Computer Problems Solved

This is too good to pass up. And it's true! Now you all know how to solve your computer problems on your own.

Interesting ... or Not.

What's sad is that this fits me to a T.

Why I Use Filthy Language

I'm a Christian. Why would I use filthy language? Like many other Christian testimonies, that of my brother-in-law tells of how when he became a Christian his language immediately cleaned up. Yet I now use worse language than I used to. What's wrong with me?

First off it's my opinion that the Bible really has nothing to say directly about using curse words and similarly colorful adjectives. We are commanded not to use the Lord's name “in vain”, but this refers to breaking oaths in God's name. The Bible even contains sexual puns and frank sexual language, including degrading sexual references. (They show up in the original language and are often sanitized in English translations.)

So I can just say whatever I want when I want? Not exactly. Let me tell my story.

I became a Christian in junior high. I was already shy and a goodie-two-shoes type of guy. I didn't use bad language. Several times I reported my younger brother's language to my parents and got him in trouble. I tried to be a good Christian.

Flash forward to my adult life. I became engaged in some addictive behavior. It caused a lot of problems for me and my family. I went into therapy and attended groups for many years working to manage my addiction. There a funny thing happened.

One thing I learned was that I was repressing my emotions. I didn't think much about stuff that happened when I was young. I needed to get that stuff out. I also stored up stuff that happened to me daily. I controlled myself until I couldn't take it any more. Then I blew up, usually at my wife and children. This was bad (DUH!) and it soon became apparent that anger was as big an issue as my addiction. Probably bigger.

I also realized that I had another problem. Despite believing in God's grace I often acted like a legalist. I judge myself and other by what I did. I held others up to my standard, compared myself to them and rationalized why I was better. This behavior was ingrained in my personality and was reinforced by my religious life. Over time God impressed on me that this was my biggest problem. It's what Jesus hated about the Pharisees. It's almost (not quite, but ever so close) like God told me and keeps telling me that he could care less how I behave. What he wants is me to be honest with him and others. To love him and others.

I took to swearing for a couple of reasons. I needed to express my anger in healthy ways. Swearing is a tremendous way to express anger. I try to not swear at people. I try to be mad, to let my anger out, to let people know how I'm feeling without blasting them. Swearing helps all this.

The second reason I swear is to fight legalism. It's still easy for me to play my little Christian game. To pretend to myself and others that I'm good and godly and holy. Throwing in some swear words instantly negates that perception.

So it's good that I swear and I should just let rip whenever, right? Wrong. As healthy as it may be for me there are many times it may hurt people around me. Work is one place where it can cause problems. I also try to watch what I say around children. And, despite appearances, I really do try to not offend people needlessly. I may let some words go to purposely rattle people, but I try not to do it too often.

All of this sounds like I've got the whole thing totally under control. That would be wrong too. I often swear because I'm mad (damn it!) and just let go. I'm imperfect and often say the wrong thing at the wrong time. I often need to apologize.

Finally I have sworn a couple of times during a sermon I was giving. I did it with careful consideration. George Patton was asked why he swore so much. He said it was so people would remember what he said. Often we Christians read and hear the same things over and over. Some are radical ideas that should shake us up but we've become immune. I've twice tried forms of swearing to make a point in a sermon stick. Did it work? People definitely remember that I swore. It's unclear if the point stuck or not.

That's where I am on swearing. It's helpful to me, but I try to watch it (I'm actually now trying to cut back a bit, to give my anger to God and let it go more easily.) It's not OK to say anything at any time, but I often violate protocol to remind myself and other Christians to lighten up a bit. Most of all, I'm far from perfect and so is my language, but the closer I can get to honestly and love the better off I am.

Electric Cars and Batteries

The basic problem with electric cars is that the batteries are too big and take too long to charge. The Tesla Roadster motor is 70 lbs, has one moving part and is the size of a watermellon, yet it gives high-end sports car performance using a one speed transmission! The battery, however, weighs 1000 lbs. To say the least, that's a bit more than a full gas tank on an internal combustion car. The Roadster also takes about three hours to charge. That makes for a long pit stop. The Tesla Model S will improve on the charging time, getting it down to 45 minutes.

Clearly, if we had a battery that could charge in 5 minutes and was near the weight of a full gas tank, electric cars would be awesome. Even several hundred pound batteries with appropriate range and power output would be an improvement.

I have reason to hope that batteries will improve significantly in the next several years. I list my reasons below. They are basically taken from Wikipedia's article on lithium ion batteries, but I have read about many of them elsewhere.

• The big problem with Li-ion batteries is that they have a high internal resistance, mostly due to electrode (anode and cathode) materials. This causes heat and energy loss. Tesla had to specifically design a cooling system for their Roadster battery pack to keep it safe. There are several proposals to address this problem.
• In April 2006 researchers at MIT announced they could grow micro wires with viruses. This technology would improve Li-ion energy density by a factor of three (e.g the 1000 lb Roadster battery would only weigh 333 lbs). In April 2009 New Scientist reported that the MIT team succeeded in making a battery with their virus technology.
• In June 2006 researchers in France produced nano-structured electrodes with several times the energy capacity of normal electrodes.
• In September 2007 the University of Waterloo, Canada, developed a new cathode chemistry using fluorine. It would increase battery life and allow replacing lithium with cheaper and more stable sodium.
• In November 2007 Subaru unveiled their G4e concept electric car with Li-ion batteries that have double the energy density of normal Li-ion batteries. In the lab the Subaru-type batteries have been shown to have three times the energy density of normal Li-ion batteries.
• In December 2007 researchers at Stanford created a Li-ion battery with nanowires that had ten times the energy density of normal Li-ion batteries. They hope to commercialize their technology in five years. (If they could achieve this, the Roadster battery would only weigh 100 lbs!)

If some or all of these hit in the next few years, even in a decade or so, batteries will improve enough to make electric cars superior to gasoline cars. Plus our electric toys -- cell phones, computers, et al -- will get much better as well. I'm excited!

Progress?

I found this funny, but it certainly has a black underside.


It's my belief that a big reason the iron curtain fell was because people finally were fed up with their dictators enough to rebel. It took a lot of courage, not to mention some pain and suffering (though a lot less that any of us would have guessed). I've prayed something similar would happen in countries like Iran. Despite (or because of) all the violence and pain, perhaps the unrest in Iran is the start of something good.

I hope so. And I'll keep praying.

How to Start Running

I avoided running because I thought it would be too hard on my body. I'd hurt my knees. My feet would get messed up. My arthritic joints would suffer. Chaffing would get to me. It was just too much for someone my age and weight. Since I've started running I've never had most of these problems. The ones I have had have been minor and I've learned to deal with them.

What got me past my fears? I learned I could run slowly and easily.

In particular, I found the Couch to 5k plan. It provides a schedule for getting from sitting on the couch to being able to run 5k, which is about 3 miles. I liked this plan and it worked for me.

Perhaps, though, it looks too complicated for you. Carolina gave me a running book for my birthday, Master's Running by Hal Higdon. He has a Beginner's Running Guide online. On it he presents his very simple and easy 30/30 plan.

Both plans start with walking. You jog only as you are ready. You very slowly build up the length of your running. The emphasis is on doing what you are able to do consistently. You are not expected to run exhaustively nor "gut it out" nor kill yourself. In fact, such intense effort is counter productive because it leads to injury and burn-out.

There are several principles to remember when you start to run.

1. Go slow.
2. Run easily and do not push yourself.
3. Don't go too fast.
4. Ease into your running.
5. When you feel impatient and want to skip ahead, hold back. You'll get there in time.
6. If you have trouble moving to the next step, just repeat until you feel able. Don't be afraid to go back if the current step is too hard.
7. Don't compare yourself to others.

While it may not seem like much, you do slowly get better. Many times people are able to work up to a full marathon in less than a year. In my case I went from zero to a half marathon in a year. I was interupted by work, sickness, two children getting married and some other life circumstances. After each interruption I was able to pick back up and keep improving. 

If you have never run or haven't run in a long time, I encourage you to try it. It's not my intent to disparage other types of exercise. Walking, biking, tennis, basketball, martial arts, yoga, dance and many others things are great. The main thing is to do something. I've done other things and still do, but I've found running to be great for me. Perhaps you'll find it good for you too, even it you didn't think it possible.

Why I Run.

I took up running regularly a year ago. I ran my first half marathon Memorial Day. Why do I run?

There are lots of standard exercise reasons.

1. Better health.
   
2. Feel better.
3. Live longer.
4. Feel fit.
5. Feel younger.
6. Live to see and enjoy grandchildren (no kids, this is not a hint :-)
7. Relax and relieve stress.
8. Be fit enough to do things I enjoy like racquetball and hiking.

Specific reasons I run.

1. My son, Dan, and I are working on being in distance races. It's something we can do together even though we live a distance from each other.
2. Being able to run is satisfying. I now can just go out and run several miles without it being a big deal. That's cool.
3. Running does all the exercise stuff above, and it does most better or more efficiently.

I have rheumatoid arthritis. Before it got treated correctly I lost the ability to run. I could barely walk, especially in the morning. I once fell down in my apartment parking lot. There was no one around and nothing to grab onto. I barely made it back to my feet. My arthritis is now under control. But I haven't forgotten how it was. I feel like God's given my life back to me. I actually had to relearn to run. It wasn't that hard, but it was eye opening. I thank God and don't wish to throw his gift away.

The major reason I didn't run before last year is I figured I was too old and fat. I thought I'd hurt myself. I got over this because I found out how I could run slowly and build up mileage slowly. My first runs were basically short walks with very short jogs thrown in. I have been surprisingly injury free. I've been sore, but it's a good muscle sore. I twisted my ankle a few weeks ago because I stepped on a rock sideways, but it wasn't bad and healed quickly. I've had no injury related purely to running, which surprised me. In fact, running often makes me feel better. I ran a slow recovery run the day after my half marathon, and that actually made me feel better than just sitting around.

As an old fat guy I also worried about chaffing. How can I put this politely? Those of us with excess flab have parts that bounce when we run. Those parts can chaff against our clothes. I seem especially sensitive to it. It has bothered me many times. However, there are good products, like Body Glide which I use, that work miracles. This has not really been the problem I expected it to be thanks to modern technology.

Running can make my muscles sore. I already stretched when I exercised and since running I've had to learn to stretch even more regularly. Stretching is good for me anyway. It's almost essential if I want to run (or any kind of exercise). I've learn a little yoga and that has helped tremendously.

There are probably other reasons not to run but I find the positives far out-weigh any hassles. I enjoy running and look forward to running for many more years.

Tesla Model S

Whipnotic Model S Video.


Model S Unveiled:


Model S Test Drive.

Electric Math

The major flaw of electric cars is their lack of range. Top Gear dramatically demonstrates this in the above video. (Some would say they not only over-hyped the problem but actually mis-lead viewers about it.) Even as I've thought about how fun a Tesla Roadster would be, I realize it would not be practical for a long trip. An electric Smart car with an 80 mile range would be even worse and don't even think about one of the lesser models (some with a range of only 40 miles).

A few days ago I thought about range again and was surprised.

First the good news. Well over 90% of my wife and my driving is in town. Occasionally I make the 70 mile drive to work. Sometimes we make the also 70 mile drive to my sister's house in Apple Valley. We also make an up to 100 mile drive to visit family in LA and Orange County. For all of this an electric car with over a 100 mile range is actually more convenient than a gasoline vehicle. No need to go to a gas station -- just plug it in at night, while I'm working or while we're visiting.

Long trips are another problem. Having to stop and charge for several hours ruins the chance of making any significant mileage. One idea is I can just rent a car. I've often rented cars for vacations. Years ago it was because I owned cheap vehicles that were not that much fun to travel in and that I was afraid would break down. More recently I've rented because my car was too small to carry all the luggage or people coming on the trip. For an occasional traveler like me, this makes good sense. Why pay a premium (and the extra fuel costs) for a large car that I'll only need once or twice a year?

The thing I realized a few days ago is that Telsa's promised S Class changes the range problem. The S Class will have a range of 300 miles and can be charged in 45 minutes. It also will have quick-swappable battery (five minutes). And, by the way, it will have plenty of passenger and luggage storage capacity for a long trip.

Obviously if battery swap stations are available, there is no problem. A five-minute battery swap is as quick as a gasoline fill-up. But working out the kinks of battery swap stations any time soon (if ever) seems highly unlikely.

How will a long trip work with charging? From our house to Arcata, where our daughter Ruth lives, is 660 miles. It's about 12 hours counting our relatively quick stops. We get gas, take bathroom breaks and get our food to go. With a 300 mile range S Class, we would have to stop at one of the scattered places south of Stockton. They're sparse, but exist. We have stopped in the area many times because we have about the same range in our current car, a Scion xB. Instead of a 20 minute food-to-go break, we'd have to stop for about 50 minutes. I assume we could leave the car charging while we get something to eat nearby.

Since Arcta is 660 miles we need another stop to refuel. Humans usually need another stop too. Willits is a good place. The way we go it's about 230 miles more. That means we'd have about 70 miles left in the "tank". From Willits to Arcata is another 145 miles, so we'd only need a small charge, say another 80 miles. 80 miles of charge should take less than 15 minutes. (A full, 300mi, charge takes 45 min. 45min * 80/300 = 12min. I rounded up). By leaving the car charging while we pick up snacks and visit the restroom we can probably get away with our normal 20 min stop.

That means the only slow-down is our first longer stop, which adds 30 minutes to our travel time. The trip becomes 12 1/2 hours instead of a 12. The extra half-hour is spent sitting down to eat rather than juggling food in the car, not a bad trade, especially for the driver. Is losing a half-hour good? Of course not. But it's not that terrible.

But what about longer trips? There's no way you can go across the country, right? Yes, I'll admit that if you want to drive non-stop, pound out 900 or 1000 mile (or more) days the S Class will slow you down. But for me, that's a bit insane. 600 to 700 miles a day is more than enough driving for me. I prefer to rest and start again the next day.

Conclusion? Range is still a problem, but for me it becomes a small problem not a large one. I realize I can live with the S Class as my primary car. In fact, most of the time it would make my life easier than a gasoline powered car.