Greg In The Desert

KRQE has a news story of home beer brewer and Rio Rancho resident Ben Miller winning a Sam Adams contest. His beer will be sold by Sam Adams in April 2010. They fail to mention what it will be called.

Only the most important development work is being done in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.

In Mid April I started a Solarization experiment where I use solar heating to kill off everything in the soil of my back yard. So far the results have been mixed.

The weather in Rio Rancho has cycled between days of heat and days of cool with rain. The cool days help to create a greenhouse effect under the plastic that cause plants to grow and the days of heat have killed them off. This is good since it’s easier to kill plants than seeds. Hopefully everything that can sprout has sprouted and died.

Since we haven’t had enough days of heat in a row, I don’t think the ground has really baked deep into the soil. It doesn’t appear it has baked the surface enough to decompose organic matter there.

The cycle of rain and heat appear to be over and we are now we are just getting heat. Parts of dead vegetation with sharp edges along with the prolonged time in the heat has caused some of the plastic to break down and break apart. Of the two sheets I put down one has almost completely broken down. The other sheet of plastic is partly shaded and has held together, it is currently experiencing a greenhouse effect with some plants growing underneath.

All the early summer rain has caused a large amount of goat heads plants (Tribulus terrestris) to sprout outside of the solarization area. I did my best to pick the plants but I had to violate my rule of not using chemicals and apply Roundup to a most of the back yard. My concern with using Roundup is the potential of creating weeds that are resistant to Roundup. Also, Roundup is turning out to be toxic.

This will be one of the few times I used chemicals to control weeds. Depending on how much time I have for the rest of this summer, I will try to apply more plastic to the backyard to take advantage of the late summer heat.

• Slaying fuels debate over speed cameras in Arizona – Doug Georgianni, 51, was killed on April 19, as he operated a speed-enforcement van on a Phoenix freeway. Thomas Patrick Destories, a 68-year-old Phoenix man, is being held in Maricopa County jail on a first-degree murder charge in the death. He has declined to comment.

  Authorities haven't said what they believe the motive might be, but said the two men had never met. Many simply assume the killing was the latest and most extreme backlash against Arizona's photo-enforcement program.

• Chandler Motorola site has new buyer – The prime 153-acre Motorola site on Price Road once again has a buyer.

  A contract has been signed by an out-of-town investor, said Christine Mackay, Chandler's director of economic development.

• Demand for Intel Atom processors slowing – Demand for Intel's Atom netbook processors has begun to slow down as the netbook market faces price-cut competition from low-end notebooks as well as the launch of CULV-based notebooks, according to market sources.
• Charles de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia – Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (Eng. /ˈmɒntəˌskju:/; 18 January 1689 in Bordeaux – 10 February 1755), was a French social commentator and political thinker who lived during the Era of the Enlightenment. He is famous for his articulation of the theory of separation of powers, taken for granted in modern discussions of government and implemented in many constitutions throughout the world. He was largely responsible for the popularization of the terms feudalism and Byzantine Empire.
• Southwest adds jobs as most airlines cut – New Mexico Business Weekly: – Dallas-based Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) was one of the few major carriers to add employees in the latest period. Southwest grew its work force by 1,473 workers in the year-to-year February period and has more than 35,543 workers total.
• English Russia » Russian Pilot Making Photos 9/11 Flying Above NYC – Here is a shocking story of Russian pilot, now living in the USA who was on the air 9th September 2001 and have made photos right from the air when planes crashed the WTC.
• Geosmin – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia – Geosmin, which literally translates to "earth smell", is an organic compound with a distinct earthy flavour and aroma, and is responsible for the earthy taste of beets and a contributor to the strong scent that occurs in the air when rain falls after a dry spell of weather (petrichor). The human nose is extremely sensitive to geosmin and is able to detect it at concentrations as low as 5 parts per trillion.
• Apartment Therapy The Kitchn | Weeknight Recipe: Easy Homemade Macaroni and Cheese – This is the mac n' cheese that we grew up on – creamy sauce, chewy pasta, and don't spare the cheese! This was way before "fat" was a dirty word, but we still can't think of anything else we'd rather have at the end of a long day. Just call it an occasional indulgence and grab yourself a bowl!
• ReelzChannel premiers ABQ headquarters – New Mexico Business Weekly: – Maltin just taped the first episode of his show, “Secret’s Out,” in New Mexico, and there will be many more to follow. The network that created his show, ReelzChannel, opened its new headquarters Thursday at Albuquerque Studios. Maltin’s first show will feature an interview with Gov. Bill Richardson about the film industry and will discuss a film made in New Mexico in 2003, “Off the Map.”
• EDITORIAL: MADD about regulation – Washington Times – President Obama's pick to head the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration raises a few red flags. If confirmed by the Senate, Chuck Hurley, CEO of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, will drive motorists over the cliff with regulation.

• News : Master Gardeners win national honor – Rio Rancho Observer – The garden has received the International Master Gardener Search for Excellence Award, which is a cooperative effort of the Sandoval County Master Gardeners through New Mexico State University’s Cooperative Extension program and several City of Rio Rancho departments, partnering with the Rio Grande Basin Initiative, local businesses and community volunteers.

  The award was presented on March 23 to Master Gardener Linda Poe, project coordinator, at the International Master Gardener Conference in Las Vegas, Nev.

• The Consumerist Hive Helps You Buy A Diamond [Jewelry] – What are the things you should know when going diamond shopping? Our reader Justin needs to buy one.
• Realtors: Existing-home sales in West up 19% in March from last year – New Mexico Business Weekly: – The West, including New Mexico, was the only part of the country to see sales of existing homes increase in March from the same month of 2008, according to data released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors.
• Electronista | EU steps toward fining Intel in antitrust case – The European Union has prepared a draft decision in an ongoing antitrust case against Intel that appears to be approaching completion, according to the Wall Street Journal. Unnamed sources familiar with the matter claim the EU will seek a fine against the company, although the draft can be modified as it continues through the process.
• Thirteen year-old revealed as winner of Apple’s billion app contest | Software | Macworld – Apple on Friday revealed the name of the winner of its billion app countdown contest. It’s Connor Mulcahey, a 13 year-old who hails from Weston, Conn.
• The Simple Dollar » Thoughts on Work, Personal Life, and Frugality – If you hate your job, today’s the day to start going frugal. Don’t go home tonight and follow the same old routine. Your future doesn’t have to be like this. Here are 100 ways to get started. Most important: when you’re tempted to spend on something unnecessary, think twice about it. Make the choice not to spend until it becomes familiar and comfortable – then use that money you’re saving to get out of debt and build yourself a future you can be happy with.
• The GOP: divorced from reality – Los Angeles Times – By Bill Maher

  If conservatives don't want to be seen as bitter people who cling to their guns and religion and anti-immigrant sentiments, they should stop being bitter and clinging to their guns, religion and anti-immigrant sentiments.

• Advanced Composite Structures: Flying high – New Mexico Business Weekly: – The Rio Rancho company, which makes thermoplastic air cargo boxes, reorganized operations through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy over the past two years.

  Now, it has emerged from the process with $16 million in new capital from a New York-based investment firm and a $6 million contract with Northwest Airlines.

• Spider "Resurrections" Take Scientists by Surprise – rs in a lab twitched back to life hours after "drowning"—and the scientists were as surprised as anyone.

  The bugs, it seems, enter comas to survive for hours underwater, according to a new study.

• Chrysler unveils new electric minivan for U.S. Postal Service duty – Chrysler is celebrating Earth Day today by unveiling the first four of what will be a fleet of 250 battery powered minivans for the US Postal Service. The U.S.P.S. will be using the vans for variety of duties at locations around the country – including daily home delivery.

• Bogus Consumer Group To ‘Educate’ You On Metered Billing – The quest to ‘correct’ your flawed perception begins… – dslreports.com – That education process began over the weekend, when a group called the American Consumer Institute penned a missive declaring that metered billing is a great idea for consumers, while unabashedly throwing their support behind Time Warner Cable.

  Except the American Consumer Institute isn't actually a consumer group. It's an amalgamation of think tank reps pushing for corporate deregulation under the guise of consumer advocacy. A quick WhoIS notes that the ACI website is registered to Stephen Pociask, a telecom consultant and former chief economist for Bell Atlantic, who via groups like the Competitive Enterprise Institute, works as a public relations apparatus for paying corporate clients.

• Hundreds line up for chance at fast-food job in Mesa – Hundreds of people stood in line early Tuesday hoping to be one of the 60 people hired to open In-N-Out Burger's third Mesa location this month at Fiesta Mall, near Alma School Road and U.S. 60.
• Report: average stolen laptop cost is $50K – A new report by the Ponemon Institute in conjunction with Intel claims that the average cost to the enterprise of a stolen or lost laptop is $49,246, once you factor in not just replacement but intellectual property loss, lost productivity, forensics, and other downsides.
• Boiling Frogs-Intel vs. the Village: Poison Gas Concerns – The deadly chemical warfare gas phosgene is not being released into the air as a byproduct of Intel’s microchip manufacturing, say federal investigators for the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).

  Their finding is based on Intel’s assertion that the waste acid gases that could form phosgene are isolated in the factories’ exhaust streams.

• Jalopnik – Porsche Panamera Takes Elevator To 94th Floor – 2010 Porsche Panamera – Prior to the Shanghai Auto Show, Porsche wanted to showboat a little. Their idea? Lift a Porsche Panamera to the 94th floor of the Shanghai World Financial Center. In an elevator.

  So how'd they get the Panamera and it's fat butt up there? Check out the images above and you'll see it was quite the squeeze, almost mimicking what you'd see if Santa Claus were real and he was shimmying up your chimney after eating all your cookies and making out with your Mom. Wait a minute…

• Hammer Films to shoot Swank picture in NM – New Mexico Business Weekly: – Legendary British horror film company Hammer Films will shoot a movie starring Hilary Swank in New Mexico.

  “Invasion of Privacy” is a suspense thriller with a second working title of “The Resident.” Hammer is producing the film for its parent company, Exclusive Media Group. A distribution deal is in place with Exclusive Film Distribution.

• APOD: 2009 April 21 – Global Warming Predictions – How much will the Earth's surface warm up over the lives of our children? No one is sure. Compared to the past 100 million years, the Earth is currently enduring a relative cold spell, possibly about four degrees Celsius below average. Over the past 100 years, however, data indicate the average global temperature of the Earth has increased by nearly one degree Celsius.
• Toro Dingo 300 Series | Tool Snob – ToolSnob.com – If you've got about $14,000 sitting around, we suggest looking into getting a Toro Dingo. We recently saw one in action and have decided that from now on all of our bottle recycling money will be routed into the "Dingo Fund." The Dingo is an all in one personal hydraulic machine that, given which of the 35 attachments is on it, it can tackle a huge variety of tasks. Whether it's trenching, drilling a hole, tilling, or just moving a pile of dirt, the Dingo is going to be way better at it than you, your bad back, and your pathetic shovel.
• Conservationism is hogwash – It's been noted in the news recently that California is having an especially dry year. Our reservoirs are a bit low. We didn't get the snow pack that those that know would like to see.

  So in Santa Clara County, they have enacted conservation…with the threat of raising rates.

  And the people and businesses are doing it. They are conserving.

  On the radio Tuesday, I heard a report that conservation has worked SO well that the water company hasn't been bringing in enough billing revenue to sustain their beleaguered business model.

  So they are going to raise rates, anyway.

• Miss USA judge takes down blog post after death threats | The Movable Buffet | Los Angeles Times – After the judging the Miss USA Contest at Planet Hollywood, Alicia Jacobs, a local entertainment reporter and former Miss Nevada USA, took to her blog to discuss her vote. Her candid account included her thoughts on Miss California's answer to the question Perez Hilton put to her on whether all states should legalize same-sex marriage.

• Potential Hosts Beware! – I chuckle when I recall the first question he asked me as we walked to the parking garage at the airport – "Do you have anything like a lake around here with a beach?" Yes, I know it was in bad taste but I simply said "Tingley Beach." A few days later he didn't see the humor when we drove by Tingley and I said "surfs up dude!" (Note to self – remember the Tingley Beach response for all of my boogie boarding buddies who come out)
• Jalopnik – General Dynamics RST-V Series-Hybrid With Cool In-Wheel Motors – General Dynamics RST-V – The General Dynamics Reconnaissance Surveillance and Targeting Vehicle is one cool piece of kit. It's powered by four electric in-wheel motors and can export thirty kilowatts directly to the grid. It's also got neat-o gauges.
• News : Car show features a banana with appeal – Rio Rancho Observer – "Top Banana,” you see, is the name he’s attached to his 1958 Ford Ranchero, painted a bright sunrise yellow with a sunrise red interior. You won’t be able to miss this Ranchero. It’s not one in a million, but it is one in 9,950, which is the total Ford made that year.
• The number of U.S. households who are completely unready for Junes DTV transition has dropped to 3.4 percent : Dealerscope – Albuquerque-Santa Fe, once again, was named the least-ready market, followed by Dallas-Ft. Worth and Houston; Providence-New Bedford, meanwhile, was pronounced "completely ready."
• Guns, ammo disappearing as demand grows – He credits the run on guns and ammo to a number of factors: investors buying up to sell at higher prices, survivalists stockpiling for doomsday, first time gun buyers and worries that President Barack Obama is going to enact stricter gun laws.
• Walking Away from an Underwater House | Bad Money Advice – The idea that you can just send the keys to an upside down house to the mortgage holder (“jingle mail” or more properly “ruthless default”) and be done with it seems to have gained some popularity of late. Apparently, some people are beginning to believe that this is something special about houses. New cars that were bought on credit are usually worth less than what is owed on them at the start. Does anybody think they can reconsider the purchase after a few months and just hand it back to the dealer, no questions asked? Are houses different? Can you just mail in the keys?
• Obama to take aim at credit card abuses | Reuters – President Barack Obama plans to crack down on deceptive credit-card industry practices that have saddled U.S. consumers with huge debts and soaring interest rates, U.S. officials said on Sunday.

  Top White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers said Obama would be "very focused in the very near term on a whole set of issues having to do with credit card abuses."

• Obama to take aim at credit card abuses | Reuters – President Barack Obama plans to crack down on deceptive credit-card industry practices that have saddled U.S. consumers with huge debts and soaring interest rates, U.S. officials said on Sunday.

  Top White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers said Obama would be "very focused in the very near term on a whole set of issues having to do with credit card abuses."

• 12 Years of Low End Mac – There wasn't much to The New Low End User, as I first titled it, in April 1997. It had almost two dozen Mac profiles, from the Mac Plus through the last 68030-based desktop Macs, a few links to other online Mac resources, a whopping 3 graphics, and absolutely no advertising.
• Errors of Enchantment: They Just Don’t Get the Tea Parties – The rallies, while they did take place on tax day, were not really about taxes. Rather, they were, I believe, an expression of frustration at Republicans and Democrats, both of whom have supported out-of-control spending, bailouts, government takeovers and subsidies of private business, and unbelievable increases in indebtedness levels for the better part of the last decade. The unfortunate truth is that the Obama Administration has simply continued and expanded upon many of Bush's policies and the people who work every day and make this country great are not happy. That is the message I got from the tea parties (at least in Albuquerque where politicians were specifically kept out of the limelight).

Elizabeth Warren is the Chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel on TARP (Troubled Assets Relief Program). She was a guest on the Daily Show on April 15th 2009. I especially enjoyed her explantation on why regulation was put in place and how it’s been slowly removed.

• Federal Trade Commission’s plan to change rules on ad endorsements, testimonials worries marketers — chicagotribune.com – Updated guidelines on ad endorsements and testimonials under final review by the Federal Trade Commission—and widely expected to be adopted—would end marketers' ability to talk up the extreme benefits of products while carrying disclaimers like "results not typical" or "individual results may vary."
• News : Small store hanging in there with big boys – Rio Rancho Observer – Owner George Meyerson was asked the secret to staying in business for 20 years, especially in light of the large home-improvement stores moving into the area, not to mention a Kmart and several Wal-Marts?

  Observer '�” Gary Herron photos The silver hammer sign at True Value Hardward, at 2108 Southern Blvd SE, has been a steadying presence in Rio Rancho. The business is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a 20 percent off sale today and tomorrow.

  “The right products, reasonable prices and good service,” is his answer.

• An old engine learns new solar-power tricks – Mar. 24, 2009 – J.D. Sitton's mission was to find a new market for a 193-year-old engine that nobody wanted. His innovative answer: turn it into a solar power collector, then persuade top auto-parts suppliers – currently eager for work – to build it.
• Green By Design » Barefoot Dreams in the Dead of Winter – Perhaps the most appealing aspect of the radiant floor heating is that it creates not just a warm room, but an entire warm floor. The heat still rises, but it’s rising uniformly from ground zero instead of from a single fixture or a couple of vents. The result is often that rare anomaly, barefoot comfort in the dead of winter. Such systems are particularly good for homes with high ceilings, where forced-air heat often ends up where it is least needed unless the homeowner is endowed with the agility of a bat.
• Rear Engine Front Driver – Not all of Gregory’s front wheel drive experiments were racy. This particular 1947 Gregory sedan features front wheel drive and a rear mounted engine.
• Direct Stock Purchase Plans: A Better Way to Invest – Hundreds of companies that trade on the major stock exchanges allow you to buy shares directly from their transfer agents for very little or no money.
• Mexico’s health insurance success offers lessons for US reforms, Lancet study suggests | Science Blog – As America considers major healthcare reforms, it may have lessons to learn from Seguro Popular, Mexico's ambitious plan to improve healthcare for its estimated 50 million uninsured citizens, suggests Ryan Moore, co-author of a study published April 8 in The Lancet, a leading international medical journal.
• Why We Need the New York Times – When the Jayson Blair story erupted, I realized that if the Times couldn't even properly and effectively assess their own, how could they be relied upon to assess public officials and figures? It was then that I stopped buying the paper. A lot of people did. In Manhattan, copies of the New York Times often pile up everywhere.

  But lately, the alternatives seem wanting. In the Times recently was good reporting about the poor documentation of the deaths of deportation detainees by various state and federal agencies. Another article recently captured the abyss of disputed workmen's compensation cases and the endless troubles that greet those who fall into it. I don't see that on MSNBC. Frankly, I don't see that on TV at all.

• Road Tested: Voltaic Systems Generator laptop bag – I had a chance to road test one of these incredibly cool bags for a month and was very impressed. What makes it so special? Well, it could be the big photovoltaic panel on one side of the Generator that provides 15 watts of power to feed your electronic devices. Voltaic points out that the Generator is the "first solar bag powerful enough to recharge a laptop." That panel charges an internal 58Wh Lithium Ion battery pack that can run most laptops.
• The Road to Area 51 – Los Angeles Times – As for the guys who picked him up, they were tracked down and told to sign national security nondisclosures. As part of Collins' own debriefing, the CIA asked the decorated pilot to take truth serum. "They wanted to see if there was anything I'd for-gotten about the events leading up to the crash." The Sodium Pento-thal experience went without a hitch—except for the reaction of his wife, Jane.

  "Late Sunday, three CIA agents brought me home. One drove my car; the other two carried me inside and laid me down on the couch. I was loopy from the drugs. They handed Jane the car keys and left without saying a word." The only conclusion she could draw was that her husband had gone out and gotten drunk. "Boy, was she mad," says Collins with a chuckle.

Intel reports earnings April 14th for fiscal Q1 2009. As a stockholder and employee of Intel corporation, I watch the stock price (especially since the price has been depressed due to the poor economy) on a daily basis. I try not to hold to much stock but I also try to avoid high capital gains taxes so I have some shares.

I have no inside knowledge of what Intel will report and I have been watching the news like anyone else who is interested in INtel stock. I avoid listening to analysts as I think they have their own interests in mind but I tend give the Semiconductor Industry Association a little more credence. the SIA is saying semiconductor sales are not up.

Worldwide sales of semiconductors were $14.2 billion in February, a decline of 30.4 percent compared to February 2008 sales of $20.3 billion, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) reported today. Sales declined by 7.6 percent from January when sales were $15.3 billion.

Back in April of 2007,I complained about Acquisition’s product registration. The issue is that Acquisition activation failed. The developer, Dave Watanabe, responded to my email saying that my activation code was pirated and offered no recourse. The problem with Acquisition’s product activation scheme is it relied completely on a email address to activate. If a email address is public, it doesn’t take much to guess by just trying out random emails of known mac users.

Dave may have not offered any further response to my emails, but he did eventually address the issue. In October I received the following email (yes, a little late):

Acquisition 2, a major new release of Acquisition, is due for release in the coming days. Along with this major release, new activation codes are being created for license verification. Since you qualify for complimentary upgrades to major releases, your code is included below.

Included was a new code that did not rely on my email address. Once again I can use Acquisition. Still, the whole ordeal put a sour taste in my mouth. I use Tranmission for my bittorrent needs and don’t have much use for Acquisition unless there’s something very obscure I’m looking for.