At least the lawyers kiss you first.

I’m not a huge fan of the legal profession, but compared to the people who package the laundry detergent at warehouse stores, they are squeeky clean.

Why Stop Now, Super-Size It!

About three years ago we consumers were the beneficiaries of a huge step forward in state-of-the-art packaging. Laundry Detergent delivered in new really convenient containers.

But I don’t recall ever saying

Super-Size Me!

I’m sure it saves the manufacturer money. And when we shop at a warehouse store we take what we get, because price is important.

And after all, the manufacturer is actually giving us a choice. We can live with the mess these new packages create when you use them, or we can spend our (free) time pouring the detergent into smaller, easier to handle, bottles.

But wait, there’s a better way!!

Having unlimited faith in American Ingenuity, I went on the hunt for a solution at the US Patent Office. And struck pay-dirt, so to speak.

Issued on December 9, 2008 to Bradley Hildreth of Garden City, NY (US) is Patent No.: US 7,461,761 B2 which describes a “Harness For Suspending Detergent Container”.

American Ingenuity Triumphs!

Because I think that Bradley’s invention is so right-on I’m going to quote directly from his Patent. First an overview of his invention.

A harness for suspending a container having a product dispensing valve, such as a laundry detergent container, generally includes a sling for holding the container therein in an orientation that permits dispensing of a product from the container and at least one strap attached to the sling for suspending the sling from above. The sling further has a valve opening for allowing the product dispensing valve of the container to protrude out of the sling.

Next some background for his invention:

Buying in bulk, especially bulk purchases of non-perishable items such as laundry detergent, has become very popular in recent years. Laundry detergent in particular is readily available in large containers. One of the more popular bulk sizes of laundry detergent is the 300-ounce laundry detergent container that is available in many stores today. Needless to say, a detergent container of this large size is extremely bulky and difficult to handle, particularly when attempting to maneuver the container into position over the opening of the washing machine to dispense detergent therein.

To which the manufactuer will say that they designed the container so it can be laid on it’s side and the liquid dispensed into the handy measuring cup.

Right.

And if you liked the Exxon Valdez, you’ll love their measuring cups.

It’s important to find a niche where you can excel.

And when it comes to photography my niche is pretty small.

I specialize in pictures for your computer’s desktop;  they are (just a little) harder to create than you might think. Because you need to frame and expose them so that the icons on your desktop still show up against the background without giving you a headache.

Anyway, for your computer’s enjoyment, here are three to share. But first some explanation.

To look just right they need to be the same size as your computer screen in pixels. OMG. This is beyond what I can explain here, so I will offer up the pictures with very brief info and you will either know what to do, or bribe your neighborhood teenager.

The images just below on this page are sized for a netbook, 1024 x 600 pixels. You can save them directly from the image by right-clicking if you have a PC, or something like that if you have a Mac.

For larger screens scroll down the right side of this page to the Box titled “My Shared Files”. This downloads images sized for 22 inch monitors, 1680 x 1050 pixels.

For anything in between, download the large image and then resize it for your particular desktop or laptop display, preserving the ‘aspect ratio’ so they don’t get distorted.

Point Lobos State Reserve, South of Carmel, California

Ocean Ripples on the Mendocino Coast, Northern California

Coastline South of Fort Bragg, Northern California

Enjoy!

Leslie and I have an agreement on the division of labour.

I stay out of the kitchen, and she stays out of the cleaning supplies.

Here I am, in my cleaning-the-house outfit.

Keeping It Clean

There is once small problem however. When I’m dolled up, and the vacuum is screaming, I can’t hear the Podcasts on my MP3 player.

And I’m sure there are others of you out there in the same boat. Even though I know you won’t admit it.

The solution, which I’m about to share, is my first ever published Life Hack.

Noise Cancelling Headphones!

I have an ancient set of Sony Noise-Cancelling ear-buds purchased years ago for use on airplanes. They still work great.

Plug them in, turn me on and I can hear all my podcasts with crystal clarity. The drone of the vacuum cleaner disappears into the background!

So did you want the Chicken or Beef?

And I thought the people who publish books were a whole lot smarter than the people who publish music.

My Bad!

Wise As A Book Publisher?

The recent product recall of George Orwell’s 1984 from those Amazon Kindles showed us that anybody can get wrapped up in their DRM underwear.

But everyone is getting their panties in a bunch over a mistake that was prompty recognized and addressed; the final bow was tied in the ribbon with Jeff Bezos’ personal apology to the Kindle community.

No, the real problem is the Publishing Industry’s business model. These guys and gals act like they want to stick with what has worked since Gutenberg until we pry their cold dead hands from those price controls.

I thought the Music Industry already taught us that holding onto old practices instead of embracing the new guarantees failure. But no, everybody thinks they are different.

Up to now Amazon has managed to keep the prices of electronic books ‘artifically’ low by subsidizing the publishers. When Amazon sells those new books for $9.99 they have been (mostly) taking a loss to ramp up the market for e-books.

But do they get any thanks from the Publishers? Make that the Big EN OH.

If you’ve noticed (and I have) prices of many new Kindle editions have been going up.  Amazon has been quietly throwing in the towel.

Let me predict what will happen, and this really ain’t Rocket Science.

Books Will Be Free.

The DRM will be broken. Oh, you might say, it hasn’t been broken so far and the Sony and Kindle Readers have been out for a long time.

It’s the same reason there aren’t many viruses targeted at Apple Computers. Not because it can’t be done, but because there’s no money in it.  Apple doesn’t have enough market share. Simple as that.

Soon there will be a huge market for electronic books. Have you perhaps noticed that young people have a different take on things compared to their Boomer parents?

The smell and feel of a real book (give me a break) doesn’t mean much to our kids who grew up with a mouse and keyboard. And they are not impressed with shelves full of books any more than they would be with piles of records when they have thousands of them on their iPods.

Duh!

High prices that can’t be justified, plus high market share equals busted DRM.

I strongly believe in paying authors for their work. It’s up to the book publishers to deliver products their customers want, in the formats that they want, at a price that makes sense to everyone. They should understand that change is an opportunity, not just a threat.

Don’t think the people who broke the un-breakable Blu-Ray DRM in a month can’t break e-book DRM?

Think again.

I’ve been trying to simplify my so called life since I retired. At this point I’m looking failure directly in the eye.

But there is always the hope that simplicity will find us. Take a look at this painting by Rene Maggritte. Simple.

It's Not A Pipe, It's A Painting Of A Pipe

Which brings me to the topics of Multi-Tasking, Mash-Ups and Life Hacks, all tools that we are told will simplify our lives.

Here are my Academy Award nominations for the Meme of My Simple Life.

• Multi-Tasking involves doing more than one thing at a time, where each activity invariably gets done less well than if we just did it alone.
• Mash-Ups consist of the combination of several activities into one single activity, where the result is better than the sum of its parts.
• Life-Hacks are anything that can help you be more productive or more efficient, or simply a way to get something done smarter.

I’ve been trying to think of a single good reason to Multi-Task; I can’t. On the other hand, I know there are lots of people who don’t know any other way to go about their daily lives. Scary.

• One thing we are learning about Multi-Tasking is that in addition to making the people around you nuts, it’s also dangerous to your health. We now have MADD, next will be MAMT which is fine with me.

Mash-Ups on the other hand feel comfortable to me, calming even. Lots of information in a small package. Intuitive, with very little learning curve. Cuddly.

• Mash-Ups have been mostly conceived so far as media or digital creations. But I’m suggesting they be used as a life visualization overlay. Remember YHIHF.

Life-Hacks are simple and specific. To know one is to love one. Loyal, dedicated.

• Like this for example: “Buy only gray colored socks.”

So having listed the nominees, I get to pick my favorite. Let’s have the envelope please.

And the winner is…Life Hacks!

So for now, it’s Life Hacks, one trick at a time. No Multi-Hacks or Mash-Hacks.

Before everything was either black or white.

Now, I’m all gray socks, all the time.

I still need his chin though, click here.

From His Chin To His Socks

I guess I completely missed the 80′s. I know for sure I missed the 60′s, but I came by that honestly; as in “if you remember the 60′s you weren’t there.”

So imagine the surprise when my son Matthew told me he found a really great T-Shirt featuring a Flock of Gulls. He pointed me to the design, as you can see below. And I said, “So What?”

What The Flock?

That’s when he made a few comments I won’t repeat, and brought me up to speed.  Turns out there was a band called A Flock of Seagulls from the ’80′s, and then the brilliance of the T-shirt comes into its own.

I Don't Remember A Thing

Click here for an enlarged side-by-side. Kinda cute, after all.

Here’s your link to threadless.com and the Flock of Gulls T-Shirt designed by Andrew John Mohacsy.

And the final shameless plug for Matthew’s website, TreasuredFinds.com, your home for Sterling Jewelry and Gifts.

It really is a small world; who would have thought…

Everyone  knows about Bernie (Madoff). And the people who read this blog are at the cutting edge because they also know about Dan Ariely, who was the subject of a post last month. Dan is a Behavioral Economist and the author of the best selling book, “Predictably Irrational” .

And now it looks like Bernie may get to talk with Dr. Dan.

Five Stars? Yes, And That Would Be On The Badges!

You see, Bernie just arrived at the medium security prison in Butner, N.C.

Family members of federal prisoners have good things to say about Butner, describing it as free of the roaches and rats they say plague other federal facilities.

A spokesman for the federal Bureau of Prisons said that all of its institutions adhere to the highest levels of sanitation.

So we’re happy for Bernie. Really.

And perhaps he will provide a bit of payback as a (sort of) Resident Lab Rat.

Inmates are regularly subjects of research projects and volunteer efforts from the nearby schools.

Dan Ariely, a Duke professor … is thrilled to have one of history’s most famous con men just 14 miles from the Durham, N.C., campus. He hopes to interview Mr. Madoff in prison about the $65 billion investment scheme that wrecked major financial players and crushed family fortunes.

“I would mostly want to know how it started,” Mr. Ariely said.

I think a lot of us are also “thrilled”, but mostly about Bernie’s new domicile.

Dan Ariely at the 2008 TED Conference

If you didn’t get a chance to view the video of Dan Ariely at the 2008 TED Conference here’s your re-do op; for a great introduction to Behavioral Economics click on the picture above.

Walter Cronkite passed away today, so we are down one icon. But thankfully the Economist’s Big Mac Index soldiers on.

In a previous post we expressed concern that Big Mac might be supplanted by Big White, but our fears were unfounded.

Herewith the latest Index, no ketchup required.

Just to review, The Economist has been publishing their (not so tongue-in-cheek) Big Mac Index since 1986. It’s a reality check on world-wide currency exchange rates, based on the concept of Purchasing-Power Parity.

Purchasing-Power Parity (PPP) says that exchange rates are correct when the price of similar goods are the same in each country. The Big Mac survey compares the price of a Big Mac all over the world. The Big Mac is, after all, a basket of standard ingredients put together in a consistent process.

Anyway, this week’s 2009 survey says that should the Big Mac price in a country translated into dollars be above $3.57, its cost in America, the currency is overvalued; if it is below that benchmark, it is undervalued.

And for the quants among you, here are the stats:

Whereas last year you were headed off to South Africa for your Bargain Burger, this time your destination appears to be Hong Kong. On the other hand, should you need a quick withdrawal of funds from your Swiss Bank, don’t stick around for dinner.

This wasn’t going to be a post about multi-tasking, but I got distracted. And then I realized I was…wait for it… multi-tasking!

But before we get to multi-tasking, my original purpose was to review an audible.com book. “Audible” books are a great way to spend your time when you are already spending your time. It’s like a Time Sale. If there were Op-Shops that sold old pieces of time Leslie and I could shop together.

Most readers will be familiar with ‘Books on Tape’ which was pre-multi-tasking. These were ok for their time, but you couldn’t download them (gulp) or listen on an MP3 player. In fact you needed a whole car to sit in and listen, OMG.

If you want to get aristocratic, the original multi-tasker was Pierre-Daniel Huet, who, in the 17th century had his servant read to him out loud while he was eating or otherwise busying himself. I guess we could call this “Books on Servant”. (Full disclosure, I did a post on Pierre way back before this blog became internationally famous.)

Back to our review. “The Billionaire’s Vinegar” by Benjamin Wallace is subtitled The Mystery of the World’s Most Expensive Bottle of Wine, but it’s reallya story about very rich people getting taken by the Bernie Madoffs of the wine world.

The First Of Many "Jefferson Bottles"

Here’s the blurb from Publisher’s Weekly:

The titular bottle, from a cache of allegedly fine, allegedly French wine, allegedly owned by Thomas Jefferson in the 1780s, set a record price when auctioned in 1985.

The bottle in question was auctioned by Christie’s in 1985. It was a 1787 Château Lafite Bordeaux, and purchased by Malcolm Forbes for the (at the time) record price of $156,000. But that was only the beginning. From there Wallace gets into the opaque world of pre-phylloxera wines with bidding and secret sales at $200,000 to $300,000 a bottle.

The book also sports Thomas Jefferson anecdotes from the years he spent in Paris. Jefferson was quite the wine collector, became extremely knowledgeable on the subject and later attempted to jump start viticulture in the USA at Monticello!

As a renowned oenophile myself, specializing in $5 to $10 per bottle “Reds“, I could identify with these Big Dogs of the wine world. Even though they really do not live like you and me, the common thread is that they can, and do, get conned just like the rest of us. Which is what the book is about.

After all, how many people know what a 200 year old wine tastes like? And when it turns out that a large percentage of them are counterfeit, the sellers and buyers hold hands, close their eyes, jump up and down; and try to pretend that everything is ok. I would too if I had a cellar full of $100,000+ vintage extraordinaries, wouldn’t you?

Just be careful and don’t open them.

So finally, in our continuing tradition of teaching moments:

• Do consider using audible books as an excellent addition to reading, and a great way to multi-task.
• Figure out what kind of audible books you like best. In my case I’ve determined I like non-fiction the best, but your mileage may vary.
• Billionaire’s Vinegar was a great read. Oops, make that listen, and Dennis Boutsikaris did an outstanding job as the reader.
• If you are a Wine Nutter like me then  go for Billionaire’s Vinegar, otherwise go for your own personal gusto and do try an audible book. Sans servant.

Here are your links to Amazon and Audible for The Billionaire’s Vinegar.

Oh yeah, multi-tasking. I guess I got sidetracked.

Make that MultiTracked. Multi-Tracked. Multi.Tracked.

I’ll be back.

I know great food. I can’t tell you what it is, but I know it when I eat it. The Supremes would approve.

Normally, when people write about food there is a drop-dead gorgeous picture of a serving sitting on the plate. It’s always beautiful and mouth-watering. Blah, blah, beautiful, scrumptous,  juicy, simmering, yummy, whatever!

I thought I’d try a different approach.

Now this here, THIS is a plate of great food!

Now THAT Was A Great Meal

The other night we went to Waterboy in Sacramento. Pictured above was my choice of  ”Pan Roast Chicken Breast, on Bread and 4884 Salad, with Bacon, 4797, Pine Nuts and Aioli.

It was great. So instead of taking a picture of the ‘before’ I just took a picture of the ‘after’. I think this says it all. So Bubi, do I have a future as a food critic?

If you had trouble translating the PLU numbers in that description of the dish, then it’s time for language study to power thru life, here’s your link.

F2U Rio Linda, PLU is a “Price Look Up” code, in use by supermarkets since 1990 to make check-out and inventory control easier, faster, and more accurate.

We eat, You decide.

Yum.

Here are a number of Quotes from the main stream media this week.

This Guy Spent Most of The Week In The Penalty Box

I’m not going to name the people who uttered the following because they would (hopefully) be embarrassed.

The leading cause of death is old age.

This was said in support of the idea that we should take antibiotics or other drugs to slow down the aging process. Next we will be encouraged to think of aging as a disease. Now there’s a way to reduce the cost of  health care!

The problem with corruption is that it works too well.

The idea being that if you have the money for a bribe, the service you receive is better than from a bureaucrat. Probably true, but  misses the point.

The only asset we’ve found that provides diversification is cash.

The recent financial meltdown ravaged all asset classes; one victim being the concept of asset diversification. Now the financial wizards are proclaiming they’ve figured out we need to have some of our assets in cash.

Keep in mind that these statements were not uttered by people with funny clothing standing on a pedestal wearing sign-boards. No, these folks get the the big bucks to clarify life for the rest of us.

If I ever go back to work it’s nice to know that there are opportunities galore.

Comforting?