Multi Use Path Courtesy

Since today was beautiful, took a rather scenic walk with the dog through Rock Creek Park by the Smithsonian National Zoo. Of course, you simply needed to walk outside of you did not check the weather forecast to know that it is shorts and t-shirt weather 🙂

“Passing on your left”

Proper trail etiquette dictates that when you are passing someone, usually from behind, you always pass on the left side and provide an audible signal to that effect. Since bells are required in the District of Columbia and many other states, a simple “ping” is all that is needed. Of course, saying “Passing on your left” will help those unaccustomed to the bell signal.

Tally

Here goes. The list of those who signaled they were passing when approaching from behind.

Cyclists

Yes 7 33%

No 14 67%

Runners

Yes 0

No 11 100%

One runner had to stop because my dog was in the way and shook his head in disgust as he continued running. Hmm…had you let me know you were coming and passed on the left and not the right, you might not have been inconvenienced by my dog.

Moral of the story

When you are passing someone in a car, on a bike, in a stroller, or jogging, kindly signal that you are passing and always pass on the left side. 🙂 Not only will it make your trip more enjoyable, you will avoid 99.9% of crashes t00!

2012-02-262021-01-26

Cool NASA Facts….

Amazing who you meet….

So the other day I have the privilege to speak with someone who worked for NASA. We talked about a lot, I attended Space Camp and love the idea of Space exploration. Here are some cool facts…

The Space Shuttle can both take off and land unattended. This would allow the use when inspection reveals some potential flaws which may cause an accident. With that said, in order to save costs until a new space vehicle has been produced, may spend less time getting the shuttle cleaned up and simply launch it unmanned with the eventual destruction of the aging fleet. The only problem with this…..the Smithsonian is supposed to get one 🙂
The American Flag on the Moon is plastic! I guess it should be expected since there is 1/6 gravity on the Moon. I used to think that since there was not any gravity and therefore by “molding” the flag, it would just stay that way.
The blast off of the lunar lander likely knocked the flag down. This being said, the first person to commercially visit the moon will likely swipe the flag.

2012-02-222021-02-05

Did you see Nightline last night?

Wow…am I lucky!

After watching the Nightline episode last night, one has to wonder, how much would it “really” cost for an iPhone if the workers were paid more than $2 an hour! Average wage earned is $427 a month or $14 a day. The Nightline report mentioned that for $17 a month you can live close by in a 8 person bunk-bed room. While not looking very nice, they apparently are much nicer than the homes those workers came from. Workers also have the opportunity to take education classes and have a soccer field nearby.

More than 1 million workers

MacRumors in a discussion reports that Foxconn employs over 1 million workers of which about 10,000 are on the production lines for Apple. Productivity is very high as the units produced each day are impressive to me, but if you were to increase wages to $8 an hour, a 75% increase, working 40 hours each week, that would be an increase in labor cost of 12.5 Billion US dollars. It probably would not drive “retail” prices up 75%, but I certainly would think it would cost us a few more pennies.

Should we be paying 50% more?

According to The Atlantic it would cost more than $1100 to buy an iPad 2. That is close to double the cost.

US Poverty??

It does make you think more about poverty level globally. In the US, if you are living alone making less than $10,890 you are below poverty level. It is good we have assistance programs in place to provide food since a box of healthy cereal costs you $5 these days! Granted we are quite materialistic in this country, so maybe you can live on a very little amount in other countries, but for the wages paid, it would be impossible for any worker to actually own the product they are making!

Miss the report?

Watch the episode online here: ABC Nightline Video Archives

Wrap-up

So most consumers would probably not like paying twice as much for our imports, but seriously, after seeing that report it makes me wonder any way if I really need everything I buy. Sure I single handedly cannot help those workers in other countries, but together I would think we could all make a difference.

There really is a dilemma here…should we push to have all manufacturing and assembly happen in the US and only buy American? Do we lobby for better wages in foreign nations? Either way, people will lose jobs. Sure more will be created elsewhere, but for those currently working for $2 an hour, a mandated wage increase for them could mean a factory relocation or layoffs if another supplier is able to produce products for even just a penny less.

This has probably been my most passionate and heartfelt post ever and I hope that it can help in some way.

2012-02-092021-01-26

Amazon Kindle Silences Cell Phone Speakers

The Disclaimer

Okay..so the only reason I am posting this is because it is soo odd. I do pretty much all of my shopping on Amazon 🙂

The Discovery

After setting an alarm on his cell phone, Chris D. woke up late only to discover that the alarm had gone off according to the screen display, but there was no audio. His cell phone was resting on his Kindle Fire.

The Deduction

When your cell phone touches your Amazon Kindle, the speakerphone ceases to function. Notification sounds are not heard.

The Experiment

Test subject 1

Name: Chris D….

Phone model: unknown

Kindle Model: Kindle Fire.

Test: Alarm set to wake from nap to come to work last night…was not heard, but visible that alarm sounded on screen. Was late to work, but excused due to this strange observation.

Conclusion: Speakerphone Malfunction.

Test Subject 2

Name: Roommate

Phone Model: Verizon Droid

Kindle Model: unknown

Test: Alarm set on phone. Phone placed on Kindle. Alarm went off, but no audio heard.

Conclusion: Speakerphone malfunction.

The Conclusion

So…While it may be some weird interference in their house since both subjects were in the same residence, it seems to be that the Amazon Kindle somehow wants to be the “Alpha” electronic device and seems to silence others, or perhaps is the “King” and other devices bow down as loyal subject of the court should 🙂

The Credit

Thanks to Chris D. for the testing and sharing his findings. Too bad he was late to work due to the strange phenomenon!

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30