Monday, March 31, 2014

News and Events

The world was basically quiet. Except for North and South Korea trading a lot of artillery shells, nothing much happened in the world today. Ukraine was quiet, nothing new from Venezuela, fighting continues in Syria, and Israel and the Palestinians are still trading blows.

In the U.S. things were quiet. Nothing major happened. Stocks were up today on comments by the FED chair that interest rates will remain low indefinitely. I guess if you tell an addict that they will get all the drugs they want for as long as they want, maybe they might be encouraged? The fundamentals of the economy are weak, growth is anemic, job growth has been horrible, and the price of everything just keeps going up. Eventually Stocks will reflect reality. So it was just another day in the calm before the storm.

What do you think?

Writing - Blogging Milestone

I have now been blogging for 9 weeks. This past month I wrote and published 185 posts (for a total of 235). In the first 5 weeks of blogging I had about 150 views. In the last month I had over 1200. I started and AdWords campaign (that has worked well) and I started to have ads placed on my blog. I am amazed at how quickly things have fallen into place. To all who stop by thank you and may you be blessed.

What do you think?

Personal note: I have had a very productive writing month as well. I have written over 32,000 words for my blog. I have also written over 80,000 words in my journal making this the most prolific writing month I have ever had.

World News and Events - North Korea

It looks as if North Korea needs some attention. They have fired several hundred artillery shells into the waters off of South Korea near an island the have shelled before. It is also in the same area that North Korea sank a South Korean naval vessel a while back killing over 40 sailors. In response, South Korea fired several hundred artillery shells back into North Korean waters. Will things escalate? If North Korea has been watching how things have gone for Russia in Ukraine, I would not be surprised if they do. Why not? The U.S. has not done much in response so why not take the risk?

What do you think?

The Future - Visual Rules

In the digital age everything has a visual component. In the industrial age, though the visual existed, it was mostly an auditory world. I believe that's why radio and records came first. To thrive in the digital world we will all have to become more and more visually oriented. Maybe that's why video is so huge. We will also have to know some of the basics to being successful in creating content that is visually appropriate. In the digital age, visual rules.

What do you think?

For more see:
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2014/03/28/design-principles-visual-perception-and-the-principles-of-gestalt/comment-page-1/#comment-12696963

Creativity - Everyone Is Creative

I just finished reading a very good article that makes the point that everyone is creative unless it is worked out of them and I agree. Everyone is born creative, just watch children under the age of 5 play. Then we all go to school and eventually work where being creative (and having fun) is highly discouraged. Maybe if we did not discourage having fun but channeled it into something productive, more people would be much more creative today and we would all be better off?

What do you think?

http://edwardboches.com/creativity-is-the-new-currency?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Creativity_unbound+%28Creativity_Unbound%29

Observations - Dumbed Down

Is technology making people dumber? In some respects, yes. More and more people who use technology regularly are not remembering things as well and their attention spans are getting shorter. But, I think that technology is the greatest tools mankind has ever invented. Can you imagine what Picasso, Beethoven, or Shakespeare could have done with a laptop (or even a smartphone)? We have tools at our disposal today that people could not have even imaged 100 years ago. I think in the digital age the whole definition of what being smart means will change.

What do you think?

The Future - Litigation

Litigation has become a part of business life. If you are a business of just about any size today, be prepared to sue or be sued. Unfortunately it is just part of the cost of doing business today. It will also be a major part of doing business in the digital age. Just look at the new titans of the digital age Apple and the proxy for Google, Samsung. I think that one of the reasons litigation will be part of business life in the digital age is that it's so easy to steal an idea from a competitor. When keeping trade secrets is nearly impossible (especially with reverse engineering and trade gossip websites), litigation becomes part of your business plan. Unfortunately it is the consumer who will pay for it all as the cost is passed down.

What do you think?

http://www.fastcompany.com/3028435/fast-feed/apple-vs-samsung-could-have-big-implications-for-google?partner

Internet Business - Content

In the industrial age if you wanted to start a business you had to provide a service or sell a product (or both). In the digital age you can also provide content. I think that's the biggest change to business in the digital age. Now you can build a business all around the content you produce and give away for free. Can you still provide a service or sell a product? Absolutely (and it is a wise thing to do), but in the digital age content is becoming more important. Content has become king! This is great news because anyone can create content. It just takes some imagination, creativity, and persistence (and it doesn't have to go viral).

What do you think?

Chromebooks - Donating For Education

There is a website that helps teachers raise money for projects or technology. One of the main fundraisers that is going on right now is an effort to raise money to buy for Chromebooks for the classroom. besides this being an awesome cause, what I was blown away by is the price they are getting Chromebooks for. The is website is able to get Chromebooks at a discounted price of $99. That is an amazing price. It is actually less than most textbooks cost school to purchase. Let that sink in a bit. It is now cheaper to buy a computer that it is to buy a textbook. The implications are staggering. Could this be an inflection point for Education? How interesting it is that Chromebooks are leading the way.

What do you think?

http://www.donorschoose.org/Chromebooks/?id=279626&home=true

The Future - College Majors

I was reading an article on the College Majors that receive the most job offers. They are: Computer Science, Economics, Accounting, Engineering, and Business Administration. What do most of them have in common? Math! Unfortunately most people do not enjoy math, but it has become the foundation of the digital age. I sometimes wish that I had majored in Computer Science or Engineering, but I did not want to do all the math that it involved. As a public school teacher I have noticed that more and more students avoid math like a disease. How can we fix that? If I could figure that out I would become a very wealthy man.

What do you think?

http://education.yahoo.net/articles/best_degrees_for_job_offers.htm?kid=1O1ZK

Sunday, March 30, 2014

News and Events

It was a quiet weekend. Nothing major happened in the world. North and South Korea traded some artillery shells tonight, but it does not seem to be anything that will escalate. The search continues for the missing Malaysian airliner. Here in the U.S. things were quiet as well. They are still looking for victims in the mudslide in the state of Washington. Stock futures are pointing to a positive open tomorrow morning. Lets see if there will be a rally. So, it was another day in the calm before the storm.

What do you think?

Internet Business - Monetizing

If you have not noticed, I am working on finding a way to make some money from this whole adventure. From this point on there will be ads appearing on this blog. This is the next step in building an online business. First you put stuff online (this blog). Than you build an audience (that would be you, the reader). Finally you find a way to monetize (that would be the ads on this blog). Now all that is left is to see if it really works!

Just a note. Thanks to all who stop by. It is awesome to know that someone is actually paying attention. Also, this has been an experiment on the possibility of building an online business. So far it is working and time will tell how well it has. My ultimate goal is to write about what I learn in a short ebook.

What do you think?

Observation - What Is Success

How do you define success? I know most people would define it monetarily. That is, by how much money you make. There is some truth in that. Obviously if you lose your shirt, you probably have not been successful. But, I don't think how much money you make is the only measure of success. What about happiness or satisfaction? Is it worth making a pile of cash and not be happy or at least, satisfied? What about doing something worthwhile and meaningful? Are you successful if all you accomplish was pointless? I think that true success occurs when you make some money, enjoy the process, accomplish something meaningful, and actually get something done.

What do you think?

The Future - Smart Watches

I remember when the smartphones were introduced. There were some who asked "Why would you want your phone to do all that?". Well, I am starting to hear the same thing with smart watches. "Why would you want…" is usually the first thing you hear when a breakthrough is about to happen. I think smart watches might be the next big innovation. Would I use one? Since I got a smartphone (which was only about a year ago) I stopped wearing a watch. My smartphone became my watch (and much more). But, if a watch could do most of what my smartphone does, I might consider it. Of course, the price would make a difference. I am also not much of an early adopter, so I would probably get one, but only after it had been out a while and gone through a couple of revision cycles. I did the same thing with my iPad (I bought an iPad 2 once the price dropped), and I also did the same thing with my Chromebook (I waited till several models had been introduced).

What do you think?

The Economy - Problems Worth Having

There is a huge oil boom in North Dakota. As a result North Dakota is experiencing some major problems. There are not enough people available for all the open jobs. There are not enough apartments or homes to house all the people that are moving to the state. There are not enough schools or teachers to keep up with the influx of students. The roads and infrastructure are not able to keep up with the added traffic and increase in population. State tax income is growing faster than it can be spent. Wow, that sounds like problems I wish we had in California!

What do you think?

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1638f1ec-b56a-11e3-a746-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2xUMFfM2K

Creativity - Brainstorming

Is brainstorming an effective way to generate usable ideas? I am not a fan of brainstorming. I don't enjoy the group interaction. I find it a waste of time. Well, it turns out that the research shows that brainstorming is not very effective. Is there an alternative? Yes there is. Instead of doing a brainstorming session do this instead. First, write the problem or goal on a big piece of paper and place it up so all participants can see it. Then, hand paper out to everyone and have them work on their own (and anonymously) to find solutions with the resources at hand. When everyone is finished, have someone list all the ideas on the big piece of paper and discuss them. This process has been shown to produce much better results than brainstorming.

What do you think?

http://99u.com/workbook/24273/stop-brainstorming-start-brainswarming

The Economy - BMW expands in South Carolina

BMW has had a plant in South Carolina for 20 years and is in the process of expanding it. BMW plans to spend $1 billion! First, why is BMW in South Carolina? I think it is because of several factors. South Carolina is a right to work state, so there are fewer issues with unions. South Carolina has lower taxes, so BMW keeps more of the money it makes. Also, South Carolina has fewer regulatory restrictions which makes running a business less of a hassle. Who wins? The people of South Carolina because they have more jobs, more opportunities, and a company that is investing $1 billion in their economy. Who loses? All the other states that could have had a BMW plant built in their state.

What do you think?

Personal Improvement - What Do You Want?

Figuring out what you want is probably the most important thing you can do. If you do not know what you want, you will just go with the flow and who knows where you will end up. Once you know what you want it is easier to decide what you want to do and go in the right direction. It all begins with knowing what you want.

What do you think?

Chromebook - My Experiences

I bought my Acer C720 on a whim and it has become my favorite device. I especially enjoy writing on it. Since I bought it my writing output has increased noticeably. I also am able to write just about anyplace I go. I have added a hotspot to my iPhone so that I can access the internet when I go someplace that does not have WIFI, but I usually end up at places that have WIFI. My Chromebook is a great device. Is it perfect? No, but it does all the basic stuff I want to do on it and it was cheap! It also has saved me a lot of money in that I have not had to buy any software or apps to make it function.

What do you think?

News and Events

There was no major world news today. Everything seems to have quieted down. Here in Southern California we experienced a nice sized quake last night. We we live it was just a gentle rolling, but in north Orange County it was a nice shaker. Since then there have been about 100 aftershocks most of which were not very big. The death toll from the mudslide in the state of Washington was raised, but the amount of people missing was lowered. Other than that, nothing else major happened.

It was definitely another day in the calm before the storm.

What do you think?

Saturday, March 29, 2014

The Future - Lawyers

There is a futurist who is predicting that lawyers will not exist in the future. That they will be replaced by Artificial Intelligence. I like the idea, but I don't think they will be replaced. In the future more and more work that is done by lawyers will be done through the internet. In fact, that is already happening. Today you can do many things that used to require a lawyer, on your own through the internet (check out legalzoom.com). So we might have fewer lawyers in the future, but as long as we have greedy, evil, hateful people, we will always have lawyers (especially since some of them are greedy, evil, and hateful).

What do you think?

http://www.wired.com/underwire/2014/03/geeks-guide-karl-schroeder/

Creativity - Getting Started

I read a very good article on getting started today. Sometimes the biggest block to being creative is just getting started. One of the things that keeps people from getting started is that they don't think they are good enough (or experienced enough, or financed enough, etc…). So how good do you have to be to get started? According to James Clear, you just have to be good enough to start. You don't have to be a perfect master to get started. You can do what you can and acquire the skill and experience you need as you go. If there is something you want to do, find something that you can get started with, and get going. The rest will take care of itself as you get working.

What do you think?

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/slow-gains/201403/how-good-do-you-really-need-be-get-started

Writing - Keeping A Journal

Should you start a journal? I have found that keeping a journal has been a vital tool in my life. I use my journal to chronicle my life (like a diary only not so literal). It helps me see patterns and habits that I might either want to increase or decrease. I also use it to write down all the stuff that floats through my mind. It is amazing how many good ideas and concepts you have when you write them down. I am beginning to think that people do not have problems coming up with ideas. They have problems recognizing them and remembering them. Keeping a journal is a very good way to recognize your ideas and have some place where you can go back and find them.

So start a journal. You can do it the old fashion way and write longhand in some kind of notebook, or you can go digital and use your favorite electronic device. I have use my Chromebook for that since I bought it, but I have also used my iPad, my iPhone, and my Mac Mini as well. Now with Google Drive I can use them all (and I do).

What do you think?

Observation - The Local Mall

Sometimes it is good to pay attention when you go to the mall. You might be able to pick up on some clues as to how the economy is doing. For example, I am at my local mall and there are plenty of people here today. It is a Saturday, so that is not surprising. But, are people just window shopping or are they actually buying stuff? As I sit and write I notice very few people with bags of merchandise. That's not a good sign. If traffic is good and people are not buying, how long can retailers pay the rent (which is not cheap at the mall)? How much stuff do retailers need to sell just to break even here at the mall? No wonder stuff is expensive.

What do you think?

Internet Business - Business Steps

As I build my online business here are the steps I am using:

1. Put "stuff" on the Internet
2. Build an audience
3. Monetize

So far I am putting "stuff" on the internet by blogging and working on building an audience. Hopefully soon I will find a way to monetize what I am doing.

What do you think?

Chromebooks - USA Today Story

USA Today has a good article on Chromebooks. Here is the best quote from it:

"A Chromebook is great for you if you're the classic light user who opens a PC to check email, surf the Web and do little less."

I can't agree more.

What do you think?

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/talkingtech/2014/03/29/chromebook-laptops-ask-jeff-tech/7007373/

Chromebook - Is Chromebook Right For You?

Are you thinking about getting a Chromebook? Here are some things to keep in mind. First, Chromebook is not a regular laptop. It will not run everything. It will only run web based applications, which there are many. Second, though it does function offline, it is only online that you can use it's full functionality. Chromebooks are designed with the internet as part of the system. It's the first fully cloud based system. Finally, Chromebooks are great for all the basic stuff you would do on a laptop. Chromebooks are awesome for email, surfing the internet, basic word processing, basic spreadsheets, basic presentations, simple photo editing, and other light computing tasks.

I would say that the Chromebook is best thought of as a light laptop, heavy tablet. If you want the light use of a tablet but want to have a keyboard and mouse available at all times, the Chromebooks are the way to go. Since I do a lot of writing, my Chromebook has become indispensable. In fact, I use it more than any other device I own.

What do you think?

Friday, March 28, 2014

Observation - Film Music

The winner for best film score this past year was Steve Price for "Gravity" which was a good score. Tonight I finally watched "The Book Thief" which had music by John Williams, who was also nominated for the Oscar for best film score. After hearing both scores, John Williams should have won the Oscar. The music for "The Book Thief" was beautiful and brilliantly scored. John Williams is a master at evoking the right emotion and still producing amazing and memorable melodies. What is more impressive though is the fact that he is 82! (At 82 I hope to be able to still tie my own shoes!) I wonder if those who vote for the Oscars actually listen to the music? How could they not notice that the music in "The Book Thief" was so much better than the music for "Gravity"? I know that picking which score is better is subjective, but I wonder if those who voted just chose the winner based on the movie they liked best and not the music on it's own merit? Oh well, maybe next year John Williams.

What do you think?

News And Events

World wide things were quiet. Nothing major from Ukraine, Venezuela, or the Middle East. Obama was in Saudi Arabia and there will probably be nothing gained as a result (just as there was nothing gained fro his visit to Europe). The search continues for the missing Malaysian airliner in the southern Indian Ocean. There are rumors once again of debris spotted, but nothing substantial yet.

In the U.S. the official death toll for the mudslide in the State of Washington has risen to 27 with many more still unaccounted for. Stocks were up a bit today on consumer spending numbers (who has money to spend?), but ended the week down just a bit. The price of oil was up a bit. Gold, silver and copper were basically flat.

So it was another day in the calm before the storm.

What do you think?

The Economy - Oil And Electricity

Our entire way of life is tied to two things - oil and electricity. Without oil we have no transportation. Without transportation our whole economy comes to a stand still. There would be no deliveries of any sort. There would be no cargo being transported. There would be no crops being planted or harvested. All of it depends on oil to fuel the vehicles that do all that for us. Without electricity we would have no lighting, no refrigeration, no way to power the pumps that deliver fuel, gas, or water. We would not have the internet or any functioning technology. Indeed our way of life is tied to oil and electricity. If we lose them we are doomed, but our lives will also be impacted if they get too expensive or too scarce. That's a lot riding on oil and electricity. I wonder if we can track how well the economy is doing based on the price and availability of oil and electricity?

What do you think?

The Future - The Digital Age

I just acquired a new keyboard piano controller to use with my music set up on my Mac Mini which has made me realize that it is absolutely amazing what is possible to produce musically on a computer. The cost is also much lower today to produce music on a computer than it was a decade ago (and it keeps getting lower). For example, if I wanted to record orchestra quality sounds a decade ago I would have had to hire an orchestra and booked time in a recording studio. Today all I need is music production software, some sampled sounds, and a way to record digitally on my computer. All of which is far less expensive than hiring an orchestra. Now, is the quality the same? No, but it is actually quite close (especially if the orchestra musicians aren't that good and the quality of recording is poor). Having a trained and professional ear, it is getting much more difficult to tell the difference between computer generated sounds and live musicians. What are the implications? If music can be digitized, what else can and will be digitized? What does that mean for jobs in the future?

What do you think?

Observation - Distracted

I watch people as I drive. Not in a creepy way, but just because I am interested to see what people are doing. I have noticed way more people on their phones lately. It's easy to see when people are talking on their phones. They either have the phone up to their ear or seem to be talking to themselves. It's much harder to notice when people are texting though. I've noticed that when people are texting they are looking down at their phones and they dart looks up at the road. in either case, I try to stay clear of them because they are an accident waiting to happen. It is estimated that 25% of all accidents are the results of people using their phones while they are driving (I think it's higher). Maybe we are all way too distracted and need to pay attention to driving?

What do you think?

World News and Events - Russia

Russia is now in undisputed and complete control of Crimea. What was the cost? A few minor sanctions and being kicked out of the G8 club. Ouch, that hurt (and as my students like to say - not). Is the West truly so weak that they can't muster a strong response to aggression? Or is it that the finances of the west are in such a mess that they can't afford to make a response? I think that might be closer to the truth. Though Russia is not what it was during the cold war militarily, it is in a much better financial position the west is. The west is awash in debt. Is Russia? The west is dependent on oil and gas from external sources. Is Russia? Can the west afford a war? Can Russia? Now that is interesting.

What do you think?

Creativity - Magic Formula

Is there a magic formula for becoming more creative? If you spend any time looking into the matter you might come to the conclusion that there is. There are scores of articles, blog posts, and even some books on the matter. There are some things you can do to improve how well you use your brain and that might contribute to in an increase in creativity. In the end though, there is no magic formula for becoming more creative. The only way to become more creative is to start creating and keep creating. Do you want to come up with more ideas? Sit down and start making ideas. There is no secret. Just get started and make stuff up.

What do you think?

Internet Business - Google+

Building an audience is key to building a successful online business. Using social media is probably the best way to do that, but which one should you use? Use the one you like the best. I am not a fan of Facebook or Twitter. I am starting to warm up quite a bit to Google+ though. For some reason it works for me. Maybe that's the best part of the internet. We have so many choices that we can search and find what fits us the best. The best part is that since there are billions of people using the internet, there is no shortage of ways to build an audience. And that;s great news for all of us who are working to build an online business.

What do you think?

Chromebook - Office iPad App

Will the new Office iPad app have an impact on Chromebook? I don't think it will have much of an impact. The point of buying a Chromebook is to have a device that is not a tablet, but not quite a full laptop. It is also to save a boatload of money. If there is a specific piece of software that you need to use, buying a Chromebook (or even an iPad) might not be a good idea. If you have to use Office, your only option is to buy a Windows PC and spend the money to use Office. I use the music scoring program Finale to write music. I don't expect Chromebook to ever support it. That's why I have a Mac Mini, which I use to write music when I need to. I use my Chromebook for everything else I do. So, if you have a specific piece of software you want to use, Chromebook might not be an option. But, do you really need to use that piece of software? I find that I can use Google Drive for everything I would use Office for. Maybe rethinking what you do with a specific piece of software may help.

What do you think?

Writing - Blog Milestone

I have been blogging for two months now and this is my 200th post. I have also had over 1150 views so far and that is growing. Thank you to all of you who visit my blog! May you all be blessed.

What do you think?

Thursday, March 27, 2014

News and Events

No major "world" news today. The search for the missing airliner continues. We might never know what happened. It has been quiet in Ukraine. No major news from South America. In the U.S the official death toll from the mudslide in the state of Washington has risen to 17 with scores still missing. Stocks closed a bit lower today. Oil, gold, silver, and copper were all up a bit. It was another day in the calm before the storm.

What do you think?

Observation - Immigration

First, is illegal immigration a problem? I think it is. We have more and more people coming to the U.S. and it forces wages lower (or keeps them low). One way to make wages go higher is to stem the tide of illegal immigration. Another problem with illegal immigration is the cost on society. Most illegal immigrants are poor and rather than having a positive impact on the economy, they are a burden and a drain. By any measure, illegal immigrants are a burden, except on the bottom line of the companies and businesses that hire them. Finally, there is the issue of obeying the law. Illegal immigrants have no incentive to obey the law since they are here illegally. Why pay taxes, be honest when applying for benefits, or have real proof of citizenship when applying for work or school? One key way we can improve our economy is to stem the flow of illegal immigration.


Next, what about legal immigration? Legal immigration should be expanded because it is a good way to bring in those people who have the skills and experiences we need. Legal immigrants are not a burden to our society and usually arrive already being employed in high wage jobs. Legal immigrants are not a burden on our society and in fact, are a benefit to it. So we should encourage and expand legal immigration and do all we can to discourage and limit illegal immigration.

One last observation. If I was poor and desperate in another country and I could find a way to the U.S. and have the opportunity to make a better life for myself, I would do so in a heartbeat. Can you blame someone for doing so? I don't blame them for trying to make a better life for themselves.

What do you think?

The Economy - Wages

40% of all jobs in the U.S. pay $15 or less. That is staggering. I was aware that there are many low paying jobs in the U.S. but I was not aware that there were so many. No wonder people are struggling. How do you pay the rent, food, utilities, car insurance, gas, maintenance, and now health insurance on $15 an hour or less? Is the solution raising the minimum wage? No because it's still less than $15 an hour. What we need to have happen is that there be an increase in jobs that pay significantly higher than $20. We also need the means for people to become skilled enough to get those jobs without becoming debt slaves for life.

What do you think?

http://www.mybudget360.com/low-wage-work-ceo-pay-to-average-worker/

Creativity - Using Your Brain

Being creative requires that we use more and more of our brains capabilities. One way to use our brains fully is to seek to be more creative and actually create more stuff. Another way is to do things during our normal day that will force us to use our brain more fully. One way is make sure we read, write, and use our brains productively every day. Make time to read, start a journal, and find puzzles and other brain expanding activities to do everyday. Another way is to expand how we use our brain. We do this through learning and experiencing new things. Make an effort to learn something new as often as possible. Take a different route to work everyday. Watch a new TV show or movie. Talk to someone new. Go to a different restaurant than the usual one. Another good thing to try is to use your weak hand more often. Open doors with your weak hand. Use a mouse or track pad with your weak hand. How about trying to write or draw with your weak hand? The point is, don't stay in a rut. Change things up on purpose and use your brain fully everyday. Not only is it good for your brain, it is also good for your creativity.

What do you think?

Here are more ideas: http://www.writersincharge.com/boost-your-brain/

The Economy - Microsoft

Microsoft announced an Office app for the iPad. Now iPad has been around for just about 4 years. Is this not a bit late to be releasing an app for it? I used to think that Microsoft was one of the leaders in the "Digital Age", but I no longer think that. It is not a leading edge company and I do not know if it will make it through the transition. I think it might go the way of IBM. Microsoft's core business is Windows and Office. Two software packages in a world that no longer buys software. How will it make any money?

What do you think?

Personal Improvement - Self Acceptance

According to research, one of the key things that affects happiness is self acceptance. What does that mean? I think it means to content with who you are. So often we think something is wrong with ourselves when it's not true. We are who we are. Accepting that will lead to greater happiness. So be content with how you look. Be content with your personality. Be content with what you do. Follow your passion, which is just an extension of who you are and you will be happier.

What do you think?


http://drjohnblog.guidetoself.com/2014/03/11/self-acceptance-the-secret-to-a-happier-life-and-the-least-practiced-happiness-habits/

The Future - Trends For 2014

According to SA Creative the two trends to be aware of in 2014 are "Maker/Hacker" and "The internet of things". Maker/Hacker is all about creating and adapting. As we continue transitioning into the digital age more and more people will be creating things and adapting (hacking) what is already available. The "internet of things" is all about the growth of connectivity and the expansion of the internet into more areas of our lives.

What do you think?

http://sacreativenetwork.co.za/2014/03/trends-watch-2014/

Chromebook - HP Surprised

HP CEO Meg Whitman is quoted as being surprised at how well Chromebooks are doing. She seems especially surprised at their appeal. Whitman states "It's a broader appeal than I originally anticipated or we anticipated that it would be." I think many people are coming to the same conclusion I did with Chromebook. If it can do what you need it to do, then why pay more? Most people just need a device to do basic computing. They really do not need it to do anything else. So why pay $500 (and more if you include software)? I think we are going to see Chromebooks from more and more manufacturers, which is good news for Chromebook users.

What do you think?

http://www.cnet.com/news/chromebooks-have-surprised-us-says-hp-ceo/

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

News and Events

Globally, Putin's reputation in Russia is soaring. Obama's reputation in the U.S. is in decline. That is not a good place to be in when it comes time to make decisions that have global ramifications. There is no news from Ukraine, which is good, but Russia is still massing troops on the border. Nothing new from Venezuela. the unrest continues. There are reports that unrest is starting to take shape in El Salvador. Turkey is attempting to ban twitter. Maybe some unrest is brewing there. The reality is that things are very unstable. At some point, something will boil over and we will have a real crisis on our hands.

In the U.S. things were quiet today. The cleanup continues at the mudslide in the state of Washington. A California State Senator was arrested on corruption charges. Connecticut lawmakers approve raising the minimum wage to $10:10 (why that amount?). Stocks were down. Nothing major at all today.

So it is another day in the calm before the storm.

What do you think?

The Future - The Digital Age

As we transition fully into the digital age we will experience a shift from using real humans doing most of the work to robots, computers, software, and other technologies doing most of the work. We see this clearly in manufacturing where more and more assembly is being done by robots and technology. What is interesting is seeing the trend in journalism. One professor now estimates that by 2030 90% of all news will be written by software programs. Since software is already being used (a recent L.A. Times story was written by a software program), this prediction might be off by a few years. It might happen sooner! Stop and think about that for a second. What kind of implication does this have for the people who work in that industry? If it is possible to replace journalist, who else can be replaced? I am a teacher by day and I wonder how soon will teachers start being replaced by online content? That might happen sooner than anyone would venture to predict.

What do you think?

http://www.infowars.com/professor-90-of-news-stories-to-be-written-by-computers-by-2030/

Personal Improvement - Advice From Jerry Seinfeld

Jerry Seinfeld is one of the most successful comedians ever. I was just reading a blog post about him and some concepts that stood out. First, figure out what your passion is and follow it. Do it out of love, not for the money. Next, be consistent. If you want to be a composer, write music every day. If you want to be an actor, do some acting every day. Being consistent is the way to master your craft and excel at your passion. Finally, there will always be people who don't like what you do. Find a way to live with that.

What do you think?

You can read more at: http://smartonlinesuccess.com/success-secrets-from-jerry-seinfeld/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SmartOnlineSuccess+%28Smart+Online+Success%29

Writing - Put Words On The Page

One key piece of advice when it comes to writing is to never give up. This is the point Carol Despeaux makes at onewildword.com. I agree and I like to tell myself to "Just keep putting words on the page". If I just keep putting words on the page, stuff gets written. I also remind myself that the only reason I write is because I enjoy writing and I need to write. If I write for any other reason I usually don't get it done.

What do you think?

http://onewildword.com/2014/03/21/the-key-to-writing-success-never-give-up/

Creativity - Insights

Insights are the ideas that you get that open up a world of possibilities. It's when you finally understand something. The good interesting thing about insights is that you can get them just about anyplace and anytime. So be ready for them and be looking for them. It is also a good idea to carry around a way to capture the insights you have. It is a good idea to have a notebook or your favorite electronic device handy.

What do you think?

For more on insights see: http://www.teehanlax.com/blog/zen-and-the-art-of-insight-generation/

World News and Events - Ukraine

Russia is in complete control of Crimea. What was the cost for Russia? Basically nothing but the expense of moving some troops around. The response from the U.S. was minimal and the fall out worldwide negligible. So, the big question is, will Russia stop with Crimea or will they seek more territory? According to news reports, the troop build up continues on the border with Ukraine. There are other areas in the periphery of Russia that might be annexed as well. How will other separatist areas of the world react?

What do you think?

The Future - Humility

Another ability that Google looks for when hiring (after learning and leadership) is humility, which I think is the ability to not think of yourself as the most important person in the room. Laszlo Bock, the senior vice president of people operations for Google explains that humility is being able to "to step back and embrace the better ideas of others." He also states that it is not just humility in creating space for others to contribute, it’s also intellectual humility. Why? here it is in his own words because "Without humility, you are unable to learn.” In the future, to be successful we will need to be able to learn, to lead, and we must also be humble.

What do you think?

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/opinion/sunday/friedman-how-to-get-a-job-at-google.html?_r=2

Chromebook - My Experiences

How do you judge how well something is working for you? I think a good measure is how often you use it. I own an iPad2, and an iPhone 4, and a Mac Mini, and a Chromebook (Acer C720). Guess which one I use all day long? The cheapest one in the bunch, the Chromebook. It just does all I need to do. It also has a built in keyboard which I have found indispensable. My Chromebook still surprises me with how much I use it and how little it cost ($200 for the hardware and $0 for the software!).

What do you think?

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

News and Events

Nothing new in Ukraine. The U.S. Senate seems to have approved some kind of aid package. In Venezuela the protests continues. Three Air Force Generals were arrested and charged with plotting a coup. The Bolivar continues to lose value especially on the black market. Saudi Arabia is seeking more help for the rebels in Syria while the fighting continues. North Korea launched a couple of mid range missiles into the ocean as Obama meets the South Korean President and the Japanese Prime Minister at the Hague in the Netherlands.

In the U.S. Stocks were up on higher consumer confidence. News is out that Walgreens is going to shut about 76 stores this year though sales were up 4%. The drought in California continues as some towns and cities in the silicon valley are forced to cut back on water usage. In the state of Washington a mudslide has claimed at least 24 lives with any more missing.

Overall though, it was a quiet news day and another day in the calm before the storm.

What do you think?

Chromebook - Changed Behavior

My Chromebook has changed how I shop, what stores I visit, and where I eat meals. Since Chromebook works best when it is online, I often only go to those places that have WIFI available. Now I have a hotspot on my smartphone, so I can go anyplace I want to, but I only use it when I need to (as I did today when I took my kids to the dentist). I frequent places that have WIFI out of convenience. That has implications for businesses. If you want more people to come by your store, make sure you have free WIFI available. Hey, that will get me in the door (and probably many others as well).

What do you think?

The Future - The Cloud

It seems as if every major tech player is doing something with cloud computing lately. Google lowered its prices, Cisco is spending $1 Billion to expand its cloud business, Amazon, Apple, and Samsung have all invested heavily in cloud services. In the future, the cloud is where it is all going to happen. Good thing Chromebook is a cloud based OS. Maybe Google knew what was coming?

What do you think?

The Economy - North Dakota

Probably the state with the best economy at this time is North Dakota. Why is that? Could it be that the state is allowing companies to drill for oil? Could it be that state income taxes are low? Could it be that state government is small and not very intrusive? Could it be that the welfare bureaucracy is not so big that is consumes much of the states resources? Could it be that public sector unions don't wield too much power? It looks to me that North Dakota is doing many things right and maybe more states should copy what they are doing.

What do you think?

Chromebook - Google Play

One thing that I was concerned about when I started to use my Chromebook was all the music I had on my iPad. Did I need to start buying music all over again? Fortunately the people at Google had this covered. Google Play will match all the music you have on iTunes for free! So now I have all the music I have collected over the past few years (over 2500 songs) also on my Chromebook and I can stream it wherever I am. Plus, the speakers on my Chromebook (Acer C720) are way better than the ones on my iPad. Not bad for the least expensive internet connecting device on the market!

What do you think?

Internet Business - Blogging

Five days ago I hit 50 views a day. Well Guess what happened yesterday? I hit over 100 views. That is awesome! Tomorrow I will hit the two month anniversary for this blog and I have accomplished way more than I ever expected to accomplish at this point. My goal for this month was to average over 10 views a day and it is now over 100. I have also published over 175 posts. Not to bad. Lets see if I can be consistent. To all of you who visit my blog, thank you. May you be blessed!

What do you think?

Writing - Uncertainties

What do you do when all the "tricks" to have something to write about don't produce something to write about? You write about the first thing that pops into your mind. At this moment I am thinking how good my dog has it. He never has to worry about where the next meal is coming from or if the bills will be paid. It must be nice to be taken care of, but then again, it also seems rather boring. It is the uncertainties of life that create the most interest. Maybe our lives would be much more interesting if we accept some more uncertainties?

What do you think?

Monday, March 24, 2014

News and Events

The last group of Ukrainian soldiers were overrun by Russian troops today. So Russia has finished securing Crimea. Now what? In Venezuela The Government devalued the Bolivar 88% in a bid to stem the sale of dollars on the black market. So the official rate has gone from about 6 Bolivars to over 10 in one day. Ouch, to bad the dollar is trading at 55 Bolivars on the black market. This will just make things worse on consumers and create even more turmoil for the people of Venezuela. Meanwhile, it looks as if we are starting to find pieces from the missing airliner from Malaysia in the Indian ocean 1500 miles out of Australia. That is way off the original course. If the airliner was hijacked, why fly it to the middle of no where? I am starting to think there was some kind of catastrophic failure that killed the crew and passengers, but the plane was able to fly on for several hours. Nothing major happened here in the U.S. So, it was another day in the calm before the storm.

What do you think?

The Future - Visual Learners

100 years ago most people were auditory learners. That meant that they learned best by listening or hearing. As time progressed and movies and TV were introduced, more and more people have become visual learners. Today it is estimated that there are more visual learners than auditory (there are also kinesthetic learners but I think that they have always been a minority in our culture). In one blog post I read it is estimated that over 65% of internet users are visual learners. I have also seen this trend in the classroom. We have more and more people who are visual learners today and they will just continue to grow. The implications for the future are clear. If anyone is to succeed, then they will need to make sure they cater to the visual learner. Now the internet is inherently visual (that's because you have to "see" things on the internet), but it is a good idea to keep in the back of our minds that visual learners will determine if we thrive or not.

What do you think?


http://mdwebpro.com/20-marketing-stats-that-will-drive-2014-infographic/

Writing - Talking On Paper

Writing is difficult if you think of it as writing. If you think of it as talking on paper, writing becomes a breeze. We all know how to talk. We also usually don't have a problem with what to say. If you think of writing as writing, then it becomes something you have to work at. It is also something that we think is permanent, so we freeze up. So if you think of writing as just talking on paper, the words begin to flow.

What do you think?

Creativity - Focus

I spent a portion of today helping my daughters drama class build sets. I was able to help put together three platforms and fix some wheels. I bring this up because I spent three hours doing basic construction and it felt as if it was just a few minutes. The time flew by. It is amazing how quickly time flies by when you completely focus on a task. When I am interrupted or I am doing something that does not encourage me to focus completely, time goes by slowly. How can you increase your focus? First, minimize distractions. Second, it is easier if you work alone. Third, wok on something you find interesting. Finally, listening to music might help (it does for me but I know some people that any kind of noise is a distraction).

What do you think?

The Economy - NASDAQ Getting Hammered

The NASDAQ is down over 1.5% so far today. It looks as if many of the Digital Age stocks are not in favor today. Maybe not having enough profit might make investors think twice about investing. You would think that the Digital Age stocks would be doing well (and they have been), but maybe they are now overpriced?

What do you think?

Internet Business - Commenting

I just spent some time reading peoples comments on some blog posts. Wow, some of them can be quite mean. The reality is that there are a lot of negative people out there. There are also a lot of people who don't know how to add to the conversation. When I comment I try to either make a statement or I like to ask a question that adds to the conversation. I also only comment on those posts that truly interest me. We all know that the reason we post a comment is to try to get others to come to our own sites, but why be so obvious? I for one am going to try to add to the conversation rather than just try to get some attention.

What do you think?

Internet Business - Playing The Game

Is there a way to get a high ranking on a search result? Is there a way to get more people to view your site? Is there a way to get more people to click or buy? I wonder if we spend to much time trying to play the game and not focus on what is important - the content. I know that I am new to this medium (blogging), but I am not new to creating. When you create, you want to focus on the end product and what it is going to be when you are finished. If while you are creating you focus on something else (like what are people going to think or how will I sell it) you will not create what you intended. To put it another way, you miss out on being authentic. Is that not what people want? Do they not want to experience something authentic? The reality is you do have to play the game, but if you lose your focus you might not win the prize.

What do you think?

Creativity - Practice

Without practicing, greatness is impossible. But it takes more than practice to be great. Seth Godin touched on this in his most recent post:

"Practice, the 10,000 hours thing, practice alone doesn't produce work that matters. No, that only comes from caring. From caring enough to leap, to bleed for the art, to go out on the ledge, where it's dangerous. When we care enough, we raise the bar, not just for ourselves, but for our customer, our audience and our partners."

Caring is another way to say "Be Passionate".

What do you think?

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2014/03/not-even-one-note.html

Creativity - Planning

Once you make a choice as to what you want to create, the next step is to plan. Many creators do this in their head, so it seems as if it is not necessary, but it is a vital step in creating and creativity. The purpose of planning is to create a "map" of how to get to the finished product. I think the movie industry is the best example of how this works. Once a concept for a movie is developed, a script is written, but before shooting begins, many directors create a storyboard. In a storyboard the whole movie is outlined in small pictures. Some directors use a storyboard that has only the basic information they need and then figure out many of the details once shooting begins. Some directors create a very detailed storyboard that includes as much information as possible. The amount of detail is not the point. What is important is that a plan is developed to guide the production. So if you have something you want to create, sit down and create a plan. When you finally get to producing your creation you will have a good idea of what you need to do.

What do you think?

The Economy - Texas vs. California

What should we do as a nation to help our economy? I think all we need to do is look at California and Texas. California has high taxes, high regulations, big government, large union influences, anti-business climate, and a growing welfare bureaucracy. What's the result? Slow growth, higher unemployment, higher crime, and a general malaise among the population. Texas has low taxes, smaller government, low and stable regulations, lower union influences, a pro-business climate, and a manageable welfare bureaucracy. What's the result? Faster growth, lower unemployment, lower crime, and a general positive attitude among the population. So which should we emulate? Texas of course!

What do you think?

Chromebook - Underpowered?

Are Chromebooks underpowered? I use an Acer C720 which has a Haswell-Celeron. The Celeron chip set is one of the slowest in the Intel line, but I have not been disappointed with it's speed. Chrome is a light OS and runs quick enough for all I do with it. In the Chromebook world, high powered chips are not all that necessary. If all you are doing is surfing the internet, checking and sending e-mail, and using web based apps, you don't need a high end chip set. You just need good enough. Why spend the money when it does not buy you much of a difference?

What do you think?

The Future - Video And The Digital Age

There is a rumor that Apple is talking to Comcast about starting a video streaming service. I am not surprised that Apple is making this move. Apple moved into the music streaming business with Apple radio not to long ago. Video would just be the next step in the process. This is just another move in the transformation into the Digital Age. More and more will migrate onto the internet. If it can be digitized, it will be streamed (or something like that). I wonder if in the near future buying content will fade away and we will all get our content as part of some kind of service. It might come from our internet service providers, or cable providers, or telephone companies, or even manufacturers. So when will Google start streaming music, video, and anything else that would be possible?

What do you think?

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/03/24/rumoured_cupertinocomcast_deal_could_make_apple_tv_a_neutrality_buster/

Sunday, March 23, 2014

News and Events

It has been a quiet Sunday. Nothing major from Ukraine. Russia continues to solidify its position in Crimea while massing troops on the border with Ukraine. Lets see what the Russians will do. There is rumors that other ethnic "Russian" regions might want to be annexed. Now that is not surprising. No News from Venezuela. Syria lost a fighter jet. Turkey shot it down for violating its airspace. China seems to be experiencing a slowdown in manufacturing. Numbers out today seem to make that case. Though Stocks ended the week positive, they were down on Friday. Lets see how stocks react tomorrow. Overall, it was another day in the calm before the storm.

What do you think?

The Future - Smart Bulb

Eventually there will be 50 billion devices hooked up to the internet. That's about 7 devices for every person on this planet. That seems to be a lot of devices, but not when you consider what might be hooked up to the Internet. LG has just introduced a smart bulb. This new bulb can be controlled via WIFI and an app on a smart phone. It can be dimmed, brightened, turned on and off using the smart phone app. It can also dim and glow to music or when a call is being received.Can you imagine whole room full of smart bulbs? Though this product might not be very practical, it does give an indication of all the products that might be coming our way that hook up to the internet.

What do you think?

http://thedroidguy.com/2014/03/lg-announces-smart-lamp-can-connect-android-devices/

The Future - Leadership

I wrote earlier that the number 1 thing Google looks for when hiring someone is their ability to learn. The number 2 quality they look for is Leadership. Google is not looking for people who have held traditional positions of leadership like the president of a club or the leader of a sports team. Google is looking for what Laszlo Bock, the senior vice president of people operations calls emergent leadership. Now emergent leadership seems to be more situational leadership and not positional leadership. In other words, if the situation calls for it, will you step up and take charge? Will you step up and take responsibility even when you do not have the title or "rank"? Bock also explains that emergent leadership also includes letting others lead. As he states "Because what’s critical to be an effective leader in this environment is you have to be willing to relinquish power".

What do you think?

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/opinion/sunday/friedman-how-to-get-a-job-at-google.html?_r=2

The Future - The Digital Age

One of the aspects of the Digital Age that I find fascinating is all the new ways to make some money. In the industrial age you had to produce a product or provide a service to make some money. That has not changed in the Digital Age. What has changed is that now you can make money by providing some form of content. You can blog and make money. You can podcast and make money. You can post video's and make money. You can build a web page on just about anything and make money. You can sell stuff directly and make money. You can provide free stuff and make money through advertising. Though the transition to the Digital Age might be traumatic for some, I for one am excited at all the possibilities.

What do you think?

Writing - Walter's Thinking E-book

I updated all my blog entries so that their titles would match. I did that in the document where I am collecting them all. I am eventually going to sort it all and create an ebook out of it. I am going to do that on a yearly basis and then sell the ebook for $2.99 through Smashwords, Amazon, Google Play, and iTunes. I don't think I will sell a whole lot, but it does not cost me anything to publish it, so why not? When there is no or little cost to production, why not do it and see what happens? The only thing I loose is a bit of time and effort. Plus, it will be nice to have a copy of all the work I do.

What do you think?

Internet Business - AdWords

I started an AdWords campaign about a week ago and so far I like the results I am getting. My pageviews are up significantly since I started the campaign and the cost has been reasonable. So far I would deem the experiment a success and would recommend it to anyone who wants to increase their audience. Now I am not using AdWords to generate sales, so I do not know how effective it would be for that. I guess I might try that once I have something to sell. For now, I am keeping the campaign going because it is working.

What do you think?

World News And Events - Ukraine

News from Ukraine indicates that Russian forces are still massing on the border. If Crimea was the only interest for Russia, why all the troops on the border? Is it just a show of force or is Russia planning to invade eastern Ukraine? If they do, it would be interesting because eastern Ukraine is not as significant to Russian interests as Crimea is. Crimea is the main port for Russian forces for the Black Sea. So annexing Crimea is a matter of National Security for Russia. But eastern Ukraine is not. I wonder what Russia will do next?

What do you think?

The Future - Technology

Technology is amazing. If you just step back and see what it does compared to what you were able to do 10 years ago, it is mind blowing. Where will we be if this pace continues? Will we hit a plateau? Or will we push on to more and more amazing things? I guess we will have to wait 10 more years and see what happens.

What do you think?

Chromebook - Getting On The Internet

What is the least expensive way to get on the internet? Use a computer at a public library, use friends computer, or have someone gift you their old laptop or desktop system. The next best way is to buy a Chromebook and use it where you can get free WIFI. From there you can get a smartphone with internet, or a tablet, or a laptop - all of which will cost you a substantial amount of money. I think if you can scrounge up a couple hundred you should buy a Chromebook because it is the cheapest way to go. Then, pay for internet access at your home or place of business so you can access the internet as often as you would like. Or better yet, turn your phone into a hot spot so you can access the internet from just about anyplace you go.

What do you think?

Saturday, March 22, 2014

News and Events

More consolidation by Russia in Ukraine today. Any positions or even naval vessels held by loyal Ukrainian forces are being taken by Russian forces. It seems as though things are not deadly though. I guess that is good news. No other news with Venezuela, Syria, or any other hotspot. No major news so far in the U.S. Nothing major regarding the economy. It looks to be another day in the calm before the storm.

What do you think?

Writing - How I Decided to Blog

On November 24, 2013 I wrote in my journal:

"One of the biggest sections I write in my journal is the “thoughts” section. What if I turned that into a blog? I can go back through my journal and cut and past out the “thoughts” section. Than I can start posting those sections to my blog. I just checked to see if Walter’s Thoughts was taken and it is, but Walter’s Thinking was not. Maybe that is an option for me to take?"

It took me nearly three months to take action, but that is how it all started.

What do you think?

Creativity - Fear

One of our greatest enemies is fear. Fear keeps us trapped. Fear keeps us from being all that we are destined and designed to be. I would even go as far and say that fear is the greatest enemy we have. It is fear that keeps me from writing, from creating, from confronting, from exploring, from trying, and from just being me.

What do you think?

Chromebook

I like using my Chromebook because it is so easy to write on. My word count has improved dramatically since I bought and started using my Chromebook. Is it perfect? No, but I like it. I wish there was more functionality off line, but it has enough to get me through till I am logged on someplace. The concept is very interesting to me. Move everything online. In other words, Chromebook is the epitome of cloud computing. All other devices are not 100% cloud devices, but the Chromebook is. Will that catch on? I am not sure, but considering that Google is behind it, it won't go away.

What do you think?

The Economy - Electricity

What would our society be like without electricity? We would have to go back to the way things were before 1900. I can’t even imagine a world without electricity or all the technology we currently enjoy. Nothing would function. We would soon run out of gas because all the fuel pumps work on electricity (as do the systems used to pay for the gas). We would soon run out of food since it is electricity that makes modern supermarkets possible. We would run out of water since it is electricity that runs the pumps that push the water through our pipes. Our way of life would end quickly and considering how easily humans devolve into riot and mayhem, we would have chaos and disaster. Millions would perish and those who remain would be barely surviving. Electricity is the lifeblood of our modern society. Without it nothing works.

What do you think?

Personal Improvement - Perception

Perception is everything. We do not see the world as it is. We see the world as we perceive it to be. In other words, no matter what happens, we add meaning to it. We decide what things mean in order to try to understand. Unfortunately, we suck at it. We rarely get the meaning right. In fact, most times there is no meaning at all. So what ever meaning we attach to what happens is something we make up on the spot. Now that is deep. Nothing is good or bad, only or perceptions make it good or bad. We decide what is good or bad even if it is nothing. We make ourselves mad. We make ourselves miserable. We can also make ourselves laugh. We can also make ourselves happy. We create our perceptions and they create our reality!

What do you think?

Writing - Creating Blog Posts

Here is a process for creating blog posts I discovered:

* Make a list of the topics I like to write about.
* Pick one topic and surf the internet on it.
* When I find something interesting, write about it.
* Add a title (Topic - Main Point)
* Edit and publish

What do you think?

Internet Business - Building An Audience

I just hit 60 pageviews a day. It is a new record for me. I am blown away that I am getting 60 views. I was shooting for 10 pageviews a day this month and look what happened. So what have I done to improve my pageviews?

First, I publish several posts a day. Now some say that is not important, but I disagree. I think once you build an audience, then the frequency of publishing is not that important. At the beginning though, posting at least once a day (or more) helps increase the number of pageviews.

Second, use social media. Now I only use Google+, but that is because I am not a big user of social media. But if you have an audience in whatever social media platform you already use, why not let them know what you are doing? It will speed up the process of increasing your pageviews considerably.

Third, start commenting on the posts of other bloggers and articles you read on the internet. I shoot to make at least 3 comments a day. By the way, do not post "Nice post". Try to make a contribution to the conversation.

Fourth, start a small AdWords campaign (or a campaign on any other advertising site you might prefer). I started one in which I limited the cost to $1 a day and it has been completely worth it.

So that's what I am doing at the moment and my pageviews have increased exponentially.

What do you think?

Chromebook - Which One Should You Buy?

I own an Acer C720 Chromebook. I have had it now going on 5 months. It has performed flawlessly. In fact, I am completely surprised at how well it has worked considering that I had no real expectations. But, which Chromebook is the best one to buy now that there are several on the market from different manufacturers? Here is my advice:

Buy the cheapest one, from a manufacturer you like!

In the Chromebook world, buying a more expensive model will not improve your experience all that much. Chrome is not Windows or Mac OS. It does not run faster or better on a higher priced machine (by higher priced I mean a machine with faster components). So buying a machine with a faster chip will not make all that much of a difference. Even more memory will not make that much of a difference.

Why is that? It is because you will not be using a Chromebook for any high end applications. It is not designed for that. Chromebooks are designed for basic web based functions (email, web surfing, word processing etc.). So don't waste your cash on something it will not buy.

What do you think?

The Future - Learning

Of course, one of the leading companies in the Digital Age is Google. In a recent interview, Laszlo Bock, the senior vice president of people operations stated:

"For every job, though, the No. 1 thing we look for is general cognitive ability, and it’s not I.Q. It’s learning ability."

When change is the norm (which it is for the Digital Age), the ability to be constantly learning is the key ability to have. We do not know what skills or knowledge will be needed in the future, but being able to learn is the way to thrive in the future. Unfortunately our education system does not do a good job at teaching kids how to learn. In fact, if you ask a teacher what learning is they might not know the answer.

What do you think?

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/opinion/sunday/friedman-how-to-get-a-job-at-google.html?_r=1

Friday, March 21, 2014

News and Events

Stocks were down some today even though the S&P 500 reached record highs at one point. I wonder of the Market will follow through and push past this resistance? No real news on the missing airliner from Malaysia. We may never know what happened. Things seem quiet in Ukraine as Russia seems to be solidifying its position in Crimea. Nothing further from Venezuela. North Korea fired some rockets into the sea as a response to U.S. and South Korean military exercises. There was another incident between Israel and the Palestinians. So it was another day and week in the calm before the storm.

What do you think?

Creativity - Finding Your True Passion

There are many ways to find your passion. Google the phrase "how to find your passion" and you get 280 million results. So there are many options. I have found though, that usually we know our passion, we just tend to either ignore it, or discount it, or don't even notice that we do it.

I thought my passion was writing music, so for several years I tried to make more room in my life for writing music. But, it always seemed as if I had to force myself to write music. Now I enjoy writing music, but I had to schedule time to do it, or motivate myself to do it, or just guilt myself into doing it. I even found a way to have to write music (I took a job as a music teacher where I had to write the music for the students to have something to play).

During the same time period, there was one activity that I did and never had to even think about doing it. That activity was writing. I did not think of it as my passion since I did it without even giving it a thought. It was just something that I did. Now I think is the key to finding your true passion. Your true passion might very well be that activity you do all the time that you don't even notice you do it.

What do you think?

Writing - Blogging

I started this blog about 2 months ago. My intent was to have a place to publish my comments, a pace to express my opinions, and a place to maybe build an audience. Well today I reached a small milestone. Today was the first day I had over 50 views in one day. Now I know that 50 views is not that many, but the fact that anyone is coming to my blog at all is amazing. I have also had views from many different countries. I have had views from Canada, Germany, Poland, France, Russia, China, India, Turkey, and of course, the U.S. If you are stopping by for the first time, thank you. If you have been here before, thank you very much. May you all be blessed!

What do you think?

Writing - Mythic Structure

When I think of mythic structure I think of Star Wars and how George Lucas used mythic structure to craft an amazing and enduring tale of good versus evil in space. It turns out that you can use mythic structure in a variety of settings. Believe it or not, you can use it in selling. I just read an article about using mythic structure to craft stories to sell. Here is the structure that was recommended:

* First, you need a hero.
* Second, you need a goal.
* Third, you need an obstacle.
* Fourth, you need a mentor.
* And fifth, you need a moral.

Using this structure to develop sales copy, advertising, and stories that sell or motivate is novel and unique. I wonder what else you can use this for?

What do you think?

http://www.copyblogger.com/seductive-storytelling/

World Events - Russia and China

One of the outcomes we are starting to see from Russia and Ukraine is that Russia and China are growing closer. Putin is scheduled to go to China in a few months and is expected to sign a deal for Russia to increase its supply of natural gas to China. Russia is the largest supplier of natural gas to the E.U., but with this deal, it will begin to shift from having the E.U. be its largest trading partner, to China taking that position. This will make things very interesting in the future. If Russia does not need to trade with the E.U., what does that mean to global trade and specifically the dollar? Will closer ties with China mean the beginning of the end of the dollar as the worlds reserve currency? Will natural gas (and by extension oil) be sold in another currency other than the dollar? This new growth in the relationship between China and Russia is going to make things interesting indeed.

What do you think?

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-03-21/petrodollar-alert-isolated-west-putin-prepares-announce-holy-grail-gas-deal-china

Chromebook - Spell Check

I was looking back through my old journal entries from last year when I was using an iPad to keep my journal on. I was surprised to see so many typos and mistakes that the spell check on the iPad missed. I did not realize how inaccurate the spell check on the iPad was. Spell check on Google Drive is so much better. Why is that? I think it's because when you use spell check on Google Drive you are actually doing it on Google's servers and not on your own individual device. That's why you have to be online to use it. Now that is a drawback when you are offline, but that does not bother me anymore since I have a hotspot on my iPhone. The Spell Check on Google Drive is is not perfect (as you can probably find stuff I got wrong here on my blog), but is is much better than what is on my iPad.

What do you think?

The Future - The Internet

The world will be very different 10-20 years from now. We will experience 50 years of change in 10 as a result of the world being connected. The Internet is changing everything. I used to think that computers were changing everything, but computers are not that useful unless they are connected to each other. The reason is that computers on their own only have access to the information that is stored on them. If computers are connected (like they are on the Internet) then they have unlimited access to information. Thus more can be accomplished with the connectivity of computers than without it. Yes, without the computer we would not have all the cool stuff we have today. But, without the Internet, we could not have all the cool stuff that is coming! It is the Internet that makes all the difference, not the individual computers. Connecting us all together makes us bigger and smarter than we could have ever imagined.

What do you think?

World events - Venezuela

The government has finally run out of patience and has started to crackdown on the protesters. This pattern is predictable. If the people rise up to support the protesters, the governments time is short (Egypt, Libya) if there is not enough support from the people, then the government will disperse the protesters and increase it's power to deal with the opposition (Iran, China). No matter what the outcome, many are going to suffer.

What do you think?

Thursday, March 20, 2014

The Digital Age - Education

I wonder when the internet will impact the classroom. I know it has indirectly already, but what will happen when it impacts it directly? When will we have webcasts as a regular part of the curriculum? When will we have instruction delivered by one teacher to multiple classrooms and campuses? When will we have fewer teachers and more “assistants”?

When the establishments decides that the best way to “teach” students is to control the delivery by having all of it delivered by the same teacher, then we will have fewer of them and more “assistants” to supervise. Is that where this is all eventually going to go? I have no idea, but the truth is that there is great “content” on the internet and it is better than what is going on in many of our classrooms. When that catches on, education will change.

What do you think?

News and Events

The Stock Market did a "yo-yo" and was up today. I am starting to think that there is no real direction at this point and the market is just reacting to every little bit of news. It is interesting that the S&P 500 keeps hitting resistance at this level. Will it break past it? Time will tell. There was no other major news today. It was a very quiet news day and another day in the calm before the storm.

What do you think?

Writing - Finding Something to Write About

"Once your subject finds you, it’s like falling in love. It will be your constant companion." Colson Whitehead

I used to worry that I would not find stuff to write about, but I don't anymore. This is how I worked it out. I made a list of the stuff I like to write about. Then, I went looking online for something that struck me as interesting about the items on my list. When I found something interesting, I wrote about it. Now when I am stuck, I just go back to my list and search for something to write about. Invariably I find something to write about. Problem solved. In the future I expect to have to revise my list as my interests change.

What do you think?

http://www.advicetowriters.com/home/2014/3/20/dont-go-searching-for-a-subject.html

Creativity - Follow your Passion

"Everything is interesting to someone" - Frank Chimero

I have come to the realization that if I am interested in something, someone else is also. That is fantastic news because then you don't have to worry about creating stuff other people are going to like. Just create stuff you like at the best of your ability, and someone else will like it. Now, you might not create a hit, or a blockbuster, or a viral sensation, but you will be able to build an audience and that is all you need to do. Follow your passion, create at your best ability, and let the rest take care of itself.

What do you think?

The Digital Age - Internet Devices

In the near future there will be billions of devices accessing the internet. Yes there will be smartphones and tablets, computers and laptops, and internet TV and game consoles. There will also be smart appliances and energy control systems. Some are predicting that by 2020 there will be over 50 billion devices accessing the internet on a regular basis because most of what happens in our homes and businesses will be digitized. We will eventually be surrounded (not to mentioned outnumbered) by digital, internet accessing devices. That's what the digital age is bringing our way/

What do you think?

http://www.myfoxny.com/story/25011927/smart-houses

Chromebook - Better for Education

There is a big push in schools today to provide each student with some kind of internet accessing device. Some school districts have chosen to provide iPads for each student (L.A. Unified for one). From all I have read and heard, the iPad roll out has not gone well. Some districts are turning to using Chromebooks instead, which I think is a better choice.

Chromebooks are not better devices than iPads, that's not why they are better for education. They are better for education because they fit the need better than iPads. The most important thing students need to be able to do is access the internet and learn to use basic computing apps. Everything else becomes a distraction in the education setting (not exactly what's needed today).

The best aspect of using Chromebooks is the cost. Not only are the devices themselves inexpensive, software costs are very low as well. That's not the case with iPads. Software costs are almost as much as the original cost for each device.

I think Chromebooks will allow students to learn all the basics they will need to function in the digital age and not bankrupt school districts.

What do you think?

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

News and Events

Another day without any major stories. Stocks were down as I discussed earlier. There are reports that Ukraine is pulling loyal troops out of Crimea, which means Russia won. More rumors about the missing Airliner out of Malaysia. Nothing definitive though. The plan for now has just disappeared. Nothing new in Venezuela or Syria. Iran is coming up on a new year and it's economy is a shambles thanks to sanctions (have they worked?). So it was another day in the calm before the storm.

What do you think?

Note: I think that there is an economic storm coming our way. One day soon there will be an event that will trigger a crash in the stock markets and then hold on, it is going to get very interesting.

Internet Business - Adwords

I just started an Adwords campaign and it seems to be working. I am getting a few views and the cost is nominal. I think it has also helped me get some search results to my blog from keywords as well. I can't say that it's the case for sure, but since I started the campaign I have received more and more views for people searching key words that I use in my blog and in my Adwords campaign. If being successful on the internet is all about building an audience, then paying for a bit of advertising is a good way to help do that. Now you need to be careful because it looks as if it can get expensive quite quickly. So far the results have been worth it.

What do you think?

The Future - Avoiding Becoming a Commodity

The biggest threat we all have to having a viable and successful future is that of becoming a commodity. I think a commodity is something that is common, readily available, and cheap. We risk becoming a commodity when we have the same skills as millions of other people on this planet. We risk becoming a commodity when we offer the same type services thousands of others do. We risk becoming a commodity when we sell the same products as hundreds of others do. Thus, the only way to avoid becoming a commodity is being unique. How do you become unique? You cultivate creativity and express it in all you do. Creativity is the key to avoiding becoming a commodity.

What do you think?

Creativity - Rejection

One aspect of creativity that needs to be recognized is rejection. Whenever you do something creative, you risk the possibility of rejection. In fact, you will more than likely face rejection. I read an article today that makes the point that creativity is more likely to be rejected then accepted or supported. I have found that to be true in my own creative endeavors. If you are going to be creative (which is highly recommended) you are going to have to get use to rejection and learn to deal with it. What has helped me is to just keep in mind that most people will reject whatever you create. It's basically the default setting. Rejection does not mean failure or worse, your creation sucks. But, keep working anyway because at some point, someone will recognize your creativity and then the rest will be forced to accept it. It's how all the major breakthroughs have occurred.

What do you think?

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2013/12/creativity_is_rejected_teachers_and_bosses_don_t_value_out_of_the_box_thinking.html

The Economy - Stocks

Easy come, easy go. I guess the relief rally from the soft sanctions on Russia over Crimea is over. It also did not help that the FED announced that it will continue to taper it's bond buying. The last time that was announced we had a meltdown in emerging markets. Stocs were off about.7% today. They bounced off their lows, but I think that the selling will continue tomorrow considering that there is still uncertainty in Ukraine and what the FED chairman has said will be dissected and digested.

What do you think?

Chromebook - Security

when I had a Windows Laptop, my system got infected so often with some kind of virus that I came to expected it. Now that I have a Chromebook, I have yet to have any problems and that's without having to have some kind of anti-virus software installed. It's rather satisfying to know that I will probably never have to deal with a virus again. It turns out that since all the software is web based, there is nothing to infect on your system. This is one of the best aspects of using a Chromebook. You will probably never have to reinstall your system again. Plus, if something does go wrong, most (if not all) your files are stored online in the cloud. You never lose anything. Not bad for a $200 system!

What do you think?

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

News and Events

Stocks were up again today. So the relief rally carried over to today. Investor are happy that the U.S. and the E.U won't impose sanctions on Russia that will hurt corporate bottom lines. I sort of agree. We truly do not need anything else making a mess out of our economy (not that it isn't a mess already). The missing airliner in Malaysia is still a mystery. Nothing new there except more speculation. No major news from Ukraine. In the middle east Israel and Syria traded shots. There was nothing else major in the news, so we have another day in the calm before the storm.

What do you think?

The Future - Education

What if public education became a privilege and not a right? What if students had to earn the privilege of a free education by behaving and keeping their grades up? If they didn't, they would lose their "free ride" and have to pay for their own education. Hey, that sounds like going to a University? You have to earn your way into a University (even a public one). Why can't the rest of education be the same way (or at least high school)? If just did this, schools would be transformed in less than a year. Why? Because the biggest problem with our school system is not bad teachers (though there are some), or bad administrators (though there are some), poor facilities (which need to be improved), or bad curriculum (which does need to be improved). The biggest problem with school are legions of students who are disruptive, behave poorly, and do not want to do any work. Move those students out of the system and the rest will fall in line. Why? Because the students and parents who are left will make sure it happens.

What do you think?

The Future - Selling

Is selling dead? I don't think so, but the way we sell is changing. In the old economy (industrial age) mass marketing and mass selling was the way to sell products and services. In the new economy (digital age) permission marketing, building an audience, providing good quality content, customization, and having a digital presence is the way to sell products and services. The game is changing and the way to sell is changing as well. The companies that adapt to the new economy will survive. The ones that don't will fall by the wayside. So selling is not dead, it's changing.

What do you think?

Writing - Surfing the Internet

One of the best ways I have found to find things to write about is to just go surfing on the internet. I like to check several news sites on a regular basis. I like to check some blogs I like to read,. I also like to just go searching for new stuff by using Google. It's amazing what you can find to write about on the internet.

When I am stuck, I turn to Google first. I type in a keyword and off I go in search of something I find interesting. Once I find something I usually write about it right away and then if possible, I leave a comment. This helps me to find something to write about and to also maybe increase my viewers to my blog as people read the comments I leave.

What do you think?

Creativity - Keep showing up

Here is an interesting quote I read today:

"If you want to be creative – or a successful creative worker – you have to decide now, today, that you’ll keep showing up. Then, when you start feeling exhausted or stuck, taking a timed break and coming back to keep working." Tanner Christensen

Creativity might not be all about being different or weird or strange (though that works for some people). Creativity is all about showing up and doing the work. You write the words, paint the painting, compose the music, find the solution, or produce the product. Creativity is all about getting things done. To bad many of us confuse creativity with be some esoteric activity. It's actually something we all do all the time. Just show up.

What do you think?

http://creativesomething.net/post/79455062679/creativity-requires-that-you-keep-coming-back-for-more

World Events - Venezuela

So, how well does socialism work? Here is a quote from a citizen in Venezuela:

"The things that are the scarcest are actually what we need the most. Flour, cooking oil, butter, milk, diapers. I spent last week hunting for diapers everywhere. The situation is really tough for basic goods."

Centrally controlled economies eventually fail to provide even the most basic goods. The only system that works is free market capitalism. Is it perfect? No, but it is the only one that works. Venezuela is also experiencing high inflation. Some estimates put inflation at over 50%. So you can't find the products you need and prices keep going higher. This is a prescription for revolt.

What do you think?


http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/03/16/290516431/venezuela-in-turmoil-for-lack-of-flour-milk-and-diapers

The Economy - Insider selling

If the economy is doing well, why are company insiders selling? Over the last few weeks insiders have been selling at a ratio of 6 to 1. So for every insider that is buying one share, six shares are being sold by another insider (you get the picture). This is the highest ratio in 24 years! So what do they know that we don't? If things are going well, why sell now? This is not a good sign and I think it just foreshadows the coming storm. Things are going to get very interesting.

What do you think?

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-03-17/corporate-insiders-most-bearish-24-years

Chromebook - Google drive and Microsoft Office

Google was brilliant in that it made Google Drive work across all platforms. Unfortunately, Microsoft is way behind the curve. It is just now going to release an Office App for the iPad. Is that not just a bit too late? Well, there will be people who will download it and use it because, well, it is "Office". But since the iPad world has lived without it this long, I don't see sales being stellar. The App also looks like it is going to be complicated to use all of it's functions. That does not sell well in the world of Apple. Finally, how does Microsoft compete against free? I think this is the advantage of Chromebook. Most of everything is free. How do you compete with that if your business model depends on selling software?

What do you think?

http://www.liveside.net/2014/03/17/office-for-ipad-set-for-march-27-introduction/

Monday, March 17, 2014

News and Events

The U.S. and the E.U have issued sanctions, but not against Russia. They issued sanctions against individuals from Russia and Crimea. I was not aware that it was possible to sanction individuals instead of nations? Also, how does this "punish" Russia for their involvement in Crimea? I guess this is better than doing nothing, but I guess they are having a laugh at our expense in Russia today. The U.S. and E.U are so weak that all they can do is sanction individuals. So expect more trouble to come our way. Stocks rallied big time on the news of "light" sanctions and good factory production numbers. The rally was only about 1%, so markets are still down from last weeks selling. Nothing else is going on, so it was another day in the calm before the storm.

What do you think?

The Digital age

Historically we have gone from the hunter/gather age to the agricultural age. Then we went from the agricultural age to the industrial age. Now we are going from the industrial age to the digital age. This age used to be called the information age or the computer or technology age or the knowledge age, but using the title the digital age fits better in my thinking. This age is not necessarily an information age, though information is a huge chunk of what is happening. This age is not all about computers or technology, though it is a big part of it. This age is not necessarily about knowledge, though that is a big part of it. But everything that is driving this transformation is digital. This was not envisioned a few decades ago. I don't think anyone imagined that the music industry would be digitized and transformed. Now one expected video to be such a huge portion of the internet, but it is. No one guessed that books would become digitized and quickly become the dominant means of publication. There many other examples, but I think I made the point. This age is all about making things digital. What will the future be like? It will be digital.

What do you think?

Internet Business

As I have written before, the key to having a successful internet business is to build an audience. How hard is it to do that? It turns out it is not that hard, but it is not without effort. To build an audience you have to create content people will want to come and see. I used to think that was hard, but if you are a reader of my blog, then you will agree with me that it does not take all that much to make it happen (as my blog is evidence of that). All it takes to get people to come and look at what you are publishing is a bit of passion and a lot of consistency. First, create stuff you love to create. In doing so you will create stuff that is of good quality (or good enough which is good enough as well). Then keep creating and publishing consistently (rinse and repeat daily). Follow that with a bit of a marketing strategy (like using social networks, a bit of advertising, and commenting on the work of others). The rest seems to fall in place. I have gone from 3-5 views a day when I first started to nearly 40 in about 7 weeks. Now that is not a whole lot in numerical terms, but my growth rate has been outstanding (doubling every couple of weeks). Now lets see how I can turn this into a money maker.

What do you think?

Creativity

What is more important good ideas or talented people? I just read an article that makes the case that talented people are more important than good ideas. I agree. The reality is that good ideas are actually not that hard to come up with. That's easy to prove. Look around you and you can see the results of hundreds of good ideas. If they were hard to come up with, they would not be as prevalent as they are. The big problem we have today is that we are not helping people become good at stuff and then letting them come up with good ideas. Ideas do not spring forth on their own. They come from people and the best ideas come from the most talented. Help people find their talent, help them improve the talent they have, and then get out of their way. That's the best way to come up with good ideas.

What do you think?

http://hbr.org/2008/09/how-pixar-fosters-collective-creativity/

Chromebook

One of the key pieces of software (or web based application) for Chromebook is Google Drive. It includes a word processor, a spreadsheet, and a presentation application. I find that they all work well enough for what I need to do. I like the fact that I have all my documents and programs online. It is very convenient to be able to access all I do on any device I happen to be using (of course I need to be online to do so).

There is an interesting development with Microsoft in this area. They just introduced a similar program. They now have a version of Office as a web application called office 360 personal. Unfortunately it's not free. My guess is that it is not a fully functioning version of office and so not much better than Google drive (which is free). But, if you need to use Office, there is an option. You can use Office 360.

What do you think?

Ukraine

The vote to secede is over, Crimea overwhelmingly voted to join Russia, and the world did not end. Russia did not instantly invade and civil war has not broken out yet. Ukraine did call up 40,000 reservist though, and Russia is still moving troops to the border. Things are still building and eventually we will have some kind of resolution. The stock Market was relieved and has had a big rally at the open today. Will the rest of Ukraine let Crimea secede? Will Russia move into other parts of Ukraine? What will the U.S. and the E.U do? We will have to wait and see, which is the hardest part.

What do you think?

Sunday, March 16, 2014

News and Events

With Crimea voting to secede from Ukraine, other places are considering it as well. The city of Venice is talking about seceding from Italy, Quebec from Canada, and Scotland from England. There is also a move in California to have it split up into 6 different states. Now that would be interesting. Russia is still poised to invade Ukraine. In the U.S., sanctions might be made if they do. The airliner from Malaysia had been declared to be pirated or hijacked, but no one knows where it is or what has happened to those who were on board. Stock futures are down a bit. It will be interesting to see what direction stocks take tomorrow. In the U.S. nothing major happened today. All in all, it was another day in the calm before the storm.

What do you think?

The Digital Age

To be successful in the digital age you need to build an audience first. Nothing else matters until you build an audience. at first your product is the content you provide for free. It could be a blog, a web page, a video channel, and podcast, or any number of things that people want to come a visit. Once you start publishing content, then you seek to help other people find it. Just publishing is a start, but then it is a good idea to start talking about it on the social media site of your choice (Google+ is my favorite, but any of the others will work as well).

Once you start getting people to visit your work, you can then turn to paid advertising just to spread the word about your work. I like using Adwords, but any other paid advertising is useful. Finally, once you believe you have enough people visiting your work on a regular basis, then you can start to sell to them indirectly. You can do this by placing your own ads for products next to your work. You can use Adsense or any other advertising service. Once that is in full swing you can start capturing e-mail addresses and sell directly to that list. The process is slow, but if you follow it you can build a nice digital age business.

What do you think?

E-books

The future of publishing are e-books. Why do I make this claim? It's because of the transition from the industrial age to the digital age. In the industrial age, mass produced paper based books were the means of publication. In the digital age, mass produced digital based books are the means of publication. If we are in the transition from the industrial age to the digital age (which I believe we are), then e-books will continue to grow and paper based books will fade. The best part of this transition is the ability of more and more people being able to publish a book. The cost of publishing in the industrial was (and is) immense. Publish books was a huge risk and only a few lucky authors were published. In the digital age, publishing a book is almost free. That opens the possibility of more and more people becoming published authors. The digital age is going to usher in an amazing time to be an author.

What do you think?

Chromebook

Here is an interesting quote from a story about Chromebooks:

"Chromebooks haven't become objectively better than Windows PCs, and they're not selling by the truckload. But Chromebooks are ready for mainstream adoption. They're starting to make many of us realize how non-essential a $1000 laptop is becoming."

Laptop sales are falling and more and more people are either buying a tablet, using their smartphone, or buying a Chromebook. Those are the only sectors in technology that are growing. Desktop sales have fallen. The market for high end computers is dead. The future is cloud or web based applications and internet connecting devices. At $200 Chromebook is one of the least expensive ways to take advantage of this trend and thus will continue to grow. It is also interesting to note how many computer manufacturers are adding Chromebooks to their lineup. The future looks good for Chromebook.

What do you think?

http://money.cnn.com/2014/03/13/technology/google-chromebooks/

Syria

The civil war in Syria is reaching it's third anniversary. So far, nearly 150,000 people have been killed, many more have been wounded, and as many as 2 million people have been displaced. Unfortunately, Assad is still in power and the rebels are growing weaker. Could this be what awaits Ukraine if civil war breaks out? Probably not since Russia has already committed troops. There were no troop commitments in Syria by any nation. There were just arms supplied to both sides. One interesting thing about Syria is that the lack of U.S. backing to the rebels has shown the world that the U.S. is not willing to use it's military at this time. thus Russia can annex Ukraine knowing that the U.S will not act. Actions have consequences and when you act weak, the nations of the world take notice. Since we are in no position to do much in Ukraine, I think we will see more and more rogue nations take actions that once were prevented by the strength of the U.S.

What do you think?

Ukraine

The vote is in and it looks as if Crimea is going to become part of Russia. 93% of voters have voted for the Crimea to become part of Russia. So what will the rest of Ukraine do? What will the E.U and the U.S. do? What will Russia do? It is going to be a very interesting week ahead.

What do you think?