A couple weeks ago I wrote a sort-of book review about Kevin O'Keefe's The Average American. Reading this book was prompted by my continuing interest in what the average American is and isn't and how people actually live. While most people think they are fairly average (and by definition many will be), I wonder how many know what average is. I'm quite sure that politicians - especially on the national league - are so out of touch as to have very little idea what average is, and isn't. Again by definition, just getting into the club of Congress means that they are in such a small select group that a politician is no longer normal.
But, this isn't a post about anything political. Taking a different tactic on what Mr. O'Keefe did, I was curious about statistics about what is actually average in the US. Not what makes us so obliquely normal that only one person in the country can finally be average, but what are the norms.
Most of the information came from the Census Bureau's web site, which is a wealth of information, easily searchable and sensibly displayed. Other sources were from online news articles and sadly, some from Wikipedia. Most of the latter was backed up by verification (in overall scope) from other sources.
So what is an American? I've broken this down in four groups identified as: Fundamentals, Characteristics, Life, Financials. What makes life interesting are the differences, sometimes big - others small. These are merely soulless statistics about the bulk of people living in the United States. As an aside (and only an aside), some of the most interesting people I have met have fallen pretty far out of these norms.
Fundamentals
Citizen of the United States - 93% of the population
Born in the United States - 87% of the population.
Characteristics
Height (male) 5'5" to 6'1" - 80% of the population (median is 5'10")
Height (female) 5'0" to 5'7" - 80% of the population (median is 5'4")
Weight (male) 146 to 252 lbs - 80% of the population (median is 195 lbs)
Weight (female) 118 to 225 lbs - 80% of the population (median is 165 lbs)
Life
Graduated from High School - 75% of the population
Can read English fluently - 85% of the population
Family is important - 87% of the population (stolen form Kevin O'Keefe and the most nebulous statistic)
Can legally drive a car - 68% of the population
Uses a telephone - 98% of the population (likely in a few years this will be changed specifically to a mobile)
Uses the internet - 85% of the population
Eats meat - 95% of the population (while vegetarians are in theory greater than 5%, the vast majority cheat on occasion)
Financials
Own a home - 68% of the population
Annual family income between $13k and $145k - 80% of the population
Net household worth between $5k and $660k - 80% of the population
I wanted to include "Have Children" in the mix, but while accurate rates of childbearing are available for women, the same cannot be said of men. Data point to a consistent rate of 79% regardless of sex, but I didn't find this number compelling enough to include.
If all of these characteristics were randomly distributed in the population, that would mean about 6.7% of the 317 million Americans (from the Census Bureau's Population Clock as of this writing) would be average - or about 21.2 million. In reality, there is going to be significant overlap which is beyond what I can find hidden in the statistics easily available. For example, I suspect there will be overlap in the populations of people not born in the United States and those that can't fluently read English. In other words, I have no idea how many people are average but that isn't the point. As Mr. O'Keefe's book was a personal narrative about finding the Average American, perhaps this is a good excuse to continue to travel to discover how many of us are average - and how interesting the combination of average and bizarre can be.
Just as important, the list includes many things that would be common across the population of any developed country, suggesting that in most cases, these characteristics define what it means to live on the planet in a developed country?
Regardless of any of this, I'll continue to be fascinated by the norms of what it means to live in the United States and what it is to be different.
As the saying goes:
Remember that you are unique, just like everybody else.
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Christmas Cards
It is "The Christmas Season." Given that there is not one Christmas decoration up in the house, it is more appropriate to call it "Christmas Card Season." I have Christmas Trees up all year round in the back yard. One is dead and I'm hoping for the Christmas Wind to come by and knock it over so I can get rid of it. My trees never get to wear lights; they like it that way.
For a bit of an antisocial curmudgeon, I actually like the Christmas cards. I like writing an annual Christmas letter. There are rules for these things though. The letter needs to be short, no more than one page in reasonable font. Bragging must be minimized but retelling a few interesting events is OK. I try to mention a few tidbits of the year along with enough self-deprecation so as to avoid making things sound too much better than they really are. The letter does contain a bit of Facebook Reality though (the ongoing description of events to be better than, or worse than, they are in reality). A couple years ago I got a Christmas letter from an acquaintance which was the most depressing thing I had ever read (dog died, job lost, kid divorced and pregnant, etc.). I guess that does demonstrate a refreshing sort of honesty though.
I know many people do not read the Christmas Letter. Three years ago I included the move and new address information in the letter and since that day I receive less than half of the Christmas Cards that I used to. I would have thought that by this time the return address labels would have rectified, but perhaps the cards are never even opened, ending up in the dustbin with nary a glance.
I also enjoy getting the letters - much more than I used to. Some of the letters from relatives can feel a bit abstract. I come from a very large extended family and the updates from relatives about cousins I vaguely remember now having children I'll never meet almost seems like a Christmas Card from a near stranger. Last year NPR had a story on sending Christmas Cards to complete strangers. I had wanted to do that for years, but never had. Perhaps in addition to being a curmudgeon, I'm also yaller, worried that such an act could bring on a Christmas Ass-Kicking.
The cards that I find the funniest are from the businesses I interact with. I'm baffled with the motivation behind these as business wouldn't do anything like this if they didn't think it helped the bottom line in some manner.
I suppose my insurance agent does appreciate my business, but in addition to Christmas, I get Thanksgiving, New Years, birthdays, and possibly other cards I don't recall right now.
My vet sends a card. They probably don't want to be forgotten, although the dogs probably wish the vet wouldn't send reminders. I guess it was a cute card though. I appreciate their use of Christmas in place of the more generic "Holidays" or similar.
The most touching greeting came from the credit card company. I value their warm wishes and the frugality of not using any additional paper for salutation - just a bit of ink.
No doubt, these three businesses do get a phenomenal amount of money from me. The IRS also has a significant hand in reducing my financial liquidity, but I hope they don't start sending me holiday greetings.
There are only two more post office deliveries before Christmas.
Our warmest holiday wishes...
For a bit of an antisocial curmudgeon, I actually like the Christmas cards. I like writing an annual Christmas letter. There are rules for these things though. The letter needs to be short, no more than one page in reasonable font. Bragging must be minimized but retelling a few interesting events is OK. I try to mention a few tidbits of the year along with enough self-deprecation so as to avoid making things sound too much better than they really are. The letter does contain a bit of Facebook Reality though (the ongoing description of events to be better than, or worse than, they are in reality). A couple years ago I got a Christmas letter from an acquaintance which was the most depressing thing I had ever read (dog died, job lost, kid divorced and pregnant, etc.). I guess that does demonstrate a refreshing sort of honesty though.
I know many people do not read the Christmas Letter. Three years ago I included the move and new address information in the letter and since that day I receive less than half of the Christmas Cards that I used to. I would have thought that by this time the return address labels would have rectified, but perhaps the cards are never even opened, ending up in the dustbin with nary a glance.
I also enjoy getting the letters - much more than I used to. Some of the letters from relatives can feel a bit abstract. I come from a very large extended family and the updates from relatives about cousins I vaguely remember now having children I'll never meet almost seems like a Christmas Card from a near stranger. Last year NPR had a story on sending Christmas Cards to complete strangers. I had wanted to do that for years, but never had. Perhaps in addition to being a curmudgeon, I'm also yaller, worried that such an act could bring on a Christmas Ass-Kicking.
The cards that I find the funniest are from the businesses I interact with. I'm baffled with the motivation behind these as business wouldn't do anything like this if they didn't think it helped the bottom line in some manner.
I suppose my insurance agent does appreciate my business, but in addition to Christmas, I get Thanksgiving, New Years, birthdays, and possibly other cards I don't recall right now.
My vet sends a card. They probably don't want to be forgotten, although the dogs probably wish the vet wouldn't send reminders. I guess it was a cute card though. I appreciate their use of Christmas in place of the more generic "Holidays" or similar.
The most touching greeting came from the credit card company. I value their warm wishes and the frugality of not using any additional paper for salutation - just a bit of ink.
There are only two more post office deliveries before Christmas.
Our warmest holiday wishes...
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Hunting Pornography
No, this isn't about looking very hard for porn, this is about the direction that much of the media in the hunting industry is going and has been for quite some time.
This year's hunting season is pretty much over for me. I still have a tag and there is time left for muzzle-loader or late gun season, but I happily took a doe a few weeks ago and between that and my antelope I'm set for meat. It was a tougher season than most as for whatever reason I just wasn't seeing as many deer as I often have.
I get several hunting magazines. Some I subscribe to or get through other memberships, and I've recently started to get a few more that I assume are showing up gratas in the hopes I will love them and pay money to continue in the future (I won't).
I enjoy reading magazines early in the morning with my coffee, but I am finding myself reading less and less of the material in the hunting periodicals. There are always a few articles I find compelling or stories of hunts that are interesting, but much of what is written approaches fiction.
Hunting magazines have become analogous to what porn is to real personal relationships.
Too many writers (or hunting personalities/celebrities -ugh), will espouse an ethos that if just xx is done, big bucks will come rolling out of the hills and walk into the crosshairs. Or, if you buy yy product and use zz tactic, the biggest baddest bear in the area will gleefully appear ready to take a bullet.
Pure fiction.
To be fair, I do believe almost every area, no matter how heavily hunted will hold a few impressive animals. But most of us mere mortals are hunting public land or if lucky enough to be on private land, it will still be hunted hard enough that having a decent shot at a decent animal can be an awesome experience. With hard work, time put in, and a lot of luck, most of us mere mortals will have rare opportunities to see animals like the porn stars that grace the glossy pages of the hunting magazines.
I would also like to see more screw-ups admitted, bringing more reality to hunting fiction. Every hunter I know has more moments that end in expletives, than blood.
I don't pay for TV at home, but do occasionally find myself watching the rare hunting show while somewhere else. These are an even more exploitative form of hunting porn. While on a guided hunt several years ago, I found myself talking to a minor hunting celebrity (he was actually a really nice guy). He freely admitted that much of the footage used in the industry is restaged for effect or combined from completely unrelated time lines. I have seen examples of this where lighting changes dramatically from scene to scene, making it appear what happened in a brief period was actually done at much different times and different places (in one example, the hunter must have changed clothes and sponsors mid-hunt).
To industry insiders, hunting is an industry, a job. They have a product to sell, whether it is a do-dad from a sponsor or the porn itself.
I'll continue to get magazines for the interesting bits in them and skim the rest; the cost is relatively small. More importantly, I'll continue to enjoy real hunting, with the long wonderful days with little animal movement, the screw-ups and missed opportunities and the times it all comes together to put meat in the freezer.
This year's hunting season is pretty much over for me. I still have a tag and there is time left for muzzle-loader or late gun season, but I happily took a doe a few weeks ago and between that and my antelope I'm set for meat. It was a tougher season than most as for whatever reason I just wasn't seeing as many deer as I often have.
I get several hunting magazines. Some I subscribe to or get through other memberships, and I've recently started to get a few more that I assume are showing up gratas in the hopes I will love them and pay money to continue in the future (I won't).
I enjoy reading magazines early in the morning with my coffee, but I am finding myself reading less and less of the material in the hunting periodicals. There are always a few articles I find compelling or stories of hunts that are interesting, but much of what is written approaches fiction.
Hunting magazines have become analogous to what porn is to real personal relationships.
Too many writers (or hunting personalities/celebrities -ugh), will espouse an ethos that if just xx is done, big bucks will come rolling out of the hills and walk into the crosshairs. Or, if you buy yy product and use zz tactic, the biggest baddest bear in the area will gleefully appear ready to take a bullet.
Pure fiction.
To be fair, I do believe almost every area, no matter how heavily hunted will hold a few impressive animals. But most of us mere mortals are hunting public land or if lucky enough to be on private land, it will still be hunted hard enough that having a decent shot at a decent animal can be an awesome experience. With hard work, time put in, and a lot of luck, most of us mere mortals will have rare opportunities to see animals like the porn stars that grace the glossy pages of the hunting magazines.
I would also like to see more screw-ups admitted, bringing more reality to hunting fiction. Every hunter I know has more moments that end in expletives, than blood.
I don't pay for TV at home, but do occasionally find myself watching the rare hunting show while somewhere else. These are an even more exploitative form of hunting porn. While on a guided hunt several years ago, I found myself talking to a minor hunting celebrity (he was actually a really nice guy). He freely admitted that much of the footage used in the industry is restaged for effect or combined from completely unrelated time lines. I have seen examples of this where lighting changes dramatically from scene to scene, making it appear what happened in a brief period was actually done at much different times and different places (in one example, the hunter must have changed clothes and sponsors mid-hunt).
To industry insiders, hunting is an industry, a job. They have a product to sell, whether it is a do-dad from a sponsor or the porn itself.
I'll continue to get magazines for the interesting bits in them and skim the rest; the cost is relatively small. More importantly, I'll continue to enjoy real hunting, with the long wonderful days with little animal movement, the screw-ups and missed opportunities and the times it all comes together to put meat in the freezer.
Sunday, December 8, 2013
1980-something Ford F150
Ohio got snow yesterday.
It was a fairly significant snow by SW Ohio standards, with the immediate area getting somewhere around 6 inches; there is always drifting which makes determining how much a little inexact.
Where I grew up in Michigan, we got real snow - lake effect snow caused by the air blowing over Lake Michigan and picking up moisture, then dumping it on us. My "real" cars were typically MG's and although I did have a 74&1/2 MGB I drove for several winters, I mostly had junky rear-wheel drive cars to attempt to make it through the frequent deep snows of Michigan winters. Open differential coupled with questionable tires and no engine management meant it wasn't always easy, but still somewhat fun.
While still in college, I bought an older Datsun 620 Truck that I drove for several months. It was a blast to drive but was worse than most vehicles in even moderate snow. Getting started on slippery conditions made things difficult, stopping with questionable drum brakes on all four corners made it scary. I really, really wanted a 4wd truck.
While browsing the classifieds in the newspaper (it was around 1992 so there were no online ads), I saw a dealership that had a four wheel drive F150 for a crazy low price. I drove by it on a Sunday and saw it was pretty rusty, but on par with many of my "winter Vehicles."
Returning the next day I talked to the owner/salesman. He told me that it had a "tick" in the engine. Once started, the tick turned out to be a knock. But the oil pressure was good and the oil didn't look like tar so I wasn't too concerned. I was working at the time as a mechanic and wasn't intimidated by dropping the pan to replace engine bearings.
I told the salesman that I would give him my Datsun and $300. The salesman bawled foul and I said, "OK, thanks. Bye." I wasn't really trying to negotiate, $300 was about all that I had. As I started to leave, he quickly suggested my Datsun and $500. No, $300 and I started to leave - again, not really trying to play hardball. As I got in my truck the salesman came over and said, "OK, $300."
We shook on it and I was to come back the next day with the title and cash. As I left, I realized I didn't have $300 and payday was still a few days away. I was able to scrounge around and come up with the cash. $300 was a lot more then, than it is now...
After buying the truck, I was on top of the world driving home. The bed was totally rusted out, but Duke of 'Brother Love Towing' across the street from work gave me a very heavy steel plate that he had sitting in his property. The front gas tank leaked a little so I nervously tack-welded the steel place down the middle of the bed with several people around me holding fire extinguishers. And, I did put a fire blanket between the fuel tank and the bed. Also, the rear fuel tank was askew from some previous incident and the filling of it was glacially slow.
Turning to the "tick" in the engine, I isolated the noise to the #2 cylinder. Dropping the oil pan (had to remove the oil pump in place and drop it in the pan to get the pan off, replacement is the reverse, but not quite as easy as the drive mechanism is a looong rod that also drives the distributor), I replaced the rod bearings assuming that was the cause of the noise. Knowing I was in trouble when all the bearings looked good, I wasn't too surprised when the noise was unchanged.
I bought a used bedliner and truck box from a guy who turned out to be a former SO of my sister. There was no tailgate, so I fashioned one out of hardware store chain with a welder.
At the end of that first winter, I pulled the heads and found a bad wrist pin on further investigation. Only later did I learn this was a common flaw with the 351 Windsor engine. After reassembly the "tick" was gone, but I must not have got the oil pan on right since it leaked quite a bit of oil. The exhaust had been removed in a questionable manner, and there was only a small attempt to minimize the leaking. While not the intended reason, it did make it sound pretty good.
I loved driving that truck. As my first four wheel drive vehicle, I thought I was indestructible. I would find reasons to go out in the worst snow storms just because it was fun. I used it to hop the curb down the one-way road by my house to save a few seconds of my driving time. In my defense, a street has since been put in the curb-hopping spot so I was just a trend setter.
There are two very memorable events in that truck.
In one, while driving near home on one of those snowy days, I was approaching an intersection with a long line of cars in the cross street. After stopping at the stop sign, I started to pull across the intersection, only to have the woman in the cross street think I was turning in front of her as she quickly pulled forward, blocking my path across the street. I stopped, thought about it for a few seconds, and gunned it. She desperately tried to gain traction in reverse with a look of sheer horror on her face as this ass in a crappy Ford F150 was ready to take her out. However rude she was, I wouldn't do that now.
The second incidence was between college and a nearby town where I was going to buy something. On one long stretch of very snowy road, I blew past a long line of cars going too slow. Cresting a hill, I saw the recycling truck skidding out of a side street on the slippery road. There was no way this was going to end well. I had a glancing blow off of the recycling truck, taking out my mirror and putting a few dents and scratches in my truck. As the impact happened, I looked out the window and saw this large sign on the recycling truck that said 'How's my driving, call...' I ended up in someone's yard. No doubt all the "slow" cars I had passed rightfully had smug feelings as they continued safely on by. I told the Recycler, "I'll forget this happened if you will?" He readily agreed. The dents were new character marks and a little welding put the mirror back on, if in a non-adjustable manner. There are many lessons in life, that wreck taught me slower can sometimes be good. And driving in two-wheel drive, while holding on to four-wheel drive for when stupid happens can be a good tactic.
The picture above is likely the only picture I have of the truck. I don't even remember what year it was, but 1982 sticks in my mind. Nostalgia isn't always painted with a factual brush, but I do sometimes miss that truck, or maybe I just miss my early 20s. I traded in that truck when graduation was in sight as a present to myself on a very nice 1994 F150 - likely my most favorite four-wheeled vehicle I've ever owned.
Where I grew up in Michigan, we got real snow - lake effect snow caused by the air blowing over Lake Michigan and picking up moisture, then dumping it on us. My "real" cars were typically MG's and although I did have a 74&1/2 MGB I drove for several winters, I mostly had junky rear-wheel drive cars to attempt to make it through the frequent deep snows of Michigan winters. Open differential coupled with questionable tires and no engine management meant it wasn't always easy, but still somewhat fun.
While still in college, I bought an older Datsun 620 Truck that I drove for several months. It was a blast to drive but was worse than most vehicles in even moderate snow. Getting started on slippery conditions made things difficult, stopping with questionable drum brakes on all four corners made it scary. I really, really wanted a 4wd truck.
While browsing the classifieds in the newspaper (it was around 1992 so there were no online ads), I saw a dealership that had a four wheel drive F150 for a crazy low price. I drove by it on a Sunday and saw it was pretty rusty, but on par with many of my "winter Vehicles."
Returning the next day I talked to the owner/salesman. He told me that it had a "tick" in the engine. Once started, the tick turned out to be a knock. But the oil pressure was good and the oil didn't look like tar so I wasn't too concerned. I was working at the time as a mechanic and wasn't intimidated by dropping the pan to replace engine bearings.
I told the salesman that I would give him my Datsun and $300. The salesman bawled foul and I said, "OK, thanks. Bye." I wasn't really trying to negotiate, $300 was about all that I had. As I started to leave, he quickly suggested my Datsun and $500. No, $300 and I started to leave - again, not really trying to play hardball. As I got in my truck the salesman came over and said, "OK, $300."
We shook on it and I was to come back the next day with the title and cash. As I left, I realized I didn't have $300 and payday was still a few days away. I was able to scrounge around and come up with the cash. $300 was a lot more then, than it is now...
After buying the truck, I was on top of the world driving home. The bed was totally rusted out, but Duke of 'Brother Love Towing' across the street from work gave me a very heavy steel plate that he had sitting in his property. The front gas tank leaked a little so I nervously tack-welded the steel place down the middle of the bed with several people around me holding fire extinguishers. And, I did put a fire blanket between the fuel tank and the bed. Also, the rear fuel tank was askew from some previous incident and the filling of it was glacially slow.
Turning to the "tick" in the engine, I isolated the noise to the #2 cylinder. Dropping the oil pan (had to remove the oil pump in place and drop it in the pan to get the pan off, replacement is the reverse, but not quite as easy as the drive mechanism is a looong rod that also drives the distributor), I replaced the rod bearings assuming that was the cause of the noise. Knowing I was in trouble when all the bearings looked good, I wasn't too surprised when the noise was unchanged.
I bought a used bedliner and truck box from a guy who turned out to be a former SO of my sister. There was no tailgate, so I fashioned one out of hardware store chain with a welder.
At the end of that first winter, I pulled the heads and found a bad wrist pin on further investigation. Only later did I learn this was a common flaw with the 351 Windsor engine. After reassembly the "tick" was gone, but I must not have got the oil pan on right since it leaked quite a bit of oil. The exhaust had been removed in a questionable manner, and there was only a small attempt to minimize the leaking. While not the intended reason, it did make it sound pretty good.
I loved driving that truck. As my first four wheel drive vehicle, I thought I was indestructible. I would find reasons to go out in the worst snow storms just because it was fun. I used it to hop the curb down the one-way road by my house to save a few seconds of my driving time. In my defense, a street has since been put in the curb-hopping spot so I was just a trend setter.
There are two very memorable events in that truck.
In one, while driving near home on one of those snowy days, I was approaching an intersection with a long line of cars in the cross street. After stopping at the stop sign, I started to pull across the intersection, only to have the woman in the cross street think I was turning in front of her as she quickly pulled forward, blocking my path across the street. I stopped, thought about it for a few seconds, and gunned it. She desperately tried to gain traction in reverse with a look of sheer horror on her face as this ass in a crappy Ford F150 was ready to take her out. However rude she was, I wouldn't do that now.
The second incidence was between college and a nearby town where I was going to buy something. On one long stretch of very snowy road, I blew past a long line of cars going too slow. Cresting a hill, I saw the recycling truck skidding out of a side street on the slippery road. There was no way this was going to end well. I had a glancing blow off of the recycling truck, taking out my mirror and putting a few dents and scratches in my truck. As the impact happened, I looked out the window and saw this large sign on the recycling truck that said 'How's my driving, call...' I ended up in someone's yard. No doubt all the "slow" cars I had passed rightfully had smug feelings as they continued safely on by. I told the Recycler, "I'll forget this happened if you will?" He readily agreed. The dents were new character marks and a little welding put the mirror back on, if in a non-adjustable manner. There are many lessons in life, that wreck taught me slower can sometimes be good. And driving in two-wheel drive, while holding on to four-wheel drive for when stupid happens can be a good tactic.
The picture above is likely the only picture I have of the truck. I don't even remember what year it was, but 1982 sticks in my mind. Nostalgia isn't always painted with a factual brush, but I do sometimes miss that truck, or maybe I just miss my early 20s. I traded in that truck when graduation was in sight as a present to myself on a very nice 1994 F150 - likely my most favorite four-wheeled vehicle I've ever owned.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
The Average American - and kind of a book review
I'm occasionally obsessed by the ordinary and statistics. I am intrigued by the accepted norms and the real norms. This especially comes to light on financial matters and/or when a news report comes out with some statistic that doesn't pass the rapid approximation test.
At various times I'll pour over statistics available online as to wealth, income, poverty, etc. I'm very surprised at what the median household income is in the US (~$51k, I thought it would be higher). I'm also surprised at statistics on poverty in the US. Compared to all of recorded history, the poor in the US are doing pretty well - at least physically. (note: I'm NOT suggesting poverty is good or easy or that income inequality isn't a major issue in the US)
Mostly, I find what is normal (defined as one of the statistical averages) to be fascinating. After pondering this, I found Kevin O'Keefe's book The Average American. As with a lot of books that I read, this was part narrative and part non-fiction informative. The book chronicles Mr. O'Keefe's journey to define and find what and who the average American is.
Many of the tidbits on what is normal in the book are very interesting. At middle-age, I would have believed I eat a lot of peanut butter, but I'm nowhere near the national average (peanut butter has an overly prominent role in the book).
The book is definitely worth reading. His writing style is easy to follow and while it doesn't have the same narrative quality of, say, Bill Bryson his personal journey - both physical and mental - is very interesting. Part of my interest in the subject is due to the fear that being, or becoming, normal is equal with becoming boring. I think I'm wrong on that. However, I do believe there is significant overlap between the subset of the population that is normal and the subset that is boring. I will still say that being boring equates with a life not lived to its potential - at least.
In the book, Mr. O'Keefe defines a set of questions to qualify who is the average American. Some of the questions appear to be overly trivial, but it is his list. I do think there is one fatal flaw in his list in that some questions taken in combination are terribly exclusive. As example, the average American must live in the state they were born in and live within 100 miles of the ocean. Out of the stated 140 questions used, these two are very exclusive as 60% of the population lives within the state born in and 40% live by the ocean (source: NOAA). Taken randomly, these two questions out of the 140 remove ~76% of the population. Additionally, these two taken together mean that anyone born in Illinois, would not be normal despite the Illinois borders Lake Michigan, a large navigable waterway (the coasts are heavily populated due to historic reasons of trade and reliance on water which are less relevant now). He doesn't address what would happen if an individual was born in Connecticut, spent all but the last few years in Iowa, then moved back to Connecticut not to be close to "home" but because that was where the job was.
At one point in the book, he ascribes that perhaps the most ordinary American should not meet every criteria to remain normal as being too normal is not normal. But, this appears to be a passing idea that is not ultimately used.
In the end, the author must whittle down to his version of the average American somehow and the way he gets there is terribly interesting despite the flaws. I can't help but wonder what would happen if Mr. O'Keefe were to bump into Sarah Vowell on the road and the two would have become a traveling American Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (hmmmm, peanut butter again).
One very interesting bit of information from the book was a vignette about a NY Times magazine written by Camille Sweeney that found on interviewing people who made around the median income, all had recently bought a new car, a boat, a widescreen TV, a vacation cottage, a pool, or had a pricey family vacation. Additionally, even most of the poor had some "fun money." No matter where someone is in the income spectrum, there appears to be something left over for what is beyond the needs. Said another way, everyone seems to live near their means. Or, more money doesn't buy more happiness (but I bet it makes being miserable more fun).
In the end, the personal narrative makes any flaw in methodology an academic exercise. After finishing the book, I excitedly went to the web site listed in the book only to find it a thin site of praise for the book. I was hoping for more in depth statistics on his questions. This lead me to the web site for the Census Bureau which is endlessly filled with easily available information on Americans! Many of these data are easy to browse on subsequent pages on the Bureau's Web Site. How could I have not known this was there?
What I was most missing from the book and web site, was a discrete and complete list of all 140 questions he used for his search. I would have loved if his web site would have these in quiz format to define the users "averageness" based on the questions. I found other sites that do this based on a different set of questions, but after investing time in the book, it wasn't what I was looking for.
Below is a set of questions I was able to glean from the book. Since this is my interpretation of his list, I don't know if this is plagerism or not. Very few people ever read this blog, so I won't worry about such things... Besides, even with this, how the author got to the questions is worth the read.
Despite the exclusivity of some of the questions, assign one point for each question that agrees with the norm. The O'Keefe Average Quotient (OAQ) can then be calculated by dividing the number of points by the total number I could define from the list (139). The closer the value is to one, the more normal the tester is:
My OAQ is 0.762. I am not sure if that makes me normal. I hope it doesn't make me boring.
At various times I'll pour over statistics available online as to wealth, income, poverty, etc. I'm very surprised at what the median household income is in the US (~$51k, I thought it would be higher). I'm also surprised at statistics on poverty in the US. Compared to all of recorded history, the poor in the US are doing pretty well - at least physically. (note: I'm NOT suggesting poverty is good or easy or that income inequality isn't a major issue in the US)
Mostly, I find what is normal (defined as one of the statistical averages) to be fascinating. After pondering this, I found Kevin O'Keefe's book The Average American. As with a lot of books that I read, this was part narrative and part non-fiction informative. The book chronicles Mr. O'Keefe's journey to define and find what and who the average American is.
Many of the tidbits on what is normal in the book are very interesting. At middle-age, I would have believed I eat a lot of peanut butter, but I'm nowhere near the national average (peanut butter has an overly prominent role in the book).
The book is definitely worth reading. His writing style is easy to follow and while it doesn't have the same narrative quality of, say, Bill Bryson his personal journey - both physical and mental - is very interesting. Part of my interest in the subject is due to the fear that being, or becoming, normal is equal with becoming boring. I think I'm wrong on that. However, I do believe there is significant overlap between the subset of the population that is normal and the subset that is boring. I will still say that being boring equates with a life not lived to its potential - at least.
In the book, Mr. O'Keefe defines a set of questions to qualify who is the average American. Some of the questions appear to be overly trivial, but it is his list. I do think there is one fatal flaw in his list in that some questions taken in combination are terribly exclusive. As example, the average American must live in the state they were born in and live within 100 miles of the ocean. Out of the stated 140 questions used, these two are very exclusive as 60% of the population lives within the state born in and 40% live by the ocean (source: NOAA). Taken randomly, these two questions out of the 140 remove ~76% of the population. Additionally, these two taken together mean that anyone born in Illinois, would not be normal despite the Illinois borders Lake Michigan, a large navigable waterway (the coasts are heavily populated due to historic reasons of trade and reliance on water which are less relevant now). He doesn't address what would happen if an individual was born in Connecticut, spent all but the last few years in Iowa, then moved back to Connecticut not to be close to "home" but because that was where the job was.
At one point in the book, he ascribes that perhaps the most ordinary American should not meet every criteria to remain normal as being too normal is not normal. But, this appears to be a passing idea that is not ultimately used.
In the end, the author must whittle down to his version of the average American somehow and the way he gets there is terribly interesting despite the flaws. I can't help but wonder what would happen if Mr. O'Keefe were to bump into Sarah Vowell on the road and the two would have become a traveling American Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (hmmmm, peanut butter again).
One very interesting bit of information from the book was a vignette about a NY Times magazine written by Camille Sweeney that found on interviewing people who made around the median income, all had recently bought a new car, a boat, a widescreen TV, a vacation cottage, a pool, or had a pricey family vacation. Additionally, even most of the poor had some "fun money." No matter where someone is in the income spectrum, there appears to be something left over for what is beyond the needs. Said another way, everyone seems to live near their means. Or, more money doesn't buy more happiness (but I bet it makes being miserable more fun).
In the end, the personal narrative makes any flaw in methodology an academic exercise. After finishing the book, I excitedly went to the web site listed in the book only to find it a thin site of praise for the book. I was hoping for more in depth statistics on his questions. This lead me to the web site for the Census Bureau which is endlessly filled with easily available information on Americans! Many of these data are easy to browse on subsequent pages on the Bureau's Web Site. How could I have not known this was there?
What I was most missing from the book and web site, was a discrete and complete list of all 140 questions he used for his search. I would have loved if his web site would have these in quiz format to define the users "averageness" based on the questions. I found other sites that do this based on a different set of questions, but after investing time in the book, it wasn't what I was looking for.
Below is a set of questions I was able to glean from the book. Since this is my interpretation of his list, I don't know if this is plagerism or not. Very few people ever read this blog, so I won't worry about such things... Besides, even with this, how the author got to the questions is worth the read.
Despite the exclusivity of some of the questions, assign one point for each question that agrees with the norm. The O'Keefe Average Quotient (OAQ) can then be calculated by dividing the number of points by the total number I could define from the list (139). The closer the value is to one, the more normal the tester is:
- US or DC citizen
- Lived in the same home for five years
- Resident of native state
- Resides in nation's average community (ambiguous)
- Family is extremely or very important
- High school graduate
- In paid labor force or working towards it
- At least one married couple in the home
- Has offspring
- Regularly in bed before midnight
- Believes in God
- Is Christian
- Is respectful of others religions
- Attends church at least once a month
- Religion is very important in own life
- Is respectful of all races
- Annual movie-goer
- Lives in owner-occupied home
- Resides in one house (one unit - detached)
- Has direct access to one or two motor vehicles
- Home has garage or carport
- Has a driver's license
- Has two to four people residing in the home
- Regularly wears seat belt
- Household has discretionary income
- Is in full-time labor force or retired from it
- Has at least one pet
- Is not trying to be nationally known
- Is satisfied with the way things are going in personal life
- Supports current abortion laws
- Believes abortion is wrong
- Supports stricter enforcement of environmental laws
- Describes self as very or fairly happy
- Believes money can't buy happiness
- Has home valued between $100k and $300k
- Participates in recycling
- Has fired a gun
- Believes in the right to bear arms
- Is against the public use of semi-automatic weapons
- Is in favor of registration or waiting lists for gun owners
- Believes gambling is an acceptable entertainment choice
- Has gambled money on at least one game of chance in the last year
- Household has craft or hobby
- Donates money to charity
- Gives time to charity annually
- Has net worth between $30k and $300k
- Lives where there is at least 0.1" of snow annually
- Lives where average annual temperature is between 45 and 65 degrees F
- Is between 18 and 53 years old
- Spends most time indoors
- Gets moderate exercise weekly
- Has health insurance
- Walks under own power
- Weighs 135 to 205 pounds
- Lives in urbanized or suburban area
- Resides on zero to 2 acres
- Has a private lawn
- Supports US troops
- Drinks soda
- Drinks coffee (regularly or occasionally)
- Has an electric coffee maker
- Eats bread weekly
- Believes music can bring family closer together (ambiguous)
- Has a stereo in the home
- Wears glasses and/or contacts to correct vision
- Has all five senses
- Can read English
- Can speak English fluently
- Community mirrors racial/ethnic make-up of the nation (ambiguous)
- Life impacted by drugs or alcohol
- Opposes legalization of marijuana for recreational use
- Supports use of pot for medicine
- Has visited the ocean
- Lives within 100 miles of the ocean
- Lives in the Eastern Time Zone (guess this means some people are sometimes normal)
- Has consumed alcohol
- Considers homosexuality an acceptable lifestyle
- Has a color TV (do they make black and white anymore?)
- Has cable (presumably this means satellite as well?)
- Has DVD and/or VCR
- Commonly watches TV daily
- Household's per capita income is between $15k and $75k
- Primary weekday destination is within 5 miles of home (coming from the midwest, I'm not sure I believe this)
- Primary mode of transportation is the privately owned motor vehicle
- Home has a porch/deck/patio/etc.
- Has outdoor grill at home
- Eats meat (red and white)
- Has one to three registered voters in the household
- Lives on a local road
- Household files federal income taxes
- Household files state income taxes
- Pays a sales tax
- Eats ice cream at least once a month
- Lives within two miles of a public park
- Uses recreational facilities annually
- Chief local politician is a Democrat
- Local governing council is mostly Democratic
- Reads local newspaper daily
- Has read or started to read one book within the last year
- Uses a landline phone
- Uses mobile phone on a regular basis
- Home is within range of cell service
- Believes friends are extremely or very important
- Home has a paved parking area to his garage or carport
- Favorite way to spend the evening is in the home
- Home is between 10 and 50 years old
- Home has between 4 and 6 living purpose rooms
- Grew up within 50 miles of current home
- Has a kitchen
- Has a clothes washer
- Has a clothes dryer
- Has an automatic dishwasher
- Has at least one full bathroom
- Brushes teeth daily
- Visits the dentist annually
- Showers daily
- Has a Christmas tree every year
- Has a credit card
- Has an ATM card
- Has household credit card debt
- Uses the internet
- Has played computer or video games in the last year
- Is a football fan
- Is a baseball fan
- Political viewpoints are a 3, 4 or 5 on a 7-point scale
- Owns jeans
- Has done financially better than parents
- Has at least one living parent
- Has at least one living sibling
- Represented by at least one Democratic US Senator
- Represented by a Republican House member
- Takes annual vacation time
- Has a listed phone number
- Eats at McDonald's annually
- Lives within three miles of a McDonald's
- Lives within 20 minutes of a Wal-Mart
- Shops at Walmart annually
- Is between 5'3" and 5'10.5"
- Lives in the middle majority of the nation's populated areas (ambiguous)
- Note: There is supposed to be 140, but something was lost in Kansas...read the book and that will make sense.
My OAQ is 0.762. I am not sure if that makes me normal. I hope it doesn't make me boring.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Forced Through the Cracks
Lets start with what this is not. This is not a rant against the Obama or any Presidential Administration. This is also not a rant against poverty. There are others who already do too much of that. This is an opinion after watching the current mayhem over the new health care law go into effect.
While I think that politics made the current health care law hopeless complicated, this is also not a whine about the new law. It is the current law. As an aside, for all the problems the health care website has had I do find it somewhere between hilarious and comforting to know that three guys created The Health Sherpa to do what a whole government bureaucracy could not do (interviewed on the news yesterday, they said it "was a little tough..."). I used The Health Sherpa to look up rates in my area and they were surprisingly low. I'm still not sure that makes me a believer, but if those numbers are correct then maybe there is hope!
The news media has surprisingly not shied away from reporting that many people who have perfectly acceptable plans will be losing them. The response has varied over time, but one of the responses was along the lines of, it is only 5% of the people. That statement is what will always be wrong with the Federal Government. The government plays in numbers, big numbers. The government will do what it thinks it can within those numbers to change, maybe to help. In effect, the government defines what the average person is (or more realistically, a few average people) and then targets towards that average. If anyone falls outside of that average, they must first conform. Ever tried to get help for a special situation in any bureaucracy?
This can be seen in the long-term federal response to poverty. Using realistic statistics and definitions, the federal government spends about $500 billion per year on poverty - this is a pretty easy number to come by using web searches and throwing away the skewed numbers used by the nutjobs on both the far left and right.
That is enough cash to lift every one of the 45 million Americans in poverty out of poverty. There are real and political reasons why that would never be sustainable, but the numbers in this case don't lie.
Part of the reason this money will never change the status quo is because the enormity of the federal government is so horribly inefficient. That much money can't be sent to Washington and doled out again without some loss at every transaction. Additionally, that money is spread throughout many departments all with their own fiefdoms and inefficiencies. It is good politics though.
The other reason this will never make real change is it is targeted at a predefined population. That money goes to help the "average" poor person. The people that don't fit that predefined mold are on their own. The farther a group or individual is away from the predefined target, the less likely help will be real. It is part of the reason that so many government programs target the cities, with more people, the average looks like it is there. Poverty in rural America is an afterthought.
The solution to this isn't the states, as too many of them work in the same way. The solution isn't large charitable organizations, they are targeting the same subgroups based on the same numbers (and read through the financials of the United Way). The solution is local. Unfortunately, local government is too strapped and at risk of political whim.
This leaves local charitable organizations to pick up all the pieces left over; all the "only 5%" out there.
There but for the grace of God go I - and those admirable organizations deserve as much help as they can get.
While I think that politics made the current health care law hopeless complicated, this is also not a whine about the new law. It is the current law. As an aside, for all the problems the health care website has had I do find it somewhere between hilarious and comforting to know that three guys created The Health Sherpa to do what a whole government bureaucracy could not do (interviewed on the news yesterday, they said it "was a little tough..."). I used The Health Sherpa to look up rates in my area and they were surprisingly low. I'm still not sure that makes me a believer, but if those numbers are correct then maybe there is hope!
The news media has surprisingly not shied away from reporting that many people who have perfectly acceptable plans will be losing them. The response has varied over time, but one of the responses was along the lines of, it is only 5% of the people. That statement is what will always be wrong with the Federal Government. The government plays in numbers, big numbers. The government will do what it thinks it can within those numbers to change, maybe to help. In effect, the government defines what the average person is (or more realistically, a few average people) and then targets towards that average. If anyone falls outside of that average, they must first conform. Ever tried to get help for a special situation in any bureaucracy?
This can be seen in the long-term federal response to poverty. Using realistic statistics and definitions, the federal government spends about $500 billion per year on poverty - this is a pretty easy number to come by using web searches and throwing away the skewed numbers used by the nutjobs on both the far left and right.
That is enough cash to lift every one of the 45 million Americans in poverty out of poverty. There are real and political reasons why that would never be sustainable, but the numbers in this case don't lie.
Part of the reason this money will never change the status quo is because the enormity of the federal government is so horribly inefficient. That much money can't be sent to Washington and doled out again without some loss at every transaction. Additionally, that money is spread throughout many departments all with their own fiefdoms and inefficiencies. It is good politics though.
The other reason this will never make real change is it is targeted at a predefined population. That money goes to help the "average" poor person. The people that don't fit that predefined mold are on their own. The farther a group or individual is away from the predefined target, the less likely help will be real. It is part of the reason that so many government programs target the cities, with more people, the average looks like it is there. Poverty in rural America is an afterthought.
The solution to this isn't the states, as too many of them work in the same way. The solution isn't large charitable organizations, they are targeting the same subgroups based on the same numbers (and read through the financials of the United Way). The solution is local. Unfortunately, local government is too strapped and at risk of political whim.
This leaves local charitable organizations to pick up all the pieces left over; all the "only 5%" out there.
There but for the grace of God go I - and those admirable organizations deserve as much help as they can get.
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Molybdenum
42
The atomic number of molybdenum. "Ya can't get to molybdenum if ya start with Molly." gaffs John Twist.
42
The nominal mass of one rare isotope of Calcium. Trumpery if there ever was such a thing.
42
It is nearly impossible to see the number without a reference to The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy as 42 is the "Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, and Everything." It is a bit sad, but I haven't actually read the entire series of books. I think I'm supposed to like Sci Fi, but I really don't.
42
The angle rounded to whole degrees for which a rainbow appears (yeah, that was from Wikipedia).
42
The number of gallons of oil in a Barrel (kind of political).
42
"Rule Forty-two. All persons more than a mile high to leave the court."
Everybody looked at Alice.
"I'm not a mile high," said Alice.
"You are," said the King.
"Nearly two miles high," added the Queen.
"Well, I shan't go, at any rate," said Alice: "besides, that's not a regular rule: you invented it just now."
"It's the oldest rule in the book," said the King.
"Then it ought to be Number One," said Alice.
October 28 breaks the 300 days barrier for days in the year.
It is humorous at this age, to look back at the late 1970s and early 1980s when "backmasking" of music was assumed real. To be fair, it is real as there are numerous (and obvious) uses of this often for satirical or artistic political effect, but the hysteria that surrounded this now looks almost lunatic. The real examples of this aren't hidden, pushing evil thoughts into corruptible minds. Think Pink Floyd's Empty Spaces and join the fan club.
Backmasking even made an entrance on the TV Show Night Court. Some of the details are forever gone, but at the end, Judge Harry asks a Rocker accused of backmasking if his music contains hidden backward messages to which the Rocker positively admits that "Starve a cold, feed a fever." is contained reversed in one song.
The attack against music for backmasking satanic and evil messages was coupled with the ever ongoing dislike of current music by people who were my own age now. ACDC's "Big Balls" probably has little in the way of social value, but is frankly more humorous than anything else. I'm not a fan of "rap" which has rebranded itself as "hiphop" but "Damn it Feels Good to be a Gangsta" is kind of funny. I can't help but find it exceedingly ridiculous that "Classic Rap" internet radio stations exist. Classic Rock is perfectly plausible (and mainstream).
Looking back at being a kid in the late 1970s, our church's dislike of music made the warnings so real. Two of the biggest targets of this were Styx and Electric Light Orchestra. Styx was targeted largely because the name references the River in Greek Mythology that separates Heaven and Hell? Their music was pretty tame compared to Iron Maiden. The idea that ELO was sending satanic messages backward in their music seems even less likely - where would it go? Both of these groups have largely stood the test of time, Styx more so than ELO and Styx seems absolutely tame in hindsight. Dennis DeYoung, a member of Styx even toured as part of Jesus Christ Superstar later.
Our church youth group taught us that KISS stood for Knights In Satan's Service. But, what can't be cool about four guys dressed like monsters screaming rock music?
Our parents are wrong. Not everything we learn is right. All facts are not true. That is what is great about getting older.
and happy birthday Julia Roberts.
The atomic number of molybdenum. "Ya can't get to molybdenum if ya start with Molly." gaffs John Twist.
42
The nominal mass of one rare isotope of Calcium. Trumpery if there ever was such a thing.
42
It is nearly impossible to see the number without a reference to The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy as 42 is the "Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, and Everything." It is a bit sad, but I haven't actually read the entire series of books. I think I'm supposed to like Sci Fi, but I really don't.
42
The angle rounded to whole degrees for which a rainbow appears (yeah, that was from Wikipedia).
42
The number of gallons of oil in a Barrel (kind of political).
42
"Rule Forty-two. All persons more than a mile high to leave the court."
Everybody looked at Alice.
"I'm not a mile high," said Alice.
"You are," said the King.
"Nearly two miles high," added the Queen.
"Well, I shan't go, at any rate," said Alice: "besides, that's not a regular rule: you invented it just now."
"It's the oldest rule in the book," said the King.
"Then it ought to be Number One," said Alice.
October 28 breaks the 300 days barrier for days in the year.
It is humorous at this age, to look back at the late 1970s and early 1980s when "backmasking" of music was assumed real. To be fair, it is real as there are numerous (and obvious) uses of this often for satirical or artistic political effect, but the hysteria that surrounded this now looks almost lunatic. The real examples of this aren't hidden, pushing evil thoughts into corruptible minds. Think Pink Floyd's Empty Spaces and join the fan club.
Backmasking even made an entrance on the TV Show Night Court. Some of the details are forever gone, but at the end, Judge Harry asks a Rocker accused of backmasking if his music contains hidden backward messages to which the Rocker positively admits that "Starve a cold, feed a fever." is contained reversed in one song.
The attack against music for backmasking satanic and evil messages was coupled with the ever ongoing dislike of current music by people who were my own age now. ACDC's "Big Balls" probably has little in the way of social value, but is frankly more humorous than anything else. I'm not a fan of "rap" which has rebranded itself as "hiphop" but "Damn it Feels Good to be a Gangsta" is kind of funny. I can't help but find it exceedingly ridiculous that "Classic Rap" internet radio stations exist. Classic Rock is perfectly plausible (and mainstream).
Looking back at being a kid in the late 1970s, our church's dislike of music made the warnings so real. Two of the biggest targets of this were Styx and Electric Light Orchestra. Styx was targeted largely because the name references the River in Greek Mythology that separates Heaven and Hell? Their music was pretty tame compared to Iron Maiden. The idea that ELO was sending satanic messages backward in their music seems even less likely - where would it go? Both of these groups have largely stood the test of time, Styx more so than ELO and Styx seems absolutely tame in hindsight. Dennis DeYoung, a member of Styx even toured as part of Jesus Christ Superstar later.
Our church youth group taught us that KISS stood for Knights In Satan's Service. But, what can't be cool about four guys dressed like monsters screaming rock music?
Our parents are wrong. Not everything we learn is right. All facts are not true. That is what is great about getting older.
and happy birthday Julia Roberts.
Sunday, October 20, 2013
The New Becoming Less New
It has been nearly three years since purchasing the "new" house, and almost two since selling the old one.
I was reminded of this last night, as a local tv channel is now airing reruns of the show Community. Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas was one of the first shows I watched after moving in, late 2010. I had never seen the show before, but after a day of unpacking and organizing, I took the evening off, turned on the tv and saw claymation. Being a fan of any kind of stop-motion animation, I watched it and subsequently started watching Community. Some episodes are mediocre at best, but for an unknown reason, I still watch the show when I see it on. Yesterday was the third time I've seen Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas and there were still several parts of it I didn't remember.
In the years since moving in, the elixir of newness of the house has tempered somewhat. The newness of the smells, walking in and feeling like I'm invading someone else's home is gone. But just about every time I think about moving in, I still feel really happy with the change. I loved the unwritten history of the old Victorian house and the secrets and demons it probably still contains, but I enjoy more the low maintenance and easier living in the new house. The energy costs and hardedness of the new house are dramatically better. Still, when I turned the heat on for the first time this year, the geothermal system doesn't have the same warm comfortable feeling that was given by the old fuel oil burner firing for the first time.
The houses largest selling feature is still the best. Sitting on 10 acres, the expansive view of the "back yard" is wonderful. Gone is the wildness of the unkempt back 5 acres and the ugly pile of left over bricks. Replaced by a mini-farm that my honest self knows I'll never do anything with.
Coming home is now part of the ordinary mundane, but that is OK. I don't miss the noise at the old house, sitting a few feet from the road or down the street from that hootenany bar. The neighbors here shoot shotguns often, but there has only been one day I can think of that it was at a level which approached an unacceptable level of annoyance. At times I think the shooting approaches unsafe behavior, but opinions on this will vary. I'm not downrange (the larger farm behind is more often and apparently they accept that risk).
I sometimes miss the smell of the place when I first walked in the unlocked house to pick up the keys from the kitchen island - that was a magical event. The trade-off for this is being completely comfortable "at home." I don't miss the stress of selling the old house after moving out. Every time I think about the self-induced horror of that first year, I say a prayer of thanks.
I still find leftovers of the original owners. I've swept the basement at least three times and each time I find new toys in places I am absolutely sure were swept previously. The only possible conclusion is that left alone and unloved in the dark, these toys are reproducing. Barbie accessories and Legos seem to be very prolific breeders. Perhaps I should store some ammunition on the basement floor to see if it will similarly increase and help deal with the ongoing shortage.
Things have changed over the last three years. I no longer ritually read the paper at the kitchen island as I really enjoyed for that first year. The paper kept being delivered later and later until there was no point to keep getting it. I don't sit outside as much as I did that first year either; work hours have dramatically increased since moving in and the free time obtained by life simplification is largely gone. Nature abhors a vacuum.
But, there is no question that after three years that the change was a large part of some of the overall best and most dramatic life changes. Despite a stressful and unpleasant current working environment, despite a dog sick with kidney disease. Despite hemorrhaging money for the last few months, despite the fact that I have a complete inability to grow even weed-like trees. Despite the idea that this probably doesn't match the description of a dream house and this area of the country holds nothing other than a job. Life is good enough.
I was reminded of this last night, as a local tv channel is now airing reruns of the show Community. Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas was one of the first shows I watched after moving in, late 2010. I had never seen the show before, but after a day of unpacking and organizing, I took the evening off, turned on the tv and saw claymation. Being a fan of any kind of stop-motion animation, I watched it and subsequently started watching Community. Some episodes are mediocre at best, but for an unknown reason, I still watch the show when I see it on. Yesterday was the third time I've seen Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas and there were still several parts of it I didn't remember.
In the years since moving in, the elixir of newness of the house has tempered somewhat. The newness of the smells, walking in and feeling like I'm invading someone else's home is gone. But just about every time I think about moving in, I still feel really happy with the change. I loved the unwritten history of the old Victorian house and the secrets and demons it probably still contains, but I enjoy more the low maintenance and easier living in the new house. The energy costs and hardedness of the new house are dramatically better. Still, when I turned the heat on for the first time this year, the geothermal system doesn't have the same warm comfortable feeling that was given by the old fuel oil burner firing for the first time.
The houses largest selling feature is still the best. Sitting on 10 acres, the expansive view of the "back yard" is wonderful. Gone is the wildness of the unkempt back 5 acres and the ugly pile of left over bricks. Replaced by a mini-farm that my honest self knows I'll never do anything with.
Coming home is now part of the ordinary mundane, but that is OK. I don't miss the noise at the old house, sitting a few feet from the road or down the street from that hootenany bar. The neighbors here shoot shotguns often, but there has only been one day I can think of that it was at a level which approached an unacceptable level of annoyance. At times I think the shooting approaches unsafe behavior, but opinions on this will vary. I'm not downrange (the larger farm behind is more often and apparently they accept that risk).
I sometimes miss the smell of the place when I first walked in the unlocked house to pick up the keys from the kitchen island - that was a magical event. The trade-off for this is being completely comfortable "at home." I don't miss the stress of selling the old house after moving out. Every time I think about the self-induced horror of that first year, I say a prayer of thanks.
I still find leftovers of the original owners. I've swept the basement at least three times and each time I find new toys in places I am absolutely sure were swept previously. The only possible conclusion is that left alone and unloved in the dark, these toys are reproducing. Barbie accessories and Legos seem to be very prolific breeders. Perhaps I should store some ammunition on the basement floor to see if it will similarly increase and help deal with the ongoing shortage.
Things have changed over the last three years. I no longer ritually read the paper at the kitchen island as I really enjoyed for that first year. The paper kept being delivered later and later until there was no point to keep getting it. I don't sit outside as much as I did that first year either; work hours have dramatically increased since moving in and the free time obtained by life simplification is largely gone. Nature abhors a vacuum.
But, there is no question that after three years that the change was a large part of some of the overall best and most dramatic life changes. Despite a stressful and unpleasant current working environment, despite a dog sick with kidney disease. Despite hemorrhaging money for the last few months, despite the fact that I have a complete inability to grow even weed-like trees. Despite the idea that this probably doesn't match the description of a dream house and this area of the country holds nothing other than a job. Life is good enough.
Sunday, October 6, 2013
MGB Alloy Cylinder Head
The MGB has spent too much of the year in some sort of triage. I can't complain too much. Other than the usual small quirks, tune-ups and maintenance, there has been minimal amount of work done on the car in the last several years. It was due for a good once over on a few key systems.
The actual issues started in late 2012. After the car was parked for the year in the fall, I noticed a small amount of fluid from near the left rear tire. A quick investigation revealed brake fluid and a subsequent closer look on a rare warm winter day showed that the wheel cylinder was leaking prolifically.
I have rebuilt the rear brake cylinders a few times and there was some pitting. Generally, pitting outside of the immediate area of the rubber seal is OK, but I decided not to rebuild again this time. While one rear steel line had been replaced several years ago, the other had not and while removing the brake cylinder, it broke.
After ordering everything needed from Moss Motors, the car was on the road in time for good weather in the spring. Unfortunately, it wasn't as ready as I had hoped. The rear brakes were running hot. Since I tend to snug up adjusters too much, I backed them off figuring that was the end of the issue. After a few more drives, it was obvious something else was wrong. At first I was afraid it was the silly little thin pin inside the master cylinder that is designed to draw the rear master cylinder piston forward but because I was able to get some fluid out of the bleeders, I ruled that out.
I never did get the satisfaction of finding out what was the root cause of the sticking rear brakes, but either gunk in the system or internal break-down of the rear flexible brake hose (between the body and rear axle) was impeding the flow of fluid. Foot force on the brake pedal was sufficient to send pressure to the rear brakes, but there was insufficient force from the springs to push it back and the brakes stayed slightly engaged. Unfortunately, the heat degraded the rubber seals in the brakes and I ended up rebuilding the almost new cylinders.
Because every issue required troubleshooting, ordering and waiting for parts followed by finding time to repair, this took much of the spring and early summer season to sort out.
The title of the post has nothing to do with brakes...don't worry, I'm getting to that.
With the brakes sorted out, the car decided to run poorly.
MGB cylinder heads crack. They crack a lot. I have about 6 B-series cylinder heads and they are all cracked. The only saving grace for the poor design around the #2 and #3 overheated exhaust valves sitting next to each other is that MGBs can also run rather well with moderately cracked heads. As long as the cracks don't cause valves to get pulled into the cylinders or valves to burn, small cracks can be tolerated.
On the current MGB, I knew the head was cracked and the engine tended to run on three cylinders for a few seconds after a cold start. I knew this was likely due to the crack extended between the combustion chamber and the water jacket, but after those few seconds, the car ran well, there was no white smoke and all four cylinders had decent compression.
Around the time the brakes were sorted out, the cylinder head gave up the ghost. The car ran on 3 cylinders intermittently regardless of running temperature. And other telltale signs of water mixing with combustion were present.
What to do? I had four options:
The actual issues started in late 2012. After the car was parked for the year in the fall, I noticed a small amount of fluid from near the left rear tire. A quick investigation revealed brake fluid and a subsequent closer look on a rare warm winter day showed that the wheel cylinder was leaking prolifically.
I have rebuilt the rear brake cylinders a few times and there was some pitting. Generally, pitting outside of the immediate area of the rubber seal is OK, but I decided not to rebuild again this time. While one rear steel line had been replaced several years ago, the other had not and while removing the brake cylinder, it broke.
After ordering everything needed from Moss Motors, the car was on the road in time for good weather in the spring. Unfortunately, it wasn't as ready as I had hoped. The rear brakes were running hot. Since I tend to snug up adjusters too much, I backed them off figuring that was the end of the issue. After a few more drives, it was obvious something else was wrong. At first I was afraid it was the silly little thin pin inside the master cylinder that is designed to draw the rear master cylinder piston forward but because I was able to get some fluid out of the bleeders, I ruled that out.
I never did get the satisfaction of finding out what was the root cause of the sticking rear brakes, but either gunk in the system or internal break-down of the rear flexible brake hose (between the body and rear axle) was impeding the flow of fluid. Foot force on the brake pedal was sufficient to send pressure to the rear brakes, but there was insufficient force from the springs to push it back and the brakes stayed slightly engaged. Unfortunately, the heat degraded the rubber seals in the brakes and I ended up rebuilding the almost new cylinders.
Because every issue required troubleshooting, ordering and waiting for parts followed by finding time to repair, this took much of the spring and early summer season to sort out.
The title of the post has nothing to do with brakes...don't worry, I'm getting to that.
With the brakes sorted out, the car decided to run poorly.
MGB cylinder heads crack. They crack a lot. I have about 6 B-series cylinder heads and they are all cracked. The only saving grace for the poor design around the #2 and #3 overheated exhaust valves sitting next to each other is that MGBs can also run rather well with moderately cracked heads. As long as the cracks don't cause valves to get pulled into the cylinders or valves to burn, small cracks can be tolerated.
On the current MGB, I knew the head was cracked and the engine tended to run on three cylinders for a few seconds after a cold start. I knew this was likely due to the crack extended between the combustion chamber and the water jacket, but after those few seconds, the car ran well, there was no white smoke and all four cylinders had decent compression.
Around the time the brakes were sorted out, the cylinder head gave up the ghost. The car ran on 3 cylinders intermittently regardless of running temperature. And other telltale signs of water mixing with combustion were present.
What to do? I had four options:
- Put on another cracked head from my stash. I really didn't want to do this. To be honest, my current stash of MGB parts needs a going through and the ones I know I'll never use need to go to the scrap yard. This probably should include most of my cylinder heads.
- Look for a buy a decent used head. Let me say this again, MGB cylinder heads cracked. As these cars continue to age, the cast iron is becoming more brittle. The later heads are capable of handling non-leaded gas, but they also tend to be weaker.
- Buy a new cast iron head. MGB cylinder heads crack. One would hope that newer castings are going to last longer. And, new castings typically have hardened seats and bronze silicon valve guides.
- Buy one of the new fangled alloy cylinder heads.
3 and 4 were both viable options. While an alloy head won't crack, there is the real issue of corrosion from dissimilar metals and the fact that aluminum cylinder heads are known to have to potential to warp.
New cast iron heads can be found from around $800 to around $1200. Researching suggests there are a few manufacturers and they are often sold replaceably with each other. Message boards and blog posting suggest these are pretty good heads, although still prone to cracking on overheating. Surprisingly, I was having a hard time finding good rebuilt used cylinder heads for less from reputable sources.
New alloy cylinder heads can be purchased from about $900 to a whopping $2500. Research suggests that there are two manufacturers of these heads. The units sourced form the UK are crazy expensive but there is a lot of bragging about the few horse power they give. I wasn't interested in horse power as the MGB is just a daily nice summer day driver. The other source is Pierce Manifolds in California. Pierce using offshore castings for the heads. As with any supplier, offshore castings can be great or mediocre. Message board postings from a few years ago suggest a bad lot of castings, or possibly it was just people being pickier than can be justified. It appears Pierce supplies cylinder heads for third party sales by several very reputable British car parts companies lending credibility to the product. As an aside, the 5-speed conversion also appears be made by Pierce. The third party suppliers tend to mark up from Pierce's advertised price by 40% - that says something as well.
Ultimately, I decided to try something new and go with the alloy cylinder head directly from Pierce. The most prolific complaints about the alloy cylinder heads seem to be that they are not ported and polished to race specifications. I just wanted a head that was reliable and the alloy will definitely transmit heat more efficiently than cast iron.
I ordered the head as well as a Payen head gasket kit. It arrived well packaged and I was surprised how light it actually was. There was some residue and metal shavings in the head, but generous use of solvent and compressed air cleaned the head quickly.
The old head was removed form the engine. Surprisingly, given the level of water contamination I could not see the water jacket crack. Usually, a bit of cleaning can work to show MGB cylinder head cracks in the usual spots. Not unsurprisingly, the #3 cylinder was "steam-cleaned" due to the water introduction from the crack.
The new alloy cylinder head was installed after generously lubing the cylinder head studs to help stop corrosion. Although, the MGB engine probably oozes enough oil to make this superfluous. Everything bolted up as it should except the manifold. Since the alloy is a little weaker than the cast iron, all threads are tapped coarse where as the cast iron has fine threads for the intake/exhaust studs. New coarse/fine studs were sourced and the installation completed. Everything bolted up as it should have. One nice benefit was that the exhaust which had loosed considerably of the years was retightened with new exhaust donuts resulting in a much quieter drive.
Initial driving was good. Seat of the pants driving suggests power level was similar enough to the old head to be ignored. There were not issues with valve clearance with the alloy head and retorqueing (without first loosening the head nuts) resulted in minimal movement. Sometime next spring, I'll slightly loosen each nut and retorque, one at a time. Payen doesn't recommend this, but Pierce says heads should be retorqued cold.
One scary thing is the spark plug holes are very tight. Judicious use of antisieze on the spark plug threads and around the base of the plug body will hopefully allow removal. I suspect after a few times, removal will get easier.
The only issue I had was engine heat. The car ran warmer than it used to. Checking, double checking and triple checking the timing and carbs could find no driveability cause. I've always had questions on the radiator on this car, I know the baffle in the upper tank is loose and I've always suspected it was restricting flow. I also question whether all the down tubes were free and clear.
As I didn't want to ruin the head or test any theories on the aluminum alloy warping, I decided to invest in a new radiator. The local reputable radiator shop wanted $400 to recore the existing radiator with a very high quality core. This was probably the best option, but for that price, I could get one of the wizz bang Wizard Cooling horizontal-flow aluminum racing radiators. I was able to find another radiator from a semi-local shop for less than $200. For that price, I was willing to try - especially since it was listed as "made as the original in the UK." Apparently that does not mean made in the UK since the sticker on the unit once it arrived proudly announced made it Turkey.
In my experience, Turkish manufacturing is all or nothing. Either it is great, or terrible with very little inbetween. The radiator seemed well-made despite having a slight reduction in cooling fins.
I held on to my existing radiator since I may have it recored some day, but the new Turkish radiator dropped right in and installed quickly. Initially, the car still ran warm, but after a few drives, it is now running at a normal temperature. I suspect a combination of removing all the air pockets as well as having the new head wear in has helped.
(Note the patented Faygo coolant recovery system - it works better than you might think and is cheaply replaced when it gets dirty)
There has been several hundred miles on the car so far since this adventure was completed. The car runs as good as it has since I got it. The temperature gauge will continue to be carefully monitored but I hope that the considerable investment this year will result in many more years with minimal work.
In calculus, there is a principle of indefinite integrals where one can take a line from a mathematical formula and spin it around an axis and then calculate the surface area and volume of the resultant solid. For some equations, it is possible to have infinite surface area but a finite volume. I often see older cars as comparable. A car has a finite volume, a box can be drawn around the car where the car is completely inside. However, the ability for things to break within that finite volume seems to be infinite.
Should the Car-ma dictate, I will be back at work with greasy hands soon.
Update 8-June-2014:
After many miles on the car now with the new head and radiator, the car runs as good as it has in the last 20 years and there does not seem to be any tendency to run hot or overheat. I'm very pleased with the performance of both the aluminum alloy cylinder head and the new Turkish radiator.
As an aside, I also had to change the water pump. No doubt the (albeit small) leak from the existing pump was due to gunk getting stirred up by the head and radiator swap. Two bolts were severely rusted in place and broke during the swap - this required the housing to need to be cracked around the bolts to get the old pump off. The only hiccup here was that new bolts purchased form Moss Motors were coarse threaded - for a company that does so many things well, these little continuing problems from Moss are absolutely infuriating when staring at a disassembled car. Luckily I was able to locate two bolts in my stash to replace these.
Safety Fast!
Update 8-June-2014:
After many miles on the car now with the new head and radiator, the car runs as good as it has in the last 20 years and there does not seem to be any tendency to run hot or overheat. I'm very pleased with the performance of both the aluminum alloy cylinder head and the new Turkish radiator.
As an aside, I also had to change the water pump. No doubt the (albeit small) leak from the existing pump was due to gunk getting stirred up by the head and radiator swap. Two bolts were severely rusted in place and broke during the swap - this required the housing to need to be cracked around the bolts to get the old pump off. The only hiccup here was that new bolts purchased form Moss Motors were coarse threaded - for a company that does so many things well, these little continuing problems from Moss are absolutely infuriating when staring at a disassembled car. Luckily I was able to locate two bolts in my stash to replace these.
Safety Fast!
Sunday, September 29, 2013
A Tattoo After Riding My Motorcycle Through 49 States
At 10:16 on August 27, 2013 I crossed the Connecticut River into Vermont. This completed my multi-year quest to ride my motorcycle through the 49 states accessible by land. It was early in a long slog of a day, so there was only a short stop to take a few pictures before continuing west for the day. Realization of the goal built over the rest of the days ride and I was elated by the time I stopped for the night in Western New York.
Completing this meant something to me. But, to say this was remarkable would be misleading. Lots of people have done this quicker, in one or two trips. Lots of people have done it and spent more time in all the states. A few of my forays into passing states have lasted little more than a couple hours. Lots of people have made the trip on bikes that could be considered more challenging. I have respect for people who have toured extensively on a Harley Davidson Sportster or on a Honda CBR1000RR. I have unapologetically and thoroughly enjoyed my touring bikes.
I’m just an average guy and this was my adventure. Many memories of the states are burned into the long-term storage or my brain and I can always recall some of the experiences vividly. There are an equal number of roads that are forever gone to the ether.
Most my my more recent trips are preserved in perpetuity by writing and blogging on a near-daily time schedule while on the road. This has allowed a more honest preservation of the true nature of motorcycle travel; the good and the bad. In retrospect, it is almost all good. Many states were surprisingly interesting. A few states seem to go out of their way to ensure they have little in the way of redeeming qualities.
In many circles, tattoos and motorcycles go together like, well, tattoos and motorcycles. A casual stroll around Daytona Bike week or anywhere in the Black Hills region near the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally would demonstrate this. I’m not sure the same correlation exists within the average Goldwing Crowd, although it may within a few subcircles.
Since forming the idea that it may be possible for me to ride a motorcycle through all land-connected states, I’ve also tossed around the idea that once completed, a tattoo would properly commemorate the event.
Surprising even myself, I’ve followed through on this. I had several ideas on how to properly show this in ink form. I’ve seen people who have a map tattoo and filled in states they have been to, but that wasn’t quite right. I thought about a tattooed road with all the states in order crossed as an option, but since I’ve concentrated travel on some of my favorite areas, it didn’t seem the right option. Another idea of the outline of the US with the number 49 inside or below was just too boring.
One of the great things about motorcycle travel is the seemingly infinite amount of time for thought and my thoughts continued to stray to what the tattoo might look like as I rolled down the road. I kept coming back to the idea, that the shape of the united states can almost be a motorcycle shape. Or, more specifically, allowing for a little discretion on what the shape of a motorcycle should be plus discretion on the exact shape of the country, the two could be melded together. Florida obviously looks like front forks, Maine makes a great headlight, the bulk of the country makes a faired body, Alaska almost looks like a helmet. In my mind, this worked.
The States-Motorcycle would need a rider. It couldn’t be me, nobody should be immortalized while still alive - not even me. There is always a chance, no matter how small that living people can do unexpected things and sully an otherwise good name. People like Tiger Woods (golfer turned publicized sex fiend) and Jerry Springer (Cincinnati Mayer turned smut-show host) being two well-publicized examples.
I’m a dog person and more specifically a beagle person. Since 1993, I’ve had at least two beagles and at times as many as 4. A beagle riding the States-Motorcycle would work well.
Once back at home after the August 27 border crossing, I started shopping around for a tattoo shop. I found this terribly intimidating.
First, some of these places are not too friendly. I can only assume that the full-body tattoo and piercing crowd is where they make their money. In fairness, I’m sure there are a lot of people who chicken out so there is a reluctance to spend time and energy on someone who will never become a paying client.
Second, a tattoo is nearly permanent. If it is wrong, it may be able to be fixed, but once inked, the commitment is real.
Third, there is a health aspect. I’m pretty convinced that most tattoo shops operate safely, but infection (or worse) is not an impossibility.
One place stuck out. Or rather, the tattoo artist Steve stuck out. He understood what I was after and had a pretty realistic no BS attitude. On my first visit to his shop, he was working with two inebriated college students who were impaired to a point of annoyance. But, he suggested coming back and trying to draw something up together.
On a subsequent visit, we set to making some drawings, but it was impossible to go from what I saw in my brain to what he could draw with his hand. Some of Steve’s artwork on the wall is impressive, but going from my brain to his talent was probably asking too much.
I have no artistic ability, but I could envision what I wanted. My answer was a considerable amount of time spent on my computer. By mixing tools available in PowerPoint and Photo Pos Pro along with clip art and images pilfered through Google Images searches, I was able to put together a pretty good facsimile of what I was after. Using clip art in tattoo design is pretty awful, but it was a very powerful enabler to ensure the final design would actually work. To the best of my knowledge no images used had any stated copyright issues.
Many iterations later, I had what I thought I wanted in a final design. It looked like I had imagined in my head. A few things were needed to make it work. First, the US is too “tall” and I had to squish the country in the north-south direction to keep the “motorcycle” from looking too much like a scooter. Second, while Alaska as a helmet has merit, I couldn’t make it work without looking like the dog had a salad on his head; Alaska became a sissy bar with luggage flying off it.
Emailing the image to Steve, his response was, “I think we can make this work!”
Two important changes were needed. First, the design was not cohesive and it needed to be more cartoon-like. I was obviously not going for some sinister looking biker-dude tattoo (maybe the next one).
Second, while I originally liked the multi-colors of the states, Steve suggested this would look very busy and be near impossible in the smaller New England states I had just been through. Steve suggested some shading (and he was right) while the dog should retain its coloring.
When it came time to actually get the tattoo, I was on freak-out level 7. My brain wouldn’t shut up - is this the right thing to do? Will it look good in the end? Will the states actually look like the US? Will I get hepatitis? Will it actually look like a motorcycle? And, doing a Google Images search on “Bad Tattoos” a few hours before leaving was probably a mistake.
Once the actual tattoo process started, I quickly felt calm about the whole thing. I could easily see the shape coming together well. Getting tattooed didn’t feel good, but it really didn't hurt either. What was odd was that in some spots I really didn’t feel anything. In other spots very nearby there was some pain. I’m not sure I would want to do an all-day tattoo job, but the actual tattoo process was very tolerable.
As the design came together I really started to like the way it looked. Steve was right on the colors and the shading adds a lot. With the overall shape, two wheels, handlebar and dog position, the motorcycle is evident. With the overall shape, and the state outlines, the map is obvious. Mission accomplished and I couldn’t be happier.
I’m not sure what is next.
Motorcycle-wise, I’ve got enough travel ideas to last five lifetimes. My life is (statistically) half over so I guess I just need more vacation. One family member suggested I could now slow down and spend more than a night or two in one spot. That is probably not going to happen (and no I do not see a trailer in my future). Needless to say, completing the goal of riding through 49 states does not mean an end to two-wheeled travel. I may have to find room on my leg for Hawaii - although probably a rental.
I don’t think I’ll become the next tattooed monster, but having gone through the process and seeing the results, I understand why people who have tattoos, often have more than one. I’m not sure the next tattoo will be for something quite so momentous, but I’ll also not commit to saying my dog-states-motorcycle tattoo will be my only one.
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Motorola Moto X Phone
It was time for a new phone. I often think it appears that to younger people today, phones are what cars were to me and my friends. I still see a phone as a tool to do a job. Since I am not a fan of talking on the phone, I see it more as a very handy mobile computer that can make the rare call.
My Motorola Atrix 4G had been faithfully serving me for over two years. But, with the prevalence of LTE network, I wanted a faster phone. I live in the sticks so often my phone is my internet connection (there is no DSL or Cable where I live).
Several phones looked intriguing, but the three that interested me the most where the HTC One Mini, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini and the Motorola Moto X. I was mostly interested in the two mini phones due to the size, not the slightly reduced cost. The much larger phones with five-inch screens etc. are just too large.
As it turned out, the HTC One Mini became available first. AT&T has the best coverage in my area and I was happy to stay with them. When I looked at the HTC Mini, I thought it should not be called the Mini. It really should be called the HTC One Still-Very-Large as this phone is only barely smaller than the HTC One. This was fine, of the three phones, the HTC seemed to have the least going for it.
Samsung has been building very good phones, but the S4 Mini was ruled out by default. First, Samsung's bloatware is too much. Some of the extra features may be nice, but a lot of them are just extra bulk. Second, there seems to be some resistance to selling the S4 Mini in the US. It was available on Amazon and a few reputable Ebay places, but not from AT&T. I would love to see an S4 Mini Google Play Edition. That would be a dynamite combination of pure Android, small size, etc. I have heard no rumors saying this was eminent.
This left the Motorola Moto X. I can't say I'm disappointed with this. As details leaked about the phone, many features seemed at least as if thought went into them. I received emails from both Motorola and AT&T while on vacation saying the Moto X was available. Once back at home, I headed to the AT&T Store.
As an aside, I may appear kind of crazy for going with the Motorola as my Atrix had a few peculiarities. Notably, when I used the mobile hotspot, the battery drain was acceptably high due to the second radio, etc. However, once the hotspot was turned off, the battery drain remained high until rebooted. Sometimes the battery drain increased after turning off the hotspot until the reboot. Also, the phone liked to sleep in and once in a while it would not automatically restart data after going in sleep mode for the night. Data started immediately after any action on the phone. I strongly suspect this second issue was due to a SIM card which was not behaving normally and may not be due to the phone at all.
These two issues where minor grievances and had my Atrix been an LTE phone, I would not even think of getting rid of it.
I had the choice of buying the Moto X in black or white and getting the instant gratification of going home with it. Or, I could buy a small card, and order my "customized" phone on Motorola's web site. I use that term lightly since the customization is largely cosmetic. I wasn't really that interested in the customization, but decided since I wasn't in a hurry, that was the route I would go.
Once back at home, I logged on the Motorola's website and made my phone. I opted for a blue back, silver accent, black front. I didn't care about the wallpaper since it was going to be changed anyway. I also opted not to have the message when I turned it on. I wished I had it say, "Hey Dude" every time it goes on. Oh well.
Surprisingly, Motorola said it was going to take almost a week to get the phone (it was a holiday weekend which no doubt contributed). This is definitely not instant gratification. As a happy surprise, the phone was shipped FedEx the next day and I received it the day after.
The phone looked just like I ordered it and it came with a free Skip, which is an NFC Tag that can be used to unlock the phone without hitting buttons. I haven't found usefulness for this yet, but will probably set it up at some point in the future; who knows, maybe it has utility.
After navigating around the much newer version of Android (Jelly Bean), I got the phone set up the way I like it. I took this as an opportunity to not install many apps that I didn't use or weren't that useful on the Atrix. There were a few glitches along the way, the built-in email program kept loosing sync which was frustrating so I installed MailDroid (this is a fantastic mail program - I'm not sure why I didn't just install it right away).
The phone has many nice features. First, even though I wasn't too enamored with the customization, it was nice being able to pick my own colors. The screen is large and bright and everything runs smoothly. There has been some criticism that the phone is "only" 720p. I'm not sure I'll believe that the most eagle-eyed person out there can tell the difference between 720 and 1080 on a 5 inch screen. The real difference is barely detectable on anything smaller than the larger flatscreen TVs. The touchscreen is very responsive without being too touchy.
One of the things I like the most about the phone is the Active Notifications. I thought I would miss the blinky light of my old phones, but all I have to do is lift the phone to look at it and I can see not only if I have a notification, but how many of what kind. And, I can preview them as well. This is a really nice feature.
I haven't used the camera too much yet, but the camera takes pictures that are as good as should be expected from a cell phone. The quick access to the phone by twisting the camera as if using a screwdriver works well, but I'm not sure it is really that much faster since I have a shortcut to the camera on the first desktop anyway. This can also leave the camera on if not careful.
Battery life of the new phone is really good. So far, I can easily get a full day of use without recharging. To illustrate, last night I forgot to plug in my phone after being on for well over a day. It was down to less than 10% this morning, but still functioning showing that 36 hours is possible.
My SO got the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active near the same time I got the Moto X and this allows for a pretty fair comparison. Between the two, the S4 comes with more functionality, but it doesn't seem as well thought out and much of the extra functions can be overcome with free apps if desired. Perhaps more importantly, the performance of the two phones is different. Since I live in the sticks, my reception can be spotty at times. The Atrix got reasonably good HSPA+ signal. I was worried the Moto X wouldn't be as good.. However, the Moto X got better reception than the Atrix, and even gets a reasonably good LTE signal most of the time. The S4 Active got an OK signal in the right spots, but the performance was not nearly as good as the Moto X. For friends who have IPhones, however their radios suck and are stuck with weak HSPA+ signals or (gulp) Edge.
There are a few things I'm not to enamored with on the Moto X.
I still think the phone is too large. I actually like the size of the 4-inch screened Atrix better. The Atrix fits easily in the pocket and unobtrusive in the Seidio holster. The Moto X is slightly larger but can still fit OK in the pocket. I'm working around this by not getting a case for it - at least for now. I'm hoping a silicone bikini skin may be available in the future.
The other thing that I have to work around is the shape. The curved shape of the phone fits in the hand great. I'm surprised what a difference the subtle changes makes for the ergonomics. But, the curved bottom makes it wobbly on a flat surface. I often keep my phone on the kitchen counter. When I get a notification and check it, the wobbliness is a bit annoying.
I've only had the phone for about a week, but am very happy with it so far. It gets great reception, looks good, and feels good in the hand.
Speed of the phone is noticeably better than my older Atrix and better than the S4 Active in the house.
Also, with the Motorola trade-up program, Motorola will buy back my Atrix for $100. And the Moto X is made in the USA.
Good things all around.
A belated edit, after the September 10, 2013 Apple Announcements:
Not to beat on Apple too hard, but they just announced the iPhone 5S and 5C. Let see...
5S main features include a fingerprint scanner - my Atrix had this functionality and it worked well (but wasn't my choice for unlocking) so a bit of a ho hum.
The A7 processor to do many functions like monitor motion, etc. with less battery power - sounds a lot like the processors built into the Moto X that allows Active Notifications and automatically turning on driving mode if desired.
More built-in Apps - read bloatware (and Apple is less friendly about turning off some of this crap).
The 64-bit processor is a pretty big deal, if a bit unsung. I'll have to wait until someone I know gets one of these to see if there are real improvements to the radio in areas with weaker LTE signals. I'll put money on this being a more fundamental issue.
And the 5C: New colors. OK, neat - not sure if that is a major selling point.
Cheaper: Apple is very confused on the definition of cheaper.
Again, not to beat on Apple too much, but the features on this version of the iPhone really aren't that new. And in this case, the Fruit Company is not quite the trend setter it was several years ago.
My Motorola Atrix 4G had been faithfully serving me for over two years. But, with the prevalence of LTE network, I wanted a faster phone. I live in the sticks so often my phone is my internet connection (there is no DSL or Cable where I live).
Several phones looked intriguing, but the three that interested me the most where the HTC One Mini, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini and the Motorola Moto X. I was mostly interested in the two mini phones due to the size, not the slightly reduced cost. The much larger phones with five-inch screens etc. are just too large.
As it turned out, the HTC One Mini became available first. AT&T has the best coverage in my area and I was happy to stay with them. When I looked at the HTC Mini, I thought it should not be called the Mini. It really should be called the HTC One Still-Very-Large as this phone is only barely smaller than the HTC One. This was fine, of the three phones, the HTC seemed to have the least going for it.
Samsung has been building very good phones, but the S4 Mini was ruled out by default. First, Samsung's bloatware is too much. Some of the extra features may be nice, but a lot of them are just extra bulk. Second, there seems to be some resistance to selling the S4 Mini in the US. It was available on Amazon and a few reputable Ebay places, but not from AT&T. I would love to see an S4 Mini Google Play Edition. That would be a dynamite combination of pure Android, small size, etc. I have heard no rumors saying this was eminent.
This left the Motorola Moto X. I can't say I'm disappointed with this. As details leaked about the phone, many features seemed at least as if thought went into them. I received emails from both Motorola and AT&T while on vacation saying the Moto X was available. Once back at home, I headed to the AT&T Store.
As an aside, I may appear kind of crazy for going with the Motorola as my Atrix had a few peculiarities. Notably, when I used the mobile hotspot, the battery drain was acceptably high due to the second radio, etc. However, once the hotspot was turned off, the battery drain remained high until rebooted. Sometimes the battery drain increased after turning off the hotspot until the reboot. Also, the phone liked to sleep in and once in a while it would not automatically restart data after going in sleep mode for the night. Data started immediately after any action on the phone. I strongly suspect this second issue was due to a SIM card which was not behaving normally and may not be due to the phone at all.
These two issues where minor grievances and had my Atrix been an LTE phone, I would not even think of getting rid of it.
I had the choice of buying the Moto X in black or white and getting the instant gratification of going home with it. Or, I could buy a small card, and order my "customized" phone on Motorola's web site. I use that term lightly since the customization is largely cosmetic. I wasn't really that interested in the customization, but decided since I wasn't in a hurry, that was the route I would go.
Once back at home, I logged on the Motorola's website and made my phone. I opted for a blue back, silver accent, black front. I didn't care about the wallpaper since it was going to be changed anyway. I also opted not to have the message when I turned it on. I wished I had it say, "Hey Dude" every time it goes on. Oh well.
Surprisingly, Motorola said it was going to take almost a week to get the phone (it was a holiday weekend which no doubt contributed). This is definitely not instant gratification. As a happy surprise, the phone was shipped FedEx the next day and I received it the day after.
The phone looked just like I ordered it and it came with a free Skip, which is an NFC Tag that can be used to unlock the phone without hitting buttons. I haven't found usefulness for this yet, but will probably set it up at some point in the future; who knows, maybe it has utility.
After navigating around the much newer version of Android (Jelly Bean), I got the phone set up the way I like it. I took this as an opportunity to not install many apps that I didn't use or weren't that useful on the Atrix. There were a few glitches along the way, the built-in email program kept loosing sync which was frustrating so I installed MailDroid (this is a fantastic mail program - I'm not sure why I didn't just install it right away).
The phone has many nice features. First, even though I wasn't too enamored with the customization, it was nice being able to pick my own colors. The screen is large and bright and everything runs smoothly. There has been some criticism that the phone is "only" 720p. I'm not sure I'll believe that the most eagle-eyed person out there can tell the difference between 720 and 1080 on a 5 inch screen. The real difference is barely detectable on anything smaller than the larger flatscreen TVs. The touchscreen is very responsive without being too touchy.
One of the things I like the most about the phone is the Active Notifications. I thought I would miss the blinky light of my old phones, but all I have to do is lift the phone to look at it and I can see not only if I have a notification, but how many of what kind. And, I can preview them as well. This is a really nice feature.
I haven't used the camera too much yet, but the camera takes pictures that are as good as should be expected from a cell phone. The quick access to the phone by twisting the camera as if using a screwdriver works well, but I'm not sure it is really that much faster since I have a shortcut to the camera on the first desktop anyway. This can also leave the camera on if not careful.
Battery life of the new phone is really good. So far, I can easily get a full day of use without recharging. To illustrate, last night I forgot to plug in my phone after being on for well over a day. It was down to less than 10% this morning, but still functioning showing that 36 hours is possible.
My SO got the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active near the same time I got the Moto X and this allows for a pretty fair comparison. Between the two, the S4 comes with more functionality, but it doesn't seem as well thought out and much of the extra functions can be overcome with free apps if desired. Perhaps more importantly, the performance of the two phones is different. Since I live in the sticks, my reception can be spotty at times. The Atrix got reasonably good HSPA+ signal. I was worried the Moto X wouldn't be as good.. However, the Moto X got better reception than the Atrix, and even gets a reasonably good LTE signal most of the time. The S4 Active got an OK signal in the right spots, but the performance was not nearly as good as the Moto X. For friends who have IPhones, however their radios suck and are stuck with weak HSPA+ signals or (gulp) Edge.
There are a few things I'm not to enamored with on the Moto X.
I still think the phone is too large. I actually like the size of the 4-inch screened Atrix better. The Atrix fits easily in the pocket and unobtrusive in the Seidio holster. The Moto X is slightly larger but can still fit OK in the pocket. I'm working around this by not getting a case for it - at least for now. I'm hoping a silicone bikini skin may be available in the future.
The other thing that I have to work around is the shape. The curved shape of the phone fits in the hand great. I'm surprised what a difference the subtle changes makes for the ergonomics. But, the curved bottom makes it wobbly on a flat surface. I often keep my phone on the kitchen counter. When I get a notification and check it, the wobbliness is a bit annoying.
I've only had the phone for about a week, but am very happy with it so far. It gets great reception, looks good, and feels good in the hand.
Speed of the phone is noticeably better than my older Atrix and better than the S4 Active in the house.
Also, with the Motorola trade-up program, Motorola will buy back my Atrix for $100. And the Moto X is made in the USA.
Good things all around.
A belated edit, after the September 10, 2013 Apple Announcements:
Not to beat on Apple too hard, but they just announced the iPhone 5S and 5C. Let see...
5S main features include a fingerprint scanner - my Atrix had this functionality and it worked well (but wasn't my choice for unlocking) so a bit of a ho hum.
The A7 processor to do many functions like monitor motion, etc. with less battery power - sounds a lot like the processors built into the Moto X that allows Active Notifications and automatically turning on driving mode if desired.
More built-in Apps - read bloatware (and Apple is less friendly about turning off some of this crap).
The 64-bit processor is a pretty big deal, if a bit unsung. I'll have to wait until someone I know gets one of these to see if there are real improvements to the radio in areas with weaker LTE signals. I'll put money on this being a more fundamental issue.
And the 5C: New colors. OK, neat - not sure if that is a major selling point.
Cheaper: Apple is very confused on the definition of cheaper.
Again, not to beat on Apple too much, but the features on this version of the iPhone really aren't that new. And in this case, the Fruit Company is not quite the trend setter it was several years ago.
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Hitting a Deer with my Motorcycle
I hit a deer a few days ago. This was the third time it has happened in the last 10 years. I know people who have hit two deer in one day so I guess I should count myself lucky.
The first deer strike was the worst. A bit more to the horror, in 1997 I bought a brand new Harley Davidson Sportster Sport. I loved it; tearing around the county, loud pipes and all. But, it was not the most comfortable motorcycle, especially for 2-up riding. I was pretty sure I wanted to start touring and while setting up the Sportster Sport for touring would be possible, it would be expensive and change the bike into something that it wasn't.
I had a small issue with an almost-new front tire on the Sportster so I went to the dealership to have them take a quick look at it. On their showroom floor was a new Superglide T-Sport. This was an un-Harley Harley. It had textile quick-detachable bags, a small fiberglass fairing and adjustable windshield. It was intriguing, but after talking with the dealership owner about it I didn't give it much thought.
By the time I got home however, my brain was screaming, "You need this motorcycle, you can still tear around the county and use it for touring!" I called them the next day and a day or two after that, my Sportster was gone, replaced with the Harley Davidson Superglide T-Sport.
Six days later, with 261 miles on the clock, I was on my way to work on a very cool morning. It was still dark out and as I was going past a wooded area, I saw a flash out of the corner of my eye, then the image of a deer in my peripheral vision.
WOP!
I relived that wop many, many times over the ensuing months.
I kept the bike up initially, but I think what happened is I ended up going over the deer after the initial impact and pushing her forward. I recall looking to my left and seeing my 6-day-old bike sliding down the road with sparks flying off of it. I put my hand down to get up and that was when I realized I was also sliding down the road. After ensuring my slide down the road was done, I got up a few seconds later. My leg hurt a lot and my pants were shredded; my leg was bleeding, but not too bad. I walked over to my bike, unsure of what to do next.
A minute or so later the first vehicle on the scene was a school bus filled with little kids, all staring at this motorcycle guy standing next to a dead bloody deer and a wrecked bike. I don't know why, but I told the bus driver to just go on, don't bother calling the cops. The couple cars behind the bus didn't stop (thanks), but the first car headed south was a volunteer fireman. He made sure I wasn't dying and helped me right the bike before driving me a mile down the road to the firehouse. An ambulance came and checked me out. I didn't think I was too bad so they put bandages on my leg and were off again.
It took forever for the police to show up as I live in a remote part of the county with little road patrol. When he did show up, I asked if I could come back later in the day and shoot the dead deer out of spite. The tow truck was the same guy who had recently towed a car due to a brake problem. I told him I never wanted to see him again (jokingly) and he relayed that was why he sometimes hates his job.
A few hours later, my leg had swollen to nearly twice its normal size. I drove myself to the Emergency Room where about $4000 later, the only thing broken on me was my big toe on my left foot. There was significant strain/sprain in my left leg which was the more significant problem. Oddly, the damage to my Superglide was almost exactly the same in dollar amount - including cleaning all the deer blood off of it. The only good outcome was that I wasn't too fond of the "Diamond Ice" color (aka, generic silver). Since every colored part was destroyed except the rear fender, I bought a factory painted fender and changed the color to a dark blue. The dark blue against the black wrinkle finish on much of the bikes accessories looked ten times better.
Several years later, I hit a second (yes, 2) deer on my motorcycle. The situation was very similar, about 10 miles away from the location of the first strike. This time I was on my Honda ST1300. I was on my way to work again, and a deer ran across the road, followed closely by a second. I grabbed all the brake I could and got the bike slowed down some.
WOPARUNCH!
This time the outcome was different. I kept the bike up but assumed that the front end was trashed. The deer had died much like her sister a few years earlier after a flying twist across the road. I turned around and headed the short distance back home and pulled into the pole barn. There was a lot of hair and blood on the bike, but the only actual damage was a small crack on the windshield which remains there to this day. My truck was incapacitated at the time due to a perforated transmission cooling line so I got back on the bike and rode to work, blood, hair and all.
The damage was negligeable to my truck on this most recent incident. Both the deer and I got out of it with little more than a real scare. I popped my fog light back into the bumper of my Tacoma and the deer ran away. Apparently he didn't learn his lesson as I saw him two days later on the side of the road dead, about 100 yards away from where I hit him. His large growing rack in full velvet was beautiful. I was going to stop and take the antlers, but it was gone the next day.
When my crazy motorcycle guy personality collides with my gentleman farmer lifestyle, bad things can happen. I'll count my blessings on all three of these incidences.
The first deer strike was the worst. A bit more to the horror, in 1997 I bought a brand new Harley Davidson Sportster Sport. I loved it; tearing around the county, loud pipes and all. But, it was not the most comfortable motorcycle, especially for 2-up riding. I was pretty sure I wanted to start touring and while setting up the Sportster Sport for touring would be possible, it would be expensive and change the bike into something that it wasn't.
I had a small issue with an almost-new front tire on the Sportster so I went to the dealership to have them take a quick look at it. On their showroom floor was a new Superglide T-Sport. This was an un-Harley Harley. It had textile quick-detachable bags, a small fiberglass fairing and adjustable windshield. It was intriguing, but after talking with the dealership owner about it I didn't give it much thought.
By the time I got home however, my brain was screaming, "You need this motorcycle, you can still tear around the county and use it for touring!" I called them the next day and a day or two after that, my Sportster was gone, replaced with the Harley Davidson Superglide T-Sport.
Six days later, with 261 miles on the clock, I was on my way to work on a very cool morning. It was still dark out and as I was going past a wooded area, I saw a flash out of the corner of my eye, then the image of a deer in my peripheral vision.
WOP!
I relived that wop many, many times over the ensuing months.
I kept the bike up initially, but I think what happened is I ended up going over the deer after the initial impact and pushing her forward. I recall looking to my left and seeing my 6-day-old bike sliding down the road with sparks flying off of it. I put my hand down to get up and that was when I realized I was also sliding down the road. After ensuring my slide down the road was done, I got up a few seconds later. My leg hurt a lot and my pants were shredded; my leg was bleeding, but not too bad. I walked over to my bike, unsure of what to do next.
A minute or so later the first vehicle on the scene was a school bus filled with little kids, all staring at this motorcycle guy standing next to a dead bloody deer and a wrecked bike. I don't know why, but I told the bus driver to just go on, don't bother calling the cops. The couple cars behind the bus didn't stop (thanks), but the first car headed south was a volunteer fireman. He made sure I wasn't dying and helped me right the bike before driving me a mile down the road to the firehouse. An ambulance came and checked me out. I didn't think I was too bad so they put bandages on my leg and were off again.
It took forever for the police to show up as I live in a remote part of the county with little road patrol. When he did show up, I asked if I could come back later in the day and shoot the dead deer out of spite. The tow truck was the same guy who had recently towed a car due to a brake problem. I told him I never wanted to see him again (jokingly) and he relayed that was why he sometimes hates his job.
A few hours later, my leg had swollen to nearly twice its normal size. I drove myself to the Emergency Room where about $4000 later, the only thing broken on me was my big toe on my left foot. There was significant strain/sprain in my left leg which was the more significant problem. Oddly, the damage to my Superglide was almost exactly the same in dollar amount - including cleaning all the deer blood off of it. The only good outcome was that I wasn't too fond of the "Diamond Ice" color (aka, generic silver). Since every colored part was destroyed except the rear fender, I bought a factory painted fender and changed the color to a dark blue. The dark blue against the black wrinkle finish on much of the bikes accessories looked ten times better.
Several years later, I hit a second (yes, 2) deer on my motorcycle. The situation was very similar, about 10 miles away from the location of the first strike. This time I was on my Honda ST1300. I was on my way to work again, and a deer ran across the road, followed closely by a second. I grabbed all the brake I could and got the bike slowed down some.
WOPARUNCH!
This time the outcome was different. I kept the bike up but assumed that the front end was trashed. The deer had died much like her sister a few years earlier after a flying twist across the road. I turned around and headed the short distance back home and pulled into the pole barn. There was a lot of hair and blood on the bike, but the only actual damage was a small crack on the windshield which remains there to this day. My truck was incapacitated at the time due to a perforated transmission cooling line so I got back on the bike and rode to work, blood, hair and all.
The damage was negligeable to my truck on this most recent incident. Both the deer and I got out of it with little more than a real scare. I popped my fog light back into the bumper of my Tacoma and the deer ran away. Apparently he didn't learn his lesson as I saw him two days later on the side of the road dead, about 100 yards away from where I hit him. His large growing rack in full velvet was beautiful. I was going to stop and take the antlers, but it was gone the next day.
When my crazy motorcycle guy personality collides with my gentleman farmer lifestyle, bad things can happen. I'll count my blessings on all three of these incidences.
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