HeidiAllen.com

A “hard wrap” is the point at which a line of text wraps around to the next line. It’s set to a certain number of characters, including spaces. Different email programs use different default hard wrap settings, and not all of them are adjustable. The result is often messages that are difficult to read.

For example, let’s say that my email program (called a “client” by techies) has a default hard wrap of 65 characters. Now let’s say that your email client, which is a free online service, has a hard wrap of 55 characters. This is what you might see when I send you an email:

I’m increasingly fascinated by how the cultural mind
works. Memes seem to spread
with the greatest of ease, whether they’re based on
fact or not. For example,
even among acquaintances who are proponents of
sustainability, the meme on
everyone’s lips is that renewable energy and
gasoline-free vehicles aren’t ready
for a large-scale rollout, and that coal and nuclear
power may be practical
options. Neither part of this meme is true.

This is just the beginning. If your message has older emails included at the bottom, they’ve been re-hard wrapped several times, so their line lengths are practically random. This also messes up their quote level indicators. You could have three or more different text colors in one sentence!

Add to this the advertising and text notices that your free online service inserts after you hit the ‘Send’ button, and things can really get ugly.

There is a simple solution. Get the email client developers to agree on a single hard wrap default standard. Anyone up for the task?

My brother, the genius truck driver, has just informed me that he wants to own a company called ‘Satan’s Dye Factory’ so that their slogan can be, “He sinned for our dyes.”

Our Founding Fathers designed the Senate to give equal voice to the minority. Even sparsely populated states get two Senators. Strangely enough, this arrangement also allows a minority of Americans to gain the majority of Senate representation, as is the case today.

It’s nothing short of ironic that Senators who have benefitted from this system now seek to deny a voice to the Senate minority. The long tradition of filibuster arose specifically so that the majority party, whether Democrat or Republican, couldn’t ram through legislation and appointments without some sort of debate.

Later today, the Senate Republican leadership will introduce the “nuclear option” which, if passed, will strip away the right to filibuster. Some GOP Senators have serious misgivings about this radical move, and others aren’t yet sure how they’ll vote.

MoveOn.org wants to deliver petitions to undecided Senators every three hours until the vote is complete. Please add your voice. A democracy in which the minority has no voice is no democracy at all.

http://www.moveonpac.org/nuclear/

This is my first entry for a new blog category, ‘Consumer From Hell’. I’m an extremely demanding consumer, so when I find a product or service that meets and even exceeds my expectations, it certainly deserves a little publicity.

Conversly, when a product or service fails to meet even its own promises, someone needs to send out the alert. I’ll do what I can.

EAR POPS VS. EAR BAGS

I’m always trying to find ways to carry everything I might possibly need while looking like I’m carrying almost nothing. When I heard about a couple of products that are essentially flat ear muffs without the band, I was excited. Imagine being able to wear a form-fitting jacket while still packing ear protection in your pocket! Or imagine keeping your ears warm without mussing up your hair.

Ear Pops and Ear Bags work the same way. The user flexes each piece outward, fits it over the ear and then “pops” it forward, which effectively locks it into place. You wouldn’t think there could be much of a difference between the two products. You’d be wrong.

I purchased my Ear Bags several years ago. I was impressed with the quality of materials and craftsmanship. The “Bags” were warm and comfortable, and worked even with my kid-sized ears. I used and abused them often, until finally, towards the end of this winter, I managed to break one.

I immediately went online to find another pair. That’s when I stumbled across Ear Pops. At the time, I couldn’t find Ear Bags for under $20 a pair (you can find them now for $9.50). Ear Pops, on the other hand, were $8, so I thought “Why not?”. Uh… Because you get what you pay for.

The Ear Pops used materials far inferior to those used in the Ear Bags. I tried desperately to wear them, but couldn’t go longer than 15 minutes before I was in too much pain to continue. Worse yet, they didn’t really keep my ears warm.

Now I understand why I keep seeing posts by people calling the whole concept “stupid”. They tried the wrong product. Do yourself a favor. Try Ear Bags and leave Ear Pops to someone else.

Gosh! Somebody actually liked my site and blog enough to do an email interview with me. Of course, my ego isn’t the only reason you should check out the Good Bloggin’ site.

“The Noon” and her friends also cover interesting new technology, the environment, politics, activism, etc. We’ve got a lot in common, but Good Bloggin’ adds a sort of online talent search to the mix, introducing readers to people and places they might otherwise miss. Check it out!

I was a AAA Motor Club member for many years. We had a few minor snits, but by and large, I had no problem with them. Until…

I found out that they actually have lobbyists in Washington fighting against things like better mileage standards for vehicles. Huh?!

Now I’m a member of the Better World Auto Club, which lobbies for things that make sense. They even give discounts to owners of hybrid cars and have roadside assistance for bicyclists.

I’ve been a member for a couple of years. Last year, I was forced to use them 3 times in 2 days! No problem. Everyone was nice and understanding about it, and the service met or exceeded what I’d had with AAA.

Their newsletter displays a bizarre sense of humor sometimes (your Aunt Gertrude might tsk tsk), but I highly recommend them. Check ‘em out!