Posted By RichC on August 10, 2013
Was suppose to post on Saturday, but the WordPress Postie plugin failed me again. It looks like something is causing enough draw on this circuit to overheat the plastic of this fuse, but not enough to blow the fuse?
Posted By RichC on August 9, 2013
A friend of mine (thanks Tim) mentioned that it looked like Sprint was testing their LTE setup along I-75 in and around Cincinnati. I’ve been trying to remember to check it when in West Chester after hearing it was on north of the I-275 outer belt. so, while in town this we I remembered as I buzzed back an forth from customers to my south. When the iPhone 5’s display message switched from 3G to LTE just passed Tylersville Road while heading south I ran a quick speed test. As I tweeted, “nothing to brag about” — 1.41 Mbps down and 1 Mbps up. 
Then as quickly as it appeared, it was off again. Shortly after the next exit I lost LTE and tried to cycle in and out of “Airplane Mode” in order to search again. It was off and on as I drove onto Union Centre Blvd and no matter what I did I was unable to hold LTE while in and out of offices … even though the map from Sensorly was showing coverage. The signal must still be a bit weak?
(click map for a slightly larger snippet)
Posted By RichC on August 8, 2013
It makes me nervous when major changes are made to Volkswagen’s TDI engines, but according to a NYTimes Wheels blog article there are new efficient diesel power plants planned for Golf, Beetle, Passat and Jetta models next year. A few years the Pumpe Düse unit injector PD engine displace VW’s ALH motor which was one of the more reliable engines and then not too long after another common rail and emission change was made. What were suppose to be improvements each time had many customers complaining and facing some very expensive repairs (not to mention the hassles of having their relatively new cars serviced). I’m not sure where the status of those issues are today, but I always worry about design flaws and the normal black-eye producing bugs that show up when drastic changes are made to engines.
Volkswagen announced Tuesday that its EA288 TDI Clean Diesel engine would be available in the 2015 Golf, Beetle, Passat and Jetta models, which were scheduled to go on sale in the United States during the second half of 2014.
Volkswagen said in a news release that the new EA288 diesel would eventually replace the current generation of 2-liter TDI engines offered in some VW and Audi models. At 150 horsepower, the new engine gets a 10-horsepower increase over the version being phased out, and aside from similar bore spacing, will be completely different. VW has released neither displacement nor fuel mileage numbers.
A notable change will be in the EA288’s emissions control system. A complex exhaust-gas recirculation system, which VW says will improve throttle response, will work with a diesel particulate filter and a selective catalytic reduction (S.C.R.) system to reduce engine emissions. Mark Gillies, a spokesman for Volkswagen, confirmed that the S.C.R. would be fed by a ureatank that needed refilling at 10,000-mile service intervals.
Volkswagen said low-friction bearings on the crankshaft and balance shafts, as well as a two-stage, variable-flow oil pump, were among design cues that would make the EA288 more fuel efficient than its predecessors.
Posted By RichC on August 7, 2013
A new LTE device launched yesterday according to an email I receive regarding a service inquiry I made.
Thanks for your interested in FreedomPop’s very first 4G LTE capable device, the Freedom Spot 5580 LTE mobile hotspot. The 5580 LTE hotspot can connect up to 10 wifi capable devices and experience average speeds of 6-8Mbps down with peaks upwards to 25Mbps. It also, has the ability to connect to Sprint’s nationwide 3G network, so that you can stay connected everywhere in the US. The device comes with an OLED device display, GPS capabilities (over Wifi) and advanced security options. Similar to our other 4G/3G hotspots, 3G fallback does come at a small cost, but we do offer a 4G LTE only Free plan.
-4G Only-
500MB – FREE-4G with 3G Fallback-
500MBs $3.99/mo
2GBs $19.99/mo
3GBs $28.99/mo
4GBs $34.99/mo
5GBs $39.99/mo
10GBs $89.99/moTo check out more about the device or to get one for yourself, feel free to visit http://www.freedompop.com/LTEhotspot
Posted By RichC on August 7, 2013
http://youtu.be/kjDvaT5z1Lk
Posted By RichC on August 6, 2013
http://youtu.be/34-vgeCIMMU
Posted By RichC on August 6, 2013
It has been absolutely beautiful weather with cooler than normal temperatures and sunny days. I’m shocked to be cutting grass that is still green and impressed how nice it looks for August. By this time of year the front lawn is usually a yellow brown and the stripes of our leech bed pretty obvious … not so this year.
Speaking of “houses” … Katelyn informed me that our houseguest rodent rabbit has a new hutch ready for him in Columbus. It looks like he is getting ready to move. I’m not sure I’m going to miss his chewing on everything, but I will miss my normal routine of feeding him each day.
Katelyn showing off Pumpy Umpy’s new hutch
Posted By RichC on August 5, 2013
… what about employees and retirees of private companies – those who still have a pension plan?
Almost everyone realizes that public pensions are going to remain a major problem for our country, but not as many realize just how underfunded pensions are for most large corporations. A report published by S&P Dow Jones shows that large corporations have “growing” liabilities for their retirees and that low interest rates are impacting on how their employees retirement pensions are performing.
According to the report recently released, “S&P 500 companies set aside $1.60 trillion in 2012, covering $2.29 trillion in obligation with the resulting underfunding equating to $687 billion.” The point being made by Howard Silverblatt, Senior Index Analyst, is that “companies have only 77 cent for each dollar they owe in pensions and only 22 cents for each dollar of OPED obligations.”
The S&P Dow Jones Indices report also shows that estimated pension return rates declined for the 12th consecutive year, dropping to an estimated 7.31% in 2012 versus 7.60% in 2011 and 7.73% in 2010. Discount rates declined for the fourth year in a row, falling 78 basis points to 3.93% from 4.71% in 2011 and from 5.31% in 2010, significantly increasing projected obligations.
The report also reviewed the status of Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB). Within the S&P 500, 286 companies offered OPEBs in 2012. With $302.3 billion in OPEB obligations, only $67.4 billion was funded, leaving OPEB funding at 22.3%. OPEB’s funding status continues to pale in comparison to that of pensions (77.3%).
“The American dream of a golden retirement for baby boomers has dissipated for most,” adds Silverblatt. “Plans have been reduced and the burden shifted with future retirees needing to save more for their retirement. For baby-boomers it may already be too late to safely build-up assets, outside of working longer or living more frugally in retirement. For younger workers, they need to start to save early, permitting time to compound their returns for their retirement. Corporations have shifted the responsibility to them, and if they don’t step up now, they won’t have anything for retirement.”
