828. "Oil, Power, and War" by Matthieu Auzanneau -- 3-Stars

Oil, Power, and War by Matthieu Auzanneau

Chelsea Green Publishing

ISBN: 9781603587433 

I was enthralled by the author’s ability to explain the history of oil through captivating fiction-like prose. His research must have been endless and his interspersing of historical observations with his superb literary abilities made this a page turner in the making. The explanation of prehistoric eras with of high carbon dioxide levels, temperatures well above today’s normal averages, water levels 200m above the then normal levels, and the extinction of dinosaurs due to an asteroid hit as were “acceptable” to illustrate the history of oil. I even overlooked the innuendo that this same leap backward to high carbon dioxide and temperatures could possible occur again (the Gore theory that never occurred) within a century “confirming” the Greenhouse Affects. But when I came to page 36 and the passage “Perhaps the black gold industry, long dominated by the Americans, was reluctant to attribute its paternity to the Russians, a Canadian, or a ‘medicine man’ associated with a US president who was unable to prevent the coming Civil War (and who is still considered, along with George W. Bush and Donald Trump, to be the most incompetent figure ever to occupy the White House),” I called it quits. Up to this point I questioned a lot of what was being written, not that I knew differently, but that the observations being communicated seemed only to fit a well composed story, they were not necessarily facts and mere opinions like the referenced passage. At that point I immediately dismissed what the French author most diligently wrote and facts became mere observations. My impression went from nonfiction to historical fiction due to liberal interpretations of information and unacceptable opinions that added nothing to the story, but, conversely damaged a fine written piece of literature.

Ratings:

How well written = 5-Stars (captivating -- ignoring the negatives stated above)

Research = 5 Stars

Facts Presented = 4 Stars (some observations questionable and, thus, merely observations)

Opinions = 0 Stars (unnecessary to promote unproven theories and politics)

Written to ensure 100% nonfiction-believability = 3 Star

Overall = 3 Stars (turned off and can’t accept it as true nonfiction – unwilling to finish)

Reviewer: Rich

827.Compare Brokers

I had an adventure is Fidelity Investments. I need not go into the specifics because I always had a work around. But, I wanted to see if any of the other Brokers had the full function I wanted the way I wanted it since old brokers did. So I went off to ETRADE and completed an application for an account so I could look at its interface on the PC AND its "expert" trading tool that runs on the web. I went to it this morning and it was like I went back in time to the caveman days. It had to be the most primitively written application I have seen in over a decade. At one time I was a Scottrade client before they sold out to ETRADE. Well, its nice interface were obviously thrown into the garbage can. Fidelity's PC Advanced Trader tool is light-years ahead of ETRADE! That made my decidion to stay put rather easy when comparing to ETRADE. From what I viewed of the Schwab system though, I won't give up on the thoughts of looking for greener pastures on the other side of the fence. The only reason for this post is to inform you to look elsewhere if you are considering ETRADE (just my opinion, based on over 36 years of experience in trading). The other turn off at ETRADE was that all 5 times I called I received the "overseas" speaking accent. I had to hang up on the first one because I couldn't understand her. The others seemed pretty articulate, but limited as to what they knew without additional help or research. This again is light-years away from Fidelity customer service which also offers a VIP service for eligible investors. My only stick with Fidelity in the last 1.5 years is that implemented an Automated answering service system that now IMPEDES getting to someone quickly that ALWAYS got you the answer, to now only getting the right place 50% of the time requiring multiple transfers. Another "benefit" of more automation!!!

826. Can't Erase Authorization in Adobe Digital Edition (ADE)

I changed my Adobe ID to match my new email. MISTAKE. Well not that itself. All was well and I now had a login equivalent to new email rather than old one I no longer had access to. However, when Adobe Digital Edition rant to process a protected PDF file I found out that I needed to unauthorize my computer which was using my old Adobe ID (email and login) and authorize it with new ID/Email. A previous post explained how to set up ADE (and Kindle) to read a DRM protected PDF. This post explains the problem I encountered setting it up because I changed the Adobe ID/email. I knew I had to go ADE HELP and select Erase Authorization to reset everything, but a following screen presented me with OLD email (and thus old Adobe ID) and asked for the password. Since the old Adobe ID itself was changed, the name in the dialog that came up no longer existed and I couldn't get past the screen to unauthorize my PC! Forget going to Adobe. They will have no clue what to do and lead you through the is-it-plugged-in conversation on the display they are reading. 40 minutes with a clueless Adobe person was all I could take, particularly when I asked up front whether a simple uninstall/reinstall would fix it. No clue! Well, an uninstall/reinstall did NOT fix it. Here's why and how to fix it:

Kept on you PC in Register (Regedit needed) is information re the Adobe ADE Authorization process.

Go to this post on Adobe Forums for the RegEdit steps to remove the "Activation" elements. Then restart ADE and do HELP, Authorize for new Adobe ID.

825. Print Job Can't be Erased from Printer Queue

A new one for me was going to the printer queue via Start -> Printers and finding a job there that didn't print and won't print. Easy solution is to erase/remove it from the queue. well, that is if things work right. But what if even that doesn't get rid of it? Than go to this post for qa process to clean up your queue.

824. Read DRM PDF on Kindle with Akido

Don't bother looking for an app in the Kindle Store that can read DRM (protected) PDF files. I am a reviewer for books at Netgalley.com. Usually the books I am offered are downloadable in Kindle format. The other day I got one only downloadable as a PDF, and a protected one! DRM if you realize it has restrictions and limitations for the file downloaded (Adobe Digital Edition file that ends in .acsm) to protect the distribution and copying of the author's book. If you use a PC to read it, you simply need Adobe Digital Edition installed, plus have an Adobe ID (login for the Adobe website). Click on the .acsm file and ADE will come up. You will need to do a once only thing to Authorize your computer to read the book (PDF) and the dialog under HELP allows you to do the Authorize and specify the Adobe ID. Once that is down, and every other time, when you click on the .acsm file you get (really only a stub, not the book itself), it begins downloading the actual book as a .PDF and puts you into reader mode to read it.

However, the Kindle has no reader for an .acsm file and thus cannot get the .PDF to read in any reader that comes with the Kindle. Along comes Alkido via the Google Play Store. Installing an app from Google Play Store is a different animal itself. I believe I have a post how to get it working. If not, google "google play store apps kindle" and you should find the necessary programs you need to install to utilize Google Play to get to all the apps available from Google. Note that these are for a general Android device, NOT the specifically customized Kindle Android version necessarily. I haven't had any problem though with anything I downloaded from Google Play Store. Anyway, get the Alkido app (can process the .acsm file and download the book into its reader). Again, this time for the Kindle device itself, you need to specify the DRM login info (Adobe ID and PW you created at teh Adobe site).

If both devices, PC and Kindle are enabled as above, you can now read your protected DRM book on wither device.

823. Brother Printer Status Monitor gone?

For years I have wondered why the Brother Printer (DCP-L2540DW) never displayed any update information, toner status, ICON in system tray, firmware, etc. Well, it was broken! If you go to Brother Utilities and select Tools, then Status Monitor and it doesn't bring up the monitor, then it's a dead puppy. Here is what you have to do:

1. Uninstall your printer software - Control Program, Programs and Features, uninstall your software
2. Go to Brother website and get most current software and driver download
3. Install it

I was still at the original levels of software and firmware and several versions below most current for each! Now things are looking up.

822. Blogger Default Font

I finally discovered how to set default Font for Blogger posts (www.blogger.com). You have to do it within your browser. For Chrome, start selecting the 3-dots top right, then Settings, then Appearance, then Customize Fonts, and then pick a Font that matches up with one of the choices in Blogger for options given. I chose Arial, which is the Font you are reading.

821. "Cusp of Night" by Mae Clair - 3-Stars

Cusp of Night by Mae Clair – 4-Stars

Publisher: Lyrical Underground, Kensington Publishing Corp.

ISBN: 9781516107278 

I suppose I have read too many other good books in the genre of Mysteries, Thrillers, Fantasies, and Horror to get excited by this book. The Pros are its well written and organized and you want to keep reading to see what happens next. However, this paranormal novel focuses mainly on the life of a genetically challenged “blue lady”, a result of a parent match of a rare recessive gene, her adventures as a medium and her unimportant married life, and how to perform “fake” séances. More development of side characters may have been way to create some eeriness and contributed importance to the main characters that themselves provided nothing excitingly special. The plot typifies a the average paranormal story, but is fairly predictable. It did not contain enough suspense and horror, given a “mysterious” Fiend, to warrant a 5-star. However, I would put this into the cozy or read-curled-up-in=front-of-the-fireplace novel category. Although I expected much more given the blurb, it is so well-written, I must give it at least 4-Stars.

Reviewer: Rich

820. "Executive Force" by Gary Grossman --- 5-Stars

Executive Force by Gary Grossman

Publisher: Diversion Books

ISBN: 9781635764420

Never a dull moment.

World-wide and domestic intrigue utilizing current issues, technologies, and some fictional characters who seem to share characteristics and habits of some of today’s real leaders.

What secret and devious plots drive America to unleash its entire domestic and counterterrorism agencies and black opts to defend and attack?

There’s Separatist movement trying to break up the USA – multiply by ten the confusion and attention caused by the recently experienced charge to separate California once again, this time into three entities. While this chaos is driving a split in America like we haven’t seen since the Civil War and has the active attention up to the Supreme Court level, prominent politicians and many with promising futures are being assassinated.  But, who is behind this?

Scott Roarke, a Secret Service agent, his fiancée Katie Kessler, and his boss President Morgan Taylor lead the intense measures to discover this answer and counter the never ending attacks from even more directions. The story constantly jumps between the numerous mysteries and plans, but in a way that enhances comprehension while building links to plot’s eventual grand finale fireworks.

I’m not a car chase fan, and toward the end there is a rather lengthy one. However, because I have visited Washington D.C. many times, I enjoyed the detail and accuracy of the individual traversed areas, the realistic description of the environment, and the historical features. It was a come-visit-D.C. commercial in the disguise of an action-packed, get-the-bad-guy romp.

Enjoy the hidden motives and plans of governments and leaders. Appreciate the tact employed to ensure the world continues improving and avoiding even more major conflicts. This book is thought provoking. An exceptional read.

Reviewer: Rich

819. "AI Superpowers" by Kai-Fu Lee -- 5-Stars

AI Superpowers by Kai-Fu Lee

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

ISBN: 9781328546395 

Most thought provoking book I have ever read.

This is a must read if you want:

• to know what AI is
• to know how AI evolved and the experts behind it
• to know the future of AI
• to know application possibilities, compelling arguments supporting opinions, and the expected leaders of AI implementations to come
• to understand the potential impact of AI, or AGI, on jobs and the economy worldwide
• to understand how America is positioned now and in the future compared to China and other world powers
• to know which occupational fields are least and which are most impacted by AI
• to be an entrepreneur in AI

I guarantee your mind will begin to churn at high levels and your interests will be satisfied. Although I am retired and supposed to be past the active technical and creative stages, I felt reenergized reading this book and now have the desire to jump in and do something, if only imagine and follow future developments.

I can’t think of a reason why anybody would not enjoy this book. Not only does it provide total insight into AI – what it is, where it is already applied, what is being developed now, what and when to expect the next – it is an extremely well written book with perfect structure and continuous interest.

You may not agree entirely with all the author’s opinions, but you’ll find detailed, compelling arguments for them. I, myself, question his comparison to “Silicon Valley” when in most cases it appeared to be just the culture of California residents. I also question his selection of Policy and Funding as important requirements when comparing America to China when it is America’s private companies that drive the policies and the funding, not the government, versus China where nothing gets done unless the government issues a nation-wide policy and funding. Only then do the local governments get funded and fast-money making entrepreneurs get active. To date, this kind of behavior has supported the “copycat” culture in China, which the author explains, and which is accepted there as standard, in addition to, the detailed “spying” on citizen behaviors giving them an advantage is mass data which we in America would deem a major invasion of privacy. It’s that culture that gives China a boost in its short-term entrepreneurs’ endeavors -- the culture of making money fast and then moving on versus Silicon Valley companies that shoot for innovation and notoriety to ensure long-term growth and “monopolistic” status. 

The author is honest and notes the pros and cons of everything, including listing caveats that would make his opinions questionable.

I found this book a very fine text that delivers an entire AI course in a single binder.

Reviewer: Rich

818. "The Widow Next Door" by L. A. Detwiler - 2-Star

The Widow Next Door by L. A. Detwiler

Publisher: Avon

ISBN: 9780008324636 

This was a long drawn out narrative about an old lady who complains about the trials of aging, rehashes her sad past and falls asleep a lot. I would have quit reading after the first half of the book, but I felt obligated to finish it so I could write an honest opinion.

I kept waiting for the part that made it a gripping thriller as advertised. It wasn’t until the last few chapters that the plot got there. Even then, while the details were being filled in, I had already determined what the basic outcome would be.

The prose was good. I understood how it would feel to be old and unloved. But, there was just too much description of a sad lonely life and the difficulties old age brings without much happening to make it a star in its genre.

.

This was not a book that I enjoyed spending time reading.

Reviewer: Nancy

817. "Threat Level Alpha" by Leo J. Maloney - 4.5 Stars

Threat Level Alpha by Leo J. Maloney

Publisher: Lyrical Underground, Kensington Publishing Corp.

ISBN: 978-1-5161-0331-7 (ebook)

I couldn’t put this book down. The Morgans, father Dan and rookie daughter Alex, work for a non-government CIA-like organization Zeta Division. I’d like to begin this review t by comparing the main character to the Mitch Rapp in the successful series written by Vince Flynn. Dan Morgan is like Mitch in that he is highly skilled and mostly reactive to a situation or mission, but short in patience with government authorities; hence, he works for an “outside” black op organization. Like Mitch, he is ruthless, cleaver, fearless, and entertaining. You’ll find the blurbs indicate a biochemical threat that needs to be countered. This mission becomes Alex’s field operative debut and lead. Complications along the way, beginning with her kidnapping, bring in the team to find her and end the conflict.

Meanwhile, a second operation overseas by Dan’s fellow agent Conley confronting terrorists in a hotel and his connection with a beautiful Chinese woman, Dani, provides addition action and second story to keep you on the edge of your seat. Dani becomes an important player as you will determine when the book concludes.

The only disturbing and negative thing I can say about this book is the repetitious text throughout giving me the impressions that I, the reader, couldn’t remember what was read 3-4 times already. But, this could be interpreted as positive to some, as it is a constant reminder or events or people that may have been forgotten. Not once did I have to go back in the book to review something that happened. However, all that repetitive text for me could have been left out and replaced with more interesting, supplemental content. Thus, a 5-star story became a 4.5-Star read for me.

But, I will get his next book and look forward to Dan Morgan’s next adventure with both old and new characters on his team.

Reviewer: Rich

816. "Consent To Kill" by Vince Flynn - 5 Stars

Consent to Kill by Vince Flynn

Publisher: Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

ISBN: 978-1-4165-0501-3

I just can’t get enough of Mitch Rapp! This must be the third time I read this particular book with Copyright of 2005. I was right before, and repeat my 5-Star analysis.

Kennedy’s team, including the star player Mitch Rapp plus his outsider friend ex-Seal Coleman, perform as usual in another tense and reactive manner. However, in this book, Mitch is the target; instead of performing heroic feats in saving the world, he has a target on his back by an individual needing revenge for one of Mitch’s previous kills. Involved are people from Saudi Arabia, Germany, Russia, and even a well established Mexican gang that infiltrated America (now, in 2018, being hunted and thrown out or arrested). Consent To Kill has the action as in other Mitch Rapp stories; although Mitch suffers a Mitch suffers some mishaps in his personal life along the way. As in other stories, this story is realistic and highlights the dysfunction of our governing members, particularly the inability of Senators keeping their mouths shut. I believe you, as did I, will identify with the need for black ops and welcome the results that keep America safe through superb coordination, secrecy, and boldness. Kennedy’s team works in the shadows, yet excels in results trying to minimize collateral damage and reducing the damage to reputations, despite despicable acts. Enjoy your read. 

815. Wall power disconnects intermittently

This Post: An exact match at http://www.tomsguide.com/forum/newresponse/2819061 suggested update to ACPI Battery Complaint entry in my Device Manager to fix the elusive disconnecting of wall power intermittently and switching to battery power (original post 117 below). But, I had no ACPI Battery Complaint entry.

However, I was intrigued by a further comment re some PCs have a safety feature to ensure it doesn't over charge and that's why it switches from wall power to battery power, requiring unplug/plug of wall power line to get it back to wall power. Mine is like clockwork now 7 years after buying the DELL new and every 7 to 7.5 days. Was longer, I believe, in past. I see no System Events associated with this, which makes it impossible to diagnose. Dell had originally had me try different power cord adapter which didn't resolve it (see post 227 below). So they shook their heads and essentially said live with it or send to their repair facility. I chose not to send my fully configured machine to the hack shop since this problem was common and reported constantly on Internet across many other brands. The only solution I had was simply unplug and immediately plug back in.

The author's other comment was removing battery while plugged in if you use it only in "plugged-in" mode. Other posts seem to supply more detail as to why it is better to do this to extend battery life. Worth a try. Guess I'll find out quickly in 7-8 days whether I can power on without ever unplugging and plugging back in again, or whether removing the battery had no effect in the endless power issue. My problem now surfaces almost exactly weekly on every Tuesday. Without the battery as I am running now, the battery ICON indicated "no battery detected". Thus, I feel confident the code/bios/or whatever that checked the battery for over-charging will no longer execute and I will be forever over this issue. I'll return if there is a different result and update this post. If all is good, the answer is above OR maybe always use the PC in battery mode periodically to take battery down 70%.
-------------------------------- Older posts follow -----------------------
Post 212:For a couple of weeks my laptop power manager was reporting "plugged in, not charging." Scores of people have reported this problem on the Internet (Google the message) with really nobody wanting to accept the problem as theirs. You will find that the problem is not unique to manufacturer (some I saw were Sony, HP, Compaq, Dell, Lenovo, Acer). Operating systems reported were basically Vista and Windows 7 (now there's a clue). Solutions included replacing power adapter (can't imagine the exact same adapter being used for all manufacturers), popping battery out and reinserting it (sometimes several times and in particular sequence with disconnect and reconnect of AC adapter), BIOS upgrade, Motherboard adapter soldered weakly, etc. You'll find this problem starting on Vista in 2007 and continuing right into Windows 7 currently. So, what was exactly my symptoms? I always have my laptop connected to A/C power and after first charging to 100% it stayed there for some time -- don't know exactly how long. However, after changing power management options I began to notice the battery power decreasing every day along with the message above in title. After endless research, I decided it had to be software (Windows 7) and forgot it was A/C power sometime -- maybe when hibernating or sleeping. I was getting strange hibernation -- it would appear to hibernate, but came up as fast as sleep mode. Plus, had a few crashes to Windows 7 while in hibernation mode that recovered on complete restart. Whatever the problem is, I reset it back to normal (this time) by removing power cable AT PC (not wall), cleaned it off good, and plugged it back in. Immediately it restarted charging to 100%. Now was it dirty? Couldn't tell. Maybe it was just having it out for about 40 seconds. If I were to guess, the laptop senses when the cable is attached (plugged into wall or not -- just physically there) and notifies Windows to begin monitoring the power port for power and problems. Quite possibly it wiggled loose (but I doubt it) sometime while moving the laptop to its bed each night on the floor. Who knows -- I'm just a dog and can't smell anything wrong. See also Post 227.
-------------------------------------------------------

Post 227: I finally decided to check with Dell about the problem at Post 217 which occurred 3 times so far since 1/6/2010. I decided to avoid the verbal struggle with the overseas 1st line of support and decided to try the Online Chat that I liked in the past. Well, not to get off the subject, but of course just getting to Chat was another problem. I could not get to it via the Dell Website. However, when I brought up Dell Support program on the PC and invoked it from there all was good. Now, let me move on to Post 217. 1st Line was of course snowed by the problem and details I gave them and simply, and IMMEDIATELY, told me to send it into the repair depot. Oh Boy. Motherboard problem he said. Yet, the problem occurs across multiple vendor machines? "Well, I'll send you an A/C adapter too to try!" In other words, he never heard of this problem and had no clue how to provide diagnosis support to isolate the cause. Anyway, I replaced my A/C power adapter yesterday and will see if it was the cause. BIOS is current, so that's out.