“The tablet market is like that kid in school who, at first, no one really noticed. Then, a year later he starts the school year a foot taller, with a new wardrobe, and suddenly everyone wants to be his friend. But, does he deserve his newfound popularity?

I really don’t know. Personally, I’ve yet to purchase a tablet, and I’ve still not seen a compelling reason to do so. Still, millions feel differently and have already dived full on into the tablet sector.”

Personally, I’ve been wanting to get my hands on an iPad since they first came out over two years ago, but couldn’t afford it didn’t want to stretch my budget for something that might not fit my lifestyle. At the same time, I found that I couldn’t backup my aging Palm PDA to my desktop due to my upgrading to Windows 7 (and the fact that Palm had moved from PDAs to smartphones with monthly charges). After some research, I bought a 4th generation iPod Touch –it took me a few days to see how well the iPod replaced my PDA, and then it showed me how it replaced my portable CD player, my wallet photo holder and my netbook. When I added an Apple TV to my network, I could use the iPod to run some apps that added even more content to my television viewing from the comfort of my recliner – Kelby Training courses on photography, Photoshop, and Lightroom, plus the photos from my iPod that weren’t already on my computer network. But … the iPod screen is small, and for those apps that didn’t work via Apple TV to show up on my bigger screen TV, I found I still wanted that iPad. In fact, the iPod showed me both that I didn’t need the iPad AND that I wanted the iPad. The iPod could do much of what the iPad does; it just does it smaller – and I’m old(er) and my vision needs wants a larger screen with larger fonts and larger pictures and … Then the other tablets started being announced, and I was hopeful that one would be as good as the iPad but a lot cheaper and not too dorky looking. I’m still waiting, but there are signs that really good tablets that can do even more than the iPad are coming — one MIGHT be the ASUS Transformer Prime… or not, since CNET decided not to review the one they received because of bad performance – they’re waiting for another copy and will see if it’s any better…

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19736_7-57334316-251/hands-on-with-the-asus-transformer-prime/?tag=mncol

Tonight I watched the repeat of the “60 Minutes” story of  Staff Sgt. Giunta, who won the Medal of Honor for actions he took during an ambush of his squad in Afghanistan. Sgt. Giunta advanced on, and shot at enemy soldiers who had captured a severely wounded U.S. soldier, Sgt. Joshua Brennan, and forced the enemy to release Sgt. Brennan and flee. Sgt. Brennan lost his life later that day during surgery to repair his wounds; Sgt. Brennan and Sgt. Giunta were good friends.

Excerpts from the “60 Minutes” interview –

“I have never given everything,” Giunta said. “Sergeant Joshua Brennan gave everything.”

So did Specialist Hugo Mendoza, the team’s medic who was killed in the first moments of the ambush; Franklin Eckrode survived his wounds, and Gallardo was awarded the Silver Star for his actions that night.

Giunta is not yet able to reconcile their losses with becoming an American hero. “I’m not at peace with that at all. And coming and talking about it and people wanting to shake my hand because of it, it hurts me because it’s not what I want. And to be with so many people doing so much stuff and then to be singled out – and put forward. I mean, everyone did something. Okay, someone wrote about this, and then someone else approved it. And then a story was told and handshakes were made, and then sooner or later, I’m talkin’ to the president of the United States. I don’t see how that happened,” he told Logan.

Like it or not, Giunta is now part of an elite fraternity: there are only 86 Medal of Honor recipients alive today. For the rest of his life he’ll enjoy certain privileges, like a guaranteed seat at presidential inaugurations, and he’ll be honored at military events.

But it’s something he may never be comfortable with.

When Logan asked what kind of soldier he is, Giunta said, “I’m average. I’m mediocre.”

“This is only one moment,” he said. “I don’t think I did anything that anyone else I was with wouldn’t have done. I was in a position to do it. That was what needed to be done. So that’s what I did.”
Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/11/11/60minutes/main7044681.shtml#ixzz1NndeDsBy

Each time that I have watched the interview, I have admired the man who fought to save his friends, and who appears convinced that he is not deserving of special honors. Each time that I have listened to Sgt. Giunta, I have flashed back to the story of an Arizona hero from WWII – Ira Hayes, a survivor of one of the deadliest battles of the war, Iwo Jima. Hayes was one of the six men in the famous photo which showed a raising of the U.S. Flag on Iwo Jima, and was brought back to the states before the war ended to promote the bravery of our servicemen on tours throughout the country selling War Bonds. Private Hayes received a promotion to Corporal and a number of medals, and was accorded hero status by many. According to many, Hayes “never considered himself a hero and often said the real heroes were “my good buddies” who died during the battles. What was supposed to be an easy tour of duty turned into the worst ordeal of Ira’s military life. He never understood why he was called an American hero and struggled with the adulation that was heaped on him everywhere he went. Over and over he made statements that he was not a hero but reminded everyone of the brave men who had died and deserved this honor.”
via http://thegoldweb.com/voices/irahayes.htm

Ira Hayes was arrested numerous times for public drunkenness and died after a night of drinking in January 1954. His exhibition as a hero was not the reason for his early death, but most stories mention it as a factor in his inability to make a healthy adjustment to civilian life.

I want to tell both Sgt. Giunta and Pvt. Hayes that their actions as soldiers were worthy of high regard by the civilian public, even if it is true, as Sgt. Giunta asserts, “I don’t think I did anything that anyone else I was with wouldn’t have done. I was in a position to do it. That was what needed to be done. So that’s what I did.”

I believe him; and I strongly disagree with him. His error is thinking that those who died during the battle were more deserving than he – because they “gave all”. Sgt. Giunta, they did give all, BUT none of you knew who was going to live and who was going to die that day, and your actions should not be judged by whether you survived or died. They would have wanted to survive while fighting their battle, and you would have been willing to die while fighting that same battle – THAT is the heroism that we honor, NOT the deaths of young men who should still be alive. All of you, just as you say, “did what needed to be done…” I am grieved that some lost their valuable lives doing their job, but I am glad that some survived. “Survivor guilt” is real, and deserves intervention. I want you to live the rest of your alloted years being the same strong, steadfast leader who took the action “that needed to be done”, and never doubt the strength, the valor, the importance of “simply” doing the job. Look around, Sgt. Giunta – there are lots of men and women who do NOT do what needs to be done each day – with their children, with their marriage vows, with their neighbors, with their friends, with their constituents, with their customers, with their employees or co-workers. Do not discount, do not dismiss, do not de-value the importance of  “doing what needs to be done”. This has always been the line between winning and losing – in combat, in business, in family duties, in relationships, in LIFE.

I believe that other men in your unit WOULD have done what you did if they were in your position, and I commend all soldiers who would have fought to save Sgt. Brennan (and those others who DID) and all the others who have been injured in battle. But YOU were in THAT spot, during THAT ambush, and YOU took actions that succeeded in recovering your buddy from the hands of the enemy. It was not necessary, or desirable, that you DIE while taking that action for it to be considered brave, or honorable, or deserving of our thanks and praise. It is true that we should not shower only you with honor and praise; it should be shared with all other soldiers who also have shown their dedication to duty and to their “brothers”.

We admire you for your willingness to admit that you had been “an average soldier” – but that does not reduce our admiration for you. It simply means that when “grading” our soldiers for fortitude, bravery, ability to get the job done – that “average” does NOT mean a “C” grade; our average soldiers must be Grade AA !!

Cousin Billy Beaty – Merchant Marine seaman killed in WWII

Billy was the son of one of my mother’s sisters – Edith, who had passed away before his death.

Billy joined the Merchant Marines in WWII and was lost at sea when his ship was destroyed by a German U-boat. He was only 21 years old. According to a WWII information website ( http://www.usmm.org/killed/b.html ),  Billy was an Ordinary Seamen on the Edward B. Dudley, a Liberty class merchant ship.

He was killed months before I was born, but I heard loving stories about him as I grew up, and knew that if I had been able to meet him, I would have adored him just as much as I do now. He was much loved by my mom, his brother Orren, and sister Mary Margaret. They’re all gone now.

…from http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/2861.html — On 4 Apr, 1943, the Edward B. Dudley (Master Gibson Douglas Hillary) left New York in convoy HX-232. Later the ship straggled from the convoy perhaps due to bent propeller blades and was never heard from again. None of the eight officers, 34 men and 27 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 4in and nine 20mm guns) on board were ever found. At 14.30 hours on 10 April, U-615 fired a spread of four torpedoes on a single ship, but only one torpedo hit which failed to explode. She followed the vessel, which was now steaming a zigzag course and the next day at 04.46 hours fired two torpedoes which hit amidships and stopped the vessel. 20 minutes later another torpedo was fired from 1000 meters that struck at the stern and ignited the after magazine, but the ship still remained afloat. At 05.16 hours a coup de grace was fired from 800 meters that struck under the bridge. The cargo of munition was ignited and the ship disintegrated. Debris slightly damaged the conning tower of the U-boat and wounded Kapitzky, forcing U-615 to abort her patrol and return to port. The launching of many lifeboats was observed before the ship exploded. The victim must have been the Edward B. Dudley.(latitude 53 deg N, longitude 39 deg W)

Tip from Deke McClelland -
Open your image. If it is a Background layer, first make it a new layer – neither of the two methods listed work on Background layers. Press Control-R (Command -R on the Mac) to bring up the rulers on the top and side. Zoom out on your image so that you can see the whole image and then choose Select All (Control-A on PC / Command A on Mac). Next, choose the Move tool (Control-V) and check the box in the Options bar “Show Transform Controls”. This shows a “target” mark in the center of your image – simply move a ruler guide to the mark and snap it in place. You can show/hide the guide by using the shortcut Control-semi-colon ( Control-; ) .
A similar method is to simply choose Control-T  for transform (from the Edit menu – Free Transform). You will again see a “target” mark in the center of image so that you can move a ruler guide to mark it.

News. June 2, 2010

Bill Austin passed away on Wednesday, June 2, 2010. After nearly 20 years behind the KEZ 99.9 microphone with Beth McDonald, Austin wrapped his last show on Feb. 25, much to the surprise of listeners. Prior to anchoring the KEZ’s top-rated morning show with McDonald, Austin was the weatherman at Channel 12. No arrangements have been announced yet. Friday’s morning show on KEZ, which has continued with Beth and Friends, will be a tribute to Bill.

I liked to watch Bill, and his dying from cancer reminds me of my brother Dick’s death from cancer. Dick liked to watch Bill also.

Tribute Page – KEZ Radio

KTAR.com – Remembering Bill Austin VIDEO.

For an official view of what content aware fill might be able to do, see this video:

For a humorous view of content aware fill – see this video

Now don’t YOU want the new upgrade too??!!

I was watching a RetouchPro.com video tutorial by Steve Caplin on YouTube, and following along on CS3 Photoshop when I noticed that I couldn’t use the marquee tool or any other tool — pressing on any of the tools only produced the handtool. Took me a minute to try different things to realize that it was a problem – hit the Caps Lock, tried several different tools, then rebooted CS3 – still the handtool instead of the marquee or brush or eraser…! Don’t remember this happening before – what did my cat do this time?!  Abby, the cat currently sleeping next to keyboard did not answer my question, so I did a search. Found an answer after looking thru a lot of frustrated posts.

Probable cause: conflict with FULL- screen viewing of Flash-based videos

Solution:  hit the space bar… yep, that’s all.

I tried out the cause again, and got the same effect; tried out the solution again and resolved the problem.

If you ever end up here because of the same problem – say thanks to eZen, at the Adobe Forums – it was his/her post that gave me the answer.

“In the world of energy, the Holy Grail is a power source that’s inexpensive and clean, with no emissions. Well over 100 start-ups in Silicon Valley are working on it, and one of them, Bloom Energy, is about to make public its invention: a little power plant-in-a-box they want to put literally in your backyard.

You’ll generate your own electricity with the box and it’ll be wireless. The idea is to one day replace the big power plants and transmission line grid, the way the laptop moved in on the desktop and cell phones supplanted landlines…” – excerpt from

The Bloom Box: An Energy Breakthrough? – 60 Minutes – CBS News.

Wow! I do not understand any of the science behind this (fuel cells), but I believe the people who say it is working. My mind is totally boggled by the thought of energy being available anywhere in the world — the inventor wants to provide power for EVERYONE from the richest companies to remote villages in Africa.

This is what terrorists don’t understand – the world is changed for the better by people who CREATE, not by people who destroy.