I wish Rutabaga, instead of censuring adult and competitive products, they would take care of encouraging good products. Please watch the video of a several iPhone apps opening:

And for some apps it would be ok if they take long time to open. You don’t use them that often. The instant messenger and navigation application on the other hand are two apps that I would like to use that all the time. And I payed for them!!!

Anyway, so I send them the bug report.

From: *******
To: *******
Sent: 04.02.2010 23:25
Subject: IM+ for iPhone/iPod Touch Full Application slow to launch and not responsive

Support request

Internet Connection:3G

Application version: Full 3.5

iPhone or iPod Touch generation: 3G

iPhone or iPod Touch OS/Firmware:3.1

Name of your wireless carrier: AT&T

Brief Description: Application slow to launch and not responsive

Description of issue experienced:
Application takes long time to launch compared to other applications that have the same look and feel (not IM). Once the app is up, it still takes almost a minute to “Restore”. Once it “restores”, if there are a lot of new messages, it will do a long series of beeps and vibrations.
The best case starting time with 6 accounts on WiFi is about a minute. On 3G it sometimes takes several minutes to load.

Since IM is an integral application on a mobile device, I would really like to see the start time to be closer to couple of seconds. Just by collapsing all the new message sounds into a single sound would shave a lot of time. Also, some local caching should make starting of the application much faster.

Thank you for a quick response.

Error message text:

Here is their response:

Hello,

Thank you for your request.
If the issue reoccurs persistently, please delete IM+ from your iPhone / iPod Touch, then reinstall it.
You may download IM+ for free from AppStore on your iPhone / iPod Touch or from iTunes:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=296246130&mt=8

If the issue persists after reinstallation, please send us your IM+ log file from the menu More / About / Support,
selecting “I have another question” menu entry.

If you need any further assistance, please feel free to contact us.

Best regards,
*******
SHAPE Support Team
SHAPE Services
———————————————————
Short survey: Are you satisfied with our Support Service?

Follow IM+ on Twitter http://twitter.com/implus

Check also RDM+ Remote Desktop for Mac OS and Windows

—– Original Message —–
From: *******
To: *******
Sent: 04.02.2010 23:25
Subject: IM+ for iPhone/iPod Touch Full Application slow to launch and not responsive

< Support request
<
<
< Internet Connection:3G
<
< Application version: Full 3.5
<
< iPhone or iPod Touch generation: 3G
<
< iPhone or iPod Touch OS/Firmware:3.1
<
< Name of your wireless carrier: AT&T
<
< Brief Description: Application slow to launch and not responsive
<
< Description of issue experienced:
< Application takes long time to launch compared to other applications that have the same look and feel (not IM). Once the app is up, it still takes almost a minute to "Restore". Once it "restores", if there are a lot of new messages, it will do a long series of beeps and vibrations.
< The best case starting time with 6 accounts on WiFi is about a minute. On 3G it sometimes takes several minutes to load.
<
< Since IM is an integral application on a mobile device, I would really like to see the start time to be closer to couple of seconds. Just by collapsing all the new message sounds into a single sound would shave a lot of time. Also, some local caching should make starting of the application much faster.
<
< Thank you for a quick response.
<
< Error message text:

Here is a similar comment from Navigon’s MobileNavigator application:

What can I do to improve the GPS-Signal of my iPhone?
Answer:

During the following process the memory of your iPhone will be reorganized. This will have a positive effect on the quality of the GPS-Signal. The internal memory will be entirely deleted during this process. Therefore it is extremely necessary to make a backup of the software as described in step 1.

1. Please connect your iPhone to iTunes and perform synchronize it. After that please click with the right mouse button on the iPhone-Icon (in the left menu of iTunes) and choose “backup”. iTunes will now create an entire backup of your iPhone data and settings.
2. Then disconnect your iPhone from the computer and connect it to the power supply.
3. On your iPhone choose “Settings” -> “General” -> “Reset”.
4. Then choose “Erase all Content and Settings” and confirm this.
5. The following steps can take up to two hours and more, depending on the model and storage capacity of your iPhone
6. After the procedure is finished please connect the iPhone to your computer again.
7. Now using the backup install your data and settings.
A limited GPS signal can have many different reasons:
bad positioning of the iPhone in the car. Like with every portable navigation device, the iPhone should always have a free view to the sky.
metallized thermally insulated windshield
usage of design or protective covers
While using our NAVIGON Software please avoid using covers since these influence the reception of a GPS signal.

Yup… No comment…

But hey, at least looks like Navigon will add support for Facebook and Twitter. Just what I need.

Sometimes, I think civil engineers are out there making fun of everybody…

I wonder what they were thinking when they designed this marvel…

View Larger Map

I need a new backpack. Boring… What I need is one backpack to rule them all. I am talking about the bike-commuting, laptop carrying backpack beast. Oh, and I want everything… I bike commute 100+ miles a week, usually I carry a laptop with me, and I almost always carry change of clothing, books, and other things. And I want a backpack to accommodate all that and more.

So, what are my requirements?

• Comfortable ~ none of that messenger stuff. I want something I can bike century rides (100 miles) at speeds over 30MPH and not feel bad afterwards. It has to have shoulder and hip straps that are comfortable and breathable. and include a padded mesh back. It should be light, but the general comfort is more important.
• Functional ~ it should be small enough to carry it on the plane as a second carry on, but at the same time big enough to fit everything I need. Furthermore it has to have pockets and compartments to easily access stuff.
• Durable ~ obviously, I don’t want it to fall apart.

Here is what I want to carry inside

• Laptop ~ currently this is 15″ MacBook Pro, but perhaps at some point somebody (hint hint) will buy me MacBook Air. I would like my laptop to be accessible even if the backpack is full of stuff. In other words, I want to be able to pull my laptop out without having to take anything else out and without anything else spilling out.
• Books ~ well, you cannot travel without those, can you. Again, easy access is crucial.
• Clothing ~ and by clothing, I mean everything: shirt, pants, underwear, socks, and sometimes even shoes and jacket. Here the access is not as important, as I usually have time to change.
• Paperwork ~ yeah, you know, the regular A4/letter type stuff. Has to fit a folder type thing to put the paperwork in. I assume a laptop pocket would fit this.
• Other stuff ~ such as bike tools, keys, wallets, lights, etc. Those things should be in a separate pockets, so I can access them without taking anything out of the bag.

So, what is the problem? Well, it turns out that you can either get a functional bag or a comfortable bag, but not both. Most bag manufacturers will give you pockets, laptop compartments, but their bags will be uncomfortable or only comfortable for short rides. Example of these kind of bags is: Timbuk2 – Q. Functionality wise, it has everything I want. But, a quick look at its back side reveals that is would be completely useless, unless your commute is 4 miles or less.

Alternatively there are day-backpacks from reputable backpack companies, which have a great back support and feel good even on longer rides. However, these backpack are never designed to carry anything similar to a laptop. Even worse, they usually have a curved back, so you cannot fit easily flat things without loosing space. An example of those bags is: Deuter ACLite. It has a nice back support, but you can see that there is no easy access for the laptop:

This one looks promising, but I got to check it out:

Perhaps what I really need to do is get a nice backpack and fit a good laptop insert in. Well, that is what I have now, and trust me, it is not optimal.

So, what do you think? Is there such a beast?

Happy World Vegan Day 2009!

Pet Shop Boys
We’re All Criminals Now

Hey, hey
Don’t ask me how
We’ve changed
We’re all criminals now
Hey, hey
Don’t ask me how
We’re blamed
We’re all criminals now

Just a routine procedure
(We’re watching you)
A sample of your DNA
(The things you do)
Queuing to be finger-printed
(You could be dangerous)
Going to the USA
Another routine procedure
(We’re on your case)
Driving in your car
(We’ve seen your face)
Stopped and searched and questioned
(Some place before)
Can you prove who you are?
Hey, hey
Don’t ask me how
We’ve changed
We’re all criminals now
Hey, hey
Don’t ask me how
We’ve been framed
We’re all criminals now

Hey, hey, hey
We’re all criminals now
Hey, hey, hey
We’re all criminals now

Got the bus to the station
Music playing in my head
Ran to get on the tube train
Police shot someone dead

Don’t ask me how We’re all criminals now

Hey, hey
Don’t ask me how
We’re blamed
We’re all criminals now
Hey, hey
Don’t ask me how
We’ve been framed
We’re all criminals now

I have some non-PC comments, but I will let you have your own…

Why is anybody taking these people seriously. That is my question when it comes to radical political organization consisting of a minority of a group, but speaking in the name of the whole group.

Today I listened to my favorite podcast Democracy Now! and I heard this story:

So, curious I am, I started reading about the American Medical Association. Of course they are just an example of a systematic problem, where priorities are totally screwed up. Why would organization that is focusing on a salary of its members be at all concerned about the quality of the service the members provide. As long as they have a guaranteed business, everything is ok. And they do. People will keep on getting sick. The AMA and its members make sure that is the case by fixing symptoms instead of showing and helping people how to live a healthy life. Actually, the problem is that if you live a healthy life, that is one less client for the AMA members. So, no wonder they don’t want the system to change. Who cares about the 50 million uninsured in USA, where there are 250 or more million that happily pay their dues. Of course, the politicians have no problem participating in this scheme, since they get money from the drug and insurance companies. Also, how can AMA talk in the name of doctors, while it only represents about a sixth of the actual doctors.

As Ralph Nader points out, if USA would replace the current health care system with a single payer one, the same amount of money per person would pay about double of what other countries pay for about the same level of service. Just think about it. Is it really so much more expensive to be a doctor in USA than in France, Japan, or UK? If it is, well, US doctors should fix that. Other industries are trying to minimize the costs, why would healthcare be different.

Now, here are some typical complains people have against a single payer systems:

You have to wait to see the doctor

• Well, I clearly remember so far every single time I wanted / needed to see the doctor, I had to wait. For example, when I got a nasty wasp sting, I had to go to the urgent care center, where I waited about two hours fainting in the waiting room. The nurse came out to check on me every once in a while, but that was it. Also, to get a checkup to a dermatologist, I had to wait 6 months and to get a physical, I had to wait 4 months. 4 months for a physical? Why? Because schools have physical exams, so all the doctors are booked for like 4 months.

Government bureaucrat makes decisions on your health

• How is that different from the current system, except that the bureaucrat works for a health insurance, whose aim is to minimize the amount of money they pay. My insurance for example does not pay for STD tests unless you are symptomatic. Imagine that you contract AIDS and you are not symptomatic. Wouldn’t you want to know that ASAP? And this is just one example.

Single payer system would waste a lot of money

• As opposed to the $350 billion that is wasted now?

There would be no innovation

• Yes, if you slash NIH budget. But, are you saying there is no innovation in space exploration, aviation, weapons, etc?

Quality of health care would go down

• If the quality of health care is so great, then why is the life expectancy in USA lower than the life expectancy in most industrialized single payer countries. It is actually lower than in Israel and people in Israel are being attacked by terrorists.

And so on. Why are we even talking about this? The current system has been proven to be bad. Its cost increases three times the rate of inflation, the quality is at the lower end of the industrialized world, the emphasis is on fixing symptoms instead of curing disease, and finally there are 50 million people in this system that don’t have access to it. So, why does a minority of people with an obvious conflict of interest deciding this?

Sorry about all the videos lately, but looks like some really good stuff out there.

This one is a vegan interpretation of a fairly popular dish people eat in Slovenia. It is originally probably from somewhere else, but who cares. In my family we call this dish “svinčniki” (pencils in Slovene). This is really play on word: “svinja” (pig), “svinčnik” (pencil), “svinčniki” (plural of pencil). In any case, it is a deep fried breaded pork, but some people use different meat. It is also called “Wiener Schnitzel” (Vienna Steak), but I think that one is supposed to have veal. Since both veal and pig suffer super brutal and horrifying life and death for this dish, I think it is time to have a vegan alternative.

Before I start with the recipe, you will ask me, if I am vegan, why would I make a “meat” dish. I generally don’t like fake meats. They seem to send the wrong message. Exception to this are vegan drum sticks and “svinčnik”. Why? Because they are convenient to eat.

The body

• Cup of vital wheat gluten flower
• 1/4 cup of wheat germ
• 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast
• Table spoon of onion powder
• Table spoon of garlic powder
• Table spoon of paprika
• Other spices for flavor
• 2 Table spoons of Soy sauce (use tamari instead of the cheap stuff)
• 2 Table spoons of Olive oil
• Water

Take most of the dry ingredients, except paprika, and mix them together. I usually don’t mix too much to keep some variety of flavor. Add oil and some water and knead until all the dry stuff is moist. It should not be wet or runny. It should have consistency of a stretchy playdough. You will know that it is done when it stops sticking to anything. At this point add paprika and soy sauce and knead but don’t over-knead, so there will be some variety of color. Finally, form into the patties. This last step will be hard, since the dough will be super stretchy.

The suit

• Fine wholewheat flower (or garbanzo beans flower, or white flower)
• Soy/Almond/Hemp/Coconut milk (or any other vegan milk)
• Finely ground flax seeds (use whole seeds in the coffee grinder and not the flax meal)
• Some salt
• Vegan breadcrumbs (make sure they are vegan… most breadcrumbs in the store may have whey, eggs, cheese, cyanide, or other strange things inside)

Take patties and dip them in flower. At this point you should be able to form them even better, since they will have more things to hold them in place. Prepare a low bowl with breadcrumbs. Mix soy milk, flax seeds, and flax. Let it rest enough that flax release their oils. Put in a low bowl for easy dipping. Take flowered patties, fully submerge them in the soy milk mixture, flip them over if necessary and dip them in the breadcrumbs. At this point they should have an even coating. If you like more coating, repeat dipping into the milk and breadcrumbs.

The lotion

• Enough grape seed oil to cover the “svinčnik” (you can use any other high heat oil)

The final step is to deep fry the patties. Heat oil and once hot, put it on medium. Drop the patties in the oil and fry until golden brown on both sides. Take them out and place on a paper towel or a strainer to get rid of some excess oil.

Traditionally “svinčniki” are served with french fries or some other potato dish. That said, you can serve them with pretty much anything. I especially like them next day cold.

Make sure to have some nice wine with them. Preferably a wine from Slovenia.

I would prefer people would go vegan, but this is a great first step. Go Meatless on Mondays:

If we all just commit to one day a week without eating meat, the effect will be great over the course of the year:

• Our greenhouse gas emission reductions equal US switching from a car with average fuel efficiency (that’s about 22 mpg for the entire fleet) to a high efficiency car such as the Toyota Prius (50 mpg).
• We will save about 1 ton of water, enough to fill up the bathtub 22 times per week
• If everyone in the US did this, we’d collectively save about 12 billion gallons of gasoline

(from TreeHugger)

While you are checking out the Meatless Monday website, make sure to check their recipes, such as Zesty Carribean Banana Muffins.

Just wanted to share this great little vegan dish with you. It is super easy to make and is one of the set it and forget it dishes. You pretty much just dump everything in the pot and cook for however much you want.

So, here it goes:

• 1 cup of red lentils
• 1 cup of brown basmati rice
• 1 table spoon of garlic chilly sauce (or less if you don’t want spicy)
• 1 table spoon of peanut butter (real one, not that sugar junk)
• 2 table spoons of Island Soyaki
• 5 cardamom seeds
• Some oregano
• Some salt or soy sauce for flavor
• 1 green onion
• Some garlic
• Table spoon of olive oil
• Enough water to cover everything (about three to four cups)

So, dump everything to the pot, mix well, cook until everything soft and eat. Make sure to not eat the cardamom pods. They are there just for flavor.

Couple of things you can add:

• Cinnamon sticks
• Other vegetables
• Tor dal, black eyed peas, or any other quick cooking legumes instead or in addition to the red lentils
• Almond butter

And you can eat this by itself or serve as a side dish to some nice grilled mushrooms, garlic and paprika flavored seitan, or a broiled tofu.

There are several politicians in the world that are just so boxed in their private universe that whatever they do is somehow justified. A typical examples are US politicians that support the coal industry. As a consumer of electricity in US, I am part of the problem. However, short of not using electricity and protest, there is not much I can do. These politicians, on the other hand, do have power to make the change. But they seem to refuse to do that. Cynic in me would consider this to be caused by the politicians being payed by the evil-doers, but I sure hope that the reason is that the politicians are just not informed. How could anybody sacrifice the parks, the rivers, the drinking water, the air, and so on and be complacent in destroying the world for their children and their children’s children.

To make my point even stronger, watch this video and consider these politicians.

Let’s start by saying I hate utilities. They all seem to get things done just a little bit annoying. Either they charge too much, or they take way too long to do something, or in my last case, they are completely incompetent and they should be taken to the mental institution.

SI&I Wireless

First I will rant about is the SI&I. This is a small little family owned phone company in USA that is unfortunately the only company that carries the famous Rutabaga rPhone. Since I really wanted that phone, I went to the SI&I store in Mountain View and place an order. How hard can it be? Well, not too bad. Since the wait for the phone was three miles down the road, I just placed an order and waited for the phone to come. Four or five weeks later, the phone was there and they gave me a call to come and pick it up. So I came there to get it. I scoped about 15 minutes because I already gave them most of information when I placed the order for the phone. However, the whole process took at least 30 minutes. And it looked like this was the first time they sold the famous rPhone that they were selling for the last year or so. But at least after all this, the phone works. Mostly… Except the famous 3G network is actually sometimes slower than the 2.5G. Also, sometimes in San Francisco I cannot send text message or make a phone call.

But this is nothing compared to:

SI&I DSL

I wanted to get broadband internet and being in San Jose, you have two options: cable or DSL. Cable is faster, but DSL is cheaper. Since I don’t really watch TV and did not want to get cable TV so I can have internet, I opted for DSL. DSL is a funny thing, since most companies still require you to have a phone line. Of course since I am already paying an arm and a leg for the rPhone and the stupid SI&I data plan, I did not want to get another phone. But tell that to the DSL companies. Finally I found out that Trulimit does not charge extra for DSL without the phone line. However, quick phone call to their sales center showed that deregulation of phones in USA is a complete farce. In any case, my second pick was SI&I with their proven track record. So I contacted them and they wanted my SSN. Why? No idea. When I setup a gas and electric service for my condo nobody asked about SSN. And the bill ranges from $50 to $150. So why does a DSL company with a $40/month service requires SSN. To do a credit check. Why? I think somebody should prohibit random companies like utilities, health insurances, etc to use SSN as anything. But seriously, why does DSL company need a credit check. If I don’t pay, they just disconnect my service. It is not like I will still the service or something.

So, after a lot of back and forward, I get the date when my service will be connected and they send me the DSL modem. The modem comes, couple of days later the service is supposed to be connected, so I plug the modem in and…. nothing. Ok, fair enough, they did not say when, so I wait until the next day. Next day, I plug the modem in and… the lights come on. Woohoo, I have internet… I thought. So I plug my laptop in and it gets the IP. Ok, I type http://icanhascheezburger.com/ in the web browser and I get bad connection or something like that. Found the neighbor’s wireless, open a chat with the SI&I tech support and they explain me I need a username and password. Of course. Excellent, now I am in business, so what is my username and password? Well, the tech support person explains me that I created a username and password when I signed up for the darn thing. But I don’t remember any username and password. But there is a solution. I can answer my secret question. Aha, I bet I know what that is. So, I start trying to remember all my brands of rollerblades, my favorite underwear, and of course those hard to pronounce ingredients in my favorite pasta sauce. Unfortunately the question was “Who is your favorite actor”. What? Why in the world would I pick that to be my question? I start naming some people and thinking how silly the whole thing is and of course getting it wrong every single time. So, more back and forward. Finally, after several chats and phone calls and some empty threats, they say I could fax them my driver’s license. What is up with SI&I and private information.

After faxing SI&I my drivers license they were more than happy to reset my password. First of all, the most important question for the SI&I tech. What is my favorite actor? Joe Rogan of course. Who the hell is Joe Rogan? Why in the world would anybody pick him as a favorite anything. So, I inform the tech that there has to be some misunderstanding, but he is more than happy to explain that it is all ok and the address is ok and everything. So, we continue and he tells me that my username is xxmurphy. This is even more odd, since I am not a Murphy anything. But the tech is still convinced that everything is ok. So he tells me the new password and helps me change the secret question to something more useful, like “When did you first time have a burrito?”, and “What color was your road rash after your first bike fall?” Finally, he asks me if he should send me the confirmation to my private e-mail, which is xx.murphy@washington-university.blah.blah.edu. I quickly inform the tech that this is not my e-mail and he tells me that: “Calm down Mr. Murphy, everything is ok.” Since I am still not Mr. Murphy, I get a little bit angry telling the guy that there is some problem. He asks me again if he should send me the confirmation by postal service instead to my address in San Francisco. This is when he realizes that there is something seriously wrong.

So, he apologizes and informs me that he will fix everything and call me back. He did just that and 20 minutes later I had my very own SI&I e-mail address and I was all set. When I came home, the DSL worked. It was not super fast, but at this point I was happy it worked at all. Of course it only worked for about a week and then it stopped. Calling an SI&I tech resulted in questions such as “Is your computer on?” and “Have you installed Vista on your PC?”. Telling the guy that none of that matters didn’t work, so I faked enough answers that they send the tech over. The tech quickly figured out that a different SI&I tech when fixing neighbor’s DSL disconnected my DSL since there was no dailtone. Note that I don’t have phone, so no dialtone. Also, turns out that they actually hooked my and my neighbor to the same phone line, which is why his DSL stopped working when my started. Well, the tech gives me his card explaining that SI&I are complete idiots and that if I have any problem I should just call him.

Since then, my DSL seems to mostly work, except I have to restart the DSL modem every once in a while. Also, the bills sometimes include credit from XX Murphy. Whoever you are, thank you.

Finally, the most recent one:

Blingcast

I decided to update my internet to something I could potentially watch HD movie over. The only company in my area (no monopolies here) is Blingcast with their 16 Mbps cable internet service. So I cave in and get that. Costs an arm and a leg, but it is fast. So, I go to their website and go through the ordering process. Right away, there is a problem. They say that I have to pay installation fee for cable, which is $30 and for internet I can do a self install for $10 or get a tech over for $100. I chose self install, but for that I need to be an existing customer. Call to Blingcast shows that the whole thing is messed up and that I either pay extra $90 or I first signup for the cable and then for the internet. Ok, what difference does a day make. So I request just the cable. Website, select all the options, try to chose “Purchase now”, or “Enter credit card”, but the only option is a live chat. So I pick that and now I am chatting with some random person that wants to sell me more services I do not need. After being on the chat for 10 minutes at least I have order in for the cable. Please note I had to tell the person over the chat pretty much everything I already entered on the website.

Couple of weeks later, I have cable. Woohoo, except all the channels are on weird places and TiVo does not get the guide data for them. Turns out I need CableCards. CableCards are some weird messed up way for cable companies to prevent people from using TiVo, since installing CableCards either costs money to get a tech over or it makes you want to shoot your brains out. Since now I am a customer, I order the internet for $10 self install and after another 10 minute chat with the person trying to sell me the same useless services again, I get the internet. Fortunately I don’t have to wait but I can just swing by the Blingcast store and pick up the cable modem. At the same time I pick up two CableCards not knowing that they are single stream cards (do they still sell those) instead of multi stream cards. Anyway, internet is up, but my TiVo only sees one tuner. Of course, it is a single stream card. So I took those back and got M-Cards.

Now I see both tuners, but no HD channels. So, I started a chat with the tech support and explain that I want to see SciFI HD and I only see SciFI in standard and broadcast channels in HD. The tech informed me I need the cable box. So I explained I have TiVo with cable cards and he informed me I need an HD-Card. I explain him that there is not such thing as an HD-Card and he said I need a more expensive plan and send me the web page where clearly my plan includes SciFI HD. So, he informs me that since my last name is not Murphy I cannot get SciFI HD. Ok, I made that last one up, but at this point I was so mad that I hung up on the poor guy.

So, this is it. I have internet that works, internet that works a bit less, but I have not cancel it yet, and cable that works but not all the services. Isn’t the word a great place?

I finally found the air freshener I like. It is perfect. It most certainly covers any other smell. Don’t trust me? Watch the commercial for it.

I attended a San Jose Bike Party ~ Mardi Gras on Wheels! It was an awesome and crazy time biking through the busy sections of Campbell, Santa Clara, and San Jose. JC and I spend most time riding behind GM who was on a tandem bike dragging a full size couch.

I have been driving a bit too much lately… Well, here is the comics (Bicycle Comics – Yehuda Moon and the Kickstand Cyclery) pretty much demonstrating how I felt.

The Bet Goes To...

Just Like Riding A Bike

Didn't You Just Fill the Tank?

Turn! TUUURN!

The Nightmare is Over