Posted By RichC on October 8, 2014
It’s getting ugly as we close in on mid-term elections. Democrats are making a desperate attempt to convince voters NOT vote them out of office. Republicans see blood in the water and are doing their best to tie previous and recent failures to Democrats and the president. Kentucky’s Democrat for Senate, Alison Grimes, has gone so far as to advertise “I am not President Obama” in her political commercials. The social networking partisans are flooding the Internet too. Democratic operatives have been posting tweets that attempt to put a positive spin on their 6 years of controlling the Senate and Executive branch of government … but no matter how you try to paint their shortcomings, it’s “like putting lipstick on a pig.”
The Whitehouse did their part by tweeting lower unemployment numbers yesterday (above left) and suggesting that they were “better than projected” (who’s?) … but they failed to mention the $20 Trillion of mostly borrowed spending that 
was irresponsibly used in partisan fashion … or that only 62.7% of working age Americans have jobs (above right). That’s the lowest level since 1978 and 6 million fewer workers that were employed in 2007! How is that positive?
Michelle Obama is doing her part to try and fire up woman voters celebrating women veterans in an October 14th issue of Redbook. Unfortunately beside uniting, she has returned to her “blame America roots” by pointing out a particular female veteran was “trained to be a leader” but is unemployed because “this country’s not giving her that opportunity.” Of course that is in keeping with her resentment of 2008, “for the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country because it feels like hope is finally making a comeback.” It sounds to me like not much has improved in the 6 years of Obama Administration leadership … and that she is still bitter about her country?
Category: Politics |
No Comments »
Tags: campaign, democrats, election, obama, Republicans, spin
Posted By RichC on October 7, 2014
Summer has passed without giving much of a thought to turning on my HF rig or making any amateur radio contacts. The recent Last Man Standing amateur radio event had me firing my ICOM IC-718 and connecting my upgraded SCS PTC-IIe Pactor modem. Obviously using it for “slow” Winlink email is not a priority when I’m connected at home, but it might be the best and least expensive way to exchange email IF I ever go cruising on Encore.
My recent exchange has been with Jon Hacking aboard s/v Ocelot in Indonesia. He is a well seasoned cruiser who has been living aboard since 2001 and with his wife 
Sue raised their now two adult children while traveling aboard their 48’ Wauquiez designed catamaran. He figured out how to make it work … and I enjoy conversations with them.
Recently I repaired my 20-meter di-pole antenna that runs along my east-west eves and then angles slightly southwest to my chimney. It gives me a solid enough signal to connect with several Winlink Pactor stations on the east coast as well as to one in Florida. The above RMS Express email client(FTP) illustrates being able to stay connected at 2800 baud (yes I know that is slow by broadband standards but fast for my Pactor modem) and sent a compressed photo to Jon. I can’t say that is not something one really wants to be doing over HF using Winlink email, but it can be done where there isn’t any Internet … and it is free.
Category: Radio, Sailing |
No Comments »
Tags: amateur, email, ham, modem, pactor, radio, winlink
Posted By RichC on October 6, 2014
It is shocking that our Australian Blue Heeler Cattle Dog is still hanging in there after 17 years of loyal companionship. Wow … that getting up there for this breed … or any dog.
Our Tootsie is deaf (kind of like her owner) and her eyesight is beginning to fail as well. Her hip displasia prevents the rambunctious demeanor that was common when the kids were home, but she never complains. I had her in to see what could be done about her eyes, but not much since it is called Progressive Rod/Cone Degeneration (PRCD). So for now, she will need to be content with sitting around and use that nose to find treats … or that ideal spot to do her business.
It seems that just the other day I was posting about her 13th birthday – time flies. So here’s a Happy Birthday to our Tootsie… I saved a couple rib bones for you!
Category: Personal, Photos |
4 Comments »
Tags: australian, birthday, blue heeler, dog, pet, tootsie
Posted By RichC on October 6, 2014
After a few months of talking, we finally switch two of our phones to Ting. Hopefully the service won’t change and that with only two of us on the account we’ll be able to save a few dollars. As I mentioned before, my daughter made the switch a couple months ago after her move to Minneapolis and has had no complaints. The switch couldn’t have been easier … so as long as you have the correct phones (non-latest model Sprint) and are not still under contract.
Our two Sprint devices, iPhone 5 and 5s, the newest just available to switch as of September 29, 2014 are both out of contract and should NOT have an ETF (Early Termination Fee). I looked at adding one of my LTE MiFi devices, but Ting is “high” when it comes to data pricing … so those with heavy wireless date (non- wifi) might want to look elsewhere. For now, I’ll continue to use Freedompop for my wireless MiFi puck and use “off-wifi” data when connecting my notebook and iPad sparingly.
It’s seems ridiculous, but I continue to keep my old international flipphone active for out of country travel and use my Samsung Galaxy SII on Freedompop as a backup.
Tip: One of the setting for iPhone group messaging users when moving to Ting is to access the Ting app settings for “data” and flip the switch indicated below to the “on” position.
Category: Apple, Cellphone, How-To |
No Comments »
Tags: apple, carrier, Cellphone, iphone, plans, sprint, ting.com
Posted By RichC on October 4, 2014
The year 2014 is turning up to be the year of the data-breach. It seems every month another high profile company reports that their clients and customer data has been compromised. JP Morgan Chase is the most recent and perhaps the largest loss of data – a information from a “mere” 76 million households and 7 million small businesses [sarcasm]. Unlike Target and Home Depot, JP Morgan Chase is a bank and handles more of people’s financial information which to me is a higher risk (???) … but they told customers "there is no evidence that your account numbers, passwords, user IDs, date of birth or Social Security number were compromised during this attack." The bank went on to report to the press that they haven’t seen any fraudulent activity related to the breach and that “we don’t believe that you need to change your password or account information.” (cough, cough)
Symantec image
What should you do (4 steps below):
- Change your login information. Chase told customers it doesn’t believe there’s a need for them to change their usernames and passwords. But it can’t hurt, especially if you’ve used that same login on other sites – see CNBC.
- Monitor your accounts. Even if “currently” there isn’t evidence of fraud, that doesn’t mean your data is 100% safe.
- Scrutinize bank communications. Watch for emails phishing for additional access information.
- Check your FREE credit report each year to be sure other accounts have not been opened in your name … a nightmare more challenging than fraudulent bank transactions (which are usually covered by the banks).
A final online item to consider:
What is your exposure IF hacker gain access to the “online” information archived by Mint (now by Quicken), Personal Capital, YNAB, Power Wallet or other financial information consolidators. No doubt they take security seriously, but then so do big banks and retailers … I’m just sayin’.
Here’s a thought … if you are looking to make a personal budget and can work with spreadsheet, try going off-line to a personal computer template that is not something hackers are looking to access everyday. For example, Savvy Spreadsheets has a easy to use “Super Deluxe Budget” template that might help keep your financial house in order — review ($15) – or give their “Super Basic Budget” a try first (free).
Category: Cloud, Computer, Financial, Productivity, Software |
No Comments »
Tags: bank, breach, chase, data, hacker, ID Theft, savvy, spreadsheet
Posted By RichC on October 3, 2014
Rumors have been floated but Apple hasn’t announce the date for the new iPad until today. October 16th is scheduled for a "special event"… assumed to be the launch of its new iPad. Most expect an iPad Air 2 device with the new A8 processor and touch fingerprint sensor. It is also possible we’ll learn more about the larger version expected in 2015, but since my iPad 2 is getting old in the tooth I’ve placed it on EBay to see if it sells … if so, I’ll be looking closely at the new one.
Category: Apple, Tablet, Technology |
No Comments »
Tags: announcment, apple, ipad, ipad air, tablet, techfriday
Posted By RichC on October 2, 2014
Finished spreading the last of the topsoil – then seeded and put the straw down just as it turned dark. Hopefully we won’t have to dig up drainage pipes for a while.
Now it’s time to sit back and "slow" down … (playing with the slo-mo mode on my iPhone 5s)
Category: Cellphone, Personal, Photos |
No Comments »
Tags: drainage, fireplace, gfycat.com, gif, iphone5s, slow motion, yard
Posted By RichC on September 30, 2014
Residents and businesses in Ohio “choose” which companies provide the energy used by their utility company, which can in most cases reduce their bills. This competition should be a good thing, one would think, but each year consumers go through a multi-step process to confirm our energy provider choice … and each year it is getting more and more cumbersome and time consuming. In my case, I call for each utility account or bill received and “waste” time making the same selection. This last natural gas selection took 23 minutes to renew with the same company I used in the previous few years.
Here was my 2014 process:
I opened a computer browser window and navaigated to the Ohio Apples To Apples website in order to compare offers from different energy suppliers after receiving a contract expiring letter (below). 
This should be done for both your electric and natural gas energy supplier otherwise by default the energy cost will be high (in my case the current Duke GCR rates are nearly 20% higher). Once a rate, term and promotion is mentally calculated, the selection process begins. In my case, I’ve been choosing yearly to stick with the same 1 year contracts and same supplier … unfortunately that decision needs to be confirmed each time – BY PHONE (or in the case of this last selection, 6 month term – rate was lower than a 1 year contract). On one bill alone this required a 12 minute phone call to select I wanted to stay with the same supplier … then a “hold the line” so another person can come on the line to read the company’s legal pages and verify the terms again while recording my “yes” selection. My “verifier” read clear and slow as if I was writing down every phone number in which to cancel within 30-days, another for asking a supplier a question and others. Then finally after requiring a “YES” to all the questions (repeated because I said “CORRECT” instead of “YES”), a 10 digit, plus backslashes, confirmation number was issued. All in all it took a total of 22 minutes to RENEW the energy supplier with the same company again … and I’m expected to do this with every utility bill.
Hmm… and I thought the federal government held the prize for the procedural bureaucratic waste of time. Come on people… there are better ways … who’s in charge? LINK
Category: Business, Energy, Financial, Productivity |
No Comments »
Tags: apples to apples, electric, energy, natural gas, ohio, supplier, utilities
was irresponsibly used in partisan fashion … or that only 62.7% of working age Americans have jobs (above right). That’s the lowest level since 1978 and 6 million fewer workers that were employed in 2007! How is that positive?
