Today I got an announcement that the company was changing the name for one of our core products. Granted, the original name was very dated; at the time being so cutting edge in the future, but now just seeming like a little past the prime. However the new name they came up with has its own problems, starting with the fact that it is completely unintelligible. It's more accurate, but also more generic, and certainly nothing to run home to tell your parents about. It's also very very similar to our other newer hot product, which is completely different in nature and core market. Idiots. Anyway, the point was that along with the new name comes the new software updates. So I update my illustration software, like a good company drone, and then proceed to try to run some scenarios as a normal course of work. And what I find is that when I let the software do the automatic calculations, suddenly clients can put in less money and get more returns on their investment. Or rather, you get better returns by putting in less, but only if the computer does the solving. For instance, the client is currently investing $10,000/year with 8% assumed return. Software says 20 years from now they will have $300,000. If I let the let the computer decide how much client should put in, then it tells me they should put in $8,000/year, and in 20 years it'll be $400,000. But if I manually put in $8,000/year, now they only have $200,000. (The last one makes sense: you put in less, you get back less.). Time to call 2nd level tech support. :: Gmail update Part 3 Email I got recently to a question I asked: In the meantime, if anybody wants to try out a buggy snoopware email system with ineffectual spam blocker and questionable help documentation, I'll be more then happy to invite your to join the gmail club. :: More pics from my adventures with the digital point and shoot. Pretty soon I'll have a large enough collection to offer on a CD, probably through Cafepress. Debating between Public Domain or some sort of Creative Commons License. The Fog image is the Empire State Building, which had on red lights that night. A weird fog was blowing off the bay that only enveloped Brooklyn and mostly Manhattan, only at upper elevations, leaving the Hudson River and Jersey clear. Probably something to do with the cold damp air coming off the bay and hitting the warm heat of the city. The trees are just some blossoming and past blossoming trees at my favorite springtime cheery blossoms on the East Side of the Central Park resevoir.