Life Spot

November 23, 2012

Good night to a bad black Friday in Placerville, Ca.

K-Mart may be a better choice than Walmart for local Placerville Christmas shopping!

At the end of the Black Friday madness day in the Placerville, California area many shoppers are rethinking their Christmas shopping plans. Today at the Placerville Walmart there was more excitement outside the store than inside. Unbelievable protesters stood with picket signs and armed with negative words aimed at shoppers. The obvious "grinch" attitude did not make for an inviting atmosphere for shoppers nor did it ring in the holiday spirit to inspire shoppers.

It is bad enough that Walmart has tried to monopolize the corporate market for discount and affordable products that millions of consumers depend on for the bare necessities in life, add in the decline in quality of their generic brand items and now striking employees on the biggest shopping day of the year. All this just combined only leaves one impression on the customer - Walmart is not worth the hassle anymore.

It has always been a hassle to go to Walmart, crowded narrow isles, overstocked shelves and displays, products being moved around making it difficult to find what you need and even more difficult to find an associate to help. If you are lucky enough to find an associate they usually do not work in the department you need assistance in and do not hesitate to inform you of that as they continue to walk by.

Even with the hassle a few years ago it was worth going through the major ordeal of a trip to Walmart because you did in fact save on your over all purchase. As years have gone by the hassle has become more apparent and less appealing for the worth of the minimal savings.

Below is a story from a local news station on today's events at the Placerville, California Walmart:

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Crowds took over local malls and retail stores looking for the best Black Friday deals. All the while, some workers at Walmart stores staged a walkout.

It’s one of the busiest shopping days of the year, but that didn’t stop hundreds of Walmart workers across the country from striking.

Protesters outside a Placerville Walmart heckled a company spokesperson as she tried to give an interview.

“You only care about yourself. That’s all you care about,” yelled one protester. “You corporate people with all your looks and all your money.”

“This is a made-for-TV publicity stunt, designed to mislead our customers and our associates,” said Amelia McLear, Walmart senior public affairs manager.

The outrage over Walmart wages took front and center stage at stores across the country this Black Friday.

“We don’t want to come out and waste our time when it’s not calculated. We want to try and make the biggest impact,” said Carlo Tarantola, California School Employees Association.

However, customers, inside and out, still seemed to go about their business.

“The thing that I wonder about is how many of these people actually are employees,” customer Phil Abbott said.

His curiosity was correct, not all protesters were Walmart employees. Outside union organizers were also on hand.

“We have to come out and support them because Walmart can’t retaliate against us,” said Tarantola. “So they have to know that they do have support.”

While bullhorns and picket signs were present on this Black Friday, the focus at Walmart was not only on holiday shopping.

Walmart employee Margaret Hooten says she’s protesting the poor working conditions.

“We’ve become more and more verbal. They’ve become more and more aware of us, who we are in the store,” said Hooten.

She says her store has hired 40 temporary workers and began cutting regular employees’ hours.

“I’ve gone from 32 hours a week to just 18,” Hooten said.

Hooten, who has worked at Walmart for a year-and-a-half, has a message to those that say she is lucky to have a job.

“Try living on $870 a month with no health benefits,” she said.

Placerville Walmart was not the only Walmart to have problems today. Walmarts across the country had issues due to the striking employees on Black Friday many of which were so serious that police had to be called to control the crowds. Is this what you want to see as you are arriving at Walmart to do your Christmas shopping?

No, this is not how Christmas shopping should be. Do yourself and your family a great favor and shop at K-Mart this year for all your Christmas needs!

K-Mart is a wonderful discount department store that is well planned with an open shopping area making it easy to get through the busy isles and find exactly what you are looking for. Their products are high quality and displayed very nicely with the sale items at eye level and within reach. There is no overstocked shelves or displays to take up time in finding that perfect gift. The employees are very friendly and grateful to have their jobs, even the part time employees.

I recommend K-Mart for all of your Christmas shopping as well as necessities for daily living all year long. You will be completely satisfied and very happy you chose K-Mart when you get home from a long day of shopping feeling relaxed and stress free making the rest of your holiday season much more enjoyable.

News article source:

http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2012/11/23/black-friday-shoppers-not-thwarted-by-walmart-employee-strike/

November 8, 2012

28 Years Ago Today The First Female Astronaut & Mother Went Into Space

Dr. Anna Lee Fisher launched into space on November 8, 1984

on board the Space Shuttle Discovery.

On this historic 8-day mission, Dr. Fisher and her fellow astronauts deployed two satellites, operated the Radiation Monitoring Equipment device, conducted an experiment for 3M Company, and completed the first space salvage mission by recovering two disabled satellies (Westar 6 and Palapa B-2). Dr. Fisher operated the shuttle's robotic arm during the satellite rescue operation.

She also became the first mother in space.

While in space, the Discovery crew spoke with President Reagan, who asked Fisher if she would recommend a space career to her 14-month-old daughter. She replied: "That I would Mr. President...it's truly an incredible experience..."

The Los Angeles Times reported that Dr. Fisher once had to keep secret the fact that she was pregnant. In a training exercise, she rescued an "unconscious" crew member from the launch pad in a simulated emergency. As she recalled: "It was a hot day in Florida, and I had breathing equipment on, and I carried somebody out of the commander's seat and another guy out of the pilot's seat. And nobody knew I was pregnant."

As they prepared for descent to earth, the Discovery crew was concerned about a small amount of leftover maneuvering fuel aboard the two retrieved satellites, but a spill was considered unlikely and they would have been able to jettison the satellites if needed. During their in-flight news conference, the astronauts said that the recovery of the two disabled satellites proved that "astronauts can move large objects by hand in the weightlessness of space."

About a month after the successful landing, Dr. Fisher returned triumphantly to her hometown of San Pedro where she received a very warm welcome. She addressed about 1000 students at San Pedro High School, her alma mater where she had earned the title "most likely to succeed."

Fisher (who has three degrees -- including an M.D. -- from UCLA) stressed the importance of education, and said "Don't be afraid to dream, because there are a lot of neat opportunities out there."

She also attended a plaque dedication in her honor, a plaque located adjacent to the Los Angeles Maritime Museum that is still well-maintained twenty-seven years later. To see a recent photo of this plaque, click here.

On a personal note, I had the pleasure of meeting Anna Lee Fisher several years ago when she visited her mother Elfriede Tingle in San Pedro, when her mother still lived there. Mrs. Tingle was my neighbor, and it's my privilege to have met and know such two wonderful and interesting people.

Dr. Anna Lee Fisher's current NASA biography here; latest Space Shuttle news here.

Sources: NASA, Los Angeles Times

November 4, 2012

Android or iPhone: Five questions to help you decide

Have you ever said? "I’m thinking about an Android or an iPhone. Which one?”

What seems like a simple answer is really a complex situation. Both platforms are nearly indistinguishable from one another in average, day-to-day use. Sure, there may be some features like Siri or Google’s navigation that could sway a user one way or another, but for most users, their actual experience won’t differ much.

So, what guidelines can you use to help someone pick a phone that won’t have them coming back complaining that you steered them in the wrong direction? These points are usually where I start:

1: Are you invested in Google environments already?

Are you using Gmail, Google Docs, and/or Google as a single authentication point for other sites that support it? If you’ve already bought into Google solutions in your daily PC use, then Android is probably going to be a more seamless experience. It’s not that the iOS Google experience is limited, but it just makes sense if you’ve put all your eggs into the Google basket, that a phone designed around Android will deliver a more rewarding experience than one built by their competition.

2: Are you a Windows or Mac user?

Do you like the “empowerment” of the Windows experience, or do you prefer the carefully curated Macintosh environment? If you like to tinker, explore, and get into the depths of your device, Android might be your best choice. If you want a no-hassle appliance, you’ll probably prefer iOS. Apple Macintosh owners might find the iPhone iOS experience more comfortable, familiar, and well-integrated with the rest of their digital life.

3: Do most of your friends have iPhones and other iOS devices, or do they have Android smartphones?

Dropbox, Evernote, Bump, and even Words with Friends don’t care if you’re on a phone or tablet, Android or iOS. But each platform has unique differentiators. If all your friends use Facetime, you’re going to be left out if you pick up a 4G LTE Android device.

4: Do you plan on using this device as a BYOD on your corporate network to access company email or other resources?

If so, the decision may already be made for you. Make sure to check with your IT team to see if they have policies on which devices are supported.

5: What is your experience with spam, viruses, and malware?

If you’re the kind of person who constantly finds themselves turning to your local IT guru to fix your infected machine, the odds are that the same things are going to affect you in the smartphone world. In that case, you’re probably better of with an iOS device. There’s no doubt that iOS limits your freedom, but part of this is actually driven by a real “Apple Knows Best” mentality that seems to work.

If you’ve given up on Windows because of constant malware infections and you love your new Mac because it has never let you down, don’t go Android. If you’ve learned not to click on that “must see” video on Facebook or that email from the IRS or the European Lottery, and if you’ve never sent your personal account information to a Nigerian prince, then you’ll probably do fine with Android.

A great illustration of the difference between iOS and Android are the way apps are delivered to each device. On iOS, your only official option is the App Store. This is the perfect example of the double-edged sword of Apple’s approach. The benefit is that Apple inspects and approves every app in their store. The downside is that Apple controls and approves every application in their store. They can, and have, rejected apps for any reason — and when they do, there’s little recourse for Apple users.

Android, on the other hand, has a market where there isn’t any real inspection process, which makes it a buyer beware free-for-all. The end user is accountable for the security of their device. If the official Android Market (recently upgraded to the Google Play Store) isn’t enough for you, there are about a half-dozen other markets that you can download apps from, as well as the ability to download apps directly via a PC or your phone and side-load them onto your device — all without any risky jail-breaking or rooting of your device. This makes it very difficult for anyone to limit what apps are available.

With Android, I also have access to the file system, so I’m able to create a Kindle document in Calibre and send it via email, download the attachment, and then copy it in the file structure on my Android device to the Kindle directory. Kindle automatically adds the new book when I load the app.

On an iPhone, I have to email the document to my Amazon account from Calibre. I then log onto my Kindle page on Amazon, select the document, and select Deliver To My iOS device from a pull-down menu. It isn’t that you can’t do all of the same things, but in some cases, the simplicity of iOS can make things a little more difficult. Each of these are examples of “power use” though, where I’m pushing beyond the “appliance-like” mobile experience. Many users would never try these things. However, for people who want to push the limits, iOS can be a stifling experience.

Ultimately, the decision to go with one platform or the other no longer strongly hinges on which carrier you’re most comfortable with, and that opens the gates to more difficult decisions for the smartphone buyer. I generally say I can’t really make a recommendation one way or the other, that both platforms have strengths and weaknesses, and it mostly comes down to personal preference. However, asking the five questions above can help narrow the field for most prospective buyers — and that’s a good place to start.

Of course, these are just a few considerations. How do you help guide buyers to their best smartphone purchase? Share your experience in the discussion thread below.

November 3, 2012

The history of when Daylight Savings Time was adopted in the US.

Daylight Saving Time has been used in the U.S. & in many

European countries since World War I.

Early adoption in law:

At that time, in an effort to conserve fuel needed to produce electric power, Germany and Austria took time by the forelock, and began saving daylight at 11:00 p.m. on April 30, 1916, by advancing the hands of the clock one hour until the following October. Other countries immediately adopted this 1916 action: Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Turkey, and Tasmania. Nova Scotia and Manitoba adopted it as well, with Britain following suit three weeks later, on May 21, 1916. In 1917, Australia and Newfoundland began saving daylight.

The plan was not formally adopted in the U.S. until 1918. 'An Act to preserve daylight and provide standard time for the United States' was enacted on March 19, 1918. [See law]It both established standard time zones and set summer DST to begin on March 31, 1918. Daylight Saving Time was observed for seven months in 1918 and 1919. After the War ended, the law proved so unpopular (mostly because people rose earlier and went to bed earlier than people do today) that it was repealed in 1919 with a Congressional override of President Wilson's veto. Daylight Saving Time became a local option, and was continued in a few states, such as Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and in some cities, such as New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago.

During World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt instituted year-round Daylight Saving Time, called "War Time," from February 9, 1942 to September 30, 1945. [See law] From 1945 to 1966, there was no federal law regarding Daylight Saving Time, so states and localities were free to choose whether or not to observe Daylight Saving Time and could choose when it began and ended. This understandably caused confusion, especially for the broadcasting industry, as well as for railways, airlines, and bus companies. Because of the different local customs and laws, radio and TV stations and the transportation companies had to publish new schedules every time a state or town began or ended Daylight Saving Time.

On January 4, 1974, President Nixon signed into law the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act of 1973. Then, beginning on January 6, 1974, implementing the Daylight Saving Time Energy Act, clocks were set ahead. On October 5, 1974, Congress amended the Act, and Standard Time returned on October 27, 1974. Daylight Saving Time resumed on February 23, 1975 and ended on October 26, 1975.

Inconsistent use in the U.S.:

In the early 1960s, observance of Daylight Saving Time was quite inconsistent, with a hodgepodge of time observances, and no agreement about when to change clocks. The Interstate Commerce Commission, the nation's timekeeper, was immobilized, and the matter remained deadlocked. Many business interests were supportive of standardization, although it became a bitter fight between the indoor and outdoor theater industries. The farmers, however, were opposed to such uniformity. State and local governments were a mixed bag, depending on local conditions.

Efforts at standardization were encouraged by a transportation industry organization, the Committee for Time Uniformity. They surveyed the entire nation, through questioning telephone operators as to local time observances, and found the situation was quite confusing. Next, the Committee's goal was a strong supportive story on the front page of the New York Times. Having rallied the general public's support, the Time Uniformity Committee's goal was accomplished, but only after discovering and disclosing that on the 35-mile stretch of highway (Route 2) between Moundsville, W.V., and Steubenville, Ohio, every bus driver and his passengers had to endure seven time changes!

The Uniform Time Act:

By 1966, some 100 million Americans were observing Daylight Saving Time based on their local laws and customs. Congress decided to step in and end the confusion, and to establish one pattern across the country. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 (15 U.S. Code Section 260a) [see law], signed into Public Law 89-387 on April 12, 1966, by President Lyndon Johnson, created Daylight Saving Time to begin on the last Sunday of April and to end on the last Sunday of October. Any State that wanted to be exempt from Daylight Saving Time could do so by passing a state law.

The Uniform Time Act of 1966 established a system of uniform (within each time zone) Daylight Saving Time throughout the U.S. and its possessions, exempting only those states in which the legislatures voted to keep the entire state on standard time.

In 1972, Congress revised the law to provide that, if a state was in two or more time zones, the state could exempt the part of the state that was in one time zone while providing that the part of the state in a different time zone would observe Daylight Saving Time. The Federal law was amended in 1986 to begin Daylight Saving Time on the first Sunday in April.

Under legislation enacted in 1986, Daylight Saving Time in the U.S. began at 2:00 a.m. on the first Sunday of April and ended at 2:00 a.m. on the last Sunday of October.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 extended Daylight Saving Time in the U.S. beginning in 2007, though Congress retained the right to revert to the 1986 law should the change prove unpopular or if energy savings are not significant. Going from 2007 forward, Daylight Saving Time in the U.S. begins at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday of March and ends at 2:00 a.m. on the first Sunday of November

In most of the countries of Western Europe, including the countries that are members of the EU, Daylight Saving Time:

Begins at 1:00 a.m. GMT on the last Sunday of March &
Ends at 1:00 a.m. GMT on the last Sunday of October

Source: http://www.webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/e.html