Happy New Year!

The New Year Celebration is the oldest holiday we know of. It is also the most secular. BTW, that in no way means “anti-God”. If you believe in the Jewish or Christian God (I don’t know enough about other religions to speak intelligently about them so I’ll refrain from speaking about other faiths. This should be taken as a sign of respect for the belief of others and not as a slight because I didn’t mention a particular belief. I’ll eventually write a post about “Why I refuse to address ‘other’ religions.” Till then, just accept that I believe in tolerance.) Jesus said “Love thy neighbor.” In many instances he demonstrated that this extended to people who were not Christian or Jewish. Therefore anyone who is a Christian should be tolerant of other beliefs. Don’t believe me, believe Jesus. If you don’t, well, you’re not really a Christian are you? The fact remains; we have holidays that are not religious. New Years is one of them. I don’t really know the significance of New Year’s celebrations. I do know that for me it represents a chance to start again. 2005, like 2004, was painful enough for me that I really don’t want to remember them. There were good times in those years and I’m thankful for them. They kept me going. So if you were part of them, I thank you. Over all the past two years have sucked. I have lost the last of my parents and God-parents. I have lost the majority of people I turn to in times of pain, stress and sorrow. I feel more alone than I have ever felt in my life. I hope 2006 will be less sorrowful. I can’t imagine how it could not be so, but I didn’t imagine 2005 would have crushed me the way it did. So like the ancient peoples before me I hope the New Year will be good to me, or at least better than the old. Happy New Year!

Happy Festivus!

I hope everybody had a Happy Festivus, for those who have successfully pinned the head of the family or had something better to do.  My family usually has something better to do.  In fact they didn’t even attend Festivus Dinner.  I assume they had something better to do, like I did when I was supposed to invite them.  Maybe the fact I didn’t invite them contributed to their absence?  Oh well, I didn’t have a lot of grievances against them anyway.  Besides, I found out about the company selling Festivus poles too late to have one delivered in time for Festivus.  I have to remember to order one for next year, unless I have something better to do.

Wine

I like wine.  Many people think of wine as a snobby highbrow kind of beverage.  That’s a silly idea considering its history. Jesus turned the water to wine because that was the common drink of the day.  Peasants drink wine. I know many people who don’t “know how” to pick wine.  Drink what you like.  It’s silly to do otherwise.  I’ll write a more involved port later on why you might like one wine over another, but in reality, you should eat and drink things you like.  The biggest problem with wine is inconsistency.  Generic cola tastes more like Coke or Pepsi than one Cabernet does to another.  In fact a Cabernet (I only use Cabernet as an example because it’s a popular variety, the concepts are universal.) does not have as exact of a recipe as Coke or Pepsi.  That is the root of the confusion. Somehow people have created this theory that wine is an elitist drink.  Wine is just a drink.  I like the inconsistencies. I see wine as a creative process. Two vintners can achieve different results with the same grapes.

I tried a wine because it was on sale.  For the price it was a very good buy.  That’s the true measure of a wine, the price to flavor ratio.  The wine I’m referring to is  Bonello’s 2003 MERLOT/ NERO D'AVOLA  Try it.  It’s a good wine for pasta dishes, hamburgers, steak and tomato sauce dishes. In other words a good table wine.  It’s a bit heavy for fish, but I would drink it with salmon, or tuna steak. It’s also reasonably priced.

Facism in Hollywood

In 2003 the movie industry blamed poor sales on people text messaging their friends warning them about the fact a movie sucks while they are still in the theater.  My thoughts then, and now, on the subject were, “Make movies that don’t suck.”  If you are upset that your customers don’t like your product, improve it.  Don’t lash out at the technology they use to communicate their displeasure with your product.  Make a movie that will encourage them to send a text message encouraging their friends to see your movie.  

In 2005 the theaters are seeking permission from the FCC to do what no other entity has the legal right to do.  Allow the blocking of cell phone signals.  Since the early days of radio it has been illegal to interfere with another device’s radio signals.  This has made it possible to have competing products from many companies, without significant concerns about interference.  Cardiac wards in hospitals do not have the right to block radio signals that may endanger the lives of patients.  Now we have an industry that is having some quality issues that have led to poor sales and they want the rules changed because they can’t seem to make products that the public is willing to buy.  Yes, in 2005 they are saying it’s too stop people from being rude.  Have you seen what they charge for a soda that cost them a few pennies? That is rude.  If you want to eliminate rudeness charge normal prices for concessions.  Remove people for talking during a movie, whether they are using a cell phone or not.  Don’t try to change the rules that every else lives with because your product is too inferior to sell as well as you would like.

The movie industry and theaters need to get a reality check.  Technology will change, deal with it.  Every one else has to adjust to survive.  Is the movie industry really so weak that it can’t keep up with the times?  If so let them become extinct.  I doubt all of the movie companies and theaters will go away, if they do, maybe we just don’t want them anymore.  Either way they must adapt to their environment.  I’m tired of the entertainment industry trying to take our rights away. What happened to the music and movie industries that spoke out against government and industry taking away the rights of the individual?  They have sold out and become the enemy.  Instead of peace and love they bring us invasion of privacy, lawsuits and root kits.  Instead of rebel without a cause they seek to silence all dissent.  No wonder the children of today think it’s ok to steal from them.  I have no pity on them. They have become what they professed to abhor.  If they cannot survive in today’s technological environment, let them be replaced by those who can.

WiFi Idea

Still haven’t thrown out, or re-gifted the wok that some well meaning person, who doesn’t realize you have noidea how to use it, gave you?  You may be able to use it to boost your WiFi reception.  The example on this site, http://bounav.free.fr/mods/airport_express/, uses a ladle but the concept is the same so a wok should give a better signal boost.  WiFi equipment manufactures should use this idea to design more decorative hardware that also gets better reception.  It might cost more, but it would be a way to integrate WiFi into devices that are used in places where people don’t want to see a piece of computer equipment.  The first thought that comes to mind is creating a repeater that looks like a fruit bowl, candy dish, clock, or any other home décor item that can have a parabolic shape. One of the problems people face when setting up a wireless network in their home is range.  Repeaters are a good way to solve the problem, but they often don’t fit in with existing décor.  

As far as the wok is concerned, they can be a very useful cooking tool if you learn to use it. The secret is to realize it’s not an oddly shaped frying pan, so not only does your technique need to be different, it’s really not that good for frying hamburgers.