My Mouse Has A Small Dongle

I bought a Hewlett-Packard Mini 110 notebook last night to solve my reading problem. My Kindle account at Amazon has 38 books now, and no place to read them; I sold my first gen Kindle and have struggled to read on my iPod Touch. My intention was to wait for the Apple Tablet, but with plenty of hype and a likely list price of several hundred dollars, I debated alternatives. When Amazon offered the free Kindle for PC software this week, the decision became easier. A mini net book would serve my purpose immediately and with less cost than the Apple reader. I plunged for a HP Mini 110 last night, charged it up (reported 8+ hour battery life) and downloaded the Kindle for PC software and now, on the HP Mini's 10.1 screen, I am reading again with back-lit pleasure. Joy!

The HP Mini is only 2.5 lbs, and feels lighter, even with the battery. I think the key is that I can move it with one hand. It is also not too hot on my lap like a full sized notebook, and of course, the 8 hr battery life is "cherry"; nothing like that on a full sized laptop. The HP Mini uses Windows 7 Starter (and although I can't tell much difference from my other Vista computers, at least it's not Windows XP like prior netbooks; XP no longer "supported" by MSFT). I think, now that I have it, that the laptop type configuration is better than a tablet would be for reading. I can set this on my lap and read at ideal angle. No more bending knees to prop up the flat Kindle.

The Kindle for PC software is truly ideal, with many font sizes and easy to use. I suggest that you might download it and then select a free book—there are thousands of free titles, just look at the bestseller list for Kindle and every other book is free—and try reading on your computer. The HP Mini experience is better, of course, because I can put it on my lap and sit back and enjoy.

But the best part for reading, the part I enjoy most, is the accessory that I researched and bought at the same time: My Logitech M305 wireless mouse ($40). It has a super small dongle—not one of those 1.5 inch things hanging out from your USB port—that is tiny and can be left in place all the time. Using it, I can turn the pages of the eBook with only a flick of the scroll wheel. I can put the HP Mini, for instance, way down by my knees on my ottoman outstretched legs, adjust the font to where I can see it well, and not even touch the net book; I just sit back and flick the wheel to read page after page. Last night, I was supine and resting in bed, I had the net book on my belly, never touching it, and had the Logitech wireless mouse in my hand down by my hip and just read for half an hour comfortably, flicking the wheel to turn the pages. Manually turning pages is so "ten minutes ago".


I'm not one of the zealots for a groaning, one ton bookshelf stuffed with moldy bound paper books. My digital library is always ready for me and the pages are always fresh and clean. They don't stink. I read faster and more accurately in an eBook. My reading speed, because I don't have to fiddle with pages or how to hold the book, is at least 25% faster on an eBook. I recognize now that my mind could always read faster without losing information, it's the hands and fingers that are the rate limiting step. I love this small net book and this small dongled mouse. And of course, Amazon Kindle for PC software makes it all work perfectly. I now resume reading Trasher's Sky Blue and McCarthy's No Country For Old Men, in progress.

Black and White Ginkgo Glass

Our dear friend Zena is a whiz with glass. She bought this metal stencil at The Cottage Stamper in St. Charles, Illinois this summer, and then used it to givve us a gorgeous piece of hand-made black and white glass this autumn. Zena is a true talent in glass art. She picked up the hobby only recently, and already has presented at craft shows along the Chicago north shore. Thank you, Zena. Your work is sublime.

Send In The Clowns

Don't bother, they're here.

I'm Jonesin' For Chicks N Salsa

That healthy flame-roasted chicken on a fresh flour tortilla with lettuce and cucumbers and cilantro and tomatoes, topped with homemade salsa. Only location: Glen Ellyn, IL. I'm in!

Bienvenidos!

11/15: Absolutely yummy, as always!

A Classic Video: Ellen Show in Geneva, Illinois

This year's Third Street Festival and tree lighting is the first week of December. See you there for Coca-Cola and roasted chestnuts.

Geneva Daily Photo R.I.P.

Started in about April 2008, Kelly's wonderful Geneva Daily Photo has showcased some truly splendid images of my adopted town of Geneva, Illinois. I remember certain photos vividly: the umbrellas at Sergio's Cantina, the iPod on the wooden table at Graham's, the rusting spiral staircase in the alley, and the chair dumped into the Fox River. I can recall literally dozens of images, etched upon my retina, and now my mind, all taken by the caring and capable hands of Kelly and her camera.

Keeping up a daily blog--particularly one where a fresh image must be taken each and every day--is a challenge. Kelly did very well with it for longer than most anyone could. But eventually, life gets in the way. She has a loving family and maintains a healthy and very active life. The blog posts at first took little sabbaticals of a day here or there before ramping up again. But in summer and autumn 2009, the daily posts have eeked to only a few times monthly, and now, none for well over a month. Faithful readers have left the site.

I have learned so much from Geneva Daily Photo. So many cool and interesting places and events that I never would have known about otherwise (Marklund, Genoa Pizza, The Tea Shoppe, The Atrium Cafe, to name only a few). I cherish the photos that I have seen and the time that I have spent on Geneva Daily Photo for the past year and a half. Many thanks to Kelly and her blog. May you have super success in all you do, and should you one day have another internet venture, I look forward to it.

Free Amazon Kindle for PC Out 11/10/09

Okay, I have my library on Amazon Kindle. I try to read on my iPod Touch and it's small. Well, tonight Amazon did it--they have released the free software that allows you to read your entire Kindle library on any PC! I have downloaded it and it works, sweet and simple. Now people can read novels on their netbooks, and the latest netbooks are with touch screens. This is getting very tempting to not wait for the Apple Tablet, with it's Apple price, I'm sure, and get a Toshiba netbook and read to my hearts content. Plus write, surf net, and so on. I will have to keep reading on this Kindel for PC software and see how it plays. Available free now on Amazon.com, look under Kindle tab.

Unions Are Vital To Our Cities

like scrolls before books

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/09/04/a_library_without_the_books/

ASHBURNHAM, MA

Cushing Academy has all the hallmarks of a New England prep school, with one exception. This year, after having amassed a collection of more than 20,000 books, officials at the pristine campus about 90 minutes west of Boston have decided the 144-year-old school no longer needs a traditional library. The academy’s administrators have decided to discard all their books and have given away half of what stocked their sprawling stacks - the classics, novels, poetry, biographies, tomes on every subject from the humanities to the sciences. The future, they believe, is digital.

“When I look at books, I see an outdated technology, like scrolls before books,’’ said James Tracy, headmaster of Cushing and chief promoter of the bookless campus. “This isn’t ‘Fahrenheit 451’ [the 1953 Ray Bradbury novel in which books are banned]. We’re not discouraging students from reading. We see this as a natural way to shape emerging trends and optimize technology.’’

Instead of a library, the academy is spending nearly $500,000 to create a “learning center,’’ though that is only one of the names in contention for the new space. In place of the stacks, they are spending $42,000 on three large flat-screen TVs that will project data from the Internet and $20,000 on special laptop-friendly study carrels. Where the reference desk was, they are building a $50,000 coffee shop that will include a $12,000 cappuccino machine.

And to replace those old pulpy devices that have transmitted information since Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in the 1400s, they have spent $10,000 to buy 18 electronic readers made by Amazon.com and Sony. Administrators plan to distribute the readers, which they’re stocking with digital material, to students looking to spend more time with literature.

Those who don’t have access to the electronic readers will be expected to do their research and peruse many assigned texts on their computers.

“Instead of a traditional library with 20,000 books, we’re building a virtual library where students will have access to millions of books,’’ said Tracy, whose office shelves remain lined with books. “We see this as a model for the 21st-century school.’’

Not everyone on campus is sold on Tracy’s vision.

They worry about an environment where students can no longer browse rows of voluptuous books, replete with glossy photographs, intricate maps, and pages dog-eared by generations of students. They worry students will be less likely to focus on long works when their devices are constantly interrupting them with e-mail and instant messages. They also worry about a world where sweat-stained literature is deemed as perishable as all the glib posts on Facebook or Twitter. Liz Vezina, a librarian at Cushing for 17 years, said she never imagined working as the director of a library without any books.

Cushing library goes bookless “It makes me sad,’’ said Vezina, who hosts a book club on campus dubbed the Off-line Readers and has made a career of introducing students to books. “I’m going to miss them. I love books. I’ve grown up with them, and there’s something lost when they’re virtual. There’s a sensual side to them - the smell, the feel, the physicality of a book is something really special.’’

Alexander Coyle, chairman of the history department, is a self-described “gadget freak’’ who enjoys reading on Amazon’s Kindle, but he has always seen libraries and their hallowed content as “secular cathedrals.’’

“I wouldn’t want to ever get rid of any of my books at home,’’ he said. “I like the feel of them too much. A lot us are wondering how this changes the dignity of the library, and why we can’t move to increase digital resources while keeping the books.’’

Tracy and other administrators said the books took up too much space and that there was nowhere else on campus to stock them. So they decided to give their collection - aside from a few hundred children’s books and valuable antiquarian works - to local schools and libraries.

“We see the gain as greater than the loss,’’ said Gisele Zangari, chairwoman of the math department, who like other teachers has plans for all her students to do their class reading on electronic books by next year. “This is the start of a new era.’’

Cushing is one of the first schools in the country to abandon its books.

“I’m not aware of any other library that has done this,’’ said Keith Michael Fiels, executive director of the American Library Association, a Chicago-based organization that represents the nation’s libraries.

He said the move raises at least two concerns: Many of the books on electronic readers and the Internet aren’t free and it may become more difficult for students to happen on books with the serendipity made possible by physical browsing. There’s also the question of the durability of electronic readers.

“Unless every student has a Kindle and an unlimited budget, I don’t see how that need is going to be met,’’ Fiels said. “Books are not a waste of space, and they won’t be until a digital book can tolerate as much sand, survive a coffee spill, and have unlimited power. When that happens, there will be next to no difference between that and a book.’’

William Powers, author of a forthcoming book based on a paper he published at Harvard called “Hamlet’s Blackberry: Why Paper is Eternal,’’ called the changes at Cushing “radical’’ and “a tremendous loss for students.’’

“There are modes of learning and thinking that at the moment are only available from actual books,’’ he said. “There is a kind of deep-dive, meditative reading that’s almost impossible to do on a screen. Without books, students are more likely to do the grazing or quick reading that screens enable, rather than be by themselves with the author’s ideas.’’

Yet students at Cushing say they look forward to the new equipment, and the brave new world they’re ushering in.

Tia Alliy, a 16-year-old junior, said she visits the library nearly every day, but only once looked for a book in the stacks. She’s not alone. School officials said when they checked library records one day last spring only 48 books had been checked out, and 30 of those were children’s books.

“When you hear the word ‘library,’ you think of books,’’ Alliy said. “But very few students actually read them. And the more we use e-books, the fewer books we have to carry around.’’

Prijon Barracuda In It's Favorite Position

This boat, of which I am a proud owner, is the fastest plastic kayak on the planet. It's a water dart. It's rockerless but lively ride. It makes everyone who owns a 21 inched beamed boat think that "seat time" will get a novice up to speed in it. I struggled with it and swam a few times. Paddlers around the country coached me online, encouraged me. I thought it was me.

Alas, now that I am a seasoned kayaker, the Prijon Barracuda remains a selfish wench; a pitching stallion that treats me like a rodeo clown. A swimming clown. And yet, I love this boat. On flatwater, it excels. It makes me a better, more vigilant paddler. It helps my balance. And it is lickety-split. Here's the most recent Pnet reviews of the German-made Barracuda.
http://www.paddling.net/Reviews/showReviews.html?prod=1126

Libraries

Here’s a new library that is springing forth from fertile farmland in my town. A metal skeleton glinting in the late afternoon sunshine. The building is cavernous and will soon house many books.

Or will it?

Digital books now make up 8% of fiction book sales, up from 0.003% only five years ago. Nonfiction is not far behind. Sales are expected to triple in 2010. A thousand page book can be downloaded faster than you can boot up your computer. The Amazon Kindle eReader now has company in the burgeoning eBook market: Barnes and Noble, Sony, Apple and at least three other smaller companies have eReaders coming out within six months. Amazon has pioneered the free Kindle software app for the iPhone and Ipod Touch to sell more books, and later this month, is giving free downloads of Kindle for PCs, a new software to read Amazon Kindle books on any netbook or PC anywhere, anytime. Comic books are making debuts on eReaders in early 2010, and several larger newspapers have not only invited eSubscribers, but some have even stopped printing on paper at all. The Wall Street Journal (now with as many online readers as hard copy, by the way) has documented the slowly fading booksellers, noting that Borders and Barnes & Noble are shifting to eBook sales to boost sagging profits; the article mentions the eventual demise of brick-and-mortar bookstores, even these giants.

Amazon, and other e-Reader companies, have developed new technology that allows one to “borrow” an eBook. It can be borrowed, for instance from an online library, or can be rented, like a movie. It deletes itself and becomes unreadable after a finite time. Word has it that in 2010 Apple is going to be blowing out eBook sales and rentals, just like it does for movies, on iTunes.

A shiny new library, constructed by a town that placed it on the ballot several times in the past years, each time to fail under the taxpayer's votes. Those that wanted the library pushed very hard for it in 2009, and finally, by a very narrow margin (and a less than direct and truthful ballot question that confused voters), it nudged through.

All hail the new library. Like building a Roman coliseum just when the lions have eaten the final gladiator.

A Big Bright, Blue Skyed Saturday To You All

Sanyo Internet Radio Still Going Strong

Here comes Xmas. $140 for the music lover in your life. From my Amazon.com review, written hastily and submitted 11/6:

I've owned this Sanyo radio for 9 months now and will review it critically. I picked Sanyo because of its brand name. I've had no technical issues with the radio and have not needed Sanyo tech support. The radio works well.

Build: Solid. Ideal size...not too large or too small. Neat rectangle, fits squarely on the desk corner. Weighs about 2 lbs, perfect with rubber feet, no slipping.

Display: Backlit, easy to read.

Speakers: Internal speaker is reasonable for talk radio, sports. Has fair but not great volume. Strongly suggest using computer speakers through the headphone out jack. I have attached Harmon Kardon computer speakers with subwoofer and the sound is stereo, full, deep and rich. With external speakers, the volume is loud. I'm listening at 25% max volume here at my desk with it 4 feet from me, and it's plenty loud. Can turn up in big room at full volume with external speakers for great sound volume. It does not have red-black speaker wire jacks; only an headphone out type jack on the front (like your computer-thus you need computer speakers).

Sleep: Radio does have an Alarm Clock to wake you to internet radio, and a Sleep Timer to shut off automatically.

Stations: 10k as stated in the ad. Can be scrolled by alphabetical order, by Location (e.g. your favorite city) or Genre of music. For those that know XM Sirrius, it has the same types of categories (the decades, hard rock, heavy metal, country, folk, kids, Latin and on and on). Also can search by call letters (e.g. WKIM-FM 98.9) or country of origin. I see, scrolling now, Guam, Viet Nam, Samoa, Argentina, and dozens and dozens more.

Remote Control: Tiny, small buttons, not back lighted, but functional. All buttons same size, so you really have to stare at it to see which button is scroll up, down, volume. Can access the saved stations setting from it, though. I use it frequently. Very basic. Buttons should be better marked and larger. The whole remte should be larger.

Memory Stations: Has 8 saved station presets. Eight! For 10k+ station menu! I bet I could easily find 30-40 stations that I enjoy on a regular basis in various genres-but it lets me save eight. Silly. Frankly, this alone (plus the so-so remote control) cost this radio one star in my overall review. My car radio has more memory preset stations than this Sanyo. What you'll end up doing is writing down the stations you like on a 3x5 card and keeping it by the radio and manually tuning to the stations you wish to hear. There is not keyboard input, so it's unfortunately indirect access... you hit Station Select, then scroll through the call letters to find your station of choice. Takes about 1 minute every time you wish to get to the station you desire (unless it's one of the eight stations in the memory, in which case it's instant from one of the eight preset buttons on the body of the radio and on the remote control).

Internet Wi-Fi: Impressive. I use a standard Linksys internet blue box and can put this radio anywhere in the house and have streamed music or news instantly. When the radio is first turned on, it takes about 40 seconds to link to the Wi-Fi system each time...going to whatever station you last listened to automatically. From then on, no hics or skips. Know how frustrating it can be listening to internet radio on the computer and having it stop periodically for "buffering" midway through a song? Never has happened to me even once in hours of listening to the Sanyo. Perhaps it would happen to someone with a slower internet service, but with my cable internet, Linksys Wi-Fi, once connected, no glitches. Smooth sound. I wonder if the buffering on a computer is due to the computer doing more than one thing at a time as one uses the computer for many functions simultaneously, whereas this is a dedicated radio server.

Computer Radio: Why not just listen to radio through my computer? (1) Not portable--this radio is self contained and completely portable. Just plug it in and rock out.
(2) This radio is more smooth, no "buffering". (3) Although I'm sure the internet has a software website server with 10k stations and presets, why bother? Boom-one click and this baby is on, whether your computer is on of not. (4) No computer necessary. (5) Remote control. (6) Can use as alarm clock.

I am a tech lover yet tech challenged. I took this Sanyo radio out of the box, plugged it in, and hit "on" and that was it. It automatically connected to the internet and was ready to go. I browsed the stations I liked and hit save memory for the eight I enjoyed most, just like a car radio. It has international stations and local stations. It doesn't have every station known to man--I like, for instance, Stephen King's radio in Maine, and although that's available online, it's not on here for some reason. This radio is linked to Reciva, some radio distribution service, but you pay no fee and it's seamless--not ads or anything. Reciva and Sanyo must have some deal. They have a Reciva website (Google Reciva), so see if your station is available; check it out, they have quite an extensive list. For a sports lover looking to hear your fav teams, for niche music lovers, for news junkies, this radio is all you need. I felt motivated to write a review after owning it for several months. I would definitely buy it again and highly recommend it to a friend. Hook it to computer speakers for a very full and smooth sound. G'luck and happy internet radio listening.

Set A Spell On The Fox River

These are the same chairs featured by Kelly on the now defunct Geneva Daily Photo website from a year ago. At that time, someone had cast them into the flowing brown waters of the Fox River. They have been saved by an anonymous lifeguard and now invite the passerby to sit, enjoying the autumn and the cool breeze. They reside in RiverPark, and look to be the Lowe's $30/each variety--not something the weedmongers who planted RiverPark would have set in place. These are too "suburban", too "Joe Weekend Griller". But they still provide a placid place of reflection. When you are through reflecting, feel free to throw them back into the Fox.

Geneva Sunday Market on Third Street

Yummy red and green peppers line this table, one of many, from local farmers and bakers who bring their goods to the market at the end of Third Street, near the train station, in Geneva. This market was a mainstay of my summer in Geneva--although I didn't buy a green pepper, I did eat breakfast of crepes with homemade jam on several Sundays in 2009. Bon Appetite!

Master Edit Software

http://masteredit.netii.net/

I couldn't resist Master Edit software for $30 and now have it installed and performing very well. It's a self-contained program that allows you to cut and paste any document into it and then analyze word counts, usage, weak words, paramedic method, conjunctions, sentence lengths, and on and on. I have found it very useful. Pieces of writing, whether it be my short story, my recent letter to my homeowner's association, or even blog posts can easily and readily be improved by using this software. Frankly, although I'm still a hack writer at best, I do write daily in some form and am amazed at how this Master Edit software picks up things I never spotted even in my own writing. Autocrit is a similar program, but costs $47 annually. Master Edit downloads directly to your computer, it's a small and tidy program, and you can transfer to another computer if you wish. I find it very valuable. Moreso than I ever imagined. I recommend this program.


http://masteredit.netii.net/

Pure Summer Fun! To Be Young and Agile Again.

Tune: Smooth Criminal by Alien Ant Farm.

And You Thought You Were Having A Bad Day

Hibiscus At Indian Summer

I cannot fib: these bountiful photos were taken in Normal, Illinois when the sun was hot and bright overhead. Red flowers, blossoming boldly, in the heat. We have had a touch of Indian Summer for the past two days, just when we set the clocks back to make it dark at 5pm. Lunacy. I am praying for reasonable outdoor temperatures for later in the week, when my workload is less and my desire to play is more.

Indian summer is an informal expression given to a period of sunny, warm weather in autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, typically in late October or early November, after the leaves have turned following an onset of frost but before the first snowfall.

Sepia of Fabyan Windmill, Geneva, IL

A splendid autumn image from www.welcometothepond.com