Author: Paul | Page 39 | Shiny Bits of Life

June 25, 2012June 22, 2012

Vending machines and culture

Umbrella vending machine in Hong Kong In Hong Kong, I saw this umbrella vending machine. In Ghent, Belgium, I saw an entire storefront made of vending machines, selling a huge variety of stuff, including Hoegaarden beer.

Why is it that machines in North America mostly sell food and soft drinks? We could sell a much greater variety of things, making our lives that much more convenient. We wouldn’t have to employ shop keepers to work at 3 am. (Those same shop keepers could drive around the city refilling machines, during normal waking hours.)

What we don’t put in those boxes is reflective of the boxes we put ourselves in.

June 19, 2012June 13, 2012

Poll about brewing coffee

Hey friends, here’s a fun poll just for something different. You can see what the results are by clicking the “View Results” link at the bottom of the poll. And if you brew your coffee using a different method, let us know by a comment on this post. Thanks!

[polldaddy poll=6310515]

June 12, 2012June 14, 2012

Found note

found note I found this card on the parking lot of a Target store.

Observation: The author was older than 50, from the handwriting style.

Questions:

1. Did the author go back to their home and create the card or did they have some in their car, just waiting for such situations?

2. Did the bad parking person pick up the card and bring it with them to Target?

3. Did it fall out of their purse or pocket?

4. Did the bad parking person change their evil ways?

June 12, 2012June 10, 2012

Way to save

fuel gauge If you fill up your fuel tank when it’s only half empty, here are some good reasons to wait till it’s nearly empty:

1. You will cut down the number of your trips to the gas station. That will save you time and money. It will help save you money for two reasons – you will do fewer impulse purchases at the checkout counter (if you pay there) by paying for the fuel fewer times. You will save the fuel that it takes to stop and start your car or driving to the station, if you made a special trip.

2. You will pollute the atmosphere less. If people idle their vehicles behind you when you’re fueling, you’ll prevent some of their emissions from entering the atmosphere.

The only positive reasons I’ve heard to fill up sooner are that there may be sediment in the bottom of your tank that could get stirred up if the fuel level goes too low. But modern engines have sophisticated fuel filtration systems, so that shouldn’t really be a problem.

And yes, you are smart enough to fill up early enough that your tank won’t go empty.

June 4, 2012June 2, 2012

No small cars

Ford Ka toy car Life just gets to be too much at times.

I was going to do a presentation at Ignite Denver 11 called, “Why You Should Drive a Small Car.” I was really looking forward to presenting. However, I am deep into the first term of a graduate degree program (two courses at once) and am continuing in my responsibilities as a dad to three kids, a husband to one woman and doing a good job for the clients of my business.

So I am hoping that I can do the presentation after the degree is finished. I’ll graduate in December 2013, if all goes as planned.

Thanks to all my friends who kindly gave me “yes” votes to allow me to be one of the Ignite presenters. I hope to call on you again after the grad degree is in the bag.

May 29, 2012May 29, 2012

Sad passing

Closed storefront A store in our neighborhood closed. I was really sad. Though I was not a big patron of Jo-Ann Fabrics, it will be missed. I don’t know of any new tenant taking over the space, which was a Safeway supermarket many years ago.

Our kids would ride their bikes or walk over to get some candy. Though there’s a convenience store a block farther, it’s just not the same. I feel bad for the surrounding businesses. They will miss some of the “halo” effect of customers Jo-Ann brought in. I am sad for employees who lost their jobs. A few may be hired at the three other locations in the Denver area. And local fabric enthusiasts will now have to travel further to get their thrills.

What recently closed business do you miss – and why?

May 22, 2012May 19, 2012

Enjoy today by looking back

Nairobi traffic Traffic is part of life in many large cities around the world. The traffic in the busiest of USA cities is nothing compared to the grid-lock that affects many urban centers, particularly in the “developing world.”

I loved our years in Nairobi, Kenya, but I do not miss the traffic. And it’s probably twice as bad as when we left in 2007. The roads were built to accommodate about 1/10 of the traffic they carry. So today it may take two hours to get somewhere that used to take 10 minutes, when we lived there in the mid-1990s.

I am very thankful to live in boring suburban Denver, when it comes to not having to regularly sit in mind-numbing Nairobi traffic.

Looking back at the past made me thankful for today. What experience are you glad that’s in your past and not part of your present?

I took the photo while sitting in traffic. At least sales people would peddle their wares while you were sitting there. Sometimes that was a pleasant diversion. I also wrote about Nairobi traffic when we lived there.

May 15, 2012June 13, 2012

Governmental regulation can be good

Dodge Dart Grille, courtesy of Autoweek Magazine Back in the 1970s, air pollution was really bad. The average car back then put out literally 20 times the amount of harmful emissions than today’s average car. If the government had not stepped in and made laws that forced car manufacturers to clean up what was coming out of tailpipes, I am sure we’d have dirtier air today.

I haven’t been to China, but I understand the air in Beijing is a lot worse than the air in any American city. Why? A lack of governmental regulation.

I fully understand that not all governmental interventions in life and public policy are beneficial. But some are.

I challenge you to argue with me on this one.

The photo is an enlargement of a shot from Autoweek Magazine. Their May 14, 2012 issue has an article about the new Dodge Dart. Its front grille shuts at certain speeds to improve fuel economy – because of governmental regulations for car manufacturers to increase fuel economy. I think that’s awesome.

May 8, 2012July 11, 2012

Amazing cameras

The cell phone has replaced the point-and-shoot camera.

If you have an older phone, its camera is probably not very good, but if you’ve bought a recent smart phone, you now know how good a cell phone’s camera can be.

I’ve always been a proponent of small digital cameras. (My second, in about 2002, was a tiny Sony that was incredibly simple to use. I still love Sony cameras – my current non-cell-phone camera is a Sony.) The easier a camera is to use, the more often you’ll take photos. And if it’s small and light enough, you will carry it in your pocket, thus increasing your chances of not missing a shot.

Software is the biggest reason why smartphone cameras rule photography today. I took the photos below with my iPhone 4S and used the Dynamic Light app to add effects. B is way over the top, but the filters make the picture a lot more interesting. I applied filters with a little more care to create D. You might argue that C (the original) is better, but I like the more dramatic result of D.

And then there is the ability to share your photos. With a regular camera, it takes a lot of work to share a photo with your friends. With a smartphone app, it’s just a few clicks away. Creating art is great, but sharing art is even better.

In-phone photo apps are extremely easy to use. A professional using Photoshop would spend ten times the effort to gain a similar result. And yes, a “real” camera will give an amateur photographer better results, at least for the original. But again, the hassle of lugging around a huge camera will cause many lost shots – and memories of life events.

Another photo app I enjoy is Camera Awesome, if only because of the fun messages is provides while the image is processing. “Carmelizing kraken tenacles.”

Go forth and have fun with a smart phone, if you are able.

iPhone photos comparison using filters

May 2, 2012April 29, 2012

Duplicate sets of cars

Floyd Mayweather, Jr's cars So there’s a boxer. His name is Floyd Mayweather, Jr. He has two identical sets of cars – a white set in Las Vegas and a black set in Miami. Each set includes a Bentley, a Mercedes Benz SLS AMG, a Ferrari and an unknown fourth car. My guess on the total value (and there may be more than four cars) is about $2 million. Somehow it’s not the money spent that bothers me. It’s the identical-but-different-color aspect.

Of course I’m thinking of how one man has all those opulent and amazing cars, and how the money could have been spent on a slightly better education for kids in either city. Or how some kids in Africa might not die because they have clean water.

But somehow I mostly think of what a strange thing is is to have two identical-but-different-color sets of cars.

(Thanks to the May 10, 2012 Rolling Stone Magazine for the article featuring this photo.)