Hi Everyone:
Yes it is that time of the year again, I mean that it is winter. With winter, (depending on where you live) comes snow. Inevitably with snow comes accidents. Where I live, so far we have only had one snow fall amounting to a whopping 4 inches. That doesn't include today, due to the fact that we are having a snow storm with 12 to 18 inches expected.
During the first snow fall, I passed 2 accidents. Being a normal driver, I had to slow down to check out the accidents. Both accidents involved only a single vehicle. Not to my surprise, both vehicles were large AWD SUV's. Unless there was some kind of mechanical failure that I wasn't aware of, the apparent cause for both accidents was speed. I think that before someone buys a SUV or any AWD vehicle, it should be mandatory that they go through a common sense speech from the seller/dealer. The speech should center around how any AWD vehicle can not stop any faster or easier then any other vehicle on the road. Yes AWD vehicles can accelerate from a stopped position faster then any other vehicle in snow and have better traction going forward, they still can not stop any faster.
Having been an owner of 2 AWD vehicles, I learned early on about the lack of stopping power. Somehow, a lot of SUV owners have not learned that lesson. Common sense should dictate that in bad weather, snow and rain included, your stopping ability is severely hampered and you have to slow down.
Case closed.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
A Duh Moment
Hi Everyone:
I consider myself computer literate, but by no means a computer wiz. A few weeks ago, my wife and I got a new Dell computer. As I was unpacking the machine, I found a card, about the same size as a CD/DVD. It said Do Not Discard twice on the front. So I took time to read it. It was from Microsoft and the card turned out to be the activation key for my Microsoft Office 2010. The card stated to visit microsoft's web site, so I did.
I don't know how much time I spent trying to download office 2010. No matter what I did, the download didn't work. Clicking on Help wasn't any help either since I still couldn't download office. Becoming very frustrated, I called Dell for help. Yes I spoke to someone in India, (I always ask what country I called), but I could not only hear them very clearly, but I could understand every word he said. That is a miracle in and of itself. Anyway the tech told me to click on the paper and pen icon at the top of my screen. Voila, Microsoft Office 2010 starts to download. That was a real Duhhhhh moment for me. The card I had was indeed the activation key for office which I had to enter. I thanked the tech and I told him that I felt so stupid. He told me that it happens all the time now with Windows 7 and also because you no longer actually receive a disc from Microsoft. You just get a Product Identifier card with the activation key code, all 25 or 27 digits.
A few days after receipt of the computer, I got a call from Dell asking me about my new computer. I told him that all was fine except for the problem with office 2010. I told him that the card stated to visit the web site. I then added that the card should have one more sentence included, telling you to click on the pen and paper icon to start the download. He appreciated my comment and thought it was a good idea and would pass it up.
To me, my common sense says that Microsoft should have included that one sentence and then my experience would have been without a flaw. Oh well, live and learn.
Til next week.
Peter
I consider myself computer literate, but by no means a computer wiz. A few weeks ago, my wife and I got a new Dell computer. As I was unpacking the machine, I found a card, about the same size as a CD/DVD. It said Do Not Discard twice on the front. So I took time to read it. It was from Microsoft and the card turned out to be the activation key for my Microsoft Office 2010. The card stated to visit microsoft's web site, so I did.
I don't know how much time I spent trying to download office 2010. No matter what I did, the download didn't work. Clicking on Help wasn't any help either since I still couldn't download office. Becoming very frustrated, I called Dell for help. Yes I spoke to someone in India, (I always ask what country I called), but I could not only hear them very clearly, but I could understand every word he said. That is a miracle in and of itself. Anyway the tech told me to click on the paper and pen icon at the top of my screen. Voila, Microsoft Office 2010 starts to download. That was a real Duhhhhh moment for me. The card I had was indeed the activation key for office which I had to enter. I thanked the tech and I told him that I felt so stupid. He told me that it happens all the time now with Windows 7 and also because you no longer actually receive a disc from Microsoft. You just get a Product Identifier card with the activation key code, all 25 or 27 digits.
A few days after receipt of the computer, I got a call from Dell asking me about my new computer. I told him that all was fine except for the problem with office 2010. I told him that the card stated to visit the web site. I then added that the card should have one more sentence included, telling you to click on the pen and paper icon to start the download. He appreciated my comment and thought it was a good idea and would pass it up.
To me, my common sense says that Microsoft should have included that one sentence and then my experience would have been without a flaw. Oh well, live and learn.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Crime Does Pay
Hi Everyone:
Who ever says that crime doesn't pay obviously doesn't live in New York State. New York State is more screwed up then I even imagined. I have said numerous times that a whole lot of politicians, from both sides of the aisle, simply don't have any common sense what-so-ever. Well, hold on to your seats and get ready for an unbelievable story with an even more unbelievable ending.
Vincent Leibell, a lawyer and a Republican, was in the New York state Assembly for 13 years and then was a state Senator for 15 years. Leibell won this past November 2nd election for Putnam County Executive. That is the top political job in the county. He is well liked or should I say used to be.
On December 2nd, he abruptly resigned from his state Senator's seat which shocked a lot of people. On December 6th he pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and tax evasion in U.S. District Court in White Plains, New York. He faces up to 24 months in jail. Prosecutors say he extorted money from an attorney who did work for the Putnam Community Foundation, (which Leibell founded) and then urged that lawyer to lie about it to the grand jury during a conversation recorded by investigators. He also took consultant fees from a partner in a Westchester firm doing work for the county and did not pay taxes on that income.
At first glance, this just seems to be another crooked politician's tale. But, Leibell took this to another level. He knew that he was under investigation in April of this year. He knew that what he had done was illegal, but he still ran for County Executive and won. He won because no one knew about the extent of his problems. Why would he do that? The obvious answer is that he has absolutely no common sense! This goes to show that career politicians truly believe that they are above the law and can do whatever they want. The only positive thing I can say about this is that at least Leibell pleaded guilty and didn't force a trial by pleading innocent. Yea for that I guess.
But the conclusion to this sorry tale is that Leibell, even though he pleaded guilty to illegal activities that dealt directly to his elected position, will receive a pension of $71,000 per year. If he lives another 20 years, he will then have received...................$1.4 million. To top that off, the receipt of his pension is all legal. NYS elected officials have never approved making it illegal to use your office for illegal activities. Shame on New York! But then again, why would politicians vote for a bill that would take away their pensions? Common sense dictates that if you plead guilty or are found guilty by trial for using your elected office for illegal activities you should forfeit your entire pension, case closed!!!
Til next week.
Peter
Who ever says that crime doesn't pay obviously doesn't live in New York State. New York State is more screwed up then I even imagined. I have said numerous times that a whole lot of politicians, from both sides of the aisle, simply don't have any common sense what-so-ever. Well, hold on to your seats and get ready for an unbelievable story with an even more unbelievable ending.
Vincent Leibell, a lawyer and a Republican, was in the New York state Assembly for 13 years and then was a state Senator for 15 years. Leibell won this past November 2nd election for Putnam County Executive. That is the top political job in the county. He is well liked or should I say used to be.
On December 2nd, he abruptly resigned from his state Senator's seat which shocked a lot of people. On December 6th he pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and tax evasion in U.S. District Court in White Plains, New York. He faces up to 24 months in jail. Prosecutors say he extorted money from an attorney who did work for the Putnam Community Foundation, (which Leibell founded) and then urged that lawyer to lie about it to the grand jury during a conversation recorded by investigators. He also took consultant fees from a partner in a Westchester firm doing work for the county and did not pay taxes on that income.
At first glance, this just seems to be another crooked politician's tale. But, Leibell took this to another level. He knew that he was under investigation in April of this year. He knew that what he had done was illegal, but he still ran for County Executive and won. He won because no one knew about the extent of his problems. Why would he do that? The obvious answer is that he has absolutely no common sense! This goes to show that career politicians truly believe that they are above the law and can do whatever they want. The only positive thing I can say about this is that at least Leibell pleaded guilty and didn't force a trial by pleading innocent. Yea for that I guess.
But the conclusion to this sorry tale is that Leibell, even though he pleaded guilty to illegal activities that dealt directly to his elected position, will receive a pension of $71,000 per year. If he lives another 20 years, he will then have received...................$1.4 million. To top that off, the receipt of his pension is all legal. NYS elected officials have never approved making it illegal to use your office for illegal activities. Shame on New York! But then again, why would politicians vote for a bill that would take away their pensions? Common sense dictates that if you plead guilty or are found guilty by trial for using your elected office for illegal activities you should forfeit your entire pension, case closed!!!
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, December 5, 2010
To Be Or Not To Be
Hi Everyone:
I'm pretty sure everyone has heard about the controversy about the new screening procedures implemented by the TSA recently. The new screening procedures before being allowed to board a flight include a body scan (think X-ray) or if one doesn't want that they would have to have a full body pat down. So why all the fuss? It seems that there are people who don't want either of them implemented. Some people believe that having either done tramples on their right to privacy.
In today's world, there are people in this world who would like nothing more then to either blow up a plane in flight or use it as a missile to kill as many Americans as possible. In order to make flying as save as possible the TSA implemented these new procedures. Remember last Christmas' underwear bomber? The only reason no one was killed was due to the fact that the bomb in his underwear failed to detonate. If the bomb had detonated, it would have most likely caused the plane to blow up in mid air and/or crash. Either way people would have been killed.
With the old procedures sans body scans or pat downs any other underwear bomber could have tried again and maybe even succeeded. It seems to me that the new procedures are a necessary evil to try to make flying safe for all. If insuring a flight's safety includes either a body scan or a pat down I say just do it. To me, that just makes common sense. If one doesn't like it don't fly! Take a train or a car or a bus. I'm also fairly certain that if the procedures were not implemented and people were killed due to a preventable bomber; these same people against the new procedures would be the first ones, after the victim's families, to complain about the lack of security. You can not have it both ways.
Comprehensive security does work. Just look at Israel and what the flying public there must go through to board a plane.
In this case, the ends do justify the means. And the old saying, it is better to be safe then sorry, says it all.
Til next week.
Peter
I'm pretty sure everyone has heard about the controversy about the new screening procedures implemented by the TSA recently. The new screening procedures before being allowed to board a flight include a body scan (think X-ray) or if one doesn't want that they would have to have a full body pat down. So why all the fuss? It seems that there are people who don't want either of them implemented. Some people believe that having either done tramples on their right to privacy.
In today's world, there are people in this world who would like nothing more then to either blow up a plane in flight or use it as a missile to kill as many Americans as possible. In order to make flying as save as possible the TSA implemented these new procedures. Remember last Christmas' underwear bomber? The only reason no one was killed was due to the fact that the bomb in his underwear failed to detonate. If the bomb had detonated, it would have most likely caused the plane to blow up in mid air and/or crash. Either way people would have been killed.
With the old procedures sans body scans or pat downs any other underwear bomber could have tried again and maybe even succeeded. It seems to me that the new procedures are a necessary evil to try to make flying safe for all. If insuring a flight's safety includes either a body scan or a pat down I say just do it. To me, that just makes common sense. If one doesn't like it don't fly! Take a train or a car or a bus. I'm also fairly certain that if the procedures were not implemented and people were killed due to a preventable bomber; these same people against the new procedures would be the first ones, after the victim's families, to complain about the lack of security. You can not have it both ways.
Comprehensive security does work. Just look at Israel and what the flying public there must go through to board a plane.
In this case, the ends do justify the means. And the old saying, it is better to be safe then sorry, says it all.
Til next week.
Peter
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