Fall in New England

New England Trees.

Famous apple pie baked by Kristen. (The apples were from our day laborer apple harvest.

Our first family Jack-O-Lantern.

T-mobile G1 with Android

I thought I would be a tech geek today and speak about the T-mobile G1. I am not going to go into all of the finer specs you can easily read from a more techy website or T-mobile. I am going to go into a few tidbits that thought were cool and share a few experiences.

First, my dad bought the phone in Costco on Saturday. He was told that he had to get the data plan to access the Internet and use the phone. "Really?!" I thought. So we tested it out. My dad bought the data service with the phone and found he could use it like he should, after all this is what the rep said. We then removed his sim card and replaced it with my pay-as-you-go sim card. Would the phone work? You bet!! We made phone calls and even successfully browsed the Internet using wifi. My suggesting now is to play with the data for the 30 day trial period, then cancel and go back to the original plan.

So what does this mean? Well, you can have your friend who has a T-mobile data plan put their sim card into your new G1, activate the phone, then replace your sim card and you should be good to go..assuming you have some other T-mobile service.

Second, one would think with such a cool gadget you could do cool things like read a pdf or word file. Well, not so fast. In order to read a word or excel file you have to view them through google documents. We tried viewing a pdf that way and had no luck. Using an online pdf viewer was hit or miss since flash enabled apps (like http://www.pdfmenot.com/) don't work either. We were able to view a pdf using http://view.samurajdata.se/. A little app called MultiReader 1.0 for the Android system may work; we just never got around to it.

Wifi was great. Opening files was another thing altogether.

Third, The camera is nothing short of abysmal. Sure it is 3mp, but has limited functionality. It does autofocus, but does not zoom, record video, have color correction, etc...

Finally, the battery is not long lasting especially while using wifi. I guess this is no surprise. Its a good thing Android is quite peppy so that time is not wasted. Although the folder arrangement could use some work. All in all, this could become one awesome machine once apps are made to utilize all of its cool features (camera, gps, wifi, integration with google, phone, keyboard, etc). I am definitely for this amazing machine despite its minor flaws.

How will you vote? 'Cause I am lost in this election

I discovered a nifty website thank to PCmagazine. It is http://glassbooth.org. You first select the issues that matter the most to you. Be careful, because you only get 20 points with which to work. The following screen is a quiz that asks you questions related to the topics you are most concerned with. Once you have completed the quiz, you are shown which candidate shares your views the most. You can then view why you match so well within each category where you can read statements from the candidate and see how the candidate would answer the question you answered. You can also see how you fared with all of the other candidates.

My dilemma, as it has been this whole election was not improved by this website. I am a registered republican, but am very divided in my conservative and liberal approaches to government. I'd probably classify myself as an independent, but I have a hard time being the lone man outside the two big parties. Besides, I like to vote in primary elections and would rather not have to be limited by the state I live to decide to do so.

So, how did I fare on http://glassbooth.org? My scores are below.

Barack Obama shares a 73% similarity with your beliefs

Taxes and Budget 63% Find out why
Science 75% Find out why
Civil Liberties and Domestic Security 75% Find out why
Iraq and Foreign Policy 75% Find out why
Trade and Economics 75% Find out why
Environment and Energy 100% Find out why
Immigration 58% Find out why
Health Care 63% Find out why
Education 100% Find out why
Gay Rights 100% Find out why
Abortion and Birth Control 50% Find out why

However, John McCain shares a 68% similarity with your beliefs.

A 5% difference.

Taxes and Budget 50% Find out why
Science 75% Find out why
Civil Liberties and Domestic Security 88% Find out why
Iraq and Foreign Policy 67% Find out why
Trade and Economics 25% Find out why
Environment and Energy 100% Find out why
Immigration 42% Find out why
Health Care 88% Find out why
Education 75% Find out why
Gay Rights 100% Find out why
Abortion and Birth Control 50% Find out why

So how will I vote? I'll see on Nov 4.


Just a note, I did the test again, this time switching my category priorities a bit, but answered the same questions the same and the new ones as I thought I should. Now John McCain shares a 70% similarity and Barack Obama shares a 60% similarity. Perhaps I should just flip a coin?!

Nobel Prize in Chemistry Awarded for Fluorescent Proteins

Congratulations to: Osamu Shimomura, 80, an emeritus professor at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass. and Boston University Medical School; Martin Chalfie, 61, a professor of biological sciences at Columbia University; and Roger Y. Tsien, 56, a professor of pharmacology at University of California, San Diego.


RGyN Zebrafish Photo by Joshua Cameron

A few have taken the art of fluorescence to the extreme:


Artwork by Nathan Shaner, photography by Paul Steinbach



Brainbow Confocal image by Tamily Weissman. Mouse by Jean Livet and Ryan Draft.

Read me if you can

Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Cazry ins't it? So mcuh for lranenig our ABC's or how to splel wrdos.

The Bailout Alternative, A Common Sense Fix

I'll be the first to admit I am no economist, but having read HR1424 -well not all of it, but enough, I am thoroughly disappointed. What a waste of billions of dollars!! True, we need to do something, but spend lots of money we don't have to solve a problem that began much the same way!!??

Courtesy of Dave Ramsey.

Years of bad decisions and stupid mistakes have created an economic nightmare in this country, but $700 billion in new debt is not the answer. As a tax-paying American citizen, I will not support any congressperson who votes to implement such a policy. Instead, I submit the following three steps:

Common Sense Plan.

I. INSURANCE

A. Insure the subprime bonds/mortgages with an underlying FHA-type insurance. Government-insured and backed loans would have an instant market all over the world, creating immediate and needed liquidity.

B. In order for a company to accept the government-backed insurance, they must do two things:

1. Rewrite any mortgage that is more than three months delinquent to a 6% fixed-rate mortgage.
a. Roll all back payments with no late fees or legal costs into the balance. This brings homeowners current and allows them a chance to keep their homes.
b. Cancel all prepayment penalties to encourage refinancing or the sale of the property to pay off the bad loan. In the event of foreclosure or short sale, the borrower will not be held liable for any deficit balance. FHA does this now, and that encourages mortgage companies to go the extra mile while working with the borrower—again limiting foreclosures and ruined lives.

2. Cancel ALL golden parachutes of EXISTING and FUTURE CEOs and executive team members as long as the company holds these government-insured bonds/mortgages. This keeps underperforming executives from being paid when they don’t do their jobs.

C. This backstop will cost less than $50 billion—a small fraction of the current proposal.


II. MARK TO MARKET

A. Remove mark to market accounting rules for two years on only subprime Tier III bonds/mortgages. This keeps companies from being forced to artificially mark down bonds/mortgages below the value of the underlying mortgages and real estate.

B. This move creates patience in the market and has an immediate stabilizing effect on failing and ailing banks—and it costs the taxpayer nothing.


III. CAPITAL GAINS TAX

A. Remove the capital gains tax completely. Investors will flood the real estate and stock market in search of tax-free profits, creating tremendous—and immediate—liquidity in the markets. Again, this costs the taxpayer nothing.

B. This move will be seen as a lightning rod politically because many will say it is helping the rich. The truth is the rich will benefit, but it will be their money that stimulates the economy. This will enable all Americans to have more stable jobs and retirement investments that go up instead of down. This is not a time for envy, and it’s not a time for politics. It’s time for all of us, as Americans, to stand up, speak out, and fix this mess.


My economic outlook follows a pattern like this if nothing is done to stave off what appears to be the inevitable:


I am no longer a grad student and I am not a professor.....well, I am a Senior Lecturer, Post-doctoral fellow, and I am applying for a permanent job. Do any of those count?