I don't know what it is about this country sometimes. There seems to be such a hue and cry about the "Toyota Tragedy" that awaits Toyota car drivers (notice even the Secretary of Transportation's recommendation to not drive your car if it's a "recall" Toyota model) that it seems all perspective has been lost. By the way, regarding Ray La Hood's comments (which he did later withdraw), could they be because the U.S. government is now in the car business ... and Toyota's a competitor? Hmm.
If Toyota has a true problem, it seems to me that it primarily swings around their apparent disbelief that they could even have a quality issue with their vehicles. And, actually, that's based on decades of excellent production quality and customer satisfaction ... so it's not the worst problem in the world to have. And it's one that can be easily overcome. At any rate, the initial shock seems to have worn off and they see that there's a problem and they're addressing it.
But back to the point I started this article on ... perspective. It seems that about 19 people in the past decade have been killed in Toyota's where it is "possible" that the recall issues (the accelerator pedal & floor mat stuff) were a factor. Please also note that being "a factor" does not even mean that the recall issues are the primary cause of the fatalities. Doing the math, that's 1.9 fatalities per year (with 100's of millions of miles of Toyota driving involved). Now, some contrasting perspective:
1. On average, 90 people per year are killed by lightning (in the United States alone).
2. On average, there are 120 airplane crash fatalities per year.
3. Over 2000 people die every year in Toyota's due to vehicle crashes totally unrelated to vehicle production quality failures (related primarily to incompetent, impaired or otherwise unsafe driving as well as some health problems like heart attacks, etc.).
Now I know it's different if you or a loved one of yours happens to be one of those 1.9 fatalities ... but get real people! There is no reasonably complex device made by mankind that does not have a non-zero probability of some kind of a failure due to inferior design, parts fatigue, etc. And it's the way of the universe. It's certainly the way of every species on the planet. Nature builds and then rebuilds in infinite repetition to get to the solution that allows survival. Our cars have evolved as early designs have been superseded by better ones and, to build a safer and greener vehicle, more complexity has been added. It's life ... and it's progress. I own a Camry, my son owns a Corolla and we both are very pleased with our vehicles. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Toyota and I'm sure my son feels the same. These are good, well-built cars and the company that builds them deserves to remain in business, providing jobs and excellent products around the world, including the United States.
So the next time there's a big news article on the latest regarding current (or future) Toyota recalls, just remember that this is a very safe vehicle and the problems are being fixed by the company. And think about writing to the producer(s) of the article to request the "other side" of the story, part of which I've presented here (like, you're at least 45 times more likely to be killed by lightning, in the U.S., than by any Toyota recall problem). Basically, let's focus on stuff that's really important, like people talking on cell phones or texting while driving ... those, too, have caused far more fatalities than Toyota's recall issues. I also think Toyota will redouble their efforts at quality control ... which doesn't bode well for the "big 3" in the U.S. Oh, and, if you get a chance, you might take advantage of the bright side of this whole craziness ... buy Toyota stock.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Friday, January 1, 2010
2010 Has Arrived
At the close of 2009, I feel it's good to reflect back on the year and consider what happened. Bicycling-wise, not as many miles pedaled as in 2008, but that was largely due to not taking part in RAGBRAI this year. Total miles ridden reached 1927 with a riding time of 121 hours (just under 16mph for an average riding speed). In addition, I decided to take a daily walk and accomplished that for 358 days of the past year with a total distance covered of 1161 miles in approximately 303 hours.
On a personal basis, my height is 70.25 inches at 162.1 pounds for a BMI of around 23.3. I like to shoot for a BMI right at 23.0, so there's a little work to be done here in January to get my weight back to 160 pounds or a little less.
For the first time in many years, both Ryan and Scott were in town at the same time as they flew in for their step-sister's wedding in June. That was a great time ... even as an arrow flew into the air and fell to earth we knew not where. We also took in the new Star Trek movie.
Last March my Aunt Elaine died and I went to the funeral. She was a nice lady and I miss her. Uncle Don and I went out to try to get a deer (I used a bow) this fall but we never saw a single one close enough to shoot (even with a rifle) in several days of hunting (in North Dakota). Our best guess is that they were all still hiding out in the corn fields, which had not been harvested due to the extremely wet fall weather.
Only 22 books read this year but all of them very interesting, including the auto-biography of George Carlin. I still use the Kindle to get most of my books but occasionally I do buy a paperback or get a gift of a book that I can hold in my hands and turn the pages of. And whaddya know ... reading real books still feels kinda nice. Nevertheless, I'll be looking into getting a Kindle 3, if they ever come out with one as the Kindle 2 isn't compelling enough for me to move on from my (rather primitive) baseline original Kindle reader.
Started learning more about digital photography and using Photoshop CS3 and its associated software tools. Pretty cool but it's a very big subject so it will take awhile.
This year I focused quite a bit more on energy and natural resources conservation. While the results are fairly good, more can be done if I can move to using solar and geothermal (Ground Source Heat Pump) renewable energy. Compared to 2008, the utility usage change I was able to accomplish breaks down as follows:
Heat (natural gas): -12% used, -34% cost at 47.7 Therms/month in 2009.
Electricity: -7% used, +.22% cost at 370.5 KWH/month in 2009.
Water: -46% used, -16% cost at 941.7 gallons/month in 2009.
Looking forward, I estimate that my natural gas usage will drop to <10 Therms/month (used by the gas dryer) if I can install a 4 ton geothermal heating/cooling system in 2010. My best guess is that electricity use will not be reduced further until I add solar power (a 2KW system, perhaps in 2011). In fact, electricity use may increase somewhat with the geothermal system as I'll probably switch to electric hot water heating with that installation. Finally, I expect to see a further 18-20% reduction in water usage with a 0% cost reduction (utility charges are very regressive which is not conducive to conservation) or, more likely, a cost increase.
And, as I do every year, I wonder what the new year will bring.
On a personal basis, my height is 70.25 inches at 162.1 pounds for a BMI of around 23.3. I like to shoot for a BMI right at 23.0, so there's a little work to be done here in January to get my weight back to 160 pounds or a little less.
For the first time in many years, both Ryan and Scott were in town at the same time as they flew in for their step-sister's wedding in June. That was a great time ... even as an arrow flew into the air and fell to earth we knew not where. We also took in the new Star Trek movie.
Last March my Aunt Elaine died and I went to the funeral. She was a nice lady and I miss her. Uncle Don and I went out to try to get a deer (I used a bow) this fall but we never saw a single one close enough to shoot (even with a rifle) in several days of hunting (in North Dakota). Our best guess is that they were all still hiding out in the corn fields, which had not been harvested due to the extremely wet fall weather.
Only 22 books read this year but all of them very interesting, including the auto-biography of George Carlin. I still use the Kindle to get most of my books but occasionally I do buy a paperback or get a gift of a book that I can hold in my hands and turn the pages of. And whaddya know ... reading real books still feels kinda nice. Nevertheless, I'll be looking into getting a Kindle 3, if they ever come out with one as the Kindle 2 isn't compelling enough for me to move on from my (rather primitive) baseline original Kindle reader.
Started learning more about digital photography and using Photoshop CS3 and its associated software tools. Pretty cool but it's a very big subject so it will take awhile.
This year I focused quite a bit more on energy and natural resources conservation. While the results are fairly good, more can be done if I can move to using solar and geothermal (Ground Source Heat Pump) renewable energy. Compared to 2008, the utility usage change I was able to accomplish breaks down as follows:
Heat (natural gas): -12% used, -34% cost at 47.7 Therms/month in 2009.
Electricity: -7% used, +.22% cost at 370.5 KWH/month in 2009.
Water: -46% used, -16% cost at 941.7 gallons/month in 2009.
Looking forward, I estimate that my natural gas usage will drop to <10 Therms/month (used by the gas dryer) if I can install a 4 ton geothermal heating/cooling system in 2010. My best guess is that electricity use will not be reduced further until I add solar power (a 2KW system, perhaps in 2011). In fact, electricity use may increase somewhat with the geothermal system as I'll probably switch to electric hot water heating with that installation. Finally, I expect to see a further 18-20% reduction in water usage with a 0% cost reduction (utility charges are very regressive which is not conducive to conservation) or, more likely, a cost increase.
And, as I do every year, I wonder what the new year will bring.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Health Care and Climate Change ...
Many are the prognosticators out there and I feel like joining the group. The truth is that there will be no health care bill from the U.S. Congress nor will there be anything meaningful from Copenhagen regarding climate change.
Both will be victims of the same disease ... self interest and acceptance of the status quo and "things as they are". Basically, the world has too significantly high a percentage of conservatives (e.g. Republicans in the U.S.) to do anything meaningful. To them, energy reform means "drill, drill, drill" and global warming is a world wide scientific hoax. The sad part is that there are so many dittoheads that actually buy into it all without making their own assessments of the real data available. Of course, that part of it is just like religion ... very few "believers" ever objectively evaluate what it is they believe in, they believe what their parents and peers have told them to, it's family tradition and it's unchanged for the big three monotheistic religions for at least 2 millenia.
Neither climate change nor health care will be able to get "60 votes" and so a minority along with a subset of the majority will ensure that we do not make any progress in providing health care at reasonable cost nor will there be any new renewable energy industry, at least not in the United States.
It's a sad statement for humanity and humankind. And we will continue to pay the price on healthcare and on the lack of global climate reform. It should be mentioned, regarding global warming, that the wild card, the elephant in the room, is *not* CO2 emissions from developed and developing countries, bad though that truly is. It is the release of methane gas from, for example, the melting permafrost. Methane is many times more powerful than CO2 at trapping heat on our planet and it is not yet well represented in super computer climate models, but it will accelerate significantly in the next decade. Regarding climate change, we are not dodging away from a slippery slope, we're already on it, gathering speed. With healthcare, I'm sure we'll probably muddle through, as desired by Republicans, but it seems that you can only be the "do nothing" party for so long before it catches up to you. Hmm, what am I saying, after all ... Bush was elected ... twice. But as Albert Einstein said "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."
Both will be victims of the same disease ... self interest and acceptance of the status quo and "things as they are". Basically, the world has too significantly high a percentage of conservatives (e.g. Republicans in the U.S.) to do anything meaningful. To them, energy reform means "drill, drill, drill" and global warming is a world wide scientific hoax. The sad part is that there are so many dittoheads that actually buy into it all without making their own assessments of the real data available. Of course, that part of it is just like religion ... very few "believers" ever objectively evaluate what it is they believe in, they believe what their parents and peers have told them to, it's family tradition and it's unchanged for the big three monotheistic religions for at least 2 millenia.
Neither climate change nor health care will be able to get "60 votes" and so a minority along with a subset of the majority will ensure that we do not make any progress in providing health care at reasonable cost nor will there be any new renewable energy industry, at least not in the United States.
It's a sad statement for humanity and humankind. And we will continue to pay the price on healthcare and on the lack of global climate reform. It should be mentioned, regarding global warming, that the wild card, the elephant in the room, is *not* CO2 emissions from developed and developing countries, bad though that truly is. It is the release of methane gas from, for example, the melting permafrost. Methane is many times more powerful than CO2 at trapping heat on our planet and it is not yet well represented in super computer climate models, but it will accelerate significantly in the next decade. Regarding climate change, we are not dodging away from a slippery slope, we're already on it, gathering speed. With healthcare, I'm sure we'll probably muddle through, as desired by Republicans, but it seems that you can only be the "do nothing" party for so long before it catches up to you. Hmm, what am I saying, after all ... Bush was elected ... twice. But as Albert Einstein said "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."
Friday, September 25, 2009
Photoshop Examined
Since I'm totally convinced that I'll never have enough time on the planet to learn all the things I'm interested in learning, I try to keep picking up something new to work on in fairly rapidfire order. This year I started with learning how to shoot a compound bow and make my own arrows. Hopefully, those skills will prove to be useful when I head up to visit my Uncle Don in Fargo this November to go deer hunting (something I've never done before).
But before I get up there, I've decided that I want to really find out what Photoshop can do. My original goal was to get skilled enough to let me convert a particular picture of Larry and Gary Green into a "masterpiece" that is both fun and interesting. To do this, I've acquired 4 new books, completed one and have scanned the other 3 as I start on the second and third books ... and they're really great. First I got "Scott Kelby's 7-Point System for Adobe Photoshop" and I've completed the 21 lessons in that book. It's a bit more than an introduction, but it gives extremely straightforward steps using Camera Raw and Photoshop to update good pictures with varying flaws. That gave me most of what I needed to make my new picture ... but it also got me interested in digital photography, raw files, DNG and really understanding how it all works.
The other 3 books I have, that I highly recommend, are "Camera Raw With Adobe Photoshop CS3" by Bruce Fraser and Jeff Schewe, "The Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book For Digital Photographers", by Scott Kelby and the "Photoshop CS3 Bible", by Laurie Ulrich Fuller and Robert C. Fuller. The only problem I've had so far with these books is minor. It concerns the "humor" that Scott Kelby interjects into his work. It gets to be a little too much. But I already was aware of this when I bought the second Kelby book ... also filled with practical applications of Photoshop ... and the fact that I bought it (anyway) means that I think it's got many fine teaching examples to offer. Of course, the "Bible" is primarily for reference, which I'll need quite a bit of, I'm sure.
Not wanting to leave things half done, I've now also ordered a Nikon D5000 camera so I can take pictures in raw format and go from "A to Z" in the Photoshop process with some of my own shots. Another experiment in learning ... about to take off. We'll see how it goes.
But before I get up there, I've decided that I want to really find out what Photoshop can do. My original goal was to get skilled enough to let me convert a particular picture of Larry and Gary Green into a "masterpiece" that is both fun and interesting. To do this, I've acquired 4 new books, completed one and have scanned the other 3 as I start on the second and third books ... and they're really great. First I got "Scott Kelby's 7-Point System for Adobe Photoshop" and I've completed the 21 lessons in that book. It's a bit more than an introduction, but it gives extremely straightforward steps using Camera Raw and Photoshop to update good pictures with varying flaws. That gave me most of what I needed to make my new picture ... but it also got me interested in digital photography, raw files, DNG and really understanding how it all works.
The other 3 books I have, that I highly recommend, are "Camera Raw With Adobe Photoshop CS3" by Bruce Fraser and Jeff Schewe, "The Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book For Digital Photographers", by Scott Kelby and the "Photoshop CS3 Bible", by Laurie Ulrich Fuller and Robert C. Fuller. The only problem I've had so far with these books is minor. It concerns the "humor" that Scott Kelby interjects into his work. It gets to be a little too much. But I already was aware of this when I bought the second Kelby book ... also filled with practical applications of Photoshop ... and the fact that I bought it (anyway) means that I think it's got many fine teaching examples to offer. Of course, the "Bible" is primarily for reference, which I'll need quite a bit of, I'm sure.
Not wanting to leave things half done, I've now also ordered a Nikon D5000 camera so I can take pictures in raw format and go from "A to Z" in the Photoshop process with some of my own shots. Another experiment in learning ... about to take off. We'll see how it goes.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Fun Golf Day
The last 3.5 weeks of weather here in eastern Iowa have been very much like San Diego. Highs in the low to mid-80's with cool nights. Many days have seen highs in the upper 70's. I suppose it's about to come to an end as we also have had no measurable precipitation for almost 4 weeks and it would be nice to get a little moisture for the lawn. At any rate, the weather has been perfect for ... well, just about anything outdoors. So today I took part in a 4-person best shot tournament at St. Andrews (Cedar Rapids, IA) golf course. Great weather and a great time. We shot 58 (12-under par) and took 2nd in the championship round. That was meaningful since it meant we got back $60 each in prize money. Also, I'm feeling better about another tournament coming up the first Friday in October as I was able to hit the ball pretty well today (I was a bit anxious since it was my very first round of the year), which bodes well for 2 weeks from now.
At the end of the round I took a nice quick bicycle ride as the golf was with golf carts and just not much of a workout. But the weather was just great with light winds and about 75 degrees with some clouds.
Of course, the Vikings and the Hawkeye's winning this weekend also put a positive spin on the entire day. And how 'bout them Bears, beating the Steelers! Who'da thunk it ...
Those of you with sharp eyes may have noticed that my Photoshop training has paid a few dividends as I've updated my profile (and website) pictures (of me) with new versions taken in September. This month and the next are going to be filled with studying Photoshop CS3 and learning how to do more with all the (untouched and un-retouched) pictures I have on my computer. Should be a good time.
So many things to do on this earth ... so little time. Well, at least I'm not wasting what time I do have on the supernatural fantasy world of religion. If I'm going for wasting time with fantasy, it'll be with Lord of the Rings or King Kong or Star Trek or Star Wars or Stargate, etc. At least I won't be deluding myself since I both understand and admit that they're *not* real. Enjoy yourselves, folks, because your time can be over far more quickly than you could ever imagine. And it's what you do while you're here and what you leave behind that matters ...
At the end of the round I took a nice quick bicycle ride as the golf was with golf carts and just not much of a workout. But the weather was just great with light winds and about 75 degrees with some clouds.
Of course, the Vikings and the Hawkeye's winning this weekend also put a positive spin on the entire day. And how 'bout them Bears, beating the Steelers! Who'da thunk it ...
Those of you with sharp eyes may have noticed that my Photoshop training has paid a few dividends as I've updated my profile (and website) pictures (of me) with new versions taken in September. This month and the next are going to be filled with studying Photoshop CS3 and learning how to do more with all the (untouched and un-retouched) pictures I have on my computer. Should be a good time.
So many things to do on this earth ... so little time. Well, at least I'm not wasting what time I do have on the supernatural fantasy world of religion. If I'm going for wasting time with fantasy, it'll be with Lord of the Rings or King Kong or Star Trek or Star Wars or Stargate, etc. At least I won't be deluding myself since I both understand and admit that they're *not* real. Enjoy yourselves, folks, because your time can be over far more quickly than you could ever imagine. And it's what you do while you're here and what you leave behind that matters ...
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Hiccups Cure
Most (perhaps all) of us have been in a situation at one time or another where we've had the hiccups. When they do strike, one hopes that it's not at a critical time, such as immediately before or during the making of a presentation. But, of course, that isn't always the case, as Murphy's Law will attest. Furthermore, hiccups are uncomfortable and are annoying to have for any length of time greater than about 1 minute. Well, there's good news ... hiccups are easily curable ... read on.
On at least 3 different occasions with 3 different people (including myself), I've found that there is one sure cure for the hiccups. I'd like to give credit for this idea but I cannot remember where, when, or from whom I acquired it. Regardless of the original source, it's simple to try: gulp down one 1-ounce shot of Rose's Lime Juice. This is a sweetened and concentrated lime juice with extreme "pucker power" (i.e., you won't like it but it's better than cod liver oil). Best known for its use in various alcoholic beverages (Cosmopolitan, Martini, Margarita), this mixer is not alcoholic ... just very effective at eliminating hiccups, immediately. I don't know if the same results may be had when taken in its diluted form, as in a tasty Margarita, but that may be something to try, if you've a mind to. But if the Margarita doesn't work, well, at least it would probably have been fun to try and, afterwards, taking the "straight" stuff might be quite a bit easier on the palate.
So next time you have the hiccups and are at your wit's end about how to get rid of them, try Rose's Lime Juice. It really works ...
On at least 3 different occasions with 3 different people (including myself), I've found that there is one sure cure for the hiccups. I'd like to give credit for this idea but I cannot remember where, when, or from whom I acquired it. Regardless of the original source, it's simple to try: gulp down one 1-ounce shot of Rose's Lime Juice. This is a sweetened and concentrated lime juice with extreme "pucker power" (i.e., you won't like it but it's better than cod liver oil). Best known for its use in various alcoholic beverages (Cosmopolitan, Martini, Margarita), this mixer is not alcoholic ... just very effective at eliminating hiccups, immediately. I don't know if the same results may be had when taken in its diluted form, as in a tasty Margarita, but that may be something to try, if you've a mind to. But if the Margarita doesn't work, well, at least it would probably have been fun to try and, afterwards, taking the "straight" stuff might be quite a bit easier on the palate.
So next time you have the hiccups and are at your wit's end about how to get rid of them, try Rose's Lime Juice. It really works ...
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Lefty?
I didn't know that Barak was a lefty. However, he did make a pretty good (if a bit wussyful) throw from the mound to home (Pujols was the catcher) to open the All-Star game in St. Louis tonight.
On the bicycle riding front, I have been given a new respect for riders that use single gear bikes. This happened because of an encounter I had yesterday on my usual 14.2 mile circuit with a 30-ish guy riding one. We rode together for about 7 miles and I ended up ahead of him ... but pretty much only because I was able to gain a lot of ground on the downhills, where my higher gears took the day. He was a bear on the uphills, although he did them all standing on the pedals. Tough guy. Well, it was a competitive and fun ride and I ended up with a 2009 best personal time of 46:38 for the route (about 18.2 mph) even with a fairly stiff easterly breeze.
On the bicycle riding front, I have been given a new respect for riders that use single gear bikes. This happened because of an encounter I had yesterday on my usual 14.2 mile circuit with a 30-ish guy riding one. We rode together for about 7 miles and I ended up ahead of him ... but pretty much only because I was able to gain a lot of ground on the downhills, where my higher gears took the day. He was a bear on the uphills, although he did them all standing on the pedals. Tough guy. Well, it was a competitive and fun ride and I ended up with a 2009 best personal time of 46:38 for the route (about 18.2 mph) even with a fairly stiff easterly breeze.
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