Kindle Fire

Last week, Amazon announced that it will be entering the tablet computer market with their new Kindle Fire.   Currently, the tablet computer market is dominated by Apple with their iPad.  The Kindle Fire is going to go on sale on November 15th with a retail of $199, less than half the price of the lowest priced iPad.

I will not be purchasing Kindle Fire when it comes out in November.  The primary reason is that I already bought a Samsung Galaxy tablet back in May.  Since I bought my Kindle eReader earlier this year, I have become a big fan of Amazon and their products.  If anybody can cut into the market share of the iPad, it would be Amazon.

Just going off of the news releases of the Kindle Fire, I am going to talk about some of the advantages and disadvantages of the Fire, at least from my viewpoint.  First and foremost, one of the biggest advantages is price.  It has been reported that Amazon is actually selling the Fire for less than it costs to make.  Their hope is to make up the difference by selling content and apps from Amazon.

The other advantage of the Fire, and this is strictly from my point of view, is the size of the Fire.  The Fire will have a 7 inch screen versus the 10 inch screen of the iPad.  One of the reasons that I decided to get the Samsung Galaxy tablet was because it had a 7 inch screen.  It can easily be carried in a pocket which gives it a bit of an edge in portability.

The biggest drawback that I see in the Fire is that it will come with only WiFi capabilities and will not have 3G.  One of the things about my Galaxy tablet that I like is that it has 3G through my Verizon Wireless account.  I can connect just about anywhere and not have to rely on the availability of WiFi.  So the iPad gets the edge on connectivity.

The other big announcement from Amazon is the introduction of two new Kindle reading devices, one of which will sell for only $79.  That is almost half of what I paid for my Kindle earlier in the year.  Damn.  That is one of the reasons I hesitated so long in buying my Kindle. Still, I don't regret buying mine when I did.  I have gotten to read a lot of good books since I got it.

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• Amazon's Kindle Fire Costs $209.63 to Make (shoppingblog.com)
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• Amazon Kindle Fire vs iPad 2 and others (techtimely.wordpress.com)
• Can Amazon Produce Enough Kindle Fires This Season? (ewriting.pamil-visions.com)

National Noodle Day

I have mentioned here before that in one of my previous career positions, I was in charge of the frozen food category for a grocery chain headquartered in my area.  Ever since then, I have always been on the lookout for good frozen entrees.

Since my son is away at school, my wife and I are always looking for dinners for two.  To be honest, even if he were home, we always look for dinners for two because he eats different foods than the rest of us. These days they make a lot of nice entrees for two that you can pick up at a good price in the frozen food aisle.

About a week or so ago, I received an email from PF Changs Home Menu asking me if I would be interested in receiving a VIP tasting kit featuring their new noodle entrees in honor of today being National Noodle Day.  I had tried some of the other PF Changs frozen kits from my local grocer, so the opportunity to try something new at no risk to me was something that I eagerly wanted to do.  As always, all opinions are 100% my own.

Late last week, I had delivered to my door my VIP tasting kit with two of the new P.F. Changs noodle entrees and two noodle bowls with a pair of chopsticks.  This past Sunday evening was my turn to cook dinner, so I poured prepared my sample of P.F. Changs Pepper Steak with Chow Fun Noodles.  My experience with a lot of these entrees for two is that it usually isn't enough for two, so I also prepared a couple of store brand shrimp spring rolls.

In the past, I have found the preparation of the other P.F. Changs entrees to be fairly simple.  The Pepper Steak with Chow Fun Noodles was no exception.  Just heat and stir for about 12 minutes in a skillet.  The Pepper Steak, as our the other entrees that I have tried, have great flavor with just the right amount of spice and seasoning.  They also sent a sample of their Garlic Chicken with Dan Dan Noodles which we will sample tonight in honor of National Noodle Day.  I think I will be on the lookout for their Firecracker Shrimp with Yakisoba Noodles. 

To celebrate National Noodle Day, I would encourage you to follow them on Twitter and visit their Facebook page where you can enter their National Noodle Day Sweepstakes.  You could win your own VIP tasting kit, quality skillets to prepare your PF Changs entrees, or coupons for $3 off a purchase of PF Changs entrees for two, and if you are really lucky, you could win a trip to Vegas. 

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• Celebrate National Noodle Day with Great Food, a Twitter Party, and a Sweepstakes from P.F. Chang's! (susanheim.blogspot.com)

Bocephus and Politics

Image via WikipediaI have to say up front that I am a Hank Williams, Jr. fan.  I have been for a long time and will continue to be one.  So, as such, I feel the need to make a comment or two about his inartful comments the other day on Fox & Friends when he compared President Obama and Speaker John Boehner playing golf together to be the equivalent of Hitler playing with Netanyahu.  The comments got his Monday Night Football anthem "Are You Ready for Some Football" pulled from being aired on this week's game.

Williams has come out and apologized for using a poor analogy.  He was trying to emphasize that Boehner and Obama are polar opposites on the political spectrum, much like Hitler and Netanyahu would be. Granted, he could have used a better analogy.  You can never really win when you bring Hitler into the conversation.  Of course, those on the left were quick to compare George W. Bush to Hitler, but I digress.

The big thing is, why should we even care what Bocephus thinks politically?  He is, after all, primarily an entertainer, and a damn fine one at that.  I will say that Hank Jr and I definitely sit on the same side of the political aisle, but I learned a long time ago that I do not care what my favorite entertainers have to say politically.  If I did, I would have ceased to be a Jimmy Buffett fan a long time ago since he is decidedly more liberal than I am.

The other thing about entertainers and politics is this; why would you even want to get out there with your political views and possibly alienate a portion of your audience?  Years ago, I was at a Jackson Browne concert, and he kept spouting off on his left wing ideology.  It was a major turnoff.  All I wanted was to hear him sing Running on Empty and his other songs.  I didn't care what he thought the CIA had been up to.

In fact, the Jackson Browne concert is where I learned my lesson in regards to entertainers and politics.  For several years after that concert, I basically gave up listening to Jackson Browne.  It was only after I got my iPod and was going through all my old CDs to load onto it that I started listening to all those old Jackson Browne tunes.  There was a lot of good shit on those CDs.  Who cares if he is a left wing nutjob.

My point in all this is, yes, Hank probably used a poor choice of words on Fox & Friends.  Yes, ESPN is probably within its rights to have pulled Hank's anthem on Monday night, just as I was within my rights to not watch MNF in protest of their decision (though to be honest, I didn't plan to watch anyway).  The bigger point is, who cares what a singer has to say about politics?  These shows should be talking to them about their music, not politics.

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• Hank Williams Jr. Is 'Ready For Football' (wycd.radio.com)

Save Us Chuck Woolery

I have been a fan of game shows for as long as I can remember.  One can not be a game show aficionado without being aware of Chuck Woolery, game show legend.  Woolery has hosted popular game shows like Love Connection, Scrabble, Greed, and was the original host of Wheel of Fortune before some guy named Pat Sajak took over.

I have always liked Chuck Woolery.  As a game show host, he always had a rather affable personality.  This morning, as I was driving to work listening to WMAL Radio, I found out something else about Chuck Woolery.  He is a conservative and has a new website called Save Us Chuck Woolery.

Woolery takes a rather humorous approach to helping to solve some of the problems of this nation, as he puts it, $1 trillion at a time.  Below are two of his videos from his website on Taxing the Rich, and a proposal to Tax the Amish.

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Music Monday-Eric Clapton & Wynton Marsalis "Layla"

About a month or so ago, my younger brother alerted me to a CD and DVD release by two of my favorite artists, Eric Clapton and Wynton Marsalis.  While on the surface, it may sound like an odd combination of a British Rock and Blues legend, and a traditional American Jazz icon, the two share the Majesty of the Blues.  It is a CD and DVD I will have to pick up.  Here they are playing my all time favorite Clapton song, Layla. The first couple minutes are Clapton talking to the crowd, but once the music starts, OMG.

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the ACTUAL LINK POST here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

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Bank of America and Debit Card Fees

Image via WikipediaFrequently, the folks in Washington will pass legislation that usually ends up suffering from the law of unintended consequences.  Legislation that on the surface looks to be a good thing for the American public ends up costing those who it was supposed to be helping. This week, we started to see the effects of that with Bank of America announcing that they would start charging customers $5 a month to use their debit cards. 

Needless to say, this has caused quite an uproar, and a lot of bad publicity for BOA.  So how did we get here?  In 2010, under the Democrat controlled House and Senate, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was passed and signed into law by President Obama.  Inserted into that bill was the Durbin Amendment to reform swipe card fees, the charges banks charge retailers when customers pay with their debit cards.

In the past, the banks would charge retailers 1-3% of the cost of a transaction as a fee for processing those transactions even though the actual cost of processing the transaction was much smaller.  With more and more consumers using their debit cards instead of carrying cash, those fees were adding up for the retailers. Ultimately, these costs are passed on to the consumer by the retailer in the form of higher retail costs.

The Durbin Amendment sought to reform these fees by implementing a cap on the amount the banks could charge retailers for processing debit card transactions.  The idea being that by lowering the costs to retailers this would lead to lower costs for consumers.  Prior to the passage of the bill, the average swipe card fee was $0.44 per transaction.  Now, the fees are capped at $0.21 per transactions.

Here is where the law of unintended consequences comes into play.  BOA and other banks are a business.  As such, their primary goal is to make money.  Whenever a business is faced with a reduction in their revenue streams, they have to find ways to make up those revenues.  This is why banks like BOA and others are looking at charging customers these fees.  They are also charging retailers the full $0.21 on even the smallest transactions so that a $2 debit care purchases costs the retailer more than 10% rather than the 1-3% fee.

Of course, not all BOA customers would be charged the fee.  Those that have more money in the bank would be exempt from the charge. Those that live paycheck to paycheck without meeting the minimum balance would face the fees.  I find it ironic that the bill primarily written, passed, and voted on my the Democrats who reportedly are looking out for the little guy ultimately pass a bill that ends up hurting them the most.  But then again, that is usually the case.  

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• Bank of America debit card fee plan met with resistance and anger (guardian.co.uk)

Signs, Signs, Everywhere There's Signs

One of the thing about my son is that whenever there is something in his mind, it sticks with him.  When he learns about something, if it interests him, he will talk about it, constantly.  I remember a few years ago when his former school was teaching the kids about safety.

In particularly, they were teaching the kids all about the different types of street signs.  My son took a great deal of interest in identifying all the different signs.  One of his favorite road signs was "Pedestrian Crossing."  He also like "Railroad Crossing" and "Speed Limit" signs.

Another thing that my son likes to do is count things.  It all started when he would count the points he would earn in school each day.  Now he counts everything.  There are a couple streets in our neighborhood that has multiple "Pedestrian Crossing" signs.  To this day, every time we drive down that road, we count the "Pedestrian Crossing" signs together.

When I am out driving around doing my pizza deliveries on the weekend, I have seen a few custom road signs while making the rounds.  I especially see them in neighborhoods with a lot of families with kids.  Signs exhorting drivers to go slow because children are playing.

Personally, I have thought about getting a couple signs for my own house.  I hate having people come to my door to try to sell me something.  We get a lot of sales people offering us free estimates on new windows.  I am thinking a good "No Trespassing" or "No Soliciting" sign might be appropriate for me.  Or maybe this home protected by Smith & Wesson.