Lowering the Bar

Here is a little list of stuff.

I got a Little Caesars (<- hard word to spell) today for $5.  Now, this is not a great pizza but it's not bad for the price and it is ready the moment you ask for it.

Breakfast Croissants (<-another hard word to spell) from Burger King are a favorite of mine.

I love McDonald's double cheeseburgers, especially when then are on sale for a buck a piece.

Popeye's fried chicken is roughly 5 times better than KFC.

Google's chrome browser is better than Firefox (faster) and way better than IE8.

I hear the new droid phones are better than the i-phones but I don't have firsthand knowledge.  I do know that the droid has none of the app restrictions that the i-phones have so there will soon my more apps for that phone. Also, droids come out  (undated) every couple of months where the i-phones are about every 18 months.

A net book costs a little more than an external hard drive.  If you need an extra 160 gig of storage, get a net book for about $300 and you end up with a spare computer as well as storage.

The grande meal at Taco Bell is a good deal no matter who you are.

Some predictions:

Who will come out on top in the battle of operating systems?
Apple is better than Microsoft.  It always has been but Microsoft still rules.  However, the Google operating system, Chrome, will be so much better that Apple and Microsoft will retreat to small players until they fade away.

Who will win the phone war?
Apple's latest i-phone is so crappy that Apple's stock has fallen almost 8% since it was release.  Microsoft is a wanna be.  Blackberry is like IBM hanging on to typewriter production for too long.  Google's Droid phones are as capable as the new i-phones with the only real difference being that they work.  Also, Google does not have all those restrictions on what company can use the phone and who can make apps for the phone.  Google is more interested in making the phone better than in adding to a pile of profits too high to count.

What will the browser of the future be?
Safari will go away with Apple.  IE8 is already dead and gone.  I use Firefox out of habit.  When I need speed and reliability, I use Google's Chrome.  Firefox 4.0 is coming out but all it's really trying to do is catch up with Chrome.

By the time Apple is able to make an affordable, non-crashing I-pad, I expect Google to come out with something better and cheaper.

What will the office suite of the next 5 years be?
I was one of the first to dump Office 2003 for Office 2007.  Big mistake.  When I bought a net book, I went out and found an old version of Office 2003 and installed that.  Office 2010 is out now.  It is just Office 2007 in a new box.  Don't buy it.  It is a downgrade put out there with the belief that you will buy it because it's new.  I have tried the Open Source Office suite and found it clunky and often incompatible.  Google Docs is free but not yet ready to take over for Microsoft.  So, Microsoft's product is getting worse while Google is now in the game with a reputation for making things better and then giving it away for free.  Who do you think will win this one?

Tomorrow is my 9th and last day in Ohio for about 15 days.  I am off to Croatia for a vacation and then to Hungary for a week.  Then back to Ohio.

up up and away!

j

Time to Thoughtfully Consider the Truth

"Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone."

John Maynard Keynes

I believe there are people amongst us that don't merely put themselves ahead of another.  They put themselves ahead of an entire country.  I am talking, of course, about our elected officials.

Let me tell you where I stand because it certainly isn't in the middle  of the road.  I sort of bounce back and forth from one side to the other. 

I like Obama.  I don't think he is perfect but neither am I.  I think he is trying to do the right thing for the country.   He and I don't always agree on what that means but I am okay with that.  I have never felt that he was lying to me; that he had a secret agenda. I also never thought he was a slave to corporate interests.

I think George W. Bush was the worse thing to every happen to this country.  The Great Depression was less harmful.  He entered us into two wars for one of the following reasons (1) He believed there were weapons of mass destruction when there was no evidence - this is scary because,on the one hand, he thought he was doing the right thing.  On the other hand, he was too stupid to know he had been duped.  or (2) He did it for his ego. or (3) His staff convinced him it was the right thing to do.  They convinced him to enter into a war unprovoked.

W. also handed off the worse economy since the Great Depression.  He also handed over the worse international reputation ever.  Trust me, no one was on our side when Bush was in office.  No one.

What has Obama done?  Health care reform.  Financial reform.  Re-established our position as the country that others look up to. 

Let's take a look at these.  Because of Health Care reform, I think my bill will be higher.  I don't know this but I suspect as much.  Is this perfect?  No.  However, a lot more people will be insured because of this and if I have to pay for some of that, I will.  I would have liked to see a stronger bill but the Do Nothing GOP got in the way.  Those of you that say "Socialism" should read a book.  Socialism is the redistribution of wealth.  When we invaded Iraq, my wealth got redistributed to Haliburton and the rest of Cheney's bunch.   By the way, I believe we went to war because Cheney had a financial interest in it happening.  Face it, when a pothole is filled using public funds, wealth is being redistributed.  I am for some social spending.  I am not in favor of Bridges to nowhere, but I like a strong military, good education and healthcare for everyone.

Bush allowed the economy to fail.  It started way before him but for 8 years, he did nothing to change the path.  The economy now belongs to Obama.  There are those that, amazingly, believe the poor economy is his fault.  They think he has a wand that can grant prosperty to all.  Those that have "read a book" understand that the economy does not turn on a dime.  In fact, you don't want it to.  If we could become prosperous overnight, that means we could fail just as quickly.  It takes time.  The best minds in the world are on our side.  They are advising Obama.  He is not in a back room with a magic 8-ball. 

What has the GOP been doing the last 18 months.  First of all, they said "socialism" and people listened.  Its like the RED SCARE from the 50's.  It's more impactful to say "socialism" than "Obama wants everyone to be healthy.  The health care package they fought so hard to get rid of was nearly identical to the one Romney passed as governor.  Now he thinks it's evil because it is the only thing he can say.  He certainly can't say, "That Obama has an idea that I agree with completely."  His position of power would be lessened.

The GOP fought financial reform resulting in a bill that is much weaker than I would liked to have seen.  Why?  Because they can point at Obama and blame him when it has a weaker impact than a strong bill.

Now, Gingrich wants to run for president.  This is the guy that made a big deal out of Clinton's "stained dress" incident and then a short time later was found to be in the middle of his own extra-marital affair.  What a hypocrite.

I know a person that blames Obama for the oil spill.  Its as if he were in on a BP meeting and said, "Screw safety."  I think all of our elected officials are responsible.  The BP thing was years in the making.  My point here is that how could an educated person believe that Obama caused that spill? My guess is that they believe it because someone told them it was true.  I recommend an occasional fact check.

I was a Republican until a few months ago.  I am in favor of a strong military and a small government. However, I am not in favor of those that say, "Look at how I go to church.  Vote for me."  I cannot support those that put themselves before our country.  They would rather see millions not have health care, so they can gain one or two political points.  They would rather blame than solve.  They would rather lie to you to gain favor rather than tell you an inconvenient truth.

I simply cannot support the GOP.  I know that there are those of you that do. I am glad you do.  If my opinion was the only thing I had to go by, the world would be in a much worse condition.  I have changed my mind in the past and will certainly do so in the future. 

I don't think I will ever come to see Palin or Gingrich as anything other than talk.  I hope they both run for president.  When that happens, the truth will be much harder to hide.  I think they will stand on the stage in a presidential debate and the most innocent amongst us will point and say, "Look Mom, the GOP has no clothes."

up, up and away!

j