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Contrary to novice user lore, the following things will not make your computer drastically faster in performance:
- Cleaning out your Internet cache.
- Manually deleting shortcuts from your Recent Documents list.
- Emptying your Recycle Bin of twenty different Word files.
- Erasing the bookmarks in Firefox or Internet Explorer that you never use anymore.
- Updating your Outlook Address Book with current contact information.
Uninstalling WeatherBug and MSN Messenger and disabling some aggressive Norton Anti-Virus scanning will have some minor noticeable performance effects, but the best thing to do is just buy more RAM for your computer. Thanks.
I work at a pretty cool company; we do a lot of in-flight entertainment business for small, private aircraft. There are many different types of high performance private jets. Some of the biggest brands in this business are Gulfstream, Cessna Citation, Beechcraft, Hawker and Dassault.
An often overlooked member of the business travel family is the turboprop aircraft. This blockquote from Wikipedia gives some insight as to why:
Propellers lose efficiency as aircraft speed increases, which is why turboprops are not used on higher-speed aircraft. However, turboprops are far more efficient than piston-driven propeller engines.
So in certain business situations, a turboprop aircraft is TOTALLY better than a turbofan jet engine! Small hops, such as Atlanta to Birmingham, are a prime example of turboprop cost efficiency. You're definitely not going to cruise long enough to maximize your jet investment. Even some longer, two- to three-hour flights are better served by a turboprop.
Which brings me to the point of this post: Consider the Pilatus PC-12 for your first fleet purchase, my friends. Based on the types of owners we've installed for, and judging by the performance numbers that these aircraft are capable of, the Pilatus PC-12 is a very "hip" business jet. It's so hip that it's not even a jet!
Dear Skype application on my laptop,
Ever since Reid found Jesus again a few weeks ago, you and I have been spending quite a lot of time together.
You are my new instant messenger application of choice; the audio connection is comforting. I sort of miss using away messages, but really- your pristine audio connection and near zero lag/echo more than makes up for random text entertainment.
My friends on Skype are pretty fresh. Tonight I talked to Kevin in Guangzhou, China for about an hour. Kevin has a good enough connection to play some decent guitar and music together; he played a cool Lee Hom song that reminded me of the first time I heard John Mayer.
Anyhow, we're buddies. You and me, Skype. Partners in Voice over Internet Protocol.
Everyone knows that James Naismith invented basketball in 1891 using a peach basket.
What they don't know is that he invented the peach in 1890 to facilitate the invention of basketball.
Powerful video is apt to knock me off of my feet; but I haven't seen REALLY good video in a while. Zach showed me Koyaanisqatsi in college- That was really good in a cinematic sort of way. Ricky showed me the Stella TV pilot a few months ago- That was really good entertainment.
MIA's Galang music video, directed by Ruben Fleischer, still leaves me inspired. The Sri Lankan pop star is today's Che... well, I won't go too far. But it is a great music video.
The reason for this post is that last night I uncovered another Earth-shattering, perspective-changing REALLY good video. The video file is called (PV)YUKI-JOY.mpg and it is a music video for the song Joy by a Japanese singer named Yuki.
Part of the magic is that I wasn't expecting anything great; hopefully this rave doesn't ruin your experience.
Here is a quote that I thought of when reading your letter. It is by a fellow named Cory Doctorow.
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New media don't succeed because they're like the old media, only better: they succeed because they're worse than the old media at the stuff the old media is good at, and better at the stuff the old media are bad at.
Random Thoughts Help Keep Us in Touch...
In the effort of full disclosure... Here are some random notes for friends.
- That post from last week about Skype isn't supposed to be an "Aw, shucks!" drool over techno-power reaching mass market audiences. Instead, I am very comfortable with the level of technological develoment happening in the world right now. Lots of great people are doing great things.
- A lot of my college years were spent cursing the limited functionality of my cell phone or dreaming up crazy connected network ideas. Now, patience and planning on some bigger projects.
- I primarily work with people twice and three times my own age (23). Did I mention patience?
- Listening to a lot of Indie Pop Rocks on SomaFM in the mornings... Deb Talan's Unraveling was on a while ago.
- I really like coffee. I drink two cups in the morning from various Brazillian brands that I keep in our freezer.
- It's important to drink a lot of water when you drink coffee- at least twice the gross quantity- to not get dehydrated. Sometimes I take a little bit of sugar and creme with my blend; depends where I am in the morning and what was for breakfast.
- Emer'gen-C is a tasty vitamin C powder that I have been mixing with water twice a day. Some airline stewardesses we know take it to fight cold germs.
- Despite all this healthy talk, I am still a terrible eater. I love fried okra and am quick to sacrifice my eating goals for any fix.
- Zach went to Nicaragua!
- One of my internet mentors accepted a pretty sweet offer from Google last week. When I say "pretty sweet," I mean jaw-droppingly great.
- Akshay finished his exams today!
- My bowling career is in turmoil. I have recently switched from the traditional roll to a hook style. My ball of choice, usually the 11 with large finger holes, was recently sidelined for some curve experiments with the 7, 9 and 12 balls.
- While waiting in line for bowling lanes, I have been known to play the arcade game Ms. Pacman.
- I used the phrase "low-hanging fruit" ten different times today.
- And, finally- I fell asleep in a green plastic lawn chair under our patio this evening. I was listening to the North Georgia thunderstorms and watching our backyard forest drip drop with rain. I think this old-ness is wearing off; I'm a dud!
Away, Listening to Fila Brazilla's Subtle Body and playing with NASA's World Wind software on my portrait-mode LCD.
