></small></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-111174739039153474.post-33015756385944852492014-11-18T08:00:00.000-08:002014-12-20T12:38:15.870-08:00Deconstructing Steely Dan's Your Gold Teeth II from Katy Lied<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Steely Dan (Donald Fagen and Walter Becker) composed and recorded Your Gold Teeth II almost thirty-six years ago on their Katy Lied Album (MCA Records) and the track sounds as if it were recorded today, fresh, tight, and with a be-bop groove that is unforgettable and will always be burned into my musical psyche as one of their very best jazz compositions and studio performances.<br />
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Deconstructing this song is fun because it fuses together so many classic jazz elements in a song that has weird lyrics to say the least. The arrangement is deceivingly simple and elegant with the piano, bass and drum parts that blend seamlessly throughout the track. The guitar solo and the underlying drum part are the highlights and placed front and center from the middle to the end fade-out for the song. The showpiece of this song hands down is Denny Dias' masterful guitar solo that pays tribute to Django Reinhardt. The guitar notes ring out and are clearly picked with a precision and jazz feel that any professional guitarist would appreciate. Denny plays this solo with passion and goes up and down the major and minor scales without bending a single note. One has to admire the dexterity, timing and precision of his playing as the solo is just nailed as soon as you hear the first few notes.<br />
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On this particular track, drummer Jeff Porcaro had a lot of trouble laying down the drum part. Instead bringing in another drummer, Donald loaned Jeff a Charles Mingus album with Dannie Richmond drumming to help him achieve the be-bop drumming groove he was looking for. (Dannie Richmond drummed for Charlie Mingus and was one of the best Be-Bop/Post Bop drummers in recent American Jazz history.)<br />
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As you can see from Jeff Porcaro Instructional Video, his dexterity and coordination is showcased as he casually performs what appears to be one of the most intricate drumming techniques. Jeff was truly a master of the drums and it's easy to see why he was in so much demand as a studio session drummer. He played on hit albums by the following artists: Bruce Springsteen, Dire Straits, Paul McCartney, Rickie Lee Jones, America, Miles Davis, Lee Ritenour, Michael McDonald, Tom Scott, BeeGees, Jackson Browne, Peter Frampton, to name a few.<br />
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Jeff was quoted in an interview by Modern Drummer Magazine: "'Your Gold Teeth II' is a song with lots of bars of 3/8. 6/8. amd 9/8. And it's bebop! I could swing the cymbal beat and fake it, but that always bothered me. After recording it, Fagen gave me a Charles Mingus record with Dannie Richmond on drums. It had a tune that was full of 6/8 and 9/8 bars. I listened to that for a couple of days, and we tried it again and it worked. What a cool thing! The ride cymbal on that, and on the whole record, is an old K Zildjian my dad gave me. Unfortunately, all the cymbals are clipped and phased on the album because the DBX didn't work. That was real heart-breaking for those guys"<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Denny Dias Interview from the Making of Aja Classic Albums DVD</div>
The next day in the studio, Jeff nailed the drum part in one take. His drumming was the perfect foil for Denny's spectacular guitar solo. If you are just getting into jazz for the first time, this song is a must hear if you want to hear what be-bop is all about. Although I described Denny's guitar solo as spectacular, most if not all of his guitar solos are some of the most understated guitar solos in the business. Never showy or flashy, they get the job done as he has carved out a unique lead guitar style and tone that is instantly recognizable. Another example of this is Denny's lead guitar parts in Aja. Usually a record is produced and the finished product is good enough. For Donald and Walter, this was never the case. The finished product had to be as close to sonic perfection as humanly possible. The caliber of professional musicians they have used over the years reads like a who's who of the Jazz Musician's Hall of Fame. Their recording engineer Roger Nichols used state of the art recording gear and monitoring equipment. Forget Dolby, they were experimenting with DBX compression way before it became mainstream and were into exotic stereo equipment and speakers for the sole purpose of hearing the most accurate reproductions of their work. Walter was a big fan a Dahlquist Electrostatic Speakers. They also spend a lot of money (much to the the ABC Record Executives and Accountant's dismay) acquiring high end esoteric stereo gear so that they could monitor the tracks in the studio. Roger Nichols who was their chief engineer on all of the SD albums, was also a stereo fanatic and ran a company on the side building studios and sound rooms for commercial accounts and private individuals. They were so into the cutting edge of electronic stereo gear and even ahead of the curve by choosing to use DBX compression equipment to record Katy Lied, that they got themselves into serious trouble when recording the master tapes with the DBX gear. It almost destroyed the Katy Lied recordings due to some electronic gremlins that to this day were never resolved by the DBX Factory headquartered in New England.<br />
<br />
As they became more proficient in mixing traditional jazz with rock and deliberately cryptic lyrics, the challenge of finding even more talented jazz musicians for their new material and albums became harder but they were always looking for talented jazz musicians in the most unconventional ways. They "found" Pete Christlieb by watching and listening to the Doc Severinson Band on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show on network television. Walter and Donald called the Tonight show producers and auditioned the first two saxophone players from the Tonight Show band before Pete showed up as they could not ascertain who this fantastic Sax player was when watching the three of them play on the Tonight show. Pete ended up being the third and final sax player to audition and as soon as he started playing, Donald and Walter hired him on the spot.<br />
<br />
Check out this track. It is one of many tracks that Steely Dan has produced that provides so much technique and finesse and is one of the more contemporary jazz pieces with a be-bop backbone that has won over many jazz traditionalists and rock fans over the years. I believe it is a quintessential Steely Dan song that pushed them into Jazz territory and showcased their arranging and compositional talents outside of the Pop song structure and progressive rock genre.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Your Gold Teeth II Studio Recording Youtube Video</div>
Steely Dan over the years has hired some of the most talented guitarists of this generation to play extraordinary electric guitar solos that sound fresh and still stand as classics that are instantly recognizable to any one who has tuned into FM radio in the the last forty years. Here's a Youtube video of Hank Easton playing a medley of the most famous Steely Dan guitar solos. Hank is a San Diego based jazz guitarist who plays lead guitar in a Steely Dan tribute band, Steely Damned and the Hank Easton Band:<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZs4pK-aBuE&feature=player_detailpage">Steely Dan Guitar Solo Medley Hank Easton Band</a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Donald Fagen</td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-111174739039153474.post-24167529219799617822014-11-16T22:02:00.000-08:002016-03-12T21:48:26.726-08:00Deconstructing Steely Dan's Chain Lightning (From Katy Lied)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Chain Lightning from Katy Lied ABC Records<br />
Donald Fagen - Walter Becker<br />
Personnel<br />
Lead Guitar - Rick Derringer<br />
Drums - Jeff Porcaro<br />
Fender Rhodes &; Lead Vocals - Donald Fagen<br />
Bass - Walter Becker<br />
<br />
Chain Lightning is a simple 12 bar blues tune that has a swampy twang to it. This blues-ey track has an almost burlesque feel to it and if you close your eyes while listening to it, you can imagine that you are inside of a nineteen fifties vintage strip club with the requisite drummer performing while the strippers are doing their thing.<br />
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Leave it to Donald and Walter to lay down this most interesting composition that compels many listen-ings to absorb the pure simplicity of the song construction while admiring the complex lead guitar track contributed by Rick Derringer. Rick is one of the most underrated guitar players of our generation and wrote the chart busting tune "Hang On Sloopy" when he was the lead guitarist and founding member of the McCoys in nineteen sixty five when Rick was only 17 years old. His guitar and production work with the Edgar Winter Group is legendary and had a huge hit in the seventies and eighties with "Free Ride" and "Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo."<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Here's a Youtube Video with Rick Derringer demonstrating<br />
some of his blues chops. This was filmed at a 2006 guitar trade show.<br />
Incredible! Just incredible.</div>
<br />
Rick at the time was hired by Becker and Fagen to flesh out the tasty guitar solo they wanted for Chain Lightning. Ably demonstrating his blues and jazz chops, Derringer provided everything they were looking for and even more. He contributes one of the most interesting lead guitar solos on the album and is counterbalanced nicely with Jeff Porcaro's tasteful drumming. Aoother musical prodigy, Jeff learned drumming from his father, Joe Porcaro, a veteran LA session musician and started to learn when he was only 9 years old. He ended up becoming the TV band house drummer for the Sonny and Cher show on CBS when he was 19 years old. Jeff recommended back-up singer Michael McDonald who was good friends with Jeff at the time when Donald and Walter were looking for a good back-up singer for their albums.<br />
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<a href="http://steelydanreader.com/1992/12/01/jeff-porcaro-a-special-salute/" target="_blank">Jeff Porcaro: A Special Salute </a><br />
<div class="post-meta" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #999999; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 300; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px 0px 1.8em; orphans: auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span class="small" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: lowercase; vertical-align: baseline;">written on</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><abbr class="date time published" style="background: transparent; border-bottom-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; cursor: help; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="1992-12-01T11:37:57-0600">December 1, 1992</abbr><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="small" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: lowercase; vertical-align: baseline;">and archived in</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="categories" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://steelydanreader.com/1983-1992/" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: red; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">1983-1992</a></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>category<strong style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />By Robyn Flans</strong><br /><strong style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></strong><div style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 300; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px 0px 1.2em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Modern Drummer</strong></div>
</div>
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This is another master lesson on taking a familiar song structure and building it out into something fresh and interesting that begs repeated listenings and also makes you feel that the song is way too short as you want the lead guitar to continue way past the fadeout of the studio cut. I think this song performed live is one of their (Donald and Walter's) favored songs for extended musical jams when Steely Dan is on the road performing live concerts.<br />
<br />
This is yet another Steely Dan track that is timeless and you have another song recorded in the studio that seems to be pretty damn close to perfection from a performance perspective. In my opinion, a lot of these songs are like fine wine. They do sound and taste way better over extended periods of time.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Chain Lightning Video from Youtube</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i365.photobucket.com/albums/oo98/mrgondo/BLOG%20PICS%20MISC/Walterbecker1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i365.photobucket.com/albums/oo98/mrgondo/BLOG%20PICS%20MISC/Walterbecker1.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walter Becker</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i365.photobucket.com/albums/oo98/mrgondo/BLOG%20PICS%20MISC/DonaldFagen1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i365.photobucket.com/albums/oo98/mrgondo/BLOG%20PICS%20MISC/DonaldFagen1.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Donald Fagen</td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-111174739039153474.post-19303842053236575792014-11-16T09:00:00.000-08:002014-12-04T17:52:28.679-08:002014 Mercedes Benz E250E Bluetec One Step Forward, 3 Steps Back<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Kudos to Mercedes for carrying the torch of Diesel innovation in the global and US automotive markets. Their newest luxury turbodiesel sedan entrant is the 2014 Mercedes Benz E250 Bluetec which started to ship late last year and is selling fairly well given the extremely high EPA mileage ratings for the 4 wheel drive and the rear wheel driver models. The RWD model is rated at a stellar 45 MPG which is quite an achievement given the fact that it tips the scales at a porcine 4,200 pounds. I believe the DEF Diesel Exhaust Fluid reservoir system is the main culprit adding more weight to an already heavy chassis along with other new electronic accessories and motors added to the mix. What is amazing is that the older Mercedes-Benz 6 Cylinder turbocharged Diesels are just as efficient and because of their lighter weight, are significantly faster than the new 4 cylinder sequential turbocharged 2014 E250 Bluetec.<br />
<br />
As I am a current owner of a 2008 Mercedes Benz E320 Bluetec, I felt that a comparison between the 2008 E320 Bluetec and the 2014 E250 Bluetec would be a very interesting exercise. To wit:<br />
<br />
<b>2008 MB E320 Bluetec</b><br />
3.2 Liter V6 Twin Turbo Diesel Engine<br />
201 HP<br />
387 Foot Pounds of Torque<br />
7 Speed Automatic Transmission <br />
Zero to 60 Time in Seconds 6.5<br />
Weight Unladen 3,860 Pounds<br />
EPA Mileage Rating 37 Highway 28 City<br />
<br />
<b>2014 MB E250 Bluetec</b><br />
2.1 Liter 4 Cylinder Twin Turbo Diesel Engine<br />
195 HP<br />
369 Foot Pounds of Torque<br />
7 Speed Automatic Transmission<br />
Zero to 60 Time in Seconds 8.2<br />
Weight Unladen 4,200 Pounds RWD Model<br />
4400 Pounds for All Wheel Drive Model <br />
EPA Mileage Rating 45 Highway 28 City<br />
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The main takeaway here is that the 2014 Mercedes Benz E250E Bluetec is almost 2 seconds slower to 60 MPH than the 2008 E320 Bluetec, is about 330 pounds heavier than the 2008 E320 Bluetec<br />
But is rated up to 8 Miles per gallon higher per the EPA highway rating. This can be attributed to the auto start-stop system and higher gears in the 7 speed automatic transmission in the 2014 E250 Bluetec.<br />
<br />
I personally would not give up the performance for the higher mileage seen on the highway rating. A V6 Turbodiesel is really a beast of an engine and having almost 400 foot pounds of torque on tap makes it a real sleeper when passing cars on the highway. I also like the fact that the 2008 Bluetec is 330 Pounds lighter than the 2014 Bluetec.<br />
<br /></div><p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-111174739039153474.post-57408984061227891492014-11-14T20:49:00.000-08:002014-12-04T16:42:39.650-08:00US Vintage Guitars Rising In Value - Is the Tsunami to blame?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">It is my belief that expensive vintage and acoustic guitars especially Fender, Gibson and Martins will see a dramatic rise in value later this year and next year once the general public and guitar collecting community realize that many valuable vintage guitars were destroyed by the recent Tsunami in Japan. It is no secret that some of the most valuable acoustic and electric vintage guitars are collected by Japanese guitar collectors. Many professional Rock and Jazz guitarists have made the trip to Tokyo and other cities to purchase vintage solid bodies like Stratocasters, Telecasters and other rare hollow body Gibson Jazz guitars. If they were made in the US and manufactured in the fifties and sixties, there is a good chance they are held by collectors in Japan. Tokyo and other Japanese cities still have the highest purchase prices and rent per square foot so it becomes difficult if not impossible to find inexpensive climate controlled storage space for their vintage American guitars within their most populated cities. I theorize that there must be many storage facilities in the Northern Prefectures (suburbs) that got wiped out in that Tsunami. It will probably be made public much later but I'll bet a lot of nice guitar and classic automobile collections got wiped out from the rising waters and the floodings. A lot of those guitars cannot ever be replaced and it will definitely drive up the value of other vintage US made guitars.<br />
<br />
I may be totally wrong on this observation but only time will tell if we see huge bump on the values of used vintage collectible American made guitars.<br />
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Here's a link to a recent article in the Fretboard Journal which describes how Mac Yasuda rescued a priceless collection of banjos from a warehouse in Chiba prefecture in Japan. This article sparked my interest in developing my theory about the vintage guitars that have been damaged by the recent Tsunami.<br />
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<br />
<a href="http://www.fretboardjournal.com/magazine/big-plink">Mac Yasuda Interview -Fretboard Journal</a><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Spinal Tap Nigel's Guitar Room<br />
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Brown Fender Collection (Seventies)<br />
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Martin Guitar Factory Tour<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://0.gvt0.com/vi/_OpryXrx1hA/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_OpryXrx1hA&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_OpryXrx1hA&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div><br />
Acoustic Vintage Guitars In Japan<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span id="goog_92840471"></span><span id="goog_92840472"></span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-111174739039153474.post-38682953878215373192014-08-05T12:50:00.000-07:002014-11-15T10:59:44.392-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h1>
Saepta Julia Was the Ancient Place to Gather and Cast Your Vote</h1>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
August 5th, 2014<i><br /><br />Today, Saepta is the New Social Voting Platform, Delivering
Freedom to Ask a Question and Share Openly and Freely for Everyone and
Anyone to Participate in Engaged Voting</i></h3>
<div class="releaseDateline">
Pleasanton, CA (PRWEB) August 05, 2014 </div>
Saepta, the innovative social voting platform, has delivered an open
environment for posting questions, casting them to an open or private
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<br />
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<br />
The process for publishing a question is easy. A user simply creates a
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the option of public or private viewing on Saepta. The author can then
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the question can also be embedded directly into websites and blogs,
creating added engagement.<br /><p><p><p><p>
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clear and direct feedback. All results derived through the Saepta
platform are anonymous, real-time, and based on actual feedback from
voter participation and can therefore help any individual or
organization understand trends in what others are thinking but may
rather declare anonymously online.<br />
Global Discussion<br />
<br />
Saepta can be used to start an informal, civil-society-backed
discussion designed to gauge support for electoral or cause changes,
helping determine the pulse of how the general public feels about
candidates, platforms or promises. <br />
Personal Insight<br />
<br />
When a favorite sports team signs a multi-million dollar athlete,
users can ask what others think. Ask friends what they think of the next
election, or a local news event, another celebrity blow-up, or moments
that can change the world. Saepta is there to instantly vote, obtain
opinions and share with others.<br />
Business Use<br />
<br />
Bridge the gap to an improved customer experience with Saepta. For
customer service organizations, Saepta creates the opportunity to
interact directly with customers by posting targeted questions,
gathering real-time responses, and inviting customers into the process
by allowing them to witness the votes and comments for enhancing
customer engagement experiences. Companies can improve and develop
innovative products, features and policies. <br />
Integration with Leading Social Media:<br />
<br />
Consumers and businesses using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or
Google+, via mobile or web, can rapidly make their vote count on any
number of questions, relating to music, sports, politics, celebrities,
education or current events, and just as importantly, to create and
share questions of their own. This allows them to capitalize on the
combination of instant voting, social media and opinions. <br />
About Saepta<br />
<br />
Saepta has rethought polls, surveys for today’s world: Fast, visual,
open and optimized for audience engagement with an innovative social
voting platform that lets everyone effortlessly create questions and
share votes, ideas and information instantly. Please visit <a href="http://www.saepta.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.saepta.com</a>. For additional information regarding the company, please see get.saepta.com.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-111174739039153474.post-74274010622031214742014-06-26T09:40:00.001-07:002014-10-19T10:53:58.260-07:00Saepta - Ask.Vote.Share.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I have been spending most of my time recently working at a software company that has just gone live with a new voting application. The company is called Saepta. It is an easy to use software voting application that is free for all users and makes it ridiculously easy to ask a question, vote on a question, view the results of the voting as it occurs in real-time, and also allows you to easily share the vote box with all of it's inherent fuctionality in social media platforms like Facebook, Google Plus, Linked-in, Pinterest, and any web site or blog. The Saepta voting box that you see below just took me about a few seconds to embed in this blog and is a live application meaning you can vote, post a comment, and view the voting results directly from the Saepta embedded voting box.<br />
<br />
Please take a moment to check it out. Vote, comment, go to our main web site www.saepta.com to vote or post your own questions. Would love to get your feedback on this cool new software application.<br />
<br />
<br /></div><p>
<iframe src="http://dev.saepta.com/embed/102/" width="370px" height="850px" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
<iframe src="http://www.saepta.com/embed/874/" width="370px" height="850px" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><p>
<iframe src="http://www.saepta.com/embed/697/" width="370px" height="850px" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><p>
<iframe src="http://www.saepta.com/embed/596/" width="370px" height="850px" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><p>
<iframe src="http://www.saepta.com/embed/595/" width="370px" height="850px" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><p>
<iframe src="http://www.saepta.com/embed/518/" width="370px" height="850px" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><p>
<iframe src="http://www.saepta.com/embed/489/" width="370px" height="850px" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><p>
<iframe src="http://www.saepta.com/embed/465/" width="370px" height="850px" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><p>
<iframe src="http://www.saepta.com/embed/476/" width="370px" height="850px" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
<iframe src="http://www.saepta.com/embed/474/" width="370px" height="850px" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
<iframe src="http://www.saepta.com/embed/473/" width="370px" height="850px" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
<iframe src="http://www.saepta.com/embed/451/" width="370px" height="850px" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><p>
<iframe src="http://www.saepta.com/embed/446/" width="370px" height="850px" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><p>
<iframe src="http://www.saepta.com/embed/441/" width="370px" height="850px" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><p>
<iframe src="http://www.saepta.com/embed/440/" width="370px" height="850px" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><p>
<iframe src="http://www.saepta.com/embed/442/" width="370px" height="850px" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><p>
<iframe src="http://www.saepta.com/embed/411/" width="370px" height="850px" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><p>
<iframe src="http://www.saepta.com/embed/426/" width="370px" height="850px" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><p>
<iframe src="http://www.saepta.com/embed/386/" width="370px" height="850px" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><p>
<iframe src="http://www.saepta.com/embed/368/" width="370px" height="850px" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><p>
<iframe src="http://saepta.com/embed/351/" width="370px" height="850px" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><p>
<iframe src="http://www.saepta.com/embed/348/" width="370px" height="850px" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><p>
<iframe src="http://www.saepta.com/embed/347/" width="370px" height="850px" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><p>
<iframe frameborder="0" height="850px" scrolling="no" src="http://www.saepta.com/embed/276/" width="370px"></iframe>
</div>
<p>
<iframe src="http://www.saepta.com/embed/332/" width="370px" height="850px" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-111174739039153474.post-10531702282113237072014-04-14T10:09:00.000-07:002014-04-14T19:48:16.246-07:00High Quality Photo Printing at The Lowest Per Page Cost Epson 1430 Artisan Ink Jet CIS System<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Photo Printing High Quality and
Lowest Cost<br />
Achieving The Lowest Page Cost<br />
With a CIS (Continuous Ink System) and the </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Epson Artisan 1430 Ink Jet Printer</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Producing photo quality prints
in the comfort of your own home or home office in a </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">cost effective manner has until recently been impossible to do until recent </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">developments on the CIS
(continuous ink system) front came to market to </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">overcome many of the
shortcomings and defects of the current generation </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">of CIS systems currently
available for Epson Inkjet Photo printers. Reliability </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">and consistent ink
quality issues are no longer a concern as the ink clogging </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">problem has been
resolved with the introduction of polyethylene tubing </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">which is resistant to ink
clogs and provides a reliable ink delivery system </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">that prevents ink clogs and ensures
long reliable print head life on </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Epson Photo Inkjet printers. 99% of the other CIS systems use PVC </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">ink supply hoses which deteriorate over time and cause the ink jet </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">to clog frequently. When installed on
the Epson Artisan 1430 wide </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">carriage Photo Printer, you can print a <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>13” x 19” glossy photo print </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">for about .50
Cents total ink cost. The average ink cost per print </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">when using Epson Claria
Print cartridges averages between $4.75 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">and $5.50 per print. Printing a 13” x
19” Color Photo for 1/10<sup>th</sup> the </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">ink cost is a significant cost
savings no matter how you look at it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Factor in the printer reliability,
colorfast ink properties UV ray </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">resistance and color fidelity consistency and
you have a truly affordable</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> photo printer printing system that starts paying
for itself immediately. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You will save over $1,000.00 in net ink costs after
printing the first </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">200 13” x 19” photos.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNfCTjUH9gcLFNv2pNYKbL-f_hP1VPw11IXytp3-1DIyJ9FTTcWTk7E0R0T8T4WdSsM7yWAn9xMpn_qCo6ViSijO6-eDdMVUdCsoIm-SDjRTU0ZBE_Jk8Jr5Ol9PB39veXHkqk8LdrnTpa/s1600/wes_CIS1400A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNfCTjUH9gcLFNv2pNYKbL-f_hP1VPw11IXytp3-1DIyJ9FTTcWTk7E0R0T8T4WdSsM7yWAn9xMpn_qCo6ViSijO6-eDdMVUdCsoIm-SDjRTU0ZBE_Jk8Jr5Ol9PB39veXHkqk8LdrnTpa/s1600/wes_CIS1400A.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=111174739039153474" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I have spent many months
researching CIS Continuous Ink Systems </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">designed specifically for the Epson Artisan 1430 printer. After much </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">trial and error, I have found the best CIS
system by methodically </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">testing and re-testing the system with different high
quality ink-jet </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">photo paper from Epson, Canon, Kodak and HP.</span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you have an interest in obtaining
one of these systems for personal or <br />commercial business use, please contact me
at <a href="mailto:weslem@aol.com">weslem@aol.com</a>. <br />Purchase and lease price quotations with bundled maintenance agreements </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">are
available upon request.</span><br />
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUsiXK6nIzBksGTM5jrT936JgkfwB1ofX6vKxBojFxP4dWmTYLXQXUNRvWsGDcODsMS1q_KUA7Z_awPKexICfNlJuMPsFQwvjYVIurFzMmoRNjz9W1ljdhDomj4azUmdQb5GnEWs_n7jpf/s1600/P1000208.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUsiXK6nIzBksGTM5jrT936JgkfwB1ofX6vKxBojFxP4dWmTYLXQXUNRvWsGDcODsMS1q_KUA7Z_awPKexICfNlJuMPsFQwvjYVIurFzMmoRNjz9W1ljdhDomj4azUmdQb5GnEWs_n7jpf/s1600/P1000208.JPG" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-111174739039153474.post-74145605841968550502013-07-16T12:02:00.000-07:002013-07-16T12:02:39.896-07:00Netiquette IQ, The Book, The definitive guide to writing email is now available<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My good friend Paul Babicki has been working on a pet project over the last 5 years or so and I am pleased to announce that he has just released his book, Nettiqette IQ.<br /><br />As snail mail has rapidly phased out as a primary means of business communications, email has replaced that form of communication with the proliferation of computers and mobile devices. I have seen the deterioration of the quality of emails over time and addressing the problem of writing a proper email that is relevant to the occasion from a business or personal perspective is a problem that Paul has tackled head-on with the formation of his web-site and blog, Webiquette IQ and the release of the follow-on book.<br />
<br />
This is the definitive and last book you will ever need as a reference guide or even a manual on etiquette and manners for all forms of electronic communications. The timing could not be better as new generations adopt email as their primary form of communications. Maintaining courtesy, decorum and above all common sense manners on the Internet is a task that has been overlooked....until now.<br />
<br />
Please check out the book at:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.netiquetteiq.com/Netiquette_IQ_Book.aspx">http://www.netiquetteiq.com/Netiquette_IQ_Book.aspx</a><br /><br />The Netiquette IQ Blog is also a very helpful resource and reference point for those who want tlearn more before purchasing the book.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://netiquetteiq.blogspot.com/">http://netiquetteiq.blogspot.com/</a><br />
<br />
I want to extend a sincere thanks to Paul for producing this outstanding resource and for all of his efforts with helping all of us of communicate more effectively and to maintain decorum on the Internet.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-111174739039153474.post-68525958719216548182013-06-27T00:37:00.002-07:002013-06-27T00:53:22.758-07:00Fujitsu Lifebook UH572 Ultrabook Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>Fujitsu Lifebook UH572 Ultrabook Review - PC Notebook Review 6/27/2013</b><br />
Sneaking in under the radar last year is a full featured Ultrabook notebook from Fujitsu that caught my attention as they have been a relatively late entrant in the Ultrabook product market. My past experiences with Fujitsu notebooks has been positive overall and I have used the Fujitsu P series of sub-notebooks for many years as my primary business notebook. Fujitsu is a well-respected world-wide notebook innovator and manufacturer but spends little to no marketing and advertising dollars here in the US. They have gained a cult following on the notebook side here in the US by business travelers that are tech savvy. Fujitsu has a very well earned reputation as a tablet and ultra portable notebook manufacturer over the last 29 years or so. Their notebooks have always been priced at least 25 to 30% above competing models from Lenovo, Toshiba, Dell, Sony and HP but street prices in the US are relatively low as refurbished and clearance models can be easily found at internet resellers like J and R and B and H Photo, CDW, and PC Connection, in addition to eBay auctions of Fujitsu notebooks found on the Fujitsu eBay store-front.<br />
<br />
This particular Ultrabook model is basically the same model as the Fujitsu U772 corporate Ultrabook model that starts at ta retail price of $1599.00. The Fujitsu UH572 Ultrabook is essentially the same design and has the same cpu and storage components as the U772 but carries an MSRP of $899.00. The only difference is that the UH572 has a 13.3" LCD LED back-lit screen instead of the 14" one that is standard on the U772.<br />
<br />
A few weeks ago, Fry's Electronics had a special sale on these notebooks. A brand new Fujitsu UH572 Lifebook Ultrabook was on sale for the ridiculously low price of $498.00. Fujitsu also has a $100.00 direct to consumer rebate for this model notebook so the net cost is $398.00!!!!! This notebook is a fully featured Ultrabook with an Intel Core I5 3317 Ivy Bridge processor. 4 GB of RAM and a 500 GB Hard Disk with a 32 GB mSATA cache Hard Disk that supports Intel's Instant On technology. It has an internal 4200 mAH non-user removeable Lithium Polymer Battery with a rated run time of almost 6 hours, and up to 8 if an SSD drive is installed. Two USB 3.0 Ports and one powered USB port along with a built in Bluetooth radio and a standard HDMI connector make this a fully featured notebook perfect for corporate travel and presentations in the board room. It also has built in WiDi and an SD/XC memory Stick Pro Card Reader/Writer for those who are into digital photography. Windows 7 Pro 64 Bit version is the standard operating system. At a little over .66" thick, this notebook is really thin and light with a total weight of about 3.25 pounds.<br />
<br />
<b>First Impressions of this notebook</b><br />
The keyboard has a very short travel due to the thinness but the island style keyboard provides a satisfying click when the keys are pressed and you can type accurately after a short period of time adjusting to this keyboard. There is little to no flex on the keyboard and main chassis that supports the LCD screen and ther is little to no flex on the LCD screen with a very smooth hinge system and durable black glossy aluminum finish on the trackpad and inner covers that attracts fingerprints and smudges. Cosmetics wise, this notebook looks adn feels like a premium ultrabook and the design is very understated.<br />
<br />
<b>Sensible upgrades transform this notebook into a powerhouse portable workstation </b><br />
Of note, Fujitsu technical and product marketing documentation states the the maximum amount of memory this notebook will support is 4 GB of RAM as there are only 2 memory simm slots populated with 2 GB DDR3 SODIMM memory modules. I tried upgrading the memory to 16 GB of SystemMemory by installing 2 8GB Crucial Memory DDR3 SODIMM memory modules and they worked PERFECTLY in this notebook with no memory or system errors whatsoever. With WIndos 7 64 Bit OS installed I now have access to 16 GB of memory within a notebook that only costs $398.00.<br />
<br />
Opting for the most batery life and getting the highest performing disk drive, I also upgraded by removing the 7 mm Hitachi 5400 rpm 500GB SATA drive and installed a Plextor 256 GB mSATA M5M SSD drive attached to a SATA to mSATA adapter. The Windows Performance rating for Disk I/O jumped from 5.9 to 7.9 and power consumption at idle is down to .1 watt. This mSATA drive currently sells for about $200.00 on Amazon and or Newegg.<br />
<br />
This notebook is now a speed demon and I am averaging close to 8 hours of battery life on a single charge.<br />
This premium Road Warrior is more powerful than Asus, Samsung, Acer, HP and Lenovo ultrabooks costing upwards of 1799.00. The upgrade limitations on those notebooks are well documented as 4 GB is the normal max and it is difficult to upgrade their built in mSATA SSD drives. I now have a screamingly<br />
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<br />
fast Ultrabook that gets 8 hours of battery life, has 16 GB of memory and really fast 256 GB mSATA Plextor SSD drive that comes in at $799.00 with all of the performance and memory upgrades.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-111174739039153474.post-36666073863409138342013-04-30T20:53:00.001-07:002013-04-30T23:30:08.369-07:00It's All About The Sensor Size, Stupid! Advice for buying the right Digital Camera<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If we take a look at the current product offerings by the major digital camera companies we are faced with a vast array of different digital camera models that are all competing for our hard earned dollars. No longer content to wait at least a year before coming out with new camera models, the choices of digital cameras available for the consumer seems to be endless and the marketing hype, feature creep and mis-information being circulated about what makes a good digital camera makes it harder than ever to decide on a model that will give the best quality digital photos. The megapixel escalation war seems to have died down, but the number of megapixels is just one factor that affects picture quality. Lens quality, the image processor and most importantly the size of the image sensor will have the biggest effect on the ultimate image quality and noise produced in low light conditions.<br />
<br />
Yours truly has finally figured out the secret to unlocking the mystery of how to buy the best digital camera by following a very simple rule of thumb.<br />
<br />
Buy the digital camera with the largest CMOS image sensor available your budget can afford.<br />
<br />
Put quite simply, the larger the CMOS image sensor the digital camera has, the higher quality images that camera will be able to produce. Currently the largest size image sensor available on consumer level digital cameras and DSLRs is the APS-C size sensor. Until a few years ago, the only digital cameras that employed this size sensor are bulky DSLRs. (Digital Single Lens Reflex Cameras). These DSLR cameras weigh much averaging 20-32 ounces with the battery installed. The lenses for DSLRs are much larger and heavier as well. With a whole new generation of much smaller-bodied mirror-less compact changeable lens cameras introduced to the market by Sony in their line of NEX cameras, the APS-C sensor has been adapted for use in a camera body that weighs around 12 ounces which opens up the door for a truly compact pro-level camera that you can take any where like a point and shoot but be able to attain the quality of a much larger DSLR camera.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-111174739039153474.post-87544984603545377712013-02-13T12:38:00.001-08:002013-02-13T12:55:34.263-08:00Mike's Camera - Dublin -Best East Bay Camera Store<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Mike's Camera<br />
Complete Digital Camera and <br />
Electronic Imaging Services Company<br />
Dublin CA<br />
<br />
If
you are looking to buy a digital camera or need professional quality
enlargements done the right way, look no further than Mike's Camera in
Dublin CA. Grant Peterson (Store Manager) and his friendly/knowledgeable
staff will take the time to answer any questions no matter how basic or
advanced they may be. They have a excellent selection of DSLRs, Bridge
Digital Cameras and a wide array of Point and Shoots. They carry Nikon,
Canon, Sony, Olympus, and the Panasonic Lumix line of Digital Cameras.
High end DSLR cameras from Canon and Nikon are on display and you can
get your hands on them and test them out in the store. They also have a
wide selection of lens caps, filters and rechargeable batteries,
chargers, and miscellaneous cables and memory card readers. If they
don't have a particular camera or accessory in stock, they can order it
and get it shipped to you or the store pretty quickly. They also sell
Kodak film as a lot of local high schools still teach traditional
photography classes with the older film type 35 millimeter cameras. I
have had several poster sized enlargements done and they came out great.
The lamination was perfect and they are hanging in our living room and
den.<br />
<br />
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<br />
The
sales staff is very attentive, patient and caring. They will
respectfully listen to what you are looking for in a digital camera and
will explain the pros and cons of each camera they are offering for sale
careful not to oversell or bait and switch which other camera retailers
are guilty of doing. I really like this camera store because it offers
old fashioned customer service with reasonable prices and you get to
pick their brains for advice on taking better digital photos. They also
offer beginner, intermediate and advanced digital photography classes
that are all reasonable priced. This is one of the few camera stores
that allows you to try out the camera and accessories before making your
purchase. This is a huge advantage over the big box stores like Best
Buy, Walmart and Target.<br />
<br />
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<br />
This is a full service photography dealer specializing in the following products and services:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Digital Cameras</li>
<li>Weatherproof/WaterProof Shock Resistant Digital Cameras, Digital
Photo Frames, Photo Paper and Mounting Accessories, Laminating Scrapbook
Accessorie</li>
<li>Digital Imaging, enlargement and Finishing Services</li>
<li>Photo Scrap Books</li>
<li>Batteries, Lens Filters, Lens Caps, USB Cables, Power Cables, AC Adapters</li>
<li>Camera Bags - Small Medium Large and BackPacks, Day Bags,</li>
<li>Tripods</li>
<li>Shoe Mount Flashes</li>
<li>Umbrellas and Flash Accessories</li>
<li>Kodak 35 MM Film both Color and Black and White</li>
<li>Shoulder straps, Gear Bags, Remote Release Cables</li>
<li>Memory Cards, SD-HC Compact Flash, XD and Sony memory Sticks</li>
<li>Memory Card Readers</li>
<li>Wide Angle Lenses</li>
<li>Zoom Lenses</li>
<li>Waterproof Digital Cameras (Olympus)</li>
<li>Instructional Books & DVDs for most popular DSLR Cameras</li>
<li>Binoculars</li>
<li>Picture Frames - Regular and Digital</li>
<li>Photo Books</li>
<li>Lamination Film</li>
</ul>
<div>
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<br /></div>
If
you want to improve your digital photography skills, upgrade to the
latest and greatest camera, or need an accessory Mike's Camera in Dublin
will provide the one-stop shopping experience without having to make
the schlep into San Francisco or having to order it on line and wait for
it to be delivered as Mike's will most likely have what you want in
stock. I highly recommended this store and you will see how the staff
and customer service makes all the difference in the world.<br />
<br />
Mike's Camera - Grant Peterson, Store Manager<br />
7192 Regional Street <br />
(Between Amador Valley Blvd and Dublin Boulevard)<br />
Dublin CA 94568<br />
925-829-3670</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-111174739039153474.post-90096216032494163252012-12-12T08:33:00.002-08:002012-12-12T08:40:38.186-08:00Reducing Your Electric Bill - A Systemic Non-Solar Approach<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Having resided in some of the most expensive electricity regions of the country (New York, Honolulu, San Francisco) I have spent a lot of time researching ways to reduce electricity consumption as a way to reduce our electric bill without having to resort to installing an expensive roof solar panel generation system. A recent move to a 4800 square foot house also prompted me to step up my efforts to develop this electricity reduction plan as we realized that we would have to budget for a huge monthly electric bill.<br />
<br />
We discovered that our neighbors in similarly sized homes on our street were averaging about $285.00 to $450.00 per month on PG and E monthly electric bills. I estimated that the baseline monthly electricity cost average to be about $350.00 per month factoring Air Conditioning use. I then set a goal of halving that baseline average of $350.00 per month to $175.00 per month and that any number below $150.00 would be the end goal of my electricity reduction objectives for our new house. After implementing all of the phases listed below, I was able to get my monthly PG&E electricity bill down to $104.00 for 610 kilowatt hours consumed for a 30 day period.<br />
<br />
Phase I<br />
Replace all installed interior incandescent 65 and 75 watt light bulbs to Philips, Feit Electric, and GE LED Light Bulbs each consuming 7 watts to a maximum of 11 watts per bulb. Total bulbs changed 55. Total wattage when on 3575 watts with incandescent bulbs. Total wattage when on with LED bulbs 550 watts. That is a huge reduction in watts and the LED bulbs are much cooler than incandescents. 120 degress vs 500 degrees on the incandescents.<br />
<br />
Phase II<br />
Installed 2 NEST learning programmable thermostats, one for each level/zone of the house<br />
<br />
Phase III<br />
Replace all 27 20 watt halogen landscape/security outdoor lights with 3 watt LED Spotlight bulbs.<br />
Install Dusk to Dawn Timers <br />
<br />
Phase IV<br />
Replace old GE Dishwasher with Bosch energy star high efficiency dishwasher<br />
<br />
Phase V<br />
Put all battery chargers on power-strips connected to Belkin auto AC timers<br />
Replace Comcast 400 watt old style digital cable box with new high energy efficiency cable box that only consumes 30 watts<br />
<br />
Phase V1<br />
Install programmable electric timer for Hot Water Recirculation Pump<br />
<br />
Phase VII<br />
Install LG High efficiency Clothes Washers and Dryer.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-111174739039153474.post-76263536427045824432012-06-14T09:02:00.000-07:002012-06-15T09:45:50.625-07:00The Tablet and Smartphone Explosion -The Challenge of Unified Communications<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As we move into the second half of 2012, The proliferation of Apple IOS smartphones and iPads, Android smartphones and Tablets has accelerated at a dizzying pace. New product innovation can be found on these new devices with an array of different models to suit most any budget or multimedia and business requirement. Verizon has accelerated the pace of putting new smartphones into the hands of consumers by offering early upgrades and rebates for inducing their longtime customers to upgrade to the latest and greatest smartphones. AT&T and Sprint are following suit. New Android tablet product introductions from Asus, Samsung and Toshiba are also pushing the price-performance envelope as the Android operating system is reaching critical mass with the introduction of Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) which is shipping on the newest Samsung Galaxy Tabs and the latest Asus Transformer Tablets. These tablets are shipping with 16 or 32GB of Internal Storage memory and have SD expansion card slots so SD-XC memory cards of up to 128 GB can be easily added for additional storage of files. The new Asus Transformer retails for $399.99 for the 32 GB model and has the Android 4.0 OS installed with a very bright IPS 1268 x 800 10.1" LED Touch Display. The IPS (In Plane Switching) LED panel has an ultra-wide viewing angle of 170 degrees off viewing axis and a brighness of almost 300 NITS. Battery life is rated at an incredible 8 hours. The optional keyboard dock ($150.00) which adds USB slots and extended battery capability converts this tablet to a notebook and adds another 6 hours of extended battery life. It effectively converts this tablet into a fully functional notebook computer. Built in WiFi and Bluetooth make the Asus Transformer a very capable home and business tablet as it has a very powerful and energy efficient Tegra Dual Core processor and a very fast graphics chip built-in. It offers very snappy performance, instant on capability and a growing library of Android productivity and Entertainment applications. It is also perfectly suited for multimedia applications as it has 2 built in cameras. 1.3 MP for the front camera an 8 MP for the rear. Watching videos or using Skype is easily accomplished with this tablet all at a list price of about $550.00 including the keyboard dock battery accessory.<br />
<br />
The price performance available on Android Smart Phones and Tablets allows consumers to buy state of the art hardware with an operating system that costs way lower than Apple's IOS and Microsoft Windows. The software functionality of these operating systems is close to reaching parity with Apple IOS and Microsoft Windows 7 and 8 tablet editions. The Asus Transformer Tablet even ships with a special version of Polaris software Office suite that allows you to create edit and open Microsoft Word documents like Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. The Web Browser capability with support for Adobe Flash ensures that all web based applications will run on their tablet.
<br />
<br />
What we are seeing is a perfect storm of advanced easy to use computing devices hitting the marketplace with consumers scrambling to buy the latest and greatest smartphones or tablets to supplement their corporate issued or home based notebook or desktop computers. As millions of these devices get sold through to consumer and business users the appetite for mature business enabled applications will increase at an exponential rate. Instant on access to WiFi and 3G and 4G networks make these devices powerful and effective productivity tools right out of the box.<br />
<br />
In many cases the older notebooks and desktops are being supplanted or even replaced as these new smartphones and tablets are more powerful and offer superb battery life and are more suited for mobile computing. All of the major retail channels are discounting this devices including Costco, Walmart, Target, Verizon, BestBuy, Office Max, Staples, Office Depot, Fry's Electronics, J&R Computers, and Radio Shack to name a few. The hardware is out there but the problem of tying all of these devices together remains a huge problem and challenge to companies that want to leverage multimedia services and applications on these devices as employees bring them into work. security, data access charges, connection to WiFi and a host of other associated software feature requirements to unify all of the legacy and new devices remain a herculean challenge. Unified Communications meets the challenge of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). How can companies leverage their existing communications infrastructure by delivering multimedia communications services rapidly while avoiding forklift hardware upgrades?<br />
<br />
The answer is quite simple. Thrupoint. Thrupoint is the only company that can deliver on the promise of Unified Communications with their Fusion Software Suite running on their Ubiquity Software platform.<br />
<br />
Check out their web-site at www.thrupoint.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-111174739039153474.post-42856968570340465872012-04-01T15:22:00.001-07:002012-04-01T15:26:59.796-07:00Larry Carlton at The Firehouse Arts Center Pleasanton CA<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidJnYfcI4kfXQFcG4eVfYzn2lQZQ2G8G0TVm3mzkwNQQiUruEI4kQqN0V9YQeoXjMkM6sTbapEMBy2bgLGS4yDV8t-pqVzPkmXnELGtPjKmT9x3tUKnM3A4KsGn7U6cVrtrXiz3ToskR3w/s1600/IMG_0096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidJnYfcI4kfXQFcG4eVfYzn2lQZQ2G8G0TVm3mzkwNQQiUruEI4kQqN0V9YQeoXjMkM6sTbapEMBy2bgLGS4yDV8t-pqVzPkmXnELGtPjKmT9x3tUKnM3A4KsGn7U6cVrtrXiz3ToskR3w/s640/IMG_0096.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mr.335 himself, (nick-named after his signature Gibson ES335 hollow body jazz guitar) Mr Larry Carlton performed at the Pleasanton Firehouse Arts Center on March 22nd. The 4 time Grammy winner performed some of his best known classics and a number of new songs from his most recent album Larry Carlton plays TSOP, The Sound of Philadelphia. One of the highlights was his performance of If You Don't Know Me By Now. The cover of this Harold Melvin and the Blue notes song was soulful and passionate and brought tears to the eyes of the audience which was definitely an older crowd. We had third row seats near the center of this ultra small venue (207 seats) and this concert was simply amazing. If you ever have an opportunity to see Larry Carlton you will not be disappointed. He is a living legend of popular jazz guitar and put so many popular performers on the map as you can hear his lead guitar work on over 100 gold albums.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-111174739039153474.post-66596274059446901632011-12-31T22:42:00.000-08:002012-01-01T14:55:20.191-08:00American Pie by Don McLean - The Perfect Seque into 2012<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">As the 2011 year winds down the song American Pie gets a lot of airplay between Christmas and the New Year. I guess a lot of DJs feel that the reflective nature of this song is most appropriate to play at the end of the year. I would have to agree with them. American Pie is Don McLean's Magnum Opus of a song which skyrocketed when it was first released way back in 1971. It is a song that resonates in everyone and carries so many personal meanings and interpretations and like carbon dating, links all of us to prior experiences when we all grew up in the seventies and eighties. The lyrics were amazingly simple, direct and heartfelt, and wove a story that even to this day sounds fresh and interesting as it did in the seventies. I remember saving my allowance and newspaper route money and buying the American Pie album from EJ Korvettes in Nanuet, New York. I played it so many times and now as I am much older, I have even more respect for Don as he was able to incorporate so many themes and touch on so many topics that related to the time when I was growing up during my adolescent years in a suburb of New York City..<br />
<br />
The song was an instant classic even though it ran way longer time-wise than most other charting hit songs played on the radio. The recording was very clean and the choice of backing studio musicians made a big difference in the overall production quality of the song. Warren Bernhardt played the piano on American Pie and his contributions elevated the performance and made lasting impressions with each listener. Warren is a very famous and talented Jazz pianist whose mentor was Bill Evans. He also played on Paul SImon albums and was the musical director and piano player for the 1993-94 Steely Dan concert Tour. There were few popular top forty hits that showcased the piano front and center except for Billy Joel, Elton John and Paul Simon. It really raised the bar for songwriters to come up with songs that really delivered on both harmony and lyrical content.<br />
<br />
Don really came into his own as a popular singer songwriter in the seventies and really carved his own musical career path and led a very independent life as he eschewed commercialism, performed at a lot of Hudson River benefit concerts, and aligned his music and philanthropic work with Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie. Moreover, Don was a local musician, born in New Rochelle, NY.<br />
<br />
A few years ago, when I was selling for Voyage-Air guitars, I had met with Stan Jay, the iconic owner of the famed Mandolin Brothers vintage guitar shop in Staten Island. He counts amongst his clients, Bruce Springsteen, Don McLean, Conan O'Brien, George Benson, and most every famous rock and jazz guitarist in the NY metro area. He said that Don lives in Vermont with his family and visits his guitar shop about once a year and picks out some nice Martin Acoustic Guitars for his sons to buy. He told Jay that the royalty checks from American Pie allows him to do this and for that he is very grateful.<br />
<br />
I don't think there is anyone, child, baby boomer or in between who does not know all of the lyrics of American Pie. Most people will also sing along when American Pie is played on the radio. Don wrote a song that is permanently embedded in the psyche of our country and I for one am very grateful for American Pie. It's been a helluva year. Any music that makes it a little easier for me to reflect and to count my blessings is a welcome gift so to Don McLean a big thank you is in order.<br />
<br />
"So bye bye Miss American Pie drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry<br />
them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye singin' this'll be the day that I die<br />
this'll be the day that I die, they were singin' bye bye Miss American Pie drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee but the levee was dry, them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye singin' this'll be the day that I die."</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-111174739039153474.post-65934090566516004902011-12-17T21:14:00.000-08:002011-12-17T21:15:30.420-08:00Reflections on 2011 - Happy Holidays to All<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Holiday greetings to all of my Blog readers and followers. After accumulating some 43,000 cumulative hits, I would like to personally thank everyone for taking the time to read my Blog and also for making valuable comments, technical advice and providing excellent insightful feedback on my articles and posts.<br />
<br />
To my international Blog readers a heart felt thank you for reading my Blog. I am amazed at how many readers I have in countries around the world. I feel like an author who has a following outside of the United States and am grateful for all of the attention it has attracted to date.<br />
<br />
<b>Here are my reflections on 2011:</b><br />
I think it's pretty obvious that 2011 was the year of the Tablet computer as Apple's iPad 2 along with the Android gang of Tablets from (Samsung, Acer, Asus, Toshiba, IBM/Lenovo, to name a few) found their way into consumers hands at an ever increasing pace. Coinciding with the Tablet's meteoric rise in sales and overall acceptance by the buying public is the rapid decline of Netbooks which were rapidly removed from store shelves and warehouses to make room for all of the new Tablets.<br />
<br />
Steve Jobs passed away and one of the truly great leaders of the PC computing community left his indelible mark on personal and business computing by way of all of the great Apple products brought to market under his guidance and stewardship. The one take-away that resonated with me the most was Steve's regret that he did not have enough time to spend with his family as he was battling cancer to the very end. We can all learn from Steve's work ethic, his vision, the zen-like focus he had on changing the way we make and use computers and demonstrating consistently great leadership in all of the companies he was involved with. He will be missed and his legacy lives on through the continued success and acceptance of all products with the Apple logo.<br />
<br />
It was a very tough year economy wise and a lot of small businesses struggled to keep their businesses solvent. I want to take a moment to recognize these unsung heroes of US Business who have been the backbone of our economy year after year without getting much if any help from our government. If you are a small business owner you have my greatest respect in adapting to a down economy and having the fortitude and stamina to tough it out during this extraordinarily tough business climate.<br />
<br />
I think the country is doing a better job in reducing our overall energy consumption by purchasing cars that get better mileage and hybrid/electric/diesel cars, installing solar panels, replacing older appliances with Energy Star efficient ones and changing their incandescent bulbs to fluorescent and LED light bulbs. We still have a long way to go in reducing our dependence on foreign oil but I believe the tide is turning in favor of those who want to see us become totally energy self-sufficient. Research continues on safe alternate ways of generating electricity and we need to keep the pressure up on our law makers to continue to spend money on alternate methods of energy production.<br />
<br />
Reality TV shows dominated the airwaves this past year and the dumbing down of TV content has reached new lows. I think that the networks have really given up on creating decent programs and content for network television and have also gotten extremely lazy by resorting to Reality TV drivel that is cheap to produce but gets astronomical ratings and sells tons of Ad time. It really insults our intelligence to have this drivel on network television as it continues to dumb down the TV audience. Do we really need more Reality TV shows? I don't think so.<br />
<br />
Consumers figured out how to use coupons to their advantage and value shopping became popular as Black Friday approached. Consumers are much more savvy shoppers now and are looking for the best possible deals they can find. They are educating them-selves by researching products on the internet and by reading Consumer's Reports. Money is being spent on high quality items that out-perform their competition and mor folks are fixing rather than replacing higher cost items, such as appliances, electronics and automobiles.<br />
<br />
All of us are adapting to the changing times. Most of us can remember the good and the bad economic times we have gone through. We are all wary of scammers and criminals like Bernard Madoff and I think 2011 sobered up a lot of folks with lessons learned from Computer Security Breaches, Hacker Attacks and Identity Thefts.<br />
<br />
<b>Here are my predictions for 2012:</b><br />
The economy will improve somewhat and I think real estate will show some signs of life on both the buying and selling side.<br />
<br />
A fire-sale on Netbooks will occur shortly after the 1st of the year. They have to write those suckers down and get them off the books before it impacts the 2nd and third quarter profits.<br />
<br />
Amazon will become the dominant eBook and entry level Tablet sales leader by the end of second quarter of 2012. Their cloud computing content delivery model will pick up steam and they will sell a ton of movies through their Amazon Fire Tablet platform.<br />
<br />
The Post Office will begin to shut down as half of their service offerings will be shut down to conserve costs and to help stop the hemorrhaging of red ink. Fed-Ex and UPS will step in the fray to provide the services the Post Office was providing but at different price structures. I think letter and junk mail will eventually be phased out. Email and Spam have put the nails in the coffin for the USPS to profitably deliver these items.<br />
<br />
I think Fred Smith and the top management at UPS already have a doomsday plan in place that they are ready to implement once the Post Office makes the next round of severe service cutbacks, office closing and lay-offs.<br />
<br />
Channels that offer luxury items at a steep discount will continue to prosper and grow. paying full price is something that is reserved for only the richest sheiks these days and even they are looking for ways to save money.<br />
<br />
More models of diesel automobiles will be announced and begin their first shipments into the US markets in 2012. Look for the first diesel cars from Mazda and Subaru with more models being announced from Mercedes, BMW and Volkswagen.<br />
<br />
That's about it for 2012 predictions. Let's see if these predictions were even close in a years time when I will be writing the Reflections on 2012 and predictions for 2013 Blog Entry next year.<br />
<br />
Have a happy and safe holiday.<br />
<br />
Wes</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-111174739039153474.post-28039021894804265352011-12-14T19:52:00.000-08:002014-06-29T17:05:35.154-07:00Samsung Series 3 11.6" Princeton Notebook $349.00 STAPLES Deal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">12/18/2012 UPDATE<br />
The Staples Ad for the week of 12/18-12/24/2011 just went live on their web site and sure enough, the Samsung Series 3 11.6" Princeton Notebook with the Intel Core i3 Processor, 4 GB of memory and the 320GB Hard Drive is on sale for $349.99 WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!!!!!!<br />
<br />
HERE'S THE LINK:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://weeklyad.staples.com/staples/default.aspx?action=entryflash&adref=staples_right_hand_nav%20&icid=HP:HP:WEKLY_AD:WEKLY_:NULL::">http://weeklyad.staples.com/staples/default.aspx?action=entryflash&adref=staples_right_hand_nav%20&icid=HP:HP:WEKLY_AD:WEKLY_:NULL::</a><br />
<br />
This is a super deal and if you don't pick one up, you will miss out on the deal of the year. THis notebook offers much more bang for the buck than the Mac Book Air. At $349.99 it blows the mac Book 11 inch notebook into the weeds!!!!<br />
<br />
Looks like Staples is blowing out the Samsung Series 3 11.6" Princeton Core i3 Notebook again and the alert is for next week (week of December 19-23rd). If you trade-in a qualifying used notebook you can get the price down to an incredible $249.00 by way of a $100.00 Visa Gift Card. The normal price at Staples is $599.00.<br />
<br />
Thanks to TTRAN88 for posting this tip:<br />
<br />
Here is the link to the tip:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3712108">http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3712108</a></div><p>
<iframe src="http://www.saepta.com/embed/306/" width="370px" height="850px" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-111174739039153474.post-88188041418858763252011-11-29T08:50:00.001-08:002011-11-30T20:31:20.907-08:00Amazon - Cloud Computing Colossus Has Arrived<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I have been following Amazon ever since the company was formed some 15 years ago. In their very early years, their initial goal was to build a company that could deliver books to the masses in a very cost effective but profitable way. They took a lot of criticism at first spending millions and millions of dollars building out their computer infrastructure to handle the order fulfillment and advanced supply chain mechanism that has served them so well over the years. They re-invested virtually every dollar they earned into building a data center and network infrastructure that could easily handle their current and future (10 years down the road) computing and network requirements. I remember many Wall Street analysts chastising and publicly criticizing the delay of profitability when Jeff Bezos stuck to his guns and continued to heavily invest in technology and computing infrastructure. Well today, Amazon sits atop the heap of computing companies that has the best cloud computing services and is the go-to leading edge company for outsourcing IT, web hosting, order fulfillment and now platform media services. Amazon counts amongst its current Cloud Computing Services Customers: NASA, Foursquare, PBS, Harvard Medical School, Yelp, Newsweek, Netflix, Virgin Atlantic, and Newsweek. With the impending shipments of the new Amazon Kindle E-Book Readers and the revolutionary new $199.00 Fire Tablets, Amazon is poised to make a ton of money streaming video content and delivering e-books through the cloud faster than any other company that offers those services. They have figured out how to build a tablet that offers users almost 80-90% of the functionality of an Apple iPad with half of the memory required (8 GB vs 16 GB) while offering faster performance as the readers and tablets have been optimized (read perform much faster) to work with Amazon Cloud computing services. Their razor and razor blade model is brilliant and although seems to have lower profit margins, the pricing scheme and volume of users that will buy the Kindle and Fire will more than make up for it. This is a huge wager Bezos is making and believe me, he has pulled out all the stops in stacking the cards in Amazon's favor to win this bet. Apple is taking the totally opposite approach where 90% of their profits come from selling expensive Mac hardware platrforms, both mobile and desktops. Only 8% of their profits come from iTunes. Amazon will sell millions of their Fire tablets with only 8 GB of memory on board and the user will experience faster streaming and performance as each Amazon Fire will be hardware and software optimized to take advantage of the super fast Amazon Cloud computing engine. They came up with a hybrid Android based browser where half of the browser code resides on the Amazon Fire Tablet and the other half is embedded in the Amazon Cloud Computing Services. Since movies will be streamed, there is no need to store the movies on your Amazon Fire Tablet. With iTunes, you download the movie to your local hard drive and that requires a much larger storage capacity. Bezos claims that the Amazon Fire Tablet will easily outperform other computing devices with traditional client based browsers found on Mac, Windows and Linux PCs with traditional operating systems. This is no small feat and in some ways represents the holy grail of distributed computing. For a company like Amazon to pull this off with a pricing and business profit model that makes most software companies envious Bezos and his engineering team is to be congratulated for executing this plan in such a short time span. I really think that Amazon has paved the way for media distribution model that works for all economic classes and delivers affordability and computing functionality to the masses.<br />
<br />
Amazon is the tech company to watch as it is really focused on doing things differently and changing the way media content can be sold and delivered over the internet. It is also bringing tablet computing to the masses with a full function Tablet that retails for less than $199.00 which is pretty amazing. The overall impact on the consumer and business computer markets will be positive as an entirely new level of price performance will be introduced into the marketplace and will drive down hardware and software costs once people figure out how great Amazon's streaming delivery service works. It will also add additional validation proof and competitive differentiation for Amazons Cloud computing service as they can point to the fact that millions upon millions of users are streaming high definition videos to their tablets<br />
<br />
If you want to read the detail on how Bezos achieved what amounts to total domination of streamed and e-book content delivery please read the excellent cover article just published in the January 2012 issue of Wired Magazine written by Steven Levy; Amazon Owns The Internet "Jeff Bezos Started With Books. Now His Company Dominates The Web in More Ways Than You Think".<br />
<br />
Anyone who thinks that US companies today lack vision or innovation are dead wrong. Amazon is just one example of thinking out of the box and coming up with a way to deliver innovation and services using a whole new paradigm that is not only insanely efficient and cost-effective, but brings some of the latest and greatest computer technology to the masses who previously could not afford it.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-111174739039153474.post-10683015131820383992011-11-16T21:06:00.000-08:002011-11-16T21:26:49.895-08:00Ultrabook Trade-Offs & Ultrabook Alternatives<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Intel had a pretty good idea when it came up with a development fund and specification for the new Ultrabook PC Computer class. The idea was pretty well received by most of the PC notebook manufacturers as they are still recovering from the Netbook sales shortfall. They watched as Apple cleaned up with the Mac Book Air and took copious notes. Thin, sexy designed notebook computers like thin fashion models never seem to go out of style. The thinner the better is now the mantra and battle cry. The commoditization of notebook PCs has now established $1,000.00 as the magic price point for which consumers are budgeting their well earned dollars on spending for a brand new latest and greatest notebook. As we rapidly approach Black Friday and the 2011 holiday gift giving season approaches, I felt it would be important to explain the trade-offs of buying an Ultrabook versus buying a less expensive notebook PC.<br />
<br />
Form Factor<br />
It's all about the form factor of the notebook chassis in terms of figuring out what feature set you can include or exclude. The majority of notebooks measure at least and inch 1/2 thick and follow the usual 8.5" x 11 " form factor for a 13.3 inch screen. The solidity of the chassis and construction materials ultimately determines what the chassis of the notebook is made of. Is it plastic, metal, a combination of both, or some form of aluminum, titanium or even carbon fiber?. All of these materials or combinations of them go into the construction of the notebook chassis, covers and LCD frames. To design and engineer a notebook for mass production you need to take into account: power consumption, heat generation by the CPU, cooling requirements, ergonomics, and durability requirements. Making the notebook thin introduces many more challenges from the design perspective. How do you keep the notebook cool when you cannot have a huge honkin fan? How do you design a keyboard and touch pad that allows you to touch type error free at a decent clip? Is 2 USB ports enough? How about a built in HDMI port and a SD-HC-XC card reader writer? Forget about including an optical drive as the real estate on a.5-.75 inch thick notebook is extremely limited and fitting a battery that will offer 5 or more continuous hours of run time becomes even more of a challenge.<br />
<br />
In summary, buying a new Ultrabook will leave the buyer with the following trade-offs or feature shortcomings:<br />
<br />
1) Limited to just 2 USB ports<br />
2) No Dedicated ATI or Nvidia Graphics Cards - You are limited to the latest Intel HD internal Graphics chip that limits game play to less than 30 frames per second at 800 x 600 resolution for games like Halo and Call of Duty.<br />
3) No user removeable battery - Battery is integrated and can only be swapped out by a trained PC technician<br />
4) No HD LCD display. Most right now is 720i or 1600 x 900 resolution.<br />
5) Proprietary connectors that require conversion dongles for modems, ethernet and standard monitor and projector connections.<br />
6) Price- Most Ultrabooks are well over $1,000.00 in price, more like $1299.00 with a 128 GB SSD drive.<br />
7) No internal optical drive - but you can pack a portable external drive for those times when you need to read or write an optical disk when on the road.<br />
8) Good fitted cases (that actually fit the new Ultrabooks) are hard to find. You need to settle for MacBook Air Apple Notebook cases and bags which surprise cost twice as much as the cases and bags made for PC notebooks. I guess that Apple tax has really caught on with the accessory maaufacturers (InCase, Kensington, etc.)<br />
<br />
If you are looking for a good thin notebook computer that is not as thin as an Ultrabook but is much thinner than the average notebook, we're talking any notebook that is thinner than 1.25 inches....and will not break the bank; then you will find a bunch of computers out there that can be had for well under $800.00. Lots of models from Lenovo, HP, Sony, Acer, Asus and Samsung. Samsung has a value line of notebooks that start at around $599 called the Princeton Series 3. These notebooks are all less than an inch and 1/4" thick and have the latest Intel Core i3 Sandy Bridge Processors.<br />
<br />
The market for used, refurbished or last year's models notebooks is more robust than ever.You can find many deals on Ebay, at Office Depot, Office Max or your local Staples Fry's or Best Buy Store, and mail order companies like Newegg, B&H Photo, J&R, Buydig, Buy.com and Amazon are all blowing out notebooks at up to 50% off the original retail prices. There are so many options now for a consumer to purchase notebooks. One thing is for certain. The rapid acceleration of new models like the Ultrabooks brought into the market will ultimately lower the cost of buying a really good used, refurbished or older model new PC notebook computers for everyone.<br />
<br />
It's a great time to snag that notebook you've always wanted but couldn't quite afford.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-111174739039153474.post-92121520640817695372011-11-15T07:31:00.000-08:002011-11-18T08:13:31.466-08:00Samsung Series 9 13.3" Notebook Review - Mr Darth Vader-You're Notebook is Ready!!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i365.photobucket.com/albums/oo98/mrgondo/ebay/DSC01586.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://i365.photobucket.com/albums/oo98/mrgondo/ebay/DSC01586.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<b>Samsung Series 9 Model Number 900X3A-A03 Notebook Review - REVISED 11/17/2011</b><br />
<br />
Paging Mr Darth Vader....Your notebook is ready to go!!!!!!<br />
Greetings! Yours truly just received a Samsung Series 9 13.3 Notebook and I have to say, this notebook is about as close to notebook perfection.....at least for my requirements and what I've seen from the competition so far. This notebook comes with a super speedy 128 GB SSD drive, Windows 7 and a gorgeous ultra bright and sharp matte anti glare LCD screen that is backlit by LEDs and is rated at 400 Nits of Brightness which is brighter than most desktop LCD monitors. It measures about .62" thick and weighs a tad less than 3 pounds with the 6 cell Lithium Ion Battery installed. The entire notebook is constructed and finished with a material used on aircraft called duralumin which is at least two times stronger that aluminum. This notebook does not exhibit any flex when touch typing or just holding the notebook. The hinges are smooth and the display screen is so thin but solidly constructed where it does not bend or exhibit any tendency to flex or change shape. The entire keyboard is back lit by LEDs which is a very nice touch and the finish does attract fingerprints as the black surfaces are like magnets. I suggest that you keep a microfiber cloth packed in the computer bag as this is one of the few shortcomings (read design flaws) of this notebook. It runs cool with zero fan noise and the second generation Sandy Bridge Core i5 Intel processor is plenty fast for most business applications.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i365.photobucket.com/albums/oo98/mrgondo/ebay/DSC01593.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://i365.photobucket.com/albums/oo98/mrgondo/ebay/DSC01593.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
Thin is In!!! or.....Cuts Like a Knife! <br />
Samsung named it the Series 9 <br />
But they should have named it the Katana (Sword in Japanese)<br />
IMHO & with apologies to Bryan Adams</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
What about battery life? I ran it down with surfing, WiFi and Bluetooth on and MS-Word and Excel open (4 GB of RAM installed and the LCD brightness set to about 33% or 1/3 of the brightest setting and I got about 5 and 1/4 hours of continuous run-time on the battery before it shut down. For an Intel equipped Core i5 notebook weighing just 2.9 LBs that is a little more than 1/2" thick, the battery performance numbers are very impressive indeed.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i365.photobucket.com/albums/oo98/mrgondo/ebay/DSC01588.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://i365.photobucket.com/albums/oo98/mrgondo/ebay/DSC01588.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
Pay attention 007!!! Samsung also got the back-lit keyboard right.<br />
Q wants his Samsung Series 9 returned from the field<br />
in the same condition as when it originally left...<br />
Got that Bond?<br />
Bond to Q...You must be joking?<br />
Q to Bond... I never joke about my work 007!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I do not foresee any problems carrying this notebook anywhere as it is built to withstand the rigors of day-to-day business travel and usage and is supremely use-able. I am averaging a boot time from power off to the windows desktop in about 18 seconds. It comes to life after sleep mode in a few seconds and sips battery power when in the sleep mode.<br />
<br />
The only knock I can see on this notebook is the omission of a USB 3.0 port and having a built in micro SD memory card slot instead of a standard SD-HC-XC memory card slot reader writer. It just means you need to carry a USB SD card reader when you travel if you need to download photos from your digital camera.<br />
<br />
I also like the fact that this notebook on average is about two to three hundred dollars cheaper than a comparably configured MacBook Air.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i365.photobucket.com/albums/oo98/mrgondo/ebay/DSC01590.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://i365.photobucket.com/albums/oo98/mrgondo/ebay/DSC01590.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
Samsung even figured out how to take the flex out of the chassis and LCD frame.<br />
The entire notebook feels substantial......almost as if it was carved out of a solid block of titanium.<br />
I can attest to the fact that it is a helluva a lot stronger and durable than it looks in the photos.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I really believe this is what Intel had in mind when they came up with the design specification for the Ultrabook. Take the Samsung Series 9 design and see if you can come with a package that can retail for under $1,000.00 with some design and material construction trade-offs.<br />
<br />
I call the Samsung Series 9 Notebook the uber Ultrabook much in the same way the original Audi Quattro was affectionately nick-named the uber Quattro.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m184/Frezzy_fr/Rally%20Cards/Audi/CPQuattroS1Rohrl1985.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="282" src="http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m184/Frezzy_fr/Rally%20Cards/Audi/CPQuattroS1Rohrl1985.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
Audi S1 World Rally Champion Car 1981<br />
Driven By Walter Rohrl<br />
aka Uber Quattro</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1