We Need A Universal Phone Charger

Buy a new cell phone, gotta get a new battery charger. What a rip- off! The technology can't be complicated. It's intentional and designed to add incrementally to earnings.

Manufacturers show their disdain for their customers and for the environment. Obsolete chargers end up in the trash.

Rumors abound that a universal charger is in the works. I'm hopeful that the smartphone industry behaves honorably and respects both their customers and the environment. Patronize those that do, avoid the holdouts.

What Can Congress Be Thinking?

Our Congressional motto: Since we don't have the nads to solve big problems we'll spend our time on resolutions. Don't those guys understand the country has problems and it's their job to find solutions? They ALL need to be voted out.

Our Congress debated and passed a resolution that called the slaughter of thousands of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire, in 1915, an act of genocide. That's right, Armenians, Ottoman Empire, and 1915. If the USA were experiencing a boom, had full employment, ran a surplus,was not involved in two wars, and was well on the way to paying off the nation's debt and funding social security and other social programs, maybe, just maybe, I could condone Congress wasting time on a Turkish issue. The White House said quit it, you're screwing up US-Turkish relations at both the defense and business levels. This isn't good for our country.

But they passed the resolution. Congress has done this twice before. We've been stupid since the 1970s! Our Congressional leaders don't have the spine to tell Armenian backers that it isn't an American issue and the country is fully occupied with real problems that need attention. The Armenian resolution is symptomatic of how Washington works: sound caring, look busy, and accomplish nothing.

Vote them all out.

The 20 Year Battery

The year was 1990 and I was on the cutting edge of technology. I purchased a HP 12C Scientific Calculator. Yes, a calculator! Do they still make calculators? Would a child know what one is? Other than the application that is built into each computer and phone?

The HP was a fantastic machine. Simple to use, once you mastered the entry sequences, and capable of calculating complex equations easily. Beyond simple math and percentages, most of my usage was devoted to calculating net present value and return on investment. I've used the same calculator for 20 years! Twenty years of usage sounds plausible for artwork and traditional furniture, but electronics? Quite a machine.

It died a few days ago. But Easter came early. I pried the back off to discover three small batteries, the gems that had kept it operating for 20 years, and wondered if they still sold that variety. Later that day my wife came back from the mall with three new batteries that a fellow in a kiosk assured her would work perfectly. They did and the HP 12C is functional again. I'm counting on another 20 years.

I don't have a clue about the technology that kept 3 batteries humming for 20 years, but that manufacturer knows how to build a quality product. I hope they are working on a battery for an electric car because they are apt to get its design right.