February 16, 2011, 8:35 am Nokia, the giant cell phone manufacturer, is in deep trouble. It’s new CEO (since September 2010), ex-Microsoft executive Stephen Elop, stated that clearly in an all-hands memo to Nokia employees that compared Nokia’s business position to being on a burning oil platform. The only way to survive, he intimated, was to jump to a radically different business model.
 Stephen Elop & Steve Ballmer On February 11 Nokia and Microsoft announced a joint alliance, with Nokia committing to use Windows Phone 7 as its primary smartphone OS. To date, Windows Phone 7 OS hasn’t had much acceptance in the marketplace. Apparently, Microsoft is going to pump “billions” into Nokia to attempt to get more Windows Phone 7 phones into the market.
The stock market reacted negatively to this news, and disheartened Nokia employees left work. The Joy of Tech thinks it’s just Nokia rearranging the deck chairs since the launch of the iPhone.
I’m skeptical this is going to work to Nokia’s benefit. In my view, Microsoft has a dismal record of new product development and marketing outside of its captive Windows OS and Office product lines. Nokia probably jumped off their burning platform too late to catch up with the iOS and Android mobile platforms. By the time Nokia gets its first Windows phone out, Apple will likely have released the next two versions of its iPhone series, pushing down in cost and up in features, and Android phones will continue their stellar sales.
February 15, 2011, 9:43 am  The cast of Firefly I just discovered that Joss Whedon’s short-lived sci-fi/western adventure series Firefly is returning for a run on the Discovery Network Science Channel beginning March 6. I liked it when it first ran a few years ago.
Imagine the western genre set 500 years in the future. Following a universal civil war in which our protaganists end up on the losing side, they eke out a living with their spaceship Serenity by trading/smuggling in the more or less lawless frontier areas of space.
Actors Nathan, Gina, Alan, Jewel, Adam, Morena, Sean, Summer, and Ron put a fun but different spin on a common genre. I don’t subscribe to the Discovery Channel, but it just may be time to break out the DVD’s for another viewing of this show.
Mal (the captain): “Just get us on the ground!”
Wash (the pilot): “That part will happen pretty definitely!”
February 6, 2011, 9:16 pm Karen and I spent a few days in central coast area recently. We first stopped in Cambria Pines and made a 20 mile round trip bike ride up north to San Simeon and back. The weather was clear and crisp and we just happened to spot an elephant seal hauled out on a small, sandy beach. Before leaving Cambria, we bought berry and cream-cheese muffins at Lynn’s for the next day’s breakfast.
The following day we rode our bikes from Cayucos to Cambria for lunch at Robin’s, our favorite restaurant in the area.
The next day we did a little walking and sight-seeing, starting in Morro Bay at a little harbor in the State Park.
 Colorful Morro Bay Harbor
We even discovered a mini-version of the African Queen, but her captain was nowhere to be seen.
 The African Queen
I was not in a kayak when I took this photo, but I wish I had been.
 Morro Rock across the bay  Western Grebe
Afterward, we drove to Avila Beach and hiked for a couple of miles to check it out. There were a couple of fish restaurants on the pier, but they did not catch our fancy, so we drove on to Arroyo Grande, wandered through the farmer’s market, and had lunch at the Branch Street Deli.
On our way back to Cayucos, we checked out a future bike ride—start in San Luis Obispo and head south on Higuera Street to pick up a bike trail out to Avila Beach.
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