Social Networking

So I read an article this weekend stating that there is a simple way to tell your age - What's your email to IM ratio? Over unity (1) and you're probably 35 or older. Way over unity, and you're ancient. Approaching 0 and you're probably 2.

The point here is that if you want to tap into the young professionals and keep on the tech curve, you have to start IM-ing and finding use of other social networking tools.

One new app that is based off an existing idea is Twitter. This is probably one of the easiest apps that I have seen to use and understand.

For all of you that know me out there, please sign-up and start becoming a techy youth!

Wireless Power

One of the biggest inventions that I thought would come during my lifetime was Wireless Power, that is transmitting power without a cord or plug. This seems to have been conceptualized in the MIT Labs and could be in production in a couple years. This is very exciting to see and hopefully it will reach cell phones and portable devices in the near future.

CFL - That's a more efficient America to you

Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs. Now that I tried a few of these in our house, I'm a proponent. Let's reduce America's energy needs!

Rally SUV Save

Amazing.

iTV

Is iTV better than Tivo in the long run?

It's not clear if the functionality will support more than playing movies downloaded via iTunes. I'm sure you'll be able to record your favorite shows though, otherwise this is a glorified Apple product.

Green Tea and the Japanese Diet

Sushi has been one of my favorite staple meals in the past 3 years. Here's an article that reports that this diet has strong positive health affects.

Board vs. Investors

Here's an interesting article on the Board member elections at Heinz. If I remember correctly from my Corporate Law class, it is rare for investors to win seats on the Board.

Dry Ice?

One of my friends did this in his freezer when he was in junior high. Needless to say, the freezer got cracked.

Stagflation?

Here's a good article describing our economic situation.

Taco Town!

We were just talking about this last weekend when the guys were eating at a Mexican restaurant.

A Small Consumer Victory

In an economic era where consumers are feeling the pressure on rising costs (fuel, goods, services, housing, interest rates) and in stagnant wages, any small victory is celebrated. Millions of households spend well into the hundred of dollars a month on communications such as cable/dish TV, Tivo, land line, cell phone and broadband. We have all gotten used to increasing costs of these services despite the fact that these should be easier year over year to deliver. Providers hide behind the guise of "better services" to justify these costs.

While this may be valid, there are instances where it is not. Take the recent announcement by the Baby Bells to keep the Universal Service Fund cost in the DSL bills of its customers. This was not the USF cost itself, rather it was a thinly guised price hike to their services. This was not well received by customers or the FCC. Today we have a retraction announcement stating that this additional fee would be removed.

Note that the Marketing folks here try to spin the removal as a "we listened to our customers and responded" situation rather than the likely impending FCC investigation and fine for their decision to keep the fee in tact. This type of move creates mistrust and alienates their customers. While DSL remains a cheaper option than cable broadband, I would be hesitant to get myself locked into a situation with Verizon where they could raise rates on me in the future. Comcast has already done this to me in the past and I would leave them in a heartbeat if I had other options.

One step forward, two steps back?

It seems that some employers are considering opening up external sites to Web 2.0 type sites to lure young employees. Yes, the job market is getting more competitive and progressive employers now see value in employees that understand social networking type sites in that they can leverage these sites for their own marketing purpose.

ATT (SBC) and Naperville

Fiber to the home? Apparently only if Ma Bell thinks you will be profitable - ie you live in an affluent area and are likely to pay their high rates. It seems that the baby bells don't think that they need to deliver their new services (phone, data, TV) to all citizens equally as they did with the deployment of phone lines. Remember that global accesibility charge on your bill?

It's a tough call for municipal's like Naperville that want to be on the cutting edge of technology but don't want to do so at the expense of some of its citizens.

Wiretapping Ruled Illegal

The Federal Courts struck down the national wiretapping today stating that:

"... the controversial practice of warrantless wiretapping known as the "Terrorist Surveillance Program" violated free speech rights, protections against unreasonable searches and the constitutional check on the power of the presidency."

Hopefully this gets upheld in the Supreme court and the newly-elected, Bush-nominated Justices come to their senses and uphold our rights as set forth in the Constitution.

Steadman Band

Get your free MP3's of Steadman Band!!! Really good music at an unbeatable price.

Adventure Window?

Here's an interesting NPR Article trying to reason out why and when we each start/stop pursuing new adventures in life. Whether it's music, sushi, sports, friends, or work it seems that our willingness to pursue these new interests tail off after 25 until they almost dimish after 39.

Some notes from the article:
- 16 to 23 yro is the experimental age
- If you don't eat sushi by 40, you're probably never going to start
- Non-adventurous people tend to be focused, have been with a single company, and are likely to be successful but not creative in the sense of "out of the box" thinkers.
- I'd like to consider myself as still adventurous at 30: starting eating sushi around 2003 (27 yro), love new physical challenges, and still pursuing activities out of my comfort zone.

Minority Report Interface

Here's a cool video that shows the future computer interfaces. I hope this becomes mainstream sooner than later.

Also, I'm proud that BMW supports this type of idea exchange. My kind of company.

More Great Oil News

More great oil news released tonight shows how neglect in the oil industry can be used to drive global oil prices up by lowering daily supply that the market expects to see. Now in the interest of full disclosure, I am a chemical engineer and have worked in the industry before. However, I do pick a fight with any industry that can profit (ref largest quarterly earnings in US corporate history) from their own neglect. Lawmakers should make regulations that force the industry to pad inventories with enough oil to protect the markets from these type of scenarios.

Only the upcoming week will tell if this has an impact on gas prices across the nation.

Jobs, Inflation and the Future

Anyone out there reading my blog should know that I like to provide general personal finance and Macroeconomic advice and analysis. Here's a good article I found recently that summarizes America's current condition.

To Summarize:

• Jobs are being added, but not at the expected rate
• Energy and other costs are rising faster than salaries
• Consumer Spending (70% GDP) is weakening
• Recession may be possible
• Those with credit card debt or ARM/No-interest/Variable Home loans are at risk (See default and foreclosure numbers)
• "Bernanke (Fed Chair) is determined to ensure corporations do not lose gains to wage increases, while ensuring workers stay productive. In other words, people will be working more while not bringing home any more money."

My recommendations/insights:

• Employers will eventually have to raise wages so that consumer spending can recover. Consumers can reduce their spending now (ie Save your money) to drive corporations to lower prices (not likely due to higher energy prices) or pay employees more to get higher productivity (ie effective talent that converts to bottom line).
• Employers are likely to offer top talent higher wages/benefits in this cycle rather than give adjustments to current employees.
• Seek new positions internally/externally to capture this increase.
• Do not get trapped in the variable interest balloon. Do not over extend your finances.

Community is where it's at

Community based websites are all the rage these days - Craig's List, MySpace, Digg, etc.... Here's some insights into developing one of these sites from the Craig.

Sushi Rematch!

Yes, we found our sushi eating hole - All you can eat floating sushi M-Th.

Our first showdown was last week with a honorable win of 14-11-11, Mike-Joe-Okaey. This week's rematch proved a truly impressive battle. Okaey, aka the "Sushi Sprinting Master" protected his honor with a 20-20-21 win. Bow to the gastronomic master.

"Unlimited" Cell Phone Data (EVDO )?

EVDO is the new high-speed data connection for wireless users on the CDMA type network (ie Sprint and Verizon). These service providers sell data packages to wireless customers so that we can check our email, browse, and instant message. Some of these packages are tiered to provide up to XX MB per month while others are "unlimited". However, the definition of "unlimited" is outlined in their terms of service and apparently doesn't correspond to what any reasonable consumer would define.

A recent post on ArsTechica details this. While it is clear that there are limitations to a cell phone tower's bandwidth for voice and data, it seems that this re-definition would be similar to the service provider claiming that there are limits to unlimited night and weekends due to over or excessive use. Another analogy would be like limiting a cable customer to a certain number of hours that they could watch or limiting a phone customer with unlimited US minutes to a certain monthly usage. The provider should realize that some of its users will be super users while others will fall into the more normal use category. Further, they should realize that if they market the service as "unlimited" it really should be unlimited, that is without limits.

Any other interpretation of this marketing term would render the service inferior to its expectation. The government should be legally enforce a change to this practice to protect consumers. How would you feel about McDonald's advertising french fries as Healthy Fries? What reasonable person would consider them healthy?

Google Maps (Mobile) now has traffic

Google Maps for the mobile phone (Java based) v1.3 now includes traffic data for 30 cities in the US.  Combined with a GPS unit, this makes a very nice, free mapping solution.  It's only a matter of time before Google releases some way to announce turns for a mapped route.

You can test drive this new feature here and see what the traffic map looks like in your area.  Google expects to come out with this data on their desktop version in the near future.

Here's a sample image:

Microsoft in Healthcare

Microsoft is now getting into healthcare software.  They are now a direct competitor with GE Healthcare, my current employer.  Read on about their growth strategy.


Technorati Tags: microsoft, healthcare, software

Negotiations - First Offer

I've been involved in several negotiations recently and have revisited my class materials.  One of the first things that you learn in the class is when and why make a first offer.  This article clearly covers this topic.

Leadership

A recent article on FastCompany.com titled "Everything I Thought I Knew about Leadership is Wrong" presents some good points about what a leader should do today.  Here are some main points for those of you who are interested:

Main Points

-Compensation tied to profit-and-loss performance is a short-term motivator.  May not align management to long-term objectives.
-Maximizing personal economic success in this situation means long hours and myopic focus.  Company risks becoming a place where the best people do not want to work.
-A culture that expects dominating negotiations (not just winning) is fundamentally destructive.  It may be sometimes better to leave some value on the table, to make customers feel like partners.
-Never lose sight of the fact that we're in business to creat a first-clas organization and to survive.
-More expansive definition of victory.

3 Jobs of a Leader

1.  Make sure the organization knows itself.
    -Durable principles that underlie an organization
    -Leader should embody those values.
2.  Pick the right people to be part of the organization and to create an environment where those people can succeed.
    -Encourage others to help develop strategy
    -Collaboration and teamwork at every level
3.  Be accessible.
    -Make it known that everyone can contact you.
    -Respond to important communications, even those that would embody the organizational values (see cancer story).

Fast...no I mean really fast

0-60 in 1.67 seconds for $500K?  Possibly.  Now if the TKR handles well too, that would make it worth it.

Tax Time - AMT Calculation

I am a firm believer in getting a "feel for the numbers" as some of my old Chemical Engineering professors used to say.  It means that you should familiarize yourself with the calculations to a point where you have some judgement as to what effect a change in a certain independent variable (income, state and local tax, capital gain, timing) will have on a dependent variable (your Federal Tax).  As many of us head into middle life and the inevitable middle to upper class salary range, we need to keep a watch on our exposure to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). 

The AMT can be painful.  Unfortunately the government has let the AMT thresholds stagnate and lag behind inflation.  This means while salaries and prices have increased with inflation, the AMT thresholds remained constant (ie low).  As time has passed more and more individuals have fallen into the "owes AMT payment" category or what I like to refer to as the "so you thought you were paying lower taxes" present.

Here is some background on the AMT and how you can calculate it for your own circumstance.  It's not pretty.  But it's definitely worth the excercise so that you can gauge when you will be exposed to this neglected and unnecessary alternate tax system.

Also you will definitely want to calculate your AMT if you:
          a) Make more than $75,000 in a year
          b) Have a lot of capital gains
          c) Have a lot of Schedule A deductions

Get it while the getting is good.

Microsoft's recent announcement puts a damper on one of my beloved free applications - PSTools.  I use this suite on a daily basis to monitor and kill windows processes.  I'd recommend downloading the current version while they remain free and not part of Windows.

I am so pround to be and owner of the Subaru WRX. I think this video just reaffirms this. I need to learn to take corners like this....avoiding the car damage of course.

An RFID alternative? Possibly. But HP's new technology will no doubt be more expensive. Just think of the uses though. You can trade files with someone nearby, you can pass data, or even send virus files. I'm guessing that this may go the way of the USB drive - companies will freak out about missing data and unregulated devices on the network.

It's that time again

Time to make sure you are on track for your tax witholdings this year.  Check out the IRS calculator.

When Progress is returning to the 1800's model

If you've been to the grocery store in the past year you know that organic, natural foods are the new fad.  Whole Foods and the like have proven that the "High Benefit" marketing strategy (as opposed to the low cost Walmart Strategy) was successful in the niche market.  And more recently the strategy/business model has enjoyed expansion into the mainstream to the extent that other chains want to reposition themselves to capture their share of the profits.  Here's an interesting tidbit on the debate on whether this is a fad or permanent shift.

Someday Cafe Closing?

My beloved coffee shop, Someday Cafe, in Davis Square may be closing its doors.  This is really the first coffee shop where I became a drinker and learn to appreciate coffee for its wonderful awakening effect.  It will be a sad day if they end up closing.

Buffet's $30 Billion Donation

Warren Buffet's $30 Billion donation to the Gates Foundation makes it one of the largest philanthropic organizations on earth.  This donation essentially doubles the size of the foundation.  This is great news for the world since this will concentrate focus on the foundation's charter issues of decreasing and preventing child mortality and disease.

DIY Mosquito Catcher

I hate the mosquito.  I hate the diseases they carry (West Nile).

This DIY catcher should help cut down the numbers around your house especially when you are throwing a party.

$100 Laptop becoming reality

The $100 laptop project is set to be a disruptive force in the hardware industry to the extent that cost conscious consumers and hackers have a great inexpensive option to go after.  When a decent laptop only costs and additional $400, consumers will likely not flock to this hardware.

Ahhh Chemistry

I still love the basic chemistry.  Check out these wonderful experiments with reactive metals.


Technorati Tags: chemistry metals

Impressive Operations

I'm not sure if this is real, but if it is I am very impressed.

Here is video footage showing FedEx flights racing to land in Memphis while a storm is approaching.  Time is accelerated.  I like the part where the planes runaway and route to the back side of the storm.

Road America Video of STI

The car in this video looks surprisingly similar to my STI at Road America.  It demonstrates how not to give a pass to another car because they don't deserve it. However, the braking in turn 12 could be much better as the driver in the video does catch up.  Note that the lead STI pulls away at the end before the checkered flag.  I heard from the driver that he passed the blue STI in a previous run as well.

Minority Report Type Screens

I have always enjoyed new technologies in the media realm.  This article discusses the new billboard at O'Hare aiport that let's users interact with the screen ala Minority Report and the recent Apple-MIT dual hand screen concept.

I'll have to pay a visit to the airport soon and grab some video.

Wal-mart Wiki

Wal-mart's ongoing PR saga continues with their push to control the Wikipedia entry about their company.  While the person or entity that the entry is written about should have some input concerning the content, they should not be able to control the entry as they will always have a tendency to portray his/herself in a positive light.  Wikipedia is meant to keep NPOV (Neutral Point-of-view) and to gather the collective thoughts and facts from everyone - not from a single controlling entity.

This is a new type of hybrid (moto and car) that looks promising for reducing our oil consumption. Check out the video on the bottom of the page.

All I have to say is freakin' sweet! This article may be the tip of the iceberg of a cool, new, ultranerd website. I love it!

http://www.omninerd.com/2006/04/21/articles/50

We have a new Phineas Gage - well, sort of. This guy attempted suicide and managed to lodge 12 nails into his head without any lasting affect. Unlike Phineas, this was intentional and his behaviour didn't change as a result of the incident. I'm not sure how Darwin's "Survival of the Fittest" is at work here.

One step closer to Skynet - The automatic assembling chair.

This article is just downright scary. Our nation is becoming less and less competitive in the global market. Don't let your kids grow up ignorant of the new world life skills. Try your best to prevent other youth from the same fate.

Article on Teen Finance Knowledge.

How much do you pay per month for different services? How much for communication based stuff such as cable/satellite, telephone, cell, IP? On a scale from 1 (low) - 10 (high), how much value do you get out of these services? Probably not 9 or 10.

There's a recent trend in innovation to help consumers extract more value out of these services. Considering that you may pay up to $62/mo for an high-speed internet connection, it seems reasonable to expect good value from these services.

Here are some technologies that help you do just this:

1. Cell/Wifi phones Seemless cutover in hotspots, saves you money.
2. Orb Make Tivo recordings, pictures, and movies available to you anywhere on the internet for free! Even from your PDA Phone!

I haven't been writing much lately, partly because there hasn't been anything too interesting to write about. Enter a new computer/human authentication system - KittenAuth. I'm sure many of you have seen the cryptic "Please enter the word that is shown in the picture" systems when registering for an account or getting tickets. While spambots are getting smarter at recognizing the words, this new system depends on more advanced human skills of recognizing a picture's contents.

Energy Futures

I can just see the energy futures soaring after this announcement by the US Government. Venezuela is one of the largest suppliers of oil in the world - producing almost 10% of the supply (ref).

Who pays the price for tough US Foreign Policy? That's right, US Citizens at the pump. We get the tax cuts, but the increase in oil and natural gas prices takes it all back. It's like the frog in the boiling vs. bringing-to-a-boil water - we're too dumb to realize what is happening until it's too late.

Anonymous browsing is becoming more important as privacy concerns grow in America. The assertion of Presidential Authority to monitor international communication without Judicial approval through FICA and an explicit warrant troubles me to some extent. If I remember correctly, the intelligence problem was not intercepting communications, rather translating and analyzing the communications from 9/11 in a timely manner - it simply was not a priority. While listening in on conversations without judicial consent is quicker, it still does not address the root problem. Furthermore, corporate protection of personal privacy has been a joke (see Choicepoint credit information loss, hospital records, etc....) We simply cannot trust the government and public sector to protect our information without having statutes that hold them financially and criminally liable.

That said, just take the approach of not giving them your data:

Anonym.OS

I haven't been adding many thoughts here but thought that this article was important enough to start up again.

Wal-Mart vs. Delaware

Why is this important? After my law class last quarter it is clear that Delaware is an important state for commerce since many of the publicly held corporations are incorporated in this state. This law, while appearing to only apply to Delaware brick and mortar, indicates that a state that leads the thought for corporate statutes is clearly sending a message to businesses that the social contract for a corporate charter still requires them to be good social citizens - that is, when their actions and policies hurt society (off loading healthcare to society to drive up shareholder value) government must intervene. I firmly agree with this policy as it sets a minimum standard that large corporations must uphold. This is no different than unemployment, workman's compensation, and other similar requirements.