One of my favorite quotes is from Bruce Lee.

I am staying at an apartment in China for a few weeks.  The other day the circuit breaker to my air conditioner popped.  I knew I smelt a funny smell coming from the breaker panel!  It finally went altogether last night.  Here is a picture of the breaker that the electrician pulled from the panel.  When I saw this circuit breaker I knew I had a good visual and needed to write up a lab note for my web site.  I saw the electrician do something smart after he pulled the breaker, he went and tightened up the screw terminal's for all the other breakers.

So whats the story surrounding aluminum wiring?
Many houses that were built in the late 1960's and early 1970's in the US were built with aluminum wiring.  Aluminum wiring was used because copper starting becoming very expensive around 1965.  Copper is now so expensive that my friend Alan Triolo, who is an electrician, makes some significant pocket change by going to renovation site's, ripping out the old copper wiring and selling it (with permission of course).  Another story comes to mind.  A few years ago the state of Nevada was having a serious vandalism problem.  The street lighting in some of desert locations was not working.  It seems vandals were ripping out the copper wiring from the street lighting to sell.

One final story.  When I was younger my family moved from Brooklyn to a nice, new, suburban home.  That house had aluminum wiring.  It was not until the 1970's that the issues surrounding aluminum wiring became well known.  When we found we had aluminum wiring we lived with a lot of anxiety.  Let me first try to calm you if your house has aluminum wiring.  I have not been able to find know cases of fires caused by aluminum wiring.  The few real problems seem to be related to incorrect installations.  On the other hand there are real issues to be concerned with.  You may not be able to get insurance unless this issue is taken care of.  The potential for a real problem is very real as my recent experience shows.

You do not need to rip out all the wiring in your home, though that is a possible solution.  Get a licensed electrician and talk over the alternatives.  He needs to go through the electrical devices in your home and make sure that they are rated to connect to Aluminum wire at a minimum.  Better yet, he can pigtail the ends of the aluminum wire with copper wire.  And finally he should tighten any loose or suspicious terminal connections on all Aluminum rated devices.

It is funny how a little ingenuity can trump a bucket of money.  At lunch the other day we were discussing marketing and were reminiscing about a couple of marketing campaigns we were involved with.  We had a new product we wanted people to know about.  Our company, the company I helped start, had very little money as startups frequently do. Well, we got our first big order for this product and the company president decided that we should 'let the money ride. In his terminology that meant to plow the money back into a mail campaign to push sales. We hired graphic artists and had printers make a couple 100,000 brochures in a 5 color process. We purchased mail lists. We put postage on them and sent them out. Then we waited. The whole thing cost us a small fortune. Almost all the money we had. We took the advice of the marketing company we hired.  We were not forced to do this. We were all in agreement. After about a month it became apparent that no one was going to call us. Is this what they mean when they say it's lonely at the top The material they developed was very professional, had some great graphics, but did not inspire.

There is a happy ending to this story. Like I said we spent almost all the money. We did have a few dollars left over for another tiny mailing. This time I had my friend Felecia Biondo draw a small black/white cartoon.  (the postcard above is for illustrative purposes only, it was not our's) It was really hokey.  It was not inappropriate (like this is).  It had two frames, in the first were two guy's with balloons over their heads near a water cooler.  They were saying something like "I wish there was someone who could solve my motion control problems." In the second frame I asked Felicia to draw an attractive secretary with a balloon saying "Why not call the boys at Intellisys.  They can help".  There was something interesting about the characters in the way she drew them.  After reading, your eyes actually went back to read again.  The message was simple and clear.

Guess what!  We got quite a few responses from that cheap, 15¢, black and white postcard!  Never let a lack of money stop you.

There were a number of companies showing Ultra Wide Band at the show.  On display was silicon, modules, and finished products.  Two applications for UWB are for pumping HDTV around the house and for wireless USB.  With USB it can go the full 480 MB/s spec.  With HDTV it is unclear to me if it can replace an HDMI 1.3 cable.  That is rated at 10.8GB/s. 

At my work we have application for UWB as a high speed cable replacement.  I found at least one module vendor willing to talk to lower volume manufacturers. 

In my previous note I said I do not understand the application for the Microsoft Surface.  I want to explain a little more about it.  They say the hardware is a 30" (at least screen).  It could be mounted in any orientation.  They use projected DLP.  Also under the display are five infrared cameras as sensors.  The cameras are necessary to pick up the multi-point input.  The Microsoft sales person said it does not have to be one person inputing gestures, could be several.  Applications we discussed were as a kiosk in a retail store where a customer could customize a snowboard virtually.  We discussed how this could be used for video games or recreation.  It could go into a board room as the board room table.  I chimed in that it could be applicable for a draftsman, and the salesperson agreed.

Next I asked if this would appear on a tablet.  The Microsoft guy could not see how since the hardware did not seem compatible.  He did not rule out that some new touch screen interface could be invented, or admit if it already had been invented.  When I mentioned the IPhone he immediately stopped me.  Said it was apples and oranges.  The IPhone touchscreen is a capacitive technology and has some limitations as to the number of inputs.

I stand by my last opinion.  The surface computing seems to be gimmicky.  If Microsoft pushes it, it will have some success.  I don't see any market pull.  I also think they need to further develop along these lines.  With some different hardware the software might make a package more appealing.  Who knows what could come along in the future?

I am writing today from CES. I met a few interesting people, and I learned something. One guy I met works on a drilling rig and runs the automated sub that helps the drill team. A lady I met is a producer at MTV. Another group of people I met run a radio talk show about technology. Mr. Carol D'Andrea, their on-air producer, is real personable, always has a smile or laugh, and is very interesting. I find most highly intelligent people are like that. I hope they become syndicated here to NY so we can enjoy their program. Another interesting guy I met was Bill Gates. Well..., I actually didn't meet him, he gave the keynote. So I kinda met him if you ignore the 150' between us, security guards, and his stage. This was his last keynote. He's retiring. It was also the most interesting keynote he has ever given, and highly produced. There were many different visions and products his team introduced.


Microsoft introduced a new aspect to their Zune player. Using 'Zune Central', you can now look at what your friends have been listening to as well as keep track of what you have been listening to. Assuming that you have friends with similar tastes as yours, and your friends have friends, you quickly see how a band or piece of music can be promoted in Internet speed by the six degrees of separation concept. Clicking on a track takes you to the Zune marketplace where you can purchase the song or album.

Two other products I saw were the surface computing device and their Home Server product. The Surface Computing had a touch screen interface, no keyboard or mouse. The touch screen can understand multi-point gestures. The claim is that the product will be released in a few months and will appear in retail stores real soon. The demo they gave was for customizing a product for purchase, virtually on screen. Everyone appeared excited about this product, but perhaps I did not appreciate the application because to me, it just appeared like a gimmick.

I can see the application for their Home Server. It is a central point where you can store you photos, music and videos. From it, you can stream videos to the various PC's and to the XBOX 360. It allows you to manage all your PC's remotely from a central location (including recalling restore points), and backing up the PC's. The server itself uses multiple disks for its own backup. They are not using RAID. They claim they have a better way. The home server lets you set up to 10 user accounts to allow remote internet access to your home server. It does not include IIS. They told me an advanced user could install IIS and serve pages as well from the server. You will still need an additional set top box from your cable company or satellite provider.

Home Server is a new product. I predicted a home server last year. Microsoft still has a way to go. There is so much more value they could offer a consumer with a product such as this. They have an ISV program to offer add-ons. If I were an ISV, I would be careful of being Microsoft's free research department. If you know what I mean.

Leona Helmsley, "The Queen of Mean", has been in the news.  In case you did not know she passed away recently.  As the news reported she left most of her money to charity, a few million to some of her grandchildren.  It was newsworthy and the talk around the water cooler that some of her grandchildren got nothing, and her dog was bequeathed $12 million dollars.  Also stipulated in the will is that when the dog passes away, it is to be buried with her and her husband in their mausoleum in Sleepy Hollow, NY.  Of course that is worthy of gossip in itself.  BUT there is ANOTHER story, the rest of the story, that few people know....

It is well known that few people worked with Mrs. Helmsley, she was a 'difficult' person to work with.  People worked for her.  You have to keep in mind that she did not have a simple will, she had to set up a trust for the dog, and other legal entities to carry on the parts of the will.  She had a team of lawyers working for her.  Now here is one last key fact:  it is illegal to bury an animal in a human cemetery in New York State.

From here on in is some interesting conjecture.

Suppose you are on the team of lawyers drafting the will for Mrs. Helmsley.  You are probably a very good lawyer and know NY state law.  At least ONE of the lawyers must have known that the dog could not be buried with them.  The big question is, are you going to be the one to tell her that that cannot be done?  The lawyers, as everyone else was, were afraid of her!

I can just imagine them now.  "Hey Joe, you tell her it can't be done."  "No way, you tell her."  "How about neither of us tell her.  By the time anyone reads the will, she won't be in a position to cause us a problem."

So now, and I can't validate this, there is an alternative floating to carry on the intent of the will.  Bury the dog in a pet cemetery, cremate the Helmsleys, and move the Helmsleys there to be with the dog.  In the pet cemetery! It is legal in NYS for cremated human remains to be buried in a pet cemetery because cremation is considered to be the final internment. 

... and that is the rest of the story!.

Someone once said that technology is neither intrinsically good or bad, nor is it neutral. That means that technology can be used for either good purposes or bad.  It depends on who wields it. Engineers have a heavy responsibility. For instance, consider Alfred Nobel who invented and patented dynamite.  At first it was used to build roads, but then later was used extensively in warfare. That heavy burden led him to donate all his earnings to fund the Nobel Prize.

When I design products I have been proud to say that those designs, sometimes even in just a small way, help society. When I designed robots they helped society become more productive. Cat scanners and sonogram equipment helps moms bear healthy babies and save lives. The amazing sonogram above is that of my unborn 25 week old fetus (and second son) Darian. Click on it to see more.

OK, you know I have had lab notes about the Monster Cable Scam.  Well, its not Monster's fault, it's Best Buy's fault.  Joel Spolsky has posted a blog about the practices at Best Buy and this is sure to draw more attention to this retailer.  Joel has a large readership.  People should know.  That's a good thing.  When I go to the Best Buy store I now see the customers there as lemmings and the sales staff as sharks.  Joel links to the Consumerist which has more about Best Buy and a very interesting story by an ex-employee you should read before considering doing business with Best Buy. 

"...Here is the trick that is used, and that I was taught from a Best Buy manager. When a customer would refuse either AOL, MSN, NetZero, magazine offers, or whatever other D-SUB we had, we'd sign you up anyway..."

For anyone living on Long Island you gotta visit LI Biz Blogspot.  This blog is maintained by Henry Powderly II.  He keeps it relevant to local events and happenings on Long Island.    For instance, did you know that the police in Long Beach will start using Segway human transporters to patrol the boardwalk?  Did you know that May is Electrical Safety month and LIPA has many events in the area to promote safety?  Finally, did you know that the Soup Nazi is teaming up with Stone Cold Creamery?  My two favorite foods, yumm!   I learned about all that and more on the LI Biz Blogspot.  I recommend you subscribe to the RSS feed or visit the site every morning for your local LI news.

My friends sensei had been practicing on the makiwara. After an hour of punching the makiwara his knuckles were sore so he decided to put some Icy-hot on it to relieve the pain. After this he had to go to the bathroom to relieve himself and forgot he had put the Icy-hot on. The way he described it was that at first the sensation was pleasant. Then the 'hot' kicked in with a vengeance! Ouch!

The makiwara 'teaches' a student how to punch. It teaches you because if you don't do it correctly you will be reprimanded by it. There is a spring in some makiwara's that kick back. Many sensei's require students to vigorously practice on the makiwara for hours a week. Dedicated karateka will develop strong fists and callouses on their knuckles from the long hours of practice.

Learning on the makiwara takes more than diligence.  It takes practiced skill.  Learning to punch effectively in karate is a science of bio-mechanics in translating a force and other self-defense concerns.  When I look at these photos I see the position of the hands, feet, body, head are precise as was taught to me, and I teach to my students.  In addition there are other dynamics that are not show in these static photos.

An OEM is a company that manufactures a product that is sold to another company (their "partner"), who then includes this in their product for sale to the consumer.  The acronym stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer.  My current employer is focused on OEM sales.  It is important to understand OEM sales as a general case particularly for any engineer involved in this business model.

One defining characteristic is the sales margins.  The general definition of margin is the amount of company earnings expressed as a percentage of sales.  This also is the percentage of sales the company has left over as profit after paying expenses.  Higher sales margin is a good thing.

OEM's generally enjoy less margin than those companies who sell to the consumer.   In fact, the highest margins are generally garnered by those companies who sell directly to the consumer, such as Dell's direct model, and cut out the middle man.  The main reason for this is that OEM's do not shoulder the sales burden that their partner's must have.  So for instance, Dell has significant advertising campaign's to sell product directly to the consumer and may be able increase their sales margin should their advertising successfully command a premium for their product compared to their competition. 

On the other hand, suppose Dell bought the power supplies in their computer from a vendor.  This vendor would be an OEM.  In general OEM's do not have significant sales capabilities or extensive channels sales and marketing.  They rely on their partner's sales capabilities to create demand.  A result of this is that the OEM also enjoys less margin because of the competitive nature of the market.

There are exceptions though.  In the early 1990's Intel decided they did not want their microprocessor to be treated as a commodity.  The consumer at this time had no concept of what a microprocessor was and even less inclined to know there was a difference when they purchased their computer.  Intel's first stab was the Intel 'bunnies' commercial that debuted during the super-bowl.  According to several sources this was a flop.  What did make a difference with the consumer was the 'Intel Inside' branding and the 5 second jingle they added to the end of every computer TV commercial.  This was successful in creating demand that approximately DOUBLED the margin of Intel's chips. It also enabled Intel to leverage their brand and sell chip sets (Centrino, etc) rather than a single chip to their partners to increase total sales.   Intel went through their partner, with the help of their partner, directly to the consumer to create demand... and that is a win all around.

Expect Peter Noone to be a coach on American Idol!
Will we be seeing clips of Peter's Hermits and brother Michael as well?

A while ago I uncovered the hoax being played on the unknowledgeable public by Monster Cable, Best Buy and Circuit City.  I know how they started and propagated this scam.  Somehow the 'rule of thumb' that the cables should cost 10% of the cost of an HDTV set was foisted upon the public by these ruthless marketeers.  Why should you pay 10% more for your HD set and get a bunch of cables in return?  That's a bunch of #$@*!  Don't get me wrong, Monster Cables are fine durable cables.  There are much better competitive alternatives on the market.  The salesmen at these store will tell you that you MUST HAVE the best cables or your picture will suffer.  That's a bunch of patooie.  Any decent, durable wire will carry the digital signal.  There is no such thing as degredation of an HDMI digital signal.  It either works, or it doesn't. 

An example of a good cable set to get is from Costco. This set only costs $50 for a set of four good quality cable.  There will not be any 'signal loss'.  Costco has an exceptional return policy.  Return it at any time for any reason.  Anyone can purchase from their web site, you need not be a member.

• Don't brown the garlic.  It becomes bitter. Cook over a lower heat until it start to just change color.
• Melt a couple anchovy fillets into the frying garlic for a bolder taste. Goes good with a heartier pasta.
• Intensify the garlic flavor by infusing 2 tbls of canola oil in the garlic and refrigerating for 2hrs-1day. 
  
• Stop garlic from cooking by adding 1/2 c pasta water.
• Cook garlic in just enough oil, perhaps 2 tblsp.  Add the Extra Virgin oil for flavor after the garlic/oil has cooled with pasta water..
• It is preferable to not use the extra virgin oil for the frying, it gets a slight bitter taste.  Use a neutral oil like Canola.   EVO loses its taste or becomes bitter to heat.
• For variety before serving add chopped parsley, red pepper flakes, Parmesan cheese, and/or fresh ground black pepper.
• Consider using a thin pasta (like spaghettini) for more sauce flavor or a thick pasta (perciatelli or bucatini) for a hearty meal.
• The secret from my sister Diane is to add 1 cup of plain toasted fresh bread crumbs to the pasta/oil before serving.