The UPS guy brought Christmas to the Doss home a bit early yesterday.  A few weeks ago, I applied to test a new computer from Google.  The actual computer is reasonably impressive, more on that later, but the most interesting thing is that the computer has a brand new type of operating system, Google Chrome OS.

CR-48

CR-48 2

CR-48 3

Google Chrome OS is a cloud based OS.  Instead of depending on a large hard drive to store programs and documents, Chrome OS doesn’t store documents, files, or pictures on the computer.  Chrome OS is designed to get you connected to the internet as soon as possible and allow you to use cloud services.

So, I’ve been using this for a full day now and I have some initial impressions.

First, from a hardware standpoint, this is a very nice computer.  Think all black Macbook, with a slightly rubberized finish.  The screen is a 12.1″ widescreen.  The computer has 2GB of RAM and a 16GB hard drive.  The processor is an Intel Atom 1.66 mHz mobile processor.  The computer is very quiet and doesn’t get hot.  The battery life seems to be good, roughly 8 hours when using basic internet tools.  I’m yet to run the computer with a laptop cooler or wear the battery all the way down, but it appears to last for at least 7-8 hours.  The battery doesn’t always make it to 100%, but that could be a battery management issue too.

The only hardware problem so far is the touchpad.  I just don’t like it.  Either you can set it to be very sensitive and then you end up moving the cursor with the slightest accidental touch, or you can turn down the sensitivity and struggle with using the touchpad. Apple’s touchpad is much better.

I do like that Google had done away with Function keys, effectively, and tossed the Caps Lock key too.  The keys are rubberized and very responsive.  They are also quiet.

Hardware problems aren’t really a problem though, since this is a pre-production model.  No one will ever buy this computer because it’ll never be on the market.

What’s really important here is the connection to the internet.  When you first turn on the computer, you will see the login screen within 15 seconds.  That’s from a cold boot.  Pretty damn quick.  You need a Google Account to start the computer the first time, but you can allow guest access after you register the computer.  The whole process takes less than 2 minutes.

Once you’re logged in, you’ve only got a few options.  Well, you only have one option, really.  Chrome.  Your desktop is basically a modified version of the Chrome browser.  Not that modified though.  The CR-48 picked up my saved bookmarks from my other Chrome browser.

The computer is always connected to the internet.  WiFi is preferred, but the computer also has a built-in 3G modem that picks up Verizon.  You get 100MB for free each month for 2 years but have to pay for anything over that limit.

The computer is much faster restarting from standby.  If you open the computer, it’s generally up and running in just a few seconds.  My experience has been that it takes a few more seconds to reconnect to the WiFi signal, but that has varied based on the connection and the duration of the standby.

First impressions are that this is a reasonable proof of concept.  From a hardware standpoint, this computer is a solid B+.  The battery and the trackpad make it a bit off, but it’s got a clear screen, good text and image display, keyboard is comfortable and responsive.  I’m yet to install many apps or really play with the Chrome App Store.

I’ll update this every few days as I get more time in on the Chrome Notebook.

A few months ago I donated a bit of money to a startup called Diaspora.  Diaspora is an open-source, distributed social network.  They’ve just released their Alpha Build and I have a few shots from inside.

Nothing too amazing, largely since I don’t have any friends there yet.  Anyone else on Diaspora?

Diaspora Settings Page with Export

Diaspora Setting Page 2

Diaspora Profile Page

Diaspora Family Tab

Diaspora Home Page

A few days ago, the NYT ran an article about a very bad company.  I’m not going to provide a link to the site, but needless to say, this guy was one of the worst examples of what’s wrong with online businesses.

Google announced today that they implemented an algorithm that penalizes bad reviews.  The crux of the issue was that all the bad reviews and bad press this company was receiving was providing links to their site.  A link is a link, no matter what the anchor text says.  Some of these links were from the NYT and other well known and respected sites.

This begs the question: do people bother to check out a site anymore?  Do people simply believe that because Google ranks the site, it’s legit and sound?  Do people not check the BBBOnline or search online for reviews of retailers?

I read Outside Magazine.  Great publication.  Highly recommended.

This month, they featured an interesting tidbit about something called Bicycle City, SC.

Interesting stuff.  Check out their website.  I don’t know if Cayce, SC is ready for 160 acres of bike riding environmentalists.

Not the best site, mostly speculation and planning, but pretty interesting idea here.

The future of suburbia?

It’s not what you think, though.

Today, my business unit was acquired by a competitor, ProQuest.  Interestingly enough, ProQuest is also located in Betheda, MD.

If you want all the public details, you can check out the press release from ProQuest.

The summary is this: ProQuest will acquire most of the products based in Bethesda, including, LN Congressional, LN Stat, GPI, and a few others.  Add to that Environment Abstracts, the  product I managed during our divestment last year.

Overall, this seems to be a good move and, though I’m still cautious.  The story is that ProQuest was excellent to work with during the acquisition negotiations.  ProQuest seems to be more aligned with our specific business.  With LN, we were the odd man out, the stepkids, so to speak.  We really didn’t fit into the overarching business model and that meant it was hard for us to obtain funding and resources for our projects.  ProQuest has a large microfilm/fiche operation and they have a nice international business.

The best news is that every employee of the acquired products are moving to ProQuest.  The only exception is our VP, who is one of the most capable individuals I’ve ever met.  That’s a real loss, but understandable.

31 December will be our last day with LN.  On 1 January, we will all become ProQuest employees.  Going to be interesting…

As I mentioned a few posts ago, I also run a review site for triathlon gear.  Today, we published an initial review of a nice pair of running and workout tights for women.  Not to worry, I didn’t test these myself, the review was done by one of our female reviewers, but I’m the writer.

If you’re interested, check out our review of LUNASport’s Terra’s Knicker.

So here’s the first day of my new clip of writing.

Yesterday, I pulled out one of my new ‘classic in the making” recipes.  This one is so simple that there’s no reason, other than your cholesterol level, not to make this tonight.

This recipe will serve three to four people. All you need is about a pound of Brussel Sprouts, a quarter to a third of a pound of real bacon, two shallots or a small onion and one clove of garlic.

Grab a large skillet, big enough to fit the Brussel Sprouts, and heat it over a medium high flame.  Add the bacon and cook until very crisp.  When done, remove, cool and chop into lardon sized pieces.

While the bacon’s cooking, get started on the sprouts.  Rinse them off, cut the bases off, and half or quarter them, depending on the size. You’re looking for a bite-sized piece of sprout.

Next, dice the shallots.  We’re looking for very fine shallots.

Bacon should be done by now.  Pour off about half of the bacon fat, maybe more if the bacon was fatty.  You need enough bacon fat to sauté the shallots.

Heat the bacon fat and add the shallots.

Cook until soft. Add the sprouts. Cover the pan and let them cook for about five minutes. Remove the top, stir, deglaze the pan if necessary.  I generally use a splash of chicken stock, but water is just fine.

Recover the pan and cook another five minutes.

Continue this process until the sprouts are tender, but not soggy.  They should have a very bright green color.  Add the chopped bacon.  Serve very hot.

That’s it, very simple stuff, but a great take on sprouts with a little bacon love.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I’ve been a bit melancholy about this blog lately.   I have a serious sense of accomplishment when I actually sit down and write a post here or on one of my other sites.  But recently, I’ve not felt inspired or had enough time, or whatever.  I like writing everyday.  I like seeing my post numbers increase.  I like seeing more visitors.

Recently, I’ve spent most of my non-work waking hours training for my Ironman.  Behind that, I’ve been trying to put out at least two reviews on FitEgg.com per week.  Sometimes I have to write the review, sometimes it’s just editing and formatting.  Either way, IM training has taken much of my time and I haven’t put as much into FitEgg and this site as I normally do.

Between now and the end of the year, I’m going to try to write here everyday that I’m not writing at FitEgg.com.  That might be a small note or a long post.  Wish me luck.

It’s rare that you see the ACLU and the DrudgeReport on the same page of an issues.  I’ve been following the furor about the new TSA security process, invasive pat-downs, “Don’t touch my junk”, and a hundred other stories of US citizens being searched, patted down, exposed to radiation, and more.

Yesterday, I watched this brief video of Ron Paul, someone I generally don’t agree with, on the fallacy of the TSA. It’s worth the 5 minutes it will take to view this.

Anyway, the good Dr. Paul makes a valid point, specifically about the number of highway deaths.  On average, about 42,000 people die in or as a result of an auto accident every year in the US.  I don’t care about how many miles American travel per year, all I’m really concerned with is the absolute number.  So let’s call it 42 grand per year.  It’s nine years since 9/11, so that’s about 378,000 deaths since the attacks on that Tuesday morning.

Since then, we’ve spent between 7 and 8 billion a year on the TSA.  That’s a total of, on the conservative side, 63 Billion dollars.  The entire Department of Homeland Security consumes north of 42 billion per year.  So that’s an amazing 378 Billion since 9/11 on Homeland Security.

Do you feel 378 Billion dollars safer?

But my point here isn’t a complaint about the finances, although it can be argued that there is so little chance of being a victim of a terrorist attack that we should disband the TSA/DHS and roll the dice.  No one wants to think about that because, “OH MY GOD, WHAT IF THEY ATTACK ME!?!?!”, but statistically, we’d be better off tossing the whole DHS apparatus and taking our chances.

Here are the two problems I see, aside from the money.

First, the TSA isn’t addressing any new threats, they’re simply responding to the old ones.  Remember when you could wear shoes through the checkpoint?  I do.  Then fucking Richard Reid decided to try to blow his Nikes up.  Off come the shoes.  Then there’s the underwear bomber, which is the proximate cause of the new privacy busting X-ray machines.  The TSA isn’t a proactive agency, they are reactive.  The entire US government is reactive, to be sure, but the TSA is particularly guilty of this.

Here’s what we know about Al-Qaeda: if an attack doesn’t work, they try a new approach.  They might attack the same target, but they learn and respond to what works and what doesn’t.  When their first shot at the Twin Towers failed because the truck bombs weren’t powerful enough, they didn’t try bigger trucks, they tried airplanes.  When the shoe bomb didn’t work, they didn’t go back to the same blueprint and stuff more PETN into a pair of Saucony’s.  When the underwear bomber didn’t work, I can assure you they didn’t go back and find a guy with more underwear or use boxers instead of briefs.  They’re going to try something else next time.  They always do.

Meanwhile, the TSA is looking up grandma’s skirt and feeling her breasts for explosives.  Al-Qaeda knows this isn’t going to work, to they’re going to try something else.  Something the TSA isn’t expecting.

Patrick Smith, writing for Salon.com had a great article a few days ago about the existence of terrorism before 9/11.  This is a great and short article, so head over there before moving on.

My second issue is a constitutional argument.  The Fourth Amendment clearly prohibits unreasonable searches of people and property, allowing such only with a duly sworn and signed warrant.  I ask you, quite plainly, is it reasonable to search someone simply because they are trying to fly from point A to point B?  The answer is no.  Is it reasonable to check someone who has a Middle Eastern surname or is flying one-way, or paid cash?  Probably not, but much more reasonable than searching Joe Six-Pack from Cleveland, Ohio.

This isn’t a call to profile passengers.  Far from it.  Profiling doesn’t work.  Period.  If you think I’m wrong, ask the Israelis, a nation that understands all to well the threat of terrorism.  They don’t profile, they interview.  They train security personnel to understand the characteristics of a terrorist threat and to identify them before they get close to a plane.  They don’t profile.

Even if you’re not motivated by the constitutional argument, you should see the economic argument.  What was, after all, the reason the Twin Towers were attacked?  Al-Qaeda correctly identified them and NYC as a whole, as the financial capital of the US.  They understood the symbolic nature of the towers and estimated, or under-estimated actually, the financial impact of knocking down those towers.  The attacks didn’t destroy the economy, but they got close.  They certainly destroyed quite a few airlines.  Now, that was a one day attack.  What happens when the US flying public gets fed up with airport waits and privacy violations?  They’re going to stop flying.   They’re going to drive, or take the train, or use GoToMeeting.  It’ll be a slow death, like the Postal Service, but if the government continues to make flying unpleasant and impossible, it will happen.

The TSA, invasive pat-downs, Backscatter X-Ray machines and the like don’t actually protect you from the next terrorist threat.  They protect you from the last terrorist threat.  While we’re wasting hours and billions of dollars in security fees and lost productivity, the terrorists are out there coming up with brand new, never-before-seen ways to attack us.  I shudder to think what this country will look like when we have given up so many of our rights in the name of security and the next big attack happens…

I’ve been reading a blog called Sacraments Wholesale for a few months and really love the content.  The author is reasonable, logical, and grounded in both his faith and his views.

Deacon Tim, the author, did a great job with his post on Harry Reid’s cowardice and political expediency at the expense of religious freedom.

Please head over to see what Deacon Tim has to say and subscribe to his RSS feed.  Great work Tim.