• Feb 21, 2011

    SeaWorld hasn't gotten the privacy memo

    Today my family and I visited SeaWorld as we do fairly often. As I was waiting at the parking toll booth, I heard the attendant ask a guest for his zip code while swiping his credit card. Apparently this guy and SeaWorld staff don't read the newspapers. This action is in direct violation of the recent (February 14, 2011)  California Supreme Court decision of Jessica Pineda v. Williams-Sonoma Stores, Inc. In a nutshell, merchants cannot ask for a zip code when processing a credit card transaction (with a few exceptions). The zip code can be considered personal information and is a violation of California consumer protection laws.

    I mentioned this to the attendant and he said that they ask for it for a survey and also ask it for of cash visitors as well. Yeah, that's kind of the point as the zip code could be used to link the survey directly to the credit card user.

    We'll see what SeaWorld has to say with the message I sent them. They better act quickly otherwise the fines could start adding up. Too bad I can't get paid for reporting the issue!

  • Feb 14, 2011

    When do the recruiters stop calling?

    Over the last few months, I've gotten more inquiries via email and phone calls from recruiters than I recall ever getting in the past. Now that I'm gainfully employed by a large employer, I seem to be a target for recruiters. Is it recruiters' MO to target skilled people working at large companies? I've only been in this job about 6 weeks; do people think I'm just going to jump ship? Of course I'm not going to do that.

    How do I stop them from calling (at least for now :-))?

  • Feb 13, 2011

    Review: ParkZone Night Vapor

    My interest in RC flying vehicles hasn't stopped at helicopters. My wife bought me a ParkZone Night Vapor for Hanukkah. This plane is advertised as an intermediate plane, but also could be flown indoors. As I don't have a back yard large enough to fly other planes such as the HobbyZone Champ, I thought that the Night Vapor would be cool to fly.

    The first day that I tried to fly it, I had very little success; I flew it in the living room and was not able to maneuver it to turn it. A few weeks later, my father, son, and I spent a few hours flying in my garage (it's a great place to fly when both cars are removed) and I started to get the hang of the Night Vapor. Since then I've spent more time flying and have gotten quite good at making turns in tight places. Today I flew it outside and managed not to crash it too much! My only slight problem is that I almost landed it in the pool, but other than that, I was doing pretty well. Of course, flying an RC plane is a lot different from helicopters. Planes need more space, has no reverse, and can't turn on a dime. It is taking me a bit of practice to go from frustration to having fun. The hardest part for me is to remember that if I want the plane to dive, I need to push the right stick forward and not back.

    While I've crashed the plane quite a bit, I've only had to do minor repairs on it. I had to replace the main motor (I think it was defective from the factory) and one of the gears. In addition, my dog wasn't too happy when it flew close to him and he bit it ripping a small hole in it; clear packing tape fixed it right up. I'm quite surprised how durable it is despite having cellophane wings.

    Pros

    • Very durable.
    • Flies in small places.
    • Flies well outside.
    • Not too hard to control once you get a hang of it.
    • Long battery life compared to the helicopters (I can get about 15 minutes out of a battery)

    Cons

    • None

    Summary

    The Night Vapor is a lot of fun to fly indoors and out. I'm not sure that there are too many RC planes that can fly in relatively small rooms or a garage. The plane takes a little getting used tobe, but after a few flights, it gets a lot easier to handle. While I really enjoy flying the helicopters, flying this plane is a different experience that has its own joys. The extended flight time (about 2.5 times longer than the helicopters) is probably the biggest reason I've been flying it more. I have multiple batteries, but having to stop and change the batteries takes some of the fun out of the helicopters. Beginners might get a little turned off when they crash and get afraid of destroying it, but once they get over this, this plane can probably be flown by beginners.

  • Feb 9, 2011

    Running with an iPhone

    A few weeks ago I started listening to audiobooks again and became very engrossed in a James Patterson book. I was running with an iPod Nano and walked the dog with my iPhone as well as had my iPhone with me while driving. In order to keep my position in the book, I had to sync the Nano after my run, then sync my iPhone and then before my run, sync the iPhone and then the Nano. This got old real fast (a few days).

    I had been eyeing the Fisica Fitness Sensor Key for my iPhone to hook up my heart rate monitor for use with RunKeeper Pro. I couldn't resist as eliminating my iPod Nano from the equation would make my life easier. I received the Sensor Key about 10 days ago and did my first run the next day. RunKeeper Pro is a decent app that handles everything my Garmin ForeRunner 405 did and more.

    I thought that the weight of the iPhone 4 on my arm would be a problem (I also bought the case that Wahoo Fitness sold), but it isn't that bad. The Sensor Key does exactly what it is advertised to do; it connects Ant+ devices to the iPhone. RunKeeper Pro integrates the heart rate monitor fairly well, but displays the current heart rate in a very small part of the display (almost unreadable). The iPhone is a bit unreadable in bright sun, but the large display is nice.

    After a few runs with the iPhone, I can't see going back to my iPod Nano and Garmin ForeRunner 405. One of the best features that just came to light today was when I was happily running and the narrator of the book's voice started fading and the phone rang! I was quite surprised, but saw that it was my boss (technically my boss's boss) calling, so I slowed to a walk and answered the call. I don't get many phone calls, so being able to get a call when I take a midday run is a great feature of using the iPhone for running.

    If I had been running with my iPhone last month, I would have been able to take a picture of the guy who had put a rope around his Christmas tree and dragged it behind him to take it to the recycling place instead of putting it on the roof of his Ford Explorer!

    I'd like for RunKeeper Pro to add the ability to bulk export the files and then this combination would be perfect.