Hillary lies again; what she isn't telling you.

"Tax cuts for the wealthy" is a favorite complaint of Hillary and many Democrats. The "evil rich" aren't paying their share. Well apparently, the Congressional Budget Office doesn't support that contention. In fact, the wealthy are paying more taxes now than ever before. From Nealz Nuze:

[...] This comes from the Congressional Budget Office. Hillary has access to this information, as do all members of the media. So ... let's see what the Congressional Budget Office has to say about this "tax cuts for the wealthy" stuff.

First .. here's a chart you can refer to for verification. This chart was prepared by the Congressional Budget Office. There are two lines on this graph, one for the bottom 80% of taxpayers, the other for the top 1% of taxpayers. The trend there is so obvious that even Democrat voters should be able to see what is going on. The share of federal taxes paid by the evil rich is constantly going up, while the share paid by the bottom 80% is on a steady downward trend. Bear in mind that this chart shows a percentage of ALL federal taxes, not just income taxes.

Now ... some bullet points for you to consider:

• The richest 1% of households in the U.S. are now paying a record 27.6% of all federal taxes and a record of 38.8% of all federal income taxes.
  
• The richest 1% of households only earn about 17% of all income.
  
• The top 1.1 million households (the evil rich) pay a greater share of the income tax burden than the bottom 90 million households combined.
  
• The chart and the report from the CBO shows that the nation's tax burden has been shifting away from typical Americans to the wealthiest households since the early 1980s.

You are never going to see this chart or read this information on the news pages of America's leading left-wing newspapers, nor will you see this information presented on network newscasts. Why not? Because the more the people of this nation understand what is really happening with our tax situation, the less the demagoguery of people like Hillary Clinton --- that "tax cuts for the wealthy" line --- will work on the voters. Informed voters are the enemies of the MoveOn Democrat Party. The media admits that Hillary appeals to less educated voters. Well, there's no sense educating these voters. If you do, they might not be Hillary supporters any more?

Something else we need to cover. These evil, filthy rich people that are so much fun to hate ... these are the people who invest. These are the people who create the jobs. These are the people who start new businesses. These are the people the very people who hate them will have to depend on for a better job or a growing economy.

Spread the word. The other side is sure getting out the "tax cuts on the wealthy" line. We need to do a better job of getting the truth out there.

It's taxes on corporations that cause people to invest their money overseas; American jobs go overseas as well. You can't have your cake and eat it too, no matter how much Democrats like Hillary lie and say that you can.
     

Benjamin Franklin's 302nd Birthday

It's today! Here is an interesting Ben Franklin quote:

"If you would not be forgotten,
as soon as you are dead and rotten,
either write things worth reading,
or do things worth the writing."


Scientist, inventor, statesman, printer, philosopher, musician, and economist... he was all of these things. Thank You Ben. The world is a better place because you were here.

Benjamin Franklin: Glimpses of the Man
     

The French go about their business as usual

cartoon: Al-Jarida, Kuwait, January 15, 2008
From Tiberge at the Brussel's Journal: Sarko and the Saudis

[...] This is the sixth Muslim-Arab country Sarkozy has visited (if my count is accurate) to whom he has either promised or given nuclear energy for peaceful use. Libya, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Jordan and now Arabia. He is scheduled to visit the Emirates where he will make the same offer.

This is the first time I recall him saying that nuclear energy is a right. It’s quite a sweeping statement. He means, of course, for peaceful purposes, but the underlying potential for something far more sinister cannot be disregarded.

Business was also part of his agenda. Besides a criticism of the price of oil, which he considers to be too high, Nicolas Sarkozy promised, on leaving Ryad, “large contracts” for French businesses, and spoke of “potentially 40 billion euros,” especially in armaments.

It might be worthwhile to point out that the news reports mention nothing about Sarkozy having criticized the treatment of Christians in Saudi Arabia. He was critical of the price of oil, and discreetly critical of the condition of women, but not a word on the fate of Christians. [...]

France has an agenda very different from the Anglosphere. This isn't surprising. It just must not be forgotten.

We hear so much about how "conservative" France's President Sarko is. Yet what they mean by conservative is very different from what we believe the term to mean. Here is another article by Tiberge. And the title isn't referring to Sarkozy's sex partners:

Who Is Sarkozy in Bed With?

[...] Nicolas Sarkozy has no interest or affinity for ANYTHING that isn't left-wing. Yes, he’s accused of being a “capitalist” because he sails on the yachts of his rich friends. And he’s accused of being friendly to religion because of ONE speech he gave in Rome (that will turn out to benefit Muslims, most likely). And he is accused of being an ARCH CONSERVATIVE because he wants to deport 25,000 illegals a year, allowing the remaining 575,000 on French soil to collect welfare. [...]

The article reports on an event in France where Tony Blair made a very socialist speech (and btw, say's in America he would be a Democrat), and was joined by Sarkozy on the stage, who praised the speech of his fellow socialist.

And then there is Sarkozy's ideas of freedom of religion... read the whole thing. It's not long, and full of insights. I don't find this surprising; one expects socialists to be socialists. It's just important to remember that what's called conservative in Europe is... not what we would call it. And France is definitly marching to the sound of a different drummer, as they are about to take the lead of the European Union. I see the potential for France to make a lot of big messes.
     

An Anti-Christ, VS being anti-Christ

From the Memeri blog:



That's kinda rich, comming from people who aren't exactly pro-christian. Oh yes, they do believe in Christ... as a "corpse on a stick".

The DNC could use these videos, as it also expresses their point of view quite well. The Democrats and Hamas often use the same talking points.
     

Huckabee and Clemency: The Song

I said I was going to do more posts about music this year! Check this song out:



It's ironic that while the song is funny, it so clearly points out why this man is dangerous. How somebody with such demonstrably bad judgment can even think they deserve to be president of the United States is astounding.

I admit he can be a very charismatic speaker. That's all the more reason to check the facts. About his supporters, I can only guess that they are "emotional thinkers", and aren't actually paying attention to the facts. Perhaps the Huckster thinks we're all not paying attention? Guess again, dude. Some of us can and do READ.

Here's more details on Huckabee and his Clemency decisions:

Huck not for law and order

Huckabee - not the law & Order candidate

Huckabee: "Dear Wayne. . . My desire is that you be released from prison"

It's bad enough that he let murders go free and kill again. But he doesn't even have the moral backbone to deal with crime in his own family. Look how he used his position as governor to cover-up for his son, who was being investigated for hanging a dog and disemboweling it while it was still alive:

Huckabee: Kids Who Kill

What does this tell you about his sympathy for killers? Bad judgment is an understatement. Shame on anyone who votes for this crook.

Hat tip to TammyBruce.com for the video.
     

A Microsoft & OLPC Lovefest? A $75 Laptop?

In recent news, there has been a split between the OLPC Projct and Intel. I'm not surprised, it was just PR for Intel.

Microsoft, on the other hand, seems to be getting on just fine with the OLPC project. OK, "Lovefest" might be too strong a word, but it does sound like they are getting along:

CES: OLPC, Microsoft build dual-boot Windows, Linux OS

One Laptop Per Child Project (OLPC) and Microsoft are developing a dual-boot system to put both Linux and Windows on laptops.

"We are working with them [Microsoft developers] very closely to make a dual-boot system so that, like on an Apple, you can boot either one up. The version that's up and running of Windows on the XO is very fast, it's very, very successful. We're working very hard to do both," said Nicholas Negroponte, chairman of OLPC...

Whodathunkit? I think MS realizes what a unique piece of hardware OLPC has created; they want a piece of the action. Negroponte is no doubt happy to have a monied partner helping them.

I have read reports elsewhere that claim Microsoft denies the Dual Boot story. But it would seem the partnership is doing well. Negroponte seems to think so.

In another bit of news, Mary Lou Jepsen is leaving the OLPC Project to start her own hardware company. She created the amazing indoor/outdoor computer screen the OLPC XO laptop uses.

Jepsen claims that if she had been allowed to take more risks, she could have got the price of the XO down as low as $75.00! Will she do that now?

The $75 computer?

When the OLPC (One Laptop per Child) was first proposed, much was made of how impossible it was that there could ever be a $100 computer. Well, the naysayers were right. It turned out to be a $200 computer. Now, former OLPC Chief Technology Officer Mary Lou Jepsen says she can make a $75 laptop. [...]

I think I read elsewhere that Jepsen will still be a consultant to the OLPC project, and has agreed to sell them parts at cost. She wants her new company to be more than a design house, she wants to actually make parts and devices. Perhaps a $75.00 computer? I expect we are going to see some great things from her and her new company, "Pixel Qi".

I see much cheaper computers available soon... for everyone!
     

NASA goes Back to the Future

I remember when I was a teenager, when the first American Space Shuttle was unveiled. It was kinda fat and chunky looking, but it was still a real spaceship. It was a beginning. I was sure that within my lifetime, we would eventually have spaceships like the elegant Orion Space Clipper that was featured in the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey":




Wow. Well, here it is, 2008. NASA is going to retire our clunky space shuttle by 2010, and introduce a newer, next-generation spacecraft to replace it. Coincidentally, it's going to be called "Orion", and will be used to shuttle astronauts to and from the International space station, AND to the moon and back. That's right, we're going back to the moon, and it's scheduled to happen no later than 2020. Then, on to Mars...

Fabulous! Soon we will get to see this new Orion spaceship, which is being built right now. But we don't have to wait until it's finished to see it, NASA has already made the plans public! So here it is, the NEW Orion space shuttle:




But, but... that's an APOLLO space CAPSULE, isn't it? Well, it's a similar design. It's actually 2 and 1/2 times larger than the Apollo version, it can hold up to six astronauts for shuttle missions, and four astronauts for Lunar missions. Here is a picture of the Orion with a lunar module attached:




Looks familiar, doesn't it? I had trouble deciding wether to call this post "Back to the Future" or "Everything old is new again".

So what happened to our beautiful Orion Space Clipper? Why are we going back to designs from 40 years ago? There's two major reasons I can think of: cost, and safety.

These old designs are tried and true. We know they work. Update them with new technology, and they work really well. I also suspect that with new technology, they are cheaper to build than anything else. Here is a picture of the new Orion capsule with it's solar cells and antennae dish deployed:






We are simply building on old technology, using what we know works, and making it better. Click here for more pics of the Orion spacecraft.

The space shuttle aircraft we've used for the past three decades are made from a more bold and ambitious design, but are also more complex and fraught with dangers. Consider the Challenger accident, the shuttle that exploded after launching; the Columbia burning up while returning to earth.

The Challenger crew could not be saved. However, with the new Orion design, the crew can be saved if the rocket explodes on the launch pad, or in the air. The capsule has a rescue rocket on top, to lift it way from danger.

The Columbia crew died when their damaged heat shield failed on reentry. The Orion capsule's heat shield is protected from damage during liftoff, and is a round shape that is easier to build and maintain.

Every time astronauts die, people call for an end to the space program. By going back to old designs and improving them, we are saving both money and lives. It's hard to argue with that. So I may not see this in my lifetime:





But hopefully I will see this:





If we have to sacrifice elegant design for the safety of our astronauts and the efficiency of our space program budget, then so be it. As we learn more we can get fancier; but we need to grow into it at a natural pace. Slow but steady progress with it's attendant successes will get us where we want to go.

The new back-to-the-moon mission is called the Constellation Program. The link goes to NASA's website, where you can find out lots more details about the mission and photos of the various spacecraft being developed. I had lots of fun looking around there. If you are a space fan, be sure and check it out.






It's back to the future... are you ready? I am, let's go!





First, the moon once again. Then look out Mars, here we come...
     

Which Operating System are You?

It's one of those silly Quizzes. I did it, and got:


Which OS are You?

Eeew. Windows 98, an OS I know quite well, from having to struggle with it and it's problems for YEARS. It's the OS most responsible for making me want to move to Linux.

Dang, maybe I am a bit flaky, I should know better than to take these geek quizzes, especially late at night...
     

Bicycle Path?

This isn't my idea of fun. One wrong twitch and you're over the edge and falling. I've had nightmares that look a lot like this:







Look how narrow the path is in some places; I'd have trouble WALKING on this path. Fear of hights. Makes me light-headed just looking at the pics!

source: www.singletrackworld.com/forum

You can see more bicycling pics from the same photographer here:
www.freezefocus.com

You can see more scary roads pics here: Scary Roads
     

Fred Thompson tells it like it is

It's not as if he hasn't said these kinds of things before. But I think it's the first time such comments by him have gotten major coverage on national TV. Therefore, it's the first time many people have heard it from him.

We need to hear a LOT more from Fred. Go Fred Go!


UPDATE 02:10pm

Michelle Malkin has a post about possible combinations of candidates for a GOP ticket. She offers a poll where you can vote for your favorite:

Choose or lose? A look at two possible GOP ticket pairings


In the poll four pairing combinations are offered, and a "none" option. I voted for Thompson - Romney, and so far that combination is the most popular. In fact it's far ahead of the others.


Related Links:

Fred kicks Huckabutt

The SC GOP debate: Fred was the winner
     

Why Europe is a bad example to follow

Belgium has been unable to form a government since their last election. So the Belgian King is simply re-appointing the old government that was rejected by the voters. In the end, Belgian votes mean nothing.

European voters rejected ratifiying the constitution for the new European Union. Now European leaders are pushing to have it ratified anyway, without a referendum in any of the member countries.

What are European votes worth? It's sham democracy.

Michael Huntsman at the Brussels Journal examines some of the differences between us and them:

American Democracy v. European Oligarchy

[...] One feature of American democracy is that a considerable amount of political discourse is founded on the Constitution which thus remains a living and breathing embodiment of both the spirit of a Revolution and of the modern United States.

For example, the rights of states to conduct and legislate upon their own affairs is something which continues to engage politics and trouble the Supreme Court, with States fiercely protecting their own rights as against the Federal power with terrier-like tenacity.

[...]

In contrast the bombastic overblown popcorn rhetoric of the Constitution of the European Union is routinely debauched by a largely self-perpetuating oligarchy which mouths the mantras of democracy and transparency but which behind closed doors subverts that very same democracy. And given the deliberate obscurity and bloated nature of its language, no citizen of the Union will find himself inclined to use the Constitution as a touchstone for anything: he is, given its sheer size and weight, more likely to use it as a door-stop.

If you bridle at the phrase ‘self-perpetuating oligarchy’, just ask yourself what the current government of Belgium, which lost the general election in June 2007 but has recently been reappointed is if it is not such? [...]

This article starts of by looking at the 1776 pre-able to the constitution of the state of New Hampshire; it ends with looking at the concept of revolution in Britain's past... and how it may need to be revived in the present.


Related Links:

The New EU: Definitely a Superstate

European schools demonize capitalism
     

Noahpad PC with Strange Keyboard

A computer with the keyboard on the BACK of the device? Where you type only using your fingers, not your thumbs? Where you see the keyboard keys (and your finger placement) THROUGH the screen?

The keyboard is actually a touchpad, but it still seems like it would be awkward to use. Fortunately it can be used like a regular laptop keyboard as well:



E-Lead Electronic Noahpad UMPC gets official

[...] The two 2.76-inch squares are actually clickable touch pads that can be used as both a full QWERTY keyboard that "mimics the feel of pressing down the keys on regular keyboards" and an oversized trackpad to control the on-screen pointer. When the 7-inch display, which uses virtual screen technology to expand the viewing area to 10 inches, is flipped 360 degrees to lay behind the touch pads, it becomes "semi-transparent" and allows users to "see" their fingers and the keyboard.

This illusion was designed to "maximize users' typing speed" because it allows typing with multiple fingers. Unlike most UMPCs, which rely on a user's thumbs for data input, the Noahpad UMPC ignores the thumbs and puts the rest of the fingers to work. [...]

It sure is... different. I'd like to see a video of someone actually using it. I suppose it must be possible, or they would not have built it. I find it hard to imagine actually using it myself. It will be interesting to see if it catches on.

It has many other functions as well, I believe it's meant to compete with the AsusTek eee notebook computer, it's in the same price range. See the link above for more photos of how the Noahpad can be used. See the link below for the Noahpad official website.

www.noahpad.com
     

Clinton staffer phones Oregon resident urging her to vote in New Hampshire primary

This is a weird little story, from a woman in Portland, Oregon:

603, 503, whatever, just vote

It's creepy enough that they would be calling someone out of state who left New Hampshire 20 years ago, urging her to vote. But what they did to this lady's phone after the conversation... how do you do that with a long distance call?
     

A Nice Desktop Wallpaper Website...

This site has got some great pics: http://wallpapers.verhau.de/

Here's a few samples:









I had to shrink some of these photos so they would load quicker on my blog. You can find the full size originals and many more excellent backgrounds by visiting the website. They are free to download and it's well worth the visit.
     

An American "Christian Democrat" party?

In Europe, there are a number of "conservative" parties that call themselves "Christian Democrats". They were founded by religious people wanting to offer an alternative to secular socialism: Christian Socialism.

In many ways, Mike Huckabee seems to be trying to create such a movement within the GOP:

"The GOP's Time for Choosing"

The Democrats in the USA have gone so far left, they have fallen off the table. But they have also grabbed onto the table cloth on their way down to the floor, and are dragging everyone else to the left as well, even the GOP.

When conservatives become socialists, they extinguish themselves. Look what's happened to Europe's conservatives. Read the linked article. The GOP must not go there. American conservatives must never make the same mistake. Huckabee is on the wrong side of the aisle.
     

Cheap, Fast & Easy... "Flip" & "Small Wonder"

Here are two small easy to use camcorders for technophobes and people who like to shoot spontaneously, quick and easy. These machines aren't fancy, don't offer a lot of options and are for making low-resolution (small-screen) videos for sending to friends and family over the internet. They are highly portable, and easy to use. If that is what you want, they may be right for you:

This photo is a front and back view of The Flip camcorder.

Pure Digital Flip Video Camcorder

Pure Digital's latest pocket camcorder lets anyone capture and share video--no technical knowledge or cords required-starting at only $119. While the Flip couldn't be easier to use, you'll want to remember that it's designed for making short, fun videos for posting online, not the birth of your next child.

The white-and-silver Flip is housed in an identical body to the previous-generation Point and Shoot Video Camcorder. It measures 4.1 x 2.3 x 1.3 inches and weighs only 4.8 ounces. (For more photos of the Flip Video, click here.) It doesn't have any complicated menus or confusing buttons; the lens and microphone are up front, and on the back you'll find a 1.4-inch LCD, three buttons (play, delete, and record), and a four-way navigation pad, which controls the zoom and lets you scroll through recorded clips. When it's time to transfer footage, simply flip out the USB plug on the side and connect it to your PC. Everything you'll need is in the package, including a TV connector and the two AA batteries it runs on.

Using the camcorder couldn't be easier: Turn on the power button and then press the red Record button to start shooting video. When you're done recording, press Record again. Play back your videos on the screen, and if you don't like one, simply press Delete twice. [...]

For more information and links, read the rest of the review. You can see the website for The Flip, which also features more of their newer models and samples of video clips here: Flip Video


RCA also makes a competing device: RCA's Small Wonder. You can find user reviews and purchasing information about both devices on Amazon.com and C-Net.com.

I can understand the appeal of such devices, but I think their use is limited. You can't use the footage on a TV screen, your very much confined to a small screen. You don't have any options for adjusting settings. The zoom is very limited. For many people that would be no problem, but ultimately I would like something more. There are many compelling reasons to go with a MiniDV camera, and I will post more on that later.
     

Death of a camcorder? Time to move on?

Here is a photo of the ducks foraging in a temporary stream just after a heavy downpour of rain.

I would have liked to video tape it for my first video installment of "The Farm Report", but, the old trusty analog camcorder, an RCA model CC439, isn't cooperating.

We bought it sometime in the early 1990's. I don't remember how much we paid for it, but I think it was in the range of $600 - $800 dollars?

Here is a photo of one on sale on ebay. It has a bid of $51 on it.

This model records on VHS cassettes -or at least, mine used to- but now I get a message in the viewfinder that there is something wrong with the tape. But the tapes play fine in a VCR, so it must be the camera.

I'm wondering if I should try and get it fixed. Would I take it to a camera repair shop or a VCR repair shop? I'm wondering if it's even sensible to try; old technology, parts, etc. The cost of repairs might be close to the cost of a new camcorder. I've seen some very nice MiniDV camcorders in the $200 price range. Hmmmm... out with the old, in with the new?

Some of the new camcorders I've been considering:

Panasonic PV-GS80 MiniDV Camcorder with 32x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

Product Description
When you carry the tiny Panasonic PV-GS80 Palmcorder Camcorder with you, you'll capture every unique moment on film. This amazingly small and sharp digital camcorder gives you clear, sharp, stable photos and video. The optical image stabilizer and 32x optical zoomensure you always get the best shot. Professional tools like a noise reducing microphone, low-light shooting (with MagicPix) and white balancing make this little camcorder competitive with bigger models. When you see how compact it is, you'll wonder why you bought anything else. It's the Palmcorder that does it all. 16 - 9 Wide Mode recording Digital Zoom - 32x - 1,000x Records to MiniDV tape Stereo Zoom Mic with wind noise reduction Backlight compensation Functions as a webcam White Balance - Auto/Indoor/Outdoor/Manual Minimum Illumination - 2 Lux (with MagicPix) Manual Focus Ring Soft-Skin Mode Date Recording Recording Modes - SP/LP Still Picture Size - 640 x 480 (4 - 3), 640 x 360 (16 - 9) DPOF - Max. 999 stills Languages - English / French / Spanish Mini DV in/out Accessory Shoe - Cold Dimensions(HxWxD) - 3.09 x 2.86 x 5.36 Weight - 1 lb.

Canon ZR800 MiniDV Camcorder with 35x Optical Zoom

Product Description
The ZR800 gives you clear, vibrant and brilliant video and digital photographs with a 680K Megapixel CCD image sensor. 35x Optical and 1000x Digital Zoom lets you get closer to the action for unsurpassed optical performance. The ZR800's image stabilizer allows you to shoot rock-steady video even at maximum telephoto without a tripod for professional-looking video. Canon's exclusive DIGIC DV image processor takes video and photos differently, resulting in exceptional color and clarity for both. The 0.35-inch viewfinder on your ZR800 displays your widescreen image in a letterbox view. The 2.7-inch LCD screen lets you view your widescreen shot right as you're taking them. The Widescreen Button lets you switch from standard 4:3 to 16:9 Widescreen HR with the camcorder's advanced image stabilization. Simultaneous Photo Recording lets you capture a digital photograph while recording video. Level and Grid Markers - Both markers can be set to white or grey for enhanced visibility 680K 1/6-inch CCD Image Sensor MiniDV Tape Format Viewfinder - 0.35-inch, 114,000 pixels,widescreen LCD Screen - 2.7-inch, 112,000 pixels, widescreen Exposure Lock - Lets you lock your exposure settings and then recompose your shot Auto Slow Shutter Function - Ensures perfect exposures in low light by lowering your shutter speed 9 Point Ai-AF - Auto Intelligent Auto Focus will bring it into sharp focus Progressive Photo gives you sharper detail in your digital photography Scene Modes - Portrait, Sports, Night, Snow, Beach, Sunset, Spotlight or Fireworks Image Effects - Vivid, Neutral, Low-Sharpening, and Skin Detail Dimensions - Width 2.2 x Height 3.6 x Depth 4.7 inch (57 x 92 x 119 mm not including grip belt) Weight - 13.2 ounces (375 grams)

There is so much to consider. And even these digital camcorders will be obsolete soon; it seems like everything is moving towards wide-screen and High Definition video. But the newer technology formats seem to be in a state of transition and sorting out. For someone like me it's probably best to stick with an established technology with a proven track record, like MiniDV. I'll wait for the fancier stuff to sort itself out... by then the prices should come down some, too.

The quality on some of the more expensive HD (high definition) camcorders is fabulous. Here is one of the more popular "inexpensive" models, the $675 Canon HV20:



Canon HV20 3MP High Definition MiniDV Camcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

Product Description
You've heard of HDTV and expect to get one if you haven't already. Here's a camcorder that lets you record your own HDTV-compatible images. The stylish Canon HV20 gives you the ultimate in HD video and digital photo quality with advanced features. Its 10x optical zoom lens, 2.96 Megapixel CMOS image sensor and Canon's advanced DIGIC DVII image processor ensures meticulous detail and superior color reproduction. 24p Cinema Mode brings Film-Look options to the HV20 owner. And, with its HD and Standard Definition recording modes, you can make the move to HD without making your SD equipment obsolete. The HV20 is easy to use and delivers the high level of performance you've come to expect from Canon. Focal Length - f=6.1-61mm Zoom Speed - Variable/3 Fixed Zoom Speeds Max. F/Stop - f/1.8-3.0mm Filter Size - 43mm 2.7-inch Widescreen LCD Screen (Approx. 211,000 pixels) and color viewfinder High Definition miniDV (recommended) (63 minutes) or miniDV Cassette Recording Media Microphone Terminal - 3.5 mm Stereo Mini Jack HDMI USB 2.0 Full Speed Terminal for fast transfer of photos Analog-Digital Converter lets you share the precious video memories you have stored on analog videotapes Advanced Accessory Shoe Terminal - Attach extras such as a video light or directional microphone without additional wires or batteries to raise the production value of the video you shoot Dimensions - Width 3.5 x Height 3.2 x Depth 5.4 inch Weight - 1.2 pounds without lens and battery pack Canon 1 Year Parts And Labor Limited Warranty.

This camcorder was selected as "Camcorder of the Year" for 2007 at the website camcorderinfo.com. Here is a link to their review:

Canon HV20 HDV Camcorder Review

But seeing is believing. The quality of the video looks as good as film, to me. Very impressive. Here is a sample, a video of the SF Zoo, shot with the HV20:


San Francisco Zoo from Eugenia Loli-Queru on Vimeo.

Very nice. Stunningly beautiful. A good example of why HD is going to become the new standard eventually. This is also nice video of the zoo too, I have many fond memories of visits there.
     

Would you buy a Kindle?

The "ebook" idea has been kicked around for a while now. There have been some feeble attempts to get a viable ebook mass produced and adopted for popular use, but none have caught on in a big way... yet. But perhaps that's about to change. Have a look at this offering from Amazon.com:

Kindle: Amazon's New Wireless Reading Device

Product Overview

Revolutionary electronic-paper display provides a sharp, high-resolution screen that looks and reads like real paper.

Simple to use: no computer, no cables, no syncing.

Wireless connectivity enables you to shop the Kindle Store directly from your Kindle—whether you’re in the back of a taxi, at the airport, or in bed.

Buy a book and it is auto-delivered wirelessly in less than one minute.

More than 90,000 books available, including more than 90 of 112 current New York Times® Best Sellers.

New York Times® Best Sellers and all New Releases $9.99, unless marked otherwise.

Free book samples. Download and read first chapters for free before you decide to buy.

Top U.S. newspapers including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post; top magazines including TIME, Atlantic Monthly, and Forbes—all auto-delivered wirelessly.

Top international newspapers from France, Germany, and Ireland; Le Monde, Frankfurter Allgemeine, and The Irish Times—all auto-delivered wirelessly.

More than 250 top blogs from the worlds of business, technology, sports, entertainment, and politics, including BoingBoing, Slashdot, TechCrunch, ESPN's Bill Simmons, The Onion, Michelle Malkin, and The Huffington Post—all updated wirelessly throughout the day.

Lighter and thinner than a typical paperback; weighs only 10.3 ounces.

Holds over 200 titles.

Long battery life. Leave wireless on and recharge approximately every other day. Turn wireless off and read for a week or more before recharging. Fully recharges in 2 hours.

Unlike WiFi, Kindle utilizes the same high-speed data network (EVDO) as advanced cell phones—so you never have to locate a hotspot.

No monthly wireless bills, service plans, or commitments—we take care of the wireless delivery so you can simply click, buy, and read.

Includes free wireless access to the planet's most exhaustive and up-to-date encyclopedia—Wikipedia.org.

Email your Word documents and pictures (.JPG, .GIF, .BMP, .PNG) to Kindle for easy on-the-go viewing.

Included in the box: Kindle wireless reader, Book cover, Power adapter, USB 2.0 cable.

Now that's just a list of the devices functions. Follow the link above to see a full description, more photos, and a video by Amazon about the device.

It looks really nice, but at $399.00, it's too pricey for me. Yet I expect that the price will come down, if sales catch on, production of the units increases, and it starts to be used widely.

It's screen looks good, easy on the eyes, and it's wireless connectivity abilities also present multiple possibilities...


Amazon itself seems to be backing this financially, which is interesting seeing as they are in the book business, and this device could ultimately displace paper books, magazines and newspapers. I think we will be seeing more of the Kindle, and possibly other devices like it.


Related Link:

School textbooks: no more dead trees versions?
     

Why Fred is The Man for the GOP

I believe Fred Thompson is the ideal choice for the GOP's presidential candidate. Patrick has had some many really good posts on his blog about Fred. Here are links to a few of the latest ones:

The Media and Fred Thompson

Fred Thompson, Reagan Conservative

Law professor Garnett supports Thompson

Rush Limbaugh Should Endorse Fred Thompson Now

The more I hear about Fred, the more I like him. I heard yet another talking head on Fox News today, complaining that Fred is not a viable candidate because he's not "exciting". Please. Have we become a nation of morons, wanting our political candidates to "entertain" us? If that is what our nation has become, then I doubt that it can survive. Nor should it.

Yet I don't think the American people are that dumb, no matter how much the MSM panders to the lowest common denominator. In fact, the MSM seems to be just getting in the way in the whole vetting process. I hope they become increasingly irrelevant. They already have for me. I'm sick of THEIR agenda.

I have joined the Blogs for Fred Thompson blogroll, and urge you to do the same if you are so inclined.

GO FRED GO!
     

New Beginnings...

(This is Smudgie, our "smudgepoint" Siamese cat, in a rare photo where she actually stayed still long enough to remain in focus.)
I'm posting the cat photo because it came out well, and it's my current desktop wallpaper. When I started this blog, I called it a compilation, because I wanted to be able to discuss and post about a wide variety of things.

Politics by itself is an enormous topic. I started off posting quite a bit about politics, and will continue to do so. But I'm also just a part time blogger; there is no way I can compete with others who have more time to devote to blogging. For many political issues, I often link to other bloggers who have more time to examine and post about issues throughly. I'll continue to do so, adding my own commentary when relevant.

In keeping with the title of this blog, I post about the topics I'm reading about, or about things I'm dealing with in my life. I'm hoping in the coming year to do more posts about music, food, books, health... in general, a wider assortment of topics. There will still be lots of politics; we've got a presidential election ahead!

This year I also intend to experiment with video blogging. My first video attempt may be a version of the Farm Report. Stay tuned... it's bound to be an interesting year!

- Chas

Happy Holidays, and a Very Happy New Year!

OK, I'm a bit late with the "Happy Holidays" part, as Christmas, Hannukah etc have already passed, but better late than never, as they say in the classics.

We put our Christmas lights up when the daylight savings time fall-back happened, and they will stay up till we spring-forward again in the Spring. I can't be bothered to put up lights for just a few days or weeks, so we leave them up all through the dark season, to give us cheer.




Indoor decorations, like the artificial Xmas tree and the Christmas Angel Wreath, will get taken down soon.




The problem with leaving indoor decorations up for too long is, they get dusty, and you'll choke on the dust when you have to take them down and dust them off. Just try leaving your tree up for a couple of months past Christmas; after the dust storm that's generated when you take it down, you'll be unlikely to do it again.


This time of year is dark, cold, damp and bleak; yet even in it's bleakness, I still see a bleak kind of beauty in our farm and it's cold landscape.






In the bleakness the earth rests, in hibernation and sleep, storing it's energy in preparation for rebirth and new life in the Spring. It speaks to me of hope.


It's in that hope for rebirth and renewal that we now enter a new year.


Best Wishes to All People of Goodwill for a
Happy, Healthy, Wealthy & Prosperous New Year for You and Yours!

Is the TTLB rating system worthless?

OK, I've not been blogging for the past two weeks, because I've had lots of other stuff to do. That happens sometimes, I'm no Michell Malkin or Instapundit.

I have a link to the TTLB at the bottom of my sidebar. I've watched my ranking with them fall from "Large Mammal" all the way down to "Insignificant Microbe".

To me, "Insignificant Microbe" should be for a blog that nobody reads. Yet, during the past two weeks while I have not been blogging, my blog has still been getting lots of visitors, many more hits per day then when I first started blogging. Yet I'm supposed to be just an "Insignificant Microbe" in the TTLB ecosystem, the lowest rating they have?

That doesn't make sense to me. I'm beginning to wonder if the TTLB rating system is actually meaningless, and if I should just delete it from my blog and be done with it. I really can't think of a reason why I SHOULDN'T delete it. Can you?

UPDATE 01-09-08:

It's gone back up to "Large Mammal". But if it keeps jumping around like that, I may just delete it.

Brave New World is here sooner than you think

Can you imagine a world where everyone could talk to everyone, anywhere in the world? Not just adults, but children too?

What would happen if all the 9 year olds all over the planet were able to talk to each other? It's not a rhetorical question; it looks like we may actually find out, thanks to revolutionary new technology like the XO laptop, which is making it literally possible in the here-and-now.

Rory Cellan-Jones, in this article for the BBC News, writes about his experience with the XO laptop. He was given an XO laptop after a recent visit to Nigeria to see how the laptops were being implemented there.

Because the laptop is designed for children, he decided to give it to his 9 year old son to use. He thought the boy, Rufus, would quickly grow bored with it, but the opposite has happened. The kid not only quickly learned the software and capabilities of the computer; he ended up talking to other children with XO laptops around the world. And his dad doesn't quite understand how it is happening! A few excerpts here:

A child's view of the $100 laptop

[...] Enter Rufus Cellan-Jones. He is nine, has far more experience of games consoles than computers, and has strong views on most matters.

"Looks fun," was his only comment when I handed over the small, green and white laptop, explaining that he was the only child in Britain to have one.

But very quickly he was up and running.

All I did was give him the security code for our home wireless network so he could take the XO online.

[...]

But the real surprise came one evening, when Rufus asked me to explain what his friends were telling him on the laptop.

I thought those imaginary childhood friends from years back must have returned.

But I went and had a look - and it was true - he appeared to be chatting online.

So how had he managed that?

"You go on "neighbourhood", then you go to the chat thing.

You go on Nigeria and you chat to them."

But why, if he was online with the children at the Nigerian school I had visited, were they sending messages in Spanish?

I decided he must be linking up with one of the South American schools taking part in the OLPC project but we still aren't sure quite how that is happening.

Still, Rufus is widening his social circle. " I have three friends. It's nice to talk to them. They don't speak much English but I can understand them." The conversation is not exactly sparkling, but Rufus has learned to say "Hola". [...]

The XO laptop uses something called mesh networking, which makes it easy to connect to other computers on the mesh network... even children in other countries using the OX laptop, apparently.

The software is Linux, using a Graphical User Interface (GUI) called "Sugar". The Sugar GUI is designed to make learning the computer easy for children who have never used a computer before. Thus, it's not like a conventional computer desktop.

I considered downloading it to try it out, but as I read about it, I didn't find it appealing. In a story on OLPCnews.com, a man buy's an XO for his wife for Christmas. But as he tries using it himself, he thinks she won't like it; it's not made for adults (although there is potential for an adult version of the XO to be produced).

Below you can see a Youtube video of Rufus using his XO computer, demonstrating some of it's features, and showing how he finds other children around the world on it:



The video is less than 3 minutes long. I recommend reading the rest of the BBC article for more of Rufus's opinions, and details from his dad about how it all unfolded, and what he thinks now of the potential of the OLPC Project.

I'm still wondering about the unforeseen consequences. Some people are worried that child molesters could stalk the mesh network, and lure children into dangerous situations. But that at least is being foreseen, and steps are being taken to secure the network against child predators. What I mean by unforeseen is, what will a completely internet-connected world be like? Where all the 9 year olds on the planet, where just about EVERYONE, can talk to each other?

It's never happened before. But ready or not, it's coming. If the OLPC Project fails, someone else will pick up the ball and run with it. It's inevitable. Are you ready for it? Are any of us ready?

Oh, brave new world, with such people in it.


You can click here to see a page with this and all my other posts about the OLPC Project, and similar devices.
     

Is the OLPC project Pie in the Sky?

Having failed to attract many large orders form Government purchasers, the OLPC Project is now attempting other methods for sales revenue and distribution, such as the Give One Get One program.

That's fine, as some people will do it for charitable reasons, but I doubt it's a sustainable long term strategy. I think they need to just start selling it to schools in developed nations that already have the infrastructure to support it. Not at double the price, but at a smaller markup. The profit could be used to subsidize purchases for underdeveloped nations, and the increased sales would give them the production VOLUME they desperately need to get the price lowered to the $100 they originally envisioned, making it easier to sell to (and buy for) the poorer nations it was originally designed for.

In fact, just selling it to the general public in the same way, as a long term strategy, would also benefit the project in the same way. I'm hoping they'll do it.

Some people are predicting that the OLPC Project will fail, and question if it's even realistic in it's ambitions and intentions. John Dvorak recently addressed this in an article about the OLPC project:

One Laptop per Child Doesn't Change the World

While I can concede that Dvorak does make some valid points, overall I think he may be too cynical. Yet we do need to heed the dangers and pitfalls he speaks of.

I've noticed there are two views of the OLPC project that tend toward extremes. The first view is that the OLPC Project will somehow magically end world poverty (instead of just enabling a bunch of kids to download porn and "Access Hollywood"). The other view is that if it can't end world poverty, it must be worthless and a waste (If it won't help everyone, then it can't help anyone).

Both views are too extreme, and thereby flawed.

There are communities of impoverished people throughout the world, who barely have enough to eat. They may not be starving, but they are still poor; they are still struggling to improve their lives, and to educate their children. These communities may have schools, but not much in the way of resources. Textbooks are expensive for them, and become outdated and wear out quickly. An OLPC laptop, with internet access, could replace those textbooks, and offer so much more as well. Sure, there are problems with setting that up. But it's not impossible.

Education, used wisely, can help people become more productive and improve their living conditions. The OLPC is not quick fix pill, but used judiciously, it has the potential to help a lot of people worldwide. Remember the old saying: feed a man a fish and you've fed him for a day; teach him how to fish, and you have fed him for the rest of his life. Knowledge can do that, and that can be what a project like OLPC can potentially do.

Much of the criticism that's been aimed at the project can actually be helpful, if it ultimately helps the project to succeed. But expectations have to be kept realistic and not extreme. It won't end world poverty, but it may be able to be developed as a useful tool to promote education, and it's resulting prosperity.
     

Can Windows XP fit on the OLPC Laptop?

It would be like a fat lady trying to fit into a dress that's two sizes too small. Yet the increasing popularity of inexpensive low-end laptops and internet devices (with small resources) seems to be making a fat lady out of Microsoft, as Linux moves with ease into this market, and Microsoft tries to follow.

From DesktopLinux.com:

Linux is about to take over the low end of PCs

[...] Four trends: user-friendly Linux desktops, useful under-$500 laptops and desktops, near-universal broadband, and business-ready Internet office applications. Put them together and you have a revolution.

For the last two decades, we've been buying expensive desktop operating systems on business PCs running from $1,000 to $2,000. On those systems, we've been putting pricey desktop-centric office suites like Microsoft Office. That's a lot of money, and the convergence of the above trends is about to knock it for a loop.

[...]

Linux desktops run just dandy on low-end, under-$500 PCs. Vista Basic, which comes the closest to being able to run on these systems, is unacceptable since it doesn't support business networking. Office 2007 also won't run worth a darn on these systems. And somehow, I can't see Microsoft optimizing its applications to work with Google Apps instead of Exchange and SharePoint.

Put it all together, and here's what I see happening. In the next few quarters, low-end Linux-based PCs are going to quickly take over the bottom rung of computing. Then, as businesses continue to get comfortable with SAAS (software as a service) and open-source software, the price benefits will start leading them toward switching to the new Linux/SAAS office model.

You'll see this really kick into gear once Vista Service Pack 1 appears and business customers start seriously looking at what it will cost to migrate to Vista. That Tiffany-level price tag will make all but the most Microsoft-centric businesses start considering the Linux/SAAS alternative. [...]

I read in another article that MS is trying desperately to get WinXP to work on the OLPC XO laptop. But they can't, unless the units have double the memory they have now. As a result, they are trying to get the OLPC Project to build in and extra port to add up to double the memory the device currently uses.

Microsoft has wanted to dump XP and promote Vista instead. But now it finds it wants to compete in the low-end market with Linux, and Vista can't go there. It would seem that XP is going to be sticking around for a while, in some form or another, although it may have to go on a crash diet.


But will XP even be good enough (or small enough) to compete effectively with Linux in this arena? Here are some more articles that look at that, links about XP on the OLPC's XO:

A Good Thing About Windows XP on XO: Contrast

No Microsoft Windows XP on OLPC XO

Put GPL Code Windows XP on XO

I think that if MS does somehow manage to SQUEEZE WinXP onto the XO, Linux is still going to look like the better alternative. It will require more memory, which will drive up costs, and it may not be as fast as a Linux alternative on the same hardware. Linux also does not have licensing fees. It will be interesting to see what happens.
     

Lies, damned lies, and statistics

From Thomas Sowell:

Income Confusion

Anyone who follows the media has probably heard many times that the rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer, and incomes of the population in general are stagnating. Moreover, those who say such things can produce many statistics, including data from the Census Bureau, which seem to indicate that.

On the other hand, income tax data recently released by the Internal Revenue Service seem to show the exact opposite: People in the bottom fifth of income-tax filers in 1996 had their incomes increase by 91 percent by 2005.

The top one percent -- "the rich" who are supposed to be monopolizing the money, according to the left -- saw their incomes decline by a whopping 26 percent.

Meanwhile, the average taxpayers' real income increased by 24 percent between 1996 and 2005.

How can all this be? How can official statistics from different agencies of the same government -- the Census Bureau and the IRS -- lead to such radically different conclusions?

There are wild cards in such data that need to be kept in mind when you hear income statistics thrown around -- especially when they are thrown around by people who are trying to prove something for political purposes. [...]

(bold emphasis mine) Thomas goes on to explain to us just how these statistics are manipulated and taken out of context, and used to support false and misleading conclusions.

The truth is very different from what the MSM is feeding us. With elections coming up, it's more important than ever to have a firm grasp of the FACTS as they really are. Thomas Sowell, as always, explains it clearly and straightens it out for us in short order. A short article, and well worth your time to read.
     

Open Source Software for Linux & Windows

From CNET:
Open-source software rated: Ten alternatives you need

Open source products comprise the work of many collaborators -- sometimes thousands of them, and often separated by oceans. Each person works on small portions of a project, and anyone is welcome to contribute. The finished product will be available freely for anyone to download and, in most cases, modify.

All very touchy-feely, carey-sharey, but why should you care about open source? You should care because the vast majority of common applications, even complex commercial stuff such as Adobe Photoshop, Windows Media Player and Microsoft Office, have free, open-source alternatives. And this point is worth reiterating: open-source software is free. No cost. Zero. Zilch. [...]

This Cnet site in the UK provides an overview of ten free open-source applications that are available for Linux and Windows. Follow the link to the intro, and you'll find they devote a page to each application. You can check them out and see what they do, and if any of them are right for you.
     

How rare in human history our blessings are

And Mark Steyn reminds us, one of the greatest blessings Americans have is our constitution.

Mark Steyn: World should give thanks for America

[...] The New World is one of the oldest settled constitutional democracies on Earth, to a degree the Old World can barely comprehend. Where it counts, Americans are traditionalists.

We know Eastern Europe was a totalitarian prison until the Nineties, but we forget that Mediterranean Europe (Greece, Spain, Portugal) has democratic roots going all the way back until, oh, the mid-Seventies; France and Germany's constitutions date back barely half a century, Italy's only to the 1940s, and Belgium's goes back about 20 minutes, and currently it's not clear whether even that latest rewrite remains operative. The U.S. Constitution is not only older than France's, Germany's, Italy's or Spain's constitution, it's older than all of them put together.

Americans think of Europe as Goethe and Mozart and 12th century castles and 6th century churches, but the Continent's governing mechanisms are no more ancient than the Partridge Family. Aside from the Anglophone democracies, most of the nation-states in the West have been conspicuous failures at sustaining peaceful political evolution from one generation to the next, which is why they're so susceptible to the siren song of Big Ideas – communism, fascism, European Union.

[...]

So Americans should be thankful they have one of the last functioning nation-states. Europeans, because they've been so inept at exercising it, no longer believe in national sovereignty, whereas it would never occur to Americans not to. This profoundly different attitude to the nation-state underpins, in turn, Euro-American attitudes to transnational institutions such as the United Nations. [...]

(bold emphasis mine)We have an enduring constitution that actually means something, even if too many of us now seem willing to throw it away. It's a blessing, and worth protecting and cherishing. There's much more, it's an excellent article. I wanted to post about it on Thanksgiving, but I was too busy with other stuff. Even today, I haven;t much time, there's a storm coming in tomorrow, so I've got a busy day ahead of me.

Pat also did some good excerpts on his blog.


Related Link:

From Soeren Kern at the Brussels Journal:
America Wake Up! Europe Wants to Be a Superpower

[...] So why do Europeans continue to assail American “hard power” as bad for the world, when their own “soft power” consistently fails to make the grade?

Because the American military magnifies the preponderance of US power and influence on the world stage, thereby exposing the fiction behind Europe’s superpower pretensions. Because the United States has set the standard for what it means to be a superpower, European elites seek to de-legitimize one of the main pillars of American might, namely its military hard power. Europeans know they will never achieve hard power parity with America, so they want to change the rules of the international game to make soft power the only acceptable superpower standard.

This is why Americans should care about further European integration: The EU is trying to ensconce a system of international law (based on its own image and on that of the United Nations) that it hopes will make it prohibitively costly in the realm of international public opinion for the United States to use its military in the future. For Europeans, multilateralism is all about neutering American hard power, not about solving international problems. It is about Lilliputians tying down Gulliver.

By bending over backwards to appease European sensibilities on Iran, for example, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has dragged the United States headfirst into a multilateral trap that has been set by pacifist Europeans. Their main desire is to prevent America from acting against Iran, even if it means that Islamic radicals in Tehran end up with a nuclear bomb.

Many Europeans are hoping the next American president will adopt a more postmodern relativist perception of reality. All the more reason, therefore, why Americans should examine if the leading presidential contenders are committed to the “hard power” that plays such a vital role in securing American interests and ideals around the world. Europeans may understand even better than do many Americans just how much is at stake in the upcoming US presidential election.

European elites are pushing the EU in a direction that should be deeply disconcerting to Americans concerned about international security and stability. The Reform Treaty will make Europe more centralized and far less democratic than it already is. In practice, this means that many foreign policy decisions that directly affect the United States, ranging from economics and trade to transatlantic cooperation on Islamic counter-terrorism, increasingly will be made by unelected anti-American bureaucrats in Brussels rather than by national governments. [...]

(bold emphasis mine) The weak don't deserve to survive. That's not my opinion; it's an impartial law of nature. It's reality, the way things are. If the Europeans wish to flout that law at their own peril, they are free to do so, but it seems to me quite obvious that their's is not a model we should try to emulate.

It was difficult to pick just an excerpt from this article, I recommend reading the whole thing.


Here's another good link, from Pat's blog:

The (reluctant) American Empire
This is the definitive answer to all those who whine endlessly about supposed "American Imperialism". Very informative, with many embedded links, too.