The World’s going Green – Solar Powered Keyboards

What’s next from the green movement?

With the wonderful freedom wireless technology provides us, it still leaves us constrained by the misfortunes of battery life. However, thanks to the innovative thinking from the developers at Logitech, end-users can now choose a solar-powered keyboard that “promises to keep you typing long after traditional batteries have run out.”

Available for November, the Logitech K750 Wireless Solar Keyboard has the same appearance as any standard keyboard. It comes fully equipped with concave QWERTY keys, numeric keypad and function buttons. At only a third of an inch thick, end users can pick up this new accessory for around $80.00

What good are solar panels if I’m indoors?

Look closely and you can see two solar panels that resemble those used on calculators in the early 90′s. According to Legitech, these panels soak up light from the sun and even indoor light, which in theory could keep this keyboard working indefinitely in a well-lit setting.

Logitech willingly refrained from stating that the K750 will keep typing forever given enough light, however they did mention that a fully charged keyboard will work up to three months in complete darkness.

How do I know if it’s charged?

The keyboard comes with a fully intergrated light that will allow the end user to keep track of charge at all times. A downloadable desktop app is also available to let the end user know if there’s enough ambient light to keep the keyboard powered up.

Will it work with my Bluetooth?

To put it simply, no. The K750 connects to the desktop or notebook by using a USB connection instead of a 2.4 GHz RF connection. Sorry iPhone users.

My overall consensus:

I think a solar panel keyboard is a good idea because it’s simple and efficient. As long as the K750 has the energy to work as well and long as Logitech says it does, I believe any end user could find value in a solar powered keyboard. I’m only left with one question:

Where’s the solar powered mouse to go along with it?

DON’T TAX MY BEER!

Aren’t beer prices high enough?

As the ridiculous price of beer keeps growing, a new bill in Oregon has been purposed that would increase the tax on beer 1900 percent! Oregon State Senators Jackie Dingfelder (D-Portland) and Bill Morrisette (D-Springfield) have again purposed a ludicrous increase on Oregon’s beer tax.

How will it affect me?

With the state facing increasing budget shortfalls, this tax purposes a much larger threat than many of the purposed beer tax increases in years past. The 1900 percent increase would bring Oregon’s beer tax from $2.60 per barrel to $52.65 per barrel! According to Brett Joyce, the owner of Rouge brewing, the new purposed beer tax will cost beer drinkers $175 million and raise the average price of a pint to $6.00!

What can I do stop this?

Write your State senator. Explain to them how badly this bill would cripple one of the extraordinary industries that gives Oregon its uniqueness. Politely explain to them that if they don’t vote no on this bill, they will lose your vote (that will get their attention). Click here to locate your local Senator.

I’m also encouraging anyone who finds this to be as ridiculous as I do to contact the two Senators in charge of this despicable bill and urge them to realize how absurd this bill is. Here is the contact information to Oregon beer drinkers’ least favorite elected State Senators.

Jackie Dingfelder (D-Portland)

503-493-172
sen.jackiedingfelder@state.or.us’

Bill Morrisette (D-Springfield)

503-986-1706
sen.billmorrisette@state.or.us

My Unemployment Rate

Just how bad is my American dream? When I graduated from the University of Oregon last June, the Oregon unemployment rate was right around 5.9 percent. In the 10 months of my post-college life, the unemployment rate has nearly double and is now 10.8 percent. In the month of February there were 21,700 less jobs in the state of Oregon than there was in January.

Between February 2008 and February 2009:

• The construction industry has cut 17,200 jobs (-17.3 percent of the workforce)
• The Manufacturing industry has cut 25,000 jobs (-12.4 percent of the work force)
• The Finance industry has cut 7,300 jobs (-7 percent of the work force)

The only two industries that continue to see increases are:

• Government has increased 6,200 jobs (+2.1 percent of the workforce)
• Private educational and health service has increased 6,700 jobs (3.1 percent of the workforce)

So what does this mean for someone in my situation? Of the 3.7 million people who are currently living in the state of Oregon, nearly 400,000 of them are unemployed. In the time since I graduated from college, I’ve become twice as likely to be unemployed in the state of Oregon. At the rate things are going, I’m going to have to change the name of this blog to My American Nightmare.

Cell Phone Rash

Reuters:

According to the British Association of Dermatologist, mobile phone users should be on alert for a skin allergy on their ears and cheeks caused from too much mobile phone use. An itchy red rash can form on mobile phone users who have an allergic reaction to the nickel surface of a mobile phone after spending long periods of time on the devices.

This condition known as “mobile phone dermatitis,” has many doctors baffled, as many of them were completely unaware that a mobile phone could even cause such a condition. The safety concerns of mobile phones have grown along with their popularity, although with today’s evidence no serious concerns have arisen.

Nickel is a common metal found in many daily products ranging from cell phones, belt buckles and jewelry. According to MayoClinic.com, “Nickel allergy is one of the most common causes of allergic contact dermatitis.”

Earlier this year Lionel Bercovitch of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island and colleagues tested 22 popular handsets from eight different manufacturers and found nickel in 10 of the devices.

ACORN And Dallas Cowboys

The Association of Community Organization for Reform Now, better known as ACORN, has recently come under harsh allegations by State authorities for condoning fraudulent voter registration in Las Vegas. ACORN also has outstanding allegations in Indiana, Wisconsin, North Carolina, New Mexico, Michigan, Ohio and Missouri.

According to the Associated Press, one of the most recent findings by State authorities is that professional athletes of the Dallas Cowboy football team were illegally registered through ACORN in the state of Nevada. Other fraudulent registration cards were found for people living at nonexistent addresses, dead people, as well as active voters who were registered multiple times.

According to ACORN’s website:

ACORN is a non-profit, non-partisan social justice organization with national headquarters in New York, New Orleans and Washington, D.C. To maintain independence, ACORN does not accept government funding and is not tax exempt.

Then why is ACORN endorsing Obama? Perhaps because he used to work for them?

According to Marketwatch.com and Michelle Malkin, Obama worked for ACORN by directing Project Vote and teaching classes as an ACORN representative. Obama has also represented ACORN in a lawsuit.

Maybe it’s because he’s given them so much money?

According to the Federal Elections Committee (FEC), ACORN has received $832,598.29 since February of 2008 from the Obama campaign. The response from the Obama campaign spokespeople is that the FEC’s report was mistakenly misrepresented.

Bill O’Reilly & Barney Frank

Take a moment and watch this clip between Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank and Fox New reporter Bill O’Reilly. Congressman Frank is the chairman of the Financial Services Committee, and one of three chairman who were asked to stand down from their positions after the Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae incident that contributed so heavily to the current economic crisis.

After watching this clip I ask: Was O’Rielly fair in this interview? Do you think he should stand down? Should Congressman Frank admit blame for what happened? Why or why not? Please don’t be shy and leave a comment. I’m very curious to hear other people’s perspectives.

VP Debate: Sarah Palin & Joe Biden

After two hours of listening to Sarah Palin and Joe Biden go back and forth about who’s lying or misinterpreting the truth, the only feedback I’m consistently receiving is that Palin exceeded her expectations.

Palin made a few passes at Biden saying “…for a ticket that wants to talk about change and looking into the future, there’s too much finger-pointing backwards to ever make us believe that’s where you’re going.” She also called out Biden for prefacing comments with the Bush administration, along with Obama’s refusal to admit any success of the surge in Iraq.

Biden, who was slightly on the defense, accused John McCain of being wrong on war policy from the beginning, and calling him “the odd man out” on Iraq. As a fundamental difference, Biden also said that if Obama is elected into office “we will end this war. For John McCain there is no end to the war.”

So who won the debate? Well, as in any debate, it depends on who you talk to. However, the initial buzz coming out within the first 40 minutes after the debate is in favor of Palin. The polls should be interesting to watch over the next 48 hours, but I’m willing to bet that the McCain Palin ticket is going to see an increase. Like I’ve said many times through out this election, this will be a fascinating one to watch.

VP Debates & Gwen Ifill

Conflict of interest: Refers to a situation when someone, such as a lawyer or public official, has competing professional or personal obligations or personal or financial interests that would make it difficult to fulfill his/her duties fairly.  – The ‘Lectric Law Library’s Lexicon

Gwen Ifill is unqualified candidates for the moderator of the VP debates because she has one of the biggest conflict of interest anyone considered for this position could have. Not only is she unqualified because of how much research, time and energy she’s already put in the life and political career of Obama, but her biggest conflict of interest comes down to one of the most persuasive entities in American society – Money. Ifill is in the works of writing a flattering book titled “The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama.” This book, which is scheduled to debut on Inauguration Day, would sell a significant larger amount of copies if Obama is elected.

After reading quotes she gave the Associated Press, I’d like to make it clear that I’m not in anyway trying to bash her reputation or demean her as a person. Ifill is simply not qualified to be the moderator of this debate because of her current loyalty to her book in progress about Obama.

There is no way Ifill can be objective in these debates because no matter how she does, her book will play some sort of influence. Weather it’s overcompensating for Palin so she doesn’t come across favoring Biden or vice versa. By the simple temptation of increasing her book sales, her perspective will be compromised or influenced in some way.

Wall Street Bailouts

The nation is not only battling an economic crisis, but it’s also facing an ethical conflict regarding the constitutional role our Government is supposed to play in the economy. The fear of Wall Street collapsing has many politicians with their backs to the wall, while other Americans are on the verge of a mental break down. However, if the Government bails out Freedie Mac and Fannie Mae, we’d be forfeiting our civic duty of keeping others accountable. Furthermore, if this economic crisis isn’t resolved soon, panic could settle in and the economy could take an even bigger fall.

Because this year is an election year, both political parties are afraid of committing to any tactics that could fix this problem due to the fact it could backfire and hurt their campaign. This means no one will be implementing any sort of plan into action until after the election. I just hope the economy can hold on that long.

I’d also like to take this moment to thank Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae for their wonderful unethical work and greed that’s contributed so much to this current crisis. Due to their lack of moral accountability, the Government is faced with a decision between risking the economy and holding these financial villains accountable for their actions.

I’m also curious with regards to the relationship between Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and Barack Obama. On the list of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae campaign contributions, Obama was second from the top. This does not look good for the Obama campaign.

Sarah Palin & Katie Couric

No matter how hard I try to stay focused on fair and objective journalism, I often get accused of being more conservative than liberal. I try my best to hear both sides of the political spectrum because I don’t believe that either side of the political view is necessarily always correct. I believe that in most cases, both sides have very different but valid points on most issues. The biggest flaw that I see is how emotional people get when their view or political belief is challenged. It’s human nature to defend one’s thoughts and beliefs, but people today take it so far that they often close their minds to other possibilities.

My post with Joe Biden and Katie Couric’s interview was undoubtedly not one of Biden’s best moments in front of the camera. Therefore, I felt it was necessary to show one of Sarah Palin’s less than perfect moments, which happens to be with the same reporter. In this video Palin clearly fails to prove that she’s confident in tackling the big issue of the Wall Street bailouts.

About a minute into this video, Couric asks Palin if she supports the $700 billion bailout. Instead of answering, she begins to ramble on about how “ill” she is about the position America is in, while never coming close to a yes or no. This interview clearly leaves voters questioning her ability to tackle the big issues concerning America. Like I said from the beginning, this should be an interesting race to watch.