I’ve been looking around for a good buy on a large external HD. I’m amazed when you calculate the cost per GB how cheap external HD storage works out to be. The best price I could find was 24 cents per GB. I haven’t bought a floppy disc in a very long time, but I just priced a box of 1.44 mb floppies, and they work out to about 29 cents a disc, or 20.139 cents per MB!

If you bought the equivalent of a 500 GB drive in floppies, you would need 355,555 discs, and it would cost you $103,111 ! ….. Plus shipping! Plus storage! … and a pallet jack!

(A GB is 1024 MB; a floppy is 1.44 MB. That’s about 711 floppies per GB, or about $206 worth of floppies per GB. Compare that to your $20 1 GB pen drive! )

With an 8 foot ceiling, I calculate it would take a storage closet about 6×7 feet to hold all 355,555 discs if you threw away all the packaging material.

(A stack of 10 floppies with labels attached is about 16.13 cubic inches. There are 1728 cubic inches in a cubic foot.)

Someone should check my math. :)

Creating a blog seemed like a good idea when I created it. If you’ve browsed these meager pages, you’ve noticed that I haven’t posted regularly, like a good blog deserves. Life is busy, and this seems to be just one more thing I never get around to. I hope you enjoy the software you find on my website www.papertrailsoftware, because it has a lot more to offer than this pitiful blog!

Observer is a classroom observation and reporting system designed to be used by administrators. It allows an administrator to record a comprehensive observation or a quick walkthrough, using a Palm device, tablet PC, or even just a printed checklist that can later be transferred to a desktop PC.

The items contained on the observation or walk through can be as brief or as comprehensive as desired. Observation/walk through items are set up by the user, and multiple sets can be used. This allows administrators to use a tailored set of items for each observation/walk through, depending on the specific grade level, teaching environment, etc.

You can visit the Observer web site at http://papertrailsoftware.com/observer.

Observer is designed to assist administrators when recording classroom observations and walk-throughs. The package will include a PC component, Palm component, and a hotsync component. Administrators will be able to configure an Observation Set (a set of behaviors/conditions/etc. to look for) and use it as a template when recording classroom visits. In fact, they will be able to create multiple Observation Sets and load a given set into their handheld whenever it is needed. This will allow administrators to tailor observations to different grade levels, different subjects, and different teaching experience.

Look for Observer’s download at http://observer.papertrailsoftware.com in September (2006).

Because the name CarCare was already taken, CarCare has been renamed to KeepUp. In addition to a new name, the program has a few new features:

1. Fuel mileage calculator tab records mileage, cost, and fuel economy statistics.

2. Choice of measurement system. Preferences allow you select miles and gallons or liters and kilometers.

3. Odometer Correction feature. Automatically adjusts mileage figures when your odometer is inaccurate.

Download the newest version of KeepUp at http://www.papertrailsoftware.com/carcare/index.htm.

Grade Point Bug Fix

Version 7.0c was released today. Sometimes improvements in one area of the program have unanticipated consequences in another area. The Missing Assignments Report and Remediation Report were broken. Now fixed in version 7.0c. If you are already using version 7, you can download an updated copy at http://www.papertrailsoftware.com/gradepoint/download.htm.

Free Upgrade

You will be eligible to a free upgrade to version 7.x if a new customer mentions that you referred them.

An update to Grade Point (7.0b) has been posted. Apparently when a default grading period was forced during an initial setup in version 7.0a, the subject table wasn’t being properly filtered. This resulted in newly added subjects disappearing as soon as they were posted! (The subjects would reappear permanently when Grade Point was closed, then reopened.) Now the program behaves as it should, and the subjects stay visible during initial setup.

CarCare needs to be renamed. I thought it was a pretty good title when I first wrote the program. Apparently someone else did too, because I’ve since discovered that there’s some commercial software out there with the same name. I haven’t quite decided on another name yet, so I hope the folks over at the other CarCare are not too upset yet. Whatever I choose, I think I’ll do a search this time to see if anyone already has dibs on it!

How about: My Car Care? Maintain? My Car Maintenance? Car Maintenance? Maintenance Points? Maintenance Nag? Car Nag? Vehicle Nag? Maintenance Butler? Maintenance Genie? My External Brain? Heap Upkeep? Upkeep? Car Keep? Car Tracker? Maintenance Tracker?

This is worse than naming a baby!

I suspect that this blog’s readership if very low—possibly nonexistent. I’m probably just talking to myself here, but if anyone does accidentally discover my ramblings and has a really good idea for the name of a vehicle maintenance program, please let me know by replying to this blog or by sending me an e-mail (papertrl@cox.net).

I just got back from a road trip to Montana on which quite a few bugs met untimely deaths on my windshield. An equal number met their deaths on my radiator. I considered installing a bug screen in front of the radiator to keep dead bugs from plugging up the fins and eventually cutting down my vehicle’s cooling ability—especially since I was pulling a camper and the temperatures on the road were often over 100 F. I just didn’t quite get around to it until I returned to Southern Nevada, where bug screens are pointless, anyway. But I thought I’d order one on the Internet so I’d be prepared for next year’s trip. While searching, I ran across some articles that caution the reader about using bug screens. The authors claim that screens can significantly cut down on the amount of air reaching the radiator, and that perhaps a moderate amount of bugs splattered against the fins is preferable! Guess I’ll hold off on the bug screen. Below are quotes from the sites and the URLs of the complete articles.

from RV Cooling System Performance, by Chuck Arnold
http://thepowershop.com/index.php?pr=RV_Cooling

Bug screens in the absence of bugs block 20% of the airflow and thus kill cooling system efficiency. RV engines should not run with bug screen protected radiators in hot weather unless the bugs are so bad that the radiator is being plugged. The screen is almost always worse than the bugs.

from http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/jk/at_000710.htm

Bug screens help keep the radiator fins from becoming plugged with bugs but they can also stop up to 40% of the airflow through the radiator. If it is necessary to use a bug screen, select one with as large as openings as possible.

from RV Times: Technical Info for the New RVer/Camper by Bob Martin
http://www.rvtimes.com/arch/help.html

The bug screen on the front of the engine grill is another contentious issue. Anything you put in front of the grill or radiator will hamper the proper flow of air to the radiator. To prove this statement, take an ordinary house fan that you would have for cooling or moving air in a room in your house. Now turn it on and feel the amount of airflow that you have. Now put the fan on the other side of your screen door and stand in front of the airflow. Notice the difference. On a vehicle, a screen can be enough to hamper the airflow to the extent that the engine does not cool properly.

Grade Point 7.0a has been posted to fix an annoying behavior, where a default grading period is not automatically selected when setting up the gradebook. Until a grading period is created and selected, the rest of the program cannot successfully be set up. Now, as soon as the first grading period is created, it becomes the default grading period, and the user can continue without incident.