Thursday, February 26, 2009

Oreck's new radioactive vacuum cleaner

The Oreck Halo uses ultraviolet radiation to kill microbes in your carpet. I think it's a neat idea, but there are a couple things I want to point out.
1. UV radiation causes cancer. You wouldn't be exposed to it while vacuuming, but don't let your kids play around with it.
2. UV radiation can cause your carpet to fade. It depends on the carpet and duration of exposure.
3. I'm not paying $599.95 for a vacuum. It would be cheaper just to retrofit my old vacuum.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

The impact of the war on the economy

What if the 9/11 attacks never took place? What if Saddam Hussein allowed the UN inspectors to go wherever they wanted? Would the economy be stronger right now if the country wasn’t at war? Could President Obama fix the economy simply by bringing America’s best back to America?

We need to get past the myth that war is good for the economy. Whether military action is justified or not, it involves sending good people and expensive equipment from this country to some other part of the world. War is a drain on resources, and it is a tremendous expense that we shouldn’t want to pay unless we have no other choice.

The economic effects on our civilian population is a secondary concern in any decision to go to war. If the war is necessary and justified, then we really don’t have any choice but to endure certain hardships on the homefront. But whether one thinks that the ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq should continue, whether or not one agrees with the decision to go to war in the first place, our overseas engagements are contributing factors in the current situation.

Last year's polls that I took.

The polls are still up on the side. Anyone who gave two different answers to both questions is a hypocrite. If someone can demand that I pay for their healthcare because I can afford it and they can't, it logically follows that they can demand a blood transfusion from me as well. But if my blood belongs to me and me alone, then so does my money.

Monday, February 02, 2009

Converting to a Dvorak keyboard

I decided try using a Dvorak keyboard. It's expensive to buy such a keyboard, but it is possible relabel a QWERTY keyboard and change the keyboard layout settings in Windows. I tried using homemade labels, but they peel off too easy. So I found a company that makes keyboard labels.

The hard part is relearning how to type. I was at 33 WPM with QWERTY, I'm still at about 12 wpm with Dvorak.