The tell of ForteBuilder and Cyber Incomes, Inc.

In looking at the various money making ideas that are out there somehow I have come across one called ForteBuilder with the sponsor Cyber Incomes, Inc.; or should I say they found me. I started receiving e-mail from them nearly three months ago with the latest stating that my three months of inactivity were nearly up and they were about to give up on me.

I guess it is about time for you to go ahead and give up on me ForteBuilder because I had pretty much given up on you shortly after the first e-mail, but I did try to give you the benefit of the doubt.

Speaking of e-mails, I have received 102 that I have saved (I might have thrown away a few) and all of them were roughly the same message in a computer generated form with about 6 variations. Once I had the gist of it, it took no time to go through later versions because they were all about the same, (great time saver for me). Also, by way of this repetition, it was quickly evident that they were computer generated items that were personalized the way all computers do so well, by inserting your name automatically in certain areas of the message. O.K. no biggie, seen it before, will see it again, but 102 times to someone you are wishing to build a business relationship with, gosh, I feel so important.

I think the e-mails started when in my searching I happened on to a web site that claimed a wonderful money making idea and to just enter here (I don’t know why these places always hide behind a cover web page) and the very next page that opens up is a call for all your contact information. Now why they need that before they give you any information at all is also beyond my comprehension but I was willing to play a little because the first few lines were enticing. Trouble is they wanted more information than I was willing to give and the page would not go to the next page (the one with all the information or so I hoped) without it so instead of giving anything more I cleared out what I had entered and went my merry way not realizing that they had already captured my e-mail address (one piece of information too many) and would now include me in their weekly computer generated delivery system. The only problem was, I still didn’t have any real information on them or more importantly the business.

So the e-mails came and welcomed me in to the ForteBuilder team and that I could with no obligation test drive the website and with that they issued me a temporary ID # and password. I was bestowed the honorary title of Pre-Enrollee and they were beginning to build a down line under me. It got even more exciting as I learned that whenever any of these pre-enrollees below me made the decision to “upgrade” to paid member that I would receive an e-mail notifying me that I had instantly earned a commission. In my excitement I somehow missed the part about me having to become a paid member myself to realize that commission. I found it out later with much rereading.

I followed the included web link to try to find out more about this opportunity to use the easy system and make serious money and actually see if I could learn anything about this business opportunity as I hadn’t been able to in the early attempts. Guess what?

After much time and effort I still know very, very little about this company, my supposed sponsor, the payout plan or the pay in plan, or more importantly the product itself. Now I fancy myself a pretty good detective at times and thought that I might be able to discover at the very least the product because without a real product you have nothing. Turns out they produce an Acai Juice, shake mix, calcium chewable, diet something or rather.

Sorry guys, but there are dozens of outfits in the Acai business, and the one page that talks about product doesn’t give any detail as too what yours contains let alone what makes it stand out above the rest. It only has generic statements about the benefits of Acai with the ever present disclaimer that the statements have not been approved by the FDA. Also missing from the description of the products, its ingredients or method of use is the price of the product a key component in any merchandising endeavor.

I think the reason for neglecting this information is because they are more interested in selling the MLM than the product. In fact, you cannot buy the product directly from the site, but a sample does come with your paid upgrade to full member. Now this is really pretty cheap compared to a lot of programs that charge a lot more to get your foot in the door so for just under $20 you can take a fling, tempting but again, why should I have to pay up front to see what the program is let alone the product? Why not let me know up front what the deal is then let me decide if I want to play or not.

Well if you go to the next page, the order page, or upgrade page (whatever) you will see in bright red letters “75% of all millionaires are self made”. Wait a minute, does this mean that I will have to do all the work myself if I am going to make it (the answer to this question is always yes by the way) and does that mean it isn’t going to be as easy as they say and that the automatic plan that they are using is working for them and not for me?

At the top of the order form is the request for me to give them more personal info including the all important payment method, and then the fun begins. You get to choose which plan you want to start with. Each plan is just $19.95…the first month. Then every month after that you will be charged anywhere from $75.95 to 129.95 on top of the $19.95, but this will cover your monthly buy of product and help make you eligible for your payouts and bonuses, whatever they are and however that works.

Okay they said somewhere in the prose that they would send you a sample of the product with your first months $19.95 but looking over the order sheet page, I don’t see it. I do see that after you pay this amount you will receive a welcome letter (computer generated I’m sure) as part of the “Free Business Preview Pack”. This will include a success report, a brochure of why people drink Acai and a how to make money CD. No mention of product, sample or otherwise. No mention of the program, payout or tiers only briefly brushed over in the order form. In fact the product doesn’t start to come until the next month (after the large monthly additional charge) and the billing starts going to another company, New Vision which is the supplier of the juice and commission checks.

Are you starting to get the warm fuzzies yet?

Now it is not without some computer generated effort that they have tried to get me hooked. They offered up links to a youtube testimonial which is o.k., nothing great but a homemade testimonial of what can be accomplished diet wise by a motivated individual. It does allude to the product and that there might be more than one product available and that she might be a success at this business venture. One small detail, the link on the youtube site to her personal web site is a dead link. Therefore this is a dead end.

The other offered help is from the sponsor, who offers to hold weekly conference calls to anyone willing to call long distance on your own dime. (Other outfits will often at least extend a toll free number.) I thought too much of my time and my dime to try the call as I really only expected a rah-rah session that wouldn’t really answer any questions without having a long drawn out parlay. Now they also offered to answer my questions by e-mail but aren’t they the same ones that created all the questions in the first place by not providing any details in any of their myriad of computer generated e-mails? Do I really want to open up that kind of dialogue? Besides how good are they really?

Well if you go to the leader board section of the back office at the web site that I can access because of my temporary ID and password, I found that Cyber Incomes, Inc was number 7 for the month of November with a total recruitment of 13. Is this impressive or not?

If you consider that I have a built up down line of potential members (that is they are all pre-enrollees like I am having not paid to upgrade to full member) totalizing 6,792 in the past three months as reported by their back office genealogy sheet for me, and that their ID numbers associated with my genealogy range from 9123530 to 9418148 an increase of nearly 300,000 during that same time frame, and that for the month of November, the top 35 recruiting leaders for this system only recruited a total of 250 members and that the recruiters on the list after position 12 had 2 or less recruits, and knowing that the only way to have MLM really work tremendous wonders is to gain a large following under you, I must say that I am not too impressed. It is said that a 1% – 3% response rate from a mass marketing effort is consider a success. They are slightly behind that but just think of what that means your chances are.

Not only do you have to gain a down line but you have to keep it. Without knowing what the payout is, and only just guessing what the pay in is based on the sign up order form, I would guess that there is a large rate of attrition. That is one of the unspoken truths of many MLMs.

But they will assist you, or so they claim. That is another area I would have liked to have seen more detailed information. They did refer me to another site that gave millionaire training from the hands of a millionaire. I think what this turns into is another revenue stream for the company or its sponsors as they try to promote your success by promoting their products. I have seen a fair share of companies that rope you in for level one, only to present level two for the intermediate student and the level three for the more advanced, each time providing additional product or services that you can’t live without and new prices that you can’t afford.

Lastly, if you Google New Vision and select the one that isn’t the leading newspaper of Uganda, you will finally find out a little more about the product and the program. So why didn’t I start there? Because it took me a long time to work through the noise to get to the meat of the issue. In other words, New Vision wasn’t mentioned until the order form and it was there that I found out that they are the basis for the company. Cyber Incomes, Inc. and ForteBuilder are just recruiting shells whose only function it seems is to recruit.

So did they do their job? I do not know enough about New Vision International to make that call yet but as far as Cyber Incomes Inc. and ForteBuilder are concerned no, not very well at all. I was not well informed (at least not well enough to take the step forward) and most of the information that I would like to have had to make an informed decision was masked or hidden behind hyperbole. The glammer and glitz were not enough to overcome my logical questioning nature (and it never should be), and the lack of substance kept me looking for more answers. In the end, they look like they were taking a cut off the top directly from you for their recruiting efforts and gave little more than an introduction to the real company for the trouble. You know, I could almost live with that if they were upfront about it from the beginning but I feel like the deception was deliberate and therefore no trust is established.

Did I do my job? That would be a resounding yes. I took the time and effort needed to answer any and all my questions. I looked in as many places as I had available. I tried many web searches to find out if the company I was thinking about working with was legitimate and worth creating a business alliance with. In the end, I came up with the conclusion that they were not for me.

Am I disappointed, maybe a little, but not really. I have added to my arsenal of knowledge a few more things to look for when making these evaluations. My skepticism has grown a little more but my hope is still intact, it wasn’t washed away completely as it might have been if I had suckered into a program with overly enthusiastic expectations, only to have them washed away after a few months of heavy automatic deductions with minimal rewards. That would really be disheartening.

If you are really interested in pursuing a business venture of any value, you must be willing to put forth the effort that it takes. I believe that there can be 'get rich quick' and 'get rich easy' plans that can succeed but they still take work and time and effort and knowledge. The ones that come to you on a silver platter with all the trimmings, and no effort on your part seldom if ever deliver the promised goods.

But also, just because one way failed to deliver does not mean that there are no more possibilities left for me. In fact, I think there are numerous possible ways for me out there, and I will keep looking for each and every opportunity that passes by. Many will be made just for me. And many are made just for you. Let’s keep looking together.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.

The gift of a cookie

Tis the season for the giving of gifts and that got me thinking.

Now we have all heard that “it is better to give than to receive” and that saying in itself has many different levels to ponder about but I was thinking more along the lines of the giving and the gift side of the equation.

Cookies are wonderful magical things. The smell of cookies baking in the oven, then cooling on the rack, and then lightly burning fingers as they approach then melt in your mouth with their tasty delights has got to rank up there as one of the greatest pleasures in life. What could be better, than perhaps fresh baked bread to give a scents of home?

The varieties are endless, from hard and crunchy to soft and chewy, or no bake cookies that pop out quickly to pastries that take all day to prepare, or simple dough cookies to those with added ingredients such as chocolate chips, assorted nuts, fruits and of course various secret family recipes. With so many to choose from there has to be a favorite (or should I say several favorite) cookie(s) out there for everyone.

If you were to give the gift of a cookie, which is better, to give the gift of your favorite cookie or to give the gift of the favorite cookie of the person you are giving the gift to?

Now I chose cookies because there are so many different kinds of cookies that I don’t know of anyone that doesn’t have at least one kind that they like and maybe one kind that they like a little less. (If you can’t tell, I really like cookies. I have more than one favorite. You cannot go wrong sharing a cookie with me. And although I am learning to like them a little better, floater cookies (better known as raison cookies) are not as high on my list.)

So in choosing a cookie to share with another, do you pick your favorite cookie (out of the many) as it represents a little bit of who you are and thus the act becomes one of sharing yourself with another, or in others words you are giving of yourself to another and because it is one of your favorites it represents your love and passion (did I tell you I like cookies) with someone that you feel good about and you want to share that feeling of warmth with them?

Or do you take the time and effort to find out what the favorite cookie is of the person you wish to give a cookie to then continue to put forth the effort to make the cookie just the way they like it in order to share with this person something you now know they will appreciate thereby also giving of yourself through your time and efforts and once again being able to share that feeling of warmth with them?

As the receiver of the gift of a cookie, do you receive the cookie gratefully at all times? Do you say “Thank you for this cookie” but secretly say “This cookie is o.k. but I really wish it was my favorite cookie instead” or “This is my favorite cookie, how did they know” or “All right, I got a cookie”? (I generally tend to the latter.)

So in this season of fretting and stewing over the commercialism and materialism that our gift giving has become, perhaps we should just step back and give the gift of a cookie (or a plate of cookies). After all, it’s not the gift but the thought that counts. Oops, there is another saying with multiple levels to ponder. But that will have to wait for later. Right now I need a cookie.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.

A quick how to evaluate MLM and other businesses

As I may have mentioned I am in the process of looking for money making opportunities on the web and somehow I have stumbled across a web site that latched onto my e-mail address and started sending me e-mails about the wonderful offer to join and make lots of money with their multi-level marketing program. I have since been studying multi level marketing or MLM and been trying to learn some of the basics as well as some of the language. It seems to come with its own set of dialect and you really need to understand it if you are contemplating entering the world of MLM. Also, I found some common themes to look out for if you are considering becoming a participant. Some of these criteria will eliminate many MLM plans before you get to involved and so that you don’t waste too much time yourself, I will share on these pages some of what I have found.

First of all my fast and friendly rules or rather questions for evaluation:

Is this a legitimate business opportunity? Having an accounting and business background the first thing I try to do is evaluate whether or not this is a viable business. All business is based on selling goods and/or services to a customer that has a need for those goods and/or services. If you are able to provide those goods and/or services to your customer at an agreed upon price you have a business. If not then you have something else.

If there is even anything remotely illegal or shady then walk away. If you are presented with a clever way of doing something to avoid taxes or protect assets in a questionable way or you are obtaining goods through other than normal channels then avoid it. There are many legal ways of making money and you want to be honest in all your dealings with your fellow man.

With that said, be fair in your evaluations. If you don’t understand a business you are looking at then keep asking questions until you do or decide right there and then that this is not for you and move on. Just because you don’t understand a business concept/plan/product does not make it illegal. Nor does a bad business plan and an overpriced product make it a scam or a pyramid scheme though because of misunderstandings and the way it is operated it might appear so. The label of scam is thrown out too easily by the many people who got involved in something that they didn’t understand. They didn’t realize just exactly what it was they were getting involved in especially in MLM type businesses generally no one was there to correct the misunderstanding.

That brings up another thing to look at, namely the people you will be dealing with, from the company itself to the network of dealers and representatives you will interface with on a regular basis. Is there integrity there and can you trust them? Can they and will they act as a support group to help you through the lean tough times that will creep up? Are they knowledgeable and are they willing to share that knowledge freely? Is there a mentor that you can look to for advice, counsel, and encouragement?

The next question then for me is to look at the product itself and ask ‘Is this something I would buy as a consumer and would I be willing to pay full retail for it?’ Notice that this is a two level question and both parts must be answered honestly. There are many products out there that I would love to enjoy but am unwilling to pay the exorbitant amounts required either on a one time or regular basis without a great change in my personal financial dynamics. (Sorry Bentley but I am staying with the Honda for now.) There are also many items that I would not be fond of whatever the price (with certain “music artist’s” that come to mind). The product has to be one that I believe in and be proud enough to let others know that I am a part of. Without that, how will you ever be able to share it with others and grow your business?

This brings up many other sub questions that relate to any business you might be contemplating a purchase of or participation in be it an MLM, a franchise, an existing business, or stock in a corporation. What does the business do? Who are the customers (demographics)? What is the business plan/model/process, in other words how do you work the business to make the business work? For an existing business or franchise the operations of the business should be pre defined with a successful method that can be easily replicated; that is how you have places like McDonalds.

Also in that light, what competition is there? Are there many others that are selling alternative products? What advantages/disadvantages does this product have compared to other products? How does it compare on price/quality/value? How informed is the consumer? Will you have to compete with others that are selling the same product, in other words, what is your territory and do you have any exclusive rights or will you have to share? In our world of information modern society has loaded us up with alternative solutions and competitive pricing. How will the product stack up, not only today but tomorrow?

We all have certain skills/knowledge that can be applied in the building of a business and we all lack certain skills/knowledge that will make the going harder at times than at others. Do we have the commitment and/or resources to obtain the skills/knowledge ourselves and do we have sources available to obtain them as needed? Are you willing to look for them when they are needed? An honest evaluation of yourself is need here to determine if you have what it takes to take on this business and if not do you have what it takes to obtain it. Are you willing to put forth the effort to obtain the reward?

Notice now please that I have come quite a long way before mentioning the one thing most business is based on and most MLMs are sold on and that is the money you can make. Theoretically, the amount of money any business can make is unlimited or relatively so as a business can be grown, expanded, merged, and so on into whatever you decide to create. Realistically, there are obstacles that must be overcome all along the way and how you deal with these will in large part determine your success…or failure. But eventually everyone wants to know, “what’s in it for me?”, and they should. Is this effort going to be worthwhile? What can I “reasonably” expect to take away from all of this? What will be the realistic expectations for my return on investment?

Unfortunately this is where most sales pitches for businesses start and sadly where most businesses end. It is easy to get the emotional glands charged up with talk of grandeur and have you salivating about mansions, hot cars, second homes, yachts and living like the stars on TV, because that is what fuels the fire in many of these businesses. Once your eyes glaze over and you are dreaming in lala land you are less likely to pay attention to the reality of the numbers. The accountant in me is always trying to look at the numbers, trying to make sense of what is being presented, and even if the simple math is correct (and many times it isn’t) are the numbers that are being used an accurate realistic portrayal of fact or are they a work of idealistic fiction? If the numbers are valid and the math is good, what is the timeframe for which they are referencing? It is easy to make a million dollars, for one it might take a year and for another it might take a lifetime, but it can be done.

Remember that you are evaluating a return on investment which should have you asking “what are the costs?” Look at all the costs, those for product, those to join, those to recruit, those to market, and those for daily operations and then ask yourself “will I have enough revenue to cover those costs and still have something leftover for me?” It is important in any scenario to have something leftover for me, and with proper money management you should. Proper money management with the aid of a legitimate business opportunity should be able to lead you down the path that will make the houses, and cars, and trips a real possibility.

Even the traditional job will get you there with proper money management but most of us are looking for a way of getting there that is a little more productive and exciting that the traditional job route hence the search for alternatives.

There is a lot to consider before putting up your hard earned money and making the commitment that goes into these decisions. Many do so on impulse without full understanding and therefore many suffer the consequences of their actions impacting those around them as they go. That is also part of the reason for the high turnover rates seen in MLM.

Many will join in the heat of the moment or for the sake of a close relative or friend without any intention of making a go of it. Many don’t understand that there is work involved and an effort of time and stepping outside their comfort zone all the things they weren’t counting on when they had the fast cars and trips dancing in their heads. Frustration then sets in as they look out the window and don’t see the fancy new sports car sitting in the driveway while the write another check for yet another box of product that they don’t even use. Then they think of the one that talked them into this in the first place and can’t remember when the last time was that they last talked and they tell themselves that it is no big loss.

I have seen this happen to friends and strangers and want to learn from the mistakes, and as always try to pass these things on to you. As I look at some of these things I run across I will share with you what I see and we will all grow wiser. Look for further entries on specific examples as I continue my search.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.

iRazoo do you, or do I?

Have you heard of iRazoo? In my effort to find new ways to be compensated for wasting my time on the internet and providing a second or third or even thirtieth supplemental income I happened onto a web site called iRazoo, and as all things such as these I will pass on my findings to let you know if it is worth it or just a waste of time.

iRazoo is a new search engine web site that adds a twist of earning points with each search and letting its users provide feedback on the usefulness of the site through comments and a vote of yes or no to recommend a site also earning points. These points can then be traded in for toys or gift certificates. Seems simple enough but how does it deliver.

First off you will notice that as a search engine it is kind of weak. It will pull in sites for you but it is quite a mix with many entries seeming far off target. In fact they look like plants (paid advertisements) that have little to do with the subject at hand. That means that you will not be using this site as an alternative to do your regular searches. So the real use of this site is to gain points and earn stuff.

Points are relatively easy to earn, in fact it was so easy that they changed the rules within days of my joining. It seemed that some would just hit the site, grab points and move on without any seriousness in evaluating the recommended sites, so they added a timer which means you cannot vote for a site until 30 seconds have past. That is o.k. because the site comes up in a new tab, and while you are waiting for the 30 seconds to pass, you simply go back to the search page and click on another site to open up, and another one after that.

Update: They will only let you open one searched page tab at a time now so no multi-tasking means it will take 3X as long.

Three is the limit however as you can only earn points on three sites per search term used, and that is not a daily limit, that appears to be for all time. That means you have to get tricky if you want to search on a topic you are familiar with. For example, you might look for ‘Mini 500’, ‘helicopter’, ‘mini 500 helicopter’, ‘mini helicopter’, ‘500 mini’, ‘500 helicopter’… anyway you get the picture. Also each page can only be used once for points so you will have to choose carefully. Notice I did say page and not site so each page on the site can bring you points.

The three click limit is very…well limiting. Again, as a search engine iRazoo is less than stellar for those that know there are thousands and millions of web sites out there for just about any topic and to hold yourself to just the first three is rather silly.

The next limit that you will become familiar with is the daily earning limit which is currently set at 300 points per day. Because of the way the points are paid out, 8 here and 8 there, I don’t think I have hit an exact 300 yet. 300 divided by 8 gives you 37.5 so I always have a number that leaves me short and it doesn’t look like it will pay you partial points to fulfill your max. This just means it takes you longer to reach a prize level.

So what are the prize levels, or in other words, how long will it take to get something for nothing? First thing to remember is that there is very seldom a something for nothing; you are trading your time, interest, and feedback if nothing else. Even with the layered multi opened page approach I use it takes about 20 to 30 minutes to max out my points (your mileage may vary). In the iRazoo advertisements they say that you can earn a prize in as little as 10 days but that has to be 11 now since you can’t reach a full 300 point day to make the 3,000 point minimum prize level in 10 days.

So what do you get for your 3,000 points of effort? A $5 gift certificate to Amazon. Now you will have to run the numbers for yourself and decide if 5 hours worth of effort over an 11 day period is worth a $5 gift certificate but $1 per hour hardly seems worth the time, especially if the usefulness of the search engine just isn’t there.

If you wish to accumulate your points there are higher prizes to be had such as a Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3 40gb, or Xbox 360 60gb for 100,000 points. An unlocked 16gb iPhone can be had for 600,000 points (that’s 2,000 days or 5.479 years for those that are counting). Or you good just hold out for the $25 Apple iTunes music card for 18,250 points (about 61 days work).

Can you get more points and can you get there faster? Yes, sort of. Two ways are offered, one is that there will be banners appearing for which you can take up an offer or buy product and the sponsor will credit you with points, eventually, (allow 6 to 8 weeks…you know the drill) and in the mean time you have given you info out to yet another someone on the web and possibly some hard earned dollars for a product you might not really have wanted for which there are plenty of other sites to get rebates on your purchases. If you can’t tell, I don’t think I trust the banners.

The other way to get points on iRazoo is to put a link to iRazoo on your web page about iRazoo or tell a friend about iRazoo so that they can join iRazoo and take advantage of this thrilling iRazoo search engine web site by joining iRazoo themselves and earning their own iRazoo points and iRazoo rewards, and for each person that joins iRazoo based on your sponsorship and promotion of iRazoo you will receive 50 iRazoo points and the person referred will also receive 50 iRazoo points. So feel free to click on any of the hyper linked mentions of iRazoo and you can play iRazoo also. Did I mention that only half of your points used can come from iRazoo referrals’, yet another limit placed on your iRazoo efforts at iRazoo.


Although I haven’t been on iRazoo very long, maybe a month or so, (it has been a busy month) and I certainly haven’t been on it every day, I am up to 2,418 points and am working on my first Amazon gift card. Why, I don’t know. I just want to see if it works for one thing and the pursuit of something for nothing still intrigues me. I also can’t tell you how quickly they pay out or how true to their word they are because I haven’t hit that spot yet either. They do have a promo going where you can win a search and win $5 Amazon gift certificate but I haven’t won one yet, and I’m not holding my breath.

One more suggestion for those willing to try, leave your radio or TV on in the back ground so when you are drawing a blank on what to do for the next search word just use the first word or phrase you hear coming out of the radio or TV. Do this carefully though, for it might be a word from a commercial that you really aren’t too anxious to learn more about.

Now that I have taken the ground work for you, it is up to you to decide if it is worth it for you. If I get one gift card I will be happy but I will also move on to hopefully bigger and better things. And as I continue to look for them I will continue to share my findings with you.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.

Out of commission from a little bug

I have been away for a little bit, sorry about that. I think I came down with the Farr West Nile Malaria Hepatitis Swine Flu C. O.K. maybe not, but I have had a whopper of a head cold that has lasted two plus weeks.

I don’t exactly enjoy getting sick. I don’t imagine there are many that do. Sometimes it is o.k. because it is your body’s way of telling you to take it easy, slow down, and catch your breath. You take a day or two off, relax and you are ready to get after it again.

This was not one of those sick days. This was one of those shut down days. There is no energy, there is no focus, there is no brain power, and there is no joy. When these kind hit, I literally shut down. I don’t bother to do much more than watch T.V. and sleep and occasionally eat. That’s it. I might want to do more but I just can’t. Reading is reduced to looking at the pictures in a magazine with the occasional effort to read the caption but seldom the text that goes with it. How can I? I have tried in the past to read a book only to notice that I am still on the same page after 35 minutes and still don’t know what I have just read.

So rest I needed, and rest I did…for three days at least. Then I started to get a little antsy even though there was never enough energy in me to do anything about it.

If anyone needed an incentive to get better just turn on daytime T.V., if that doesn’t do the trick, then your brain is still in a mushy like state and you should seek further professional help.

So I did. I went to the local health store after the 6th or 7th day to see if they could help figure out a solution, besides anything over three days from work requires a note from your doctor (how does that help me feel like a grown up?). Well, with lucky timing and a long weekend I was able to forgo the doctor’s note but I went to see him anyway because I just wasn’t kicking this thing.

The visit was its typical short quick shot visit. He asked me if my symptoms included coughing, headache, nausea, lack of energy, etc., etc., etc., I said yes and he said you have what everyone has, it is viral so there isn’t much you can do more than what you are doing. He gave me a Z-pack to cover possible bacterial infection, told me to get some Mucinex DM, don’t overdo and continue to get lots of rest. That was it, three minutes tops. I forgot to ask him about my very red and irritated eye so went back in to ask him about it after getting the prescription filled. He said he had noticed it but didn’t think it was too bad and that it should clear up on its own but if it didn’t then come back for more fun and excitement.

I still wonder why I bother with it sometimes except that with all the other things going around I guess I needed the assurance that it wasn’t one of those. Also, if the only way to get rid of it is to get official drugs then you have to go through official channels. I think there might be easier and much less expensive ways to treat yourself for a severe head cold, but then what would we have to complain about. Besides, we only see and think about the tiny co-payment for our treatment and drugs and seldom think about the actual charges for services rendered. It is easier to swallow the medicine in small doses.

So after the visit to the pharmacy for the Z-pack and unwilling to pay their price for the Mucinex DM I headed to the local Wal-Mart to find the Mucinex cheaper and restock up on the 12 hour Sudafed. The only reason I will submit to buying Mucinex is it is the only cough suppressant/expectorant that is in a 12 hour time release formula. Why 12 hour time release? Like the 12 hour Sudafed, it is the only way for me to take medicine before going to bed and have it last through the night. This is worth a lot to a person that is looking for an uninterrupted night of rest without having to wake up every four hours to take another dose of whatever and then try to return to sleep afterward.

By the way, I would buy the generic brands whenever possible and for the Sudafed I can find substitutes but not for the Mucinex. I can get the same medicine in cough syrup but not with the extended time release. The generics are cheaper, sometimes much cheaper and I have had pretty good luck with them so far.

Now comes the sad part. For many years now, you have been unable to buy Sudafed or anything containing Sudafed on your own. You now have to get a card from the shelf and take it up to the pharmacist and request the medicine. They then take your id, and record all your personal information into a government run data base that makes sure you don’t buy too much because that would indicate that you are a drug fiend and are probably running a meth lab. By the way, you are allowed to buy up to 9 grams or Sudafed a month and since I was purchasing a whopping 120 milligrams I was safe to buy my package.

I was feeling a little bit better at the time and thankfully there was no line in the middle of the day so the purchase was not too hard to make, but I have gone in looking for my medication when my head was plugged solid, my nose was running nonstop, and I was coughing up a lung only to find that I still had to pick up the little card and then go to the back of the line and stand for 30 minutes waiting to again hand over my id and go through the background check to see if I was allowed to buy my lousy little pills.

It is interesting to note a few things such as the fact that the original 4 hour pill took two tablets and was 30 milligrams per dose. A couple of years ago I found myself overseas and coming down with this miserable cold but without any of the medicine I usual bring along for just such an occasion. I went to the local pharmacy at the end of the day after our meetings got out in search of some Drixoral (another 12 hour cold medicine that is no longer available) but could not find any. The druggist asked what my symptoms were and offered Sudafed. Limited choice, foreign language and much in need I accepted this as the only remedy available this trip. Besides I was desperate and if I couldn’t find a 12 hour solution to see me through the night then this would be the next best thing.

I took the medicine and it did do the trick. As my head cleared I read the ingredients and noticed that this regular strength Sudafed was 60 milligrams per dose. No wonder it worked. I even shared it with a couple of co-workers that had got some of the same cold. It worked so well for them that they went back for a couple of boxes to take home with them. I kind of wish I had also. Here was grown up medicine, sold by a grown up to a grown up with grown up intentions of how to use it in mind. No hand holding, no back ground checks, no mother may I’s, just a way to treat the same old cold in the same old way with the same old medicine without any fuss or holler. What a novel approach.

The other thing I found interesting about all this is that once the real Sudafed went behind the counter a pseudo Sudafed appeared to take its place on the shelves. It only takes one tablet instead of two and it seems to work fine for the milder cases I occasionally get. But when the really heavy stuff hits then I want the real stuff and now that I know that there is another size regular dose I am not nearly as afraid of overdosing when I really need the help to get over the hump. I don’t take two regular 12 hour together, but I have taken more normal 12 hour dose and then when I have needed it I have taken a pseudo Sudafed as a booster.

I now feel I need to add the disclaimer that I am not advising or recommending this for anyone or anybody, and there is the fact that I am not a doctor nor have I pretended to be one for many, many years now. This is just what I did while practicing to be an adult. It seemed to work for me.

Anyway, after the first week of playing with this, I decided to go back to work. If you are only going to be miserable at home you might as well be miserable at work. I still wasn’t functioning at my best but that is o.k. when you are at work. Just kidding, but it does help with recovery if you can at least attempt to be productive in a laid back if not totally unenthusiastic way.

I did try to be responsible and stayed clear of others, covering my mouth when coughing, washing down my workstation and phone, and washing my hands frequently with Germ-X. No one else at work caught this that I know of so I must have been doing something right.

I did talk to a friend though that said he has had his version of this head cold for the past month. I really didn’t need to hear that. Besides, I think I have turned the corner now. I am feeling much better, can think enough to type a few words and as long as I take it somewhat easy and make sure to get enough rest I am sure I am on the mend. There are two signs that I am over the worst, my appetite for junk food comes back strong, and I have a desire to go out for a bike ride. Both are there. I haven’t gone on the bike ride yet because I don’t want to overdo but I sure have hit the junk food again. I did feel like a bike ride early last Saturday but I didn’t quite make it out. Just as well seeing how after the thought hit me I laid down for a second and awoke two and half hours later. Did I mention how my energy levels were just gone during this whole thing?

As hard as this has been and as long as this has dragged out I am still very grateful that this is all that it was and this is all the longer it has taken. I have had this before many times, and will surely have it again but through it all I know that it will pass and I will mend. I might get worn down from it and I might be disappointed and frustrated from the lack of ability to function as normal but it will pass and I will return.

There are others that I know that are facing a much longer recovery path. I have some very special friends that have had to face illnesses that do not go away on their own, and are not easily cured with a prescription or two. The illnesses that they are living with do not go away in one week or two or sometimes even in a month or year and sometimes longer than that. Some have been dealing with their illness for so long that they can’t remember any more what it was like to be normal. My hat goes off to each and every one of you. You are the ones that make my little periodic bouts with colds become trivial and all my complaining just a whining refrain. You are the ones that teach me what it could really be like.

And you also teach me how to handle it with the master’s touch. It isn’t always easy but somehow you manage to carry on knowing that there are good days and bad, high points and low points, but through it all you carry on. You are the ones that can somehow manage to receive and extend the love all around you in spite of all that you must face. That is the strength and courage that will carry you through anything life throws at you and you will not back down. You stand tall with those around you and carry on.

I have seen it in many of my friends through the years and always hope that I can be counted as friend when they are in need. They have been all ages from toddler to wobbler and each has provided me with lessons I needed to learn. I have gained much by my association with them and I hope that they have also found favor in knowing me. Some have kept diaries of their travails on blogs and I have wanted to site them often but hesitate without their consent.

But I know that they are not the only ones, so I open this up to any and all that want to share your stories with us. Just add comments and web links to this article and let others know what you have faced and how you have coped. This will help inspire us all. And it will introduce a new world of friends, ones that you can share your story with and ones that will in turn share their prayers with you. May your righteous desires be fulfilled as God looks after your needs as I know he has looked after mine.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.

Still looking for my MP3 player

Every so often I throw caution to the wind and decide to look for a fairly decent MP3 player, and every so often I give up in frustration because what I want is not out there.

I went looking again this last week.

I still don't have one.

All I want is a simple player that is big enough to handle my files (not even all of them as I have many). Music playback is basic and I tend to think that all players should succeed at this to some degree or another but then quality comes into play and from what I have read and researched so far, headphones make a huge difference with some users spend up to three times as much for aftermarket headsets as they do the player they use them on. That doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

If it had the ability to play movies that would be great, a bonus even. My expectations on this front are rather low however. Screens are small, resolution is limited and you just aren't going to get that theater experience in a noisy or crowded environment. Also, again from my research, there are many users that are having trouble loading, formatting, configuring or just plain making movies compatible to their players so some don't even bother with them. That is a shame.

I hear a lot of people use theirs for tuning into podcast and downloading TV shows and such. This sounds fabulous if it works as advertised but again I see compatibility issues arising so I don't want to get my hopes up to high.

These are all pretty common functions for which most users get MP3 players for. I however want something more. I want to listen to audio books with an MP3 player. In order to do audiobooks well an MP3 player must do three things, be compatible with various audiobook formats, do bookmarking and have variable playback speed.

There are many different audiobook services and formats. Not all formats are supported by all players. Some are very selective on what they will and will not play. Check this out before buying a player or signing up for a service. My intention is to hit the library and check out CD books (don't read that out loud it sounds bad) then download convert them to MP3 files which should work on about any player. I do belong to overdrive but haven't gone beyond downloading and listening to the books from my computer.

Bookmarking allows you to stop, do or listen to something else then comeback and start up where you left off without having to spend a lot of time searching all over for your place. Depending on how the books files are set up you can waste a lot of time looking for where you were rather than listening to your book.

I am a big fan of books on tape. Of course books on tape became books on CD and now books on MP3. It is a great way to get some 'reading' in while doing other task like driving to work, doing chores around the house, or going for a walk. I also find that I am able to get through more material this way than if I try and find a quiet moment or two to sit down and physically pick up some print. My eyes aren't what they used to be and so my reading speeds have slowed somewhat, and this is where my other desire comes in.

Through the miracle of technology, I have a cassette player I found at Radio Shack some years ago that has the ability to speed up the playback while adjusting the pitch so that you can listen to a recording at twice its normal speed and it still sounds like a normal voice. Some cassette players that did this would only go 15% faster and then sounded like the chipmunks where talking to you. Even Windows Media Player after about version 9 has a speed playback function built in that works pretty well and has helped me cover many a book at half the time it might have. Windows Media Player can playback up to 200% speed with it sounding pretty even and smooth. Speeds faster than that start dropping or clipping sections, though you would think that with the speed of today's computers they could fix that, kind of like getting higher frames per second playback on video. Some audio I really would like to go faster than 200% while there is some audio that I have to work to keep up with at 140-150%. The faster you go the more focused you get. Sometimes you really have to pay attention and that helps.

I really like speed-ed up playback. Some readers are just slow and need to be pumped up. Some files you want to cover more than once because there is so much to absorb and repetition is a great way to improve retention (think textbooks). Some sections really drag or get repetitive and could use some form of speed reading technique. For example, you don't read the lineage section of who begat who the same way that you read the Lord's prayer.

I have about worn my cassette player out and that is why I have been looking for a replacement. Might as well go modern and get and MP3 player. Lighter, carries more data, easier on batteries, plugs into stereos easier and should just be an all around better solution to the problem at hand. It sounds like MP3 players were made with me in mind.

Except they weren't.

I am having the hardest time finding finding any mention of this feature on all but the smallest handful of players and even then I have to dig into the fine print to find it. Most players do not have variable speed playback. They just don't.

I have been to hundreds of web sites and read thousands of comments only to find a few select references on out dated posts. I have been to manufactures web sites and submitted questions directly when the helps and site searches produced nothing only to be told by their reps that none of their players offered that ability.

Apple Ipods do have this capability for files in their audiobook section but they only have three selections, slow, normal and fast. Fast from what I can gather is 140% which is better than nothing but not what I was hoping for. If I went with Apple, I would pay too much, wouldn't be able to play WMA windows media formatted items, and would pretty much be locked into the Apple market. They maybe the standard but they haven't convinced me their better.

Microsoft Zune has no speed control on current models and like Apple they are overpriced, and proprietary in nature preferring that you only play in their playground and spend money at their store. As I have said before, I really like Windows Media Player though it is buggy and I have had to learn some work around's when downloading CD's, I find myself having a hard time trusting anything with the Microsoft name on it due to past experience with less than trouble free software. Windows Media Center is a great disappointment and after three attempts at Flight Simulator and nothing closely resembling the demonstration models you think I would learn.

So with the two biggest names not even in the running there are many other names that stand out as having better products and hopefully the right extra feature but sadly no. There is mention that some older products singularly had this ability but short of picking one up used on E-bay they are not current and would not come with buyer protections like a warranty. This is a must. In my research I have noticed one common thread and that is that these tools are not all that dependable. Many users are well beyond their first player with many telling of their current player being the fourth or fifth one. Some have multiple players and use them for different things depending on their fancy (one for jogging, one for books, one for this music vs. that). There are also many, many reports of buying a player and not having it work right out of the box. This means returns and that means I need to make sure and buy from a reputable dealer.

Through all the searching I did come across one potential manufacturer that might give me what I need, Cowon. Cowon has a pretty function web site were you can download the manual and read up on the model you are looking at before you buy it. I have looked a three or four manuals now and they all indicate that they have variable speed playback. Not only variable speed playback for audio but for video as well, how cool is that? Some models indicate they will go to 150% while one indicates 200%. Not only that, but they have a status bar to show how far into the track you are and you can even use that bar to fast forward or return to a spot in the file you are listening to. It sounds like some one that designed their players actually uses them. Did I mention they have bookmarking?

So where do I get one? I don't know. For some reason, no one is carrying them anymore. I thought Walmart or Target or Costco or Best Buy did or would. Not even a mention of them in Overstock.com. No luck. My search on Amazon got confusing (it is hard to tell where their store ends and the sublet stores begin). Also the pricing for a player that doesn't have many outlets seems to be a little high to other comparable units.

I know I am getting picky but I am not going to spend Apple overpricing dollars on a company that seems to be loosing it's market presence and doesn't have the capability to service their products without the use of overnight shipping. With all the trouble I have read about from users that have had to have returns or have had to by replacements before a year is up, I am hesitant to lay out too much coin for an unproven product no matter how much I want one.

And I do want one.

I do want one but I can't prove that it will do for me what I want it to. I can't prove that it can't. These are the things that drive me nuts. Analysis paralysis. Risk/Reward. How bad do I want one? I let you know, but for now...

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.

Do you have a perfect computer?

Does anyone have a perfect computer? I mean really perfect, not just really nice, or really fast, or it's o.k. because those are usually followed up with but...

Take a moment and think about it. Do you have something be it an app or whatever on your computer that you do not use or rather can not use because it does not work? I am guessing that we all do. We have all downloaded something or even worse, bought and paid for something that does not deliver as advertised.

I have just spent the last hour (and that is on top of the other hours spent) trying to figure out how to make the news feed gadget on my Vista sidebar start showing current news again. It is stuck on May 12, 2009 (no it did not take me that long to figure out that it wasn't working and yes I have been trying to figure it out since then) and I still don't care that Sen Byrd has been sent to the hospital with an elevated temperature, or that Donald Trump is having a spat with Miss California. It was all valueless news then and it hasn't gotten any better with age.

So until I can figure out how to make it better or finding a working model, off it comes. Off the sidebar that is. I can't quite bring myself to delete it off completely. I wouldn't know how to restore it if I did. I might want it back some day because it was useful once. It use to update regularly like it was supposed to and provide fresh headlines with which to face the scary world we live in. Now I have to be content with being scared over and over by things that happened May 12th.

It is amazing that I spend as much time trying to keep up with the news as I do. It really doesn't seem to matter much one way or the other anyway. We went on a driving vacation awhile back and after two weeks on the road in the middle of the country listening to PBS' 'Wait, wait don't tell me' I was amazed at how many answers we knew for their quiz of current news events.

Amazed and disappointed at the same time. What a waste. Part of the reason for going on the road trip was to get away from all of the garbage that makes up the daily grind like the continual pummeling we take by exposing ourselves to a constant barrage of news feeds. If you are like me, you are getting it from all sides, newspaper, magazine, net, radio, television, and water cooler. Much of it is done in sound bites with very little depth or detail, hardly any real or accurate analysis, and much given with excessive regurgitation as if repetition with somehow make it more important or in some cases real.

So why should I get upset if my news feed reader on Microsoft Vista sidebar does not work if there is so little value added? It is a principle thing. It is a function that is a selling feature (or at least it was supposed to be something they were expecting to be useful or they wouldn't have put it in there) that if it is used or not should at least be able to be used by the user. O.K. that got a little wordy, but it is because my emotions are rising up a little. I just want my stuff to work like it is supposed to, that's all. Keep it simple and Let it Be.

So back to the original question and the original thought. Does anyone have a perfect computer, or more to the point do we even expect to have? Have we become so conditioned by incompatibilities or even inabilities of our computer products, that we just expect that bugs are standard issue, some things work and some things don't, get used to it cause that's just the way it is? Mediocrity reigns but it is the only game in town.

I guess I could bring up the whole Apple vs. Microsoft PC thing but I don't believe all the Apple hype anymore than I buy into Microsoft's. Even playing with a Mac in their store a few months ago I ran into a bug, and I am not overjoyed by their controlling nature anymore than I am with Microsoft's so why switch. Besides that their pricing structure sucks.

I could always try something new, buy a bare bones machine individual components, assemble then load with Linux or some variation there on. That I am sure would occupy endless hours of learning and reinventing the wheel while at the same time having the same experience of endless configuration in the search to make everything work just so. The idea of getting off the grid even if it is only figuratively does intrigue me but do I really want to spend that much time and effort if I only end up with the same frustrations?...Nah.

But that is why I bought a name brand box with name brand software preloaded in the first place. The market place was supposed to provide the engineering, research and development that would replace the frustration with experienced driven solutions so that I wouldn't have to. For this we pay big rates of hard earned dollars, and when it doesn't work is there any wonder there is disappointment.

I guess the other thing that nags me about all this, is that after paying the price and still having items that do not function, I still retain them. It is electronic and only takes up electronic space but it is the idea of it that I need to get over.

If you have a bread maker that no longer makes bread, do you hang on to it or do you throw it out? If it is repairable do you fix it, or do you let it sit there for awhile? Does it make a difference if it is physical object that gets in the way or if it is a physical object that is stuck way off in a corner, or in a shed, or in a crawl space where it is out of sight out of mind?

In other words, if an item has no value in it's current state, do you return it to a state of value (or at least try to) or decide that there is no longer value to be had and delete it from your world?

I must continually remind myself that value is not what you paid for something or the price tag that hangs on it, rather value is derived from what you get out of it. "Use it or lose it" is one of those phrases that has more than one meaning.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.

Cash for Clunkers program is fiasco

I am of the opinion that the Cash for Clunkers program was and is one of the biggest mistakes this country has made. It sums up and represents all that is wrong with the government’s approach to correcting this so called economic meltdown. Let me explain.

Cash for Clunkers is once again a knee jerk governmental reaction to a problem that would solve itself on its own if left to the natural forces of supply and demand. The idea instead is to follow the plan put forward by Germany and another country that slips my mind at this time and create an incentive for consumers to go out and spend their money. One major difference between our plan and theirs is that they limited the purchase to home grown vehicles, where as we limited it to gas thrifty cars no matter where they came from.

On the surface this sounds great. Haven’t we been told that the car industry was in trouble and then proved it by taking over two of the three remaining original American car companies. This would drive consumers to their doors just drooling over themselves in an effort to buy a car that Uncle Sam was willing to put the down payment on. And what a down payment, $3,500 to $4,500 and for what, my old worthless beater that was just barely running as it was. Besides if I tried to buy the car on my own, the dealer certainly wouldn’t give me anything for it and I would have to try and sell it myself or get a salvage yard to come haul it away.

Besides that, Congress social engineering kicks in and says why not make the deal available only to those that trade that old beater in on something that gets better gas mileage. That way, we can save the planet while helping to reduce our dependence on oil energy. What a deal.

What a deal is right. First of all, free money is never free. It has to come from somewhere and that somewhere is those that pay taxes and from those that don’t in the form of inflation as the dollar continues to tank for fear that the only way out of this excessive spend rate is to start the printing presses. There are some that will understand this but there are far too many yet that don’t. Those that don’t will soon feel the effects but sadly still not understand what happened or why.

The next thing we notice is that the money only went so far and so a second helping twice as big as the first was dished up while Congress patted itself on the back for finally doing something that helped people directly instead of just subsidizing the financial mistakes of Wall Street. Only thing is this big dollop of dollars like those before it does not help all Americans or even most Americans. It only helps those that fall into their specially defined category, namely those with a clunker/beater that is worth less than the amount of the rebate and gets lousy gas mileage. I have a friend that thinks her car is ready for the scrap heap (though knowing the type car it should be far from it) and all the hype has made her interested in trading in to take advantage but she found out she doesn’t qualify because her old steed is already a fuel efficient vehicle.

The other qualifier is that you must be in a position to be able to afford a new vehicle and not later but now. This isn’t always easy even in the best of times, but that is o.k. because you can just take out a loan. (Wait a minute; wasn’t that what got us into this mess in the first place, easily obtained excessive debt?) So if you can’t qualify for a loan or if you are not willing to qualify but you don’t have a pocket full of cash, sorry Charlie.

But who wouldn’t buy a car now; the incentive from the government is just the icing on the calk. The dealers must be dealing like crazy to stay afloat, after all we still remember the deals they were willing to make after 9/11and back then they were selling way more cars than they are now.

If you happened to look at any of the ads for new cars, have you really seen any deals being presented. Most of the dealers are moving cars so fast they don’t seem to worry about making a deal. They know that if you don’t want it they have another one right behind you that is more than willing. Besides they only have a limited inventory of eligible cars and the government is providing the incentive and they don’t even have to bargain on the value of your trade in so why not sell all cars at full retail MSRP? The dealers can’t help but be overjoyed because now they have buyers that won’t even bother to question the price.

And what of these old cars that are being turned in for free money. Well there first thing to do is to make sure they don’t get put back on the street, so they are destroyed with a mixture in the engine to seize it up for good and then off to the smasher to make sure that the vehicle is beyond the use of any mere mortal. The cars are not even sent to a junk yard to scrap the recyclable parts and put them to use on existing cars that could easily use that unscarred fender or rear axle to return an existing vehicle to serviceable condition without the need of going to a new parts supplier that will have to make the new part using new material (even if it is from recently smashed up traded in clunkers) and lots of energy to form that material into the needed part.

For those of us that have had to live on a budget and are of limited means, a used part was sometimes the only means of keeping our cars alive in good repair. That brings up the other hidden cost to this whole program. Used cars support more than just those that drive them. There is a whole industry built up to support those used cars. Used cars are also the means by which many people have been able to raise their standard of living.

As a person trades in their old vehicle and buy a new one, their old vehicle has value and is still useable by someone who is willing to pay money for that use. They themselves might be trading in their older vehicle in an effort to upgrade and in so doing free up another used vehicle to pass on to someone that has a need for cheap transportation. That vehicle is a means for some to get a much needed job, or to deliver a sick mother to a doctor appointment, or deliver children to school. The vehicle creates possibilities that would otherwise have a person do without.

As all of these vehicles disappear, there will be a whole group of people that rely on these most entry level of vehicles that will have to learn to do without for awhile. Their cost of entry just went up greatly because the supply of good serviceable cars has suddenly shrunken.

So who wins with this lousiest of all programs? The bailed out auto industry? Not if you look at the list of the top 10 qualifying cars and notice that not one of which comes from one of those bailed out car manufacturers. About the American car manufacturer and labor? Well if you look at the cars that are being bought and notice that many of those Toyotas and Hondas and the two Fords that made the list are built in America then yes perhaps some citizens benefited. But for how long? Is this just a massive promotional sale that will only last as long as the ‘free money’ but will return to gloom and doom as soon as it is gone? All indications are that the plants are not ready to crank up production just yet as this has just been an easy way to move existing inventory, in other words, things still look pretty bleak over all for the industry.

But what about the economy, won’t this provide the much needed stimulus we have all been talking about? If you were one of the ones that just happened to be in a position to take advantage of this program then you paid full retail for a vehicle that you are now committed to paying for the next 5 years for. This commitment of future cash flow means that the money is spent and cannot be used for any other purpose or purchase. The fact that the government subsidized the purchase, much like a tax deduction for mortgage interest, doesn’t make it any less spent, and unlike the government you cannot spend you income more than once.

As was illustrated earlier, this does nothing for the lower income brackets but steal away from them a sooner opportunity to move up a notch or two. And what about all the cars that will now be getting better gas mileage, doesn’t that help? States are already crying because they don’t receive enough of your money in the form of taxes so how do you think they will feel when you no longer by enough gas to cover their expected gas tax revenue. They are going to want more, mark my words. Also, I firmly believe that the free market would have given us cars and trucks with much higher gas mileage ratings than we have today if they had just been left alone and let the free market help drive demand rather than letting the government set mandates. If you could convince enough people that they really wanted high mileage vehicles, the market would and will supply them. Where there is value and demand there is a market.

So the only ones that benefit from this fiasco even if it is just temporarily are the car dealers that got one last chance to gouge the consumer if they were lucky enough to retain a dealership after the last round of closures. And if they are gouging, as any consumer should readily see, then are they really the dealers that should have survived the last round of closures. I look around and see the ones that made it near my area and definitely wonder ‘what were they thinking’? Come to think of it, I have been asking myself that question about a whole lot of things lately.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.

A quick note from Oshkosh 2009

Oshkosh provides a platform to introduce the world to many new and wondrous things in the world of aviation. For those that have not heard of Oshkosh, it is a city in the state of Wisconsin that once a year hosts the EAA or Experimental Aircraft Association convention now known as EAA AirVenture. Aviation enthusiasts from all over the world come to celebrate their love of all things flying. It is the largest such event of its kind and one can quickly become overwhelmed through sensory overload as you try to take in all that is AirVenture Oshkosh.

I was able to see that latest advances in technology, from aircraft that would fly using electric motors as those being developed by Yuneec, to the new Airbus A380 the largest commercial passenger plane soon to take to the skies. The A380 is amazing and the demonstration flight was remarkable to watch. With the exception of one hard landing, the pilot really put on a show and really made me marvel at the progress that has been made over the years. To think that that plane can be configured to carry up to 850 passengers and do so much quieter than the planes of yesterday and today tends to boggle the mind.

Yuneec on the other hand is introducing electric motors to ultralights and powered paragliders. The desire to find new or rather alternative sources of energy has broadened the spectrum of what is available to the world of aviation and although electric motors seem appropriate in the automobile industry and more and more accepted with the introduction of hybrids, aviation was not one of the places that I thought battery power would show itself so soon beyond the novelty stage. Though they are still not the ideal candidate for long cross country flights, thanks must be given to companies like Yuneec, Sonex, and the ElectricFlyer for proving that the battery powered aircraft is a reality that can be enjoyed today. They may not be the first to create electric flight but they are certainly raising the bar.

If you get tired of hanging around terra firma, Oshkosh even inspires man to break from the bounds of gravity completely with the introduction of White Knight 2. Richard Branson teamed up with Burt Rutan to develop an aeronautical package that will deliver paying customers that chance to experience outer space. White Knight 2 is the launch vehicle that will take Spaceship 2 to a high enough altitude to enable it reach outer space under its available power. They proved it could be done winning the X Prize with the first generation and are proving it again with this 2nd generation, all without government sponsorship. Although in the air it looks like 2 airplanes holding hands you can’t help but be impressed watching it fly overhead.

The fun of Oshkosh is more than just the technology as you can tell it is also about the people behind the technology and all the people that have a love of aviation. I would like to share with you a story of an amazing person. Her name is Jessica Cox and though I missed seeing her I saw her aircraft at Oshkosh this year. I didn’t realize how amazing she was until I saw a little article about her in the local Milwaukee paper. I didn’t fully appreciate it until I happened onto this interview she did with AVweb. Check it out and I am sure you will be impressed also. It is amazing what mankind can accomplish when they don’t look at the world through the eyes of limitations.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK0LvmurKbU&feature=channel

This was just the tip of the airshow known as Oshkosh. A quick search will let you see just how vast the world of aviation has become. It easily captures my imagination and with all the wonderous new inventions being introduced it inspires me to work on my creativity and see if there isn’t just a little bit of that imagination still residing within. The dreams of flight still remain and I will continue to latch on at every chance.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.

#100

Well here it is, post number one hundred. I didn’t know if I would get here, and I didn’t think it would take this long. This has been an interesting journey and one that I hope will not come to an end anytime soon. I am enjoying it and hope that you the reader are too.

It is amazing how many topics and entries I have written in my head when I have not been near a computer and how many wonderful ideas and phrases that never quite get put down. Still when I look back on what has been entered I guess I have had a pretty good start.

This has been an exercise in writing, thought processing, opinion expressing, logical presentation, editing, marketing, and just all around sharing. Each of those areas comes with its own set of rules and challenges. I have had good and bad luck with each.

I have found a new appreciation for those that have been able to make a living at this or any of the writing profession. I know that they are able to devote much more time to their occupation than I have and that will make a difference, but there is still the matter of producing on a regular basis, something of substance that you hope a reader will appreciate.

There have been many articles that I think the words are just gushing out only to realize that I have spent hours putting together and then hoping that it makes some kind of sense. You can really invest yourself into an article, and think it a worthy effort only to reread it after time has passed and realize that it just wasn’t as good as it sounded at the time you were writing it. I imagine all writers go through this to some extent. I remember reading a book by Ayn Rand that included a copy of her text with her editing marks to show the changes and process she went through to develop a presentable work.

I have tried to develop my own voice for this blog. It will seem that it may overlap what others have said or done and I think that is a naturally occurring process that happens in everything around us. If I wasn’t for those that went before and those around us now we wouldn’t have examples from which to learn and grow and develop from. It is not necessarily plagiarism when things overlap; it is just the reality that we are all interconnected.

Of course plagiarism does exist and has become an everyday fact of life for far too many. I for one try not to cite the works of another without giving credit where credit is due. I like to give credit whenever possible and appreciate what they have done to further growth through the creative process. If someone gets inspired by something I have said or done and is able to further themselves or others because of it, then my efforts will have gained value. I am all for it.

In fact most of what I have written has been for the edification of myself but with others in mind. I have tried to better myself through a process of self discovery and monologue discussions as well as discussions with others then tried to solidify those thoughts through written words. Those words have then been shared for those that wish to review them providing the reader with advancement in their own process of self discovery. This process of discovery continues on so long as we continue to reflect and are willing to share. This really is a wonderful process if you stop to think about it.

As I have gone through this process of discovery of self and of those around me, and as I have continued to study the works that have gone before as well as those expressed in the here and now, I continually find myself running into others that have had the same thoughts or taken the same actions or found themselves to have the same problems or made the same mistakes or came to the same conclusions as I have, both here and now as well as in times before.

It is my contention that if I learn my lessons vicariously from others that I will save a lot of pain and effort from having to learn them directly. I have found this to be true for many of life's lessons but not all. Some things must be learned by our own efforts. A lesson I must learn for myself however may be a lesson that you can learn vicariously from me and so I share with you as I hope you share with others.

For those that have gone before and for those that are moving forward and are willing to share, I thank you. And for those that are willing to let me share, I thank you as well.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.

Does anybody want to buy my Chevy?

It is lightly used and in fairly good shape, trouble is, with the changes going on I don’t know how much longer I will be able to keep it that way. Does GM now stand for Government Motors? What has happened to this country?

(As I am slow to get this one published and have since noticed that the August issue of Motor Trend as also used the reference to Government Motors. I may be slow but I am not the only one thinking these things.)

I have said that it was a grave mistake for the financial bailout to happen the way it did and that the government should have only stepped in to help smoothly apply the laws already in place for an orderly application of bankruptcy procedures. Those banks and financial institutions that took the money have either regretted it greatly or were most definitely on the verge of collapse and saw this as the only way to continue to draw an overpriced paycheck for a few more months while they polished up their resumes.

So after seeing this happen, why would any other industry be willing to participate in the grand scheme for the government’s takeover of American industry? Two of the Detroit Three has succumbed to the temptress while Ford is trying for a holdout and now the other two no longer resemble anything of their former selves. Ford will go through its own changes and will most likely not resemble its own former self as it tries to reposition for the new automotive world's future but it will at least be trying to maintain a pretense at independence.

(Also, do you notice how they are referred to as the Detroit Three now instead of the American Automakers? This is done to realize the global nature of the auto business and that there are car builders in America that go by the name of Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mercedes, BMW etc. that were not part of the original elite designation. Do you suppose that these American jobs are somehow not valued the same way as those originating out of Detroit to those in Washington?)

Chrysler is an old hand at bailouts having successfully completed one in the 80s. Trouble is this time there is no Iacocca to come to the rescue. With a lack of real leadership at the helm and a government that isn’t interested in leaving them as an American car company, they were handed over to Fiat with far too much ease. This move makes absolutely no sense other than that Fiat makes small cars that the government thinks can be rebadged as Chryslers, sold in large quantities to the American public and thereby meet the politically correct Al Gore global warming agenda.

When I said they gave away the company, I meant it literally as Fiat just promised some of their current technology and they walked away with controlling interest (at least so far as the government will allow). This will not work any better than the merger Chrysler had with Mercedes and for the same reason but on a larger scale, namely culture clash. If hindsight for a Benz and Dodge combo teaches us anything it should at least provide a flashing red light warning for a K-car Fiat.

The new Government Motors on the other hand is just pathetic and sad. After Obama forced out existing management before the bailout was complete (bloodless coup anyone?) GM announced that they are appointing Edward E Whitacre Jr. to become the new chairman after the bankruptcy is complete. Whitacre’s former position was head of AT&T. While this brings praise from the government officials that thought to select him as well as those he will be working with, my view is somewhat different. If AT&T is any example of the kind of company GM is about to become then I do not want anything to do with them. AT&T under Whitacre’s care had become one of the most bloated, conceited, arrogant and uncaring corporate entities to service the public and private sectors. The level of customer care sank to the lowest of depths under his reign and the only reason I can think of for AT&T to continue to exist is that the behemoth was so big it somehow carried on in spite of itself. Actually, it had so much free cash from earlier years that it bought out any potential competitors or spent them into the ground if they tried to enter their markets.

Come to think of it, GM has done much the same thing only somewhere along the line it lost its profitability and ran out of funds to buy out the competition. It then had to stand on its own merits (and GM did have plenty of merits to play from) but it didn’t trust itself to do so. How and what will Whitacre do when the government pulls back the purse strings and makes GM stand on its own? Unlike AT&T, GM will continue to face competition in the automotive world and they won’t be able to rely solely on new government contracts to keep them afloat.

Actually they might. How many other corporate or service entities are there that are strongly subsidized by taxpayer funding for an overzealous government bent on political manifestation? The arts, National Public Radio, the postal service and of course Amtrak quickly come to mind. But wait, don’t these also have competitors present that attempt to service the customer’s needs and the competitors do so at a profit? Yes, yet the government sponsored entities continue to exist with much taxpayer subsidy thereby satisfying its one true customer which is government self interest. Should we expect anything less from their endorsement of Government Motors?

The thought of all this physically sickens me. As a car loving guy, I hate to see what is going on more than most and fear that we will be tossed into the automotive dark ages like that which followed the first gas crisis that generated fuel mileage and emissions mandates and produced some of the lamest excuses for autos for over two decades. These were government mandates and not consumer driven desires and that led to innovative stagnation. All signs are indicating that this is the path we are once again headed.

Also, I am an American and a taxpayer. This country is founded on principles of fair play for everyone yet with every passing day I see less and less of it and not nearly enough voices standing out against the changes taking place. Liberty, and freedom are words that have somehow lost their true meaning as have capitalism and free markets; the consequences both frighten and infuriate. Wake up America. Return to the values our fathers stood for or we will never be able to know them again in our lifetime. We need to return the white elephant now before it eats us out of house and home. For those that do not understand, we have only begun to pay the price for this folly. If we hurry, maybe we can still cancel the check and get our money back.

So if any of you are in the market for a new car, do you really want to pay for it twice, once as the consumer and once as a taxpayer? I know we do that somewhat anyway but really we should be expecting something for our dollars. I have an idea instead of buying new; does anybody want to buy my slightly used Chevy? I just don’t have the desire to support it anymore.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.

blue screen update

Well it is well past time to provide an update on the blue screen situation. As I have said before, I have been racking my brain trying to come up with a plausible idea as to why the blue screen crashes were occurring and how best to fix the problem. I figured there must be a software compatibility problem somewhere and it was driving me nuts because every time you turn around each of the programs wanted to update the latest and greatest version that was supposed to correct some bug or security patch a vulnerability.

It is amazing that with all the updating that was taking place you think they might have stumbled on a correction with some of the actual problems that this box had been experiencing such as the windows media center’s inability to record and playback live TV as advertised let alone just watch it in real time.

Also surprising is the fact that most all the software programs and especially Microsoft products like to have you plugged into their networks to report any problem areas you may have and constantly provide feedback with which they can make their products better in every way. That is the sales pitch anyway. It seems that they want you to turn over as much control to them as possible and they will take care of all your software problems for you so you won’t have to worry about a thing. At this stage I have almost given in to it completely as I can’t figure out what they are trying to do half the time anymore and they don’t seem to be willing to tell me, unless it is in code.

So round one was to make sure that I had the latest and greatest versions of any software, updates and patches. This included drivers and anything else I could find that seemed like it needed updating. This took a long time and a lot of effort doing searches and researching items to make sure I was getting the right items for my machine and its configuration. Also not easy is working with “high speed” Qwest internet running at a whopping 1.5 Mb on its good days. This is much better than dial up and I shouldn’t complain but at the price they are charging, both Qwest and I should be ashamed.

So after making as many updates as possible and only seeing the situation get worse I decided that the next step was to start a process of elimination, in other words start taking out some of the updates and see if one of them was the problem. My two biggest suspects where Microsoft Internet Explorer and Adobe Acrobat’s Reader/Flash/Shockwave/whatever else they were dumping on me.

Since I had downloaded IE 8 thinking that I would be starting fresh with a new browser and that it would leave the old problem behind, but noting that the new browser did not function well from day one, it was the first to go. I removed the program and then tried to redo IE 7. I say redo because that is exactly what it became. Many of the settings and previous configurations had been lost. This may have been a good thing because since that time we have not had near the problems with crashing.

Next to go was the Adobe add-ons, though I think I might have lost them from the browser when it went through its changes. I have gotten a lot of update request for the Adobe software but have agreed to very little of it for now. That is my typical position by the way in taking on any new updates. When given the choice between letting the program do a ‘typical’ load or a ‘custom’ load, I will generally pick the custom load and look at each of the elements being added. Most times my picks will match the ‘typical’ load but just as often I will find them trying to insert an additional item that I don’t think I really want or need.

I also downloaded the latest security software from McAfee during this period and again ran a thorough scan of the system finding nothing more than a errant cookie. Besides taking significant time to run its scans and downloads I find it a little more comforting than the “One Care” security solution that comes from Qwest.

The other thing I have done is to update and start using Mozilla’s Firefox a lot more. It is almost the preferred browser at the moment though there are still many sites that seem to function better with IE. I hate having to go to more than one source for technical solutions but that is still a fact of life in this high tech world.

So with all this done I have to say, so far so good. I haven’t seen the blue screen in quite some time, but I admit that I still do not push this computer anywhere near where I think the limits ought to be. I still feel like I am treating it with kid gloves. Maybe because I have this need to justify the time and dollars invested, but I still want to get my money’s worth out of this adventure.

The only other side effect of note at this time is the fact that for some reason the computer is closing up and shutting down then restarting at sometime while it sits idle. I know this because I have left some applications open and come back the next day with nothing showing open on the taskbar. This is an important reminder about saving and backing up your work. I have had a pretty good track record and didn’t think these kinds of things would happen to me but it just goes to show that some things really do happen and through no fault of your own. I will probably be a little more sympathetic to other people’s stories now, even if I thought I was before.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.

blue screen continues

Just a quick update while I am still functional today. Any and every session of late has ended in a blue screen of death or in other words a hard crash. Sometimes it will come back up after a hard reset sometimes it will just beep at me. I understand that the beeps are the HP way of diagnostics but I don't know what it is telling me yet so I don't know which way to turn.

I started it up again this morning and got the usual Windows closed in an unusual manner last time do you want to open up in safe mode or regular? I selected regular and it opened fine, or so it appears. It always realigns my icons on the desktop after one of these episodes.

Since it has opened I started running every diagnostics test on it I could find. HP has this box loaded with what looks like pretty goods ones in hardware diagnostics so that is what I have been doing for the last three and a half hours. I even ran the heavy stress tests on it and just like before everything is showing as fine. Previously I have run all the updates and virus and spyware scans and came up with nothing and so I am running out of ideas. I am afraid I am going to have to pull the big plug and reload all software from scratch. There is a system recovery app loaded but I am not sure what that does completely so before I do anything I will once again check in with the Concierge service from Costco and get further guidance.

There are too many other things going on in life to be shut down like this. It really sucks up a lot of time trying to do the diagnostics and run the test and all the while you are not checking your e-mail, news or blogs, not to mention the yard work, housework, car work and errands that aren't getting done.

Now if all the hardware testing is showing that the box is functioning properly then that leads me to think this is a software problem. I have never had a perfect running system but it has always worked enough that I learned to live with it. We paid the extra to get the on board TV tuner and Windows Media Center that I have never quite been able to get to work the way I imagined it would. Record your favorite shows, I never have. Watch all the new digital channels that are available, I get two channels o.k. but the program freezes as I try to change channels past the one in the middle. Also, if I have had Windows Media Player open and it hasn't closed correctly (which it never does) Windows Media Center will not play until I open up the Task Manager and kill Windows Media Player manually or reboot the computer. These are the type of workarounds that I have had to come up with that never should be but what we learn to accept when living in a Microsoft world. Maybe those Apple computer adds are based on something more than rumor.

I am currently using the Firefox browser to enter this as the update to Internet Explorer 8 did not go well and while I do not blame it for the problems I am having (since the blue screen problems started before the IE8 update) I still half wonder if there might be a connection to IE and the blue screen anyway. Will trial and error always be the case with computers? I think that is a given in my lifetime.

Well at least while I am functional, maybe I can get those photos sent out to family that I promised. They probably think me a heel for neglecting them this long.

Until the next blue screen appears, I will let you in on one more secret. It is very difficult to type with all your fingers crossed.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.