Need an artist's studio? In Alameda (San Francisco CA)

An artist looking for studio space? How about some nice rooms in the lovely island community of Alameda, near Oakland, in the San Francisco Bay Area?

Contact Debra Owen, Executive Director, Frank Bette Center for the Arts. 1601 Paru St, Alameda, CA, 510-523-6957.

(www.frankbettecenter.org)

$500 a month -- good deal.

Definition of "Reality"

"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. "

Philip K. Dick (1928 - 1982) 

"How to Build a Universe That Doesn't Fall Apart Two Days Later" 1978.

Google's Latitude--great software GPS on your cell phone!

Google's new location feature for cell phones, Latitude, has been getting lots of press, good and bad.

Because one of its features--the one they talk about most--is that you can invite friends to know where you (or your cell phone) are at, exactly, I've seen a number of the usual "my privacy is being invaded--arrrgh!" blog postings. Idiots. You can choose who to let know where you are, how accurately they find you, and you can turn it off selectively any time you want. Sheesh.

But the "find a friend" function, for all the publicity, is not the Cool Feature. Latitude is --> afree GPS on your cell phone!Its most widely useful (but non-Social Web2) feature is, no doubt about it, the fact that it will give you turn-by-turn instructions (with map if you like) to any destination on Google Maps. For free.

It works with any smart phone -- mine is a nearly obsolete Palm Centro -- and your phone does NOT have to have GPS features enabled! Google Latitude uses 'cell-tower triangulation,' rather than GPS satellites, to figure out where your phone is. 

It's not the most feature-filled GPS -- no voice speaking turns aloud, and the accuracy of the location feature is less than that of a GPS satellite -- but - did I mention it's free? And you don't have to have carry around a second device.

This is a *great* light-duty GPS-in-your-Cell Phone product. Free. (Except you have to have data services enabled on your cell phone, so you'll pay data charges if you use it heavily.)

I personally like it plenty! Go to Google.com/Latitude, put in your cellphone number, and download the software to your phone from the message they send you. You'll be glad you did!

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Mouldy Scones: You Never Know Where You'll Find Inspiration: Just Ask Alexander Fleming, Discoverer of Penicillin!

'In the latter part of the 19th century it was the custom in the farming community in Ayrshire, Scotland, for the farmer's wife to put a freshly baked scone on a shelf, where it was left to grow mouldy. 

Anyone on the farm who sustained a cut would then rub this mouldy scone in the wound. 

It was into this very farming community in 1881 that Alexander Fleming, who went on to discover penicillin, was born.

The young Fleming no doubt encountered scone therapy, and even though the practice was eventually deemed unhygienic and fell into disuse, he would, of course, vindicate this home remedy. 

— Dr. David Adamson, St. Thomas, Ont.

--quoted in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, vol. 165, no. 12, December 11, 2001, p. 1591-2.

Q: Can you turn Social Security payments off and on? And is there any benefit to doing so? A: Yes! Here's the details.

I turned 62 this month, and applied right away for Social Security -- I figure, let's spend their money first, and hang onto my money as much as possible.

Anyway, a job opportunity has come along that looks very appealing -- right up my alley, a startup, exciting, etc. If it actually comes through (it's a startup, so funding is always a question), I will be making enough money that my Social Security income will be cancelled out, probably completely (they reduce your payments by a buck for every $2 you earn over the maximum of, I think, $14,000 a year).

So I talked to the Social Security advisor with my questions:

Q: I may have job starting; if I earn enough, can I turn SS off and then back on?

A: Yes. Just call 800 number for SSN (that I got in my application literature) and tell them you are starting a job that will earn $XX. They'll reduce or discontinue payments -- until you call back when the job is over.

Q: Is there an economic incentive for me to do so?

A: Yes; for each month you don't receive payment, or only get partial payment, you get one month's (or partial month's) credit towards your full retirement date.

For example: I am 62; if I stop it for a year, then restart at 63, I get paid the amount I'd get paid if I were starting at 63. This benefit applies up until my full retirement age (which depends on your birth year; for me it is, I think, 65).

This means if I shut off Social Security for, say, a year, then start it up next year, I'll get a few bucks extra in each month's check, just as if I had first started getting payments later.

This will be true even if, for example, you start getting payments at 62, then two years later turn it off for a while -- your incentive will be slightly higher monthly payments when you turn it back on.

Good thinking, SSA!

Surprisingly entertaining performance "Solo/Tongues" at Cal State Hayward!

I went to the Solo/Tongues performance last night (Nov 14), opening night, somewhat holding my breath in expectation of something so arty that it would bore me.

I was wrong: It was terrific!

The Solo portion consists of five monologues, each interesting, fun, funny, and expertly performed. A "hostess" welcomes you to Celebrity Slaveships. A Chinese student who loves computer games confesses that he's gay--and tall! A Chicano answers "Ask a Mexican!" And an Indian immigrant takes refuge imagining herself a Bollywood movie princess.

The Tongues part started off ominously, with two barefoot musicians playing accordians and walking up and down the aisles repeatedly, followed by babble from speakers placed around the theater. This went on too long and I was sure I was stuck in a Noh play.

Then the performance proper started, with a group of women singing--one in particular had a voice that simply stood out wonderfully.

Then the two or three dozen performers started careening around the stage, dancing, moving, singing, declaiming, scampering from one part of the stage to another -- and the chaos they created became mesmerizing, fascinating, eye-catching, vividly interesting.

I understood none of the cognitive elements of the play itself -- I have no idea what was supposed to be going on; that's where the artsy part came in -- but the whole busy, wild, dramatic, astonishing performance held me spellbound and delighted for the next hour.

It was - terrific! Entertaining! Go see it if you haven't already. Take your friends, including the ones who (like me) don't really much like "art" in my theatrical experiences -- however reluctant we are when we show up, we'll leave entirely entertained! Really! This is not just a performance for the art-in-crowd - it's something everyone will enjoy, even though it's hard to explain what goes on, or what it means.

Great, great fun! (In fact, I think I might come back next weekend and see it again.)

'Blocked' by Comcast as a spammer! --Some days I hate computers

The other day I got a robomessage (an automated email) from my ISP, Comcast.net, saying that my computer was being used for spam, and thus they were blocking me -- I would be unable to send email.

This accusation is impossible; I use ZoneAlarm Professional (and even pay for it), which blocks mass outbound emailings; and I've run three separate virus-checking programs, which have found nothing. Of course, the Comcast email had no instructions about how to argue the point, other than links to FAQs of smug instructions to use your firewall and run virus programs.

Not a big problem, I thought, I'll just use Gmail as my Reply ISP, which I did - for two weeks, and then that stopped working too.

I went to Comcast.net and drilled down until I found the "chat with a tech" link -- no way was I going to go by telephone and be driven crazy by the phone tree!

The tech said all I need to do was change my Outgoing Server (SMTP) port from the default 25 to 587. Lo & behold, that worked.

He said all Comcast had done when they decided I was a zombie computer was block my port 25.

Of course, it didn't work immediately. I was using Thunderbird, which he promptly told me Comcast doesn't "support." But after I sneered at him (in text), he suggested I delete my existing identities and re-enter them. That worked. (I hate the ease with which companies simply say "we don't support that," like it gets them off the hook. Only Outlook and Outlook Express, he said - ironic, since OE is notoriously insecure!)

I also changed the ports on Outlook, in case I get stuck using that benighted, slow-as-a-pig program.

So I'm back on track.

Sigh. Some days I hate computers.