Greg In The Desert

A map of the 50 states redrawn based on population has fascinated me. Mainly because the state of New Mexico gets obliterated into 4 other new states. It looks like Albuquerque and Rio Rancho get put into Llano Estacdo or “Staked Plains“.

It’s a suggestion by fakeisthenewreal.org to improve the electoral college system.

Rather than replacing a time honored system that, after all, has only broken down three times in over 200 years, the organization of the states should be altered. In 2000, the Census Bureau determined the United States population to be 281,421,906, distributed in 50 states and one federal district. The states ranged in population from to 493,782 (1) to 33,871,648 (2). This Electoral Reform Map redivides the territory of the United States into 50 bodies of equal size – 281,421,906 divided by 50 is 5,616,997. This map shows one possible way to redraw the fifty states (3).

Santa Fe is the capital city of New Mexico but it’s not nearly as populated as Albuquerque and is known for being artsy and for electromagentic sensitive people.

A Santa Fe man who says he suffers from electromagnetic sensitivity is suing his next-door neighbor for refusing to turn off her cell phone and other electronic devices.

Arthur Firstenberg, who has actively opposed the proliferation of wireless systems in public buildings, claims he has been made homeless by Raphaela Monribot’s rejection of his requests.

New Mexico is the right place to live to get away from all electromagntic signals. The Very Large Array in Socorro, New Mexico is in a signal free zone. One does not have to go far into the desert to get away signals but living anywhere near or in a city is a bad idea.

Truth Or Consequences, NM blogger Mikey Sklar came up with a metal bowl and Alfa WiFi adapter
to scan for an open wireless networks when his internet went out.

We suffered from two disastrous outages last week. First a data line was cut somewhere north of TorC and south of Albuquerque. We had no cell service (AT&T) or any internet in all of town for a full work day. Nobody could use credit cards, ATMs, or even purchase gas. This was closely followed with our home internet connection dying. I called the cable company on day 3 to complain and they fixed it almost immediately. The issue was a dead amplifier used to boost the signal to all the trailer hookups on our property. In order to keep our sanity through this week of dead connections I rigged up a 1W Wi-Fi card to pickup the free internet signal in a nearby park about a 1/3 of a mile from my home. I was blown away to discover 50 other Wi-Fi networks being available at the same time. About 50% of those are open or using easily defeated WEP. I highly recommend picking up a 1W alfa card for less than $40. Now I just need a bigger dish. Works fine with all platforms and has a recent driver release for OS/X which makes it much easier to use.

Assuming you can get the car to them the TV show Breaking Bad, which films in Albuquerque, needs some crappy cars.

Breaking Bad Season 3 is needing Beater vehicles for filming. Vehicles that have cracked or broken windows, paint peeling,chipped or faded. All vehicles must run and be drivable. Vehicles that have dents, missing bumpers, broken tail lights.
Please include:
Picture of yourself
Picture of vehicle
Full Name
Phone Number
Age
Height
Weight

I considered not writing about HGTV’s 2010 Dream Home giveaway because I don’t want it to get any attention. The home is located in San Pedro Overlook, New Mexico near Sandia Park. It’s on the other side of the Sandia Mountains from Albuquerque. I really want to win this house so I don’t want anyone knowing about it. I came to the realization that I’m unlikely to have any impact on it’s promotion.

The custom-designed 3,900-square-foot HGTV Dream Home 2010 will mix southwestern architecture with modern design. Created with the bold, innovative ideas, architecture, art and design that make HGTV Dream Homes so exciting and unique, it includes three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a home office, gourmet kitchen, home theater and a guest casita. The amazing home site is nestled in the gaze of the majestic San Pedro Mountains with breathtaking scenery and a plethora of outdoor activities. Nearby, the historic towns of Santa Fe and Albuquerque offer an international art scene, amazing cuisine and a rich, multicultural heritage.

I could totally dump nearly everything I own and move into the house as it is. I would be happy to commute to Albuquerque. The only thing I would need to do wire it for my home automation system. And figure out how to pay for the taxes.

Please do not enter the contest.

• Why didn’t I use pervious concrete for my driveway? – Fresh Dirt – Sunset.com – Pervious concrete is basically concrete without the sand. And the absence of sand creates a lot of void space. 15-30%. That is enough, according to the Pacific Southwest Concrete Alliance, for 3-8 gallons of water per minute to pass through each square foot. That is equal, says the Alliance, to 6,000 to 17,000 inches of rain per day. Even an El Nino won't produce more than that.
• No right to bear unlicensed machine guns, federal court says / The Christian Science Monitor – CSMonitor.com – “Whatever the individual right to keep and bear arms might entail, it does not authorize an unlicensed individual to possess unregistered machine guns for personal use,” said the three-judge panel of the Sixth US Circuit Court of Appeals.
• No right to bear unlicensed machine guns, federal court says / The Christian Science Monitor – CSMonitor.com – “Whatever the individual right to keep and bear arms might entail, it does not authorize an unlicensed individual to possess unregistered machine guns for personal use,” said the three-judge panel of the Sixth US Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Southwest bags more fliers by not imposing fees – The Denver Post – While the airline cut capacity by 5 percent in 2009, it added service to four new airports — New York LaGuardia, Boston, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Milwaukee. At the same time, he said the airline has gained a 1 percent market share and even has offered all employees raises during one of the worst financial slumps in airline history.
• The President on Preliminary Findings Regarding the Attempted Terrorist Attack | The White House – I wanted to speak to the American people again today because some of this preliminary information that has surfaced in the last 24 hours raises some serious concerns. It's been widely reported that the father of the suspect in the Christmas incident warned U.S. officials in Africa about his son's extremist views. It now appears that weeks ago this information was passed to a component of our intelligence community, but was not effectively distributed so as to get the suspect's name on a no-fly list.
• Retirees Flock to Mexico for the Sun and the Health Care | PBS NewsHour | Dec. 28, 2009 | PBS – Thousands of Americans are coming to places like Puerto Vallarta, not to dip their toes in the warm Pacific, sip a margarita, or browse a crafts fair. No, they are coming for health care, in many cases, care they could never afford to acquire in the United States.
• New equation for comfort – The Denver Post – The Apex boot essentially is a snowboarding boot inserted into a lightweight carbon fiber frame. The external carbon fiber structure provides the lateral stiffness and forward lean required to make skis perform, but can be removed easily for walking.
• Italian town where a White Christmas is a police matter | World news | The Guardian – Some 3,000 people have marched through the town in protest at the operation, which the Vatican called "sad and distressing". But it has been endorsed by Silvio Berlusconi's government. Visiting nearby Brescia, where he announced the opening of a detention camp for suspected illegal immigrants – a so-called centre for identification and expulsion – Berlusconi's interior minister, Roberto Maroni, a leader of the League, complimented Coccaglio's mayor.
• N.M. teacher claims lottery prize 2 hours before it expires – Lottery News – With only two hours to spare, an Albuquerque teacher claimed a $10,000 Powerball prize scheduled to expire today at 4:30 p.m.

Rio Rancho and Albuquerque received a dusting of snow overnight. The city doesn’t have the capability to sand the neighborhood roads and they are very icy at the moment. I normally don’t need much of an excuse to avoid work in the morning, this morning I have a good one.

The weather report calls for more snow in Rio Rancho but I doubt we will get any more. It looks like the southern part of the state is getting the snow this winter and the sun is starting to show here.

Update: It’s been snowing all morning, I can’t believe the weather man was right.

After writing my post on the “How To Eat Chicken Wings Video”, I got a craving for some chicken wings. I called-in an order at the nearest Wing Basket and drove down to Albuquerque to get them.

When I pulled up to the place I could see a car sitting in front with it’s lights on and people inside. It took me a few minutes to get parked and out of the car. As I got out, the passenger of the other car got out and hurried to the door. We both seemed to race to the door but I did stop to open the door for the other person. She ignored me as I opened the door, not even a thank you, probably because she was too busy talking on her cell phone.

She was now first in line and both the cashier and myself were getting annoyed as she kept asking the same questions since she didn’t pay attention to the answers the first time because she was too busy talking on her phone. Since I was the only other person in the place it because pretty clear their one call-in order was for me. They only had one cashier so they could only do one order at a time.

Eventually she made her order. It was the smallest least complicated thing on the menu and it only took her 10 minutes. I’m not sure if she was consulting with the person on her cell phone or made this choice all on her own. Once she got out of line, she seemed oblivious that there was someone waiting in line behind her.

My Wings were delicious once I got home to eat them. The point of this story is to explain why I hate people and try to order everything on the internet.

Costco has La Crosse Technologies weather center that appears to be the same as the La Crosse Weather Pro Center WS-2810. I couldn’t find any markings on the package at the Costco in Albuquerque other than Costco Specific.

The WS-2810 is has PC compatibility using a wireless USB dongle. I’m interested to know if it’s Mac compatible. La Crosse only supplies PC software but I’m using WeatherTracker by After Ten Software with a similar wired model I picked up last year. This wireless model looks to be improved over the wired model I have now.

Costco’s price was around $80 and the La Crosse website lists the WS-2810 at $249.99. I did not see a simialr model on Amazon’s La Crosse Technology Professional Weather Center page (Update: There are 2810’s on Amazon
, they are not labeled as such are there are currently none available).

The description from La Crosse’s website.

WS-2810
Weather Pro Center:
Wind • Rain • Weather •
PC Software
$249.99

• Included PC Interface
• Wind Chill, Direction and Speed
• Solar Powered Wind Sensor
• Rain Data
• Forecast w/ Tendency
• IN/OUT Temp
• IN/OUT Humidity
• Weather Alarms w/ Storm Warning

Dimensions:
Receiver: 4.59" x 0.94" x 7.01"
Thermo-hygro:3.13" x 3.54" x 7.45"
Rain Sensor: 5.18" dia. x 7.19"
Wind Sensor:9.84" x 5.74" x 11.11"

My next option would be the Vantage Vue wireless weather station for about $300 at Amazon which is considerably more expensive.

• Will California become America’s first failed state? | World news | The Observer – But the state that was once held up as the epitome of the boundless opportunities of America has collapsed. From its politics to its economy to its environment and way of life, California is like a patient on life support
• New iWatch program hopes to collect tips on possible terrorist actions – The Denver Post – Los Angeles police Cmdr. Joan McNamara cited this summer's incident as police chiefs meeting in Denver adopted a model for a nationwide community watch program that teaches people what behavior is truly suspicious and encourages them to report it to police.
• University of North Texas student senate says ‘no’ to same-sex couples on homecoming court | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News – The University of North Texas’ student governing body has voted down a proposal to allow same-sex couples to run for homecoming king and queen.
• Martin’s Useless Products List | GreenBuildingAdvisor.com – Every day, marketers convince hundreds of people to spend money on useless “energy saving” gadgets. Since these marketers show no signs of going away, it’s time to highlight their products with a ten-worst list.
• Scientists discover clues to what makes human muscle age | Science Blog – A study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, has identified critical biochemical pathways linked to the aging of human muscle. By manipulating these pathways, the researchers were able to turn back the clock on old human muscle, restoring its ability to repair and rebuild itself.
• Pasadena police say woman fried, ate pet goldfish after fight with common-law husband | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News – PASADENA, Texas – A Houston-area woman apparently burned up at her former common-law husband fried their pet goldfish and ate some of them. Pasadena police say it's a civil matter and no charges will be filed. The seven goldfish were purchased together by the couple during happier times.
• Washington Post: Net Neutrality Kills Puppies – Oh, did we forget to mention we own a cable company? – dslreports.com – By the way, it apparently slipped the Washington Post's mind to mention that they own a cable company by the name of Cable One, who probably doesn't want the FCC meddling with the cable carrier's right to impose incredibly low caps at certain hours of the day. We're sure that has nothing to do with why the Post is arguing against consumer best interests while regurgitating the industry's positions on network neutrality almost verbatim.
• Lawyer says Oklahoma City bombing tapes edited | NewsOK.com – "Four cameras in four different locations going blank at basically the same time on the morning of April 19, 1995. There ain’t no such thing as a coincidence,” Jesse Trentadue told The Associated Press Sunday.
• In Cheyenne, glass pile shows recycling challenges – The Denver Post – Glass also has piled up at the landfill serving Albuquerque, N.M., where officials this year announced that a manufacturer of water-absorbing horticultural stones would eventually use up their stockpiles. New York City gave up glass recycling from 2002 to 2004 because officials decided it was too costly.
• 8-month-old found in filled tub not breathing – An 8-month-old baby boy was not breathing and lacked a pulse when he was pulled from a Phoenix bathtub filled with water, where the toddler was laid down for a nap during a house party.