Which side of your brain do you use the most?

Which way do you see her spinning?

If you are seeing this lady spinning clockwise, then it means you are using the right side of the brain. If you are seeing her spinning counter-clockwise, then you are using the left side of the brain.

Some people are able to see her spinning in both directions, but most of them see her rotating only in one. If you can see her spin in one directions and then make her spin in the other, then you are a part of a handful of people.

Even if it might not seem so, both directions can be seen. Apparently, this fact has been proven at Yale University, after 5 years of studying the human brain and its functions. Supposedly only 14% of the US population can see her spinning in both directions.

I see her spinning clockwise, so I’m using the right side of my brain which makes sense, because I’m left handed.

Selected Quotes of James Madison

A pure democracy is a society consisting of a small number of citizens, who assemble and administer the government in person.

A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained in arms, is the best most natural defense of a free country.

All men having power ought to be mistrusted.

As a man is said to have a right to his property, he may be equally said to have a property in his rights.

Do not separate text from historical background. If you do, you will have perverted and subverted the Constitution, which can only end in a distorted, bastardized form of illegitimate government.

I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.

If men were angels, no government would be necessary.

If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.

It is a universal truth that the loss of liberty at home is to be charged to the provisions against danger, real or pretended, from abroad.

It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood.

Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.

Learned Institutions ought to be favorite objects with every free people. They throw that light over the public mind which is the best security against crafty and dangerous encroachments on the public liberty.

Liberty may be endangered by the abuse of liberty, but also by the abuse of power.

No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.

Of all the enemies of public liberty, war is perhaps the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other.

Such democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.

The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.

The Constitution of the United States was created by the people of the United States composing the respective states, who alone had the right.

The Constitution preserves the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation where the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.

The diversity in the faculties of men, from which the rights of property originate, is not less an insuperable obstacle to an uniformity of interests. The protection of these faculties is the first object of government.

The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.

The executive has no right, in any case, to decide the question, whether there is or is not cause for declaring war.

The loss of liberty at home is to be charged to the provisions against danger, real or imagined, from abroad.

The means of defense against foreign danger historically have become the instruments of tyranny at home.

The proposed Constitution is, in strictness, neither a national nor a federal constitution; but a composition of both.

The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe with blood for centuries.

We are right to take alarm at the first experiment upon our liberties.

What is government itself but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.

What prudent merchant will hazard his fortunes in any new branch of commerce when he knows not that his plans may be rendered unlawful before they can be executed?

22 Confessions Of A Former Dell Sales Manager

www.consumerist.com

A former Dell kiosk manager writes us to share helpful tips about doing business with Dell. He has no particular problems with Dell, he just wanted to share some helpful tips for consumers looking to get the best deal. He includes info on getting the best deal from the website, different kinds of promotions the Dell offers, insider details on how the kiosk sales reps are compensated, what coupons and deals they have to offer you to close the deal, the email format for Dell in case you're thinking of launching an EECB, where to take your Dell credit card complaints, which extended warranties to avoid, how to get a domestic tech support rep... and more. It's very comprehensive. Enjoy!

I am a former Spherion rep that later became a Dell Branded Rep (manager) of a Dell kiosk in the Philadelphia, PA region. To work at one is to work at all, and I worked at four different kiosks in the region. I worked from July 2005 until October 2006, but keep regular contact with some of the guys I trained and brought up. Other than the usual complaints, I have no problem with the company.

Things most people know already:


1. Small business is better than home and home office - Small business typically runs a few dollars more than the home office, but you stand a better chance of getting domestic tech support rather than non-native English speakers. As an added perk, small business promotions are occasionally better than home.


2. Play with the web site - There are many different pricing packages for the same product throughout the various sections, typically three or more per segment. If you're buying a Dell soon, configure a unit from a link off the main page, from the product listing on the drop down and from the "As Advertised-Newspaper" drop down. Configure the same system each way at the home, small business and the Direct (kiosk) site (http://www.dell.com/directstore). It is very likely you will end up with nine different prices.


3. Extended warranty for laptops - Do it for as long as you feasibly see using your laptop, and include accidental. Two years is typically the lifecycle from "new product" to "no longer produced/no more refurbs" though YMMV. Once your model is off the refurb site, drop it. Voila! New laptop. The standard warranty will not cover any screen defects.

UPDATE: Current Dell rep says: If a system is no longer shipping a used/refurbished is always sent, though the refurb should be equal or better as far as hardware is concerned. As of this writing if a system is exchanged, via either Complete Care warranty or concession, and the system is still a currently shipping model a new system is to be sent.

4. Extended warranty for desktops - There is nothing in a low end desktop (non XPS) that is worth the price of the warranty should you have to replace it. Only pick it up if you have absolutely no clue what you're doing once the case is open.


5. Tech support phone - If you do go with the home/home office/direct route, tech support is outsourced (duh!). The tech support instant messenger typically provides a calmer, more understandable conversation due to the fact that accents are taken out of the equation. Think back to high school Spanish. It was always easier to translate the foreign language you were reading than if you heard it. Same concept applies here.


6. Tech support web site - If you're having a common problem, hit the product forums (however crippled they may be now). It is very likely your question/problem has been resolved before, and usually a domestic tech rep posted a solution there.


7. Warranty Repairs - On all but the two lowest warranties (90 day and 1 year limited), warranty repairs will be done in the home. The repair techs are only required to replace the broken part. They are not required to do anything else. If they replace your hard drive, they are not required to reinstall your OS or drivers. Most will do it if you're nice, but don't expect it. If you're clueless, there are tutorials all over http://support.dell.com that tell you how to do it yourself.

UPDATE: Current Dell rep says: Also with desktop machines at home service is the only option. Notebooks on the other hand may have a return to depot or an at home service contract.

8. OS Backup Disk - For over a year now, Dell has required you to purchase your Backup/Reinstall Disk. Order this with your machine. Once your Dell is delivered, it is a pain to get the disk at all, much less at a sensible price. If you do not have this disk and your hard drive dies, at home warranty repair will not be able to get your PC running once the drive is swapped without selling you a new copy of your OS.

UPDATE: Current Dell rep says: Dell no longer requires the purchase of the backup disk. They are included with every computer that ships with a Windows OS. On the subject of hard drives, if your drive fails within the first year of purchase you should be sent an imaged drive that will contain everything except for your royalty applications (Office etc). If for some reason you lose the media, you can request the OS, Resource/Drivers disk, and the applications disk at no cost to you. (Even if you are no longer under warranty Dell will send you an OS disk) Note that the Resource/Drivers and Applications disk is only available for currently shipping systems. Should you need to reinstall you'll need to download the drivers from support.dell.com from another computer and copy them over. Last, within the first year of purchase, if you need to reinstall the OS and you can't access the recovery image, or if it was deleted for some reason, you can request an System Recovery CD that does pretty much the same thing. (Not available on notebooks due to the Media Direct partition.)


9. DPA/Dell Preferred - This is the Dell credit card, like a Sears, Macy's or Radio Shack credit card. Typically a high rate, low limit card. The lowest APR is still around 18-20%, and that comes with a $5,000 limit. The $4,000, $3,000 and $2,000 limits have rates in the mid to high 20s. The lowest limt, $1,500, has an APR of 29.99%. NEVER USE THIS UNLESS THERE IS A KILLER NO INTEREST PROMOTION.


a. Interesting Note: In the Back-To-School season of 2005, DFS (Dell Financial Service) was issuing cards to 18 year olds with a $7,000 limit and a 29.99% interest rate.

Stuff you may not know:


1. Promotion cycle dates - Thursday is the first day of new promotions. If you go to the web site at 11:45 p.m. on Wednesday night and again on 1 a.m. on Thursday morning, the promotions are different. The catalog promotions run from the start of the month to the end. Additionally, on holiday weekends (Memorial Day, 4th of July, etc.) there may be special sales/coupons for the three-day weekend.


2. Promotion styles - Typically, one week will be cash off while the next will be percentage off. If you liked cash off but the current promotion is percentage off, check the "As Advertised-Newspaper" section. These typically have a remnant of the prior week's promotion as well as better versions of the current week's promotions. Cash off helps for cheap systems, percentage off helps with high-end.


3. Dell Customer Care can price match within 24 hours from the time of order. Combining #1 and #2 from this section, if you are unsure of the value of the week's promotion but need to order something, order it Wednesday night. Check the promotions for the new week on Thursday. If its better, call and price match. If its not, sit back and feel smug for no reason


4. Dell corporate email - As of December 2006, everybody (save Michael Dell) working for Dell U.S. has the same form of email address: firstname_lastname@dell.com. Michael Dell's does not follow this pattern and is changed immediately whenever the current one is discovered by lower-level employees or the public.


5. Dell's internal fiscal calendar is different from other corporations. As their fiscal year ends in January or February (I honestly don't remember), the best deals will typically be found in late January and all of February. Also, buying during the last week of any quarter typically means free or deeply-discounted 2nd day or overnight shipping, and the quickest order turnaround. There are no steep discounts for the holidays, though they will run a few weeks of consecutive percentage off promotions during the back to school season in August.


6. The DFS servers are notoriously flimsy. If you apply for DPA (why would you?) and it is unable to complete, it means the server is overloaded but your credit rating has already been pinged. Reapplying will not fix the issue but it will repeatedly ping your credit. The system is unable to verify cell phone numbers and will automatically reject based on the use of one.

Fun facts about the Kiosks:


1. Why should I shop at a kiosk? I can order from home. - A very valid point, but the majority of kiosk customers are morons who think computers are magic boxes that let you see pictures of cats in funny poses while someone steals your AOL password. There's a few reasons why an educated person aka Consumerist reader should hit the kiosk up:



a. Discounts - There are several ways the Dell Direct kiosks can attempt to match or beat an online deal.

i. Closing tools - Dollar off coupons that depend on how much you spend. Spend $600=$25 off; $1200=$50 off; $1,600=$75 off; $2,000=$100 off.

ii. Refuse to Lose - 10% coupons meant to allow a sales rep to seal a large deal. These can only be used when the computer price alone is $1,600 or more. It can not be used on accessories, TVs or multiple computers whose aggregate value is above $1,600. This must be requested from the Manager on Duty (MOD) through an email request, and will generally be credited before the computer is shipped.

iii. DPA coupon - Dell will already give you 2% off your order if, at the payment screen you click the link that offers 2% off when you pay with DPA. The kiosks have a 3% DPA closing tool that can be used also, giving a discount of slightly over 5%. This works for all DPA purchases including TV's, monitors and cameras.

iv. The closing tools are nothing but individual-use coupons entered at the shopping cart. They are invalid on the home and small business site. Reps are supposed to use them as a last-ditch effort, but as long as you're not buying a sub-$600 system, they should offer them without your having to ask.

b. Printer cartridges - No you can't buy them there...officially. They are non-inventoried items that many kiosks have a heady supply of due to inexplicably random deliveries from corporate. If you're in a pinch and need one that day, go (don't call), get a feel for the employees, and if you think they're cool with it, offer cash.

2. There are two levels of kiosk employees. There are those hired by Spherion, creatively known as "Spherion reps," and then there are Dell Branded Reps, or DBRs. DBRs are effectively the management of the individual kiosk, and are the only ones able to work uncompensated overtime. Deal with them if possible, because they are very likely to be there the next time if you have a question. They've also been there much longer than any other kiosk staff, so they likely have a much better skill set for finding bargains.

3. If you have a problem with DPA, the kiosk has a specific email contact for Dell Financial. Problems can be resolved much much faster.

4. The Dell Direct kiosk website is configured differently than the others. There are "bundles" (linked from the main page under the "start shopping" graphics) and there are "non-bundles". Bundles, so called because...you guessed it...accessories and service are already bundled in, have a higher profit margin. They are also the most customizable system on the website. Non-bundles carry lower profit margins but may be limited. The salesman will always start from a bundle. Let them finish, then make them search the non-bundles for an equal system with a better price.

5. Kiosk reps are judged on the following:


a. Unit price: The average sale price of each reps transactions. $1,200 was the goal as of March, 2007 but $1,600 was preferred.

b. Bundle percentage: Dell varies on what percentage of all sales it wants to be from the "bundle" page depending on the month and who you're talking to. It is typically between 40% and 60%.
c. Service: Each PC/Notebook sale is expected to have a 3 year warranty attached. Typically, the number is between $160 and $200.

d. E&A: This is the percentage of the sale that was spent on accessories. Each transaction should have between 5% and 10%, or one printer and cable per PC or one bag, lock and travel mouse per Notebook.
e. DPA: Dell Preferred Account purchases. The expected percentage of DPA sales has climbed in the past years. It currently hovers between 40% and 60%, and they want a 1 to 1 customer to submitted application ratio.


6. Secret shoppers - The kiosks are secret shopped constantly, and they're playing of a 20-question scorecard. Don't be surprised if the salesman asks really base/borderline-insulting questions if you act interested. They think you're a secret shopper.

7. Communication - Complaints made about Dell to the kiosk reps go unheard. There is no place for the rep to turn around and report the complaint to. Communication between reps and even district management is limited, and reps are discouraged from calling the regional management. Store, district and regional management are all run from email and cell phones. It is not uncommon for the kiosks to receive three answers from three departments, with the end result being all three statements retracted without a solution in place.

Motorola Q Registry Tweaks and Hacks

by: hellomotoq.com
Motorola Q mods and hacks…registry tweaks…what have you… that you may find valuable to your Q-using experience. You will need a registry editor like Resco Registry Editor and Explorer: Resco Explorer 2005 for Smartphone.

And as with most posts of this nature, tweak AT YOUR OWN RISK!

The following is a list of mods/hacks that you will find thereafter:
1. Making the scrollbars smaller (Vert. and Horz.)
2. Moto Q Speed Increases
3. Changing System Startup Sound
4. Turn off Shutter Sound for Camera
5. Change Start Menu into List Instead of Grid
6. Shut Off the Beep that Occurs When You Initiate a Call
7. Page Up and Page Down in IE
8. Change VZW Image that is Above the # Dial Window
9. Change Startup Microsoft Splash Screen
10. Remove Sent Message Popup With SMS.
11. Increasing Call History

1. Making the scrollbars smaller (Vert. and Horz.)
This hack allows 4 icons on a row in the start menu instead of 3 and allows more to be viewed on the screen in IE:
• Go to: HKey_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\GWE\
• Adjust the following values
cyHScr : Horizontal Scrollbars
Height in pixels (default is 6, set it to 3)
cxVScr : Vertical Scrollbars
Width in pixels (default is 6, set it to 3)
• Soft-reset

2. Moto Q Speed Increases
The following 2 hacks increase system performance and makes the Q more responsive:
• Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\GDI\GLYPHCACHE\
Changed limit from 16384 to 32768
• Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\StorageManager\FATFS
Changed - CacheSize to 4096

3. Changing System Startup Sound• Navigate to: \HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ControlPanel\Sounds
- At the very bottom of the list of entries, there an entry called AllSounds
- Open that up and you'll see a list of mp3 files.
- All you have to do is append your own audio files (mp3, wma, or wav) to the list. Then you have to make sure that you place your new audio clips in the \Windows folder so that they are accessible.
- The next time you go to the sounds events page, the drop down menu will contain the new clips you added.
• If you want to change the system startup sound, go to:
\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ControlPanel\Sounds\SystemStart \Sound
- Change the hidden wav file, \Windows\Piano.wav to \Windows\MY_WAV_GOES_HERE.wav
- I'd be really cautious about changing the startup wav. You don't want the phone to lock if the audio file doesn't load. I converted my wav to 16bit, stereo, 22khz WAV file. I didn't use mp3 or WMA. This seems to work fine.

4. Turn off Shutter Sound for Camera• Navigate to:
\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\Pictures\Camera\OEM\Sou ndFile
• In the SoundFile key:
Modify the string/value \windows\shuttersound_02_secs.wav to say \windows\*none*
- Yes it should have the ** around none

5. Change Start Menu into List Instead of Grid• Navigate to:
\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shell\StartM enu
• Change the GridView value to 0 if you want list view.
• Change it to 1 if you want grid view.

6. Shut Off the Beep that Occurs When You Initiate a Call• Navigate to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ControlPanel\SoundCategories\InC all2
• Change String/Value InitVol to 0

7. Page Up and Page Down in IE
Key mapping for "Page Up" and "Page Down" in Internet Explorer
• Open your favorite registry editor then navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer
• Create a new key 'KeyMaps' (without the quotes)
• Under KeyMaps, create 2 new DWORD values:
50 with a value data 1 (this will make key "2" Page Up)
56 with a value data 2 (this will make key "8" Page Down)
- I created 2 more DWORD values:
52 with a value date 5 (this will make key "4" Page Left)
54 with a value date 6 (this will make key "6" Page Right)
The key name is the keycode you want. 50 = Key 2, 56 = Key 8, 52 = Key4, and 54 = Key
• Other DWORD values available are:
1 - Page Up
2 - Page Down
3 - Top
4 - Bottom
5 - Left
6 - Page Rignt
7 - Horizontal Top
8 - Horizontal Down
9 - Default Layout
10 - Desktop Layout
11 - One Column Layout
12 - Full Screen Toggle
13 - Show Pictures Toggle
Keycodes Values for 0-9: 48='0', 49='1', 50='2', 51='3', 52='4', 53='5', 54='6', 55='7', 56='8', 57='9'.
• Exit registry editor once you have mapped it to your favorite keys.

8. Change VZW Image that is Above the # Dial Window
When you go to dial a # you will see a Verizon Wireless Image above that #.

To get rid of this or to change it...

• Upload the desired image to /windows.
The default VZW image is 240x27. However the author, tonyxcom, says: "Oh, and you can pretty much make the image any size you want. I made mine 320. If you make it any less wide, it will get stretched."
• Navigate to:
HKLM/Software/Microsoft/Shell/Rai/:MSCdial/
Click on the String/Value BannerImage
You will see in the String: /windows/16_brick_131.gif
Type in the string field: /windows/YourImagesName.jpg
YourImagesName.jpg being the name of the file you put in the /windows folder in Step 1.

Someone named Ben Hirashima has an auto installing CAB file for this hack. It can be downloaded at:
http://benhirashima.com/hostedFiles/DialPad.CAB

9. Change Startup Microsoft Splash Screen
The file that we are dealing with is "ms_screen.png". The system uses this file for both the startup and shutdown screens. There are 2 ways to do this mod. The first is to create another image file named ms_screen.png, and move it into your windows directory. Of course it will need to be 320x240, and I would save in PNG format just to be safe. Be sure to make a backup of the original just in case you happen to botch something.
The method that I chose was to create a PNG file, again 320x240, and save it under a different filename. Then, move this file into the Windows directory. Now it's time to edit the registry to point to this new file.

The registy keys are located at: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Splash Screen
We are interested in the CarrierBitmap, MSBitmap, and MSShutdownBitmap keys. They point to the \Windows\ms_screen.png file by default. Change all 3 to the new filename, and restart the Q. You should see your new startup logo after the Verizon logo and animations, prior to your Home screen coming up.

10. Remove Sent Message Popup With SMS.
• Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Inbox
• Next, click on Inbox (make sure the Inbox is highlighted) and select Edit, New Key
• Name the New Key as "Settings"
• Click on "Settings" (make sure the Settings is highlighted) and select Edit, New String Value
• On "Value name:", key in SMSNoSentMsg and in "Value data", key in 1
• Soft reset your device and test it with one SMS, and you will notice that the SMS Sent bubble is being disabled

11. Increasing Call History• Navigate to: \HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ControlPanel\Phone
"CallHistoryMax" contains the number of numbers that will be kept in history. [ie. change it to 100]

[Here is one that I didn’t venture to try: ]

USB Native Tethering, Make DUN Settings Stick
• To make the DUN setting (##342587) stick, do the following delete the following string value: HKey_Local_Machine\init\"Launch99"
• Exit regedit, dial in ##342587. Select OK, then Exit.
• Reset your Q.
Upon restart, the Modem Link app will be there indefinitely, lest you do the ##342587 again and disable it.
NOTE: Unless you take certain measures your phone can lock up 80% of the time.

Cool Moto Q Tricks and Shortcuts

My awesome new phone!

Cool tricks/shortcuts on the Q:
In Internet Explorer, pushing the Space Bar will Page-Down
- To silence the ringer of an incoming call, move the scroll wheel down
- Hold down the spearkphone button to enable Voice Recognition
- During a call, the same button toggles Speakerphone ON/OFF
- Automatic Profile toggles between Normal and Meeting depending on your Outlook Calendar
- by dialing ##342587 You can Enable/Disable Dial Up Networking
- Did you know that when you are in Calculator mode that if you click the scroll wheel up it adds, and if you click it down it subtracts, and if you press in on the wheel, it is the same as pressing the = key! It is very fast to type in the numbers with one thumb while adding and subtracting with the other.
- Pressing any alpha key at the home screen will bring up the contact list...and filter the contacts based on the alpha key you pressed.
- When composing an email or SMS, in the To: field, press the Return button or Center D-pad to bring up your Contacts
- To bring up the recent call list, just press the "Space Bar" while at the home screen.
- You can press the home key, then space key to lock the Q
- Holding down the Home key brings up the "Quick List"
- To control your Volume Level with your Media Player.. Press & Hold the Trackwheel
- To use Call Waiting, use the wheel on the side as a button to switch between calls.
- You can pull up a special characters menu by pressing ALT then CAPS key while in a text box
- Holding down the email/light key turns the light off on the Q.
- When in Camera mode, Up and Down on the d-pad change the Zoom level (Still ONLY), and Left and Right on the d-pad change the Brightness
- If you press and hold the Enter key (far right), a menu to power on/off the Bluetooth/Phone appears