Posted By RichC on November 12, 2014
Currently the Ello.co “minimalist” social network is in beta and
by invitation only and populated with creative types and fewer
social restraints. This is “pretty open” but I can’t say I’m overly
enthused with some of the content, although haven’t given it a fair shake.
The black and white and simplistic text and graphics on pages are appealing, as is the “plan” to remain ad-free. I was disappointed my normal @RichC was taken — so signed up as @RichCorbett and nosed around for 5 minutes. So far I haven’t adding many friends or started any posting … and will mention that I have a few “invites” – send me a message while I have them (first come, first served).
Category: Social Media |
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Tags: beta, ello, invite, networking, social
Posted By RichC on November 11, 2014
There was a day when being an Apple Macintosh computer user put one in the minority … but not anymore it seems. The photo below is of journalists in the White House press corps traveling in China … take a look at their desks.
The number of Apple logos made me chuckle and I could help but forwarded it to my recently converted buddy who at one time badmouthed Apple and ballyhooed Windows computers; Jeff, a network administrator once said he would never bring Apple devices into his network environment, but now has a work and personal iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Macbook Pro. Looks like I’m not the only one living an Apple Life.
Category: Apple, Computer, News, Politics |
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Tags: apple, computers, macbook pro, press corps, whitehouse
Posted By RichC on November 10, 2014
One of the highlights for parents who have “some” technological prowess is that we can stay in touch with our children no matter where they are living and working. Between instant cellphone, 
emails and text messages with our kids, Taylor, Katelyn and Drew, we also enjoy sharing photos and Facetime calls even for small things. Brenda and her mom chatted on video with Katelyn this weekend and 
Brenda was able to show new curio she picked up at an estate sale. Its not quite as nice as being together, but sure helps to stay connected.
Today our “group messaging” was about the snow and colder “polar air invasion” pushing into their area (North Dakota and Minnesota … photo below from Katelyn and Drew’s house in Wayzata, MN). I joked about just wearing shirt sleeves, raking a few leaves and getting in one final mow (Brenda on mower this afternoon) in here in Cincinnati.
Category: Personal, Photos, Weather |
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Tags: brenda, drew, family, katelyn, snow, taylor, weather
Posted By RichC on November 9, 2014
Great tip for those who normally take two or three “buckets of ketchup” for their fast food (but really just enjoy hearing the Russian accent).
Category: How-To, Video |
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Tags: crazy, hacker, ketchup, russian, tips, youtube
Posted By RichC on November 8, 2014
For the past several years I’ve tried to keep Facebook as the social networking place for family sharing, although I did include some close friends. Over time, 
I’ve added a few more who connected from my past and am finding its no longer just a place for staying up-to-date with the family (I’ve heard old people adults are taking over?)
I do actually try to post something once or twice a month to keep my news feed alive, but not like I do on Twitter (ugh, nearly 10,000 tweets!) Within the last year or so I’ve noticed interest groups that were once only found on forums, email feeds and Yahoo Groups have found popularity on Facebook too. So I started adding them, a few became a few more and am now finding my “news feed” fills with too much chatter. Time to learn how to clean up and slow down the “news feed.” Hey, there are now a few new tools!
Here’s an explainer video:
Category: Social Media, Video |
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Tags: explainer, facebook, newsfeed, vimeo
Posted By RichC on November 7, 2014
The Stock Trader’s Almanac is always an interesting read in referencing history when it comes to forecasting market moves. If their research is correct we may still have 5-10% to grow. Quite bullish.
Since the great stock washout of 2014 the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average have gone up about nine percent in a straight line. That move is pretty much in line with history says Jeff Hirsch, editor of the Stock Trader’s Almanac. “Seasonally we set up properly,” Hirsch said, adding that the move lower “wiped out a lot of overly bullish sentiment.”
So where to now? According to the almanac we are now smack dab in the middle of the strongest three-month period of the year. Hirsch goes as far as to say that despite that 9% surge since the mid-October lows, this market has room to run… 5-10% kind of room.
There are other buying opportunities between here and the end of the year. “Thanksgiving is a tradable period,” Hirsch notes. “We see these days it’s getting anticipated, get into some weakness early sell into some strength into Thanksgiving or shortly thereafter.
Still, he cautions, let the trader beware. Christmas creep isn’t just happening in retail, it’s happening in investing as well. As soon as kids come down from their trick or treat sugar high pundits start throwing around the term “Santa Claus rally.” But the term Santa Clause actually refers very specifically the “last five days of the year [and] first two of the new year when the professionals are mostly out there buying…stocks that are beaten down.”
Whatever you do remember that past performance does not guarantee future returns. While the Stock Trader’s Almanac deals with history, the information therein is always changing. Case in point: January. “January used to be the tail end of the best three months of the year,” Hirsch says, but he points out that it has been “taking it on the chin lately.” Perhaps it’s because investors are taking profits from a successful year-end rally or two. It has led him to caution investors that a correction could be coming early in 2015.
Link
Category: Financial |
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Tags: investing, markets, stocks, trading
Posted By RichC on November 7, 2014
Microsoft is offering standalone versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint for iPhone, giving users a much better productivity suite for the mobile devices.
Prior to the new mobile apps, users who wanted to use Office on an iPhone had to use “Microsoft Office Mobile,” which really only allowed users to view documents and input text.
Link
Category: Cellphone, Computer, Software, Tablet |
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Tags: apple, apps, excel, ios, microsoft, office, techfriday, word
Posted By RichC on November 6, 2014
After attempting to sell my mother-in-law’s western New York home by using a realtor this summer, the family has decided to forgo the continued “professional” listing and instead do a FSBO listing … handing it off to yours truly. What are they thinking??? I’ve taken on the project and will “learn as I go” (advice appreciated).
I’ve opted to put a listing on Sharphome.com at the $59 for 6 months which 
hopefully will include a few listing sites as advertised, but have passed on the Realtor.com or MLS Listing in order to avoid the broker commissions. Hopefully the yard sign alone will be enough to trigger interest.
For those interested, the Restored Century Farmhouse is a couple miles from Jamestown NY. It sits on a beautiful wooded hill and has a creek and ravine just off the back porch (above) to the east (previous post). The 5 acreage being sold with the house is negotiable since there are an additional 34 wooded acres aside and behind the old homestead as well as another 17 acre section (both include gas wells); all could worked into a deal for an interested buyer. Contact me if there is interest.
Also here’s the listing and the PDF brochure.
EDIT: Adding a short video below after playing with iMovie on my iPhone.
Category: Archive, For Sale, Marketing, Personal, Shopping, Video |
1 Comment »
Tags: family, farmhouse, for sale, home, howard, jamestown, new york, property
Posted By RichC on November 5, 2014
Diesel exhaust treatment technology has vastly improved diesel engine emissions over the past decade along with ULSD fuels, but the technology is costly primarily due to rare earth metals. According to a press release yesterday, Clean Diesel Technologies, Inc $CDTI announced new proprietary Spinel™ technology will replace the use of platinum type metals in catalytic products.
This is CDTi’s first public announcement regarding Spinel technology, the development of which has been kept confidential until now.
About Spinel
- A family of proprietary materials using various base metals that replace costly platinum group metals (PGMs) and rare earth metals in coatings on standard catalytic converters
- Works across a wide range of engine and vehicle applications – both diesel and gasoline
- Advanced testing underway on production models of popular passenger cars and heavy duty vehicles at respected independent vehicle test facilities
Spinel Significance and Benefits
- Potentially saves OEMs billions of dollars by cutting out expensive platinum group metals and rare earth metals
- Currently OEMs spend over $6 billion a year on PGMs (source:Derived from Johnson Matthey PLC)
- Enables early, cost-effective compliance with stricter emissions standards in the U.S. and around the world
- Mitigates OEM exposure to extreme price volatility in the PGM and rare earth markets
See Full Press Release
Category: Automotive, Diesel, Energy |
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Tags: cars, clean, diesel, energy, fuel, trucks, vehicles
Currently the Ello.co “minimalist” social network is in beta and 
