X Minus One

X Minus One was a half-hour Science Fiction show on NBC Radio broadcast from April 24, 1955 through to 1958. Now if you consider the “Golden Age of Science Fiction” to be from 1938 to 1946 under the influence of John W. Campbell, editor at Astounding Science Fiction, then these radio plays, and the earlier Dimension X radio program that preceded it in 1950 and 1951, were the voice of the Golden Age.

Producing versions of the great sci-fi writers, X Minus One, in my mind, was the greatest science fiction radio series of all time. I’m the happy owner of all over one hundred episodes and they will be the sound track for the next voyage of the Blue Bus.

Initially a revival of NBC's Dimension X, the first 15 episodes of X Minus One were new versions of Dimension X episodes, but the remainder were adaptations by NBC staff writers, including Ernest Kinoy and George Lefferts, of newly published science fiction stories by leading writers in the field, including Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Philip K. Dick, Robert A. Heinlein, Frederik Pohl and Theodore Sturgeon, along with some original scripts by Kinoy and Lefferts.

The episodes during the three year run included presentations of Philip K Dick’s "The Defenders" and "Colony"; Robert Sheckley's "Skulking Permit"; Bradbury's "And The Moon Be Still As Bright," "Mars is Heaven," "The Veldt," "Dwellers in Silence," "Zero Hour," "To the Future," "Marionettes, Inc.," and "There Will Come Soft Rains"; Heinlein's "Universe," "The Green Hills of Earth," "Requiem," and "The Roads Must Roll"; Pohl’s "The Tunnel under the World"; J. T. McIntosh’s "Hallucination Orbit"; Fritz Leiber’s "A Pail of Air"; Asimov’s "Nightfall," "C-Chute," and "Hostess"; L. Sprague de Camp’s "A Gun for a Dinosaur"; and George Lefferts' "The Parade." That’s just a partial list. The best that fit the format from the best that wrote during the Golden Age.

(Tom Goodwin's "The Cold Equations" was broadcast on August 25, 1955 by X Minus One. I did some preliminary work on a movie production of the same story with a local friend, Bruce Delaplain. He wrote the video script and we worked on one of the scenes in my home as a test shot. We used my recording studio with the flashing lights and computer screens as the spaceship and my friend, William Weinacht, played the part of the young girl. There are only two actors in the entire presentation plus a voice over the radio and only one location inside the rocket ship. So we thought we could make a simple production out of it. We never went further than creating the shooting script and making that initial test shot, and that is a project I look forward to completing as soon as I get a "round tuit.")

X Minus One opened with announcer Fred Collins delivering the countdown, leading into the following introduction (although later shows were partnered with Galaxy Science Fiction rather than Astounding Science Fiction):

Countdown for blastoff… X minus five, four, three, two, X minus one… Fire! [rocket launch sound effect] From the far horizons of the unknown come transcribed tales of new dimensions in time and space. These are stories of the future; adventures in which you'll live in a million could-be years on a thousand may-be worlds. The National Broadcasting Company, in cooperation with Street and Smith, publishers of Astounding Science Fiction presents… X Minus One.

The series was canceled after the 126th broadcast on January 9, 1958. However, the early 1970s brought a wave of nostalgia for old-time radio; a new experimental episode, "The Iron Chancellor" by Robert Silverberg, was produced in 1973, but it failed to revive the series. NBC also tried broadcasting the old recordings, but their irregular once-monthly scheduling kept even devoted listeners from following the broadcasts.

The series was re-released in podcast form beginning on June 22, 2007.

In November 2008, Counter-Productions Theatre Company became the first theatre company to stage three episodes, "The Parade," "A Logic Named Joe," and "Hallucination Orbit."

These days is seems more like just “science” and we can drop the “fiction” part. Try to put yourself into the head of a young boy back in the fifties, hearing these tales for the first time. That might help you understand how that boy became what he is today. It explains a lot from IBM to the Internet, from 8-tracks to cassettes to CDs to podcasts, from NASA to the Space Station, from the Moon to Mars and beyond.

Now, with the digital essence of all 126 episodes stored on my 160GB hard drive in the Blue Bus, I'm ready for my next adventure. We're setting navigation coordinates for Portland, Oregon, and we'll soon start the count-down to launch. Just a few more things to prepare here at home, and then we will be on the road again, accompanied by the best of the Golden Age.

Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits and
Are melted into air, into thin air;
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud capped towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve,
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.

— Shakespeare, “The Tempest”

Boy Genius

This is a sad story. It is a tale about a mathematician and a Montanan. It doesn’t end well, but started out brilliantly. It's also a cautionary tale. I'll leave conclusions and morals to the reader. Here is the beginning.

TK was born of Polish parents in Illinois on May 22, 1942. He was tested in the fifth grade and found to have an I.Q. of 167. That’s genius numbers.

Based on that result he was allowed to skip the sixth grade and went right into seventh. He later described this as a pivotal point in his life. He didn’t fit in with the older kids and he was subjected to bullying. (See how much difference one grade level can make?)

This added to his problems. As a child he had a fear of people and buildings and tended to play outside. He didn’t interact with children and his mother was so concerned about his poor social development that she thought he might be autistic.

In high school, he excelled academically and found most mathematics too simple to engage him. During his sophomore year he would cut classes and stay home to write in his journal. Mathematics became his obsession and he would spend long hours locked in his room practicing differential equations. (This is a form of advanced calculus which requires a tremendous grasp of operations to solve.) Throughout high school he easily surpassed his classmates. He was known for solving advanced Laplace transformations before his senior year and, even though placed in the most advanced classes at the school, he was intellectually restricted. He skipped the eleventh grade and graduated from high school at the age of 15.

He applied to Harvard University, and was accepted in 1958 at the age of 16. While at Harvard, he was taught by Williard Van Orman Quine. Quine is a famous logician, Harvard student, Harvard professor, and earned his PhD under Alfred North Whitehead. TK scored at the top of Quine's class with a 98.8% final grade. Perhaps the genius Quine recognized the fellow genius in TK. This pairing could have changed TK’s life for the good. Unfortunately, there was to be a very serious and negative impact at Harvard on TK.

He became involved with Henry Alexander Murray, a Harvard psychologist and professor for 30 years. Dr. Murray was responsible for the ethically questionable, CIA-sponsored MK ULTRA experiments in which twenty-two undergraduates were used as guinea pigs. TK was one of those twenty-two.

Students in Murray's study were told they would be debating personal philosophy with a fellow student. Instead, they were subjected to a psychological experiment, which was an extremely stressful, personal, and prolonged psychological attack. Although his childhood was troubled, records suggest he was emotionally stable before his involvement with this study, and some have attributed some of his later emotional instability and concern about mind control to his participation in this study.

He graduated from Harvard University in 1962, at age 20, and subsequently enrolled at the University of Michigan, where he earned a PhD in mathematics. His specialty was a branch of complex analysis known as geometric function theory. His professors at Michigan were impressed with his intellect and drive. His PhD thesis was so advanced that his advisor had difficulty understanding it, and members of the examining committee declared there were probably less than a dozen mathematicians in the entire US that could understand it fully. He was awarded a prize for the top mathematical dissertation that year. While at Michigan, he held a National Science Foundation fellowship and taught undergraduates for three years. He also published two articles related to his dissertation in mathematical journals, and four more after leaving Michigan.

In late 1967, TK became an assistant professor of mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley, where he taught undergraduate courses in geometry and calculus. He was noted as the youngest professor ever hired by the university, but this position proved short-lived. He received numerous complaints and low ratings from the undergraduates he taught. Many students noted that he seemed quite uncomfortable in a teaching environment, often stuttering and mumbling during lectures, becoming excessively nervous in front of a class, and ignoring students during designated office hours. Without explanation, he resigned from his position in 1969, at age 26.

It was the end of a short but impressive career. His superiors at Berkeley stated that, based on his impressive thesis and record of publications, he could have advanced up the ranks and been a senior member of the faculty today. But, instead, he returned to his parents home in Illinois for two years before moving to Montana. He built a small cabin a short distance outside the small town of Lincoln, Montana. Now Lincoln is on a small bi-way, Montana highway 200, which is a short cut between Missoula and Great Falls. Rather than drive down the Interstate to Helena and then north on the Interstate to Great Falls, the sleepy route 200 wanders through rolling hills and low mountains, and is interrupted half-way by the small town of Lincoln, population around 500 households and only one central street — the highway.

It was near this sleepy community that TK took up residence and lived a life of nature and books. It was a simple life on very little money, without electricity or running water. His original goal was to move out to a secluded place and become self-sufficient so that he could live autonomously. He began to teach himself survival skills such as tracking, edible plant identification, and how to construct primitive technologies such as bow drills. He quickly realized that it was not possible for him to live that way, as a result of watching the wild land around him get destroyed by development and industry.

In his own words, he stated:

The best place, to me, was the largest remnant of this plateau that dates from the tertiary age. It's kind of rolling country, not flat, and when you get to the edge of it you find these ravines that cut very steeply in to cliff-like drop-offs and there was even a waterfall there. It was about a two days' hike from my cabin. That was the best spot until the summer of 1983. That summer there were too many people around my cabin so I decided I needed some peace. I went back to the plateau and when I got there I found they had put a road right through the middle of it... You just can't imagine how upset I was. It was from that point on I decided that, rather than trying to acquire further wilderness skills, I would work on getting back at the system. Revenge.

He began isolated acts of sabotage and initially targeted the developments near his cabin. He began dedicating himself to reading about sociology and books on political philosophy, such as the works of Jacques Ellul, and also stepped up his campaign of sabotage. He soon came to the conclusion that more violent methods would be the only solution to what he saw as the problem of industrial civilization. He says that he lost faith in the idea of reform, and saw violent collapse as the only way to bring down the techno-industrial system.

Thus began his campaign of bombing that lasted for 17 years. He mailed or hand-delivered a series of increasingly sophisticated explosive devices that killed three people and injured twenty-three more. His first targets were universities and airlines which earned him the FBI code name of UNABOM for UNiversity and Airline BOMber. He was finally caught when his “manifesto” titled Industrial Society and Its Future was published at his insistence and threat and his brother recognized the style of writing and turned him in to the FBI.

FBI agents arrested Kaczynski on April 3, 1996, at his cabin in Montana, where he was found in an unkempt state. Searching his cabin, the investigators found a wealth of bomb components, 40,000 handwritten journal pages that included bomb-making experiments and descriptions of the Unabomber crimes; and one live bomb, ready for mailing. They also found what appeared to be the original typed manuscript of the manifesto.

Later the government sold off Kaczynski’s collection of books, papers, journals, and other materials found in the cabin despite Ted’s objections. The cabin was saved in a museum in Washington, D.C. and Kaczynski is serving a life term without hope of parole in the Super Max federal prison in Florence, Colorado.

And thus ends a boy genius. Left for us to decide is just what drove Ted Kaczynski insane. Was he too smart for his own good, a phrase I’ve heard from fellow Montanans, or did he see something in the future that the rest of us don’t realize? This is a sad story of a life gone wrong. The question you have to ask yourself is whether it was his life that went wrong, or is it all of ours that has gone wrong?

And so he joins the ranks of the green anarchists: Henry David Thoreau, Leo Tolstoy, Élisée Reclus, Henri Zisly, Émile Gravelle, Isaac Puente, Ethel Mannin, Leopold Kohr, Murray Bookchin, Fredy Perlman, Jacques Ellul, John Zerzan, Janet Biehl, …

What are they trying to tell us?

Take a look around you boy. It’s bound to scare you boy.
And you tell me … over and over and over again, my friend.
…

Broncos

Look, I’m not a sports guy. The Broncos are about the only team I follow with any regularity. The kids are all Hockey fans … players … spectators … attenders … nuts. That’s both boys and our grandson, all of whom can quote all kinds of statistics about the teams in the NHL, and all played the game in their day. Both Mike and Mark still have their pads and sticks and get out on the ice now and then. Our grandson is just starting out, and has won quite a few games in his first year of serious competition. He spends all day on the ice any time he can, and Linda and I are his companions to ice arenas north and south and here in town. So we have spent plenty of time at frozen ice arenas cheering the boys.

I’m not much of a baseball or basketball fan, although my dad follows round-ball regularly. I’ve been to one Nugget’s game and a couple dozen Rockies games, which beats the ten or twelve Bronco games I’ve seen in person. So obviously I’m a stay at home fan. The only time I really get interested, even in football, is when the Broncos are playing, and I admit I’ve missed some of their games because something better was happening on any given Sunday. So I’m not really a big fan of any sports … at all.

I am the numbers guy. I like numbers. They put value to things. It is numbers that separates science from silliness. Theoretical physics isn’t just about crack pot theories, but the theories have to produce numbers that match the real world, or else they are just “crack pot.”

So, now that a couple of days have passed, I’m able to analyze last Sunday’s game. It was an embarrassment to the Broncos, and not the first time they’ve been embarrassed in the big game. But then how many other teams have even made it to the final contest? Not that many. The Broncos can be proud of their record through the years just making it to the big contest. Certainly I can wish they had done better in those Super Bowls, but — remember — we have won two.

Here’s the Super Bowl appearance stats.

At the top of the list is the Pittsburgh Steelers. They’ve been there 8 times with 6 wins. Their first appearance in 1974 was the start of a series of four wins that pretty much dominated the seventies. Plus they’ve been there in this century, losing the game in 2010, but winning the other two appearances in that decade.

Next in order is the Dallas Cowboys. They have 5 wins out of 8 appearances with their first in 1970 and the most recent a 1995 victory.

Third in all-time visits is the New England Patriots, who won 3 of their 7 times starting in 1985 and winning recent games in the first decade of the 21^st century, but losing their last game in 2013.

And that brings us to the Denver Broncos. We’ve also been there 7 times for 2 wins, starting in 1977 and ending with the most recent loss this year. That puts us tied for 3^rd place in number of times we’ve played in the big game, but not so high in the list of winners of the Super Bowl. We now own the most Super Bowl losses record with 5 … a record that we no longer share with the Vike's and the Bill's. We're now alone on top of that stat. Not quite the record we wanted, but it "is what it is."

Rounding out the top five attendees is the San Francisco 49ers with 6 visits and 5 wins. They first won the ring in 1981 and pretty well dominated the next twenty years. Their only loss was last year against the Ravens, who eked out a 3 point win.

Teams with 5 appearances include the Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, Washington Redskins, the Raiders, and the Miami Dolphins. Best record amongst those are the Packers and Giants that have won 4 and the Redskins and Raiders who’ve won 3.

The Colts have split their 4 visits to the championship, while things are much worse for the Vikings and the Bills who have both been there 4 times without a win. The relatively new team, the Baltimore Ravens, have been twice and won both, while the Jets, Buccaneers, and Saints have won their only visit to the final game.

It can take a few Super Bowls to get past the “just glad to be here” and end up wearing the ring with only the Steelers, Packers, 49ers, Giants, and Bears plus the four teams mentioned in the last paragraph accomplishing a first time win.

So it is not surprising that some teams have been to the Super Bowl once, but without success. That’s the Chargers, Falcons, Titans, Panthers, and Cardinals. Some of these are new teams with appearances in the last twenty years.

At the very bottom of the heap are the four current teams that have never been to a Super Bowl. The Cleveland Browns had a chance a couple of times, but the Broncos proved to be their nemesis. Also in that list of losers are the Lions, Jaguars, and the Texans. (The Oilers never went to the Super Bowl either … at least not until they moved to Tennesee.)

The Rams have been to 3 Super Bowls and won 1. The Chiefs and the Bears have been to 2 and won 1. Then there’s the Bengals and Eagles who have been there twice, but without any success. The other team with 2 visits is the the recent champion Seattle Seahawks that have been there twice in recent times and not only won their second appearance, but DOMINATED that game.

So let’s talk about the Seahawks. A young team with a great future. I expect the next five or ten years will be filled with their successes and they will move up this list rather quickly. With an average player age of around 25 and a quarterback only in his second year, the team has the speed, the power, the skills, and the coaching to be back to the Super Bowl again and again. Oh, and did I mention their speed?

I wish the Broncos had performed better on Sunday. They were behind the eight ball from the first play at scrimmage when the ball sailed over Manning’s head and into the end zone. Heck, they were in trouble at the coin toss. They didn’t play their best game by a longshot, although a lot of that was due to the Seahawk defense that never let up. But the Broncos were terrible on both offense and special teams … although Denver was not good this year at preventing runbacks. And that on-side kick … I don’t want to talk about it. The only unit that performed even marginally well was the Denver defense, who put up a valiant fight. Remember, many of those Seahawk points were scored when the Denver defense wasn’t even on the field.

The game reminded me more of the Denver-Indianapolis game, or the game against Seattle in the pre-season. Manning was off his game from the get-go and when our receivers did catch a pass … and they actually caught a Super Bowl record number … they were immediately trounced by two or three Seahawk defenders for zero or less yards. Sad to say, but the very demeanor of the two teams from the first down showed which team had come to win. Super Bowl jitters are a real thing, and once you start getting behind in the score, the going get tougher. But I just didn’t see the same Broncos on the field that I saw in the AFC championship game. I’m not just blaming Manning. The whole team was flat and listless, with the possible exception of the defense. The rest of the Broncos just didn’t come ready to play. They were against their toughest opponent all year, but they also failed to shine in their own athletic prowess. It was just an off day for the whole team.

If I knew anything about sports psychology or if I had a clue what went wrong with the Broncos, then I’d be writing this for Sports Illustrated instead of my crummy blog. I do know one thing that went wrong for the Broncos: the Seattle Seahawks!

I don’t think I’ve seen a team come so ready to play in the Super Bowl. And this was a young and inexperienced team at their first big game. Wow, they executed from the first whistle and the game was never in doubt. I gotta respect that raw talent and motivation. I expect the Broncos will be back, but we’re an old and tired team at the end of their glory years and the Seahawks are a young team with a very bright future.

In interviews after the game, most of the ‘hawks talked about how they played each game the same. Every game was a championship. So when the final game came, they just went out and executed. They had some healthy players for the first time this season that added even more dynamite to a team made up of raw TNT. They played their best from first down to last, and they probably would have beat the Broncos even if Denver had not apparently walked under a ladder, broken a mirror, and crossed the path of a black cat before the coin toss.

The rules of the NFL tend to favor the offense. That doesn’t seem to have even slowed down the Seahawks. They demonstrated soundly that DEFENSE (with a pretty good offense) is how you win the big showdown. We can’t even blame the weather, although I thought the game was very noisy, which is not good for Manning and his “at-the-line” commands.

To tell you the truth, I don’t even think Denver was number 2 this year. I suspect the 49ers are more deserving of that position. They almost beat the Seahawks in Seattle. I’m a Bronco fan. Always was and always will be. But that doesn’t mean I’m stupid and can’t see the handwriting on the wall. This game could be played two more times. The score might end up closer, but I’m afraid the outcome would be the same.

One more thing I noticed. Although the Denver fans are loyal, it did appear this was a much bigger deal to Seattle than to Denver fans. Maybe they were a little more hungry for a win. There hadn’t been one in Seattle in a long, long time. Denver was going to its seventh Super Bowl and it might have become a bit repetitious to the hometown crowd. The excitement just wasn’t as high as in previous visits. Even the great home field advantage of Mile High seemed to dull in the face of the 12^th man. A little psychology there, perhaps. Did the city of Seattle want … need it more? Have Super Bowls become nondescript for our jaded fans. Are there too many distractions in Denver with teams in every major league, plus competition from skiing and all the other sports Denver loves. Maybe it was just the strong coffee in Seattle. I don’t know. Don’t worry Denver. We’ve still got the sunshine. Take that Seattle!

I never was a Seahawk fan, nor am I a football or any kind of sports expert. Yet I recognize the dominance of the Seattle Seahawks and expect to see much more of them in the years ahead. Maybe it’s time to bring back the Orange Crush. Defense DOES win games, even against the highest scoring team in NFL history, if you believe the numbers. I know I do.

3D Printing

My father-in-law, Robert Lincoln, is a mechanical engineer. He originally trained as a gunsmith at the Rhode Island School of Design and at Trinidad State College in Colorado. That’s where he met his future wife and mother of my lovely Linda. He worked at various companies that built oil filters, ultimately ending up at Fram here in Longmont.

Later he moved to Coors where he worked in packaging. He was responsible for the various new designs of beer cans that eliminated the pull ring. The removable ring was a waste hazard to animals and bare footed people. He also developed computer programs that supported the brewing of the new “light beer” using an HP desktop computer. He was a self-taught programmer, although I did help him with some of the code. It was all in Compiled BASIC.

Besides engineer and programmer, he was an inventor. I remember one idea he had. It was a plastic plug that you would use to replace the cigarette lighter in your car. On the end of the black plastic, painted white, was a representation of a cigarette with the red “no” symbol over it. His idea was to sell it to nonsmokers to put in their cars to discourage passengers from smoking. You young folks won’t understand, but things were different back then. Cigarette lighters were for lighting cigarettes rather than charging phones, and people smoked in offices and cars.

He had to hire an outfit to make a prototype of his design, and I remember seeing the small plastic object. Now days, that would be a good job for a 3D printer.

First invented back in 1984, it wasn’t until the last few years that 3D printers have really caught on … that and drones. Up to this point, “subtractive” technology has been the mainstay. Machines would build objects by removing material with lathes and planers and other machines. Now, with 3D printing, “additive” development is done. The final object is built up slowly by numerous applications of thin layers.

3D printing has found a use in both prototyping and small count manufacturing. It is the flexibility of the methodology that is so exciting. New ideas literally “come into shape” on the printing platform. 3D printers are still rather expensive and the materials used in them cost more than ink jet ink … which is already priced like liquid gold. So it is a hobby for the rich or well funded. There are some small machines in the $5,000 price range, but cheaper models are appearing.

One thing we know about technology is its ability to reduce the price with volume production and wide acceptance. So I expect companies like HP to soon offer low cost 3D printers down at Best Buy and WalMart. A 3D printer coupled with some 3D design software will start producing objects of technology and works of art. Now sculpture can be reproduced as easily as paintings and drawings are with 2D printing. This might become a whole new paradigm of objects. That and the “Internet of Things.” (I’ll have to tell you about the IoT at some later date.)

I think one of the first things I’ll make when I get mine will be a copy of that no smoking plug that Bob invented so many years ago.

Fast Food

It’s a unique American invention. And we suffer from the consequences. High calorie, bad cholesterol, high fat, and few vegetables in the food that we consume … quickly. We now suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure, giant pants — all symptoms of a nation’s love for food that is fast.

The archetypical main dish is hamburgers — hamburgers and french fries. Throw in a shake and you have the entire recommended daily intake of calories in one meal. From there we drive to our sedentary jobs and park as close as we can. I get a big kick out of going to the health club. Everyone tries to get that parking space right by the door. Does that make sense?

Franchises are the heart and soul of the successful fast food establishments, although local and regional brands also purvey good food. But since I write for a national audience, and even an international one, I will discuss the largest franchises.

(I remember trips to Germany and Japan that, after a while, I truly craved some good old US food like a burger, KFC, or a pizza. Fortunately, these US franchises are over there too, although Burger King didn’t call their top dish a “Whopper.”)

I reviewed an article that listed the top 50 fast food purveyors based on sales. That’s probably a good measure of the number of restaurants and name recognition, so I’m going to use this survey to compare the different choices.

Start with hamburgers (and fries). Of course, number one is McDonalds. Never a question there. Lots of other burger joints in the top 50: Burger King and Wendy’s, of course. Also Sonic, Jack in the Box, and Dairy Queen. (Not sure to count DQ as a burger joint, although they’ve been busy redoing their brand to add sandwiches to their ice cream selections.)

Also in the list is Hardee’s and Carl Jr.’s, although these two seem to be cut from the same corporate cloth. Whataburger, Steak N Shake, Five Guys, Culvers, and Checker’s/Rally’s are in the mix, although some of these are more regional than national. White Castle in the East and In-N-Out in the West are well known. Finally is Krystal … a brand I’ve never heard of … concludes the list that is, obviously, skewed to burgers.

Under the category of sandwich, first is Subway. Panera and Arby’s are in that list too. Quiznos and Jimmy Johns are next, with Jason’s Deli and Einstein Brother’s Bagels bringing up the end of the sandwich list.

In many ways, the sandwich may offer the most healthy choices and many of these vendors will give you a veggie if you’re not into meat. On the other hand, most cold cuts are very high in sodium … and fat, so take care with your choices. (Also watch the mayo.)

Most, however, are not really delis in the sense of a good New York version. I’m not familiar with Jason’s, and here in my hometown, I frequent a local butcher that does deli well. We used to have a Heidi’s Deli, which is trying to become a national brand. I don’t know how well they’re doing in that quest, but they didn’t make the top 50.

Starbuck’s sells more than just coffee, and Baskin Robins and Tim Horton add to the “snack” list. Throw in Cold Stone Creamery and that’s it for doughnuts and ice cream. I don't know why Winchell's or Dunkin' Donuts didn't make the list, nor Daylight or Krispy Kreme or even Voodoo Doughnut for you Portlandians. Those delicious little loops of deep fried pleasure. And while we're at it, wouldn't Waffle House be considered fast food? Maybe I'd better save that for another note.

In the Mexican food category, you have Taco Bell, followed by Chipotle and Del Taco. Qdoba is on the list, but our local favorite, a chain out of Wyoming, Taco Johns, is not.

Now let’s talk pizza. Not all of them are sit-down restaurants, but I like the salad bar at Pizza Hut. You can also go to Domino’s or Papa John’s (Peyton Manning, part owner). Little Caesars (Pizza! Pizza!) and Papa Murphy’s are also in the list. CiCi’s with their buffet and Sbaro in the malls round off the list.

The long-time KFC comes in number 9 on the list and introduces fried chicken as an entree. Chick-Fil-A is also known for chicken. Popeye’s and Church’s have a little more southern style recipes. Bojangles, El Pollo Loco, and Boston Market round out the category.

In the Asian fast food we find Panda Express alone in the category. Looks like some opportunity in a format that can often be more healthy, although still loaded with carbs and fat.

Long John Silver’s and Captain D’s stand alone in the seafood, fast food, but again frying is not the healthiest choice even when you eschew beef. Plus, they sell a lot of fries.

One might wonder about Italian food as a possible fast food category, although the pizza places often have pasta. There’s also a few salad fast food establishments such as the Colorado “Mad Greens.” In fact, a very large number of these franchises started in Colorado.

So there you have it. I’m not sure there are any more categories for fast food. Boston Market really sells more home cooking, than fast food, and there are a lot of cafeteria brands, especially in Texas. You all know the wide range of sit-down restaurants and their categories. I’ll save that for another day.

LTE-Advanced, the Next Big Thing

LTE-Advanced is the next step in the evolution to true 4G. More network capacity, faster data speeds, and better coverage will come from LTE-Advanced mobile technologies. So now, four years after the first networks using LTE went live, operators are looking to its successor.

Already, more than a dozen carriers, including AT&T, Korea’s SK Telecom, Australia’s Telstra, Japan’s NTT DoCoMo, and Telenor Sweden are testing LTE-Advanced technologies, and analysts expect commercial rollouts to start this year. By 2018, according to ABI Research, global LTE-Advanced connections will approach 500 million — about five times as many as LTE can claim today.

Wireless specialists are calling LTE-Advanced “true 4G” because, unlike ordinary 4G LTE, it actually meets the International Telecommunication Union’s specifications for fourth-generation wireless systems.

One of these criteria is speed. LTE-Advanced can theoretically achieve data download rates as high as 3 gigabits per second and upload rates as high as 1.5 Gb/s. By comparison, current implementations of LTE top out around 300 Mb/s for downloads and 75 Mb/s for uploads.

LTE-Advanced isn’t just about faster rates. It also includes new transmission protocols and multiple-antenna schemes that enable smoother handoffs between cells, increase throughput at cell edges, and it can stuff more bits per second into each hertz of spectrum. The result will be higher network capacity, more consistent connections, and cheaper data.

As its name implies, LTE-Advanced is meant to enhance LTE (Long Term Evolution … to “4G”). The two standards are mutually compatible, which is great for consumers. New LTE-Advanced phones will still work on LTE networks, and old LTE phones will connect to LTE-Advanced networks. Operators will benefit as well. Those wishing to upgrade to LTE-Advanced won’t need to scrape together new radio spectrum or build out new infrastructure as they did to make the leap from 3G to LTE.

But there is a catch: Carriers won’t roll out all of LTE-Advanced’s capabilities at once. Like LTE before it, the new standard isn’t a single technology but rather a grab bag of many technologies, and operators will pick and choose items as they’re needed. The new technology that will likely be adopted first is “carrier aggregation.”

Carrier aggregation increases the bandwidth available to a mobile device by stitching together frequency channels, or “carriers,” that reside in different parts of the radio spectrum. Ordinary LTE can deliver data using a contiguous block of frequencies up to 20 megahertz wide. But as more and more companies and devices bid for radio spectrum, such wide swaths are increasingly scarce. Most operators, having bought bits and pieces of spectrum wherever they could, have fragmented collections.

Carrier aggregation solves that problem. It allows operators to combine their narrow, disjointed channels into “one very big pipe.” To deliver its LTE-Advanced service, for example, a company can combine two separate 10-MHz-wide channels, at 800 MHz and 1.8 gigahertz, into a single 20-MHz-wide channel, essentially doubling the data rate available to each user.

Besides carrier aggregation, four other key features distinguish LTE-Advanced from its predecessors. The first of these is called “multiple input, multiple output” (MIMO), which allows base stations and mobile units to send and receive data using multiple antennas. LTE already supports some MIMO, but only for the download stream. And it limits the number of antennas to four transmitters in the base station and four receivers in the handset. LTE-Advanced allows for up to eight antenna pairs for the download link and up to four pairs for the upload link.

MIMO serves two functions. In noisy radio environments — such as at the edge of a cell or inside a moving vehicle — the multiple transmitters and receivers work together to focus the radio signals in one particular direction. This “beamforming” boosts the strength of the received signal without upping transmission power (and reducing battery life).

If signals are strong and noise is low — such as when stationary users are close to a base station — MIMO can be used to increase data rates, or the number of users, for a given amount of spectrum. The technique, called spatial multiplexing, permits multiple data streams to travel over the same frequencies at the same time.

Another important cell phone technology is “relaying,” which extends coverage to places where reception is poor. Wireless network architects have long used relays to extend a tower’s reach, such as into a train tunnel or a remote area. But traditional relays, or repeaters, are relatively simple. They receive signals, amplify them, and then retransmit them.

LTE-Advanced supports more advanced relays, which first decode the transmissions and then forward only those destined for the mobile units that each relay is serving. This scheme reduces interference and lets more users link with the relay.

Yet another LTE-Advanced feature will help alleviate network congestion. Known as “enhanced inter-cell interference coordination,” or eICIC, it will be used for so-called heterogeneous networks, in which low-power base stations, or small cells, overlay the “macro” network of traditional towers. Many carriers have already begun using variously sized small cells (also called metro-, micro-, pico-, or femtocells) to expand data capacity in busy urban centers. These compact boxes are cheaper, less obtrusive, and easier to install, and analysts see a bright future for them. But as operators cram more and more cells into the same spaces, they will have to find ways to lessen the inevitable crosstalk, a form of interference between transmitters.

The last major item on LTE-Advanced’s broad menu helps further improve signals and increase data rates at a cell’s edge, where it can be tough to get a good connection. The technique is called “coordinated multipoint,” or CoMP. Essentially, it enables a mobile device to exchange data between multiple base stations at the same time.

While the positive improvements from implementation of all of these new features will be a big jump in cell phone quality and performance, it will take years for telecommunications companies to implement all of these features across the country. And there’s even more exciting news waiting in the wings. There is talk of a new standard promoted by The 3rd Generation Partnership Project. This international body originally worked to make mobile phone system specification based on Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) specifications. They were responsible for the EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution) standard. They plan to release the next iteration later this year.

Cell phones will get faster and the quality of service will improve. Companies are rushing to fulfill the demand for more and more speed and bandwidth to a growing customer base. Evolution takes time. We’ve already seen the shift from dinosaurs to small mammals. Next thing you know these creatures will grow wings and start to fly. It will take some time. Not geological time, but a few years. Hope I’m around to see it.

Has Colorado Gone to Pot?

So is Marijuana legal in Colorado as of the New Year?

Actually recreational use of Marijuana has been legal in Colorado since Dec. 10, 2012, after Amendment 64 was passed by the voters. What changed on Jan. 1, 2014 is that now certain retail establishments are allowed to sell up to one ounce of Marijuana and other “herbal” products for “recreational” purposes.

Where can I buy weed?

The retail sale of Marijuana is highly regulated. That’s why there was such a long delay since the passing of the amendment and the opening of the stores. That allowed the state to develop rules and regulations.

Colorado legalized the medical use of Marijuana back in 2010. Currently the retail stores selling pot are limited to those that were already certified to sell medicinal weed. New stores will open once they pass the very rigorous licensing requirements, and that probably won’t be for several months … probably not before near the end of the year. The red tape is that long.

So now I can smoke dope in Colorado?

Well, technically you can smoke Marijuana, but the places you can smoke are very limited. You can’t just smoke it outdoors … no smoking in public, no smoking in parks, no smoking at the airport, and no smoking on the ski slopes. You can smoke it at Red Rocks … but that rule (or practice) has existed for about the last fifty years. (The last sentence is a joke folks. It’s also the truth, but you have to see the humor in it. Come to Red Rocks … you’ll get high … on the music or the scenery of just the high mountain air. That I guarantee. The new law won't have changed that at all.)

Can you smoke it at the retail stores?

Definitely not. There is no smoking where the weed is sold. In fact, under Colorado's Clean Indoor Air Act, pot smoking isn't allowed anywhere that cigarette smoking is also banned and there's no cigar bar-style exemption for blunts. That means no smoking in any building, office, mall, bar, or teepee. About the only place you can smoke pot legally is in your own home or apartment (assuming your landlord doesn’t object).

They even considered making it illegal to smoke pot if your neighbor could smell it, but that rule didn’t pass. Meanwhile the great gray area of the law doesn’t say about smoking on the deck, porch, patio, or balcony. Smoking while in the backcountry is only under the jurisdiction of Smokey the Bear and he says only you can prevent wild fires. Seriously, the Feds still frown on any pot smoking in the National Parks and the fine is very, very stiff.

If I only smoke at home, will my employer object?

That’s up to your employer, and plenty of them test new applicants for MJ. So, you might want to keep it on the down-low, and don’t wear any of those funny “Joe the Camel with a bong” T-Shirts at work. However, judging on the stupid way I see people acting in corporations these days, they may already be high. So you should fit right in.

Who can buy Marijuana?

Much like a liquor store, any person over twenty-one can purchase Marijuana. If you live here, you can buy up to one ounce. If you don’t live here, you can still buy up to a quarter ounce.

Can I buy it in Colorado and take it home?

Only if you live in Colorado. You can not drive it out of state, or fly it out of state, or take a train or a bus. You can’t even transport it between two states where it is legal, although that’s pretty much limited to Colorado and Washington at this time. (That’s the state of Washington. We don’t know what they’re smoking in D.C.)

On the other hand, those that have driven north on I-25 and noticed the giant stores selling fireworks just across the border in Wyoming where, apparently, even dynamite is legal for Fourth of July celebrations, I expect you’ll soon see giant stores on the Colorado side of the border. After all, it’s illegal to bring those “Wyoming” fireworks into CO, so …. Just sayin’, not doin’.

Would you? Could you?
In a car?
Eat them! Eat them!
Here they are.

That’s a tough one. The law is very strict against driving stoned. So the driver should not be smoking. Both the law and the science on contact high is unsure, so anyone smoking in a car might end up with everyone in the hoosegow. One problem is reliable testing of Marijuana “intoxication.” If the cop pulls you over and smoke billows out your window, you may be in for a long discussion with the officer.

Can I transport Marijuana in the car?

As long as you’re not smoking it or crossing state lines, MJ in the car is OK.

Can I mail some pot to my family in Omaha?

Only if you want to spend time in a nice federal prison. The mail is intended only for certain things like letters from your aunt Martha and junk mail. Junk mail = OK. Pot mail = 10 years in Federal Prison. I hope I made that clear … oh, and postage rates also went up on the first.

What does this pot cost down at the “high” store?

Plenty. For one thing there’s a 29% state tax plus any local sales and use tax on a recreational Marijuana purchase. Like all good vices, including cigarettes and alcohol, the government takes a big share. That’s why it’s called “organized crime.” Expect to pay upwards of $300 for an ounce of reefer. Smaller amounts are also available along with Marijuana “infused” products like brownies. Weight Watchers will soon be providing the points count for these delicious, mood changing treats.

Of course, all that tax money will be put to good use. A lot of the money goes to schools where additional classes on the evils of drug use will be added. Did you know that currently 32% of Colorado school expulsions are due to Marijuana use? Don’t expect that figure to improve. On the other hand, Pot should bring millions of additional dollars to Colorado. That’s basic economics. Let the Pot Tours begin. After all, we know it is always just about the money.

Will my name go on a big government list if I buy pot?

Trust me, your name is already on a big government list. However, you won’t have to sign to buy your weed. You will get your picture taken as pot stores will have more cameras than a presidential news conference.

Can I just grow my own?

Sure you can, if you have a green thumb and an “enclosed, locked space.” You have to be over twenty-one and you’re limited to six plants. There are a lot of city ordinances including zoning laws, so check with your local government before you buy $10,000 worth of hydroponic equipment.

What about the Feds? Isn’t Marijuana still against federal law?

Yes it is. However, the federal government seems to be content just tapping all our phones and hacking into all our computers, and says it intends to leave potheads alone. That is, if they follow the rules, at least for now. The next U.S. Attorney General may have different rules and they may be adding smoke detectors to the drones.

What are the rules?

Well, they’re unwritten rules, but this seems to be what the eight federal priorities are:

1. Preventing marijuana distribution to minors;
2. Preventing money from sales from going to criminal groups;
3. Preventing the diversion of marijuana from states where it is legal to states where it is illegal;
4. Preventing criminal groups from using state laws as cover for trafficking of other illegal drugs;
5. Preventing violence and the use of illegal firearms;
6. Preventing drugged driving and marijuana-related public health problems;
7. Preventing the growing of marijuana on public lands;
8. Preventing marijuana possession or use on federal property.

Will legal recreational sale of Marijuana replace medicinal Marijuana sales?

No. For one thing, medical Marijuana won’t have the very high taxes that the fun stuff has. So those with doctor’s prescriptions may choose to continue to buy MJ for what ails them. Plus, the limit for medical use of pot is two ounces and you can even have more if your doctor says so. Ain’t modern medicine wonderful? Oh, and you can get a prescription for medical Marijuana at the age of 18. So “MM” is sort of the 3.2 beer of pot.

What will be the impact of legal Marijuana sales in Colorado?

Well, I expect a big increase in sales at 7-Eleven and a drop in the school test scores. Seriously, Marijuana is a drug. There are plenty of drugs that are legal in our society, but that doesn’t make drugs a good thing. They all have their side effects. Personally, I consider weed a lot less damaging than alcohol or tobacco use, but that doesn’t mean it is safe. But then, apparently, neither is soda pop … both regular and sugar-free. People are gonna do what people do. Legal Marijuana just means that you won’t get busted for pot … unless you’re crossing state lines. It doesn’t mean pot is good for you. But then, neither are doughnuts, but they’re legal.

Now that pot is legal, will you be smoking it Mickey?

In a word, no. For one thing, I don’t do anything that makes my thinking unclear. (Well, maybe a few things.) I’m not against smoking weed, or having a beer or a glass of wine as far as that’s concerned. But those that know me know I don’t imbibe in intoxicants, and MJ is an intoxicant.

That’s just a personal choice. I regard clear thinking and a sound mind above all else … well almost all else. And, I have seen the damage that intoxicants have done to people, families, and society. However, the war on drugs has also caused much damage, and I think it is good that no one is getting busted for taking a few tokes. That’s OK with me. After what I’ve seen on television, both the news and the entertainment channels, I don’t think a little weed will push our society over the edge. When was the last time you heard of someone getting high on MJ and starting a fight?

So is legalized Marijuana the wave of the future?

Yes, I’m sure it is. Society is changing. It is always changing. We’ve tried some things such as prohibition, and it didn’t work out too well. As a society we don’t think that cigarettes are good for you, yet we tax the bejeebies out of them and sell them over the counter. Of course, it's illegal to sell cigs to kids … sure that law is working. Just drive by the local High School. Same goes for alcohol. It causes a lot of damage and death and other really bad things, but the state still gets a cut on every bottle, can, and glass sold. And in Nevada, prostitution is legal. All that just makes the government a pusher.

Same thing with legalized gambling. If I was in the mafia, I’d be suing the government for patent violations or unfair competition or something like that. After all, the government is already running “Murder Incorporated.” If I was organized crime, I’d just close up shop. The big boys are in town and they’re taking over the rackets.

All of these things cause more problems than they solve, but they increase tax revenues, and that’s really all government cares about. Maybe they'll use the money for something good. You can always hope so. That’s the direction society is going. Money is the new green. Better hang onto your hand basket, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride. Meanwhile, smoke ‘em if you got ‘em.

If you consider all that is wrong with the world, getting high on a little Colorado Cocktail isn’t the worst thing at all. John Denver wasn’t referring to just the mountains when he wrote “Rocky Mountain High.” Too bad he isn’t here to enjoy it now that it’s legal … sort of.