Oh Jeremy, What have you done?

So, unless you live under a rock, you know that Jeremy Clarkson, one of the hosts of Top Gear was fired today.  What you may not know is that this is one of my favorite shows.  I have watched all of them.

I don't really like Jeremy Clarkson, but I love watching him act like an idiot.  I love watching someone who thinks they are always right, and is in fact almost always wrong.  Jeremy Clarkson is a little like Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory. He has the same problem with separating his own opinion from the truth.

I will not defend Jeremy Clarkson.  If the personality he displays on the show is any indication, then he is an enormous ass.  He yelled at one of his producers.  Well, that surprises me not at all.  I have a feeling that he yells at a lot of people.  But, he crossed a line when he escalated it to physical violence.  That is unacceptable in a way that even the racial slurs…or at least supposed racial slurs are not.  He was justly fired and I applaud the BBC for firing the star of the biggest show in the world.  He deserved it, and you did the right thing.

But what now?

Over on Jalopnik there are about a dozen articles about Clarkson and Top Gear, and it all got me thinking.

First, a Bold Statement.

The more that the BBC or Jeremy Clarkson attempt to recreate Top Gear as it was, the more likely they are to fail.

Jeremy Clarkson carried Top Gear.  He wasn't the sole reason for its success, but he was vital to that success.  I cannot imagine that anyone can fill his shoes.  Now, I should be clear.  I mean that I do not think anyone can come in to Top Gear and play the role of Jeremy Clarkson.  If the host changes, the show changes.  If the BBC tries to plug in someone else and keep the show as it is, it will fail.

On the other hand, I do not think that Top Gear is going to work anywhere else.  Even if someone hires all three hosts, I think that there will need to be changes.  If they try to hire all three and try to do the same things, it will fail.

One of the things that brings me to that decision is that I think that Top Gear was getting old.  The three hosts have been more like caricatures of themselves for the last three or four series, with Jeremy really leading the pack.  The moment that Jeremy drove into the camp with a cow strapped to the top of his Camaro, I felt that Top Gear crossed a line, and it has kept pushing out from there. 

So, while this was an unfortunate way for Top Gear to change, I do not think that Top Gear would have gone on unchanged for long.

So, I have droned on long enough for now, but I leave you with two questions, which I shall try to answer in the near future.

What shall become of Top Gear?

What shall become of Jeremy Clarkson?

HTC One Max - A Review

I have been using the HTC One Max for some time now, and it seems that it might be time to provide a review.

I have been using it for about 11 months now and I have learned it's quirks.

First, HTC Sense is worthless.  Generic Android is much better and Sense only gets in the way of doing things.  So, first I turned it off and later I installed the Google Now Launcher which I actually like, though it is far from perfect.

I have my phone from Verizon, and between HTC and Verizon there is far too much bloatware on this phone for my taste.  There are a group of Verizon apps that cannot be uninstalled, which is really annoying, since I use only one Verizon app, the one that lets me check my data usage.

The screen is enormous, which I love and I have never once been sorry that I chose one of the largest phones on the market (5.9").  Unfortunately, HTC made some unfortunate choices which are rather annoying.  The HTC One Max has only two buttons, a home button and a back button.  They are backlit, but the lighting is so feeble that they can only be seen when the phone is off.  So, they can be seen when they cannot be used, and cannot see when they can.  Great work, HTC.  Couldn't you find anything stupider to do?  Oh wait, you did.

Because there are only two buttons, there is no dedicated button to view the list of running programs, so that you can switch between them.  No, you have to double tap the Home button to bring up a screen of the running apps, not a list, but a grid.  Actually, I suppose that makes two stupid choices.  More excellent work HTC.  Double tapping is not easy.  Single tap, home screen, double tab running apps grid.  Only about 40% of the time, my attempts to double tap bring up the Home screen.  The grid is not as good as a list, because when you have 4 or more apps open and want to close an app, you have to slide up through the app above the one you want to close.  About 5% of the time, that switches to the app on the lower line, or the one above it.  It isn't that often, just enough to be annoying.

So, each HTC change makes the phone worse. 

Also, the power button is in a perfect place, so that when you pick up your phone, it will either turn on or shut off, depending on what it was before you picked it up.  HTC, didn't anyone actually test the phone by picking it up?  It seems like a simple and obvious test, but obvious they did not perform that test.  Fortunately, a gel case fixed that.

One last thing, and probably the smallest of all.  The phone is white.  No one in their right mind wants a white phone, and yes, I am looking at all of you white iPhone users...you are NOT in your right mind.  Of course, you chose Apple, so you were mostly there already before proving it my buying a white phone.

So, what is my overall opinion of the HTC One Max?

I love it.

My problem is that I have owned three HTC phones, one of the first batch of Windows Phone 7 Phones (yea, that was a brilliant decision Microsoft), an HD7, and then an HTC Trophy 7.  I loved both of those phones, much more than the HTC One Max.

Hmmm, I wonder why?

Oh, it might be because Microsoft was smart enough to decide not to let OEMs modify the OS, and the hardware was set in stone, 3 buttons on the front, one camera/shutter button on the side.  No alterations.  No deciding that you know better and messing around with it.

The HTC One Max is a very good phone, but if they had left Android alone, and stuck with the standard button arrangement it would be a nearly perfect phone.

I wanted a big screen, and I got it, and that is why I love the HTC One Max.  If it were smaller, this would be an annoying phone.  I look at the HTC One remix on Verizon and notice that the extra hardware buttons are gone and it uses the onscreen buttons and it appears to have all three, so while a 4.5" screen is too small, at least they corrected one problem.

Where to Begin....Again

I have been away from this site for far too long and for the last month or so, I have stayed away because I had been away too long.  I simply do not know where to begin in getting back into putting down my thoughts on this blog.

One thing that has changed is my gadget status.  When I was last writing regularly, I was a gadget-starved gadget junkie.  I am a bit better fed now.

Microsoft Surface

This is the original version and the RT variety, not the Pro.  Quick review.  I love it, even though I do not use it as much as I thought I would.  With the addition of a TypeCover I can do virtually anything on it that I can do on the PC that I am presently typing this on.

Dell Venue 8 Pro

Now, the funny part is that my 8" Tablet runs full Windows 8, while my 10" Tablet runs RT.  I love this one as well.  I got the smaller tablet because I do not like to read on the larger one.  Also, I discovered that my phone, which is one of the biggest on the market isn't big enough for reading on.

On the subject of Windows RT versus Windows 8 is that it really does not make a difference.  I have no legacy programs that I use on my tablets, so the smaller tablet could have RT on it and I would not notice.

HTC One Max

This is the big phone, 5.9", which makes it larger than the Galaxy Note.  I love the real estate, but it has a few annoying things, like the change in the buttons, which is really annoying because you have to double tap the home button to get the running programs list.  It doesn't always work.  Overall, I really like it.

I still have my Hisense Sero 7 Pro, but it gives me problems from time to time and I do not use it much.

So, this is my first time back in a while, but I intend to write more often, so watch out.

Starting the New Year on the Surface

So, I have not been very good about writing here lately.  I am not sure that will change, but here I am again.

For my birthday, I bought myself a refurbished Microsoft Surface.  Yes, the one that runs Windows RT.  No, not the new Surface 2, but the original Surface.  I found a very good price on a refurbished Surface and I jumped on it when I had the money.

So, some of you may be wondering why I decided on the Windows tablet that may be doing least well of them all.  Well, that is why I am here writing today.

First, I reject completely the argument that Windows RT is bad because it does not run Windows legacy apps.  That is completely and utter balderdash.  No, I do indeed understand that Windows RT does not run Windows legacy apps.  What I reject is the idea that this is a mark against it.  Will Android run Windows apps?  No.  Well, is that a mark against it?  Does iOS run Windows apps?  No.  Does iOS run MacOS apps.  No.  Why is Windows RT judged differently from iOS and Android?  Windows RT is Microsoft's attempt to enter the low end tablet market.  Just like the tablets that it competes directly against, it does not run Windows or MacOS apps intended for desktop systems.  So, all three are even.

Windows RT only fails when compared to Windows 8 tablets, and that is understandable, except that with an ARM processor, it can have a much longer battery life, and a lighter weight.  I would put that as two in the plus column for Windows RT.

I have a new Windows 8 laptop that I am typing this on, so I do not really need a full Windows 8 tablet.  Though I must admit to being tempted by the Dell Venue 11 Pro, but at more than twice what I paid for my Surface, I was willing to sacrifice a few things I did not really need.

There are plenty of apps in the Microsoft Store.  I have installed Kindle, Netflix, and I already had a news, sports and mail app.  Once I updated to Windows RT 8.1, I was all set.  I also get Office, and I do not mean an Office clone, like you get on Android or iOS, I mean Office, the original and still the best.  I haven't installed many games, but that will come as I work my way through figuring out what I want.

One big thing for me was that I wanted a keyboard.  10"+ tablets are a little useless without one.  I had a 10" Android tablet and it screamed out to me constantly for a keyboard.  I ended up trying out three different ones.  Swype is nice, but it is really hard to do more than a few words.  By the way I prefer Swype to Swiftkey.  Swype is fine for stuff about the length of a text message.  I am sure it works great in Twitter...then again I do not use Twitter.  But, for longer emails, or writing something like this post...not so much.

The only other Windows tablet in my price range was the Asus T100, which is a great machine at a great price....with an unusable keyboard.  At least, it is unusable for someone with my big hands...or at least me with my big hands (no, you can't have them).  I have tried out both the TouchCover and the TypeCover at my local Microsoft store and surprise, I can use both of these.  They are actually full size keyboards.

I have a TypeCover that I hope will be arriving this week.

Most importantly, the price was right.  None of the other tablets I was looking at could match the price.  Oh, there were some lesser Android tablets, but the ones in the same price range are not ones I want.  The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, which would be my Android preference was twice the price.

So, I am starting off the new year on the Surface, and as the year progresses I will let you know what it is like to live with the Surface.

100 Books

Well, for any who are regular readers of my blog, you know that I set myself the goal of reading 100 books this year.  Bad news...I am not going to make it.  Now, there is a second problem and that is that I have fallen way behind in posting what I have been reading.  I have 10 books I have read but not posted because I am a lazy bum.  So, today I am going to catch up.  Without further ado, here are the rest of the books I have read this year.

#28 - Bradshaw's Railway Handbook 1866: Volume 1

I am an avid fan of Michael Portillo's Great British Railway Journeys, and so when I found Bradshaws as an ebook on Amazon, and at a very reasonable price, I snapped it up.  Much of the book is quite boring, so I cannot really recommend it to anyone who is not into that sort of thing.

#29 - Swords and Ice Magic, by Fritz Leiber

When I started reading the Fafhrd and Grey Mouser stories, this was the last book.  Unfortunately, it is not the best of the series, though still good.  They travel off to Rime Isle and get involved with magic and gods...meaning that they are doing the same thing they have been doing through the rest of the series.  Highly recommended.

#30-32 - The Northworld Trilogy, by David Drake

This is a weird book.  The premise is so convoluted that I will not even bother.  You are better off reading it.  The problem is that the books are a little predictable. And at the end he still does not answer the biggest question posed by the books, and that is just annoying.

#33 - Storm Over Warlock, by Andre Norton

Warlock is a planet, and the storm is an attack.  This is another of Norton's books that basically mix magic and science, though the magic may actually be very advanced technology.  There are some very good parts to this novel, and a few that lag well behind the rest.  It's free on Kindle, and worth what you pay for it.  A pleasant dalliance.

#34 - The Knight and Knave of Swords. by Fritz Leiber

The last of the Lankhmar series and the final curtain call for our heroes.  The first two stories are up to the old standards, but the final one, which is by far the longest is just odd and leaves a sort of bad taste in my mouth.  I did not want to see them go out in a blaze of glory, but one last real adventure would have been nice, and we did not get that.

#35 - Pictures From Italy, by Charles Dickens

A travelogue written by Dickens after a sojourn in Italy in 1844.  It starts off with the author moving to Genoa and all of this observations of Genoa.  By the way, he does not like it.  Then, he travels to all the major sights in Italy and while he likes the sights, he does not like much else that he sees in Italy.  This is interesting to read, but it includes very little of Dickens.  There are no amusing encounters with locals, or the tales of the happenings along the road.  I was a little disappointed.  Free on Kindle.

#36 - Goblinopolis, by Robert G. Ferrell

Robert is a friend I have known for many years, so when I saw his book on Amazon for only $0.99 I had to buy it.  I almost felt back because he cannot have made much off a $1 sale.  This is another book that mixes technology and magic.  The only real problem with the book is that it requires the telling of a great deal of history as background so that you understand the world where the novel is set.  That can get a little tedious, but if you muscle through you will be well rewarded.  This is still available on Kindle for a very low price, though not $0.99.  I can recommend this one.

#37 - Going Under, by Justina Robson

This is the fourth book of the Quantum Gravity series.  This one involves our cyborg heroine going to Faery, the land of the Fae.  To say the least, it is bizarre.  We start off in Deamonia where Lila tries to answer various questions and avoid various assassination attempts, then goes for a short time back to Otopia, Earth, where things are falling apart because of something bleeding in from Faery, and Lila needs to find an answer....in Faery.  It ends with an encounter with Jack Frost, Fae edition and a long lost legend, and all sorts of other confusing things.  If this brief review is confusing, then look back and find the rest of the books I have reviewed from the Quantum Gravity series.  I like these books, but I am not entirely sure that I would recommend them to anyone else.  Too odd.

So, that is my reading for the year up to date.  I did not do very well on my goal, but I did read some interesting stuff.

Book #27

Key Out of Time

Andre Norton

This is another of the Time Agent novels, that includes Ashe Gordon and Ross Murdock.  In this one, they are on a distant planet and use the time machine to try to learn some of the history of the planet.  When things go wrong, they get involved in that history.

I won't go into greater detail for fear of giving away the plot.  This is a good book in an older style of Science Fiction, and it is much like the Science Fiction I cut my teeth on, 40 years ago.  You must understand that this was not the most recent Science Fiction even then.  It has a pretty good story, and Ashe and Ross are good characters that are familiar to those who have read books in the Time Agents series.  I have only read two others, and I was not sure about one of them until I read this one.

Much of Norton's catalog can be gotten for free on Kindle, so there is plenty to read if you want to come to know one of the lesser, but still significant writers from the middle years of Science Fiction.  She was not really on the cutting edge, but she had a good career as a writer.

This was a good read, especially at the price.

Book #26

The Swords of Lankhmar

Fritz Leiber

The Fifth Book of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, and the first novel.

The enemy is rats, but the book takes a rather roundabout way to get to the final battle scene, where Fafhrd arrives in the nick of time and the Mouser shows that is the trickiest of thieves and the most dangerous swordsman in Lankhmar.  Of course, Mouser isn't trying to steal anything in this one.

The story begins with our heroes returning to Lankhmar, and finding rather their reception rather warm.  Our heroes are up to the challenge of an angry mob, and then find themselves addressed by the Overlord's Chamberlain as, "Fafhrd, the northern barbarian and brawler," and "that mongrel and long-suspected burglar, cut-purse, swindler and assassin, the Gray Mouser."  This brings the offer of a job, to protect a grain ship, and a special passenger.  Now, I won't go into too many details, except that they meet a two headed seamonster, and it's German speaking master.  Yes, you heard that right, German.

That is just one of many twists and turns in this excellent adventure novel.  The split up after arriving at their destination, Fafhrd lingering behind while the Mouser travels back to the Overlord with unusual tales that the Overlord will not listen to.  Fafhrd fights his way back around the Inner Sea, avoiding raiders and finally meeting up with his wizard, Ningauble.  Mouser goes through his own adventures while rats threaten Lankhmar, and finally seeks his wizard, Sheelba.  The ending involves....big breath....mummies, rats turned to human size, Ghouls with transparent flesh, regular sized rats who use swords, pikes and crossbows, and thirteen god-like War Cats, and a feisty kitten who finds his true destiny.

So, yes, there is a lot going on and toward the end is can be a little confusing, but it is fun throughout and our heroes get the jewels and the girls at the end, but not the recognition they deserve for saving the city.