XTZ is GONE. In an earlier blog I wrote about the wonders of caffeinated candy. It's still wonderful, but it appears that the XTZ company is no longer in business. They took my $54 order, and no longer answer e-mails or their phone. My conclusion: they're out of business or the biggest scam going.

Is Amazon's "Askville" an innocent social community or part of a larger Amazon universe in which some people in other Amazon ventures are able to profit from the good-will and helpfulness of folks on Askville ? The MechanicalTurk, another Amazon venture, pays people to answer questions or perform tasks. Most "pay" is very small -- sometimes, it's only a few pennies. But, some people sign up on Mturk, then post the questions on Askville, let other people research the answers, and then get paid on Mturk. Not a big issue, but some folks, if the Mturk BB can be believed, are making over $100 a week. Not illegal, not unethical, but it strikes me as very SLIMY...... I wonder how many people would answer a question if the asker indicated that the source was Mturk ?

There's also another question-related Amazon site called "NowNow", where the users are given a small amount of time in which to supply the answers. Same scam capability for Askville.

Here's the Mturk BB site: http://turkers.proboards80.com/index.cgi

Caffeine without the Coffee

Aka "Caffeinated Candy"....
I've been buying my caffeinated candy (mints, chocolates, chocolate mints, etc.) from ThinkGeek (http://www.thinkgeek.com). Then, ThinkGeek started to offer caffeinated chocolate mint truffles, which are really chocolate coated soft chocolate mint candies, but very tasty, and two of them can keep me going all morning. So, I started researching the makers and distributes of the tasty buzz bites, and found them on http://www.xtz.com , where you can order chocolate, orange, peanut butter, and other flavors of caffeine goodies.
Last night, I found some caffeinated candy in the CVS store - it a package called "LifeFitness Instant Energy Beans". Two chewable tablets have 40 mg of caffeine, which is a little less than my normal mug of coffee. They're not as good as chocolate (what is ?), and they have a slight aftertaste, which might be due to the vitamin B-12, or just random chemicals. Anyway, they come in a blue bag; my CVS has them located in the vitamin aisle. They're instantly available and very handy when you don't want to make/ buy/ consume coffee. One advantage of the "Energy Beans" over the truffles is: they don't melt in the heat, which makes then a better choice when traveling, biking, or just storing in your pack. The other advantage is that 2 'beans" only have 10 calories.

2-Wheel Me

Even though it's still cold by normal standards for April (daily high temperature is barely 50 degrees F) I'm going to start an experiment: if I'm making a trip that is shorter than 10 miles from home, I am going to ride a bicycle.

This is going to be a challenge because: CARS RULE !!! here. Even though biking advocacy groups are working hard to change this and to provide better facilities for bikes, this is not a bike-friendly neighborhood. If I travel more than 4 miles to the west, it's all major highways, no shoulders on the roads, etc.

Rules that I am going to try to follow:

0. If the temperature is above 50 degrees F, then
1. I MUST ride a bike if the trip is 5 miles or less in 1 direction.
2. I will TRY to ride a bike if the trip if >5 and up to 10 miles in any direction (the west may be tough)
3. Office trips are not included - the trip to the office is within the 10 mile radius, but there are no facilities for bike storage or showers.
4. The city limits are technically between 1.5 and 4 miles away, depending on whether I use a paved or unpaved path. Going into the city should require a bike, not a car, unless it's at night.
5. No bikes in rain, snow, or, night in the street (i.e., night riding on the bike path is OK).

This is totally a wussy approach to transportation biking, but US suburbs are, for many reasons, not safe, and getting hit by an SUV is not fun. Plus, in order to get to anyplace, I have to take a long route just to find a road with shoulders.

World Without Oil - Launch April 30, 2007

What if there was a world without oil ? What would people do ? What if there was a game about a world without oil ?

Answers to all questions can be found on http://www.worldwithoutoil.org The "what if" game starts on April 30.

The object of the game, which is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a backer of PBS, is for people to envision a world in which the United States has been cut off from oil imports. Then, visitors will be urged to participate in the game by writing their own stories, creating videos or even by conjuring so-called flash mobs in U.S. cities.

Bicycle - Ride of Silence

The RIDE of SILENCE is a way to remember riders (on bicycles) killed or injured and to raise awareness about the rights of bikers on roads. (A new concept to many people, judging from the way we're treated). Riders on the ride don't talk, and frequently leave a 'ghost bike' (a bike painted white) at locations were riders are killed.

There is a national web site, where you can find rides in your area: www.rideofsilence.org This year, there will be about 200 rides in 8 countries.

In Philadelphia, PA, the next ride is scheduled for Wednesday. May 16 at 6:45pm. This is the second time a ride has been held in Phila. The route will start at the foot of the front steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum on the Ben Franklin Parkway.

A brief pre-ride dedication ceremony will take place at 6:45 PM and the ride will start promptly at 7:00 P.M. It will proceed down the Parkway, circle City Hall, continue to Independence Hall, and head over to West Philly via the Walnut St. Bridge. The ride will return to the front of the Art Museum over the Spring Garden Street Bridge. The duration of the ride is expected to be 1.5 hours. Helmets are required and bicycle lights are encouraged.

For more info, Contact the BCGP at info@bicyclecoalition.org or the ride leaders: Ray Scheinfeld, erayben@bellatlantic.net , 215-327-8315; John Siemiarowski, tandemdad@comcast.net, 215-837-0101.

One Latop Per Child - Upgrade

The One Laptop Per Child effort is taking off, and the web site and hardware has been upgraded, and the beta version was released to developers and organizations in volunteer countries - but nothing in the hands of kids yet.

OLPC site: http://www.laptop.org/ The site is also much better, and they are now taking credit card donations to the program, but still not ready to offer the "Pay for 2 - get 1" that I'm waiting for.

The Library Thing

Finally -- a site for people with a reading addiction !

http://www.LibraryThing.com

A cool site if you have a serious addiction to reading and good books. What could be better than an on-line community of readers and tons of information about books and what people are reading ?!

If you were called a "bookworm" when you were a kid - you should check it out.

Moving on... to Derrick and Will

Enough time wasted on Dax Flame.. I've moved on to Derrick and Will, who are amusing as they point out that TV is pointless and useless. The YouTube (why not UTube ?) site is "Impytherap". It's equally funny if you don't bother to watch the shows -- 4 minutes of D&W give you all you need to know.

Dax Flame - Secret Watcher

I admit it - I have wasted far too much time watching the soap opera called "Dax Flame" on YouTube. I know it's another "LonelyGirl", but I keep watching with morbid fascination. On one hand it's perfectly on target as an irritating 15 year-old-boy who is incredibly immature. On the other hand, his acting is over the top and there are major gaps -- like his off-screen "mother's" voice who sounds like a 14-year old girl. Like LonelyGirl, there's no world outside the video, which is too bad, because they could have a whole world for this loser kid.