ForbesOnTech

ACER's Aspire S3 951-6646-- Price+Performance+ Durability= A Recommended Ultrabook

Apple’s svelte MacBook Air has become the starter’s gun launching
an Olympic class sprint by portable computer makers dashing to capture medalists spots in the ultrabook notebook category.

The first Ultrabook I’ve tested is a fabulous portable. It’s low carry weight and extreme usability earned it a place in the backpack I take with me into town, or on weekend and day trips. It’s an Acer Aspire S3 ultrabook and I have nearly the same reaction to this sub- three pound machine
as I did to my lifetime favorite notebook HP’s original OmniBook family.

The Acer Aspire S3 was one of the first ultrabooks to ship and the unit supplied to me for this review(an Aspire S3 951-6646) included an Intel i5 processor ( capable of zipping along at up to
2.3GHZ), 4GB of SDRAM system memory, a 320 GB SATA hard disk drive with 20 GB of on board SSD memory, a 13.3 inch high definition (1366 by 788 pixels) LCD screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio, Intel’s HD Graphics 3000 video logic, two USB ports, an HDMI jack that also supports HDCP, a card reader, plus audio jacks. The Aspire S3 is a tough little machine. It measures 1.59 by 8.52by .51 inches (at
its thinnest point).

The price of the Windows 7-based review system is approximately $900, substantially less than Apple’s MacBook Air. It is also as much as $400 less (or almost 70 percent) than ultrabooks from other
manufacturers whose products are traditionally affiliated with corporate users.
The price of the Acer Aspire S3 gets it a huge check mark in the matrix I use
to recommend any notebook.

Acer’s entry level S# 951-6646 ultrabook portable exceeded virtually all of my expectations. At 2.9 pounds, it’s an unobtrusive addition to my backpack and notebook carrying case (actually a book bag) and its exceedingly rugged, there is no wiggle room in the hinge between the system and
burnished aluminum screen cases and I like how securely the screen snugs the
system case when this portable is closed. Sturdy construction is paramount in any ultrabook and the Aspire S3 sets a very high bar.

When I first realized mainstream portable makers would chase Apple’s MacBook Air with a new form factor I was afraid I’d end up seeing third generation netbooks with cramped keyboards and substandard cursor controllers.I’ve been very surprised y most of the ultrabooks now on retailers’ shelves. Intel’s reference design is spot on and most portable makers haven’t scrimped on
keyboards.

The Acer Aspire S3’ s key board, specifically, made me feel right at home—which in my 20-plus
years of reviewing thin and light or ultra-compact portables is almost unheard
of. In the eight weeks I’ve been banging on this machine’s keyboard, I haven’t inadvertently sent the cursor to the hinterlands once— quite unusual since I have a 9.75-inch pinky finger tip to
thumb tip hand span and wear a size 16 ring. Its integrated track pad uses a
single switch for left and right hand mouse clicks, a design feature I find intuitive.

The Acer Aspire S3’s performance was above average forcomputationally intensive Microsoft Word and Excel spreadsheet benchmarks. This notebook’s 13.3-inch LED screen produces bright saturated displays.I also like the thermodynamics of this system—the fan kicks on only when it’s needed and I never once suspected the system case was
too warm.

The one downside to the Acer Aspire S3 is its battery life.The absolute longest I’ve ever been able to run it without recharging is 4.8 ours, which for many users—particularly students dashing from class to classor business professionals who go from meetings back to a cubicle; this should
be enough. One Feature that cunter balances the S3’s limited five-hour battery life is its rapid wake
from sleep mode. The longest I’ve waited for the system to come out of its
closed lid alumber has been three seconds Color me impressed.The unit supplied to me by Acer takes less than one minute to boot up. both detures are greatly helped in
this system by the S3’s use of hybrid hard disk drive that incorporates SSD
storage.

I don’t have high expectations when it comes to ultrabooks and udio. This is a small notebook but it does have good voice, although purists might say its too "tinny.” Playing a concert version of Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” in my local library using earbuds didn’t disturb fellow cubicle prairie dogs,
but the experience was good enough to make me smile.

In summary, I highly recommend Acer’s Aspire S3 ultrabook.It’s a rugged, practical portable with enough computing horsepower and performance to accomplish business tasks and its form factor and light weight make it a great travel companion.

Let’s see, $900 for a compact sturdy notebook that has enough local storage to handle most computing tasks, or $1,299 for an Apple
Macbook Air, which limits me to SSD storage. It’s an easy choice and I think
Acer has a home run in its Aspire S3 951-6646.—Jim Forbes on 1/20/2012,

Bees Abuzzing and Peach buds Popping-- Let the Planting Begin!

SPring is sproinging, bees are buzzing and peach buds are popping here in rural Northern San Diego County.The countdown to the opening day of 2012 Gardening begns now!

 

Good Gardens Begin with Great Soils-- TIme to Fire up My Mighty Mantis

The art of building a great home garden begins with building great soil. I start my garden the same way every year by pulling freakishly large weeds that have appeared in my two-month dormant season. Digging several 18 –inch deep holes in the ground, adding up to five cubic feet of organic compost that’s been decomposing in heaps for several months as a top dressing and then dropping my Mantis tiller in one of the wholes and frantically churning the earth.
Once I’ve tilled several 12sf sections, I check the ph. balance of the soil using a soil testing kit from the local Home Depot; restart my tiller and go back to wantonly macerating my dirt. This year the ph.level is right on target for growing San Marzano and big tasty heirloom tomatoes. If I need to revitalize my soil, I’ll add some organic nitrogen and calcium in the spring.
By experimenting with my garden in the nine years I’ lived here on my mountain, I’ve realized I don’t need to rotate my annual tomato crop I my garden. I’ve grown many tomato vines in the same spot on my garden for as long as I’ve lived here. What I’ve learned is:
I need to pay more attention to grow hours than I do mineral depletion.
My solution to depleted nitrogen—a $.99 bag of cheap manure tossed casually around the base of a plant or in my garden—works just fine.
Compost—lawn and other organic waste belongs in my soil, not in the green waste bin don on the street on trash collection day. When it comes down to organic soil, I am an unabashed compost pimp.
Consistent watering is as beneficial to my vegetable crops as boosting the mineral nutrients in my soil. Once I map out my Garden later this spring I intend to add drip irrigation. My complete failure to grow watermelon sis due to two things I will remedy this year; melons absolutely require consistent watering and here in San Diego they only thrive in loamy soil with sand.
The best solution to keep marauding gophers and burrowing meadow mice (aka voles) isn’t a fancy windmill with an eccentric cam beating a constantly thrumming metal stake in the ground, but a well-aimed .177 high velocity pellet delivered by my Beeman air rifle directly to the head of the furry vegetable destroying vandals. Moreover, their decomposing carcasses add nitrogen to the soil—a gentle nod to organic gardening.
Although News Years is still a fresh memory, I’ve already started my 2012 garden. My flourishing artichokes, strawberries and freakazoid Brussels sprouts make me hopeful of the crops to come and the joy I find in my restorative gardening hobby. Please, Mother nature no hail this year,OK?.—Jim “Farmer” Forbes on 01/15/2012.

My Quest for the Perfect Peach-- and an Ongoing Battle against Leaf Curl

My attention is now focused on the seven nude peach trees that march across my front lawn. The trees are now nine years old, have sturdy trunks spreading branches and in most years deliver far more peaches than I could ever use (assuming I don’t resort to moonshining).

My best year was 2009, when two of my trees went bonkers, each producing more than 125 pounds of fruit. I had so much fruit on my two big Avalon freestones I had to shore up perilously bent branches with PVC pipes or use metal fish stringers to transfer weight from overburdened limbs back to the tree’s trunks. It was a good year. It was also the first year I successfully fought peach leaf curl.

Anyone who’s ever grown peach or nectarine trees has most likely experienced peach leaf curl. Caused by a fungus, peach leaf curl turns a perfect long blade shaped peach leaf into an ugly red warty distorted mess. I’ve battled leaf curl infestation for most of the years I’ve grown peaches. Some seasons, I’ve been successful, other years I’ve had to sit back and watch peach curl defoliate my trees before I harvest fruit in mid-summer.

When I’ve won the epic battle, it’s been because I’ve sprayed three times; before bud bumps appear in late winter, at the end of year after leaves begin dropping and in the middle of the growing season when I can no longer stand to see ugly leaves on my beloved trees. My biggest win against Peach Curl was in 2008, when I thoroughly drenched my tree with a product from Grangettos Orchard Supply called “Dormant Spray.” The active fungicidal agents in this agricultural witches brew are copper-based chemical compounds. In general, the most effective versions of Dormant Spray are those with the highest copper compound concentrations. I also like to build deep compost barriers around the base of my trees after I spray in the belief that the nitrogen that leaks out of the decaying compost and into my trees root system will boost leaf production.

If you use Dormant spray or Bordeaux oils, you need to make sure and coat the entire tree since the fungus lives in the nooks and crannies of your trees’ bark. I also recommend using goggles and if you think you might be sensitive, a mask when spraying. Something else I’ve learned the hard way about using copper sulfate solutions in my stands of fruit trees is to avoid over spraying, accidentally spraying any apricot or apricot- related trees,, which are extremely sensitive to copper compounds.

Peach leaf curl interferes with the efficiency of a tree, and it can cut down on the amount of fruit a tree produces during the growing season. I really hate peach leaf curl!

I love my peach trees and have spent the last several years trying to grow the “perfect peach.” I’m not there yet but if I keep Peach Leaf curl under control, 2012 could be the year. Bon Appetit—Jim Farmer Forbes on 01/11/2012.

Fujitsu LIfeBook T 731 Convertible-- Rugged Construction and a SensitiveTouch Screen

 

Portable computers that marry touch screens to standard notebook technology have come a long way over the last eight years. Called “convertible” notebooks, these machines have become mainstays in  the design, engineering and other technical categories as well as others who use  forms-based documents.

Fujitsu is among the PC makers who have a long history in convertible notebooks and I wanted to review a specific new model – the Fujitsu Lifebook Model 730. Over the last several years, I’ve reviewed several convertible PCs and been somewhat disappointed by various machines. My problem has always been, PC makers have been slow to realize a fundamental fact about this category of portables; touch screens have to be responsive enough to respond equally well to stylus or fingertip input.

I was not disappointed by the Fujitsu Lifebook 731’s 12.1 inch screen.

The unit supplied to me for this review was a Model T731, which included a 320GB hard disk drive, an Intel i5 2.3GHZ processor, 4GB of system memory DVD drive in an option bay and a 2MPixel video camera built into the display case. The Lifebook 731 family has integrated 802.11 (a,b, g and n) capable wireless networking and an Gigabit Ethernet connector as well as HDMI, VGA , audio, plus three USB ports and one firewire connector. The operating system is Windows 7 Professional. The price of the unit supplied for this review is $1,549.

Like most convertible notebooks, the Lifebook T731 isn’t an ultrabook; it measures11.7 by 9.2 by 1.5 inches and the entry version of this family adds four pounds to your carry load. This notebook’s case is sturdy enough that you won’t worry about it being damaged in the field and its construction is rock solid. I was somewhat baffled by a single design element of this notebook. The system case slightly overlaps the display case, a very unimportant issue, since the Lifebook T731’s rock solid construction and well above average performance are what matters most in this class of notebook.

I like this system’s 84-key keyboard, which reminded me of those used in earlier Toshiba portables. There is enough tactile feedback on the keys to reinforce my comfort with keyboard data entry and its touchpad required almost no tweaking to accommodate my heavy handed, wandering fingers typing. The touchpad paddle keys were easy to use and the touchpad supports multi-directional scrolling— a “must” in any touch screen portable.

The 12.1--inch screen on the T731 is very responsive, which answers my biggest complaints about the two previous generations of convertibles. The screen’s performance is greatly enhanced by this system’s multicore processor and its integrated Intel HD 3000 graphics chip. A stylus is included with this system and I like that it fits securely in a socket on the front right hand side of the system case, thus reducing the possibility that I will lose it within the first month.

One of the things that sets the Lifebook T731 apart from other convertibles is the sensitivity of the screen. You absolutely do not need to punch this screen to get to any place on the display. A simple light touch with the stylus or your fingertip works just fine. And it supports multi touch control so you can twist and twirl images to you  hearts content, without waiting eons, parsecs or arduous minutes for screen redraws.

Battery life in my field testing of this unit averaged 6.5 hours.

I like the options for the Lifebook T731. It’s available with hard disk configurations with up to 500 GB, and it can be socketed with as much as 8GB of memory. My recommendation: if you’re using large digital files such as maps or GIS data, go with the optional large SATA  hard disk and max out the memory. If you need to work away from a power source, I’d also recommend the optional extra battery which increases the unplugged power  up to about nine hours.

Overall, the Fujitsu Lifebook T731 exceeded my expectations. It’s construction is tough enough to survive roughing it in true field settings and its touch screen is quite remarkable when compared to previous generations of convertible computers. Comparing a convertible notebook to current thin and lights isn’t appropriate. Convertibles are specialized machines that use specific components that most often aren’t power misers. The $1,549 price tag might seem very high to some users, but the functionality, solid construction and basic performance of the Fujitsu Lifebook T731 combine to make it the convertible notebook I recommend.—Jim Forbes on January 2, 2012.

The Great 2011 Rose Garden Slaughter-- Using Forged Steel to Produce Good Looking Roses

 

When the sun came up on New Year’s Day weekend, my roses were between five and six feet tall. By sunset, I had reduced them to three-foot twigs firmly anchored in the soil of my little mountain here in San Diego County.

While I mostly focus on my organic vegetable I have to confess, I also have a very large rose garden and a lot of cymbidium orchids. I like and only grow hybrid tea roses—mostly because they are easily turned into long stemmed displays that I put on my kitchen counter or in my mother’s room. I spend much more time in my vegetable garden than I do amongst my roses, but  there comes a time every year when you need to reach for your pruning shears, collapsible saw, Elmer’s glue and sturdy gloves and cut the roses back… way back.

In addition to my forged metal pruning tools, I approach my annual rose pruning with knowledge born of reading several books on how to keep my roses healthy and looking good… As well as a life-long interest in California’s missions, virtually all of which have excellent looking rose gardens. The best books I’ve seen on Roses all have been published by Sunset and the most outstanding roses I’ve seen are at the missions in Santa Barbara and San Gabriel, CA. I suppose it also helps that I went to an agricultural and technical college—Cal Poly, Pomona—which has a long history as a float operator in Pasadena’s Annual Tournament of Roses and which maintains extensive rose beds on its campus.

Cutting back rose bushes with as many as ten tight flowers always makes me a little sad. But I get over that feeling by the time the trash receptacle I tug along as I decimate the roses begins to fill. I try not to transition into a Zen-like state as I lope thick branches from my roses, and before long I’ve pruned my first column in the garden, leaving behind short healthy branches that with a little luck, will never produce growth that crosses over itself—and which remains open to many hours of sunlight in the forthcoming growing season. When it comes to pruning, my policy is one of simple wanton ruthlessness.

I’ve been disappointed with a patented pink rose I planted three years ago. So erly tomorrow morning, I’ll pull ten bucks out o my secret savings stash and cruise through a nursery looking for a pink hybrid tea to replace that non-thriving sucker.

Any branch that threatens noncompliance with my idea of what a good looking rose is instantly decapitated and its thorn-ridden branch is unceremoniously tossed into the waste tub. When I prune low enough, or feel my yearly slaughter has gotten out of hand, I yank out the Elmer’s Glue and I seal the cut.

Hey a bottle of Elmer’s is a lot less expensive than some high falutin’ tube of mystery vegetable caulk/sealing agent sold in a high end gardening catalog.

Having slashed my way through the rose garden like a crazed beaver, my five containers of pruned wood are now down on  the street where it will be picked up at daybreak, Friday morning. The fruit trees below my house on the sloping lawn get a reprieve. Anyway, I pruned my two peaches way back last year , after a 200 pound Avalon crop in 2010 resulted in three broken branches.

My beloved golden apricots het hacked tomorrow morning. With a little bit of luck—and a lot of netting-- I’ll hold the birds at bay long enough to get 50 pounds of fruit from my seven trees.

A final note on my roses: I live at the interface of wild lands and mid-sized city. In the nine years I’ve lived here, I’ve watched three wild fires roar through here. If another fire comes close to my house, my chainsaw gets fired up and every rose near my house dies! Roses are extremely flammable. If you’ve ever seen a rose garden explode next to a home you understand why they are extreme fire hazards.

Besides, I can replace every rose in my garden very inexpensively. Replace my home affordably? Not so easy.

Last night, after whacking the roses, I was amuse to see two squirrels looking up at the sky through pruned sticks with a “WTF?” expression on their chubby little faces. Sorry guys, the cover you thought you had from the local hawks and other predators will come back in a few weeks. There’s always the ice plant hedge-- providing the hungry cacomistle (aka a “miners cat” or “ringtail”) isn’t hiding there.—Jim Forbes on 12/30/2011 from behind the avocado curtain in Northern San Diego County.

Black Banners-- Great Reading on al Qaeda's Workings

The Black Banners:  The Inside Story of 9/11 And The War Against al-Qaeda by Ali Soufan is the best book I’ve read on the events leading up to the attack on 9/11/2001.

Written by Ali Soufan, who prior to 9/1 was one of the very few FBI agents whose first language  was Arabic, the book is a must read for anyone interested in al Qaeda and its  global operations as well as primary and secondary targets.

Up front. Soufan is a skilled writer and observer. He limits the scope of this book on events leading up to the 9/11 attack (including the bombing of the USS Cole, a destroyer). Unlike most of the books dealing with fighting and investigating al Qaeda, Soufan does not engage in self-aggrandizement. Instead he takes the reader carefully through the often byzantine process of interrogating foreign nationals in their home country. It’s a commendable narrative that’s clearly presented.

I am impressed with the details in this book and Soufan’s incredible narrative skills. Depite a lot of redact by a government agency, Soufan weaves in abundant information from non-classified sources to tell his story.

There are a couple of other points that emerge in Black Banners. The author’s understanding and knowledge of the Koran as well as Arabic traditions were effective interrogation skills.

Soufan broaches the subject of the lakck of cooperation between the FBI and other agencies in this book. His discussion of this is straightforward with little vitriol. But you can connect the dots leading to missed opportunities.

There are some conclusions in Soufan’s book that are critical: Foremost among these are”.. military and interrogation successes (against Al Qaeda) are only half the battle.he other half is in the area of ideas—countering the narratives and recruitment methods extremists use….Understanding your opponents and using that knowledge  o undermine them Is the key to ultimate victory.”

If your searching for a great book on current events to read over the holidays,  I recommend Ali Soufan’s The Black Banners:  The Inside Story of 9/11 And The War Against al-Qaeda—Jim Forbes on 12/13/2011.

Mother Nature's Locomotive-like Need to Produce-- and Avocados without Transitions, Amen.

It’s almost Christmas, my garden is taupey brown, and damp but it’s still producing surprises.

For example, the potato vines that have been quietly soaring up for the last two weeks. And my Brussels sprouts which are reaching sequoia like stature just a few feet from the green potato vines. But hidden in the dirt are three artichokes, struggling to survive a San Diego winter.

It makes me smile.

I suspect my vegetable survivors will not outlive a hard freeze, but I deeply admire Mother Nature’s innate need to propagate. I see this locomotive-like force every year in my garden and down below my house in my avocado tree-infested front yard.

Transitions are for those who never really read Hemingway, which brings me to the other element of this post, my screwing around with varieties of Persea Americana, better known as the avocado.

I openly admit to being an avocado snob. The vaunted—and over produced Haas – is not something I like. But, if you were to shove slivers under my fingernails or make me listen to disco music endlessly, I will  admit to having a couple of Haas trees.

I love heritage avocados—the common Fuertes has enough flavor to make me sit back, smack my lips and reach for a sip of piquant Bubble Up. It takes a lot to kill a Fuertes avocado. they chug back from adversity and just keep pumping out great gobs of gooey green fruit. And, they’re drop dead simple to propagate from a seed or a simple cutting. Right now I have 20 Fuertes propagants leafing up in a nice warm table next to my house.

The suckers are Panzer tough. I have no doubt they’ll make it through the winter and be ready to move into three-foot deep holes this spring.

But there are two other lesser known avocados that I think are apex cultivars; the virtually unknown Pinkerton and the Reed, (originally developed in Guatemala and now grown here in Escondido and in the adjoining Pala Valley).

The Pinkerton was developed by a master avocado orchardist named Jim Pinkerton at his ranch in Saticoy, CA.  Pinkertons have a rich buttery taste and sometimes weigh as much five pounds. Pinks are monster ‘ cados and if you’ve ever had one, you’ll forever scoff at Haas. I have three Pinkerton trees—only two of which are old enough (approximately four years) to produce fruit. My first home grown second-generation Pinkerton produced first fruit two weeks ago.

 I was so proud I fired up a Cuban Cohiba and took pictures of the fruit. Then I made a sandwich for my 93 year old mother and ate the remaining fruit.

first fruit from my second generation yummy Pinkerton avocado. In full production, Pinkertons can hit five pounds.

Good gardeners really do eat their young!

The Reed avocado is a cannonball shaped fruit that sometimes reaches four pounds. This big round green orb of tasty wonderfulness is unlike any avocado you’ve ever tasted. Reeds mature in mid-summer and we here behind the avocado curtain in San Diego and Riverside Counties tend not to share this fruit. They’re all ours!

I’ve been a part of a couple of unscientific taste tests at local farmers markets. Put cubed Reed fruit next to cubed Haas samples and let your basic four year old dude decide which they prefer. They always carefully aim their toothpicks and spear another piece of Reed. They’re that yummy.

My goal over the next year is to plant 10 more Reeds plus up to ten other cultivars—I have my eye on a neighbor’s Haas-Lamb avocados.

The great news: if you grow multiple types of avocado trees you’ll never run out of guacamole.

 

Avocados; they help lower you cholesterol and they keep Southern Californian orchardists busy puttering among the trees, fending off the damn freedom loving parrots who occasionally pillage groves.—Jim Forbes Rancho Bizarro Sud on 12/11/2011.

Looking for a Very Good Touch Interface All-InOne?Check Out Acers' New Veriton Z

 

One of the best applications for touch computing interfaces and all in one (AIO) computers are in office settings.

And touch-based all-in-one computers are increasingly showing up in corporate, private practice and other office settings where clerks or administrative professionals using scheduling or other software to deal with appointment or order fulfillment.

Acer is one of several AIO manufacturers targeting business computer users with a Windows 7- based touch interface desktop. It’s entry in this category is the Veritron Z2620G.

The Z2620G is a slim AIO with a 21.5-inch responsive touch screen. Its standard configuration includes:  Windows 7,  4GB of DDR3 memory, a 500 GB hard disk drive,  Intel I5 multicore 2.5 GHz processor with one MB of cache and Sandy Bridge core logic has the horse power needed for all office computing tasks and it’s 802.11 wireless networking makes this system drop dead simple to add to any office network. An optical multidrive as well as USB keyboard and mouse are included in the base configuration.

I like the fit and finish of this AIO. It’s very sturdy, yet compact enough not to clutter up desk space. I’ve left this AIO on for five consecutive days and not detected any thermal issues.

The 21.5-inch screen produces bright, crisp displays and the Acer Z2620G has an NVidia Radeon GeForce graphics processor-- Which boosts the performance of displayed images and the touch screen interface.

This AIO is drop dead simple to setup and connect to wired or wireless networks. It has a total of six USB ports (two on its side and four in the back), four of which are available after connecting the mouse and keyboard.

I tested this system using a database that tests overall and system and discrete component performance. The disk drive, graphics and applications results were well above average and its 500 GB hard disk drive has more than enough raw horsepower to satisfy virtually all business systems users. I was impressed with the performance of the touch interface, which runs under Windows 7.

The price of this system, as supplied to me by Acer is $849.00, although it can be bought from web-based outlets for less.

The Acer Veritron Z is a good choice for any business setting where desk real estate is a premium commodity and settings where customers, clients or patients interact with scheduling software. Its overall functionality and performance are complimented by it’s price. I like the Veritron Z2620G and it gets a place on my list of “recommended Touch Interface Desktop All-in-ones.”—Jim Forbes on December 9, 2011.

Gift Suggesstions for Stroke Patients; Don't Forget the Importance of Friendship

 

 

The best gift ever to  a stroke patient ever-- My dog, Senor Perro

 
I’ve used this blog to talk about something that’s intensely personal—recovering from a debilitating stroke.

My stroke happened several years ago and it forced me to retire from a job I really loved. I spent my first year post stroke intensely pissed off at fate, channeling a lot of my energy into trying to recover as much as I lost in my stroke.

There are things I wished for that came my way in that first year. i’ve come to think of them as “gifts for a stroke patient.”

So as the Holidays come tumbling in , I wanted to update my list of gifts you can give a stroke patient.

Right of the top the one thing that really worked for me was the unconditional support of my close friends. Dr. Andy Sobieski listened to me snivel, understood my anger and got my ass into an adaptive PE Class at a local community college, the College of San Mateo. My driver’s license had been suspended – because of the stroke and the good Dr. Andy kicked my butt onto the short bus, which would pick me up in front of my condo, take me to CSM, or to town, and drop me off in the afternoon at my home.

Most adaptive PE classes are extremely inexpensive, and my monthly SamTrans handicapped bus pass was unbelievably cheap. SO here are two gift inexpensive gift ideas; the cost of an adaptive PE class and/or a handicapped bus pass.

The adaptive PE class was the best thing that happened to me in the first year post stroke. It got me out of my house and forced me to exercise. Along the way, I learned how to adapt to my new life as a handicapped American and discovered that “lunch with my friends” was a lot of fun.

Because many stroke lose the ability to write legibly.  Regaining that muscle memory-related skill is something that can be very important. One o my peculiar adaption was to hold a pen in my claw-like left hand , put paper forms on a clipboard and move the clipboard with my unaffected right hand,  if I had to sign my name. Hey it works.

Here’s a fun idea for stroke patients; take them to a real stationary store and let them try a variety of pens until they find one they can comfortably use. While you’re in the store buy a couple of lined tablets designed for young elementary school students. Then encourage the stroke patient to practice writing everyday. Don’t expect miracles, but with enough practice, the ability to write does come back, part of the way. My best results were when I used a rolling ball or gel ink pen with a wide barrel. I still can’t write legibly, but I can at least sign my name.

I know some stroke patients who have used speech- to text programs to help regain some of the communications skills they’ve lost in strokes. I have tried to use many of the programs in this category but gave up on the technology because of its steep learning curve and because I found migrating “dictionaries” from one machine to another problematic. But, some people have successfully used them to improve their communications skills. And many such programs are on sale right now, so it’s certainly a gift you may want to consider for someone who has come through a stroke.

A final caveat about speech to text programs: they work best on PCs equipped with state of the art high-speed processors and gobs of memory. Furthermore, if you’re going to invest in such programs, you may also want to include a high quality headset.

A typewriter is something else you might want to consider as a gift for a recovering stroke patient.  My used Hermes ($60 on eBay) serves to write checks or fill out forms requiring narrative descriptions.

Today I don’t go anywhere without a portable computer. When I’m required to take notes, I boot up my machine and revert to my decades-old note taking mode. In the years since my stroke, I’ve regained some fine motor skills in my left hand and I work every day at improving them more. s

A friend of mine encouraged me to return to reading one or two books a week.  I returned to my reading habit with a couple of authors I’ve loved since I was young; Mark Twain and John Steinbeck. Oh and Iv seasoned my reading with Hemingway.

Amazon or iTunes gift cards are obvious gifts for a stroke patient. So is a gym membership.

There is one book I recommend highly to all stroke patients and they’re families. The book is Jill Bolte Taylor’s “My Stroke of Insight.” Dr. Taylor is a brain scientist who had a stroke. Her description of her stroke and her recovery is flat out amazing.

But the best gift you can give a stroke patient is your time and understanding. I was bewildered by my stroke and any contact with a friend was extremely welcome in the first year of my recovery. In the years since my brain experienced a head on collision with an errant blood clot, I’ve become an active gardener who cultivates canon ball sized avocados and an amateur tie dye artist. And, I have the stained hands and encrusted dirt so prove my new found passions.

There I was soaring along the pinnacle of a much loved career so what does s capricious deity do to grab the attention of deeplhy ingrained southpaw? It gives me a stroke on the right hand side of my brain temporarily wiping out my left hand. But hell, I didn’t lose my sense of humor.

And I owe a lot to my friends who stayed with me and kicked my ass by giving me time. Thanks, Chris Shipley, Dr.’s Andy and Judy Sobieski, Jeff and Janey Young of Rescue, CA, and my big brother, Chuck Forbes. Most of all I owe a huge debt for the best gift of all-- Senor Perro, the Emperor Chihuahua of the Avocado Kingdom.—Jim Forbes wryly on 12/01/2011.

Gowing avocados is serious green gooey fun

 

A Technology at the Right Place and Time-- The Rush to Touch Technologies

I leap onto technological bandwagons with both feet, my eyes wide open and arms outstretched to maintain my balance, just in case I don’t nail my landing.

My current bandwagon of choice is touch interface technology. I’ve slowly replaced all but one of my computers with new machines that come standard with touch interface screens. My desktops are all in-ones that run Windows 7 with 23-inch touch screens. I use touch interface for any task that doesn’t require keyboard input.

My tablets—A Sony S 32 and a Windows 7 Acer Iconia Tab W500 are all touch interface devices and I use touch controls exclusively on those devices.

My preference in portables also reflects my deep seated belief in touch interfaces. When I’m given the choice, I prefer to carry convertible laptops that allow me to combine touch input and keyboard data entry.

I believe the migration to touch interfaces will become a flood as Microsoft releases Windows 8, which offers full support of the touch interface. A full scale move to Touch is also being bolstered by increased basic memory footprints and the growing use of multicore processors. Moreover, the cost of touch screens has remained stable.

Google and its Android operating system on — designed from the beginning with touch interface technology also figure heavily into the equation.

Touch Interface support as a prime part of an operating system turbocharges its use with mainstream and vertical applications. After spending much of my career on technology’s bloody edge, I now live deep behind the avocado green curtain in rural San Diego County. What’s surprising is how ubiquitous touch computing has become. For example: On a recent trip into the village, I encountered touch interface technology at my HMO, my dry cleaners, a local orchard supplies store and a consumer electronic  content supplier. That’s pretty pervasive, given my rural, rattlesnake-infested, locale.

Touch computing will become  even more common in the coming 12 months and I suspect it’s going to be big news at the forthcoming Consumer Electronics Show (CES)in Las Vegas in a couple of months. Now all I need to do is to remember and wash and get all the avocado goo from my hands before sitting down to use my touch interface computers—Jim Forbes on 11/30/2011