Canadian's Big Win in the Giro d'Italia!

 Canadian Ryder Hesjedal with his trophy!

The highlight of the Professional Cycling year is without doubt the Tour de France.  But the second biggest event of the year, the 2012 Giro d'Italia, has just been completed in Milano with Canadian Ryder Hesjedal winning the biggest race of his career.  

For the first time we were able to follow the 21 stage gruelling race on television and what an exciting race it was.  

Each stage has its own dynamics from the opening time trial through the flat stages to the mountain stages and finishing with another time trial.   Many of the competitors excel in different things with the sprinters duelling it out in the exciting conclusions of the flat stages.  Others are brilliant mountain climbers as they leave their fellow riders in their wake toiling up the mountain slopes.  Some are great at time trials, others are less so.  But the winner is often one who is an all rounder, one who while not the best at each discipline excels at all of them.

Hesjesdal, a 31 year old  former mountain biker, showed his merits during this race, winning by the very small margin of 16 seconds, after 91 hours and 39 minutes of cycling.

Well done Mr Hesjedal, it was an exciting race and gave the TV watchers of this household something enjoyable to watch each day.

Why do I Pay so much for Cable but there's nothing on TV?

The other day I came across a list of 9 things which will disappear in our lifetime.  Along with newspapers and the Post Office, TV was included.  The author said of Television:

Revenues to the networks are down dramatically. Not just because of the economy. People are watching TV and movies streamed from their computers. And they're playing games and doing lots of other things that take up the time that used to be spent watching TV. Prime time shows have degenerated down to lower than the lowest common denominator. Cable rates are skyrocketing and commercials run about every 4 minutes and 30 seconds.

I don't know what young people are up to these days but I suspect it's not watching TV.  I can only speak for myself but even when I would like to relax in front of the TV I can rarely find anything I want to watch.  

The current highlight of my TV watching is the Giro d'Italia which fortunately is being covered by North American television this year.  The season finales have come and gone for the few "traditional" shows I watch.  In fact House was the final finale!  I regularly watch Bones and NCIS and The Mentalist and that's about it for mainstream network TV.   I can't abide reality TV and have never been able to watch American Idol or Dancing with the Stars for more than 10 minutes.

The OS watches assorted sports which I occasionally follow, especially soccer.  We often watch the Market Close on BNN business channel and the BBC news channel.   Lately programs about Space seem to play frequently on our TV as we search for something of interest.  Or dogs.  Even PBS and Knowledge Network can be deserts at times.   It's not that we are so highbrow for heaven's sake.  After  all, our guilty pleasure is So You think You can Dance!  Even the OS watches it!  Don't ask me why we like it and not American Idol.

Regarding my heading,  even though it is now slightly more competitive as companies other than cable get into providing TV, cable rates are creeping up and up.   Most give you a reduced rate for 6 months only and who wants to keep changing service providers?  Whatever happened to loyalty discounts?  To add insult to injury a 12% tax is added as the Government gets its slice of the pie!

Hundreds of channels at huge expense and nothing of interest to watch!  Sighs.  Thank goodness for books.

Makeovers, Exploring and did I mention? Makeovers

Firstly. Great new blog pic JMB.

Now I have found it difficult to find the time to regularly visit sl recently. I get to visit for longer times but at different and not regular times. It means I don’t get to see many of my friends *pouts*.

So I have been hanging out in dance clubs some as there are usually people about and also I visited and explored a sim of 18th century north Africa and islands. There are pirates and traders and nomads and slaves and gypsies. It is beautifully put together.

So anyway – I had to have a persona to explore and maybe role-play after all.

I had good fun eventually (after several different hair doos) finding myself a gypsy look with a nice tan and curly dark hair and henna tattoos and bright clothes. Well.. how I imagined they might have looked back then. I got myself a tarot pack and set off exploring.

Oh and because of that in rl I got a tarot pack phone ap also.

Still I got to see none of my usual friends.

Also I couldn’t visit the sim often enough to settle in to it. Tho I did meet a nice Knight who was going to cut my head off or something, till I convinced I was not a burglar.

How did that happen? Well I was exploring and found this place in a pretty small town by the sea. The door was unlocked no one was around, so I figured it would be ok to visit. I looked round and they had a piano.

I sat down to play it. Next thing I know  this guy has his huge sword against my throat. He was in real danger of getting blood all over his lovely piano.

So  he is; “How did you get in!” And I am “ I just walked in. it was unlocked !! Honest!” Pleease… Nice piano btw”

So he let me show him how I got in and he got it fixed and was ok about it. Moggsy, security consultant to well endowed swordsmen, by that I mean he had a big sword.

I was still restless and decided to do some more makeover so I did some more way more than I planned and now I am practically broke. That pic. It looks nothing like me now. Evereyone says I look "Lovely", "Hot",.. and "Short".  Still good things come in small packages they say.

Also I need to do some saving and watch my shopaholic tendencies.

Schrödinger. Top scientist. Nasty or nice?

Who here has heard of Schrödinger's cat? Lots I expect, you might not know much more, but lots of people have heard of it.

It never was a real cat tho, thank goodness, poor thing. It is a scientific "thought experiment" by this brillient guy called Schrödinger. Erwin Schrödinger to be exact.

It is all to do with quantum mechanics who don’t actually have ^_^ quantum wrenches as best as I know and it is all quite thought provoking now... and this was going on way back in 1935!

So, to show his point, this very clever guy Schrödinger said to imagine this cat. Locked in a box with some radioactive atoms and a Geiger counter. The Geiger counter is set to break a poison vial and kill the poor cat if it picks up radiation.

So Schrödinger  said that his idea was if no one looked to check then after a while the cat would be both alive and dead at the same time.. a “Superposition”  until someone looked. It is called the Copenhagen interpretation. If I have gotten this wrong I am sure someone can tell me.

All that is interesting, almost mystical… but not my point at all.

No. My point is what Schrödinger,  this really clever guy, was imagining is a horrible, cruel, thing to imagine and no one seems to call him on it – ever. Why would he think that?

He didn’t have to imagine killing some poor cat did he? It could just have easily been a pin and a balloon or a clamp releasing a coin, could't it? Why the cat?

This is just one, maybe more dramatic, example of something I seem to notice every now and again all over. People’s unconscious assumptions being revealed or maybe moving them in one direction than another.

A person will get to some though  and you think, “Huh?”, “Why would a person go there, or think that at all?”

I do really wonder if something like this shows something about how a person thinks?

I do wonder if it maybe shows how someone actually values the life of something like a cat, or maybe their attitude to cruelty and suffering.  Austria in 1935 must have had some pretty hard attitudes about. Did I mention he was Austrian.

What sort of a person would think to do that if there was an alternative? The balloon idea took me a moment or two. I just thought tho. I guess it would need to be a soundproof box or the “pop” would give it away?

What “Glee” Character are you?

This post is a bit different from recent ones. Maybe I will be condemning myself.. but do I love “Glee”. But regular readers will know I like music.

For those of you who don’t know, or won’t admit to knowing ^_^, Glee is a TV show about a High School glee club. A glee club is a singing club.

OK I admit the show is silly sometimes, but it is fun and has lots of music. To be honest I think it is a bit tongue in cheek and does not pretend to be utterly realistic all the time. Tho it does explore many social issues in a safe way.

It is a “musical comedy-drama” TV series and is situated in McKinley High. It is about a High School glee club called New Directions who are generally looked down on, especially by the Jocks and Cheerleaders. This is (weirdly) despite some of the main characters being on the football team, in the Cheerios (^_^ cereal anyone?) or former members.

New Directions compete against other clubs on the show choir competition circuit, while the show examines their relationships, sexual or otherwise and social issues. And Sue Silvester the Cheerios coach tries to sabotage their chances, in a battle with Will Schuester, who runs the Glee Club, over funding.

So anyway… The characters are almost archetypes and I got to thinking, for fun, what Glee character we most resemble. A bit like what would be your star wars name? sort of thing, but more personality oriented.

I think I am a bit like Brittany personality-wise, as I like to think I am bright and cheerful and accepting of people, except I hope I am not so dumb. But if she isn’t the sharpest knife in the draw she somehow still manages to be wise anyway, emotionally.

I guess I look more like Santana than Brittany tho.

What do you think? Who are you like? No slushies in the face please…

Some Thoughts on E-readers and E-books

I could have written a comment on Miss Moggs's post on e-books but I decided to write a post on the subject myself. It's true she wrote a post on the topic on a previous occasion. In it she discussed the disadvantages of not actually owning the e-book such that you could lend it and even sell it secondhand. Instead you own only the right to read it and recently, in some cases lend it out one time only.

At that time I too wrote my reply as a post since I had recently become the owner of a Kindle e-reader. I talked about the history and development of the e-reader and my thoughts on the subject and wondered if I would truly become an aficionada of the e-book and stop buying and reading physical books. Of course the answer is a resounding NO to the latter. E-readers have not put much of a dint in my purchase of books nor my reading of actual books. I just seem to buy and read both now.

The Kindle

I use e-reader in the plural above for a very good reason. Yes I am the owner of more than one. Er more than two. Er more than three, if you count my mobile devices as e-readers as well, which of course they are.

When I buy an e-book from amazon.com I have the choice of reading it on my Kindle keyboard reader itself, or on my computer using Amazon's Kindle Cloud reader, or on my computer using the Kindle Application for Mac. But there are more even more options for me.

Of course I now have an iPad2 so I can read the e-book there on the Kindle application for iPad. Or on my iPod Touch. Or on my new iPhone4S which I've had for a few weeks now. What's more I can take up reading on one device exactly where I left off on the previous one, since they synchronize across all devices when connected to the internet. How brilliant is that?

Reading on the iPad2

Now the reading experience is not as great on the smaller iPod Touch or the iPhone but I certainly do read the New York Times on the iPod Touch on occasion although I mostly read it on the larger screen of the iPad2. However it's perfectly readable on the smaller device, as are books.

iPhone versus iPad2 sizewise

Of course Amazon want to lock you into buying from their store and reading on the e-reader which you purchase from them. At first they did not allow borrowing library books however that has changed recently, but only in the United States. However the iPad makes it possible to buy from any of the other e-book sellers since there is an app. for the iPad for them all, including an app. for borrowing e-books from the libraries.

Although I resisted the iPad for almost a year, finally I succumbed to that highly expensive "toy" and I have to say I love it for many reasons. But let's talk about it as an e-reader.

Using the Overdrive app. for the iPad I can borrow books from the public library for 21 days after downloading them. At the end of that period you can no longer access them, but you can return them early if you finish them before 21 days. So no library fines for returning books late!

Many Canadians seem to have Kobo e-readers and yes I buy e-books from them too and they have an app. for the Mac as well as for the various mobile devices. Barnes and Noble is a bit of an anomaly in that you can buy e-books from them from Canada and read them on the computer app. for Mac, but you cannot get their Nook app. for the iPad or iPhone in the Canadian iTunes store so that is a problem. I have contacted customer service but they seem to blame it on Apple, however you can get it from the US iTunes store so that makes no sense to me. All these apps are free by the way.

The Kobo Touch

Of course there is the celebrated Apple iBooks app. and you can purchase e-books from them but they tend to be more expensive and the selection falls far short of amazon.com which has over 1 million e-books for purchase now.

Best of all my e-readers, I love reading the books on the iPad which has a very pleasing format for all the different apps and the slightest touch to turn the pages. It's fine for reading in bed but where it falls down is carrying it around all the time with me, as it is a bit large and heavy for a handbag. So I mostly take the Kindle with me which is a good size and weight to stuff in a regular sized handbag. It requires a fairly hefty push with the thumb to turn the pages so recently when I saw a Kobo Touch at a good price I added that to my e-reader collection. Yes I do love my "toys"! It's not as easy to turn the page on the Kobo Touch as it is on the iPad but it is quite acceptable and a nice size to take along with me everywhere. Since I am usually reading more than one book at a time it doesn't matter which device I have with me.

So that's my experience with the "hardware". But Miss Moggs also discussed one of the big beefs with e-books. The PRICE! They are certainly no bargain by any means. Compared with the original price of the hardback perhaps, but we rarely need to pay full price for a hardback. In fact you can often find the hardback heavily discounted at Costco or online for a dollar or so more than the e-book.

The publishers have come to agreements with the various e-book sellers and they set the prices according to the sellers, taking 70% of the money. Consequently you would think that they would be the same price at each outlet, but not at all. So you have to check around before laying down your money for an e-book. Not only that, but I bought Jodi Picoult's new book, Lone Wolf, on the first day it was released at $14.99. From Amazon. Just a few short weeks later it is now selling for $12.99!

Kobo seems to send me a discount coupon of 20-25% for one book purchase every week so that's how I started buying from them I guess. But it is sometimes cheaper to buy the same book at regular price at amazon.com than discounted at Kobo! How crazy is that when the prices are supposed to be set by the publishers. There is no tax when I buy through Amazon but 12% tax is added to Kobo prices. Not only that but the tax rate is different on physical books and e-books where I live. For physical books you pay only 5% but for e-books it is 12%. Oh well it keeps me on my toes, but it's all a bit of a mystery. Especially the fact, as Moggs mentioned, that sometimes the paperback is cheaper than the e-book.

Of course you can fill your e-reader with free e-books, those no longer under copyright and in the public domain. Some independents give away e-books for limited times and amazon.com has the "deal of the day", usually on an older book, while Kobo seems to have regular discounts for the moment on "selected titles" but there are some good books to choose there. I am not buying from Barnes and Noble again until they get the iPad app. sorted out for Canada, if they ever do.

I will be on vacation for three weeks in April so I have been gathering a collection of e-books to take with me. It certainly is very nice to have one device loaded with reading matter rather than a suitcase full of books. Of course I can't share with the OS which is a problem. Well he can carry his own books! I asked him if he would like my iPad2 if I bought the recently released New iPad but he just laughed. Darn!

But you know it doesn't matter how you read or what you read: a book, a magazine, a newspaper, in your hand or on a device, some article on the internet. To borrow from Nike, "Just do it!"

To read is to learn, to discover the collective wisdom of those who have shared their knowledge and thoughts with others. It's all there for the taking/reading. But it's also for our entertainment, our pleasure. My daughter once said to me, "Reading is as essential to me as breathing." I could say the same thing. It must be in our genes for all four of us are voracious readers. One of my greatest gifts is my passion for reading and may it never desert me!

The problem with e-books

I think I posted on e-readers before, or at least did long comments before I had one.

I have had my e-reader for a month or more now, so maybe I am more qualified now ^_^

To be honest I am not posting on what an ideal e-reader might be. Nook Vs Kindle or anything. This post is about the e-books themselves, not so much the e-reader.

There are some really good things about e-books. You can get them instantly (when you are allowed to buy them) any time.

You can put a library on an e-book and have more choice than if you had a case full of books with you. Awsome for flight weight limits.

But there sure are big drawbacks that need to be ironed out as well.

Firstly with e-books, the copyrightable material is separated from the physical book, like you could float the story off the pages of an ordinary book and put them on some other blank pages in another book. And not just once but as many times as you choose. Like magic a Disney movie.

So what does that mean? Well firstly it costs a publisher hardly anything at all to print an e-book and...

Secondly they will never loose money because they print too many and have to pulp them.

Thirdly they don’t have any materials or shipping costs.

So take, as an example, Jane Fallon’s “Got you back”. Amazon’s RRP for the paperback is £7.99. Their discount price is £5.29 with no shipping fee.

Amazon's e-book for the Kindle is £5.99

Or Penguin’s site £7.99 for the paper back £5.99 for the e-book

I don’t think you can get the e-book in Canada right now. The paperback is listed at $22.95 discount price $16.57

So there are two things wrong there right away.

One they want to charge you practically the same price for the actual physical book as they do for the e-book.

Now the physical book they had to get the paper and ink and glue for, that they had to print and guess how many copies they could sell. Books they had to bind and pack and ship all over to stores.

And an e-book, that I figure must have cost so little to print and ship that you may as well call it nominal.

Now I am not dumb. I know they have to pay the author and the agents and the editors. The electronic typesetter and the artist and the advertising, secretaries and their offices in Sydney, London or Manhatten or Boyse Idaho. The servers the site runs on and whoever processes the payments.

But that same set of costs applies to the actual physical paperbacks and hardbacks also.

So where do Amazon get off actually charging more to download an e-book than to send me the actual physical book?

Would you be willing to pay the same for a physical CD as you would for the same music on your mp3 player. I really don’t think so.

It’s not like I don’t think they deserve a reasonable profit, but really.

And now to my second point. Right now you could order the physical book and get it delivered most anywhere in the world, or probably get your local book store (who the e-books make me worry for) to order it in.

But you try to get the e-book, you will probably get some message that they can’t sell it in your region.

That is totally crazy why can’t you buy it? Why can’t you buy a book in the US that you can in the UK or vice versa? Something to do with copyright I guess.

Why they can’t have a world copyright deal for e-books I do not know. Because not being able to get a hold of a copy of something you know is out there is a strong inducement to piracy for a generally law abiding person who would be happy to pay for it.

Not that they are wanting something for nothing, but that they don't see why they should not be allowed to read what someone else can. That goes against everything an avid reader believes.

Another problem is all the proprietary e-book formats that try to lock you into one particular e-reader. Did you know that if you buy an e-book for one reader it is really difficult to transfer it to another if you upgrade to a different make… unless you buy all your books from an independent supplier in the more–or-less universal e-pub format.

Adobe look like they have cornered the ‘independent’ proprietary copyrighted material market. You have to download their software to put those bnooks on your e-reader. OK so it is free at the moment, I bet the publishers have to pay big time for it tho, so you do pay for it in the price somewhere. To give them credit they can put it on most any e-reader.

Come on e-publishers. There would be much less reason for piracy if you had a universal world release instead of only letting some of the people buy your books and you didn’t rip us off on price.

All of us who like to read know Authors and publishers need to make some money or they just wouldn’t keep writing the stuff we like to read, we don’t mind paying £1.00 or $1.50 per book, even probably twice that, or maybe a bit more still when it is only out in hardback.

I would love to hear what someone in the “Industry” had to say about all this. Bet I don't.