Plastiki and other eco adventures

Two weeks ago Chris and I saw this amazing show called Eco Trip The Real Cost of Living


Just now, while surfing for mags that cover my new industry, i found Ode - a magazine for intelligent optimists. And, this same wild host of the show is sailing across
Ode Mag

Plastiki Website - amazing

Netbook Review - Samsung NC10 Editorial Review

Since Christmas my laptop battery has gone from useless to silly. There was not enough left to unplug power, walk across the room, plug in printer, and print a 3 page document on the 'fast draft' setting. Yes, that happened.

As a not-quite-impoverished grad student, I decided to put up my portable desktop. I probably lost a couple pounds carrying the power strip back and forth to school on my bike. Not a big deal. Then the power strip started acting funny. Occasionally, I'd plug it in and the laptop would go dead anyway. A short! I was about 20 pages into my thesis paper at that point and I could see that at any moment the latest progress could be locked inside the harddrive with no easy way to turn it on. And, I'd be computer-less.

Enter the Samsung NC10
This was essentially an impulse buy. An appointment stood me up one day at SFSU a couple days after the power cord short started. So, I was loitering in the bookstore where I found four cute little white netbooks ON SALE. The netbook idea appealed to me in general: cheap, light, online oriented, and modestly powered. These models were interesting. Three were from manufactures I'd only heard of recently ==> alarm bells. I've since confirmed that avoiding them was a good choice. Samsung has been a small laptop producer for a while but only recently distributing in the US. I liked that one b/c 1) 7 hr battery life 2) same size keyboard as my old laptop 3)comparably 'high' powered 4) it ran XP. So, after an hour of thinking about it and checking prices/options in the library, I bought one for $420.

Now, I had heard some things that were incorrect so I'll let you in on what I learned:
>>>First, there are non-Windows options for netbooks but, for me, they were not a good solution. My friend Benjamin has one. Escaping the clutches of Microsoft appealed to me. But, B reports that the office software is not as good and there are some compatibility problems. That's a big problem with all the group work I do. So, XP was important.
>>>Second, though netbooks are have less processor power, they will run MS office. This was a major issue. I have used Google Docs a lot, online and with Gears offline. I've written papers and used their xls program extensively. So, when I say, "it's not there yet" it's not without giving it a real try. Having local software - and that means MS Office - was critical. I had heard that netbooks wouldn't run Office smoothly. Not true, the screen is small, so that's a problem if you're doing a lot of graphics or reading a wide sheet. But, it's been no problem to use Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. I made a sharp ppt with layered graphics, animations, and big .jpg files. And, I showed it off the netbook and it was flawless.
>>>Third, that little screen wont kill you, but it might try. Two laptops ago, I had this big gateway thing - 14 inch screen I think. When I moved to my 10 inch screen Dell, I started getting upper back pain and sore elbows. My kindly occupational therapist friend said it wasn't my old age, just my new computer. Yippie. So, I bought this iCurve laptop stand and a Logitech wireless keyboard. After proving to myself that my local Chiropracter is a quack and getting some legitimate exercise, presto, I was healed. With this netbook, I actually have the computer elevated and up over top of my hands as I type - and the natural mouse position is behind the computer. Yes, weird, but comfortable. I've typed a couple hundred pages like this.

So, overall, I really like this little thing. It's light, the battery basically lasts forever, keyboard is great, good price, enough processor power, and it's a nice pearly white. Their new version has a larger touch pad - which would be nice. The touchpad mine has is too small. I'd like to get a bluetooth presenter mouse, which are beginning to become available. Of course, if you like to have more than about 3 programs running, or use a lot of processor power with video editing or CAD drawing, this is not for you. The big question mark is, "How will Samsung customer service do?" The computer appears solid, but if there's anything I've learned it is to expect computers to break. Samsung is a new provider so I don't think anyone knows what to expect.

back from the writing cave

About four weeks ago I asked Professor Paton when he would like a draft of my thesis. With his characteristic good humor, he said, "Yesterday....Or tomorrow". I faked confidence and said he'd hear from me right away. I think at that point I had about 3 pages written and several holes in the research.

All in all, the project on Whirlwind Wheelchair International was really interesting. I turned in 110 pages - which was probably overkill. But, I was really swept up in the interesting issues the company is facing. There are also thought provoking issues related to manufacturing, globalization and religious non profits (which I know a little about after 14 years working) Whirlwind is a really cool company. I'd love to work for a social business like this someday. They are entrepreneurial and focused on serving unmet needs in the developing world. This chair in the picture is their best product - it's all terrain, affordable, and uses bicycle parts so that it is repairable.

Finally! Catching up to China

Obama Unveils Plan to Fund High-Speed Passenger Rail

Fast trains have been old news in China, Japan, Europe, and elsewhere for decades. The Dick Chaneys have been working hard to keep us happy in the arranged marriage between suburbanites and automobiles with various measures to keep rail transportation from filling needs and government spending directed for less efficient and frustrating auto transportation. I've enjoyed relaxing on CalTrain on trips to San Jose instead of driving. I get work done and relax instead of sitting in the traffic. The interconnectivity with local transpo could be better. Bigger than spending public money, the challenge of developing partnerships between local bus and regional train systems is going to be a trick. I have heard that in China some of the high speed train systems take you hundreds of miles in no time and then dump you out into traffic jams that take as long to go less than 10 miles. All the same, I believe we can work it out.

Nerding Out

Three years ago the Spirit and Opportunity rovers landed on Mars and I was quite excited. I think I even tortured my staff with some monologues about exploration and innovation and then launched into metaphors based on Mars exploration. I wont do the same to you....their numb stares reminded me that it is only a narrow slice of humanity that is excited. But, if you want, like any great story, there is now a movie - Roving Mars. It is a little slow but with beautiful images from the red planet... no martians yet though. I did hear from my friend Grant today that Wall-E is good and there's an uncanny resemblance...

5 Thoughtful Minutes

Ecological Footprint Calculator

Two Great Resturants

We’ve had an uncommonly fun and social weekend with some of our best friends. Friday we went out with Kelly and Chad Newhouse to Walzwerk. But, but before that with Mark and Lisa we heard the director of The Last Emperor about Valentino speak at the DeYoung. Wild guy, but … netflix. At dinner, I gorged on bread, of course, – this time a dark walnutty dense slice. Mmmm. And, the Chicken stuffed with bacon and apples and topped with cherry cream sauce was terrific. I feel a little weird getting chicken since I make it at home, but this looked so good and even exceeded my expectations. It was a risk I’m glad I ventured into. And, we had some fun beers. Mine – Kostrizer Schwarzbier was dark and creamy. I got to chat a bit with Emily and learned about Credo Mobile, which has a remarkably progressive CSR policy that allows employees to participate in finding beneficiaries. And, their whole business model of ‘getting in the way of people’s spending’ for the purpose of redirecting funds into good causes seems like an attractive concept.

On Saturday, our dear friends from Tahoe, Hilary and Chris met us for a double museum tour of the Legion and the DeYoung. Hillary spent time in France and studied Rodin, so she was the ultimate guide through the Legion’s impressive bronze statue collection. Then we topped it off with dinner at Chou Chou which is a favorite country French restaurant. The baguette was perfect with the cheese plate and it was a good experience, though I’m afraid the management has changed. The good company and stories from Chris’ exciting job as an arson investigator were even better than my monkfish with truffle sauce, which is saying a lot. 

Rose Colored Glasses

My trashy glasses with the tape on them have finally died. On a wet climb in Yosemite last weekend a lense fell out onto the munge. Fortunately, I found the weird rose colored replacement lenses this morning. Shazzam! A like new pair, except now I feel strangely optimistic.


We did have a great trip last weekend. Note to remember: there are not bugs and fewer crowds in Yose in March. We did our usual stuff with rental bikes, a damp little fire, some climbing, and an evening visit to the Awahnee bar. The pianist even remembered us... love that place. Unbelieveably, we got just about the last site..we've already made reservations again for April b/c we're trying to go every month.

Gear Sherpa

Good things are still happening with my little ebay business. I made as much with it as I would have if I had a real job late last fall. That was a great surprise because the retail jobs I applied for didnt work out. One didnt offer enough money and the other quit hiring because of the economy. Actually, this has been great in retrospect, because I can fit in the work for Gear Sherpa any time so it doesnt interfere with class. And, it's flexible, so I can work more on weeks like this when I've got time off from school. Tents have turned out to be good items. I've got a system set up now to repair them - patched 7 holes in a tent this morning. And, they still seem to get a good price on ebay despite the recession. Gear Sherpa is probably the most overmanaged business of this size. I've had a great time applying on very small scale what I've learned in the MBA program - setting up accounting systems, upgrading my IT for more efficiency, expanding my number of bidders with some marketing concepts, and using some operations analysis to find my most profitable activities for business focus. Possibly obsessive? Dunno. One really funny and possibly sad experience is how much my customers seem to love me in their comments and reviews. I try to communicate very clearly and I'm proactive to clarify shipping and let them know when they should expect it. That apparently is enough to really make them happy.