Skeptics Corner: Brilliant Tech Smart Home Panel

Wink Relay Panel Redux

With a name like Brilliant I hope that they're not overselling.  It is good however to see another company taking the charge in offering a permanent screen-based solution to cover SmartHome needs.   Wink made a SmartHome touchscreen panel several years back which began it's life at about the same price at the 2-switch panel by Brilliant ($300).  But it was no long for this world (as it only worked with Wink).

Versatility and Conflict

Brilliant has seen the light of progress and has made a switch panel with far more features that the Wink panel.  Each panel includes a full screen, switches, sensors and a camera (with a privacy cover).  But it is the back end compatibility with all sorts of SmartHome hardware companies that will (hopefully) allow it to win the day.  Alas, even if you can get past the exorbitant price (starting $249 for the single switch), you may struggle to find this device as applicable in a home full of children who probably love tech at least as much as you do. 

This is probably the first smart-device that will not get broken due to being dropped out of a car seat on to the parking lot blacktop, but it will not go unnoticed in your home.  Its hard enough to keep kids from playing with the light switches that you have explicitly labeled to not be touched (so that the lights stay powered).  This screen absolutely needs to have some kid-proofing, or lock out pin, or something to manage the access it inevitably offers to tiny fingers. A wise person once said, "You've built a great tool, now tell me how it can be abused".

Baring the child-aspect and the cost, I can appreciate the utility of a readily available screen.  I do tend to carry my smartphone with me throughout the house, out of necessity as I run my business from my home.  But I cannot express the aggravation that I've experienced when I have forgotten my phone (or one of them) upstairs.  At one point I put an old tablet downstairs on the TV cabinet so that if i did neglect the phone upstairs I had something down there.  Not everyone is willing to carry their phone with them all over the house, especially into the restroom.  But I'd wager that once the price point comes down that this tool might find a place in many homes that have shifted to Smart.

Tesla Model Y is the Model X of the Model 3

Y? Tesla Y!

Thursday, March 14th, at 8:20 PM (PDT) Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla announced the latest edition to the line up of electric vehicles that has been a long time coming.  This most recent vehicle completes the line of vehicles' whose model names spell out the word S3XY (sexy).  The announcement comes on Pi Day (March 14, or 3.14), but also culminates the 11th anniversary of Tesla's first vehicle release; the Roadster.

A Re-iteration of an Iteration

The Model Y met with great fanfare to those fans in the audience, but was met with disappointment by shareholders on Friday, March 15th.  Tesla stock dropped 5%

For ages Tesla has struggled to impress those who would short its stock, even getting Musk into trouble when he attempted to combat the practice.  But the trouble lies not in the fickle stock holder, but in the perception of the thing.

Y = X of 3

The model Y is the Model X, but the Model 3 version.  Its obvious on multiple levels.  The oddly curve nose of the Model 3 is apparent on the Model Y.  The much taller roof on the Y mirrors the X.  Although there are definitely no gull-wing doors on the Y, the added seats and even the pattern of the seat position is similar to the X.  The mere fact that the Model Y is priced similarly to the X as a version of the 3 (10-20% more) is yet another comparable factor. 

An Unfair Comparison

Investors and Fans might well be disappointed by the presentation of the Model Y if they compare it to the presentation given by Musk in the debut of the Tesla Semi truck.  That show demo'd more than than just a new tractor / trailer combo, but the updated version of the Roadster.  The Roadster 2.0 is definitely much more "sexy" than the Model Y, despite it's offerings.  

In this day of instant gratification, online sales of motor vehicles, and persons of power using twitter as their billionaire platform, is it any wonder that reactions and comparisons are made so hastily? The model Y was an inevitability, not merely to fill the position in the proposed term (sexy), but as a way to complete the line-up.  Tesla now has one of each; the Luxury sedan, the SUV, the Standard sedan, and the Crossover.  Most manufacturers, if they even have an electric vehicle, have one at this point.  The serious competition is yet to come and Tesla isn't just on the bleeding edge, they've manufactured the edge.

Tesla Supercharger V3 vs. A Gas Pump

Filling the Tank (Battery)

How long does it take to gain a full tank of fuel, be it Gasoline or Electricity? 
Well, Tesla is boosting the fill rate of it's Superchargers to a much greater capacity starting this week. They claim that a Tesla Model 3 can get up to 1000 Miles of Range per Hour of Charge.  A Model 3, has at the most a range of 325 miles, so the new charger can fill the battery in about 20 minutes.

Is that good?

The video at the top of the page is only 2.5 minutes long and it started at 9 gallons out of a possible 25.6 gallons.  So lets say that it actually took only a total of 4 minutes to fill the whole tank from empty.  The video was of my Chevy Avalanche and it could get about 500 miles of range on 25.6 gallons. So that means that the fill rate of Gas Station is 7500 Miles of Range per Hour of filling (charge). 

What does this mean?

The result is that Electric Vehicles will need, yet still a faster charger than this new improved Supercharger V3 to compete with Gas Stations on fill speed. Although, compared to the prior Supercharger V2, which only charged at a maximum of 500 Miles per Hour of Charge, this is an improvement. 

However, if you compare the Supercharger to nearly any other charger for Electric Cars in the US, the best in Electrify America at 1500 Miles per Hour of Charge.  The only vehicle that can handle that high input is the Porsche Taycan.

What remains to be seen is how quickly other electric vehicles adopt this faster charging.  Many manufacturers do not worry about fast charging since the bulk of EV Drivers charge at home.  This is mostly useful to those who take long road trips or who commute longer distances.  And if the EV ever can get solid, universal adoption it will have to meet the needs of most drivers.

Samsung Galaxy Fold

An Interesting Start

  Samsung definitely is making what I would call Sony-headway here.  They're not the first to make a dual-screen folding phone, but the name of the device seems to suggestion that it was a serious rush to get it to market as soon as possible.  It is neither polished nor beautiful, but it is at least an interesting start.

Features

  Many features are touted in this debut, probably to keep the customer from noticing the odd fold when the phone is closed.  That fold of the screen is awesome in concept, but in implementation it probably has several iterations to go.  The screen cannot be folded flat as of yet and because it appears that Samsung does not want the phone to be extra bulky, the folded phone has a triangle shape.  I can't help but think that some users will not be able to get this odd shape out of their head.  I feel that it may either be a sticking point for me or I will ignore it completely.  My initial thought was, " I can't wait until this flop-of-a-phone is available on the second-hand market so that I can have it for < $500 and claim that I was one of the crazy, first-iteration buyers." 

It is clear from the debut demo that Samsung intended for this to be a combo phone+tablet.  In a sense the flagship-ness of it could, if successful make it the new Galaxy Note.  The focus was on the tablet of the phone.  The presentation twice shows the capacity of the new phone to perform three tasks simultaneously, Video, Chat and Google search. As far as being a productivity or social ideal, I think they may have well stepped into a new realm.  But what remains to be seen is how people use it. 

Use-Case

I like the concept for a fold out phone, but how will users use it?  One of the key mentions in the demo was in regard to keeping the weight down.  The battery in particular had been split up in the device, but still maintains its longevity.   Personally, I do not like using a device with a screen that is larger than 8-inches.  It eventually becomes too hard to manipulate in my hands and with higher weight devices, my hands become tired.  I have never had this issue with my Pixel XL, it is just small enough and light enough to not encumber my uses.  However, it's screen size isn't large enough.  Although I have tried larger phones, like the Galaxy Max, this phone is almost too large for my pocket and so I have not continued in it's use.   The Galaxy Fold however, may fit the bill for the size of most pockets.  The Galaxy Fold may well be the perfect size to accommodate  both pockets and tablet use. 

Conclusion (for now)

I look forward to getting my chance to use this phone, even if it's just in a Mobile Store.  The price tag is a bit steep, even for a 24-month, interest-free payment plan [est: $83 / month].  I also look forward to the next 2 to 3 iterations of this phone, presuming it finds a market.  

It is truly a good first step.

Watch the Unveiling via CNET

My Bathroom Audio Solution

Audio in the Bathroom

I have been seeking a "good" bathroom speaker.   There are many options and functional aspects to consider when it comes to mixing water and electronics.  In this article I plan to hit these points while explaining how and why I got to the conclusion that  finally reached (somewhat accidentally).

Crappy Speakers

I, like I believe many of my fellow Americans, wish to continue my audio listening experience as I go through my day. This includes the time when I am showing.  Many times I have wanted to have access to a video experience while showing, and there are solutions to this question, but none that are possible to implement smoothly and evenly. 

While there are many possible ways to get audio into the bathroom, there is no simple method that I had found until recently.  Initially, I had thought that I would want a speaker that would hang from the shower head or stick to the wall of the shower.  There are several problems with this solution.

Firstly, most shower speakers sound terrible, they have no bass because, to overcome the noise of the shower, they must be loud and tinny. The only decent solution is to install good speakers in the bathroom.  Secondly, most people are not willing to spend the currency to install great speakers in the bathroom, because they will so rarely be used to their potential, the solution is left mostly to the wealthy.  The third issues is power.  As we probably all know, water and electrical power do not mix well in the hands of carbon-based life.  Portal devices that have that terrible tin-sound are often battery powered.   And plug-gable devices must remain near an outlet, which are often scarce around faucets. The final issue is that outside of disuse.  Speakers that sit in a bathroom will likely get mold or corroded over time due to the high moisture content of the room. 

Smartphone in a Bag

Another consideration includes a plastic locking bag to contain a mobile phone, but there are yet more issues to overcome in this concept.  While it is entirely possible and quite inexpensive to purchase a sealed plastic container for one's smartphone, the interoperability of said device is terrible.  It's hard to press the buttons and human hands rarely handle wet plastic deftly.  Of course the bag could be mounted a wall or hung like a lanyard from the shower head, but alas, the ever-presence of video is then lost if one turns about for any reason.  Additionally, sound works best when it has access to whichever medium your ears are currently submerged, usually air while showering. A bag has a strong tendency to block the audio causing it to sound muffled.


In short there are two sides to this problem.  Either deal with terrible audio quality or spend some serious coin to install a proper system that will resist both moisture and disuse. 

The Accidental Answer: Insignia Voice

I came upon the solution, albeit a compromise, when Best Buy was having a sale on it's in-house brand Insignia.  Insignia produces some of the most capable and inexpensive Google Home Speakers.  For the price of a Google Home Mini you can get a large, portable, bass-capable, alarm clock speaker.  I grabbed 2 of the larger battery-op devices when Best Buy was having a 75% off sale. 

These units are portable, have decent sound that includes bass, can be controlled by your voice, and are reasonably priced.   I was looking for more ways to up my whole-house audio game and discovered the value of the speaker was so much greater than anything that Google directly offered.  While Google does have some interesting designs, the Insignia speaker is a strong competitor, even if it isn't as pleasing to the design-eye.

Now when I want to continue my audio experience in the shower, I unplug the speaker, and carry it into to the the bathroom.  I can talk to it for music or begin casting to it from any player device.  It can easily get loud enough to blast over the noise of the shower at 50% volume. 

Admittedly, I have not tested the full extent of the audio experience.  I rarely spend more than 30 minutes in the bathroom.  But I am told that the speaker can last up to 5 hours before it needs to be reconnected to a power source.   This solution is a great compromise, between installing a costly system in the bathroom and terrible audio.  In fact it is neither poor quality, nor high cost.

Last thoughts: Uninterrupted Audio

I'd like to make a comment regarding the concept of casting audio from a smartphone to a speaker.  While there are probably hundreds of good waterproof speakers on the market, most of them are Bluetooth-based and accept primarily audio from smartphones, there is an inherent problem that I have discovered in doing that.   I want uninterrupted audio.  Wi-Fi connected devices, particularly Google Home audio via Wi-Fi have an advantage over Bluetooth in that they do not include notification sounds in the stream.  Smartphones use Bluetooth to send notifications, the Wi-Fi connection that this speaker uses does not include any notifications and thereby no interruptions.   Yes, it does support Bluetooth too, if you want that.

Get Outta My Head: Micro LED TV

Samsung's Micro LED (Modular) TV

I'm not going to say, "I told you so", because I am just grateful that such a thing came into being.  It was going to happen eventually, and it only took 22 years.  Granted, the concept in it's physical format is real -- expensive, but I am certain that it will come down in price to the point where the cost is negligible.

History

Back in the mid-90's when I was first in College at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Hitachi and Sony both approached the school with a proposal and grant money.  The sum was on the order of $5,000,000 if some engineering group could figure out how solve the problem of air bubbles in the Liquid Crystal Display forming process.   No one at the school developed a viable solution, to my knowledge, but it got me thinking about the future of display technology. 

I designed the first concept of what I was certain would be possible in 2000 when I began my elective courses in Electrical and Materials Engineering.  By the end of 2002 my thesis stated that it was possible to develop a circuit to control the electroplating of organic polymers onto silicon (the early days of OLED).  This tech concept led me to postulate on what would eventually become what the MicroLED TV is today.

Idea

The scope of the idea that I had was that at some future point, we would have modular screens all over our homes and that if one module broke, it could be easily replaced with a trip to the corner market. People would pick them up or replace them as needed, not as a full piece of equipment.  The modularity would allow consumers to use anywhere from one to hundreds and swap them in and out of whatever unit they wanted at the time.

If anything, even if know one every recognizes me for having the forethought, just the mere fact that a 20+ year-old prediction came to fruition is enough for me

Like an Elephant, Google Home Never Forgets

Google Home Never Forgets

This might be a good thing, and it might be a bad thing, but so far I haven't had many problems with Google Home... until now.

I recently moved a bulb from the Entryway of my home to my office.  I have installed this lamp in the entryway so that I could change the lighting color at the door for Halloween (the kids loved it).   However, after I changed the name of the bulb from "Entryway Light" to "Office Torch", the name stayed in Google Home.

Long have I been familiar with how to "sync my devices" in Google Home, as it is much faster to merely ask Google Home to do this for me, than to manually take the action in the app; yet this does not appear to make the update.  Alternatively, I've renamed the devices several times, and also I've removed and powered down the devices for more than 30 seconds.  In one case I forgot that I had remove a bulb and it sat out and un-powered for more than a day.  None of these actions has allowed me to remove the old titles from the devices.  Of course I could just stop using Smart Home devices, but that's not the point.

Naming Schema

Google Home is getting Smarter every day.  I'm certain that they are getting a MASSIVE amount of data from all the people connecting their apps to the software.  It works quite well and I quote enjoy using it. But it's not perfect and it always needs more work.

Currently, I've discovered that Google Home has some trouble distinguishing between the ROOM and the DEVICE.  An example is as follows.

-- Room: Office
-- Device: Office Lamp
-- Device: Desk Lamp
Say: " Ok Google, turn off the lights"
Response: "Ok, turning off 2 lights"

It seems to be able to comprehend multiple meanings, such as "lamp", "light", "bulb", and other items in the room the are classified as illumination devices. 

Next Steps

Like many of my blogs and activities, this is far from over.  I will likely be posting more about my adventures in Home Automation.  But at the very least, I'm glad I got this far....

OK GO - Upside Down & Inside Out - Music Video

    In November of 2017, I realized the coincidence of the the Movie; Inside Out and the OK GO song; Upside Down & Inside Out and fabricated an unofficial music video of the two. 

    The movie is all about "the feels", whereas OK GO is all about fun.  I am stunned and fascinated by the amazing thoughtfulness of the OK GO band and their video production ideals.  They go to the N-th degree with making and participating in their elaborate videos.  Although, I sometimes wonder if their popularity is based more on their inventive Music Videos than the music itself...?   

   My fascination with OK GO, led me to want to replicate (copying is the greatest form of flattery) what they did with the song as I saw it could be set to scenes from the movie.  Much planning went into the creation of this music video, it took a couple of weeks to get it to the point that it is on YouTube today (we're always our own worst critics).   

    I hope you enjoy it as least as much as I did creating it.

Owl Car Cam Saga: Part 2

Give a Hoot, ...

Last week I bought an Owl Car Cam and installed it on the dash of my vehicle.  I used it all week for work.  It's definitely not as wonderful as I had thought, but here are my experiences with it.

Keep your Phone Handy

If you've been a reader of this blog you might already know that I'm a fan of Android, although I do own a least one Apple device; an iPhone SE.  The Owl Car Cam requires iOS for now, so I had to begin to use the iPhone a bit more.  In fact, I had to carry it with me everywhere I went.

The Owl Car Cam uses the iPhone's Bluetooth connection to identify the driver when entering the vehicle. If I did not bring the iPhone with me, on which the app is installed, the Owl Car Cam would perceive me as an intruder and take clips of me when I accessed the vehicle. It would shine the interior lights on me and record my every move.  Your Owl "should" recognize you, when you come near it, otherwise it could antagonistic toward you.

Birds don't use Smartphones

Whether it be the App or the user, I had a great deal of difficulty getting to the features that I wanted in the Owl Car Cam app. While I did not talk about this in any detail in Part 1, I have had many opportunities to feel frustrated in using the app this week.

There are three sections of the app, not including the settings.  The sections are labeled; Clips, Cameras, and "From Owl".  Most of these features are merely access to videos, either belonging to you as taken by the Owl Car Cam or from the manufacturer's website / YouTube. 

Whenever you use the phrase "OK Presto", the camera archives a set amount of video, including the prior 10-20 seconds.  These clips are available via the LTE connection to the Camera.  I discovered that some aspects of the video files in the camera are ONLY available through LTE, not through the WiFi connection that is also available in the Camera. However, since I am not typically an iPhone user, I do not keep a SIM card in the iPhone, thereby eliminating my access via my iPhone to certain aspects of the camera.  I also learned today, that Owl  does not support iPads, with or without a SIM card.

Whether deliberately or by accident, the assumption made by the Owl Car Cam team and the iPhone / App team, decided that all devices accessing the camera would have a SIM card and did not really plan for any other situation.  Although, fortunately a little birdie told me, that the Android version of the App will be coming out in the next few weeks.

Owl Droppings

The section of the app called "Camera" allows direct access to the camera either to view the front / rear lens live or to see the last 24 plus hours of activity.  Using these features through the LTE connection uses up your credits for the month.  Currently the price of an Owl Car Cam comes with a $50 sub for a year of LTE from AT&T, that includes 60 credits per month. 

If you're interested in this device for your vehicle and its security, you may want to know that 1 minute of activity is equal to 1 credit.  Each time you connect to the Owl Car Cam remotely and pull out a couple of clips or watch some videos live, you are eating into your credits.  In my, barely one weeks-worth of testing the Camera, I've nearly run out of credits.

I've connected to the camera "live", successfully, possibly 5 times and 15 times have been for clip retrieval. I have only 12 of 60 credits remaining.  These connections appear to be rather costly against my total credits and there is, as previously mentioned, no way to access certain features via WiFi.

What's an Owl Lover to do?

It's probably the best advice in most situations, to be patient.  This product is new as of 2018, it's just getting started with features and functionality.  If anything more Owl Lovers are needed to help work out all the problems.

I have had the opportunity to speak with support at Owl and they seemed to be quite optimistic about their product and it's progress.  This makes me feel more at ease when using my Owl and it's App.

Here's to Part 3 of this Owl Car Cam Saga

Owl Car Cam Saga: Part 1

Like a Nest Cam for your Car

Intro

This thing is awesome, or so every YouTube Reviewer says.  Sometimes I get the impression that people are just hyped about new tech, not the particular product.  I too was hyped about it, it really seemed like the great new idea.  It is refined and Mobile Data-connected.  How bad could it be?
(you don't want to know, ... or do you?)

When comparing to so many other Dash Cam, the Owl cam is simple and robust  And, like the CEO and Co-Founder Andy Hodge, who previously worked for Apple and then Nest, the Owl Cam compares to favorably to the iPod, Nest Cam, and Nest Thermostat.  There is a centrist simplicity in all the products that the companies for which Mr Hodge has worked.

An Owl on your Dash

The Owl Cam is a unique product both on paper and in function.  At it's core it is a dash cam, but it includes an LTE connection and some interesting technology to make its use a bit easier to use.   In general public use Dash cams are becoming more common and although there are many, many options to choose from, most are cheap and lack the usability features.  In particular, the Owl Cam can keep an eye on your vehicle and alert you when it senses trouble, such as someone bumping your vehicle or backing into it, or even breaking into it.  It has lights on it both on the front and back to indicate a security feature and for if someone does get inside who should not be there.

Owl's Like Nest, Cams

Like the Nest Cam, the Owl Car Cam retains a full history of all activity in your vehicle.  Not only does it track activity while you drive, but while you do not.  So like the video above, it can capture a break in or just about anything else.  It makes notes in the playback section of the app where it noticed activity around the vehicle. This is similar to how the Nest Cam makes similar notes about motion that it detects. 

Talk to your Owl

Although it is possible to talk to certain Nest Cams, there is a unique feature in the Owl Car Cam that lends itself directly the aspects of driving.  This is where the Owl Cam really shows off it's features.  It is possible to capture an event, as is one of the primary purposes of a Dash cam, using only your voice.   By saying a phrase that is similar to the modern age when speaking to a computer, "OK, Presto", you will capture the last 20 seconds as a permanent clip on the Owl Cam. It is possible to capture the event by tapping the screen, but the voice command is a faster and simpler idea.    

It is important to remember that once you have made the command "OK Presto", the very next thing that you say will be used to label the clip.  If you say nothing, the label will be blank.  But words that the Owl Car Cam hears following "OK Presto" will become the clip name. Both the clip action and the name will be spelled out on the screen following your naming of the clip.  

An Owl on your Phone

The app for Owl is definitely in the early stages of release.  It is finished in the sense that a 5 year-old is at the end of Kindergarten.  You can view the camera Live both inside and outside of the vehicle.  You can view your "OK Presto"-clips, there are a few options.  But the proper fit and finish of a fully functional app is yet to be seen.  

Find me again in Part 2: Issues for a continuation of the problems that the Owl Car Cam is suffering from and hopefully some decent resolution.  For now, Check out Owl Cameras on YouTube for some of the good and not so good benefits of owning an Owl Car Cam.

Opinion: EpicReviewGuys

Disclaimer

While I have no right to judge a YouTube Channel who's operators have far more experience and subscribers that I do, I would like to take the opportunity to speak to the value and niche that Chris and Parris have carved out of the vast productivity space that is YouTube. 

Businesses Everywhere, No Less for Wear

I live in California and there are probably hundreds of thousands of businesses here.  Parris and Chris make their business in Austin, Texas; in which I am certain that there are many thousands more businesses.  It was only a few days ago that I discovered EpicReviewGuys and yet they have been operating on YouTube more regularly and with far more videos that I ever did on my account.   Plus I've never even heard of them until now.  This stands as a testament to the capacity of YouTube for greatness, even to a lesser degree.  

Production Quality does not Negate Value

I've definitely seen a lot of both high production quality and low production quality videos on YouTube.  I think that the main reason that I have not produced more videos is that I struggle with wanting to create better quality and so I produce, nothing.  EpicReviewGuys didn't care about production quality (as much), but rather than be bogged down with that concern, they got to work producing.  And look where they are today.  The have hundreds of videos and millions of views (over 50 million as of this post). 

One of the best quotes regarding video production on YouTube that I have heard, and not just from Casey Neistat, is to "Just Start!"  It doesn't matter if your quality is junk or your camera is an old smartphone from 2011 or a point-and-shoot from 2007.  If you can take video then you should start making videos for YouTube.  You have to START somewhere. Even Marques Brownlee, in his earliest days of doing reviews of anything that he could get his hands on in his parent's home; at least he started.

Practice Makes Better (hopefully perfect)

From watching EpicReviewGuys I can definitely see where they began and the progress that they made over time.  Parris had his wife do a couple of reviews; it was not for her.  He had his kids in the videos many times, one of these videos was easily his top video by several million views.  But eventually, Chris stopped doing reviews and Parris' kids stopped being in the videos and it became just Parris. The Intro video (which is 4 years old) still has both Chris and Parris as the EpicReviewGuys, despite the lack of Chris' appearances in any videos after 2015.

It's easy to see the progress that Parris has made in the way that he began including title frames across the thumbnail image.  As time progressed these titles changed, larger font, more color.  In 2018 he began to to use an Orange frame and most of the thumbnails featured the core idea, rather than what appeared to be a random frame.  Very recently, he's been masking the background out with a single color for even more emphasis on the product.

Great Job, Making Progress!

I want to commend the EpicReviewGuys for reviewing everything under the Sun.  They didn't let view count or production quality, or really, much of anything stand between them and making reviews on YouTube.  They got started, they made progress and as they progressed, they improved.  

Do or Do Not, there is no Try - Yoda

Opinion: Bottom Line - Video

How Does it Feel to make... x?

     In the video above there are two men working for a living in the US, one's income is $11,000 per day, the other is $60 per day.  The video follows each through the day as they work.  One works in Day Trading on the Stock Market, the other works by app-based, food delivery.

    Below is my commentary and opinion on this video and it's impact on me.

Disparity

From the get-go, it is fairly apparent that there is a HUGE disparity between the two men.  One's income is roughly 150 times greater than the other.  The monstrous difference in income between these two, who may not know about the other, is it a commentary on life?  Is this a commentary on choices or even a commentary on race?

I think that the way that YouTube is going with actual shows, leads to these sorts of short-documentaries.  People are discovering that they can showcase lesser known issues on a grand scale, like 60 Minutes in 6.

The commentary is left out.  There is no famous person, voice-over telling us what it's about.  We're left to figure that our for ourselves.  Maybe you wish to vastly wealthy, or maybe you're the wealth that you have isn't monetary and think that vast wealth isn't what brings the true joy into your life. But it's hard to judge one's reaction to something one can only dream about.  Until you live with it daily, you'll never really know it.

The video does seem to bring into contrast a difference based on money alone, likely because it is a pertinent topic in the world.  The lower earner does say that he wishes that he had more money, but that it probably wouldn't change him. I'm sure that the wealthier person doesn't wish to be poorer, but he never talks about how the wealth changed him (although he does say that he's always been frugal).

There's a ticker in the upper right-hand corner of the frame that shows the amount of money that each man is making through out the day and it keeps the tally for each. The lower-earner gets excited when he gets a tip of $35 from one of the deliveries, while $35 ticks by every 5 minutes for the high-earner

Pursuit of HAPPYness

Toward the end of the video each is asked if he is happy and we get a slightly different response.  One is happy, but feels an emptiness in his life, the other is happy and says that he would be regardless of how much money he had.

Each man appears to be happy in the video and most might assume that having a significant income would make one feel that way.  But for the man who has never had millions, he cannot comment on having had millions in order to know if it would have changed him.  Whereas the one who has millions recognized that money-issues had caused trouble in the lives of his parents.

Society and culture often repeats to us that we all need to get as much as we can to have a good life, but the pursuit of happiness is never defined as the acquisition of wealth, although often circumscribed as such. It might be generally accepted that a person with vast wealth will live better and be happier.

Comparative Dissonance

This video, I feel, attempts to bring to light the large financial gap between the lives of two people in who live in the same place.  But it, like so many other videos that show only a difference in money, miss out on so many other good comparisons that might not carry the same weight in the world.  It may be because we all have a shared experience in money and that trying to show a comparison between two religions, political perspectives, or moral attitudes is more difficult.

Conclusion

There's no two ways about it, one of these people is running a business of his own and the other is just working for other people.   The higher-earner is generating income from many sources and definitely did not start out that way, he worked his way up to where he is now.  The other, lower-earner has yet to make his move to create a business (albeit he does run a YouTube channel with about 5k subs).

On the surface, just watching these two men live their lives, it is apparent to me that there is a difference, but very little back-story is given.  The story-tellers seem only to want to compare the current perspectives of difference of income. It's almost like taking a quote out of context.  No person is dimensionally flat either physically or characteristically. As I noted earlier, there is no commentary, so we can draw our own conclusions.  But like so many other click-bait shows and links, maybe the implication is all in the deception of the title.

What is the Bottom Line.

Google Smart Display: Getting to Know You

Here Come the Reviews!

Thank you to Mr Mobile (Michael Fischer) and Dieter Bohn of The Verge for their reviews.  Mr Fischer for his justification and Mr Bohn for his explanation of the features.  Check out the videos below.  I don't really want to divert from this any more than I have to, because these guys are really good at reviewing.  Watch their videos

Mr Mobile

The Verge

Emergency Calls to Report the Milky Way

Up There In the Sky...

Apparently it is possible to live on this planet in a place where the Milky Way cannot be seen at night.  You'd think I would know about this, having been born to it.  But my fascination with the sky began at an early age and I was made aware of the this sight early on.  However, my fellow Los Angelinos were not.

In 1994, January 17th at 4:30 AM, shortly after the Northridge earthquake shook people of Southern California out of their beds, many people called in to Emergency Services reporting a bizarre sight.  A sort of cosmic event was overhead.  This cosmic scene surely combined with the recent earthen event was probably enough to give some people a mighty fright. 

The earthquake had knocked out most of the power in many of the cities in the area and this being the dead of winter the Sun would not rise for another few hours, making it likely the darkest part of night.

After decades of the night sky being blotted out by the ground light sent upward, the some of people of Southern California had never been in the presence of what someone in the wilderness could have easily recalled. It was to them a foreign or unfamiliar visage. What odd lights and formations dotted the sky, which before was always black or rarely dotted with the brightest stars, but mostly only aircraft.

Surely some people had seen the twinkling lights and occasional planets in the land where Hollywood Stars originate, but the ominous mid-section of the galaxy that we call home, may have been a awe-strikingly new concept.

Alas, what would our ancestors have said to us for responding so ridiculously to the stars in the night sky? ... "OMG is that the new iPhone!?"

Source: TimeLine

Video Doorbells: The Best Functioning Option

Keeping an Eye on the Porch

With Social Media and the Internet, it's amazing what you can find about the Human Experience. And now with connected / Smart Homes, it is possible to see what's happening at home when you're not at home. Whether for security, deliveries, or just plain curiosity, having a robot with a camera watch your front porch is a fascinating idea.

What are the Options?

There are currently two schools of thought when it comes to Video Doorbells; Motion Capture or Full Stream Capture.  Products such as Skybell and Ring both offer Motion Capture only, where as Nest Hello offers Full Stream Capture.  The difference is that Motion Capture only delivers actual clips of captured activity; so if the camera notices a person, or creature, it will start recording for a short period of time. The Nest Hello records everything constantly and when a motion event occurs, it makes note of it.  There is a further distinction between these two schools, but it will be made clear later.

What is the Cost?

Although cost of a product is often stated clearly, the function of cost is rarely covered.  You might think that just by my having not jumped immediately to the price, that I may be trying to avoid the numbers.   It is important to not look only at the price of a product but to critically consider the value of the product.  Of course some people just cannot afford the price and so will immediately stop reading, ...

The short answer there is no monthly service fee for Skybell, whereas Ring ($30 / year) costs much less money than Nest ($50-$300 / year or $5-$30 / month). Each of these devices ranges in initial price around $200

But to those who value the function, please continue reading below.

What is the Value of Security?

Although it is difficult to put an actual definite price on Security, it is possible to make an informed decision based on good information.  Supposing a porch pirate steals a package from the doorstep, having a camera out there would have offered a much better idea of when the package was delivered and who picked it up.

To return to the topic mentioned earlier regarding motion capture, the best function that Nest Hello offers above and beyond other video doorbells is that of full daily video streaming.  While all three devices offer motion detection, no robot with a camera is as good as an alert human.  Even with outlines and masks and facial detection, computers are not very wise and experienced; they do not know to ignore plants blowing in the wind, they do no know the difference between a photo of a face and an actual face. 

The value in the Nest Hello is that to hedge the shortcomings of motion capture alone, it delivers all the video from the entire day.  And recognizing that no human (even those whose job it is) wants to sort through hundreds of hours of real-time footage to find the proverbial needle in a haystack; Nest can speed up the playback to a time lapse of the whole day in seconds. (See Video Above)

A New Age of Availability and Function

Throughout recent technological history, let's say in the last 60 years, it has been possible to get video surveillance on one's home.  It has even been possible to get recordings of that surveillance. And if one could afford it, to have a person watch those recordings; to be the human with experience behind the mechanical function of video recording.   Much more powerful computers now aid society in monitoring and finding differences in the videos, but they cannot fully replicate the wisdom of an experienced human. 

Society often argues for the lowest common denominator thinking that if we can get by with paying less, we effectively get more. But in this case, to sacrifice cost over function is an unworthy loss.  There is no way to go back and recover video that was never recorded.  And if the task is left to inexperienced robots, just to save a buck, we lose more than the money we've tried to save.


There are greater available technologies currently available than what is presented in this article, but for the price. So much more is possible and yet many of do not recognize it.  I highly recommend the Nest Hello Doorbell as it's value is much greater than it's price.

Check out the Nest Hello today:
    Nest.com
    BestBuy
    HomeDepot
    Lowes

Unreal Mobile is Real, Cheap!

TL;DR Stuff about Pricing

Unreal Mobile has made a great case for the lowest cost and most simple Mobile Phone service.  Everything; Talk, Text, and Data for $10 per month.  No gimmicks, no promos, no one-time-deals, just ten dollars for Unlimited everything.

Now, if they're offering all this for so little, why cannot any other carrier do the same?  Well, like every other carrier, the data (or lack there of) is the catch.  You get ONE Gigabyte of data at full speed and then everything else is 2G or 512 Kbps.  It is unlimited 2G, you will get all the content you can take at half-a-megabit per second; which if you think about it, is 10 x faster than an old dial-up modem.

A little background on Unreal Mobile

Unreal Mobile is FreedomPOP, which is Sprint.  FreedomPOP is the company that for nearly 8 years has offered a FREE 500-2000 MB of data to anyone who would sign up.

Originally, they rode atop Clearwire 4G which was purchased by Sprint in 2014 and subsequently shutdown in 2016.  Through what might seem like a very simple ideal, FreedomPOP has managed to continue to exist in the bottom tier of Mobile ISPs, by giving away data for free. 

The Simplicity of the UI

Unreal Mobile likes to keep it simple with the User Interface.  It is very practical and visually basic; appealing if you think simple is good.  This interface is responsive as well and scales to fit any device, be it phone, tablet, or desktop.

The tabs across the top, help the user find the basic feature sets of their bill, usage, plan, service, devices, and propagation (sharing).  As of this post the sharing feature has not been enabled.  If you dig into the tabs, you'll find even more ways to save on data use, plus a feature that Unreal Mobile touts to get away from advertisements.  I personally, wanted to get back to using 2G only, to save all the Faster speed data that I could because they let it roll over, month-to-month.

Comparison to other carriers

The kicker wit Unreal Mobile is the price, but why do no other Mobile ISPs provide all this for as little.  First off, Unreal Mobile (FreedomPOP) is backed by Sprint.  Sprint had, for about a month, a deal on Unlimited Everything for $15.  It too offered minimal data at LTE speeds and then the unlimited came at 2G thereafter.  But that deal was for a limited time.

Every other carrier is almost the same as Unreal Mobile in that they offer a small amount of LTE (1 or 2 GB) and the remainder is at slower speeds. While each carrier has a slightly different deal, each usually runs at least $50 / month with almost the same features as Unreal Mobile.

Source: CNET (https://www.cnet.com/news/verizon-att-t-mobile-sprint-unlimited-data-plan-comparison/)

What's the Catch?

How can Unreal Mobile sell Unlimited Everything for $10 / month, and yet no one else offers such a deal?  The reality is that the four major carriers do in fact offer these deals, but they do not advertise them.  They know that they could sell these features for this low price, but they have spent hundreds of millions in advertising to convince consumers that there are more features available if they pay more. 

End Game

Unreal Mobile is a very simple ideal.  It does have other, more costly plans ranging from $10 to $40 and offering more high-speed LTE data, upwards of 10 GB for the top tier.  It is more effectively a mobile phone plan for those who use very little data, or just those who want to text and talk.  Of course anyone can use WiFi for Data, but if WiFi isn't always accessible, it might be good to go with a bigger carrier. Or if you're cool with 2G speeds (512 kbps) all the time.

The end game on this is that Unreal Mobile is trying to tap the bottom of the market, those with the least amount of liquid funds.  It could be that this phone is just a backup phone or for teenagers whose parents won't get them a phone. In any case Unreal Mobile has made the proposal that it is possible to get an unlimited mobile phone plan for almost nothing.

Smart Light Switch from TP-Link

A Smart Light Switch, without Sacrificing Common Function

Just about everyone wants to change or upgrade the home they live in.  And even the wealthiest people never quite get what they want out of their home(s). But with a simple change, a poorly placed switch can be upgraded to a whole new world of possibility.

Using the TP-Link WiFi Light Switch (HS200), it is possible to effectively move the position of the light switch to the kitchen.  Via Google Home devices, like the Google Home Mini, and their ability to receive commands through voice control, the kitchen light switch can be operated from anywhere in the home. The TP-Link Kasa app can also be used to operate the switches, if voice control is not an option.

... But Why a WiFi Switch?

I've long used SmartThings Home Control with both Zigbee and Z-wave and the mere fact that I already have WiFi devices and coverage in my house bewilders me for their necessity.  I recognize that Z-wave requires less power than WiFi, but for something that is hard-wired for power, (like the HS200) it works just fine.   Power conservation is not the problem at hand.

Convenience an' all that...

Skeptics may question whether it is actually convenient to have a mere single light switch converted to automatic for $40, when a standard switch costs no power to operate and barely $2 to purchase.  But in my experience it is the paradigm shift from single manual to multi-use control that is the key.  Were it my decision, no light switch or power outlet in the world would be singly manual. 

The added function of remote access and / or voice control offers more channels of access to lighting control. A person does not need to physically interact with anything to operate a device.  Using the light switch is as simple as speaking.  

Managed Control

Short of obsession, the level of automation in my home is probably not the same as that of Bill Gates' home, but I'd wager that I have more home automation that 90% people.  Yes, I do this because I enjoy it, which probably exceeds even the level that some geeks put to the task. Digital informational feedback is exciting to me; it seems to offer a modicum of control.  

I see home automation as an inevitability, like the automobile in years past. The more automation we can get from the tools on which we rely, the better our lives can become.  In the 1800's it was common for a person to walk the streets in at dusk and dawn to light and extinguish the street lamps.  Later in the early 1900's, a person stood in the middle of the street to direct traffic.  Through automation these monotonous jobs have been re-allocated to a machine.  

It is a realistic expectation that in the near future many devices will be more automated and connected, offering more precise control and better feedback.  It will be possible to recognize better ways to do work and home activities.  Personal ease will enable even further action beyond that which is today inhibited by too often required manual operations.  The future is bright and Smart devices are leading the way.

Check out the TP-Link WiFi Light Switch HS200 on Amazon: 

It's only Money, I need Data

Money vs Data

A friend recently commented that I spend an awful lot of money on gadgets.  He exclaimed that I should save for my retirement.  I tried to explain, but it's hard to let someone else see inside my head.  The above image is a pretty close ideal; lots of numbers and pictures all centering on the flow of money out of my pockets and the flow of data in.

I want all the Data

I want all the data, but to get it costs money, so I will trade my money for the equipment that will bring me the data.   Alas, why do I want the data instead of the money?   I love to solve problems (sometimes problems that no one, besides me, has asked).   I like correlations, I like to see where my problems come from and for that I need more data.

Take My Money, Please

I don't make a lot of money doing this or my other distractions (er jobs).  But I also do not have kids (yet) and so a lot of my money goes to projects like what I will relate in later posts.  I dedicate a sizable chunk of my income to analysis and enjoy searching for more interesting ideas that analysis.  The money isn't the important part, but what the tool of money can do to get me to the important part.

So Why do all this?

Why do anything that one loves to do?  It certainly meets a need or desire.  I love to do it.  But of all the analysis that I have done or will do, is there a purpose or just a need?  I think it best if something that I need and want be beneficial to others.  Many scientist and researchers before me spent most of their lives studying things that might not have been looked upon as necessary or useful.  But now that they have done the work, we all have benefited from it.  I work for mankind

What Data do you Seek?

I seek monitoring data for analysis of the home environment.  I want to find out how to better manage the environment of the home.   There are so many points of information that are in a home, whether it be an old Apartment building or a new Townhouse.   Insulation, Location, Water, Sewer, Lighting, Heating / Cooling, Waste, and so on; these factors are normal lifestyle aspects.  They can be efficient or inefficient, but without data and analysis a person might never know how their life could be easier or better.

Lately, I've been set on Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC).  There are several important factors to consider.  Maintaining a constant stasis temperature requires good insulation and then efficient heating and cooling.  You could heat a cold room all day, but if all the heat is leaking out or pouring out, it causes a good system to be inefficient.   But without the data, how are you even able to find out that this is happening?

Hardware & Software, Data & Analysis

Here comes the part where I recommend some hardware and software that I use help me find data and analyze it. 

Since the outset, even prior to the buyout, I have used Nest products.  They do (most of ) what I want.  And although they're far from cheap, they live up to the axiom that "you get what you pay for."   Utilizing the Nest Thermostat, Nest Cameras, and Nest Temperature Sensors, I am able to get a much more clear picture of what is happening with the temperature and humidity in my home and I have the capacity to make changes immediately.   These products allow me to see not only the current statuses of the home and its rooms, but to track the performance of the HVAC and it's constant war with the exterior climate.

Because Reasons

Since High School, I have sought data analysis and the ways to obtain it.  I wanted to know why my parents refused to turn keep the temp in the house in summer at a reasonable level.  Little did I know that it wasn't that they wanted to be uncomfortable, but that they liked money more than physical comfort.  If I knew then, what I know now about how to make the house more efficient, I would have set out for that immediately.  It took me more than two decades and a great deal of life lessons to discover the reasons.   And it is from these life-lessons that drives me to analyze and divulge to this blog, my experiences and thoughts.

Next Up

In subsequent blog posts I will cover other aspects of home monitoring, such as Lighting, Water management, Air Quality, and Insulation.

Quickbooks Self-Employed

Last year (2017) I quit working for a single, particular company and set out on my own.  I have been in IT Services since 1999 (as of this writing 19 years). 

My primary issue (reason for leaving) was that I felt that I was not being heard by my employer(s).  I had many good ideas, most of which I self-implemented.  These ideas were usually accepted after I implemented them.  I found it was hard to prove that my ideas were sound, on paper.

Through my church and at least one other business experience, I had discovered that Quickbooks made a pretty good tool for book-keeping.  During my first few months on my own, I helped one of my clients move from the Quickbooks Desktop to Quickbooks Online.  This freed up the client to access the books from anywhere and by more than one user.  It also pleased the client's Accountant very much.

It just made sense to me to use Quickbooks Self-Employed, once I discovered that such a software actually existed.  I will admit that I tried a competitor first, Freshbooks.  Freshbooks is everywhere on the internet and YouTube.  They seem to really know how to find small business owners.  However, I did not like the version that I was using.  I had problems creating invoices, I had issues uploading my receipts.  I'm certain that any long-time user of the software might tell me that it has since improved, but it's too late now.

What's Good about Quickbooks Self-Employed (QBSE)

As a very long-time user (26 years) of Intuit's Turbo Tax I was immediately taken by the ease-of-importing my current and old data from prior taxes.  Transitioning between any job and another is sometimes a painstaking process.  Fortunately, QBSE makes it easy (even if you're coming from outside). 

Creating Invoices in QBSE is a snap.  With consulting I can input hours, items, or products.  I can send directly to the email of my clients or the physical address.  Sometimes I send to both.

Managing purchases and income is comparable to using Intuit's Mint software.  Mint began nearly a decade ago as an online tool to manage all personal finances in one ledger.  It made my finance tracking so easy that I've used it ever since.  Quickbooks Self-Employed uses a very similar interface and is quite brilliant in it's adaptation to the single ledger-look.  Of course, you will still need to check if something is Business or Personal, but it can all be automated.

The app is one of the nicest aspects of Quickbooks Self-Employed.  I can so very easily add receipts on the fly or send invoices from anywhere.  For the most part everything that is available in the browser app, is available in the smartphone app. 

For those who have used the Online version of Quickbooks, you'll probably be aware of the cost.  It's not free, but it is worth your money for a software that is continually updated.  The full Online versions range between $20 to $40 / month or 10 times that for a full year in advance. The Self-Employed edition is less than half that, at the most $10 / month.

Going Forward...

I am grateful to Intuit for making a simplified version of the full Online software.  Through my use and feedback, I can help make the software better. 

And now, so can you.  Check out Quickbooks Self-Employed now and get a 50% discount for the first year.  That's only $5 per month for the whole software for a whole year.

 

Crypto-currency Exchange: It's harder than you might think

Since 2014 I've been mining Scrypt coins on various machines; from USB Dual Miner up to AntMiner L3+. I was very much into mining all sorts of coins on Mining Pool, MultiPool, Prohasing, Clevermining, even on small-time mining operations of obscure coins.  I was very excited about the awesome possibility that some day the millions DOGE (or whatever) that I had would be very valuable.  While a million DOGE at the time of this article is actually worth above $6,000, it is not worth millions (like a million LITE coin would be).

The trouble is not in the value, but in the exchange.

As an example, someone might have an incredibly valuable object or property, but it is only valuable if there is a market for the item(s).  No market, no value; no matter how much one might value it personally.

The Good

Fortunately there are many markets for Cryptocurrency, but not all exchanges trade every coin.  And even within exchanges, not all coins are transferable.  For example, using YoBit Exchange, one cannot trade AERON coin, it is only trade-able on Binance Exchange.  Or if one is trading on Bittrex, one cannot exchange CARBON coin for anything.  Bittrex Exchange only exchanges between BITCOIN and other coins. Another example; one cannot exchange ETHEREUM for LITE coin on Bittrex. 

The Bad

Unfortunately, not all exchanges are active and even within those that are active there is still a fee to be paid for both transfers and trades.  What's more, if no one is willing to buy for the price that is desired, the coins will not sell at all.  Just because there is an exchange offered, like CARBON to NYC coin, doesn't necessarily mean that anyone is interested in acting on it.

I appreciate that the exchanges allow for all the same basic trading features as typical stock markets.  For example; Limit, Max, Market and Good-Til-Cancelled are all standards with most markets.   If one wishes to sell or buy a coin for a particular price that is not currently available, the market will support the option.  It might very well be a while until that coin sells or can be purchased, but at least one does not have to wait around in real-time for the opportunity.

Thousands of Coins

There are so many coins available, it is difficult to track them all and their current price.  Also, no one knows that future, so it's all speculative about what will be worth more or less in the future.  I've looked through the entire list, and have traded some obscure coins.  But I do not enjoy the arduous process of attempting to estimate the market.  It is a massive mire that could very well occupy all one's precious time. 

My Advice... Stick to less than 5 coins or at least setup a trade to convert regularly to something that is a bit more stable (even if it's USD)