Sad but oddly interesting

Julie was reading our local obituaries for some reason this morning and stumbled onto this.  I've changed some of the names and facts to protect identities.  However, this is so tragically sad and interesting I had to share it:

My dear mother,  Margaret Walters, died on Dec 2, 2011 after a lengthy and involuntary confinement at El Camino Hospital at the age of 89.  Mom was born the daughter of ....and graduated at the top of her class at Wellington High School in Illinois.  She was very proud of her hometown, returning for over 50 years to her high school reunions.

My mother was an extremely intelligent woman and wanted desperately to go on to college immediately after graduation, her grandfather offering to pay her expenses at University of Illinois, to which she had been accepted.

Her father disallowed that, stating that 'girls only get married'.  Her older brother,  Eli, went in her stead.  Eli flunked out after one semester.  My dear mother, over the objections, constant interference, and sabotage by my father, John Walters, finally earned her Bachelor of Arts degree on December 23, 1994 at the age of 72 and her Masters of Arts in Sociology at the age of 76, both from San Jose State University.

FIND THE FACT game

I just read the transcript by Nancy Pelosi this morning and decided to play my favorite game "FIND THE FACT" after reading it.  Wanna play along?  Ok.  Here we go.

Here's a Transcript of her remarks:

“Christmas is 10 days away,” said Pelosi at a press briefing on Capitol Hill today. “The president and Democrats in Congress have been very clear. We're not going home without enacting a payroll tax cut for America's working families and extending unemployment insurance for millions of Americans.”

“The payroll tax cut that the president proposed would put $1,500 in the pockets of 160 million Americans,” she said. “The unemployment insurance extension is not only good for individuals. It has a macroeconomic impact. As macroeconomic advisers have stated, it would make a difference of 600,000 jobs to our economy.”

Let's Play!!

ROUND 1:  Is the fact there are 160 million Americans working?

Oh... sorry.  No.  There are only 140 Million people employed in the US... not 160 Million.

ROUND 2:  Is the fact The payroll tax cut that the president proposed would put $1,500 in the pockets of 160 million Americans?

Oh... sorry.  No.  Aside from there not being 160M Americans in the workforce.. for the 2% payroll tax to put $1,500 in the pocket of anyone they would need to make $75,000 per year ($75,000*2% = $1,500).  

Oops.. but 88.5% of workers in the US don't make $75,000.  in fact, the average worker makes slightly more than $24,000.  In reality, only about 17.5 Million workers would get $1,500. Meaning:  88.5% of working Americans would get less than $1,500.

ROUND 3:  Is the fact:  As macroeconomic advisers have stated, it would make a difference of 600,000 jobs to our economy?

Oh... sorry.  No.  Besides.. she never really said it would ADD or SUBTRACT jobs in our economy.  She simply said it would 'make a difference' to some jobs in our economy.  No, this is political-speak - and as such cannot be considered a fact.


ROUND 4:  Is the fact:  Christmas is 10 days away?

Ahhhhhhh... yes.  There we found it.  Nancy Pelosi did get one fact right in her statement!  Well done!! 

Kindle Touch Review

I'm a relatively voracious reader. Years ago, I started walking.  A lot.  To do the amount of walking I do a day takes some time. Soon thereafter I learned that I could combine my love of reading with walking and kill two birds with one stone. It's something I love to do.  My colleagues at work can confirm this as I am known there as 'that guy that walks everyday at lunchtime reading a book'.

I haven't owned or spent much time with Kindles - so I don't bring any particular experience that allows me to compare the Kindle Touch to previous Kindle versions.  However, I do own an iPad and have spent hours and hours reading on that - through the iBooks e-reader as well as a Kindle App.

My two-word review of the Kindle Touch:  Buy One!!

There's only a few technical things you need to know about a Kindle.  First, they use a display technology called e-ink that creates very sharp text on a non-reflective display.  There are two huge advantages to this technology:  it's amazingly easy to read in bright sunlight and it doesn't strain your eyes like reading from a computer monitor type display will.  That means... if you read a lot... or love reading outside - buy a Kindle Touch*. 

Second,  it's ridiculously light. I weighed a couple paperback books on a kitchen scale one day at Target.  Very scientific, I know.  I found that a book on the thinner side weighed 7-8 ounces while a book on the fatter side weighed between 9-10 ounces.  Obviously, hard cover books weigh more.  The Kindle Touch weighs around 7.5 oz.  It's lighter than most books.  That means you can carry it around in one hand for long periods of time with no fatigue.  Sweet!!  By comparison - the iPad weighs around 1.5 lbs (the iPad2 is around 1.3).  It's not hard for such a manly-man as myself to carry - but it's definitely a two-handed proposition.

Thirdly, it's a well-integrated system.  That sounds complex.. but all I mean is that the entire process of acquiring, physically getting the book onto the Kindle Touch and reading it once it's on there is really well thought out.  For instance, you can buy a book on Amazon.com and it will pretty much like magic show up on your Kindle**.  This process takes less time than going to the library and standing in line to check a book out.

Oh, and if you're the type that likes to beat decisions into the ground... you could agonize over the Kindle vs. Nook... or Kindle Keyboard vs Kindle Touch questions.  My suggestion:  don't bother.  Buy the Kindle Touch.  Why?  Simple.. it is the winner.  Remember VHS vs Beta?  Remember Laser Disks vs Blue Ray?  Remember Facebook vs MySpace?  Remember keyboards on phones before touch displays?  Save yourself the time... Kindle wins.  That is all.

Note:  For reading in the dark or indoors - or technical books or PDFs.. keep the iPad!!

* You may be aware of the Kindle Fire.  This e-reader has a display that is similar to a computer screen or an iPad screen.  This type screen can produce beautiful images and text.. but you'll strain to read them outdoors.

** This comment assumes you set your Kindle up to be part of a wireless network.

Impatient Me

Amazon.com and the USPS are killing me right now!

Back Story:  I recently ordered a Kindle for my birthday.  Delivery time was estimated at between Dec 5 and Dec 10.  I hate waiting that long.. but also hate to pay for shipping.  Quite the dilemma.

Present Situation:  The good news is that having ordered it on November 28th in the afternoon.. it actually shipped early the morning of  Nov 29th (3 am).  And, the delivery date was updated on my order to Dec 1!  I was so excited to think I would actually get it this week instead of next.

Agonizing Progress:  Amazon.com is amazing.  It has the best ordering system and tracking system in the business.  So, tracking the order to a snap.  However... it is challenging my patience.  You see......

The package left Arizona at 3 am Nov 29th and made it to Hayward, CA (about 20-25 miles away) at around 9:20pm the same day; meaning it took roughly 18 hours to go from Arizona to Hayward.  It then sat in Hayward for 7 hours before being sent to Santa Clara.  That's where I live!!  It took another 7 hours minutes to arrive.  That was yesterday at 11:46am.

In summary:  It took around 32 hours total (18+7+7) to go from Phoenix Arizona to right down the street from me.

And now it has remained undelivered in Santa Clara... for over 27 hours.

This is killing me :)