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Dolphins Wave?

Dolphins Wave?

Ok, so I have been waiting ALL week to get my beautiful kayak back into the water to get my weekly fix. I live in Rockeldge, Florida by the Indian River. So my wife tells me she can come home early today and watch the kids by 4:30. Great!

It's raining and kind of gray out, but I could care less. I have a spray skirt that encloses me in the cockpit of the kayak (Necky Manitou 14) and this spray skirt keeps me dry.

Bla bla bla -- so I go out onto the Indian River and am dodging all these waves and there are like 20 dolphins swimming by me doing really weird things with their lateral fins. Like waving. Weird...

I'm loving the big rolling waves on the Indian River and wondering what the strange, waving dolphins are doing there... but I am having fun so who cares. Wind and rain wiping in my face but -- I was in meetings all day listening to people -- bla bla bla -- so who cares.

Come home, and my wife tells me the first tropical storm of the season was going on while I was kayaking (*REALLY hoping this is no sort of --what did the Romans call it -- Omen?). Guess the dolphins were trying (in their own way) to tell me to get the bloody heck of the water (think I'm so darn smart, but I simply DON'T understand dolphin).

Oh well. Nothing a hot shower and a stiff glass of scotch won't cure.

The Renaissance Paddler & His Recliner

The Renaissance Paddler & His Recliner

I am a kayak fisherman. Proud and sometimes a little bit arrogant? canoeist paddle by in their clumsy craft and are amazed at my prowess? controlling a kayak while flipping lures and landing fish. Some would say that I'm a bit of a renaissance man when it comes to this exploit? me? I'm quite modest and just think I'm really cool.

I take my recreational kayak out at least once or twice a month to fish and paddle the rivers here in Virginia. One sunny Saturday in April, my brother and I decided to fish a local river. The weather was warm at nearly 65 degrees Fahrenheit, but the water was still a chilly 40 degrees. For this trip, I decided that I needed to get a bit more paddling time in on my newly purchased whitewater kayak. Heck? I'm so skilled that I'm sure that with a little bit of forethought, I'd be able to fish as well as do a little whitewater paddling practice.

We climbed in our respective kayaks and got ourselves launched. It was great to be out on the river after such a long winter. Yep? time to dust off the paddles and start off the year right! Being that I was in a whitewater kayak and had my spray skirt on, I asked my brother to carry my fishing rod until I was situated on the water and comfortable. He also carried my lunch and other gear since a whitewater kayak does not have a whole lot of storage room. I quickly discovered that my spray skirt actually works quite well as a nice little tray to fix my lures, place a sandwich and drink, and balance a fishing pole or paddle. Heck? I could have brought a little portable TV and watched a program or two.

As we journeyed downriver from the launch site, I fished and mostly kept my paddle balanced on my lap. I really only needed it to navigate to a new spot or make an occasional turn. The river we were on has quite a few slow and deep areas, with a little Class I and II whitewater a few miles downstream from the launch site. Nothing to worry about just yet, but it will make playing in some whitewater something to look forward to.

On one nice slow and deep stretch of water, my stomach started grumbling so I decided to eat some of my provisions. I signaled for my brother to paddle over and pass me a sandwich so I could dine alfresco?me and Mother Nature. Life is good and it's nice to have someone wait on you? even on the river!

Well, I don't know if you have ever paddled a whitewater kayak before, but they do react a bit differently than a recreational kayak. The stern on my whitewater kayak happens to be quite flat and low in the water, allowing the experienced kayaker to do tricks like the "stern squirt." A stern squirt is where the kayaker intentionally immerses the stern into the water by leaning back and catching the current. The current, in turn, catches the stern and forces it down. This action causes the bow to rise up and behold? you have a really neat trick that amazes the spectators.

Did I mention that I brought the whitewater kayak with me so that I could get a bit more practice time on the water? I guess you know what is coming? kind of like when you hear a redneck say to his friend, "Hey Bubba? watch this!"

Whilst dining alfresco; I decided to relax and lean back in my seat. In my recreational kayak, leaning back in the seat is akin to leaning back in an Easyboy recliner. Not so in a whitewater kayak. Whilst leaning back, I initiated an impromptu stern squirt, causing me to lose my sandwich? Grey Poupon and all. It's amazing how things seem dreamlike when you are upside down with a good view of the river bottom with your fishing pole sinking downwards. Of course my paddle decided to float off on its own with no set direction chosen. "Hmmmm? this is not good." I thought, since speaking would have caused me to ingest great quantities of water. I hadn't yet accomplished a "roll" on my own and with my paddle floating away; I decided to take the alternative course of action. Pop the spray skirt and do a flawless wet exit. Did I mention the river was quite cold?

Upon surfacing and reassuring my brother that everything was under control (his eyes were a bit wide), we proceeded to gather up the scattered paddling gear and partially submerged kayak. Fortunately, my brother was able to quickly retrieve my paddle before it disappeared downstream. The water was clear and slow enough that I was able to dive down and retrieve my fishing pole? heck? I was already fully soaked, so why not? I did mention the river was quite cold, didn't I? To make a bad situation worse, I quickly realized Murphy's Law was in full force? I hadn't placed my wallet in my dry bag as I had done on every paddling trip before.

Once we got everything together, we decided to stop along the bank on a nice big rock so I could dry out my gear a bit. It is quite amazing how much water can actually get absorbed in a gentleman's wallet. Thank goodness it was nice and sunny?drying money with little rocks piled on it would have been a strange sight for anyone passing by. After drying out for a little over 30 minutes, we decided to get back on the river and complete our trip.

Needless to say, I did not fish anymore during this trip. I decided to keep both hands on my paddle and to take seriously my remaining time left on the river to reflect on what had happened and to learn a bit more about my kayak's performance. I am certain it had to be a flaw in the kayak?not my actions. I may even have to write the manufacturer with a stern letter stating my disappointment with their product.

Lucky for me, there were no canoeists around, because I'm sure they would have misunderstood what happened?not knowing it was a product flaw. There could be of course no reason for any canoeist to doubt my paddling skills, being the Renaissance Paddler that I am.

Infinately Better Hardware

Better Hardware

A local business helps hardware stores help you “green it yourself”


Picking out a weekend to attempt that deep-down spring clean in your space? Keep last month’s Earth Day resolutions in mind and attempt a squeaky-clean break from household products doing more harm than good. Luckily, we realize that wandering aimlessly among the paint, sealant and cleaners may have you wondering if there are any virtuous shelf mates adjacent to conventional toxic items.

Enter Plan-it Hardware — a hip-to-the-times startup that deals in eco-evangelism and strategies for socially conscious marketability — implemented one local hardware store at a time. The outfit connects their small but growing worldwide base of naturally minded producers of hardware items with independent home improvement retailers, of which there are thankfully still many in the Bay Area.

With help from Plan-it Hardware’s golden Rolodex of green suppliers, mom-and-pop institutions like Cliff’s Variety in San Francisco and Bolfing’s Elmwood Hardware in Berkeley are now providing products that are exotic or completely unknown to “Big Box” home improvement centers.

“For a lot of these folks who’ve had a store in their hands for forty years or more, they are already thinking about leaving behind a legacy,” says Jay Tompt, Plan-it’s VP of green business development. “This way they spur a positive legacy while realizing that going green isn’t that scary.”

In the past, Tad Laird of Elmwood Hardware found stocking eco-savvy goods more elitist than intimidating. With retail space at a premium, the price of carrying these well-meaning items was not right for many small businesses. “As a 4th-generation Berkeleyan, though, not caring is not an option,” says Laird. And Plan-it Hardware’s way with the supply chains helps keep orders of biodegradable trash bags and Planet Inc.’s line of cleaners and paper goods coming in more frequently.”

Sourcing natural solutions locally is exciting, and Plan-it Hardware aims to please. They spread the word about products developed right here in the Bay Area, too. Drainbo, a non-toxic drain cleaner by a company of the same name, and Homewood, specializing in biodegradable stains and surface polishes, are manufacturers out of Livermore and San Carlos, respectively.

These are just some of the gentler alternatives that could replace the sinister skull-and-crossbones-laden bottle of goo presently lurking under your sink. For information on available products and local stores where you can turn over a new leaf with your spring cleaning, visit planithardware.com

>>Infinately Better Hardware<<

Prototype Of The Original PC

Q&A: "Athens" Prototype PC Inspires Innovations Showcased at WinHEC 2004
At the annual Windows Hardware Engineering Conference, talk continues to focus on the evolution of the PC as a center for information-worker communication and collaboration, a vision for the synergy of software and hardware.

SEATTLE, Wash., May 3, 2004 — One year after it was unveiled at last year's Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC), the "Athens" PC prototype continues to influence trends in hardware and software development -- from a proliferation of wide-screen displays to integrated wireless and telephony features. Many of these technologies will be showcased May 4 - 7 in Seattle at the 13th annual WinHEC -- the premier gathering for the PC industry to explore the future for the Microsoft Windows platform.

Developed with Hewlett Packard, the "Athens" prototype represented an evolution of the PC as a center for communication and collaboration for information workers. It simultaneously simplified PC operations while merging all forms of communication -- including next-generation voice, video and text messaging -- into a consistent, streamlined design. The goal of the "Athens" PC was to offer a vision of what can be accomplished through the synergy of software and hardware, and to inspire developers to think out of the box.

For a better sense of the importance of WinHEC to the PC industry, an update on "Athens" one year after its unveiling and a preview of what attendees can expect at this year's show, PressPass spoke with Tom Phillips , general manager of Microsoft's Windows Hardware Experience Group.

PressPass: What is the significance of WinHEC for the PC industry?

Phillips: It's an opportunity to do what is rarely done in the PC industry today, which is to really get a synthesized view of hardware, software and human factors -- all in an aggregate form. Put more simply, PC hardware and PC software are really created by different companies, sometimes on different timelines. WinHEC provides the industry and customers an opportunity to see the synthesis of hardware and software all at the same time, particularly with an eye toward longer-term developments and innovations.

PressPass: Last year, you unveiled the "Athens" PC prototype. Where is it now?

Phillips: The PC in the '80s and '90s was about productivity work and traditional, asynchronous productivity applications. Today, it's about rich communications and real-time collaboration, as has been highlighted by applications such as Microsoft Messenger, e-mail, conferencing and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) -- telephony delivered over the Internet. The "Athens" PC demonstrates this transition of the PC.

The "Athens" PC prototype, a concept PC, was a coalescence of many different capabilities and features that had been developed independently. The significance of the "Athens" PC prototype was that it pulled them all together, showing interoperability and integration in ways that had never been seen before. For example, it showed that an incoming call to a cell phone enabled with Bluetooth wireless technology would be transferred seamlessly to a PC when the user simply pressed an answer button on the keyboard. The PC used the integrated speakers/microphone to manage the call audio.

In addition to the hardware, the software was integrated with the process so that users could get rich caller information such as their communications history with the caller (for example, via a pop-up window on-screen with all the voicemail and e-mail history from that person), based on the caller ID. While some of the elements themselves weren't new, "Athens" was unique in bringing together the software, hardware, peripherals and the design to pull everything together.

The "Athens" PC concept has come a long way since last year. Although there are no PCs on the market today that include all of the elements included in the prototype, different technologies are increasingly apparent in systems available now. For example, Microsoft has shipped the Microsoft Live Communications Server and updates to its Microsoft Messenger software products, and has been joined by the rest of the industry, hardware and software, to provide some of the simplicity and functionality that were highlighted by "Athens."

Additionally, companies have used "Athens" as a foundation for other new PC concepts and designs, several of which were demonstrated at industry forums such as the last Intel Developers Forum (IDF). Examples include several Hewlett Packard follow-on platforms -- such as the Troy Desktop and mobile prototype systems -- that integrate audio, video and other components. They are among the most realistic designs in the lineup of conceptual PCs, and take the "Athens" concept another step toward reality. Many of these systems will be showcased at WinHEC 2004 to demonstrate how the industry is really moving forward together.

PressPass: What other technologies within "Athens" are already on the market?

Phillips: Some examples of these technologies include wide-screen high-resolution displays, microphone arrays, "instant on" and "quiet" system fundamentals, biometrics, high-quality audio speakers, Bluetooth integration with cell phones and Bluetooth integration for notebook and desktop computers. There's also a lot of telephony integration capabilities available today that formed a key scenario for "Athens" as a communication hub. These capabilities have been built into things like cell phones and private branch exchange (PBX) systems (private telephone networks used within enterprises).

As I mentioned earlier, some of these technologies were already on their way, and our research helped us target areas that were poised for growth. Additionally, we spent significant time with customers to assess which of these technologies really address the problems that are faced by today's information worker. Some of these technologies were developing independently, and some were directly influenced and enhanced by the "Athens" prototype.

From a hardware standpoint, technologies and systems that will be showcased at WinHEC 2004 include a laptop with wide-screen, high-resolution display from Dell, a Tablet PC with a built-in microphone array for better audio from Toshiba, a laptop with built-in biometrics that allow users to log on to Windows using a thumb scan from Gateway, a USB biometrics storage and identification device from Sony, and an authentication/identification device from DigitalPersona. From the software standpoint, "Athens" has deeply influenced how we're building some of the communications and telephony in future Microsoft software products.
PressPass: What was reaction among Microsoft's industry partners to the unveiling of the "Athens" concept PC?
Phillips: Industry reaction was extremely strong because it really was one of those opportunities for the industry to be self-critical and to assess the opportunity that exists for innovative PC functionality and design. Some current PCs are suffering from a lack of innovation and have become very utilitarian. "Athens" was an example of how form, function and aesthetics really matter in terms of taking the PC from its productivity role into this new role as the core of a communication and collaboration platform. At a really basic level, it was a wake-up call to the entire industry -- hardware and software -- about how much this type of exciting innovation and design matters not only internally to our industry, but more importantly to our customers.

PressPass: Have you heard anything from customers around "Athens"?

Phillips: End-user customers have been really excited by the possibilities and scenarios that the "Athens" concept enables. They want something that enables real-time communication and collaboration, saves them time, allows them to be more productive and is easy to use. "Athens" showcased some of these benefits that really resonated with information workers, such as wide-screen displays that allow you to see more of your work and programs at any one time; enhanced security; and the integration of Bluetooth that reduces cable clutter. There's also visual ergonomics research indicating that high-resolution displays improve reading performance and increase visual comfort. In essence, our customers say that something like the "Athens" concept PC is exactly what they are looking for and they want to know when they can get it!

Other industry events have also played a role in the positive reaction from customers, such as growing customer interest in technologies like VoIP at both a commercial and a consumer level -- technologies that were a core part of what "Athens" demonstrated. While "Athens" was certainly not the unveiling of VoIP to the industry, it was a clear demonstration of how this technology is not only ready for prime time, but how it will fundamentally change some of the ways that we communicate and collaborate. Again, that is the purpose of WinHEC -- to take some of these pivotal moments and inflection points, and highlight how they can be leveraged across both hardware and software.
PressPass: When do you see "Athens" becoming a reality for information workers?

Phillips: We've had requests from a lot of top original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and original design manufacturers (ODMs) about how they can design "Athens"-inspired products. There's a lot of interest from both U.S. and international hardware manufacturers. We've been talking to companies in Europe and Asia about how they can build these devices into their notebooks, desktops and other types of systems. "Athens" was also an opportunity to highlight some of the software that we are building within Microsoft to leverage this new generation of hardware and technologies.

"Athens" was a four-year vision of scenarios enabled by PCs. With upcoming releases of Windows products, and the functionality of "Athens" available across software and hardware, you're going to see a lot of the technologies shown in the "Athens" prototype come together and be integrated into products. What makes it happen is the synergy between hardware and software manufacturers. It isn't just Microsoft -- we're listening to our customers and working with our partners to develop and deliver on this vision for the benefit of our mutual customers. We're in it together.

PressPass: What else can people expect at WinHEC in Seattle this year?

Phillips: In addition to highlighting the latest software and hardware innovations and areas of focus for the industry, Microsoft will be demonstrating new concept PCs and devices that demonstrate the opportunities for new designs in today's home entertainment environment. Hardware partners can expect additional details about longer-term Microsoft product developments and technologies. They will also have the opportunity to work one-on-one with their industry peers and with developers from Microsoft to address specific design points on optimizing their hardware solutions for the Windows platform.

>>A Prototype Of The Original PC<<

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