Ready For Retirement?
by Mohamed Bhimji on September 20, 2011
in Random Madness
Most people that read this blog are not yet ready to retire – but what are you doing for your retirement? Are you counting on your employer (not even government employees can count on their employer any longer – even employees in large [automotive/finance - insert industry here] corporations learned the hardway that everything is fair game when you’re having to restructure.
Are you counting on the government to help? In Canada there are many safety nets, but it’s often a difficult landscape to manouver and there is a lot of paperwork to sift through.
An interesting article on CNN today from a US based perspective on Social Security – have a read at http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/20/opinion/granderson-social-security/index.html?&hpt=hp_c2
What are YOUR retirement plans? Who are you counting on? Wife, kids, government, LOTTERY – don’t laugh, many are. Love to hear your thoughts.
World Without Oil
by Mohamed Bhimji on September 8, 2011
in Random Madness
A week or two ago, as I was channel surfing I watched an excellent program on TV called “A World Without Oil” – it was pretty scary but a very realistic view of how the world would change if there were no more oil.
Part of the show that struck me the most was how city living would be altered, and migrations.
I remember through high-school Social Studies classes we learned about how when the first trains started rolling in the US and Canada most towns started to spring up around them as this was the main commerce routes. As technology advanced (and we didn’t like living near noisy trains) and other means of moving people and goods became available we moved away the tracks and built cities farther away. On the program as the oil dried up and was reserved for moving goods (in particular food) people started moving back towards the primary routes of commerce (and food) which were — trains.
The second thing that struck me was the mass migrations of people from northern climates to warmer areas of the continent. This brings back memories of studying how the “cavemen” migrated from one part of the continent to another to escape the cold.
In a world without oil, everyday life would be greatly affected, from food production to space industries to being able to keep a satellite in space or even replacing aging satellites. Think of international travel – it would come to an end.
If you haven’t seen this show, you should visit National Geographic at http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/aftermath/4462/Overview. I would highly recomment you watch the program if you get the opportunity. It is really an eye opener.
There are several shows in their Aftermath series:
- Population Zero
- Swallowed By The Sun
- World Without Oil
- Population Overload
- When The Earth Stops Spinning
Click on the EPISODES drop-down to see all the episodes in this series. I’ve seen Population Zero and it’s great!
HP TouchPad FIRE SALE [WebOS]
by Mohamed Bhimji on August 24, 2011
in Random Madness, Technology
HP triggered a firesale on their HP TouchPad (webOS) this past weekend. If you were lucky, you scored a 16gb HP TouchPad for only $99 or a 32gb for $149.00.
Yes, they just released this only a few months ago.
Yes, quite a few purchased at the FULL retail price and are pretty pissed off now.
Yes, it is running WebOS and there are not a lot of apps out there for it – but there is a group of hardware/software hackers that are trying to get Android running on the HP TouchPad. If they succeed, they will breathe new life into a “failed” product.
- http://rootzwiki.com/showthread.php?t=3327
- http://techcrunch.com/2011/08/24/hp-touchpad-android-port-bounty-now-over-2000/
- http://hacknmod.com/hack/hp-touchpad-android-1500-prize/
- http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1079
Interested in getting one? Try Ebay or Craigslist where you can score a HP TouchPad for 300% or more over the selling price. Yah, that’s crazy especially in light of the fact that HP probably has hundreds of thousands of units sitting in their warehouse and will release more — but will they be released at the current fire sale prices? Who knows… If you want one, head over to the HP website and register your name to be notified when more are available for sale.
I’ve signed up. I want 5 – not for reselling, but for family overseas that want a (much) cheaper alternative to an iPad or many of the other Android tablets out there. For most it will be web surfing, and e-mail so this is ideal.
