Disqus - Latest Comments for teqjack

Re: You to can have a $600 slide show maker

teqjack — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 16:12:32 -0000

"As for being able to hook up a computer to a TV well Duh!"

Er, I have been doing this for decades (DOS [not Windows, DOS} 4). I used to chuckle at the tech guy who bragged about his 20" monitor, I was using a 42" rear-projection screen. I used it mostly for connecting to the mainframe at work to do maintenance and troubleshooting (I was software/tech support), and BBS (anyone else remember those) - the big screen made it a LOT easier for this near-sighted old man to work.

Re: Not everyone has credit cards

teqjack — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 16:20:50 -0000

My bank provides a debit card with the checking account. And it is processed by VISA, so it can be used on Internet sites (or stores that have never heard of my bank).

Actually, this is the second bank I have had this - this one is free, I closed my account at the first after one month when they charged a $3/month "service charge" that was not mentioned in the material they had given me.

Not available in Canada? What is going on?

Re: Google Health - Not on your frikken life

teqjack — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 13:59:58 -0000

One, it will happen sometime in the next four or five years.
Two, the data will be lost (look up just the December disk-file losses for the UK).
Three, the data will be messed up (like the woman recently in the news because the government has been saying she is dead for over four years - repeatedly "fixed" but recurring).
Four, "legitimate" uses will be scary. NYC (OK, Queens) now keeps track of diabetes-related prescriptions issued, and matches that data to drugstore prescriptions-filled data. Don't fill yur prescription? That's a visit...

Yeah, "Health Management Organization" excreta is only the start.

Re: Writers Guild Strike: Another Perspective

teqjack — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 16:32:41 -0000

I do think the writers have a point, if money is being made they should probably be in on it. But that should have been in their contract[s].

Not that a contract is much of a guarantee -
http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:rGVZmMLxcT...
... "James Garner, who played a detective in the TV show ' The Rockford Files ', agreed to be paid through residuals instead of by episode. He signed a contract to do a set amount of shows. He was paid a pittance during the shows run. When the time came for the residuals to come in, creative bookkeeping kept Garner from collecting a cent, yet, The Rockford Files are still showing re-runs and making money for the studios. "

Re: OhGizmo! » Archive » BookDrive

teqjack — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 02:48:02 -0000

Or, as noted elsewhere, build your own for quite a bit less -
http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/peripherals/home...

"Most of this project was constructed with the help of an eraser and Legos. It uses the eraser to act as a grip for the page turner and an upside-down Epson scanner that is hooked up to an average laptop."

Re: [CES 2009] E-Cig Makes Smoking Good For You

teqjack — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 00:09:39 -0000

I'm not even going to look it up:: nicotine is a deadly poison ondeed. I read more than a decade ago that distilled, the nicotine of three cigarettes is sufficient to kil the average adult. And it has been used as a pesticide for generations.

Note - I smoke. But I do not want kids starting to smoke. Which, alas, means that even if politicians ever stop taxing a $1 pack at $6.50 (or more) my costs will keep going up.

Re: Boston Set to Ban Trans Fats

teqjack — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 15:28:57 -0000

“'There’s very strong research showing that trans fat consumption is significantly related to increased heart disease risk,' McHugh said."

Oh? Among many -
http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2007/05/spe...
"... the trans fat scare campaign has tried to convince lawmakers and the public that this “unnatural fat” is deadly and even the tiny amount in our diet is a 'risk factor' for everything from heart disease, cancer to infertility. The trouble is, there isn’t even a credible association they can hang their hat on. Not a single population study has been able to show even a link between trans fats or any other dietary fat and heart disease. Not only has our consumption of trans fats not changed in half a century, while we’ve been eating all of this supposedly bad stuff, the actual health of Americans has improved enormously, we’ve gained more than seven years in life expectancy; and heart disease and most cancers have dropped."

http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2007/01/hid...
"... the FDA, after years reviewing all available evidence on transfats, said in its July 2003, 260-page ruling (Docket No. 94P-0036), that any fears of a public health concern from the small amounts of transfats in our diets were not supported by the evidence. These fatty acids, in reality, haven't been shown to be better or worse than any other dietary fat. The FDA expert panel specifically stated that transfats needn’t be eliminated from the diet and they refused to establish a daily recommended intake due to lack of evidence."

Re: Pizza Hut Tries Out a New Name: Pasta Hut

teqjack — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:53:21 -0000

A statement from the company also says that the restaurant plans to sneak ‘hidden vegetables in kids’ meals’.

Oh goody, potential life-threatening situation and series of lawsuits coming up!

Yes, I am one of those allergic (admittedly, in my case only to the extent of projectile vomiting, not death) to a number of vegetables, especially peas. I am sure there are some youngsters in the UK with similar difficulties.

Re: Lunch Buffet

teqjack — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 17:33:05 -0000

Call me prejudiced, but normally as soon as I see CSPI involved my confidence in what is being said dips below sea level.

But this is not really CSPI, they are just climbing aboard. There may actually be something to it, food dyes have been withdrawn before and new studies may be advisable.

Re: Little Shops of Horrors

teqjack — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:57:51 -0000

I am sorry that the region is so poor, but robbery is not really acceptable. As to how to treat the actual pirates (vs "accessory" status neighbors) I would have a non-violent pickpocket treated a bit better than an armed mugger.

Re: An Oregon smoking ban prediction

teqjack — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 19:22:38 -0000

These bans are for esthetic reasons - even people who smoke, like me, may not care for the smell - but of course the reason given is always the danger of second-hand (or Environmental Tobacco) smoke. Not that any actual study shows such, over fifty years after actually smoking was shown to have some effect: lots of "data dredge" studies, which are statistical monstrosities (one author, in another field, pointed out that an oft-cited "dredge" study showed a ninety-five percent increase for a certain illness given a particular condition - which amounted to one illness per three-hundred-thousand people, with a "confidence factor" equating to seven per one-hundred-thousand, rendering it meaningless).

Oh, well.

Occasionally, a bit of humor crops up. One town had banned smoking in any place open to the public, but allowed an exception - for holders of liquor licenses! A group was turned down for the license needed to allow smoking - because the officials did not think an A.A. group would actually serve liquor.

Re: “Save a Red! Eat a Grey!”

teqjack — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:37:34 -0000

OK, no squirrels (unless "squirrelly" counts) - but bacon martini? Indeed, candied bacon martini?

Re: “Save a Red! Eat a Grey!”

teqjack — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:38:14 -0000

OOPS -
http://blogs.knoxnews.com/knx/silence/archives/...

Re: Why Buy the Cow?

teqjack — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 19:30:50 -0000

Milk in my area is $3.99/gallon. That's enough. But note cows eat grain, which is now going to be in your car's tank... Should make PETA/ALF hapy, the "free all animals" meme is actually "let's starve all domestic animals to death."

Re: Too Much is Never Enough for NYC Food Nannies

teqjack — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 19:40:27 -0000

In the UK, some areas have started searching scholchildren's lunch boxes and, if not always outright confiscating stuff, writing nasty notes to the parents.

Salt... harmful IF preexisting condition exists. Known to "cause" hypertension? Well, yes - in the subset of the population with the corresponding genetic condition.

Re: The Power of the “Food-Crank”

teqjack — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 16:31:59 -0000

Just remember, you are supposed to eath corn flakes straight.

It was his brother who decided that water or milk was OK.

Re: Problem=Booze, Solution=Bacon

teqjack — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:53:00 -0000

"Have you ever had a peanut butter and bacon sandwich?"

Heck, yeah.

Not with raisins, though.

I generally use two slices of bread, one spread with peanut butter and the other with Miracle Whip® - the vinegar sets up a contrast with the sweetness of the peanut butter while at the same time enhancing the saltiness of the bacon.

Assuming you can still get salty bacon. The stuff sold in supermarkets is now "cured" in plain water, as are the packaged ham slices. Blah.

Re: Obama Appoints NY Nanny-Stater to Head CDC

teqjack — Tue, 19 May 2009 16:54:27 -0000

Uh-oh.

I'm sure he has good points, but then so did Vlad Tepes and Caligula.

Re: Notes from My ASFS/AFHVS Conference Presentation: Arsenic and Trans Fats

teqjack — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:47:09 -0000

Dr. Joseph needs to learn a bit about science, not how to blather.

In re trans-fat, I have followed some of the controversy at junkfoodscience.com which provides links to actual studies and articles. Sum: no evidence of more than anecdotal problems.

OTOH, arsenic is highly poisonous *depending on dosage/time.* It was the Botox of the early Nineteenth century for its effects on complexion.

Re: Potbelly Peppers and the TSA

teqjack — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 19:13:03 -0000

Don't mean to be snarky, and indeed this is not an option I would have thought of quickly unless I really wanted something, but if you have the opportunity in future consider shipping. Even the smallest US Post Office sells boxes and bubble-wrap. Others (UPS, FedEx, whatever) do as well, just not as easy to find or get to. Expensive, perhaps, but not as much as losing stuff to TSA.

Re: FDA Hearts Cheerios

teqjack — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 17:04:16 -0000

How much would it cost to change "cardiovascular" (disease, drug claim) to "heart" (too general a term for FDA to regulate, according to their spokesperson) anyway? Problem not quite gone until current packages sold or recalled, but then solved.

Re: Dan Snyder Kills the Tailgate Party

teqjack — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:53:52 -0000

I fear I am on *spit* his side. You have one vehicle, use one parking space. Four vehicles, four spaces. Not two or three spaces per vehicle. Nor is the tailgate party use of extra space being banned, just relegated to spaces unlikely to be used by non-tailgate-party fans.

I get upset with people who go to the grocery market and seem to think the lines are supposed to run through the middle of their vehicle, too. Do you?

Re: Auto in Movies Offers Tips to Industry

teqjack — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 16:02:00 -0000

The car in the photo was for "Thank You, Jeeves"
with Arthur Treacher. Note though, only the names
were not changed from the Wodehouse series.

Re: ONE OF THE GREAT MISCALCULATIONS IN IBM HISTORY

teqjack — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 13:59:42 -0000

The ad overstates a bit, I think the
study was Sperry-Rand under government
sponsorship not IBM, and concluded that
only government would buy computers in
the UNIVAC class. IBM looked at the
study, figured a few businesses would buy,
looked at some tech newer than included in
the study...

In re PC, IBM corporate did not think the
then-small market would expand beyond a few
enthusiasts (like HAM radio), even though they
were already supplying hand-held computers
equivalent to the best desktops in the
commercial geek market to their hardware
maintenance groups. A group of engineers
in Boca Raton disagreed, designed one, and
after a lot of to-and-fro the main company
gave a limited go-ahead.

Re: Weekly Coupon Post #1 | Hey, It's Free!

teqjack — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:36:56 -0000

Yes, please.

And perhaps -
http://www.coffee-mate.com/signup.aspx
through which I generally get one $1 computer-printed coupon each month. Which is all I buy of it, since even with the coupon this admittedly-better stuff is significantly more expensive than store/generic.