Yes, even MORE Fall colors!

Baby elephant scared of its own sneeze.

Via the LA Times, this awesome video!

A real game-changer in mobile / wireless: Droid on Android 2.0

Google / Verizon / Motorola has just announced the Motorola Droid for Verizon on Nov. 6, which will be the first Android phone with Android 2.0 OS - presumably 2.0 will be pushed out to the rest of us shortly after this phone is available in person.

What makes this joint announcement interesting, of course, is Android 2.0. Within 2.0, Google has bundled navigation with Maps. How big is this? Garmin closed yesterday at 37.78, and overnight, lost $1.90, and is currently trading at $32 (-15%), off the floor from today's low of $30.85. TomTom opened at $10.60, and is currently trading at $8.11 (-20%), off the floor of $8.06.

This is a game changer in the world of both mobile phones and stand alone navigation devices, with the proviso that, you must be on a widely distributed wireless network for this to work effectively. Google Maps - while it can cache your data onto your phone - does not store all the maps and POI data you would need on your phone, to effectively navigate and find things if you're not within wireless coverage.

Still, this is pretty big in tech, especially now that Google Maps has Street View, you can actually see what your turns will be like, from an actual photo.

Video of Google Maps with Navigation

Video of Verizon/Motorola's Droid

More Fall colors from my phone's camera

Outside my condo.

In my neighborhood.

Still in the hood.

In Beaverton, near the backside of Cedar Hills Crossing Shopping Mall.

Designing a light pendant (shade)

These renderings take way too long to do - especially the room. That one took 12 hours to get to this point. The smaller the image the faster they are to do, but you can't print small images in big sizes. Am trying to design a cheap - relatively speaking - design that can be easily cut by computer-guided laser. Just one of a handful of ideas right now. Maybe I'll do all of them?!? They take so long to work out...every one. Sigh...

Some Fall color shots from my phone's camera.

Praise be to Google?

I kinda feel this way actually...seeing as I use google for my searches, email, phone, calendar...I even use sketchup. May the Google be with you!

Some Fall colors.

Went out late this afternoon (5 pm) and took some shots before the sun disappeared.

Interesting insight into car buyers.

Strategic Vision puts out research into the demographics of auto buyers which is quite striking when you look at it.

According to this 2007 report, Asians have a strong affinity for buying Toyotas (27%) and Hondas (22%) over the next highest brand, Nissan (6%), whereas African Americans and Hispanics tend to have broad buying habits.

But even more striking, is their 2009 New Vehicle Experience Study that breaks down buyers based upon their college education, among other things:

Percentage of buyers with a college education:

Lexus - 71%
Honda - 70%
Toyota - 60%
Ford - 45%
Chevrolet - 35%

Dramatic differentiation between the brands, eh?

Bill Kristol, proud to be American?

On Fox News Sunday, Bill Kristol - the idiot - critiqued the Nobel Prize Committee, "This is an anti-American committee."

That on face value alone is an oxymoron. Al Gore, Jimmy Carter, Elie Wiesel, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, Henry Kissinger, Martin Luther King, Jr., George C. Marshall, American Friends Service Committee (The Quakers), Ralph Bunche, Emily Greene Balch, John Raleigh Mott, Cordell Hull, Frank Billings Kellogg, Jane Addams, Nicholas Murray Butler, Thomas Woodrow Wilson, Elihu Root, Theodore Roosevelt. That long tradition of Americans winning the Peace Prize hardly seems anti-American.

Why, the thought of yet another American winning the Peace Prize should give Kristol - the idiot - great joy!

I'm sure of course that what Kristol - the idiot - meant to say is that the Nobel Peace Prize Committee is anti-Conservative. Remember the proclamation issued by GWB: Either you're with us (Conservatives) or you're against us (anyone else).

Let's face it, it's a lonely time to be a Conservative...the world really IS against them and their war-mongering, fear-based religion of kill or be killed.

Random images this month.

Image 1: Patterns/Water - lights reflecting off river.

Image 2: Patterns/Water - boat wake on still water.

Image 3: Patterns/Water - wood piling remains in low tide.

Image 4: Fall is here.

Image 5: Ready to play.

GOP, the Selfish Party?

USA Today ran this story today about Rep. Alan Grayson's (D-FL) popularity among his fellow Democrats in Florida, after his remarks about how the GOP, "want you to die quickly if you get sick."

Quite frankly, I think this directly represents the insurance industry's preference, more than the GOP's opinion on the matter, but no doubt Rep. Grayson has hit a raw nerve about how the insurance industry has treated sick Americans, and the indefensible position the GOP have taken up in defense of market solutions to health care.

And no one really knows what the GOP's stand is, on Medicare. On the one hand they criticize it as increased government control, but on the other hand they criticize proposals to cut spending on Medicare, and previously voted for the creation of a massive drug benefit that actually defines a nice benefit for drug companies rather than cutting the costs for senior citizens and the chronically ill (if you choose wrong, your costs actually go up). Seriously, they're both for and against social medicine!?!?!

The GOP's platform: Anything we do is good, anything everyone else does is wrong.

I think Rep. Grayson said it best yesterday, ""They're not going to be winning the Nobel Peace Prize anytime soon. They probably wish there was a Nobel prize for fear, a Nobel prize for hatred, a Nobel prize for racism. Then they'd be in the running."

Reading the quarterback in college football.

I'm currently watching the LSU-Florida game, and it's amazing how the defenses on both sides do not adjust to the quarterback's actions.

The offense (on both sides) will line up for their play for just a second. The quarterback will sometimes try to read the defensive scheme and change the call, but this is where the defenses fail to pay attention. The quarterback will often just walk up to the offensive linemen and give them instructions then go to the running backs and do the same. If he does not signal the wide receivers, the play is a run play. If the backs shift as a result, the original call was a run play to one direction and the quarterback shifted the run direction. Instead of bringing the safeties up for run defense support or even a run blitz, they sit back in the secondary or pull out from the line. I don't get that; if the quarterback is going to throw, the only throwing option is to his running back, but you can easily determine if it's a run play or pass play the second the ball is hiked to the quarterback, by paying attention to the offensive line. If it's a run play, they are going forward; if it's a pass play, they pull back. If they pull back, bring your inside linebacker to jam the running back to prevent him from sneaking out and let the safeties pull out for short coverage.

It's probably the easiest read you'll ever get on defense, and I don't know why they can't figure that one out.

Those leaked email passwords...

Because we're all up to date with the 10,000+ Hotmail passwords that were leaked, and because we're already cognizant of the additional 20,000+ email passwords stolen from AOL, Yahoo, Gmail, I won't discuss it. Instead, someone has already examined all 10,000+ Hotmail passwords and culled some interesting facts about people and their passwords.

Top 10 passwords used:

1. 123456 - 64
   
2. 123456789 - 18
   
3. alejandra - 11
   
4. 111111 - 10
   
5. alberto - 9
   
6. tequiero - 9
   
7. alejandro - 9
   
8. 12345678 - 9
   
9. 1234567 - 8
   
10. estrella - 7
    

It appears that the phishing attack used, was either directed towards Spanish speakers or Spanish speakers are more vulnerable to phishing attacks by a possible lack of awareness. Of course, how lame is it to use a simple numeric progression password?

Just as fascinating, is the length of passwords used:

• 4 chars – 31 – 0 %
  
• 5 chars – 49 – 1 %
  
• 6 chars – 1946 – 22 %
  
• 7 chars – 1254 – 14 %
  
• 8 chars – 1838 – 21 %
  
• 9 chars – 1091 – 12 %
  
• 10 chars – 772 – 9 %
  
• 11 chars – 527 – 6 %
  
• 12 chars – 431 – 5 %
  
• 13 chars – 290 – 3 %
  
• 14 chars – 219 – 2 %
  
• 15 chars – 157 – 2 %
  
• 16 chars – 190 – 2 %
  
• 17 chars – 56 – 1 %
  
• 18 chars – 17 – 0 %
  

I suspect this prevalence of 6 through 9 character length passwords is due to the hotmail system that indicates the strength of your password (weak = less than 6 characters?). Of course, it has been said that most people can only remember 9 character strings in length.

Well, it turns out that LENGTH of password actually works better than COMPLEXITY. So don't be afraid to use a phrase that is very long but easily memorized, such as, "HeyILove2UseMyHotmailAccount" (note: don't use this example, as it's out in the open, now that I've published it publicly). Basically, choose something that can easily be replicated across all your password accounts, but is unique enough that no one will figure it out, and is long enough to make it difficult if not impossible for a brute force attack. Of course, you'll need to come up with two different pass phrases, as some websites have a lower limit of length of passwords (which is retarded).

- via CNET,Information Week, Acunetix and McAfee(Avert Labs)

Frightening thought about Comcast's power.

Skimmed over a story over at LA Times, about how the publicly discussed Comcast's potential merger / buyout of NBC, could affect what and how Hulu operates...meaning that cable networks are concerned about free videos. It does seem that whether it is to move more content from NBC's broadcast network over to cable, or to get a large (30%) stake in Hulu to control / limit free content, Comcast is making a play to limit our ability to see programming for free.

Certainly the FCC and the Justice Department should be very concerned over Comcast's maneuvers; this stuff is scary.

Finally watched Season 6, Episode 1, Dr. House.

Perhaps one of the best episodes I've seen. Reminds me of why I love this show so much. Problem is, it's on at the same time as Heroes, which looks a lot better on my 42" plasma with all the special effects, so I leave House to watch on Hulu on my 23" LCD attached to my computer. I think I might switch though; the number of commercial breaks for Heroes is annoying.

---

In two weeks, I have been nearly hit twice while walking in a crosswalk; three if you count the bike yesterday that rode right through the stop sign, a foot away from my dog.

---

USC beat up on Cal this past weekend, but the offense still isn't quite up to par. It is amazing though, that a true freshman is doing this well at USC, starting at quarterback. Technically speaking, he hasn't lost a game yet, since the only loss USC suffered was under redshirt sophomore Aaron Corp. Lots of room of improvement, with a season percentage total of 3rd down conversions at 29%. By comparison, Florida is at 59% for the season.

---

Got my "Donut" 1.6 Android OS update overnight on my G1 phone. The changes to the application market layout is amazingly good, and little stuff here and there has continued to make my phone awesome.

That's all for now.