Gray Watson's Blog -- March 2006

Blogging is a useful way for me to record my thoughts and digital travels every so often. Hope you enjoy my digital stream of consciousness.

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March 27, 2006

So this entry is basically for my own use. I've been looking into folding props for my family's sailboat. Right now when we are sailing the prop freewheels because of a new hydraulic transmission which falls out of gear once the hydraulic pressure drops. Here are some folding prop options:

March 23, 2006

Interesting article from the Times about how many conservatices are looking past neoconservatism now that the "Bush Doctrine" seems to have failed so completely. To me our foreign policy should be about limited blowback while working for justice, freedom, and democracy. We need to actively (and yes preemptively) go after our enemies without creating more. It is not the radicals that we are losing these days -- they are a lost cause. We are losing the support or at least the complacency of Islamic moderates who increasingly despise us for our bullying world stance. The article is now too old for the Times so here is a mirrored copy.
The so-called Bush Doctrine that set the framework for the administration's first term is now in shambles. The doctrine (elaborated, among other places, in the 2002 National Security Strategy of the United States) argued that, in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, America would have to launch periodic preventive wars to defend itself against rogue states and terrorists with weapons of mass destruction; that it would do this alone, if necessary; and that it would work to democratize the greater Middle East as a long-term solution to the terrorist problem. But successful pre-emption depends on the ability to predict the future accurately and on good intelligence, which was not forthcoming, while America's perceived unilateralism has isolated it as never before. It is not surprising that in its second term, the administration has been distancing itself from these policies and is in the process of rewriting the National Security Strategy document.
So I've been meaning for some [much much too long] time to send some care packages to some of our soldiers over in Iraq. When I was at Lycos, one of the employees was over there as part of the MA National Guard and he really appreciated care packages from the company.
So I found the site anysoldier.com which seemed to be a place where soldiers could register their needs and citizens could send them stuff. I was my typical wary self however and asked a cousin of Ro's who is in the Air Force if she knew about them. Just got back the following recommendations from other airmen/soldiers that she knows:
- Yes, it is a good web site. My entire squad signed up and received boxes of goods from these great people. They sent anything from sanitary items, snack foods and movies. You just have to contact them. Donations are what they run off of, so sending a couple of bucks would be the right thing to do. The Better Business Bureau will also clarify there legitimacy. We received these items in Iraq from Mar 2005 - Sept 2005.
- I am being told by my Army counterparts here in Ali Base, Iraq that this web site is a legitimate site to send care packages, etc to deployed troops.
- I heard you were looking for information on the anyairman.com site. I have personal experience with this website and it is a very good thing. While deployed in 2004 a few of our guys signed up our Security Forces unit and we received numerous packages from all over the US.
So I'll start the process of putting togther a collection of care packages for them right now. I hope to do it at least every quarter -- hopefully every month.

March 9, 2006

In 2005, Americans actually bought more than they made according to a Commerce Department report from January. Other sources: cnn.com. The information is buried in this long report on Personal Income and Outlays. One of the problems is that this spending is fueling the economy so no one from government is going to encourage anyone to save anything. But this is a short term solution -- nothing more. We're going to pay for this big time as folks retire and need more public assistance. Also, I think it indicates that Americans families are closer to the edge of bankruptcy than ever before due mainly to their own consumption. Couples aren't both working because they want to. They are doing it because they want their SUVs and a big house. This means that if anyone loses their job, or there is an out-of-bounds expense then all hell breaks lose. Divorce is the other big source of bankruptcy.
According to the latest Government report the personal savings rate has plunged to negative 0.7% in December from negative 0.2% in November. This was the seventh consecutive negative savings rate. Note that the average of the savings rate since 1959 stood at 7.2%.
Many experts are of the view that the falling savings rate points to a growing dependence on the inflow of foreign capital to keep the economy going. This growing dependence is manifested through the massive current account deficit. A fall in the savings rate, it is held, means that the underlying bottom line of the economy is deteriorating.

March 7, 2006

The Navy has recovered its last Tomcat fighter mission aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. The Tomcat, made famous in the movie Top Gun, has been replaced by the F18 Super Hornet.
The decision to incorporate the Super Hornet and decommission the F-14 is mainly due to high amount of maintenance required to keep the Tomcats operational. On average, an F-14 requires nearly 50 maintenance hours for every flight hour, while the Super Hornet requires five to 10 maintenance hours for every flight hour.
I dont think there is anything better than a Tomcat, but its probably a good time for it to go away, said Senior Chief Aviation Machinists Mate (AW) Gene Casterlin, VF-31. The Navy is getting smaller and more efficient, and it will only get harder to maintain the Tomcat. But no matter what, the Tomcat is the sexiest airplane in the sky.
Honda is saying that they are 3-4 years away from a production fuel cell vehicle. How cool is that. More evidence that the Japanese car companies are light years ahead of American. Thank god that Japan doesn't have any oil. Other sources: autoblog.com, gizmag.com.
Honda's FCX Concept defines a new stage in the evolution of fuel cell vehicle technology. The FCX Concept is designed with a low center of gravity and a full-sized cabin, offering the kind of driving pleasure and roomy interior previously unimaginable in a fuel cell vehicle. The FCX Concept is designed with a short front end to make the most of its unique low-floor platform, creating a comfortably large cabin. A tapered cabin profile and accentuated fender flare create an attractively dynamic look. The FCX Concept is an FCX that delivers style and excitement.
Interesting speculation about how Comcast may be slowing down packets to VOIP provider Vonage. The implication is that as there providers can start slowing or filtering certain packets -- driving certain competitors out of business. The market should fix this but often people have few if any choices in terms of providers. IMO, one of our main tenants of our federal government is to enforce competition at all levels and these days it is not happening.
There is some anecdotal evidence to suggest that Comcasts residential Internet customers may be having trouble using the Vonage Internet phone service because of jitter problems.
Lets assume for the sake of argument that these reports are accurate that Comcasts network has high jitter, and that this is causing problems for Vonage users. What might be causing this? One possibility is that Comcast is using delay discrimination, either minimal or non-minimal, with the goal of causing this problem. Many people would want rules against this kind of behavior.

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