Does Texas Health Presbyterian Survive?

Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, where Thomas Duncan was diagnosed with Ebola, has seen a major decline in revenue. The hospital has reported a 50% drop in ER visits, and a 20% drop in daily patient census.

Couple that with a wave of negative reviews coming in, and even full page apologies may not be enough to survive. Earlier reports called Texas Health Presbyterian a ghost town.

Look, whichever hospital was first to receive an Ebola patient was …

Unethical Behavior by Toys R Us

So, Toys R Us has this neat functionality where a child can set up a wish list. My nephew set one up a few months ago, and it was very useful when deciding what to get him for Christmas.

I simply got on the Toys R Us website, put in his name and location, and up popped a list of everything he wanted. I picked out a couple of items and ordered them.

Very convenient.

Except that this morning (four …

SFC Farmers Market at Sunset Valley

Austin loves a farmers market. There must be a dozen or more around the greater Austin area alone. These markets focus on locally grown, and often sustainable, food and other products.

The Wife and I have been to several of the Austin-area markets and this morning we decided to make the trek down to south Austin for the SFC Farmers Market at Sunset Valley. SFC also runs the markets downtown (on 4th) and in the Triangle, and is supposed to …

FaceTime Wishlist

FaceTime is Apple's video calling solution for the iPhone 4. My buddy Paul G. and I have been testing it over the last week or so. The high video quality has been fairly consistent, even when downloading and uploading files on the same network as the phone call. The delta-based compression creates artifacts if the subject or background are moving, but that is to be expected. Overall, we were both impressed, especially considering it is a first generation product. We did, however, have the following wishlist of items to be improved or added:

Initial Thoughts on the iPhone 4

This week, I upgraded from the original iPhone to the iPhone 4. I ordered using the Apple Store app on June 16th (the second day of pre-ordering). It shipped from China on July 1st and was delivered into my hands July 6th. It set at the FedEx office in Austin for three days due to the holiday.

The packaging was the usual minimalistic Apple, with the phone, a set of headphones, a USB cable, a charger and a bit of …

Intel Does Not Understand New Media

I get most of my news from podcasts. They’re very convenient; I can load them up on the iPhone, and listen when I’m driving, walking the dog, riding the stationary bike, whatever.

One of my favorites is PBS’s NewsHour. They break up each of the news segments in an individual file. It really fits with how I want to consume news.

Over the last few months, Intel has started advertising on the NewsHour podcasts. A short commercial is run before …

One Week with the iPad

Paul Groepler reports in on his first week with the iPad.
Okay I've had this iPad for seven calendar days, and took it with me on an international trip. I have figured out a few things, discovered a few more and have been stonewalled by a few. My end-of-the-week rating is a B - (B minus). Here's the good, the bad and the ugly: