Author Archives: Brian

About Brian

Engineer. Aviator. Educator. Scientist.

Penny Auctions on Craigslist

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Brian

About a week ago, a number of iMac desktops appeared on Craigslist.com, ranging in price from $270-$320 (that’s about 20% of retail).  I would like to own one at that price, so I sent off about 5 emails to advertisers … Continue reading →

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How To Win Internet Penny Auctions

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Brian

A useful way of bidding in these auctions it to think of the auction price as number of bids rather than price. For example, a price of $20.49 represents 2,049 bids.

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Imagine Technology Supporting People

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Brian

The obvious alternative is people supporting Technology, and that seems to be the chronic bad choice. In business, we name and staff the “Computer Support Division” while we neglect to name and purchase the devices our staff actually needs.  Or maybe they really don’t … Continue reading →

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Jobs Bill Alternate Wisdom

Posted on September 17, 2011 by Brian

Let’s do the numbers.  Obama’s job bill costs $475,000,000,000.00 dollars.  The plan claims to create (or save) 2.5M jobs. First off, notice the “or save” part of the claim.  That’s the same rhetoric used with the first stimulus, however the … Continue reading →

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Can Excel 2007 Open an Open Office .ods File ?

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Brian

DON’T DO IT! Some topics just deserve more coverage. This made me hopping mad today. Microsoft Excel 2007 will peacefully and silently open and edit an Open Office .ods spreadsheet. Saves without making a single complaint. Problem: All the formulas … Continue reading →

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