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Your Notebook needs fresh Air – just like you!

orangeguru — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:46:00 +0000

Laptops have become much cooler in recent years, but heat is still an operational problem.

Cooler notebooks last longer and too much heat can make your system crash.

Here are some simple tips:

Make sure the vents are not covered up, this is especially a problem when they are at the bottom of the notebook and you put the machine on cloth (like watching a video in bed).
Try to use notebook cooler or under layer made of glass or metal (like a metal mouse pad). If you don’t have neither use some small object like a real book to tilt the computer a bit, so air can circulate better under the machine.
Notebooks are like Hoovers they suck in all the dust around them. After a few months the inside of your notebook is clogged up with dust. The ventilator has to work harder and harder to cool it. That is why many notebooks get noisier over time. Open up the notebook (or let some support guy do it) and use your Hoover or some compressed air to clean out all the dirt.
Some notebooks with high end graphic cards can overheat nevertheless during demanding gaming sessions. A notebook cooler can only blow from below, so it might help to get an additional USB fan to add some cooling air from above.

I highly recommend doing #3 at least every six month – it really helps a lot.

The Peaceful-Whale-Myth

orangeguru — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 05:56:00 +0000

Dolphins and Killer Whales can be friendly to humans, but they are still carnivores. Ask any Tuna or Seal for advice …

Something’s rotten in the State of Greece and almost all Governments in Europe

orangeguru — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:08:06 +0000

Greece was never known for it efficiency nor stringent government. Like Italy it was always a bit chaotic country of the EU.

But the Greek political class (left and right) has seriously fucked up the countries financial situation – and now threatens the stability of the EURO zone. They even manipulated their financial data back to join the Euro in the first place.

But Greece is not alone with it monetary dilemma: Spain, Portugal and Ireland have blown their finances as well.

The Maastricht Treaty was supposed to protect the Euro against such blunders, but many countries didn’t follow it’s guidelines – including Germany.

It once again shows that politicians love to spend money and they don’t care about the consequences. All the budget deficits were mostly a result of overspending and stupid national budgets.

We need better and different checks and balances to make run the national budgets.

Politicians can’t control politicians.

Even when civil servants from the Treasury, the media and experts ring the alarm bells they are constantly ignored by the politicians …

Vancouver 2010 – thanks Canada!

orangeguru — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:22:00 +0000

Oh Canada, do you have enough Gold now?

What a nice contrast to the sterile games in China. Although the audience was a bit too patriotic for my taste, they at least showed some passion …

My personal favourites were Snowboard and Freestyle Ski Cross, Short Track and Freestyle Ski Aerials.

I also admired those Lugers and Ski Jumpers – crazy and brave people.

That’s gotta hurt …

In the overall medal count the USA won (37), followed by Germany (30)and Canada (26).

I am looking forward to London 2012.

The modern Car – the real Mensch-Maschine

orangeguru — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 06:34:00 +0000

We no longer simply can travel from A to B – we demand constant entertainment and we connect to our social lives as well .

So the Car of this Generation are more like rolling entertainment and information hubs, plastered with screens and multi media players.

The Car offers Bluetooth, a Cell Phone Charger and an iPod Connection as well. And the Car itself speaks to Satellites for Navigation and it’s Manufacturer about it’s health.

Modern Cars are the first machines we willingly accept instructions from. We blindly trust their commands …

The You-will-be-rich-someday-Myth

orangeguru — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 17:18:42 +0000

We as social animals strive to raise up in the ranks to get access to better genetic breeding material and security for ourselves and our offspring.

So many of us dream of becoming rich – and it will be an illusion for 99,99%.

Thanks to mass media we constantly watch the rich and the super rich. We play the lottery or hope to be discovered somehow to get money and fame.

Still this is just wishful thinking … overall social mobility is down and the middle class is shrinking since the 1980’s in Western Nations.

Petrol Bitches

orangeguru — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 06:56:00 +0000

Can anyone please point me to that petrol station filled with fuel cuties …

Time is not relative when your Flight is cancelled

orangeguru — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 21:51:00 +0000

Although flying makes long journeys much shorter (ever tried to walk from London to Moscow?), they are incredibly stressful.

And when we have to wait during our modern journey (at the gate, check-in, takeoff or landing) every minute feels like eternity.

Therefore I presume Air travel happens in a different Time-Space-Continuum.

The Shaming-the-Rich-Myth

orangeguru — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 06:26:00 +0000

You can’t shame rich or greedy people – shamelessness is usually what made them rich in the first place.

Notebooks are the new Lifeline for Soldiers

orangeguru — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 06:42:00 +0000

With tools like Skype, eMail and movies online notebooks have become the most important line home. Armies have always tried to deliver personal mail to the front lines – and they still do.

But the Internet makes all this much easier.

I wonder if the virtual "closeness" makes it actually harder to be away? You can see your far away kids growing up, listen to your wife / husband in tears …

The old new Problem of Teenage Mothers

orangeguru — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:37:29 +0000

Teenage Mothers are not a new phenomenon. Since the Industrial Revolution the family has become smaller and smaller.

Patchwork Families and Single Parents are now almost the norm. Today unruly teenager produces more babies than ever. Especially fuelled by free sex (basically a good thing), recreational drugs (mostly weed) and binge drinking (basically a very bad thing – especially for youngsters).

This just fuels the growth of a new underclass: kids who grow up without a father (usually), underprivileged because mom never got a good education or never had the time to get a career.

Washing away your Sins

orangeguru — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 06:43:00 +0000

Almost all Religions and Spiritual Disciplines offer some form of cleaning ritual or "forgiveness" mechanism.

We humans like to get rid of nasty memories and guilt complexes. We would like to erase our failures in our past …

Unless we invent a time machine we can’t undo the past. So we use a "psychic trick" and "allow" ourselves to find peace and forgiveness for what we have done.

But to make the "trick" to feel real we add some pain and effort to the penance. "No pain, no gain!" they say.

So we do extra prayer, stand in ice cold water, run through flames, walk some long "spiritual paths", do self-flagellation or do some other punishment.

The "washing" usually doesn’t really help those you have wronged or fix the situation you are ashamed of – but it tricks our psyche into thinking we are "clean" now.

"Washing" away your sins in this way is just a lame excuse to really learn from your failures and confront the consequences. Religious or spiritual self-flagellation is no substitute for confronting your failures and the hard work of growing beyond your limits.

Growth and learning can be painful, but don’t confuse pain with growing beyond your pitiful excuses.

And the real Winner of the Financial Meltdown is …

orangeguru — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:00:00 +0000

The global meltdown was basically an financial Coup d’état by the Bankers for the Bankers.

Former and current Goldman-Sachs bigheads made the US Government to give billions of Dollars to those “poor” banks to keep the system running.

It’s amazing that still to this day only a few journalists and politicians “followed the money” and tried to find the real culprits behind the meltdown.

So far all forms of Banking Regulation in the US is pretty weak – and the Banker’s Lobbyists will make sure it stays that way.

By the way, most serious Banking Regulations have been abolished under Ronald Reagan (and later Clinton as well) – so you can thank him for that late gift.

Next bubble please …

Prepare yourself!

orangeguru — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:13:37 +0000

This time Fred decided to take consumer protection into his own hands …

Strawberry Soldier Cover

orangeguru — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:10:57 +0000

Is this book for real?! Oh boy …

I dunno what’s more crazy: the title or the overall pinkness of the cover.

Would you jump?

orangeguru — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:06:00 +0000

Click image for more bravery … or madness …

Every time I watch Ski Jumpers I get goose bumps. I have seen some of their ramps in real life and they are HUGE.

It takes a brave men to do this sport …

Charlie Brooker’s Newswipe S2E4

orangeguru — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:00:11 +0000

This time Charlie looks how Politicians, the Media and the Voters interact. And how we all became like Richard Nixon. Excellent as usual. Enjoy!

To Infinity and Beyond

orangeguru — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 07:00:00 +0000

BBC Science Documentary – 60 minutes

Once again the Brits excel in explaining the unexplainable. This time it’s all about numbers and infinity. Sounds boring? Think again.

Watch it before it disappears – and if your bandwidth allows it watch it directly in HD.

China’s Apparatchik wants us to win Gold

orangeguru — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:25:13 +0000

Last chance for us to win shiny medal …

This skating wife …

This skating husband …

We tell big romance …

Me watch both to win Gold!

Caravaggio – The Seven Acts of Mercy 1607

orangeguru — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 17:10:29 +0000

Caravaggio is one of the bad boys of classic art – his life was anything but quiet and peaceful.

So it’s always surprising to see how he mastered topics that were quite contrary to his lifestyle. But maybe he longed in his heart for such a good and quiet life?

From Wikipedia (which has a nice entry about this painting):

The seven acts represented on the painting are the following Corporal Works of Mercy traditionally recognized by the Roman Catholic church, as follows:

On the right appear: (1) the burial of the dead and the episode of the so-called Carità Romana (Cimon’s daughter breastfeeding her father, who was sentenced to life in prison), containing at once the two charitable acts of (2) visiting prisoners and (3) feeding the hungry.

Appearing in the foreground are St. Martin and the beggar, symbolizing (4) dressing the naked. Next to this scene, the host and St. James of Compostela allude to the (5) offering of hospitality to pilgrims. Samson drinking from the ox jaw represents (6) relieving the thirsty. The youth on the ground behind the beggar of St. Martin may also represent the merciful gesture of (7) caring for the sick.