2017 Spring May 2 Tuesday

53 degrees this morning.  Walk 36:06 minutes

Cool walk this morning, think I am expecting warmer weather so the continuing cool weather is disappointing.  Pace was 29 seconds slower than the goal.  I have to admit when I started walking this morning, I just had the idea I was going to put one foot in front of the other and not worry about the time!

Today marks 2 years and 10 months since we moved and 2 years and 8 months in my current job.  As I have mentioned before, sometimes it seems like forever, sometimes it seems like a short time.

Listening to the book on Algorithms during my walk, the book mentioned the importance of “feedback” in computers (as well as people).  More specifically, he mentions the “acknowledgement” is important both in computer programs and in personal conversation. A lot more goes on with computers than I realized!

He also mentions about the “capacity” problem, when it is impossible to respond.  For example he notes that some singer has 2.3 million “twitter” followers.  If only 1% send a tweet, the would have 2,300 tweets per day to respond too, and if she could respond to 100 per day, and did it in the order received, shortly the waiting period would be years.

Somehow this all relates to algorithms, but I need to study the book more before I can explain it!   

I continue to be surprised about the trend towards “home entertainment”, eating at home, shopping from home, entertainment at home etc.  (I mention this because I am watching a copy of “Mad Money” and Jim Cramer is discussing the  trend.)

Probably the concept that surprises me most (and seems most foreign to me) is “home delivery” of meals from restaurants where you pay full price for a meal to be delivered to your house.  Apparently there is a demand for it since some companies are making money at it, but iI have a hard time believing there is that much of a demand for it, or at least a growth in the demand for it.

I have been using “Google +” for years now.  Although it is not all that well known, I like it and the more i use it, the more I like it.  Like all programs like that, I probably only use a small percentage of its potential.  

I find it especially easy to find items on Google +, which I have really come to appreciate it.  For example, the posts on using the Apple watch can be accessed easily, so if I have a question about a specific function, I can quickly access it and have detailed instructions I need to use something on the Apple Watch.

I saw a post about whether it was worth it to purchased “extended warranty” on Apple products.  In almost all cases, the extended warranty includes breakage “insurance”, as well as a normal warranty and, perhaps more important, extended time for “customer tech support”, or the opportunity to call about any problems etc.  

For me, it is normally worth it to purchase it for things like computers, iPads and the Apple watch etc.  

I think the key is probably the cost and complexity of the product versus the cost of the product.  I am always a little surprised that the cost of the extended warranty is the same for the inexpensive product as it is in the more expensive product (on a usual basis anyway).  

That’s it for now, Tuesday, May 2, 2017.