July 16 (Bloomberg) -- Wells Fargo & Co., the biggest bank on the U.S. West Coast, reported second-quarter profit that topped analysts' estimates on record revenue, sending the shares up as much as 12 percent and buoying U.S. stock futures.
Net income dropped 23 percent to $1.75 billion, or 53 cents a share, from $2.28 billion, or 67 cents, a year earlier, the San Francisco-based bank said today in a statement. That beat the 50-cent average estimate of 21 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Revenue increased 16 percent to $11.5 billion.
Gains in credit card fees and insurance revenue softened the impact of bad home loans at Wells Fargo, which raised its quarterly dividend 10 percent. While earnings have declined for three straight quarters, Chief Executive Officer John Stumpf has kept the bank profitable even as Citigroup Inc. and Washington Mutual Inc. racked up losses and lenders Countrywide Financial Corp. and IndyMac Bancorp Inc. disappeared.
"They've got a nice balance of businesses,'' said William Frels, chief executive officer of Mairs & Power Inc., which manages $4.5 billion in St. Paul, Minnesota, and owns Wells Fargo shares. ``They're very well-managed.''
Wells Fargo jumped $2.47, or 12 percent, to $22.98 in early trading after falling 4.9 percent yesterday on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares dropped 32 percent this year through yesterday, compared with a 41 percent decline for the Standard & Poor's 500 Financials Index.
The company is the first of the five biggest U.S. banks to post formal second-quarter results. JPMorgan Chase & Co., ranked third, is scheduled to report tomorrow, and Citigroup, the industry's biggest, discloses earnings the next day.
Avoiding Subprime
Wells Fargo, the second-biggest U.S. mortgage lender, has said it avoided subprime loans, which caused more than 100 companies to close, be sold or halt operations since the beginning of 2007. Bank of America Corp. became the biggest home lender this month when it completed a rescue of Countrywide by purchasing the Calabasas, California-based company.
Last month, analyst Vivek Juneja of JPMorgan reduced his 2008 and 2009 profit estimates at Wells Fargo because of the likelihood of additional loan loss reserves. The percentage of loans no longer collecting interest rose to 1 percent from 0.8 percent in the previous quarter and 0.5 percent a year earlier.
The company set aside $7.52 billion for bad loans, compared with $6 billion at the end of March. The bank said in April that the $6 billion allowance was the highest in 10 years.
While profit is declining amid the mortgage crisis, Wells Fargo is diversifying by bolstering its insurance and credit cards units. In May, Wells Fargo bought Flatiron Credit Co., which finances insurance premiums, and the bank has been building its credit-card business.
Revenue Growth
Those areas provide ``the basis for continued revenue growth as the mortgage banking segment faces a tough market in 2008,'' wrote Standard & Poor's credit analyst Victoria Wagner, in a report last month. ``Wells Fargo's franchise is well managed and well-positioned.''
Insurance revenue climbed 27 percent in the quarter to $550 million and credit card fees rose 14 percent to $588 million, the company said.
Wells Fargo increased its quarterly dividend 10 percent to 34 cents a share. Competitors including Washington Mutual Inc. and Citigroup have slashed their payouts as losses mount.
Billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. boosted its stake in Wells Fargo in the first quarter by 1.4 million shares to 290.7 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Omaha, Nebraska-based firm owns 8.8 percent of Wells Fargo, making Berkshire the biggest stakeholder, according to Bloomberg data.
California ranked second among U.S. states in June for foreclosures, with one filing for every 192 households, according to RealtyTrac Inc. Foreclosures nationwide increased 53 percent that month from a year earlier.
The world's biggest financial firms have reported more than $400 billion of losses and writedowns tied to the U.S. housing slump, according to Bloomberg data, with $4.9 billion coming from Wells Fargo.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
WELLS FARGO STILL SHINES
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
RedLasso - Madonna's Brother Tells All on GMA - Part 2
Wanna see more from Christopher Ciccone, Madonna's ex-brother? (kidding, kind of)
What I think would be the biggest test of her character would be if she would make up with him, give her OK for the book and recognize it as a brother in pain missing his big sister. Easier said than done I'm sure but surely the biggest growth will come from it.
Monday, July 14, 2008
MORMONS CAN'T BE SEXY?
The creator of a calendar that featured shirtless Mormon missionaries was excommunicated Sunday after a disciplinary meeting with local church leaders in Las Vegas.
Chad Hardy said he bears no ill will toward the council of elders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"I felt like I spoke my truth," the 31-year-old entertainment entrepreneur said. "Bottom-line, they still felt the calendar is inappropriate and not the image that the church wants to have." SPOKE YOUR TRUTH?
"Men on a Mission," which has sold nearly 10,000 copies at $14.99 each, included pictures of 12 returned missionaries wearing black slacks, but not their trademark white shirts, in modest poses. The men also were photographed in traditional missionary garb and share their religious beliefs in biographical sketches.
Some of the 12 models have also been called to disciplinary meetings, but none were punished.
"I have no ill feelings toward any of those people," Hardy said of the church council. "They did what they believed was right and I really do feel it was the best decision for both of us." COME ON NOW, YOU KNOW HE KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING!
Frank E. Davie, the senior leader over a group of Mormon congregations in the Las Vegas area, confirmed the 12-member council's decision in a telephone call to The Associated Press. He declined further comment.
Hardy said the purpose of the 2008 calendar was not to tear down the church or its 13 million members.
"The project is about stepping outside the stereotypes and stepping outside of the image," Hardy said. "Not everybody fits the image and I let them know we're not trying to portray an image for the entire church." TO MOVE MERCHANDISE
An excommunicated person is removed from official church rolls, but are still welcome at church services. Excommunicated members are prohibited from receiving the sacrament and can't perform church callings such as teaching or preaching during meetings. They also cannot enter church temples. BUMMER
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Starbucks releases first store closure list
The closures will be spread out until 2009. The Seattle coffee chain is suffering from a lagging economy and rising food and gas prices.
"Poor real estate decisions that were made, coupled with a very troubled economy, convinced us that these stores would not reach acceptable levels of profitability," Chief Executive Howard Schultz wrote in a memo to employees earlier this week. "We have been criticized by some observers for not publicizing the complete list of store closures at the time of the announcement. Out of respect, we felt that it was important to first inform our partners (employees) in the stores targeted for closure."
Each month, after closure dates have been communicated to employees, Starbucks will update its list.
The company is expected to start offering new products, including health drinks, next week.
Apple Stores Have IPhones; AT&T Is Mostly Sold Out
Almost all of Apple Inc.'s stores in the U.S. reported they will have the iPhone 3G to sell, a day after thousands lined up to buy the handset and emptied most of AT&T Inc.'s inventory.
Apple, which has 187 stores in 38 states, will have the $199, 8-gigabyte model in black and 16-gigabyte versions in black and white at the majority of its shops today, according to a tally posted last night on Apple's Web site.
The iPhone 3G, a new version that works with speedier third- generation networks, went on sale yesterday in the U.S. and 21 other countries. Apple's partners in the U.K., Germany, Canada and Japan said many shops ran out on the first day. AT&T, Apple's exclusive U.S. partner, said most of its 2,000 stores were out of supplies and that it expected new inventory within days.
"The Apple retail store likely has your iPhone 3G in stock,'' Cupertino, California-based Apple told visitors on its Web site. ``Shipments of iPhone 3G arrive most days.''
Apple was out of all three models at 16 stores, including its outlets in Los Gatos, California; Victor, New York; Cherry Hill, New Jersey; Madison, Wisconsin; and Knoxville, Tennessee. Apple's lone stores in Nebraska and in Iowa were out of supplies, leaving buyers there with no iPhones to buy today.
Shoppers seem to prefer the black, 16-gigabyte model, which sells for $299, based on the online tally. Customers must sign up for a two-year contract with AT&T at the time of purchase.
Google, Viacom now clashing over YouTube employee records
Viacom wants to know which videos YouTube employees have watched and uploaded to the site, and Google is refusing to provide that information, CNET News has learned.
This dispute is the reason the two companies and lawyers representing a group of other copyright holders suing Google, have failed to reach a final agreement on anonymizing personal information belonging to YouTube users, according to two sources close to the situation.
As part of Viacom's $1 billion copyright suit against Google's YouTube, a federal judge ordered the video-sharing site two weeks ago to disclose records, such as IP addresses and usernames. Google was also supposed to turn over records that included the viewing and uploading histories of YouTube employees, according to the sources.
Since the judge issued the order, Viacom has been widely criticized for attempting to encroach on the privacy of YouTube users. The parent company of MTV and Comedy Central has always said it never wanted personally identifiable information. According to the sources, Google and Viacom were close to reaching a deal last week about masking user data when Google backed out.
Google balked over the issue of turning over information that would include data about videos employees watched or uploaded to YouTube. If Chad Hurley, one of YouTube's co-founders, uploaded a copyright video or viewed them, Viacom's lawyers believe they have a right to know about it, the sources said.
Google may have a tougher time with this issue than the fight to protect user information. Companies sue each other all the time and frequently turn over computer records belonging to employees when pertinent. Often, these records reveal e-mails, memos and other documents that can shed light on events.
MIT spinoff dyes glass to make solar 'windows'
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology detailed a technique that can boost solar cell output and turn colored windows into solar panels.
Published in Science magazine on Friday, the researchers have developed a way to use dyes painted on glass to redirect light.
By stacking multiple concentrators, you can optimize plates for different wavelengths. Solar cells will be placed along the edges of the plates, reducing the amount of solar cell material needed, and thus the cost of a panel.
By pushing light to the edges and filtering it, they can concentrate the light and squeeze more electricity from photovoltaic solar cells.
The cells are placed on the edges of the glass, rather than across the flat surface of glass, which would allow panel manufacturers to use less costly solar cell material.
It's a technique that was pursued in the 1970s but abandoned because not enough redirected light made it to the cells on plate edges.
The technology, which uses off-the-shelf dyes used in car paints, promises to be cheaper than traditional solar concentrators because it eliminates the need for mirrors, lenses, and trackers, said Marc Baldo, an MIT professor of electrical engineering who led the work.
Participants in the research are starting a company, Covalent Solar, to commercialize and improve the technology. MIT said that they expect to have a product available in about three years.
Friday, July 11, 2008
APPLE iPHONE 3G ROCKS
Oh yeah, I ended up getting the 16GB white. Thanks to Jeff for making it happen.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
SHOPPING BAGS - IT'LL COST YA!
Here in Seattle, they are trying to implement a fee for people that use disposable bags and other containers. Basically, if you bring your own you won't pay a fee. My concern is about where exactly the money is going and are the grocery prices going to drop? Currently, I would imagine the grocery costs include all overhead, including the supplies needed for bagging. I would assume that the grocer isn't chipping those in for free to the consumer. I suspect this is just an incentive for the grocers to participate, which I think is generally good. I also applaud them for pushing forward even with these open questions that I (and surely others) have because you know what, people need to make decisions around here! This city and state seem to struggle to get things done because of wanting everyone to agree - don't get me started! So in an effort to keep my eye on the prize, I'm willing to pay for the greater good whether that be for the environment, mass transportation, a new bridge, etc. If we continue to say, "That doesn't affect me, I don't want to pay", I fear we will continue to be complacent, and it will soon be too late. OK, off my soap-box, and here's the article: At issue during the hearing before the council's Environment, Emergency Management and Utilities Committee was a total ban on polystyrene containers and a fee on disposable bags, be they plastic or paper. The hearing served as a coming out party for the proposed regulations, which were floated by Mayor Greg Nickels in April. If enacted, the new regulations would ban not-so-green food containers -- from polystyrene to-go boxes to plastic sauce cups and forks -- and would assess a 20-cent-per-bag "green fee" on shopping bags. Since its unveiling, the proposal has been received alternatively as a bold step toward a sustainable Seattle or an attack on Seattle's poor and middle-class residents. Many store owners said they've already seen decreases in the number of disposable bags used. Others said a per-bag fee would create problems at the checkout line, and suggested instead that the city could mandate a flat, per-trip fee for each shopper using disposable bags. "We should have a simple up-front fee," said Joe Gilliam of the Northwest Grocery Association. "I think this could work, and that we could get behind you." The proposed regulations would begin to be phased in Jan. 1, when the bag fee and foam container ban would go into effect. The plastic container ban would be implemented in July 2010. For every 20-cent bag fee collected by Seattle, most stores would be allowed to keep 5 cents to cover administrative costs and taxes. Stores pulling in annual gross revenue of less than $1 million would be able to keep the entire 20 cents. Seattle Public Utilities estimates that the grocery bag fees would generate about $10 million a year. According to the city, that money would be used to enforce the new rules and support expanded waste-prevention programs. Council members on the environment panel will take up the proposals at a July 22 meeting, when they may vote whether to move the regulations to the full council for a vote. Click here for more of the article.
SHOULD I MOVE TO TEXAS (AGAIN)?
While the rest of the country is experiencing a huge "economic downturn", Texas might just be the place to be. Have a look.
NEWER, FASTER, CHEAPER iPHONE 3G
From the Wall Street Journal:
July 9, 2008
Apple Inc.'s iPhone has been the world's most influential smart phone since its debut a year ago, widely hailed for its beauty and functionality. It was a true hand-held computer that raised the bar for all its competitors. But that first iPhone had two big drawbacks: It was expensive, and it couldn't access the fastest cellular-phone networks.
WSJ's Walt Mossberg reviews the brand new 3G iPhone, weighing whether or not the latest features, including a faster Internet network, GPS and a lower entry price, can overshadow some of the drawbacks. (July 9)
On Friday, Apple is launching a second-generation iPhone, called the iPhone 3G, which addresses both of those problems, while retaining the look and feel of the first model's hardware and software.
The base version of the new iPhone costs $199 -- half the $399 price of its predecessor; the higher-capacity version is now $299, down from $499. Yet, this new iPhone is much, much faster at fetching data over cellphone networks because it uses a speedy cellular technology called 3G. And it now sports a GPS chip for better location sensing.
The company also is rolling out the second generation of its iPhone operating system, with some nice new features, including wireless synchronization with corporate email, calendars and address books. And there's a new online store for third-party iPhone programs that Apple hopes will make the device usable for a wider variety of tasks, including gaming and productivity applications. This new software and store will also be available on older iPhones, through a free upgrade.
I've been testing the iPhone 3G for a couple of weeks, and have found that it mostly keeps its promises. In particular, I found that doing email and surfing the Internet typically was between three and five times as fast using AT&T's 3G network as it was with the older AT&T network to which the first iPhone was limited.
Apple
Apple's new iPhone operating system includes an 'App store,' where you can browse for, and download, third-party software.
The iPhone 3G is hardly the first phone to run on 3G networks, and it still costs more than some of its competitors. But overall, I found it to be a more capable version of an already excellent device. And now that it's open to third-party programs, the iPhone has a chance to become a true computing platform with wide versatility.
There are two big hidden costs to the new iPhone's faster speed and lower price tag. First, in my tests, the iPhone 3G's battery was drained much more quickly in a typical day of use than the battery on the original iPhone, due to the higher power demands of 3G networks. This is an especially significant problem because, unlike most other smart phones, the iPhone has a sealed battery that can't be replaced with a spare.
Second, Apple's exclusive carrier in the U.S., AT&T Inc., has effectively negated the iPhone's up-front price cut by jacking up its monthly fee for unlimited data use by $10. Over the course of the two-year contract you must sign to get the lower hardware prices, that adds $240, overwhelming the $200 savings on the phone itself. If you want text messaging, the cost rises further. With the first iPhone, 200 text messages a month came free. Now, 200 messages will cost $5 a month, or another $120 over the two-year contract.
The iPhone 3G still has a couple of features that made the first version unpalatable to some potential buyers. It uses a virtual on-screen keyboard instead of a physical one. While I find the virtual keyboard easy and accurate, not everyone does. Also, in the U.S. and in many other countries, the iPhone is still tied to a single exclusive carrier, whose coverage or rate plans may be unacceptable to some.
Here is a rundown of the changes in the new model.
Design: The new iPhone looks almost exactly like the old one. It is the same length and width, has the same big, vivid screen, and has the same number and layout of buttons. The main difference is the back, which is now plastic instead of mostly metal and curved instead of flat. It's very slightly thicker in the middle, with tapered edges, and weighs a tiny bit less.
Apple
The new iPhone 3G (left) delivers much higher Internet download speeds over cellular networks than the original iPhone (right).
Like its predecessor, the iPhone 3G comes in two models distinguished only by storage capacity: 8 gigabytes and 16 gigabytes. The top model is available in black or white.
Apple has greatly improved the audio on the new iPhone. I found the speaker was much louder, for music and for the speakerphone. But the new phone produced an echo when used with the built-in Bluetooth system in my car. Also, the headphone jack is now flush with the case instead of recessed as on the first model, so it can accept any standard stereo earphones.
The camera, however, is still bare-bones. It can't record video and has a resolution of just two megapixels. The power adapter is now tiny, at least in the U.S., but Apple no longer includes a dock for charging, just a cable.
Software: The basic software is similar. The biggest addition for some users will be full compatibility with Microsoft's widely used Exchange ActiveSync service, which many corporations use. In my tests, I was able to connect the iPhone 3G to my company's Exchange servers in a few minutes, and my corporate email, calendar and contacts were replicated on the phone. Any changes I made on the iPhone were reflected almost instantly in Microsoft Outlook on my company PC, and vice versa. Email was pushed to the phone as soon as it was received on the company's servers.
One drawback: While you can have both personal and Exchange email accounts on the new iPhone, if you synchronize with Exchange calendars and contacts, your personal calendar and contacts are erased.
The new iPhone and upgraded older iPhones also will be able to use a new Apple consumer service, MobileMe, which offers synchronized push email, calendars, photos and contacts.
Apple's 3G iPhone: Complete Coverage
There are other improvements. You can now delete multiple emails at once, set parental controls and search your contacts. You can also save photos in emails or from Web sites. You can also now open Microsoft PowerPoint files sent as attachments, though I found in my tests that opening larger PowerPoint files crashed the phone.
Some software features missing from the first iPhone are still AWOL on the new one. There's no copy and paste function, no universal search, no instant messaging and no MMS for sending photos quickly between phones.
Network: Like the old iPhone, the new one can perform Internet tasks using either Wi-Fi wireless networking or the cellphone networks. But the addition of 3G cellular capability makes the new model more useful for Web surfing, email and other data tasks when you're not in Wi-Fi range. In my tests, in Washington and New York, I got data speeds mostly ranging between 200 and 500 kilobits per second. By comparison, the original iPhone, tested in the same spots at the same time, mostly got cellular data speeds between 70 and 150 kbps on AT&T's old EDGE network. The new iPhone typically was between three and five times as fast as the old one.
While AT&T now has 3G networks in 280 U.S. cities, and aims to be in 350 by year end, it is converting its cellphone towers gradually, so not all areas of included cities have 3G coverage. The new iPhone falls back to EDGE speeds when 3G isn't present.
One side benefit to 3G is that in some areas, voice coverage improves. At my neighborhood shopping center, where the first iPhone got little or no AT&T service, the iPhone 3G registered strong coverage. But I still found that calls regularly broke up on some major streets. In New York City, riding in a taxi along the Hudson, one important call was dropped three times on the new iPhone. Finally, I borrowed a cheap Verizon phone and got perfect reception.
Battery life: Apple claims that over 3G, the new iPhone can get five hours of talk time, or five hours of Internet use. Talk time is twice as long on the older EDGE network, and Internet time is an hour better with Wi-Fi.
I ran my own battery tests using the phone's 3G capability. Although I left the Wi-Fi function on, I didn't connect it to a network, so the phone had to rely on 3G. In my test of voice calling, I got 4 hours and 27 minutes, short of Apple's maximum claim and nearly three hours less than what I recorded in the same test last year on the original iPhone. In my test of Internet use over 3G, I got 5 hours and 49 minutes, better than Apple's claim, but far short of the nine hours I got using Wi-Fi in last year's tests.
More important, in daily use, I found the battery indicator on the new 3G model slipping below 20% by early afternoon or midafternoon on some days, and it entirely ran out of juice on one day. I overcame this problem by learning to use Wi-Fi instead of 3G whenever possible, turning down the screen brightness and even turning off 3G altogether, which the phone permits.
The iPhone 3G's battery life is comparable to, or better than, that of some other 3G competitors. But they have replaceable batteries. The iPhone doesn't.
Third-party software: If things go as Apple hopes, third-party software could be the biggest attraction to the new iPhone 3G, and to upgraded older iPhones. By some estimates, there will be hundreds of these programs, some free and some paid, almost immediately.
Apple didn't supply me with programs for testing, but I managed to try several on older devices upgraded to the new operating system. I tested a game that used the phone's motion sensors to control the action, and I tested several programs from America Online, including AOL Instant Messenger; AOL Radio, which streams music from the Internet; and AOL's Truveo video search engine. All worked very well.
Among the programs Apple has publicly previewed were a sales automation program from Salesforce.com, a game called Super Monkey Ball from Sega and a program for bidding on eBay. Also made public were a news reader from the Associated Press, a program for following live games from Major League Baseball and several programs for doctors, including the Epocrates drug reference.
Bottom line: If you've been waiting to buy an iPhone until it dropped in price, or ran on faster cell networks, you might want to take the plunge, if you can live with the higher service costs and the weaker battery life. The same goes for those with existing iPhones who love the device but crave faster cellular data speeds. But if you already own an iPhone, and can usually use Wi-Fi for data, you probably should hold off and get the free software upgrade before deciding whether it's worth getting the new hardware.
BLACKBERRY BOLD VS iPHONE 3G
I can't believe I am still messing with this subject! Anyway, over at PinStack, they put together this little guide with the side-by-side specs of each device, so have a look.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
FLYING HIGH IN OREGON - THOUGHTS?
If supporters of cannabis legalization have their way, that could be a reality as soon as November of 2010. This week, marijuana legalization activists kicked off a campaign to collect more than 80,000 signatures, enough to put that plan onto the statewide ballot in 2010. The group says millions of dollars would flow annually into Oregon's general fund through the sale of marijuana to adults over 21 years old.
The Oregon Liquor Control Commission would manage the program, which would license approved individuals to cultivate the product for sale. A portion of the taxes collected would go to drug treatment.
Oregon already has a medical marijuana program.
(Source)
GO GREEN - FIRST STEPS YOU CAN TAKE
Simple Things You Can Do Today
Take the step: Make a pact with your family to be extra mindful about shutting off lights when they leave a room. A good rule of thumb is that there should be a maximum of one light on in your household per person at any given time. You can even put little reminders around your switchplates—download our template here. Or, install motion sensors (about $20 each) that turn the lights off after a room has remained empty for a certain amount of time.
Why: lluminating rooms that aren't in use is a huge waste.
Take the step: Get an energy audit performed on your home.
Why: Get expert advice to help you identify ways you can use less electricity and plug energy leaks in your home. You'll get the most cost-effective and useful steps that will help you reduce your energy use, lower your home's global warming footprint, and lower your energy bills, too. Your local utility will probably provide an energy audit for free, but you may get a more comprehensive audit—allowing you to save even more money in the long run—by paying for a whole-house energy audit.
The big picture: Taking all of the most cost-effective strategies for energy efficiency can cut your energy use in half, save you 50 percent or more off your energy bills, and halve your household global warming emissions, too.
Why: The drying cycle uses up a lot of energy and money, while just letting dishes air-dry will accomplish the task for free.
Electricity demand goes down at night and begins rising in the morning, peaking at mid-day before falling back down at nightfall again. Because power sources have to produce the electricity around the time of its use, without any capacity for long-term storage, it is our peak demand that determines the expansion of dirty coal-fired power plants and other polluting forms of energy generation. Someday, utilities may use smart meters to help us even things out, but until then, you can do your own private "load shifting" by trying, whenever possible, to wash laundry or run the dishwasher at nighttime and as far possible from mid-day. "Delay" settings on appliances sometimes make this easy to do—many dishwashers, for example, can be set after dinner to go on in four hours and wash the dishes while you sleep.
Bonus: Your utility company may shift to time-of-day metering in the future, so you'll actually pay less when you use electricity at night.
Take the step: If there is a room in your home that is largely unused, close the vents to save on heating and cooling costs. Always turn off room air conditioners as you leave a room. When you go on vacation, set the thermostat at least ten full degrees below (in winter) and above (in summer) where it'd be if you were home; no need to heat or cool a house when no one is home.
Why: Heating and cooling rooms no one is in wastes energy (and money!) and generates needless emissions.
Take the step: If you're going to be away from your computer or other appliance for more than an hour, turn it off as you leave the room.
Take the step: Many electronics use electricity even when they're turned off—so your best bet is to unplug electronic devices and appliances when they're not in use. Or, plug your TV and accessories into one power strip and switch off the whole strip to eliminate this "phantom load."
Take the step: If you're paying to power a second refrigerator or freezer in your basement, try to make do with one fridge in the kitchen and unplug the extra one.
You can help your first fridge function more efficiently by placing jugs of water in any empty space inside (water retains cold better than air does), and by taking some time once every six months to pull the fridge away from the wall and scrub down the grime that accumulates on the coils. (One of our editors found that her fridge was so much more efficient post-scrub that she could set the thermostat higher for the same chill!)
Why: The refrigerator is often the biggest energy-using appliance in a home. A typical refrigerator uses more than 1,300 kWh a year and costs the average American household $120 a year in electricity.
Take the step: Turn the knob on your washing machine to "cold/cold" today, and leave it there. If you use a laundromat, post this flyer from the Center for a New
American Dream to spread the word about washing in cold.
do need hot water—for example, to kill dust mites in bedding— choose cold water for the rinse cycle.
Take the step: Consider skipping the dryer and hanging your clothes to dry on a rack or a clothesline. (For support in line-drying your clothes and to help fight anti-clothesline ordinances in your neighborhood, join Project Laundry List.) You can avoid wrinkles by using your dryer for five minutes, then hanging clothes on the line. Please note that if you have pollen allergies, you'll want to skip the outdoor clothesline and use an indoor drying rack instead.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Friday, July 4, 2008
PETS AND FIREWORKS: TAKE CARE OF THEM!
Mary Chapman of Pioneer Square hasn't gone to a fireworks show in years. Her dog Sprocket won't let her. Like many pets on the Fourth of July, Sprocket can't handle the fireworks. The first year Chapman had him, the 85-pound Rhodesian ridgeback was so scared he ripped apart the furniture in her living room."My couch looked like something out of Freddy Krueger," she said. "He's not normally by temperament a skittish dog, [but] definitely fireworks freak him out and scare him."Sprocket now crawls into Chapman's lap every year, where she soothes and pets him when the noisy fireworks begin.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
TRUE COLORS TOUR - SEATTLE
I saw the show last night, and it was remarkable - Joan Armatrading is cool as hell, but the B-52s and Rosie stole the show. Everyone was up and dancing during the B-52s, even if it wasn't old stuff! And Rosie was touching, poignant, and funny - all the best. I didn't get to meet her though, sadly. Another time perhaps.
COME TO PAPA VIA AT&T IN AUGUST!
The bold and the beautiful
As we just mentioned, the device gets its name from its screen. The BlackBerry Bold features a half-VGA (480x320 pixel resolution) and a 65,000-color display. During some initial product testing, research group participants repeatedly called the screen "bold" and "brilliant." The Brilliant moniker didn't really jibe with the company, thus the BlackBerry Bold was born.
So just how bold is it? Well, RIM stopped by our office late last week to show us the device, and let me just tell you, I was absolutely blown away. I can pretty much say I've never seen a better-looking display on a smartphone. Colors pop off the screen, and it's really amazing how sharp and crisp everything looks on the display.
We watched a couple of videos, and for the first time, we didn't notice any of the pixelation or blurriness that you typically get with phones. In addition, the menu interface has been revamped with a much more modern look and icons. Also, as you can see from the images, the BlackBerry Bold boasts a new design. It's more elegant than models past, with curvier edges and a silver trim that complements the black casing.
If you turn it over, you'll also notice that the back has a leatherette texture. No more slick plastic. RIM will sell replaceable backplates in different colors, including blue, gray, and red, if you want to individualize your phone a bit. The BlackBerry Bold measures 4.5 inches tall by 2.6 inches wide by half an inch deep, and it weighs 4.7 ounces.
Kevin Michaluk at Crackberry.com took a gamble, buying one on eBay, and posted a hands-on review. He made a good comparison of the device to the Motorola Q9h.
Finally, the BlackBerry Bold has a QWERTY keyboard that RIM likened to a modernized Curve keyboard, but I'm not really seeing it. Instead, it reminded me more of the BlackBerry 8830.
Now, I know some of you 8800 series users had issues with the keyboard, but I tried it out, and it's pretty easy to use--relatively large buttons with some spacing between the keys.
Wireless smorgasbord
There's a heaping of wireless options on the quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) BlackBerry Bold, but the most appetizing and notable item is the HSDPA/UMTS (850/1900/2100) support.
It's the first such equipped BlackBerry, and we all know that it's been a long time coming. RIM says the delay for bringing such a device to the market is that it wanted to make sure that battery life wouldn't be sacrificed at the expense of including the 3.5G technology. Hey, whatever the reason, we're just finally happy to have it.
You also get integrated Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g), Bluetooth 2.0 with full A2DP support, and built-in GPS (enhanced and assisted).
Horsepower
The RIM BlackBerry Bold is equipped with a 624MHz Intel PXA270 processor, whereas previous BlackBerrys had 312MHz processors, so technically, you should enjoy smoother and faster performance.
During our briefing, there were a few hiccups in performance, but we're going to keep our fingers crossed and chalk it up to the fact that it wasn't a final unit. There's also 128MB of flash memory and 1GB of onboard memory, which is all supplemented by the microSD/SDHC expansion slot (supports up to 16GB cards).
Multimedia, Web, and other good stuff
You still with me? I know this post is getting a bit lengthy, but there are just a few more highlights to note. First, the Bold includes an improved Web browser (thank goodness), with the option to view pages in a full desktop HTML style or a mobile version, and you can now more easily navigate pages with the trackball, which acts like a mouse cursor, and zoom in and out.
Oh, and hey, what's this? It's makes calls, and sends and receives e-mails, you say? Yes, you'll still get all of the voice and messaging features of previous BlackBerrys, and the handset will also come preloaded with Dataviz's Documents to Go suite, for document viewing and editing.
STARBUCKS, YOU GOTZ SOME PROBLEMS
Standing in front of industry analysts two years ago, Starbucks executives gleefully proclaimed that the coffee chain's rapid-fire expansion was so successful, it could even support two outlets in one building. Not only that, executives bragged, but the brand was so strong it could be used to sell everything from Scrabble boards to breakfast sandwiches.
Company executives now freely admit that such thinking is largely to blame for the woes that led to Tuesday’s announcement that Starbucks will close 600 U.S. stores and eliminate thousands of jobs. The coffee giant’s missteps have come at a spectacularly bad time, hitting as the economic slump deepens and consumers are seeing their discretionary spending eaten up by rising gas prices and grocery bills.
If economic woes continue, things could go from bad to worse for Starbucks. Some customers might decide that high-end coffee is no longer an affordable luxury at all, while others might increasingly turn to cheaper alternatives offered by McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts — companies that have taken aim at troubled Starbucks.
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