Posted By RichC on May 13, 2014
These crocs are not the kind a creatures you want to be “playing” with when visiting the Northern Territory of Australia’s Outback by canoe or johnboat. Wow, can they clear the water or what?
Posted By RichC on May 13, 2014
The team at Ocearch tagged a Great White Shark they named Katharine off the Cape Cod coast of Massachusetts in August of 2013, but this 14+ foot 2,300 pound “immature” female has been checking out the Florida coastline and yesterday a beach near Sebastian. A few more miles south and we might see her poke her snout (?) into the Fort Pierce inlet to say hello. (see Florida Today)
Posted By RichC on May 12, 2014
I’ve about had it with replacing the TWO small and expensive 6 volt batteries that are packed into my APS uninterruptable power supply (UPS). Seems like I’ve purchase these same batteries too many times before for a couple of different devices and just like toner for inkjet printers, I wonder if it wouldn’t just be cheaper to buy a new unit?
This time I’m going to solder a couple extension and clamps on this 650 watt unit and use a good but older car battery. It will both give the old device new life and also be a lot cheaper AND last longer when the power goes out!
We’ll see how it goes.
Posted By RichC on May 11, 2014
It has been slow progress, but since my wife “sort of” gave me Mother’s Day off (Happy Mother’s Day to moms, BTW), I took advantage of some time to finally finish up and put the trim back on the repaired body rust and the newly Miracle painted rocker panels (yes, that is Miracle Paint I mentioned). Here’s a before post.
Posted By RichC on May 11, 2014
Fox Business anchor Stuart Varney comment, in between his entertaining persiflage with Don Imus, struck a chord with me as he highlighted the failures of the 
Obama administration’s big government policies — regulations that are killing small business entrepreneurs.
Stuart Varney with Don Imus (MP3) – May 2014
As someone who started a someone “traditional” business in the 1980s (in contrast to something innovative or high tech), I now recognize how challenging it is to succeed after making family sacrifices and working 24/7 just to pay expenses and meet payroll for years. I’ve often said that if I knew the full extent of the challenge, I may not have fearlessly taken that risk (thanks for ignorance and ambition) … and that was before facing the adversary of a heavy handed bureaucracy of today. Even with the wisdom I have gained, I would probably fail if faced with the additional hurdles of entrepreneurs starting businesses today. It is painfully obvious, from those who have gone through this from the ground up, why small businesses are closing. Once upon a time, it use to be that the biggest obstacle for small businesses were their competitors, but now the biggest impediment to success (or survival) is their own government.
It’s the rare business opportunity nowadays that has enough upside potential to overcome the red tape and pitfalls put in place by our growing bureaucracy, not to mention the administrative tax burden. Gone are the days where an ordinary American who is ambitious and hardworking had the chance of achieving the American dream by starting his or her own business. It is still do-able, but not in the traditional and less-innovative small businesses that were the foundation of our country … they either succeeded or failed based on serving customers better than their competitors and willingness to work hard. Today, regulations, taxes, legal liability and excessive penalties for common "learning-curve mistakes" have stymied small business and deter many from believing it is even possible anymore. Americans should be encouraged to start businesses because that is what we need in order to create jobs and grow our economy … not bigger government and more dependency.
Posted By RichC on May 10, 2014
According to AAA, the cost to own a car has actually gone down … although with gas prices up, it may not feel like it.
The average cost per mile is now 59.2 cents a mile, down 1.64 cents or down 4.7%. That puts the yearly cost at $8,876 a year in the annual Your Driving Costs study. (The study assumes 15,000 miles of annual driving including costs of fuel, maintenance and repairs, tires, insurance, license and registration fees, taxes, depreciation and finance charges. Costs broken down based on vehicle for the 2014 study are:
Posted By RichC on May 9, 2014
I’ve mentioned LastPass a few times in the past as a way to manage the many passwords that our online presence requires and it still looks like a good option. Over the years things change, so I was interested to read “The Best Way To Manage All Your Passwords” article in the WSJ by Geoffrey Fowler.
His recommendation was to definitely use something other than a piece of paper or the same password for everything, but his advice was to check out Dashline. His reasoning was that it offered top notch security, was simple to install and would be something everyone could use. One caveat was that it was a bit more expensive in the long run.
| Geoffrey Fowler of the WSJ talks Password Managers – May 2014 |
Listen to Geoffrey Fowler explain his reasoning in the short 4+ minute podcast above or check out the article in the Wall Street Journal.
Posted By RichC on May 8, 2014
While sorting and tossing some old “paper” magazines last weekend, I stumbled across an article about New Zealand’s Duke Engines in a September 2011 issue of Sport Aviation (PDF of article) that peaked my interest. I’ve posted on engine design ideas before as they relate to aviation and automotive, but thought this design has some running prototypes and looks to have great promise (although it has been in the works since 1993). The weight savings and simplicity alone make it worth considering for light aircraft and drones (UAVs) … and if I could get ahold of one, I’d love to put it in the MGB! 
Check out the YouTube video explaining how it works below … or visit the Duke Engines website.
Posted By RichC on May 7, 2014
Posted this to Freedompop’s forum and thought I would archive it. If you are confused about Freedompop getting into the voice and text business, check out this clear as mud article in the Motley Fool.
I’ve been running the Freedompop Voice and Text app for a few days before going "full in" with the Freedompop phone. So far, so good, on both my iPhone5 and iPad. I’d be interested to know how the "app" differs from the Freedompop "phone plan?"
I assume the normal Apple phone application is bypassed along with a few of the features? (tested the "Blocking a Contact" feature and that does not work – LINK.
Differences aside, the call quality has been excellent … actually perfect. SMS service works well but be prepared to give up the normal Apple group messaging. Also, don’t try to send MMS photos, etc to those who are not inclined to join the Freedompop world (it requires them to download an app … and "oh the confusion" when the less technical see the message (a friend — perhaps ex-friend — with a Samsung Galaxy S3 had to reset her phone after she tried to launch the app and it locked things up after draining the battery. Although YMMV).
Another point is that the Freedompop Voice and Text app needs to be running (launched). Some of us regularly are "flicking" apps closed, rebooting the phone just to purge to many open items. If you do that, don’t forget to relaunch the FP app or you text messages won’t work, phone will not ring or VM will not give you an alert.
Of lessor concern is in using the same Freedompop account (or email address) for other devices you might have. The new app require a new account for every device. (ie. One email address for my MiFi500, one for my iPhone and another for my iPad) Seems like there should be a way to use one account and "maybe" share the data and minutes (ok, that last one is probably asking for too much.)
All in all, the service has not failed me in the week that I’ve been texting and calling with both devices. Having a "phone" on the iPad is pretty nice, although the earbud hangup button doesn’t work with the Freedompop app … nor is it an iPad formatted app or set up for landscape viewing. My BT earpiece works well too, although I haven’t tried mading too many calls outside strong LTE and 3G coverage areas. Maybe I’ll do a follow up on a trip later this week?
I’m still happy with the MiFi 500 LTE device … great speeds on the boat and “pretty good” where LTE is available in Ohio.
If you are interesting in FREE wireless … check out Freedompop and become one of my Freedom Friends (share excess data).
Posted By RichC on May 6, 2014
Outspoken President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Richard Fisher, talked with Maria Bartiromo on her new Sunday Morning Futures program this weekend and laid out a good case lower tax rates. His point is that money and investment flows to where it is treated the best and in turn jobs and employment opportunities follow. In keeping with the principles that “states are the laboratories of innovation,” Fisher compares the Texas to California pointing out that companies and people move from higher tax environments to lower tax environments bringing along people and jobs.
To take this to national or global level, doesn’t it make sense to reduce the high tax burden on corporations so that they locate in the U.S. rather than keeping money offshore or creating jobs elsewhere? Bringing our corporate tax rate inline with other countries just seems commonsense to me … but where is Washington DC leadership on this issue (from either party!)
Richard Fisher with Maria Bartiromo on Sunday Morning Futures (mp3) – 5/4/2014
