Free Gillette Fusion

I received a Gillette Fusion razor in the mail yesterday. Wow! Gillette really is give the razors away for free. I was disappointed that it only came with the one razor cartridge and no refills. I understand they want me to buy the “blades,” but I think a simple two pack would have given me more time to see if I liked it. They did include a $2.00 coupon for a razor cartridge pack.

Well, if you know me this means it’s time for a comparison. I have been using the same Gillette (Oops!) Trak II razor for over 14 years. Should I switch. We’ll see.

I normally just soap my face for a quick shave in the mornings. I will have to pick up some shaving gel this weekend. I want to give each razor the best chance possible. I may buy one Fusion refill pack so I can test them for an extended period of time. I normally go through one cartridge a week. If I buy just one 4 pack for the Fusion I can do my comparison for a month.

So, how will I compare. Simple, I will shave one side of my face with the Fusion and the other with the Trak II. I am mostly interested in which does a better job of minimizing the dreaded 5:00 shadow. Also, I want to see if anyone can notice, but I doubt it.

See you in a month to let you know the results.

This looks cool. I always seem interested in what it would take to write a computer game. Then I realize how much work it really is and how little time I have to devote to casual programming. Casual programming and games are mutually exclusive in my book.

Maybe this will change it.

If you think you can do it, you need to check out the contest they are having.

Gas Mileage Experiment – Step #3

We are off and running on the gas mileage experiment. Last week I said gravity was your friend. If that’s true then neutral is your best friend. This is difficult for cars with automatics to do well. Basically you want to coast anytime you can. You are heading off the highway and there is a red light way up ahead. You know you have to stop. Coast there in neutral. I can pop my car into neutral while still in the exit lane of the highway when I am coming home and going to work. The distance to the light is long, and I am getting 99.9 mpg while coasting.

This technique is also used in stop and go traffic. What you want to do is give a quick burst of speed then coast as long as you can. You coast for as long as traffic will allow. You don’t want to piss off the guy behind you, and you don’t want to hit the guy in front. It is a mindset. Stop thinking about it as stop-and-go traffic. Think of it as burst-and-coast traffic.

Since the benefits are getting smaller as we progress, I am adding a second technique. Idling. Yes, you would be surprised how you can idle your way through tight traffic. Like the burst-and-coast above, you could just idle you way along with the slow traffic. My car idles in first gear @ 5 mph. At this speed the computer does not report mileage. Second gear idles @ 8 mph, while getting mileage in the low 30s. Third gear idles @ 11 mph while getting high 30s for mileage.  I find it fun to play with traffic this way. Why should I be on and off the gas when I can just creep along.

I had to drop off some medicine to my son at school yesterday, so I have two and a half trips going with this technique added and I the computer read an average mileage of 30.5 mpg when I got to work. Traffic was really bad leaving the house today. I think it is possible to get that up to 30.9 by the end of the week.

We’ll see.

Gas Mileage Experiment – Step #2

This week I have moved on to the second step of my gas mileage experiments. The basic premise this week is to use gravity to your advantage. Basically this means allowing your car to slow down as it goes uphill, and making sure you speed up as you go downhill. Gravity is your friend. This can be done simply by not moving your foot on the gas pedal. By keeping a steady throttle this will happen on its own. It eats a lot of gas to accelerate up a hill, and conversely it also eats up gas using engine braking when going down a hill.

The gas lost going down hill is twofold. If the engine is actually dragging down the speed of the car, it is use more fuel than if it were in neutral. Then you have to re-accelerate up the next hill. I have a fairly “hilly” drive to and from work living almost in the Texas Hill Country. It definitely pays to let your car speed up as it goes down hill to build up momentum to aid in going up the next hill. I try to keep a very steady foot on the pedal, but I do help it along. By using the constant mileage readout I make sure I maintain the mileage I want while trying to accelerate downhill a little extra, and keeping my speed from slowing to much going uphill.

My mileage so far this week is an average of 29.4 mpg. I do not expect this to change on my way home when I end this step of the experiment, though I do think this number could have been slightly higher. You will have to wait for the final article to get the reason.

Lost – Season 1… Finished

My son and I finished watching season 1 of Lost last night. I believe (?) there were a mere 6 episodes shown in the fall, with 16 new episodes scheduled to start airing Feb 7th.

I was worried I would have to wait until season 3 came out on DVD to catch up fully. Not the case. I am going to borrow my brother-in-law’s DVDs of season 2 and watch them. In the mean time I am going to start recording season 3 on my DVR (due to space limitations on my DVR I will be forced to record the non-HD versions). I will watch the first six episodes online then finish season 3 on my TV.

I am hooked.

I like 24 better, but it is getting long in the tooth. I am tired of all the conflicts “at the office.”  It is amazing how people have such a hard time getting along on the one day they need to check their personal issues at the door. This is becoming tedious to watch. (Spoiler coming) In fact, until Jack’s brother showed up, and the significance of who he is, I almost thought it was time to stop watching 24. But the brother twist means I have to watch.

Hooked again!

Lost – Season 1

My brother-in-law brought over his Lost: Season 1 DVDs. My oldest son (12) and I managed to watch 20 episodes from the first season over the weekend. I like the show, and expect to finish season 1 this week and get to season 2 shortly.

My brother-in-law is a pain in the ass. My wife joined in for some of the watching. She would keep asking questions, and my brother-in-law (my wife’s brother) would keep answering “You have to watch the show.” This would be fine if he didn’t keep interjecting stuff. I would ask some basic questions like, “Is Ethan really dead?” He would say yes. Which is all I wanted to know. Then he would say, “and his wife is really pissed.”

Well, that blows it for me. Now I know that Ethan has a wife on the island somewhere, yet I have not seen “the others” and have only seen the French woman that has been there for sixteen years. My brother-in-law will say things like that as we are watching it too. Things like, “the island loves Loc.” And, “when the island get mad at Loc it takes away his legs.” Thanks… now I know the island itself is some kind of entity, rather than learning that myself.

It would be better if he only answered the questions I asked. I asked if we would learn who set fire to the raft. I didn’t want to know who… just if the show was going to provide that answer.

I also know some of the “nicknames” of some of the characters even though they have not been revealed. I hate that too. Just shut up and only answer my direct questions, which are basically none anymore. I want to learn the stuff as I see it.

If you do not watch Lost, I can’t really recommend it to you. It is a massive time sucking thing to catch up on two and a half seasons of a show. If you like shows of this type (Heroes, Surface, Invasion, 24, Prison Break) where you have to watch every episode to get it, then this is a good one. If you like shows with weird stories (X Files, Threshold, Eureka) then you will like this show. If you like shows that combine both of those then you should really like this one.

Well, tonight’s a big one… a new episode of 24, Heroes and Prison Break are all on tonight. Heroes and Prison Break are coming back from their winter hiatus, while 24 just started its new season last week. I won’t be trying to squeeze in one of the last 4 episodes of season 1 of Lost tonight.

I am such a TV junkie.

Idiocracy – Don’t See It

On my way to telling about more movies… don’t see Idiocracy. I like Luke Wilson, but I hated this incredibly stupid movie. It is supposed to be stupid funny, but it is just plain stupid. Save yourself a couple of hours of your life that you can’t get back and skip this movie.

Arctic Freeze 2007

We are freezing here in San Antonio. Here are a few rare photos of some icy stuff. Click on the images to see an 800×600 version.

Here is my 93 Camaro Z28. It is the only car that is not in the garage. When it thaws I need to get it running and sell it.

This is a picture of a screw in the handrail of a deck. I thought it was cool looking.

Here’s a top down look at the part of my deck with my BBQ and a table. That’s a lot of ice.

Here is a fence that looks cool (or cold) with ice on the points.

This is a dead tree we have in our front yard. It looks really cool in winter… and now covered in ice. It looks a bit funny in summer when it is “green” with envy of all the other trees.

Here is a picture of part of our backyard. You can see that we were well covered in ice.

This is what the back of the house looks like. The front didn’t look as frozen because the freezing rain was driving up against the back of the house.

But how thick was the ice? This shot of the steps to the rear deck should give you an idea how much ice we are talking about.

We caught this picture on our way back home from my in-laws. We went over there about 4 hours after the power went out. Oh… and how did I know the power was back on. Simple, my server comes on when the power comes on, so all I had to do was check my web site to see when it was up.

This is the Pony emblem in the grill of my brother-in-law’s Mustang.

More Movies (and The Devil Wears Prada)

One thing I wanted to do with this blog was mention movies I have seen. Not reviews, I tried that once and it felt worthless because I mostly rent them and it is a little late to review a movie after everyone else has rented it. I just want to get my opinion out there on movies that I particularly liked (meaning they are worth it for you to rent or even buy), I hated (which means you should not even waste your time on a rental), or have something interesting about them (see below).

I just looked and only have two movies mentioned on this blog. I will try to mention movies a little more in the future. In the mean time…

My wife got The Devil Wears Prada on DVD as a Christmas present. I like it. Yes, it is a chick flick, but I have seen it at least a half dozen times and I have not gotten tired of it. For you guys out there that need a movie to make points with your loved one… I recommend this movie.

Superman II – The Richard Donner Cut

My brother-in-law lent me the Richard Donner Cut version of Superman II (he borrowed it from a friend). It was interesting. There were a number of things that were outright different about the movie. If you are a fan of the Superman movies with Christopher Reeves it is definitely worth renting. Here are the major plot differences:

1. The opening is longer, and replays the bomb Superman sent off in to space from the first movie being the bomb that sets free General Zod & Company.
2. Lois is far smarter in this version than she was in any of the four original Superman movies. In fact, I actually liked the character, whereas I never did before.
3. The way Lois figures out, and then proves Clark is Superman is done far better than in the theatrical release. This is the main reason I like the Lois character, and the reason you should rent this version if you have never seen it.
4. Superman never talks to his mother in this version. When he asks about being with an earth woman he has a lengthy discussion with his father, Marlon Brando.
5. When “Clark” has to return to the Fortress of Solitude to get his powers back we find out exactly what happens. Rent it to find out, it’s worth it.
6. In the Fortress of Solitude Superman never plays the multiple-image game with the bad guys. I actually missed this.
7. After Superman defeats the bad guys he destroys the Fortress of Solitude. This would make the recent Superman Returns movie plot impossible.
8. He takes Lois back to her apartment and then proceeds to turn back time by spinning the Earth around backwards. However, he turns back time so far that General Zod & Company are returned to the Phantom  Zone.

All in all I really liked this version. I would have liked to see the multiple-image game played with Superman and Zod in the Fortress of Solitude, but that is not a big deal. I did not like the turning back time to fix everything. It was better in the original version. They just needed a better way to get Lois to forget Clark was Superman.

Rent it, you’ll like it.

Expression Web and MSDN…

I was doing some web development with Visual Studio 2005, and tried porting a sample site to my server. Well, I discovered that I don’t have SQL Server 2005 installed on my server, so I went to the MSDN web site to download it and was glad to see they have Expression Web so prominently displayed at the top of their page (click the image to see it actual size).

Well that was a huge dissapointment. They still won’t provide it to MSDN subscribers.  How rude to place it with such importance on the MSDN site and not have it available to MSDN subscribers.

DreamScene

I stumbled onto this by accident… and love it. Animated wallpaper in Windows Vista Ultimate. It’s called DreamScene. Check it out. I like the rain drops in the clip. You need IE to see it… would not work with Firefox. It figures.

When it rains it pours

Our dryer went out on Sunday. Laundry day. I was going to try and buy one last night on my way home, but I had to ge home to deal with the cable people. See, our Internet and digital TV service also went out on Sunday. They sent a technician out Monday morning. I went into work late to wait for the cable guy.

For the first time (Oh, I don’t know, in a million years) the TV and Internet went out just as the guy was pulling in the driveway. That’s right folks… the thing you all have been waiting your entire life has happened… it was not working when the technician was there.

He hooked up his meters and all looked fine… until he tested the return signal. This is the signal that is used when you buy a pay-per-view movie or something. That was not working. He climbed the pole and got the same results there. He called it in as a problem for “maintenance.” Apparently they have separate people to hand problems outside the house. However, he replaced the cable modem… just in case. It seems they do this almost as standard procedure. He put an older modem design in. Well, the Internet was totally worthless last night. My wife called and they said the modem reset itself over 420 times since it was installed… that morning. It reset itself over 20 times while she was on the phone with the guy. We scheduled to have a technician come out this afternoon.

To make up for coming in late yesterday I have to leave early today to meet the cable guy. On the plus side… my brother-in-law is lending me his truck to pickup a dryer, so I don’t have to deal with getting one delivered. I will head to Lowe’s or someplace after the cable guy leaves.

The Essence of DRM – A Load of C.R.A.P.

Well this webcast pretty much says it all as far as DRM is concerned. DRM is a load of C.R.A.P.

New Camaro Convertible

Note: If you are here for pictures of the new Camaro I have some more here.

Now here’s a sweet looking car. This is Chevrolet’s new Camaro Convertible due out around 2010. The picture above is from Motor Trend’s coverage of the Detroit Auto Show.

New Look For Web Site

I think I am finished with the new look for my web site. Here is a link to a static page that shows the new look. None of the links on that page are working. I designed and built the page as the start for a template. I built it using Microsoft’s Expression Web. However, I “ported” the page to Dreamweaver. I wanted to see if Dreamweaver would work with the design. The link above is from the Dreamweaver version of the page.

Dreamweaver supports template pages, which allows you to set parts of a page as editable. This will allow me to have a “master” page for the look of all the pages, and concentrate on the content. Expression Web calls this a Dynamic Web Template. The reason I mention all this is because of Microsoft’s decision to not make Expression Web available to MSDN subscribers. At this point I have the above page in both tools, and I know I can build my site with either product.

I must admit, at this point I actually like Expression Web better that Dreamweaver (I have the MX 2004 version). But I am running the beta of Expression Web. If I can’t get with my MSDN subscription I may just make the switch to Dreamweaver.

You know, they use Dreamweaver in the eCommerce department where I work. Since Microsoft doesn’t want me to have Expression Web I guess I won;t get the chance to convince them that Expression Web is a worthwhile project. Oops.

Anyway, if anyone wants to provide feedback on the look I am all ears.

Gas Mileage Experiment – Increments

Vacation time is over and next week I will be working 5 days again, so I will be setting out on the next step of my experiment in gas mileage. But I wanted to show you something first. In previous posts on this experiment I have given mileage in tenths of a mile, such as 26.1 mpg. This comes from the on board computer on my Mini Cooper S. However, that may be misleading to some of you. See, the computer does not actually go in tenth of a mileage increments. I took the time to write down all the increments between 25 and 34 mpg. Here they are:

25.0, 25.2, 25.5, 25.8, 26.1, 26.4, 26.7, 27.0, 27.3, 27.6, 28.0, 28.3, 28.6, 29.0, 29.4, 29.7, 30.1, 30.5, 30.9, 31.3, 31.7, 32.2, 32.6, 33.1, 33.6, 34.0

Clearly there is some kind of rounding going on here. This makes it more important to reset the average fuel consumption on a regular basis so you don’t fall into a range and can know quickly if you are altering you driving pattern.

Next week I will let you know what the next step it.

Stay tuned.

Programmers to Blame for Hard-to-Use Software – Yea, Right

I just read this article on PCMag.com where David Platt blames programmers for “hard-to-use” software. I have this to say, “Bite me!” I have been a programmer/analyst for decades now.

When I was working for a large insurance I wrote a client/server Executive Information System that was used by the President of the property and casualty department and his direct reports (which mostly consisted of high end executives and their staff). My application was sent to the usability department to test. I was not allowed to say anything to these people to explain why I did any of what I did (because it was customer requested). I got six remarks on my application. Three were a limitation of the development tool and I could not do anything about. The other three took be half a day to fix. Hard-to-use… Yea, Right! Get a life Platt.

In my current position I write custom applications for people that run large scale printing equipment. I have not written any help for the applications. They are dedicated to the tasks at hand and once someone is shown the business behind the software then the programs are so easy to use they don’t need help. In fact, it is only when adding too many features for people that don’t use the software everyday that it becomes a problem.

Clearly David Platt is hyping the problem to push his book. Don’t buy it. It sounds to me like the book is written for users, not programmers. It figures.

New Chair – Recline Tension

Yesterday, I told you about my new chair. I wanted to remove one complaint about the chair… that I put on all chairs, the recline tension. A couple of coworkers said that my chair should be able to adjust its tension the way I want it. But when I showed them how hard I was cranking on the adjustment knob they said the chair was broken, and I should complain.

Before reporting it as broken I had them try it. Neither of them could recline in it. In fact, one of them was “popping wheelies” trying to recline the chair.

It’s me. All those years of pumping iron has left me top heavy and the chair reclines too easily… for me. Oops! So how do you go about shrinking muscle mass?

In the mean time, I am actually getting used to the chair. I may keep it.

A New Chair (Or… I Hate Change)

With technology always changing I am always surprised at how resistant to change people in the IT industry are. I have worked around many “legacy” programmers and it never ceases to amaze me how much they don’t want to change. I have always been one of those that thrives on learning new stuff… I just wish I had more time to learn even more stuff than they want me to.

When I started at this company I got a leftover chair with a fixed high back and fixed armrests. One of the armrests broke, and my boss was glad because it must have been one of the oldest chairs in the building. I tried one of my coworker’s chairs, the newest in the department. I could not get comfortable. So… I stole a fixed low back chair with fixed armrests from one of the conference rooms. My boss was not happy, but he let me have it. That’s been for over a year now.

Today there was a new chair in my cubicle. I hate it! I have always bellowed out, “I HATE CHANGE!” in meetings when we talk about new technology and new programming tools and such. It always goes over as such a joke. Well… I HATE CHANGE FOR REAL when it comes to my chair.

The new chair is terrible. Someone told me it will take 4 days to get used to it. More like 4 years. It has seven adjustments… not counting the armrests. Here they are from front center working my way around to the rear along the right side:

1. A funky lever that adjusts how far forward or back the seat cushion is from the backrest. Think of it like the adjustment in a car that moves the whole seat forward and back. However, this chair does not have a fixed base like in a car (it’s on wheels), so you can’t move the cushion easily while sitting on it.
2. A knob to adjust the tension of the reclining action. I never like these because it seems like I turn them forever and get very little difference in actual tension. Maybe its my 215 pound body that puts too much strain on the spring.
3. I little twirling rod that adjusts how far forward the seat is allowed to recline forward. Basically you set this to prevent falling forward onto the floor when you go to sit upright from a reclined position.
4. A lever that locks the chair in at the current reclined position. Of course flipping the lever the other way allows the chair to recline freely (within the tension from #2 above).
5.  The all important height adjustment. This is the only really important adjustment. I adjust my seat so the armrests can just slide under the desktop and I can get as close to the desk as possible. Plus this is the cool toy on a chair.
6. A lever that adjust the angle between the backrest and the seat cushion.
7. Finally, a slider on the backrest that adjusts where the lumbar support it. This is the worst, because it does not allow you to adjust the amount of lumbar support, just where in your back you want to get jabbed. I have a bulging disc problem that is mostly asymptomatic (it rarely flares up), but I know enough that increasing and decreasing lumbar support is more important that forcing it on you.

Remember, those are just for the chair. The armrests also go up and down independently as well as spin on their posts.

I have typed the word chair as chaor at least seven times in this post. I wonder if it is the chaor… oops, did it again.

I HATE CHANGE!