Test, report, track. Make it cheaper so hand-crafted makers can afford to comply.
http://www.handmadetoyalliance.org/
Among other things, the CPSIA bans lead and phthalates in toys, mandates third-party testing and certification for all toys and requires toy makers to permanently label each toy with a date and batch number.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Wood Pecker Deterrent
Wood peckers cause damage to wood siding when they bore holes. The bird makes a distinctive noise when digging the wood.
Create a device to listen for the repeating knocks on the wood. After a few of those patterns are heard then emit something to scare away the bird - maybe high frequency.
--------------------------------------
2009.03
Small device that is weatherproof. Powered by solar cell or hard-wired. Device listens for wood-pecker knocking, then sends ultrasonic noise.
If using multiple devices that can target the output sound, add wifi-type networking to central processing unit that triangulates to determine bird location. Central unit then tells outside mounted devices in which direction to target the sound, thus providing increased power from the effect of multiple devices to the spot of the bird.
--------------------------------------
2010.04
Targeting mosquitos with lasers.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/12/using-lasers-to-zap-mosquitoes/?hp
http://science.slashdot.org/story/09/03/16/1339217/New-Laser-System-Targets-Mosquitoes
--------------------------------------
2010.04
Can remote knock (vibration/sound) sensor hear the noise and broadcast alert w/ sensor location?
--------------------------------------
2013.05
http://www.havahart.com/store/electronic-repellents/5266
$69.99
Motion-Activated Water Repellent Sprinkler 2.0
Infrared Sensor Yes
Avg Battery Life 1 Year
http://www.wingscapes.com/birdcameras/birdcam-20
$159.95
BirdCam 2.0
Infrared Sensor
Power Supply 4 D-cell Batteries
Battery Life 12 weeks average
Create a device to listen for the repeating knocks on the wood. After a few of those patterns are heard then emit something to scare away the bird - maybe high frequency.
--------------------------------------
2009.03
Small device that is weatherproof. Powered by solar cell or hard-wired. Device listens for wood-pecker knocking, then sends ultrasonic noise.
If using multiple devices that can target the output sound, add wifi-type networking to central processing unit that triangulates to determine bird location. Central unit then tells outside mounted devices in which direction to target the sound, thus providing increased power from the effect of multiple devices to the spot of the bird.
--------------------------------------
2010.04
Targeting mosquitos with lasers.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/12/using-lasers-to-zap-mosquitoes/?hp
http://science.slashdot.org/story/09/03/16/1339217/New-Laser-System-Targets-Mosquitoes
--------------------------------------
2010.04
Can remote knock (vibration/sound) sensor hear the noise and broadcast alert w/ sensor location?
--------------------------------------
2013.05
http://www.havahart.com/store/electronic-repellents/5266
$69.99
Motion-Activated Water Repellent Sprinkler 2.0
Infrared Sensor Yes
Avg Battery Life 1 Year
http://www.wingscapes.com/birdcameras/birdcam-20
$159.95
BirdCam 2.0
Infrared Sensor
Power Supply 4 D-cell Batteries
Battery Life 12 weeks average
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Minimum Pricing Web Checks
Tiny firms like NetEnforcers Inc. -- with only 56 staffers jammed into a dim, spare cubicle farm here in Arizona -- wield economic power far beyond their size. These companies scour hundreds of thousands of Web sites daily, looking for retailers offering bargains below the "minimum advertised price," or MAP, set by manufacturers on an array of consumer goods.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Local Dem/GOP tracking
In some states, the county-wide Dem/GOP groups do a lot of tracking of people. This is particularly true in caucus states where people show up to vote and the attendees and outcome are recorded.
The recording is done on paper or home-grown software. A website could provide infrastructure to support the general needs and some reporting.
The recording is done on paper or home-grown software. A website could provide infrastructure to support the general needs and some reporting.
Political Issues Site
A mix of meetup and Campaign For Liberty.
Like CFL, granular down to precinct level allowing leaders and working issues.
Like meetup, allow posting and messages and calendar.
Generic to any issue, the site could be infrastructure used by any group with any issue in the political realm.
Like CFL, granular down to precinct level allowing leaders and working issues.
Like meetup, allow posting and messages and calendar.
Generic to any issue, the site could be infrastructure used by any group with any issue in the political realm.
Privacy Clothing
Shield from see-through devices at airports, while also providing beneficial shielding from other frequencies.
Create clothing from this fabric.
Woven 132/inch mesh polyester fibers coated with blackened copper for better corrosion resistance. Very easy to handle, but not suitable for prolonged skin contact. VeilShield is a high performance mesh style shielding fabric designed to be highly transparent. Combining high performance (40 dB or better), ultra light weight, and flexibility. 70% light transmission. 0.1 ohm/sq resistivity. 58 inch wide.
________________________________
November 21, 2010
Underwear invention
... his invention uses a powdered metal that protects people's privacy when undergoing medical or security screenings.
________________________________
October 2012
The need for privacy under-garments is becoming more noticeable.
http://gizmodo.com/5923980/the-secret-government-laser-that-instantly-knows-everything-about-you
Create clothing from this fabric.
Woven 132/inch mesh polyester fibers coated with blackened copper for better corrosion resistance. Very easy to handle, but not suitable for prolonged skin contact. VeilShield is a high performance mesh style shielding fabric designed to be highly transparent. Combining high performance (40 dB or better), ultra light weight, and flexibility. 70% light transmission. 0.1 ohm/sq resistivity. 58 inch wide.
________________________________
November 21, 2010
Underwear invention
... his invention uses a powdered metal that protects people's privacy when undergoing medical or security screenings.
________________________________
October 2012
The need for privacy under-garments is becoming more noticeable.
http://gizmodo.com/5923980/the-secret-government-laser-that-instantly-knows-everything-about-you
Pine Beetle Block
Retail $10 - $15 each. 2 - 3 per tree.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/helena/news/news_releases_08/04_22_08.pdf
"...beetle block verbenone and MCH capsules for the prevention of mountain pine and Douglas Fir beetles..."
Pheromone packets, Beetle Block, are a recently approved eco-friendly alternative. They need to be placed on trees before the beetles fly. Both AgBio (303-469-9221) and Pherotech International (1-800-665-0076) sell them.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jul/06/speakout-synthetic-pheromone-packets-a-safer-way/
"Though relatively less successful than carbaryl, Beetle Block is not toxic."
Verbenone Pouch info from manufacturer.
US Forest Service site
Boulder County site
Front Range Mountain Pine Beetle Information site
http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/helena/news/news_releases_08/04_22_08.pdf
"...beetle block verbenone and MCH capsules for the prevention of mountain pine and Douglas Fir beetles..."
Pheromone packets, Beetle Block, are a recently approved eco-friendly alternative. They need to be placed on trees before the beetles fly. Both AgBio (303-469-9221) and Pherotech International (1-800-665-0076) sell them.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jul/06/speakout-synthetic-pheromone-packets-a-safer-way/
"Though relatively less successful than carbaryl, Beetle Block is not toxic."
Verbenone Pouch info from manufacturer.
US Forest Service site
Boulder County site
Front Range Mountain Pine Beetle Information site
Children Sunglasses
Affordable, stylish, UV-blocking sunglasses for children.
Potential company names:
affordable eyes for children
small eyes
little eyes
Essi homegrown sunglasses. Retail $30.
Manufacture/color picture: http://www.essieyewear.com/imagee/dngla.jpg
China manufacturing children sunglasses around USD 3 each, with minimum order sizes. http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/206671303/Kids_Sunglasses_FY35_2.html
Potential company names:
affordable eyes for children
small eyes
little eyes
Essi homegrown sunglasses. Retail $30.
Manufacture/color picture: http://www.essieyewear.com/imagee/dngla.jpg
China manufacturing children sunglasses around USD 3 each, with minimum order sizes. http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/206671303/Kids_Sunglasses_FY35_2.html
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
PC Power Save
Powersave application to idle computers. They have a rebates page that says some utilities rebate some/all of the cost of $14.40/year.
Claimed electric bill savings of $25 - $50/year per computer.
Intelligent Configuration Settings
# Definitions can be based on CPU, disk, keyboard, mouse and application activity
# Shutdown without the loss of user productivity
Flexible Scheduling
# Options to turn off the monitor, and standby, hibernate or shutdown the computer
# Schedule Wake-on-LAN, shutdown, or restart events
# Schedule Power Save configuration updates for a single, daily, weekly, or monthly occurrence
# Schedule a temporary window where Power Save will not enforce energy management policies
Compatibility Options
# Customize the deployment as well as update and control the client workstations
# Recognizes and accommodates to Deep Freeze maintenance schedules
# Localized in English, French, German, Spanish and Japanese
Customized Inactivity Definitions
# Employ energy saving actions when CPU or disk activity falls below a defined level
# Prevent the workstation from employing power saving actions when a particular application is running
Enterprise Control
# Faronics Core Console provides unified workstation management capabilities
# Workstation grouping makes managing large deployments easy
# Disable and override a workstation’s operating system energy management settings
Savings Reports
# Generate enterprise power consumption and savings reports through Faronics Core Console
# Detailed workstation utilization reporting allows you to see how much power you are saving based upon your regional electricity cost
# Audit mode provides a baseline measure of the energy being consumed, making it easy to determine the true value of the savings generated when Power Save's features are enabled
--------------------------------------------
http://weblog.infoworld.com/sustainableit/archives/2008/09/pc_power_manage.html
I spoke with the CEO of Autonomic Software, Tony Gigliotti, today. His company offers its ANSA suites, which uses an intelligent agent for such tasks as vulnerability management, asset management, and, in line with the subject at hand, PC power management. He told me that Autonomic's Software costs around $33 per license for the first year, then $10 per license per year after that. (Notably, Autonomic isn't the only player in this space; BigFix, Verdiem Surveyor, KACE KBOX, and 1E NightWatchmanoffers offer competing solutions.)
The deal can becomes even sweeter if you happen to be served by a utility that offers rebates for purchasing PC power management licenses. PG&E, which serves Northern California, is one such utility. It offers a $15 rebate for each PC power management software license your purchase, according to Gigliotti.
-----------------------------------
PowerOut
http://www.visionsoft.com/product.asp?prod=PO
Normal Price £90
Volume Purchase Discount £36
Total Price £54
--------------------------------------------
http://www.ecogeek.org/component/content/article/2852
An occupancy sensor via a webcam.
___________________________________________________
2010 March/April
Review of software applications to idle/sleep/shut down PCs. Software Equals Savings
Claimed electric bill savings of $25 - $50/year per computer.
Intelligent Configuration Settings
# Definitions can be based on CPU, disk, keyboard, mouse and application activity
# Shutdown without the loss of user productivity
Flexible Scheduling
# Options to turn off the monitor, and standby, hibernate or shutdown the computer
# Schedule Wake-on-LAN, shutdown, or restart events
# Schedule Power Save configuration updates for a single, daily, weekly, or monthly occurrence
# Schedule a temporary window where Power Save will not enforce energy management policies
Compatibility Options
# Customize the deployment as well as update and control the client workstations
# Recognizes and accommodates to Deep Freeze maintenance schedules
# Localized in English, French, German, Spanish and Japanese
Customized Inactivity Definitions
# Employ energy saving actions when CPU or disk activity falls below a defined level
# Prevent the workstation from employing power saving actions when a particular application is running
Enterprise Control
# Faronics Core Console provides unified workstation management capabilities
# Workstation grouping makes managing large deployments easy
# Disable and override a workstation’s operating system energy management settings
Savings Reports
# Generate enterprise power consumption and savings reports through Faronics Core Console
# Detailed workstation utilization reporting allows you to see how much power you are saving based upon your regional electricity cost
# Audit mode provides a baseline measure of the energy being consumed, making it easy to determine the true value of the savings generated when Power Save's features are enabled
--------------------------------------------
http://weblog.infoworld.com/sustainableit/archives/2008/09/pc_power_manage.html
I spoke with the CEO of Autonomic Software, Tony Gigliotti, today. His company offers its ANSA suites, which uses an intelligent agent for such tasks as vulnerability management, asset management, and, in line with the subject at hand, PC power management. He told me that Autonomic's Software costs around $33 per license for the first year, then $10 per license per year after that. (Notably, Autonomic isn't the only player in this space; BigFix, Verdiem Surveyor, KACE KBOX, and 1E NightWatchmanoffers offer competing solutions.)
The deal can becomes even sweeter if you happen to be served by a utility that offers rebates for purchasing PC power management licenses. PG&E, which serves Northern California, is one such utility. It offers a $15 rebate for each PC power management software license your purchase, according to Gigliotti.
-----------------------------------
PowerOut
http://www.visionsoft.com/product.asp?prod=PO
Normal Price £90
Volume Purchase Discount £36
Total Price £54
--------------------------------------------
http://www.ecogeek.org/component/content/article/2852
An occupancy sensor via a webcam.
___________________________________________________
2010 March/April
Review of software applications to idle/sleep/shut down PCs. Software Equals Savings
Monday, December 01, 2008
Solar Heat
Solar heat collection and transmission via air (not liquid).
These units look nice. Add a solar panel to run the fan and optionally a good filter to clean the air.
Cansolair Inc. has developed a forced convection solar heating unit called the Model RA 240 SOLAR MAX. A dwelling of 1000 square feet can have a complete air change in 1.5 hours. Working experience indicates that comfortable room temperature can be maintained in a 1000 square foot dwelling with 15 minutes of sunlight per hour.
Watch a video featuring Cansolair
CSA Approved Maintenance Free Thermostatically Controlled Forced Convection Filtered Air Environmentally Friendly Heat Energy. 240 aluminum cans comprise the core of each Model RA 240 SOLAR MAX.
Ninety cubic feet per minute of colder and relatively heavier air is drawn by a quiet and powerfull fan through a filter from near the floor.
This filtered air is pumped through the first checkvalve, the specially modified collector core, and then back into your living space through the last check valve near the ceiling. The resulting high volume air movement not only filters, but will destratify as well as directly heat the air in your home or business. One or more modules can be vertically or horizontally mounted on any South-East, South, or South-West-facing wall or roof that is free from shadow.
Each fully automatic, thermostatically controlled module can maintain average room temperature in about eight thousand cubic feet of residential or commercial space.
These units look nice. Add a solar panel to run the fan and optionally a good filter to clean the air.
Cansolair Inc. has developed a forced convection solar heating unit called the Model RA 240 SOLAR MAX. A dwelling of 1000 square feet can have a complete air change in 1.5 hours. Working experience indicates that comfortable room temperature can be maintained in a 1000 square foot dwelling with 15 minutes of sunlight per hour.
Watch a video featuring Cansolair
CSA Approved Maintenance Free Thermostatically Controlled Forced Convection Filtered Air Environmentally Friendly Heat Energy. 240 aluminum cans comprise the core of each Model RA 240 SOLAR MAX.
Ninety cubic feet per minute of colder and relatively heavier air is drawn by a quiet and powerfull fan through a filter from near the floor.
This filtered air is pumped through the first checkvalve, the specially modified collector core, and then back into your living space through the last check valve near the ceiling. The resulting high volume air movement not only filters, but will destratify as well as directly heat the air in your home or business. One or more modules can be vertically or horizontally mounted on any South-East, South, or South-West-facing wall or roof that is free from shadow.
Each fully automatic, thermostatically controlled module can maintain average room temperature in about eight thousand cubic feet of residential or commercial space.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Local Foundation For Grants
Start a non-profit charity foundation that has a somewhat narrow mission to provide grants/funding to specific activities in the local area.
Consider funding for the library as one cause to support.
How to fund the foundation - estate grants, donations, sell "local discount" cards that area merchants would accept. People can pay a fee to get the card which could have other premiums such as - early/late personalized zoo tours, tours of water treatment plant, tours of other county facilities.
Consider funding for the library as one cause to support.
How to fund the foundation - estate grants, donations, sell "local discount" cards that area merchants would accept. People can pay a fee to get the card which could have other premiums such as - early/late personalized zoo tours, tours of water treatment plant, tours of other county facilities.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Squid Box
Sell/rent/lease a managed squid box to consumer and small businesses. The bandwidth shaping could be valuable for a small business.
http://www.squid-cache.org
http://www.squid-cache.org
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Oracle Downgrade
Look for cost saving opportunities by monitoring which Oracle features are in use and recommending if a license/feature downgrade is possible.
While every Oracle shop has a different licensing agreement, there are substantial savings to be had from downgrading from Oracle Enterprise Edition (EE) to the lesser Standard Edition and Express Edition (XE). In some shops, consolidating instances onto single servers is the answer. I've worked in shops that chose to abandon certain EE features so that they could run their applications on the cheaper Oracle SE.
Oracle's Multi-Core Factor in Licensing multi core licensing
It is conventional knowledge that in the world of Oracle licensing, one license is needed per processor, but multi-core processors are a different animal. Multi-core processor licensing costs have to do with the number of cores multiplied by Oracle's defined multi-core factor. For example, the IBM AIX (a.k.a. RISC) system has 4-eight core processors, which means that it requires 24 Oracle licenses based on Oracle's "multi-core factor", which is 0.75 for the IBM AIX system.
In this case the formula for determining that 24 Oracle licenses are needed is 4*8*0.75 = 24
The multi-core factor is as follows:
* 0.25 for SUN's UltraSparc T1 processors
* 0.50 for Intel and AMD processors
* 0.75 for SUN's UltraSparc T2 processors
* 0.75 for all other multi-core processors
* 1.00 for single-core processors
_______________________________
While every Oracle shop has a different licensing agreement, there are substantial savings to be had from downgrading from Oracle Enterprise Edition (EE) to the lesser Standard Edition and Express Edition (XE). In some shops, consolidating instances onto single servers is the answer. I've worked in shops that chose to abandon certain EE features so that they could run their applications on the cheaper Oracle SE.
Oracle's Multi-Core Factor in Licensing multi core licensing
It is conventional knowledge that in the world of Oracle licensing, one license is needed per processor, but multi-core processors are a different animal. Multi-core processor licensing costs have to do with the number of cores multiplied by Oracle's defined multi-core factor. For example, the IBM AIX (a.k.a. RISC) system has 4-eight core processors, which means that it requires 24 Oracle licenses based on Oracle's "multi-core factor", which is 0.75 for the IBM AIX system.
In this case the formula for determining that 24 Oracle licenses are needed is 4*8*0.75 = 24
The multi-core factor is as follows:
* 0.25 for SUN's UltraSparc T1 processors
* 0.50 for Intel and AMD processors
* 0.75 for SUN's UltraSparc T2 processors
* 0.75 for all other multi-core processors
* 1.00 for single-core processors
_______________________________
Friday, November 14, 2008
Hosting Open Source as SaaS
I would be surprised if serving ads would pay for the hosting/bandwidth/tech support required to host some of the open source SaaS applications. This would provide huge experience at low risk, and absorb significant hours.
MantisBT is a free popular web-based bugtracking system that might fit the model.
========================================================
20081117
Teamwork is a Web-based groupware for project management. It supplies groupware, issue tracking, cost control, and document and project management features with fine-grained security in a friendly interface.
========================================================
200812
Team tasks does project management. There are others.
========================================================
20090331
Request Tracker is an enterprise-grade ticketing system which enables a group of people to intelligently and efficiently manage tasks, issues, and requests submitted by a community of users.
RT Hosting Plans
Gossamer offers four different hosting plans for RT. If you are unsure of what would be the best fit for you, please contact them with the details on how you plan to use RT.
Bronze - $125 a month
For companies processing up to 500 tickets per month
Shared Server - Dual AMD Opteron Server, 4 GB of RAM, 73 GB RAID 1 Drives, 64 bit Linux
Silver - $350 a month
For companies processing up to 1000 tickets per month
Dedicated Server - Single AMD Opteron Server, 1 GB RAM, 40 GB Drives
Gold - $800 a month
For companies processing up to 5000 tickets per month
Dedicated Server - Dual AMD Opteron Server, 4 GB of RAM, 73 GB RAID 1 Drives, 64 bit Linux
Platinum - $3250 a month
Unlimited tickets per month
Custom Cluster - please contact Gossamer for more information
========================================================
201101
Heroku. Ruby cloud platform as a service.
MantisBT is a free popular web-based bugtracking system that might fit the model.
========================================================
20081117
Teamwork is a Web-based groupware for project management. It supplies groupware, issue tracking, cost control, and document and project management features with fine-grained security in a friendly interface.
========================================================
200812
Team tasks does project management. There are others.
========================================================
20090331
Request Tracker is an enterprise-grade ticketing system which enables a group of people to intelligently and efficiently manage tasks, issues, and requests submitted by a community of users.
RT Hosting Plans
Gossamer offers four different hosting plans for RT. If you are unsure of what would be the best fit for you, please contact them with the details on how you plan to use RT.
Bronze - $125 a month
For companies processing up to 500 tickets per month
Shared Server - Dual AMD Opteron Server, 4 GB of RAM, 73 GB RAID 1 Drives, 64 bit Linux
Silver - $350 a month
For companies processing up to 1000 tickets per month
Dedicated Server - Single AMD Opteron Server, 1 GB RAM, 40 GB Drives
Gold - $800 a month
For companies processing up to 5000 tickets per month
Dedicated Server - Dual AMD Opteron Server, 4 GB of RAM, 73 GB RAID 1 Drives, 64 bit Linux
Platinum - $3250 a month
Unlimited tickets per month
Custom Cluster - please contact Gossamer for more information
========================================================
201101
Heroku. Ruby cloud platform as a service.
Water - Fluoride Removal
Many municipal water systems add fluoride to water for the stated purpose of enhancing teeth development. There is increasing attention to the downsides of fluoride such as brittle teeth, reduced IQ/motivation, and the ineffectiveness to reduce teeth cavities.
Fluoride can be removed by:
distillation,
reverse osmosis filter,
activated alumina defluoridation filter.
Distillation technology is well-known.
Reverse osmosis technology is also well-known.
Would it be possible to radically reduce the high price ($30) of activated filters?
Would it be possible to find some other filter agent that could attach to or precipitate out the fluoride?
-----------------------------------------
2008.12
1. At this time activated filters are an old technology used by many across the globe to trap all sorts of things. Because it has been practiced so long by so many people and supplied by so many companies across the world, I'd expect it to be about bottom price for the technology. Don't know if anything better will be invented some day. Flourine /flouride technology is very specialized technology due to the element itself and where it sits on the periodic table. It will react with just about everything and anything, so once it is in the water at such a low concentration it becomes an engineering challenge to remove it making the cost a challenge.
2. For the best possible future break through technology, I expect it will be "membrane" technology which is the basis for reverse osmosis. Research in this technology because it is the basis for new sources for fresh water from salt water and space flight development so astronauts will be able to recycle their urine into drinking water, etc.
Fluoride can be removed by:
distillation,
reverse osmosis filter,
activated alumina defluoridation filter.
Distillation technology is well-known.
Reverse osmosis technology is also well-known.
Would it be possible to radically reduce the high price ($30) of activated filters?
Would it be possible to find some other filter agent that could attach to or precipitate out the fluoride?
-----------------------------------------
2008.12
1. At this time activated filters are an old technology used by many across the globe to trap all sorts of things. Because it has been practiced so long by so many people and supplied by so many companies across the world, I'd expect it to be about bottom price for the technology. Don't know if anything better will be invented some day. Flourine /flouride technology is very specialized technology due to the element itself and where it sits on the periodic table. It will react with just about everything and anything, so once it is in the water at such a low concentration it becomes an engineering challenge to remove it making the cost a challenge.
2. For the best possible future break through technology, I expect it will be "membrane" technology which is the basis for reverse osmosis. Research in this technology because it is the basis for new sources for fresh water from salt water and space flight development so astronauts will be able to recycle their urine into drinking water, etc.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
(focused) ebay market tracker
A specific app/page for gold. Or silver. Or ...
http://ebaypmx.com/Default.aspx
Windows application http://gatewaycontrol.com/
http://ebaypmx.com/Default.aspx
Windows application http://gatewaycontrol.com/
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Public Works Software
Asset mgmt, work orders, calls are not industry-specific.
PubWorks – Your Public Works Software Solution!
PubWorks is a comprehensive, easy-to-use and affordable Public Works Management Software serving Public Works, Road & Bridge and Highway departments of all shapes and sizes.
PubWorks – Your Public Works Software Solution!
PubWorks is a comprehensive, easy-to-use and affordable Public Works Management Software serving Public Works, Road & Bridge and Highway departments of all shapes and sizes.
Monday, November 03, 2008
"Free Energy" Home Plug-In Device
Some capacitors in a plug-in box for $200?
What is the POWERGARD?
The POWERGARD is new, innovative device that filters the supply voltage while improving the efficiency and power factor of the electricity consumed in a home by electrical appliances. It's purpose is to save wasted electricity in homes, condominiums and apartments.
The POWERGARD does not consume electrical energy. You can use it 24 hours a day all year round without increasing electricity expenses.
The amount of energy that can be saved depends on factors such as the type of electrical appliances used (i.e. air conditioning, garbage disposal unit..), the amount of electrical used and even the location of the home. Homes near shops, restaurants and light industries, where voltage supply is unstable and may fluctuate, will see higher savings.
In addition to extending the life span of appliance motors, the POWERGARD also reduces the reactive power generated by inductive loads. This helps utility companies by eliminating interference to the community power supply.
What is the POWERGARD?
The POWERGARD is new, innovative device that filters the supply voltage while improving the efficiency and power factor of the electricity consumed in a home by electrical appliances. It's purpose is to save wasted electricity in homes, condominiums and apartments.
The POWERGARD does not consume electrical energy. You can use it 24 hours a day all year round without increasing electricity expenses.
The amount of energy that can be saved depends on factors such as the type of electrical appliances used (i.e. air conditioning, garbage disposal unit..), the amount of electrical used and even the location of the home. Homes near shops, restaurants and light industries, where voltage supply is unstable and may fluctuate, will see higher savings.
In addition to extending the life span of appliance motors, the POWERGARD also reduces the reactive power generated by inductive loads. This helps utility companies by eliminating interference to the community power supply.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Consultant Tools
Not a sales website, but more of a traveling consultant's website:
calendar / time
track contacts - people, bdays
notes
calendar / time
track contacts - people, bdays
notes
Shopping/Gift List
Make a wish list / shopping list website for what people want to get/purchase. Similar to the Amazon wish lists.
This will pull up price quotes from multiple site and reviews from multiple sites.
Can place ads and click-through to merchants.
This will pull up price quotes from multiple site and reviews from multiple sites.
Can place ads and click-through to merchants.
Resume/Recruiting Software
Automate the workflow of receiving resumes, tracking applicant contact, schedule interview, interview results, offer/reject letter.
Add-on management of job board submissions.
myStaffingPro® is a full-featured applicant tracking and recruiting software system with advanced applicant screening capabilities.
Express Edition: Economical solution for companies who are looking for the essentials in applicant tracking.
Standard Edition: For small to mid-sized companies, Standard offers an affordable applicant tracking and recruiting software solution.
Configuration Options: Build your applicant tracking system by enhancing the standard system with enterprise level features.
Custom Solution: One of a kind solution that is catered to your exact hiring process
Site claims: 49,000 Users, 523 Active Clients
______________________________________________________________
2011 11
iCIMS NOW is the ideal Applicant Tracking System (ATS) for small companies that want something off-the-shelf and ready to go NOW.
Stay with iCIMS NOW past the 30-day free trial and we'll provide you with a fully branded career portal that matches the look and feel of your company website. There is no extra charge for this service.
$199/month. Upcharge for multiple users.
Add-on management of job board submissions.
myStaffingPro® is a full-featured applicant tracking and recruiting software system with advanced applicant screening capabilities.
Express Edition: Economical solution for companies who are looking for the essentials in applicant tracking.
Standard Edition: For small to mid-sized companies, Standard offers an affordable applicant tracking and recruiting software solution.
Configuration Options: Build your applicant tracking system by enhancing the standard system with enterprise level features.
Custom Solution: One of a kind solution that is catered to your exact hiring process
Site claims: 49,000 Users, 523 Active Clients
______________________________________________________________
2011 11
iCIMS NOW is the ideal Applicant Tracking System (ATS) for small companies that want something off-the-shelf and ready to go NOW.
Stay with iCIMS NOW past the 30-day free trial and we'll provide you with a fully branded career portal that matches the look and feel of your company website. There is no extra charge for this service.
$199/month. Upcharge for multiple users.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Online Backup
This infrastructure is rebranded and sold by partners.
Our award-winning Remote Backup service is the most cost-effective, secure and convenient way to automatically back up your important data files offsite each night.
The infrastructure is tricky to do 100% correct (think recovery) and is a different skill set than marketing/selling and even hands-on support. Splitting these tasks to partner resellers makes sense.
Our award-winning Remote Backup service is the most cost-effective, secure and convenient way to automatically back up your important data files offsite each night.
The infrastructure is tricky to do 100% correct (think recovery) and is a different skill set than marketing/selling and even hands-on support. Splitting these tasks to partner resellers makes sense.
Friday, October 03, 2008
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Requirements Analysis Software
IBM Rational® RequisitePro® is a requirements management tool
Trial download now available: Download it now
For project teams who want to manage their requirements, write good use cases, improve traceability, strengthen collaboration, reduce project risk, and increase quality.
* Uses advanced real-time integration with Microsoft® Word to provide a familiar environment for activities such as requirements definition and organization
* Incorporates a powerful database infrastructure to facilitate requirements organization, integration, traceability and analysis
* Enables detailed attribute customization and filtering to maximize the informative value of each requirement
* Provides a fully functional, scaleable web interface optimized for usage in a geographically distributed environment
* Provides detailed traceability views that display parent/child relationships and shows requirements that may be affected by upstream or downstream changes
* Performs project version comparisons using XML-based project baselines
* Integrates with multiple tools in the IBM Software Delivery Platform to improve accessibility, communication and traceability of requirements
* Operating systems supported: Windows
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Reqpro Excel Client is an add-on.
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RAVEN
Rapid Requirements Elicitation and Definition
The award-winning RAVEN software for requirements elicitation and definition enables business analysts to quickly build stakeholder consensus on requirements, reduce the time required for stakeholders to approve specifications, reduce developer rework due to requirements errors, and seamlessly integrate requirements and testing.
RAVEN adds requirements elicitation and definition to the application lifecycle management platforms from IBM Rational, Telelogic, HP Mercury, and Microsoft Visual Studio.
Got Requirements Trouble?
Poorly reviewed application specifications and missing requirements are the leading cause of missed deadlines for application software projects. Half of all development rework is attributed to requirements problems. Yet many organizations still cling to massive Microsoft Word specification documents that are difficult to review and impossible to maintain.
Deliver Applications Faster
RAVEN enables enterprises to deliver applications faster. Teams of business analysts, stakeholders, and subject matter experts can quickly collaborate to define precise application requirements and publish accurate specification documents. RAVEN reduces the time required for stakeholders to approve specifications, reduces developer rework due to requirements errors, and seamlessly integrates requirements and testing, often saving months from business application projects.
Find Missing Requirements
Unlike traditional drag-and-drop requirements tools, the award-winning RAVEN software automatically parses plain English text and generates visual models and specification documents that are intuitive to non-technical stakeholders and subject matter experts. There is no need for business analysts to learn new diagram languages-RAVEN works directly from English text in Microsoft Word, making it the simplest solution to implement and the fastest for business analysts to learn. Our patented language engine understands use cases and user stories and helps business analysts complete specification documents quickly.
RAVEN Express
RAVEN Express is the industry’s first requirements elicitation and definition product that is integrated directly into Microsoft Word™. Business analysts who today write requirements documents in Word can easily add requirements modeling and find missing requirements with the push of one button. Unlike other requirements environments, RAVEN Express does not require the business analyst to learn a new application, to learn a new graphical modeling language, or even to leave Microsoft Word.
With RAVEN Express, you can add requirements modeling directly into Microsoft Word.
Using Microsoft Word for Requirements Definition?
Missing and incomplete requirements are the #1 reason projects fail, according to a 2008 Baseline Magazine study. Yet many business analysts continue to rely on massive Word documents because moving to a dedicated requirements product takes too much time and effort.
Find Missing Requirements in Your Word Document, Without Leaving Word!
By adding requirements modeling directly into Microsoft Word, you can add modeling to your elicitation and specification practices without moving to a separate requirements tool. Specifications always begin with English text—that’s how business people communicate every day. But text by itself is insufficient, inefficient, and ineffective. Stakeholders and subject matter experts cannot review large amounts of text and find what’s missing.
Using Corporate Templates? Have Existing Libraries of Documents?
Many organizations have spent years refining specification templates. With RAVEN Express you can add requirements models to your existing templates without a change! Are you in the middle of a project, or is your new project a change to an existing application? Open your existing Word specification documents, and RAVEN is ready to work.
It’s Simple and Powerful to Use
Simply select the text of your use case, scenario, or user story, and click the Insert Model button. RAVEN parses plain business English text, and will insert an Activity Diagram into your document. RAVEN automatically creates a glossary and finds ambiguous requirements statements. RAVEN can even find missing requirements.
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
RAVEN dramatically accelerates requirements definition. Ravenflow customers report cutting weeks and even months off their project schedules as they use RAVEN to quickly build stakeholder consensus and find missing requirements early in the process, before coding has started.
RAVEN Highlights
RAVEN automatically generates clear graphical models of the requirements from the text.
* Faster and more accurate reviews by stakeholders
* Faster delivery of specifications to development
* Text and diagrams are always in perfect synchronization
RAVEN finds missing requirements.
* Reduces delays due to rework and waiting for clarification
RAVEN provides a web-based collaboration portal.
* Expedites faster review cycles, enables versioning, and provides a record of the discussions behind the decisions
RAVEN automatically generates specification documents.
* Faster delivery of specifications to development in a consistent format
RAVEN generates test cases from use cases.
* 100% test coverage for functional requirements starts testing faster
"With RAVEN, we can beat the clock and get our product in front of the customer quickly. Now, after just the first or second time around, we deliver exactly what the customer wants."
— David Mann, CIO
Word & Brown Companies
RAVEN automatically generates visual models from plain business English text, providing immediate graphical feedback for detecting requirements errors.
RAVEN Features
RAVEN Author — enables business analysts to quickly assemble complete business requirements specification documents from notes, interviews, Microsoft Word documents, use cases and user stories, workshops, screen mockups and screen shots, business rules, and other types of stakeholder information. RAVEN automatically generates activity diagrams with swim lanes from the plain English text of use cases and user stories.
RAVEN Author includes the Specification Builder, which quickly creates requirements specification documents from all requirements components in templated Microsoft Word format, allowing easy communication of requirements with stakeholders and solution providers. It is template based, so each organization can design the exact document that will satisfy its needs. RAVEN-produced specification documents include automatically generated diagrams, which are essential for stakeholder validation. Changes to requirements are easily incorporated into new documents in seconds.
RAVEN exports requirements models into popular UML modeling tools such as Rational Software Architect, Metastorm Provision, and Sparx Enterprise Architect.
RAVEN Integrations
RAVEN RequisitePro Integration — enables organizations to elicit and define requirements in RAVEN and automatically transfer them into IBM Rational RequisitePro. This ensures that requirements are visible to all development team members and provides traceability throughout the development lifecycle.
RAVEN DOORS Integration — enables organizations to elicit and define requirements in RAVEN and automatically transfer them into IBM Rational DOORS. This ensures that requirements are visible to all development team members and provides traceability throughout the development lifecycle.
RAVEN HP Quality Center Integration — Complete requirements and test cases are automatically populated into HP Quality Center, dramatically reducing test preparation time and enabling delivery of higher quality applications, faster.
RAVEN Visual Studio 2005 IntegrationTM — enables organizations to author and validate requirements in RAVEN and automatically transfer them as work items into Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Team Foundation Server.
RAVEN Collaboration Server
RAVEN Collaboration Server enables teams of business analysts to work together. It enables creation of a corporate library of validated specifications and best practices that all analysts have access to via the web. It provides a versioning system for keeping track of requirements changes. It stores all comments and issues with the requirements for auditing and compliance purposes, as well as a web-based requirements portal that analysts, stakeholders, and subject matter experts can use to quickly discuss and validate requirements.
RAVEN Add-ons
RAVEN Reviewer — allows analysts and stakeholders to collaboratively develop and validate requirements and specifications.
RAVEN Project Manager — allows the project manager to better manage risk early in the project. Metrics reported include requirements churn, outstanding requests for reviews, and open issues filed against the requirements.
RAVEN SQA — automatically generates tests from requirements. Tests having 100% requirements coverage are generated automatically. Sets of test can be version controlled and baselined along with their associated requirements assets as part of a requirements project. Test cases are actively linked with their associated requirements, so that when requirements change, test cases are automatically updated. Complete requirements and test cases are automatically populated into HP Quality Center, dramatically reducing test preparation time and enabling delivery of higher quality applications, faster.
Trial download now available: Download it now
For project teams who want to manage their requirements, write good use cases, improve traceability, strengthen collaboration, reduce project risk, and increase quality.
* Uses advanced real-time integration with Microsoft® Word to provide a familiar environment for activities such as requirements definition and organization
* Incorporates a powerful database infrastructure to facilitate requirements organization, integration, traceability and analysis
* Enables detailed attribute customization and filtering to maximize the informative value of each requirement
* Provides a fully functional, scaleable web interface optimized for usage in a geographically distributed environment
* Provides detailed traceability views that display parent/child relationships and shows requirements that may be affected by upstream or downstream changes
* Performs project version comparisons using XML-based project baselines
* Integrates with multiple tools in the IBM Software Delivery Platform to improve accessibility, communication and traceability of requirements
* Operating systems supported: Windows
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Reqpro Excel Client is an add-on.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
RAVEN
Rapid Requirements Elicitation and Definition
The award-winning RAVEN software for requirements elicitation and definition enables business analysts to quickly build stakeholder consensus on requirements, reduce the time required for stakeholders to approve specifications, reduce developer rework due to requirements errors, and seamlessly integrate requirements and testing.
RAVEN adds requirements elicitation and definition to the application lifecycle management platforms from IBM Rational, Telelogic, HP Mercury, and Microsoft Visual Studio.
Got Requirements Trouble?
Poorly reviewed application specifications and missing requirements are the leading cause of missed deadlines for application software projects. Half of all development rework is attributed to requirements problems. Yet many organizations still cling to massive Microsoft Word specification documents that are difficult to review and impossible to maintain.
Deliver Applications Faster
RAVEN enables enterprises to deliver applications faster. Teams of business analysts, stakeholders, and subject matter experts can quickly collaborate to define precise application requirements and publish accurate specification documents. RAVEN reduces the time required for stakeholders to approve specifications, reduces developer rework due to requirements errors, and seamlessly integrates requirements and testing, often saving months from business application projects.
Find Missing Requirements
Unlike traditional drag-and-drop requirements tools, the award-winning RAVEN software automatically parses plain English text and generates visual models and specification documents that are intuitive to non-technical stakeholders and subject matter experts. There is no need for business analysts to learn new diagram languages-RAVEN works directly from English text in Microsoft Word, making it the simplest solution to implement and the fastest for business analysts to learn. Our patented language engine understands use cases and user stories and helps business analysts complete specification documents quickly.
RAVEN Express
RAVEN Express is the industry’s first requirements elicitation and definition product that is integrated directly into Microsoft Word™. Business analysts who today write requirements documents in Word can easily add requirements modeling and find missing requirements with the push of one button. Unlike other requirements environments, RAVEN Express does not require the business analyst to learn a new application, to learn a new graphical modeling language, or even to leave Microsoft Word.
With RAVEN Express, you can add requirements modeling directly into Microsoft Word.
Using Microsoft Word for Requirements Definition?
Missing and incomplete requirements are the #1 reason projects fail, according to a 2008 Baseline Magazine study. Yet many business analysts continue to rely on massive Word documents because moving to a dedicated requirements product takes too much time and effort.
Find Missing Requirements in Your Word Document, Without Leaving Word!
By adding requirements modeling directly into Microsoft Word, you can add modeling to your elicitation and specification practices without moving to a separate requirements tool. Specifications always begin with English text—that’s how business people communicate every day. But text by itself is insufficient, inefficient, and ineffective. Stakeholders and subject matter experts cannot review large amounts of text and find what’s missing.
Using Corporate Templates? Have Existing Libraries of Documents?
Many organizations have spent years refining specification templates. With RAVEN Express you can add requirements models to your existing templates without a change! Are you in the middle of a project, or is your new project a change to an existing application? Open your existing Word specification documents, and RAVEN is ready to work.
It’s Simple and Powerful to Use
Simply select the text of your use case, scenario, or user story, and click the Insert Model button. RAVEN parses plain business English text, and will insert an Activity Diagram into your document. RAVEN automatically creates a glossary and finds ambiguous requirements statements. RAVEN can even find missing requirements.
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
RAVEN dramatically accelerates requirements definition. Ravenflow customers report cutting weeks and even months off their project schedules as they use RAVEN to quickly build stakeholder consensus and find missing requirements early in the process, before coding has started.
RAVEN Highlights
RAVEN automatically generates clear graphical models of the requirements from the text.
* Faster and more accurate reviews by stakeholders
* Faster delivery of specifications to development
* Text and diagrams are always in perfect synchronization
RAVEN finds missing requirements.
* Reduces delays due to rework and waiting for clarification
RAVEN provides a web-based collaboration portal.
* Expedites faster review cycles, enables versioning, and provides a record of the discussions behind the decisions
RAVEN automatically generates specification documents.
* Faster delivery of specifications to development in a consistent format
RAVEN generates test cases from use cases.
* 100% test coverage for functional requirements starts testing faster
"With RAVEN, we can beat the clock and get our product in front of the customer quickly. Now, after just the first or second time around, we deliver exactly what the customer wants."
— David Mann, CIO
Word & Brown Companies
RAVEN automatically generates visual models from plain business English text, providing immediate graphical feedback for detecting requirements errors.
RAVEN Features
RAVEN Author — enables business analysts to quickly assemble complete business requirements specification documents from notes, interviews, Microsoft Word documents, use cases and user stories, workshops, screen mockups and screen shots, business rules, and other types of stakeholder information. RAVEN automatically generates activity diagrams with swim lanes from the plain English text of use cases and user stories.
RAVEN Author includes the Specification Builder, which quickly creates requirements specification documents from all requirements components in templated Microsoft Word format, allowing easy communication of requirements with stakeholders and solution providers. It is template based, so each organization can design the exact document that will satisfy its needs. RAVEN-produced specification documents include automatically generated diagrams, which are essential for stakeholder validation. Changes to requirements are easily incorporated into new documents in seconds.
RAVEN exports requirements models into popular UML modeling tools such as Rational Software Architect, Metastorm Provision, and Sparx Enterprise Architect.
RAVEN Integrations
RAVEN RequisitePro Integration — enables organizations to elicit and define requirements in RAVEN and automatically transfer them into IBM Rational RequisitePro. This ensures that requirements are visible to all development team members and provides traceability throughout the development lifecycle.
RAVEN DOORS Integration — enables organizations to elicit and define requirements in RAVEN and automatically transfer them into IBM Rational DOORS. This ensures that requirements are visible to all development team members and provides traceability throughout the development lifecycle.
RAVEN HP Quality Center Integration — Complete requirements and test cases are automatically populated into HP Quality Center, dramatically reducing test preparation time and enabling delivery of higher quality applications, faster.
RAVEN Visual Studio 2005 IntegrationTM — enables organizations to author and validate requirements in RAVEN and automatically transfer them as work items into Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Team Foundation Server.
RAVEN Collaboration Server
RAVEN Collaboration Server enables teams of business analysts to work together. It enables creation of a corporate library of validated specifications and best practices that all analysts have access to via the web. It provides a versioning system for keeping track of requirements changes. It stores all comments and issues with the requirements for auditing and compliance purposes, as well as a web-based requirements portal that analysts, stakeholders, and subject matter experts can use to quickly discuss and validate requirements.
RAVEN Add-ons
RAVEN Reviewer — allows analysts and stakeholders to collaboratively develop and validate requirements and specifications.
RAVEN Project Manager — allows the project manager to better manage risk early in the project. Metrics reported include requirements churn, outstanding requests for reviews, and open issues filed against the requirements.
RAVEN SQA — automatically generates tests from requirements. Tests having 100% requirements coverage are generated automatically. Sets of test can be version controlled and baselined along with their associated requirements assets as part of a requirements project. Test cases are actively linked with their associated requirements, so that when requirements change, test cases are automatically updated. Complete requirements and test cases are automatically populated into HP Quality Center, dramatically reducing test preparation time and enabling delivery of higher quality applications, faster.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Stock Market Tools
A new company called SmartStops (www.smartstops.net) will go live Monday with an advisory that will tell you when to bail out of a particular stock.
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2008
THE STRIKING PRICE DAILY
Trust Options, Not Corporate America
By STEVEN M. SEARS
The activity of calls and puts is a far better gauge of a company's
health than a CEO's words.
FRONT-MONTH OPTIONS CONTRACTS are a stock investor's best financial
adviser.
The trading activity in calls and puts shows if sophisticated investors
are bullish or bearish about a stock, or even an entire market.
Even investors who do not trade options need to understand options to
better navigate this market. Depending on corporate executives for
straight talk is often a fast road to the poor house.
Options can help speak truth to power.
Executives of bankrupt Lehman Brothers, for example, asserted to the
bitter end that the bank was financially healthy, but the options told a
different story.
Wachovia, whose stock is down 85% this year, also offers a good lesson
in what happens to investors who rely too much on corporate executives.
In July, Wachovia (ticker: WB) prominently displayed on its corporate
home page, a video from Robert Steel, the chief executive. "So although
the nation's financial news lately has been a bit troubling, and
Wachovia certainly isn't immune, I want you to know that our company is on
exceptionally sound footing," Steel said.
Yesterday, Wachovia reported a $24 billion loss, and the stock has lost
87% of its value over the past five years. The only thing sound about
Wachovia is that it will, by year's end, disappear when its "take
under" is finalized with Wells Fargo (WFC).
When Lehman was trying to fast talk its way out of its latest mess, the
options market said Lehman would pull a Bear Stearns and take a dirt
nap in Wall Street's graveyard.
Lehman's implied volatility -- a measure of investors' expectations
about the severity of a stock's up or down movement -- was obscenely high.
Still, traders bought puts -- which increase in value when stock
prices decline -- despite their superhigh prices.
Juxtapose options trading with what former CEO Richard Fuld said on
Lehman's last conference call to discuss quarterly finances. "We have what
we believe will be a strong and clean balance sheet that will allow us
to serve our customer business," he said.
Options told the truth; Lehman did not. This story line emerges over
and over again. It's not always perfect, but it's safer to trust
options-activity trading than the soothing words of corporate chieftains.
Against this backdrop of dubious corporate assertions, Dow Chemical
(DOW) deserves credit for its most recent earnings report. Andrew Liveris,
chief of the nation's largest chemical company, minced no words in
telling investors that he expects a global recession through most of 2009.
Dow's products are in everything from plastic to fertilizers and seed
sciences, so Liveris likely knows what he's talking about.
Dow's stock is up 9.3% as sharp product-price increases lifted net
income 6.2% in the third quarter. With the stock just below $24, traders
are buying November 30 calls and selling November 22.50 and 25 puts.
...
----------------------------------------------------------------
2009.07
if you looked at nothing but the lower panel of the chart, you could easily spot the trend days.
----------------------------------------------------------------
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2008
THE STRIKING PRICE DAILY
Trust Options, Not Corporate America
By STEVEN M. SEARS
The activity of calls and puts is a far better gauge of a company's
health than a CEO's words.
FRONT-MONTH OPTIONS CONTRACTS are a stock investor's best financial
adviser.
The trading activity in calls and puts shows if sophisticated investors
are bullish or bearish about a stock, or even an entire market.
Even investors who do not trade options need to understand options to
better navigate this market. Depending on corporate executives for
straight talk is often a fast road to the poor house.
Options can help speak truth to power.
Executives of bankrupt Lehman Brothers, for example, asserted to the
bitter end that the bank was financially healthy, but the options told a
different story.
Wachovia, whose stock is down 85% this year, also offers a good lesson
in what happens to investors who rely too much on corporate executives.
In July, Wachovia (ticker: WB) prominently displayed on its corporate
home page, a video from Robert Steel, the chief executive. "So although
the nation's financial news lately has been a bit troubling, and
Wachovia certainly isn't immune, I want you to know that our company is on
exceptionally sound footing," Steel said.
Yesterday, Wachovia reported a $24 billion loss, and the stock has lost
87% of its value over the past five years. The only thing sound about
Wachovia is that it will, by year's end, disappear when its "take
under" is finalized with Wells Fargo (WFC).
When Lehman was trying to fast talk its way out of its latest mess, the
options market said Lehman would pull a Bear Stearns and take a dirt
nap in Wall Street's graveyard.
Lehman's implied volatility -- a measure of investors' expectations
about the severity of a stock's up or down movement -- was obscenely high.
Still, traders bought puts -- which increase in value when stock
prices decline -- despite their superhigh prices.
Juxtapose options trading with what former CEO Richard Fuld said on
Lehman's last conference call to discuss quarterly finances. "We have what
we believe will be a strong and clean balance sheet that will allow us
to serve our customer business," he said.
Options told the truth; Lehman did not. This story line emerges over
and over again. It's not always perfect, but it's safer to trust
options-activity trading than the soothing words of corporate chieftains.
Against this backdrop of dubious corporate assertions, Dow Chemical
(DOW) deserves credit for its most recent earnings report. Andrew Liveris,
chief of the nation's largest chemical company, minced no words in
telling investors that he expects a global recession through most of 2009.
Dow's products are in everything from plastic to fertilizers and seed
sciences, so Liveris likely knows what he's talking about.
Dow's stock is up 9.3% as sharp product-price increases lifted net
income 6.2% in the third quarter. With the stock just below $24, traders
are buying November 30 calls and selling November 22.50 and 25 puts.
...
----------------------------------------------------------------
2009.07
if you looked at nothing but the lower panel of the chart, you could easily spot the trend days.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Automated File Transfer
Why couldn't open source do this? Is the cost really for support and maintenance?
Other than network latency, why not a cloud-based API service that runs on https? At least for demo/testing. Also use cloud for all product configuration/monitoring. Cloud-based for test and demo, then ship a box if they want their own box in production.
____________________________________________________________
Scheduler, encryption, etc.
Pricing starts at $3995. (2012 starting at $4995)
GoAnywhere automates the movement of enterprise data across internal networks.
$5000 and up.
The Moonwalk management interface or “Eagle” is a light-weight web application that receives HTTP connections.
A single point of management, the Eagle ensures that all policies, rules, tasks and storage definitions are centralized for simplified administration.
When a task is executed, the Eagle distributes instructions across the network such that each system participating in the operation localizes its workload.
This distributed execution architecture enables Moonwalk to scale proportionally.
With no middleware or centralized cache, data is migrated from its source directly to target in a single operation. Without the introduction of a single point of failure, Moonwalk is a unique technology offering for Enterprise Data Management.
____________________________________________________________
MoveIt
Encrypted transfers internally and with trading partners. Large list of customers.
Click together logical, reusable host definitions and workflow tasks
Schedule processes to run on a scheduled, event-driven, simultaneous, or on-demand basis
Process data and files using built-in, pre-configured scripts and macros
Monitor and report on all past, present, and scheduled tasks
Ensure clean files with anti-virus integration
Demonstrate compliance based on a single, detailed audit trail
Apparently this is a developer's marketing spin on the product.
http://courtbook.tarrantcounty.com/sirepub/cache/2/52tlmi45q5qdwv55qo253y55/15489112132011100457305.PDF
____________________________________________________________
Other than network latency, why not a cloud-based API service that runs on https? At least for demo/testing. Also use cloud for all product configuration/monitoring. Cloud-based for test and demo, then ship a box if they want their own box in production.
____________________________________________________________
Scheduler, encryption, etc.
Pricing starts at $3995. (2012 starting at $4995)
GoAnywhere automates the movement of enterprise data across internal networks.
$5000 and up.
The Moonwalk management interface or “Eagle” is a light-weight web application that receives HTTP connections.
A single point of management, the Eagle ensures that all policies, rules, tasks and storage definitions are centralized for simplified administration.
When a task is executed, the Eagle distributes instructions across the network such that each system participating in the operation localizes its workload.
This distributed execution architecture enables Moonwalk to scale proportionally.
With no middleware or centralized cache, data is migrated from its source directly to target in a single operation. Without the introduction of a single point of failure, Moonwalk is a unique technology offering for Enterprise Data Management.
____________________________________________________________
MoveIt
Encrypted transfers internally and with trading partners. Large list of customers.
Click together logical, reusable host definitions and workflow tasks
Schedule processes to run on a scheduled, event-driven, simultaneous, or on-demand basis
Process data and files using built-in, pre-configured scripts and macros
Monitor and report on all past, present, and scheduled tasks
Ensure clean files with anti-virus integration
Demonstrate compliance based on a single, detailed audit trail
Apparently this is a developer's marketing spin on the product.
http://courtbook.tarrantcounty.com/sirepub/cache/2/52tlmi45q5qdwv55qo253y55/15489112132011100457305.PDF
____________________________________________________________
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Organic Fertilizers
Soil ammendments and fertilizers for organic farming.
http://www.asaporganics.com/buy-asap/
X1 Concentrate
1 32oz bottle of X1 Concentrate makes 64 gallons of amendment.
$29.95 + $4.95 Shipping (FedEx Ground)
X5 Super Concentrate
1 32oz bottle of X5 Super Concentrate makes 320 gallons of amendment.
$99.00 + Free Shipping (FedEx Ground)
X25 Super Concentrate
1 1 Gallon Jug of X25 Super Concentrate makes 1,600 gallons of amendment.
$375.00 + Free Shipping (FedEx Ground)
X90 Super Concentrate
1 3.6 Gallon Pail of X90 Super Concentrate makes 5,760 gallons of amendment.
$999.00 + Free Shipping (FedEx Ground)
http://www.asaporganics.com/buy-asap/
X1 Concentrate
1 32oz bottle of X1 Concentrate makes 64 gallons of amendment.
$29.95 + $4.95 Shipping (FedEx Ground)
X5 Super Concentrate
1 32oz bottle of X5 Super Concentrate makes 320 gallons of amendment.
$99.00 + Free Shipping (FedEx Ground)
X25 Super Concentrate
1 1 Gallon Jug of X25 Super Concentrate makes 1,600 gallons of amendment.
$375.00 + Free Shipping (FedEx Ground)
X90 Super Concentrate
1 3.6 Gallon Pail of X90 Super Concentrate makes 5,760 gallons of amendment.
$999.00 + Free Shipping (FedEx Ground)
Monday, July 07, 2008
Pushing Air
MORE THOUGHTS:
it might produce a significant pressure-gradient in the surrounding air. A fraction of a PSI per foot would be more than enough to prevent someone from walking forward. If this is the origin of the effect, then the repulsion forces you experienced involved air pressure rather than electrostatic attraction/repulsion.
This might be an entirely new way to accomplish levitation. Attract
a whirling blob of ionized air to an oppositely-charged plate, then use
the resulting pressure gradient to lift and manipulate uncharged objects.
Sort of like a fluidized bed, but using charged air instead of sand.
How does it do that?
The motor works by ionizing the air, and then pushing against the ionized air. ...
Since the air has the same charge as the wire, the two repel one another. You can actually feel a small wind coming from the sharp point. As the wire pushes on the charged air, they both move away from one another. The air blows away, and the wire spins.
Formula 1 team using shaped air at front of car.
it might produce a significant pressure-gradient in the surrounding air. A fraction of a PSI per foot would be more than enough to prevent someone from walking forward. If this is the origin of the effect, then the repulsion forces you experienced involved air pressure rather than electrostatic attraction/repulsion.
This might be an entirely new way to accomplish levitation. Attract
a whirling blob of ionized air to an oppositely-charged plate, then use
the resulting pressure gradient to lift and manipulate uncharged objects.
Sort of like a fluidized bed, but using charged air instead of sand.
How does it do that?
The motor works by ionizing the air, and then pushing against the ionized air. ...
Since the air has the same charge as the wire, the two repel one another. You can actually feel a small wind coming from the sharp point. As the wire pushes on the charged air, they both move away from one another. The air blows away, and the wire spins.
Formula 1 team using shaped air at front of car.
______________________________________________
Could sound waves also be sued to shape air in front of a vehicle?
Monday, June 16, 2008
Homegrown Google Trends
Trending Low-Volume Google Searches - Introducing Gootrude
...
So, I had to roll my own trending mechanism, and this blog post announces the release of a new open source tool Gootrude (see the quick start, source code, and download links) that I wrote to do just this.
...
In closing, I would like to mention that Gootrude is just getting started, so there are lots of enhancements that need to be made. Some of the most important features to develop are:
* Integration with the Google Charts API.
* Development of an online web portal for Gootrude so that users don't have to have their own infrastructure to run Gootrude.
* Ability to import search data from different Gootrude collection systems.
* Add support for data collected from additional search engines.
...
...
So, I had to roll my own trending mechanism, and this blog post announces the release of a new open source tool Gootrude (see the quick start, source code, and download links) that I wrote to do just this.
...
In closing, I would like to mention that Gootrude is just getting started, so there are lots of enhancements that need to be made. Some of the most important features to develop are:
* Integration with the Google Charts API.
* Development of an online web portal for Gootrude so that users don't have to have their own infrastructure to run Gootrude.
* Ability to import search data from different Gootrude collection systems.
* Add support for data collected from additional search engines.
...
Thursday, June 12, 2008
General Info - Appliance Vendor
Levanta data center automation consists of three core capabilities:
* Monitoring agents to measure changing conditions in your Linux system environment.
* Configurable rules engine that allows you to create policies that define monitoring thresholds and the automated actions that should be taken if conditions are met.
* Policy-driven automation to rollback or deploy resources, applications, and services where you need them, when you need them. To do you much good, it must be fast. And Levanta is very fast.
RIP, Levanta
By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols on May 27, 2008 (9:00:00 PM)
It seemed like such a great idea. Linux is moving from edge and departmental servers to the data center, so why not offer Linux data center automation, complete with virtualization Linux lifecycle management? Well, maybe it's still a great business idea, but Levanta wasn't able to make a go of it.
---------------------------------------------------
2008.12
$189 with Atom processor. Company has reseller program and can customize.
* Monitoring agents to measure changing conditions in your Linux system environment.
* Configurable rules engine that allows you to create policies that define monitoring thresholds and the automated actions that should be taken if conditions are met.
* Policy-driven automation to rollback or deploy resources, applications, and services where you need them, when you need them. To do you much good, it must be fast. And Levanta is very fast.
RIP, Levanta
By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols on May 27, 2008 (9:00:00 PM)
It seemed like such a great idea. Linux is moving from edge and departmental servers to the data center, so why not offer Linux data center automation, complete with virtualization Linux lifecycle management? Well, maybe it's still a great business idea, but Levanta wasn't able to make a go of it.
---------------------------------------------------
2008.12
$189 with Atom processor. Company has reseller program and can customize.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Forced Savings via Paycheck Withholding
Offer service to businesses that will withhold some money from paychecks into a savings account. Pay some interest, and run the business on some of the interest.
Like people who look forward to the IRS tax refund, this will similarly force savings.
Like people who look forward to the IRS tax refund, this will similarly force savings.
General Info - How To Evaluate Your Startup Idea
GBN Newsletter: How to Easily Evaluate your Startup Idea
From: newsletter@gobignetwork.com
The Problem / Solution Issue
... we sometimes get enamored with our solution at the expense of having a real problem to solve. ...
The value of a good product idea is proportionate to the size of the problem it solves. For example, if I tell you I have the cure to cancer I don’t even have to tell you what the product is. You inherently know what a massive problem cancer is, so certainly any solution I have must be somewhat interesting.
When you can communicate the severity of the problem to investors, and they nod their head and say “yeah, that’s a huge problem, I get it” then you’ve got an interesting business idea.
When you can communicate that same problem and back up it up with a solution that consumers respond to with “here’s my check” then you’ve actually got a business!
The Sales and Marketing Strategy
Although you may have the solution/problem thing licked, it means nothing without knowing how to bring a customer in the door. ... I guarantee when you don’t bring people through the door, the products don’t sell themselves!
That’s why a powerful sales and marketing plan can be even more critical to your business than an initial revenue model. ...
You don’t have to have a ten year plan for every type of media you will buy and sales pitch you will perform. You just need to have a basic explanation for how you can cost effectively find customers over the next year or two. Your plan might stink, but not having one is a huge red flag.
Revenue Model
... Your revenue model should be simple – someone is willing to pay for what you offer. Whether they pay for it indirectly through advertising or directly through a purchase, there has to be a sustainable and readily identifiable revenue model.
More importantly, it has to be a profit model. ... The only companies allowed to exist without a profit model are charities and major airlines.
The Product
The last order of business, which may sound bizarre, is the Product Plan itself. That’s because if the product doesn’t solve a customer’s problem that you can make money on, it just doesn’t matter what the product is.
In many cases you can test the market for your product against the three previous points by simply doing some basic research. Long before you actually build a product, you can ask customers if they’d buy it. You can start to figure out how difficult and costly it might be to acquire more of them. You can also get a sense for what you could sell your product for and get a basic understanding of whether you could do it profitably.
When you’ve got answers to all of these questions, then, and only then, it’s time to go build a company. ...
From: newsletter@gobignetwork.com
The Problem / Solution Issue
... we sometimes get enamored with our solution at the expense of having a real problem to solve. ...
The value of a good product idea is proportionate to the size of the problem it solves. For example, if I tell you I have the cure to cancer I don’t even have to tell you what the product is. You inherently know what a massive problem cancer is, so certainly any solution I have must be somewhat interesting.
When you can communicate the severity of the problem to investors, and they nod their head and say “yeah, that’s a huge problem, I get it” then you’ve got an interesting business idea.
When you can communicate that same problem and back up it up with a solution that consumers respond to with “here’s my check” then you’ve actually got a business!
The Sales and Marketing Strategy
Although you may have the solution/problem thing licked, it means nothing without knowing how to bring a customer in the door. ... I guarantee when you don’t bring people through the door, the products don’t sell themselves!
That’s why a powerful sales and marketing plan can be even more critical to your business than an initial revenue model. ...
You don’t have to have a ten year plan for every type of media you will buy and sales pitch you will perform. You just need to have a basic explanation for how you can cost effectively find customers over the next year or two. Your plan might stink, but not having one is a huge red flag.
Revenue Model
... Your revenue model should be simple – someone is willing to pay for what you offer. Whether they pay for it indirectly through advertising or directly through a purchase, there has to be a sustainable and readily identifiable revenue model.
More importantly, it has to be a profit model. ... The only companies allowed to exist without a profit model are charities and major airlines.
The Product
The last order of business, which may sound bizarre, is the Product Plan itself. That’s because if the product doesn’t solve a customer’s problem that you can make money on, it just doesn’t matter what the product is.
In many cases you can test the market for your product against the three previous points by simply doing some basic research. Long before you actually build a product, you can ask customers if they’d buy it. You can start to figure out how difficult and costly it might be to acquire more of them. You can also get a sense for what you could sell your product for and get a basic understanding of whether you could do it profitably.
When you’ve got answers to all of these questions, then, and only then, it’s time to go build a company. ...
Monday, June 09, 2008
RFID Jammer
Small box that runs on 9v battery to jam RFID broadcasts to protect people's privacy.
========================================
October 2008
Wave Bubble
A design for a self-tuning portable RF jammer
This website details the design and construction Wave Bubble: a self-tuning, wide-bandwidth portable RF jammer. The device is lightweight and small for easy camouflaging: it is the size of a pack of cigarettes.
An internal lithium-ion battery provides up to 2 hours of jamming (two bands, such as cell) or 4 hours (single band, such as cordless phone, GPS, WiFi, bluetooth, etc). The battery is rechargeable via a mini-USB connector or 4mm DC jack (a common size). Alternately, 3 AAA batteries may also be used.
Output power is .1W (high bands) and .3W (low bands). Effective range is approximately 20' radius with well-tuned antennas. Less so with the internal antennas or poorly matched antennas.
Self-tuning is provided via dual PLL, therefore, no spectrum analyzer is necessary to build this jammer and a single Wave Bubble can jam many different frequency bands - unlike any other design currently available! To reconfigure the RF bands, simply plug it into the USB port of your PC and type in the new frequencies when prompted. Multiple frequency ranges can be programmed in, each time the device is power cycled it will advance to the next program in memory.
...
========================================
October 2008
Wave Bubble
A design for a self-tuning portable RF jammer
This website details the design and construction Wave Bubble: a self-tuning, wide-bandwidth portable RF jammer. The device is lightweight and small for easy camouflaging: it is the size of a pack of cigarettes.
An internal lithium-ion battery provides up to 2 hours of jamming (two bands, such as cell) or 4 hours (single band, such as cordless phone, GPS, WiFi, bluetooth, etc). The battery is rechargeable via a mini-USB connector or 4mm DC jack (a common size). Alternately, 3 AAA batteries may also be used.
Output power is .1W (high bands) and .3W (low bands). Effective range is approximately 20' radius with well-tuned antennas. Less so with the internal antennas or poorly matched antennas.
Self-tuning is provided via dual PLL, therefore, no spectrum analyzer is necessary to build this jammer and a single Wave Bubble can jam many different frequency bands - unlike any other design currently available! To reconfigure the RF bands, simply plug it into the USB port of your PC and type in the new frequencies when prompted. Multiple frequency ranges can be programmed in, each time the device is power cycled it will advance to the next program in memory.
...
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Roundabout Website
Google maps/earth to highlight roundabouts.
Allow commenting and user pics.
ROUNDABOUTPLANET.COM is available.
www.fastfoodmaps.com is defunct. From way back machine:
_____________________________________________________
2011 08
Round About Or Not consulting service.
Provide hardware to place on intersection poles that will record number+speed of vehicles in intersection (along with idle times while waiting at light). Tie in CCTV, cellphone monitoring, radio station monitoring, county/city fleet GPS. Crunch data to provide customer with accident savings, speed reductions, fuel reduction estimate, wait time reduction estimate. Rent service to traffic engineering firms.
Allow commenting and user pics.
ROUNDABOUTPLANET.COM is available.
www.fastfoodmaps.com is defunct. From way back machine:
_____________________________________________________
2011 08
Round About Or Not consulting service.
Provide hardware to place on intersection poles that will record number+speed of vehicles in intersection (along with idle times while waiting at light). Tie in CCTV, cellphone monitoring, radio station monitoring, county/city fleet GPS. Crunch data to provide customer with accident savings, speed reductions, fuel reduction estimate, wait time reduction estimate. Rent service to traffic engineering firms.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Hidden Real Estate Listings
Scrape listings to find abnormal/low prices.
REO Failure at Fannie Mae
How To Hide Listings - I will discuss the Fannie Mae owned property in question. This property was located at 838 SE Warren Way, Stuart, Florida in the Martins Crossing Subdivision. The official MLS Area for this subdivision is "7 - Stuart - South of Indiantown." In this case, the broker from Miami, 100 miles and a two hour ride away, listed the property in "1 - Hutchinson Island" and under the subdivision "Martins Xing." There was no way anyone searching for a home in this AREA or in Martins Crossing would find this listing. But this is only one step in the art of hiding listings.
Another way to hide listings is to not complete the listing data correctly. Some of sneaky things we find in hidden listings is . . . zero scare feet, no bedrooms, incorrect age of property, no room sizes, and if you can dream it up, these folks have tried it. Here's the hidden listing we are writing about - Click Here
REO Failure at Fannie Mae
How To Hide Listings - I will discuss the Fannie Mae owned property in question. This property was located at 838 SE Warren Way, Stuart, Florida in the Martins Crossing Subdivision. The official MLS Area for this subdivision is "7 - Stuart - South of Indiantown." In this case, the broker from Miami, 100 miles and a two hour ride away, listed the property in "1 - Hutchinson Island" and under the subdivision "Martins Xing." There was no way anyone searching for a home in this AREA or in Martins Crossing would find this listing. But this is only one step in the art of hiding listings.
Another way to hide listings is to not complete the listing data correctly. Some of sneaky things we find in hidden listings is . . . zero scare feet, no bedrooms, incorrect age of property, no room sizes, and if you can dream it up, these folks have tried it. Here's the hidden listing we are writing about - Click Here
Monday, May 12, 2008
Friday, May 09, 2008
Personal Information Documents
How to Prepare a Master Information Document
Preparing such a document is pretty simple, actually. You just need to create a single document that includes all of the information your loved ones might need to settle all of your outstanding accounts and get all of the benefits they should be getting. Here’s a checklist of what you should include.
Account information for every account you have open. Everything from your retirement account all the way down to your library card should be included here. This will allow the person using the document to systematically go from account to account and, at the very least, have access to them.
A complete list of every benefit anyone is entitled to upon your passing. This means life insurance benefits, Social Security information, retirement accounts that may disburse, and anything else that might benefit people once you’re gone. This is the stuff that you’re paying for now so that they can have it later - make sure they get it.
A complete list of all debts and all assets. This will provide a complete financial picture for you. For each of these, provide plenty of information - the current balance as of your writing, how to contact that entity, and any account information that’s relevant.
A detailed description of how to handle any business assets you may have. This is only true for some folks, but it’s vital. If I were to have an untimely passing, I have a plan in place and it’s well-documented - all of the steps that someone needs to take to ensure that The Simple Dollar’s archives remain up and running and my other business interests are handled well.
A copy of your will, your living trust, and any other documents pertaining to your estate. You should have several copies of these documents, but be sure to include an extra one here just in case.
What Now?
Once you have the document prepared, what’s next? Here are a few steps worth taking.
Make sure everyone has access to a copy. For us, my parents, my wife’s parents, my wife, and our safe deposit box will all have copies of this document very soon. It’s currently saved on my computer’s hard drive and on my backup drive, too, so the information could be found if need be, but I intend to print it out and give it to each of these people so they’re sure to have one if it’s needed. You can distribute these electronically, but be very careful, as the document is larded with personal data that an identity thief would love to have.
Talk it over with them. Make sure they know what the document is and what they should do with it. It’s not useful if it’s not in people’s hands or if they don’t know what it’s for.
Update it regularly - at least annually. Just pull out your electronic copy, read through it, and update anything that needs updating. If it’s significant, print out new copies for everyone and distribute them.
======================================
======================================
20081006
Take this and add ability to add a lot of contact info, and allow authorized viewers and modifiers. Could be like a phone tree.
Is ReachBy.com yet another online email service?
ReachBy.com does not intend to replace or compete with the regular email services. Instead, it will add extra value on top of your existing email account. All communication that you receive via ReachBy.com is forwarded to your existing email address. The messages you see inside your ReachBy account represent the most recent activity only.
Preparing such a document is pretty simple, actually. You just need to create a single document that includes all of the information your loved ones might need to settle all of your outstanding accounts and get all of the benefits they should be getting. Here’s a checklist of what you should include.
Account information for every account you have open. Everything from your retirement account all the way down to your library card should be included here. This will allow the person using the document to systematically go from account to account and, at the very least, have access to them.
A complete list of every benefit anyone is entitled to upon your passing. This means life insurance benefits, Social Security information, retirement accounts that may disburse, and anything else that might benefit people once you’re gone. This is the stuff that you’re paying for now so that they can have it later - make sure they get it.
A complete list of all debts and all assets. This will provide a complete financial picture for you. For each of these, provide plenty of information - the current balance as of your writing, how to contact that entity, and any account information that’s relevant.
A detailed description of how to handle any business assets you may have. This is only true for some folks, but it’s vital. If I were to have an untimely passing, I have a plan in place and it’s well-documented - all of the steps that someone needs to take to ensure that The Simple Dollar’s archives remain up and running and my other business interests are handled well.
A copy of your will, your living trust, and any other documents pertaining to your estate. You should have several copies of these documents, but be sure to include an extra one here just in case.
What Now?
Once you have the document prepared, what’s next? Here are a few steps worth taking.
Make sure everyone has access to a copy. For us, my parents, my wife’s parents, my wife, and our safe deposit box will all have copies of this document very soon. It’s currently saved on my computer’s hard drive and on my backup drive, too, so the information could be found if need be, but I intend to print it out and give it to each of these people so they’re sure to have one if it’s needed. You can distribute these electronically, but be very careful, as the document is larded with personal data that an identity thief would love to have.
Talk it over with them. Make sure they know what the document is and what they should do with it. It’s not useful if it’s not in people’s hands or if they don’t know what it’s for.
Update it regularly - at least annually. Just pull out your electronic copy, read through it, and update anything that needs updating. If it’s significant, print out new copies for everyone and distribute them.
======================================
======================================
20081006
Take this and add ability to add a lot of contact info, and allow authorized viewers and modifiers. Could be like a phone tree.
Is ReachBy.com yet another online email service?
ReachBy.com does not intend to replace or compete with the regular email services. Instead, it will add extra value on top of your existing email account. All communication that you receive via ReachBy.com is forwarded to your existing email address. The messages you see inside your ReachBy account represent the most recent activity only.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Self-Insurance Management
"claims administrative services to self-insured corporations"
Accounts, workflow, reports.
Accounts, workflow, reports.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Disk Usage Reporting
FolderSizes goes far beyond the capabilities of competing applications by combining several tools into one powerful solution:
* Duplicate File Report
* Quickly isolate and manage duplicate files within any folder or volume
* Largest Files Report
* FolderSizes can quickly show you which files are eating up the most space.
* File Types and Attributes Reports
* See the distribution of disk space by file type or attributes.
* Temporary File Report
* Eliminate temp file clutter left over from software installs, downloads & browsing.
* Scan Filtering
* Filter file system scans by filename, date, owner name and more.
* Integrated Search
* Search multiple paths by nearly any file criteria (including file owner).
* Disk Space Explorer
* Awesome detail view, coupled with stunning graphical bar and pie graphs.
* Drive Space Monitor
* Instant, at-a-glance view of any local, mapped, or removable disk.
* File Owners Report
* Discover which users are consuming the most space on local and network drives.
* Oldest Files Report
* Use your own criteria to find old files that may no longer be needed.
* File Sizes, Names & Dates Reports
* Powerful, customizable
* Duplicate File Report
* Quickly isolate and manage duplicate files within any folder or volume
* Largest Files Report
* FolderSizes can quickly show you which files are eating up the most space.
* File Types and Attributes Reports
* See the distribution of disk space by file type or attributes.
* Temporary File Report
* Eliminate temp file clutter left over from software installs, downloads & browsing.
* Scan Filtering
* Filter file system scans by filename, date, owner name and more.
* Integrated Search
* Search multiple paths by nearly any file criteria (including file owner).
* Disk Space Explorer
* Awesome detail view, coupled with stunning graphical bar and pie graphs.
* Drive Space Monitor
* Instant, at-a-glance view of any local, mapped, or removable disk.
* File Owners Report
* Discover which users are consuming the most space on local and network drives.
* Oldest Files Report
* Use your own criteria to find old files that may no longer be needed.
* File Sizes, Names & Dates Reports
* Powerful, customizable
License Type Price Purchase Link
Single-user license $50.00 USD (each)
Single-user license - 5 Pack $200.00 USD (20% off)
Single-user license - 10 Pack $350.00 USD (30% off)
Single-user license - 20 Pack $600.00 USD (40% off)
Site-wide license $800.00 USD (each)
Report Windows Active Directory Inactive Accounts
Freeware
Inactive Users Tracker automates the management of inactive user accounts. The program periodically checks all user accounts in specified domains and reports to you all accounts inactive for more than a specified number of days.
This product has two important features:
* Checks all users and reports those that have been inactive for a specified number of days.
* Automatically disables inactive user accounts (*).
Paid version has a few more features.
Inactive Users Tracker automates the management of inactive user accounts. The program periodically checks all user accounts in specified domains and reports to you all accounts inactive for more than a specified number of days.
This product has two important features:
* Checks all users and reports those that have been inactive for a specified number of days.
* Automatically disables inactive user accounts (*).
Paid version has a few more features.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Service To Check Customer Identities
Companies May Be Held Liable for Deals With Terrorists, ID Thieves
New and little-known regulations could mean fines, or even jail time, for companies that do business with bad guys
...
If you're a security pro, you might be familiar with the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) requirements, which basically require companies to check their customers' identities against a list of known terrorists to prevent them from unwittingly providing products or services to an enemy. Most major credit bureaus check customers and applicants against these lists, so if you're vetting your partners and customers that way, you're probably covered.
However, you may not have heard yet about the Federal Trade Commission's "Red Flag" program, which is designed to warn companies when they are about to do business with identity thieves or money-laundering operations. The Red Flag program, which takes effect Nov. 1, requires enterprises to check their customers and suppliers against databases of known online criminals -- much like what OFAC does with terrorists -- and also carries potential fines and penalties for businesses that don't do their due diligence before making a major transaction.
...
New and little-known regulations could mean fines, or even jail time, for companies that do business with bad guys
...
If you're a security pro, you might be familiar with the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) requirements, which basically require companies to check their customers' identities against a list of known terrorists to prevent them from unwittingly providing products or services to an enemy. Most major credit bureaus check customers and applicants against these lists, so if you're vetting your partners and customers that way, you're probably covered.
However, you may not have heard yet about the Federal Trade Commission's "Red Flag" program, which is designed to warn companies when they are about to do business with identity thieves or money-laundering operations. The Red Flag program, which takes effect Nov. 1, requires enterprises to check their customers and suppliers against databases of known online criminals -- much like what OFAC does with terrorists -- and also carries potential fines and penalties for businesses that don't do their due diligence before making a major transaction.
...
Monday, April 21, 2008
Monday, April 07, 2008
Friday, April 04, 2008
Domain Name Registrar
Expensive hobby.
Registrar Accreditation: Financial Considerations
US$2,500 non-refundable application fee, to be submitted with application.
US$4,000 yearly accreditation fee due upon approval and each year thereafter.
Variable fee (quarterly) billed once you begin registering domain names or the first full quarter following your accreditation approval, whichever occurs first. This fee represents a portion of ICANN's operating costs and, because it is divided among all registrars, the amount varies from quarter to quarter. Recently this fee has ranged from US$1,200 to S$2,000 per quarter.
Transaction-based gTLD fee (quarterly). This fee is a flat fee (currently $0.20) charged for each new registration, renewal or transfer. This fee can be billed by the registrar separately on its invoice to the registrant, but is paid by the registrar to ICANN.
Also requires proof on financial backing:
liquid capital immediately available in the applicant's name at the commencement of the accreditation period in an amount of US$70,000 or more before the ICANN accreditation becomes effective.
Registrar Accreditation: Financial Considerations
US$2,500 non-refundable application fee, to be submitted with application.
US$4,000 yearly accreditation fee due upon approval and each year thereafter.
Variable fee (quarterly) billed once you begin registering domain names or the first full quarter following your accreditation approval, whichever occurs first. This fee represents a portion of ICANN's operating costs and, because it is divided among all registrars, the amount varies from quarter to quarter. Recently this fee has ranged from US$1,200 to S$2,000 per quarter.
Transaction-based gTLD fee (quarterly). This fee is a flat fee (currently $0.20) charged for each new registration, renewal or transfer. This fee can be billed by the registrar separately on its invoice to the registrant, but is paid by the registrar to ICANN.
Also requires proof on financial backing:
liquid capital immediately available in the applicant's name at the commencement of the accreditation period in an amount of US$70,000 or more before the ICANN accreditation becomes effective.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Composting Supplies
Garden Composter $349.00
"Sun-Mar knows the best way to compost is by using a rotating drum. They've been using a rotating Bio-Drum™ in their landmark toilets for over 25 years. The new Sun-Mar garden composters take this concept a step further by adding a patented double-drum to the design. Compost materials go in the top and finished compost exits automatically out the end as the drum rotates. No more digging, forking, poking, lifting, or other ""work"" that previously went with composting! Patented AutoFlow© Biodrum: the Breakthrough Idea Easy to feed : Material goes in through easy-access top ports.
Back-saving ball bearings mean easy turning.
"Sun-Mar knows the best way to compost is by using a rotating drum. They've been using a rotating Bio-Drum™ in their landmark toilets for over 25 years. The new Sun-Mar garden composters take this concept a step further by adding a patented double-drum to the design. Compost materials go in the top and finished compost exits automatically out the end as the drum rotates. No more digging, forking, poking, lifting, or other ""work"" that previously went with composting! Patented AutoFlow© Biodrum: the Breakthrough Idea Easy to feed : Material goes in through easy-access top ports.
Back-saving ball bearings mean easy turning.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Email Marketing Service
This has been done and over-done for the past decade.
iContact Constant
Contact Campaigner Bronto
Minimum monthly price $9.95 $15 $25 $100
Number of templates Over 300 Over 220 35 148
Image hosting 500KB 200KB None 10MB
Survey creation Yes Extra $$ No Yes
Unlimited email lists Yes Yes Yes No
Public newsletter archive Yes Extra $$ No No
Autoresponder Yes No Limited Limited
Blogging / RSS Feeds Yes No No Yes
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Mortgage - Analyze Contracts
Service to analyze mortgage contracts before (or after) signing.
The following is a service to look for mortgage fraud after the fact.
OUR SERVICES
Exposing Fraud and Damages in Home Mortgage Loans
It is true that most consumers are unfamiliar with the procedures, requirements and complexities that entail a home mortgage loan application, such as: calculation of interest; right to recession; appraisal fee, loan origination fee, was your yield spread premium disclosed (“YSP”); illegal kickbacks, federal disclosure requirements, discount points, switching rates between initial disclosure and closing, mortgage fraud by lenders and brokers; prepayment penalties; total interest (%); adjustable rate mortgage fraud (“ARM”); bank fraud; flipping, the list is endless. To assist you, below are some examples of predatory lending practices.
----------------------------------------------------------
200904
Home-Account has raised $1M in seed funding from Charles River plus some angels - Marc Benioff, Ron Conway, Mark Pincus, Jeff Clavier, Arjun Gupta, and Gigi Brisson.
The service charges $10 a month to help users to get a good mortgage. Our first question was - how is this different from Lending Tree? The key is that the client is the consumer whereas Lending Tree is really a lead gen source for the mortgage companies. For a while LendingTree had a great business model but as the mortgage biz has cratered so has LendingTree.
...
The following is a service to look for mortgage fraud after the fact.
OUR SERVICES
Exposing Fraud and Damages in Home Mortgage Loans
It is true that most consumers are unfamiliar with the procedures, requirements and complexities that entail a home mortgage loan application, such as: calculation of interest; right to recession; appraisal fee, loan origination fee, was your yield spread premium disclosed (“YSP”); illegal kickbacks, federal disclosure requirements, discount points, switching rates between initial disclosure and closing, mortgage fraud by lenders and brokers; prepayment penalties; total interest (%); adjustable rate mortgage fraud (“ARM”); bank fraud; flipping, the list is endless. To assist you, below are some examples of predatory lending practices.
----------------------------------------------------------
200904
Home-Account has raised $1M in seed funding from Charles River plus some angels - Marc Benioff, Ron Conway, Mark Pincus, Jeff Clavier, Arjun Gupta, and Gigi Brisson.
The service charges $10 a month to help users to get a good mortgage. Our first question was - how is this different from Lending Tree? The key is that the client is the consumer whereas Lending Tree is really a lead gen source for the mortgage companies. For a while LendingTree had a great business model but as the mortgage biz has cratered so has LendingTree.
...
Enterprise Password Management
Symark has the powerPassword product. The centralization is good, if all groups can agree to use it. Value add is the add-ons to manage accounts/passwords for 100s of products - websphere, database, unix, etc.
Many competing products in this area, so the price must be low.
Many competing products in this area, so the price must be low.
Friday, February 08, 2008
Browser Cookie Cleaner
I didn't know this was a problem that needed a special software solution.
http://www.dummysoftware.com/gzapper.html
Purchase today for only $29.95
G-Zapper helps you stay anonymous while searching Google.
G-Zapper helps protect your identity and search history. G-Zapper will read the Google cookie installed on your PC, display the date it was installed, determine how long your searches have been tracked, and display your Google searches. G-Zapper allows you to automatically delete or entirely block the Google search cookie from future installation.
http://www.dummysoftware.com/gzapper.html
Purchase today for only $29.95
G-Zapper helps you stay anonymous while searching Google.
G-Zapper helps protect your identity and search history. G-Zapper will read the Google cookie installed on your PC, display the date it was installed, determine how long your searches have been tracked, and display your Google searches. G-Zapper allows you to automatically delete or entirely block the Google search cookie from future installation.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Market Trend
Track these to predict tomorrow's market movement.
One of the most bullish of indicators appeared. That indicator was the "80% Up Volume Day." The market tends to be near a bull move when up volume represents more than 80% of the total of up and down volume. That occured on Monday, along with good breadth (the advance-decline ratio on the NYSE was an excellent 3.34) and a diminishing number of new lows (28). Overall, the broad market was somewhat stronger than the blue chips, which is always a bullish indication.
CHECKING THE MARKET INTERNALS
NEWS: The number of new lows on the NYSE was in the 20's yesterday and was 76 today. When the market was hitting new lows just two weeks ago, the number spiked to 900 new lows. As we approach the lows again the number is much lower, suggesting the market may not be as weak this time and a successful test of the low is likely. The 50-day moving average of the new lows on the NYSE has begun to trend lower for the first time since mid-August, when the market bottomed before rallying to a new all-time high.
THE BOTTOMLINE: The data above can be analyzed in various manners whether you consider yourself bullish or bearish at the current time. The bulls will make the case there is a divergence from the last major sell-off in that less stocks are hitting new lows and that suggests the market is not as weak internally. The trend of the 50-day moving average is just as important because it is a display of a longer term trend. The bears will argue the market is just beginning to weaken and that more new lows will be created as the market falls and that there is more bedlam to come. That could be true, but it is more of a guess than an interpretation of the market. Below is a chart of the new lows on the NYSE over the last 8 months.
====================================
2008.05
Mission Statement
To provide leading financial research, analysis and visualization.
FINVIZ.com offers the fastest, and the most advanced stock screener available online, interactive markets maps, inovative market analysis and custom market intelligence solutions.
====================================
2008.08
Matt McC:
In the chart above I have highlighted the handful of buy signals that all occurred at the same time. It began with the consolidation above the $90 price support level, where there was also the 200-day moving average (blue line). The ETF had traded above the 200-day moving average for over a year and the $90 area just happened to fall just above it. At the same time the RSI crossed out of oversold territory, signaling a crossover buy signal. There was also the RSI divergence, which occurs when the ETF makes a new low, but the RSI does not. This signals the ETF is strengthening and when this occurs on support it is a very reliable buy signal. When all the indicators are combined it leaves us with a high reward-to-risk buy setup. BUT, with the potential for oil to drop down to $100 it was an aggressive trade. Also, this type of technical setup is what I call a "swing trade", meaning it could last a few days for a couple of weeks. I will let the chart dictate the holding period.
====================================
2008.09
Eclipse Trader is an Eclipse Rich Client Platform (RCP) application focused to the building of an online stock trading system, featuring shares pricing watch, intraday and history charts with technical analysis indicators, level II/market depth view, news watching, and integrated trading. The standard Eclipse RCP plug-ins architecture allows third-party vendors to extend the functionality of the program to include custom indicators, views or access to subscription-based data feeds and order entry.
One of the most bullish of indicators appeared. That indicator was the "80% Up Volume Day." The market tends to be near a bull move when up volume represents more than 80% of the total of up and down volume. That occured on Monday, along with good breadth (the advance-decline ratio on the NYSE was an excellent 3.34) and a diminishing number of new lows (28). Overall, the broad market was somewhat stronger than the blue chips, which is always a bullish indication.
CHECKING THE MARKET INTERNALS
NEWS: The number of new lows on the NYSE was in the 20's yesterday and was 76 today. When the market was hitting new lows just two weeks ago, the number spiked to 900 new lows. As we approach the lows again the number is much lower, suggesting the market may not be as weak this time and a successful test of the low is likely. The 50-day moving average of the new lows on the NYSE has begun to trend lower for the first time since mid-August, when the market bottomed before rallying to a new all-time high.
THE BOTTOMLINE: The data above can be analyzed in various manners whether you consider yourself bullish or bearish at the current time. The bulls will make the case there is a divergence from the last major sell-off in that less stocks are hitting new lows and that suggests the market is not as weak internally. The trend of the 50-day moving average is just as important because it is a display of a longer term trend. The bears will argue the market is just beginning to weaken and that more new lows will be created as the market falls and that there is more bedlam to come. That could be true, but it is more of a guess than an interpretation of the market. Below is a chart of the new lows on the NYSE over the last 8 months.
====================================
2008.05
Mission Statement
To provide leading financial research, analysis and visualization.
FINVIZ.com offers the fastest, and the most advanced stock screener available online, interactive markets maps, inovative market analysis and custom market intelligence solutions.
====================================
2008.08
Matt McC:
In the chart above I have highlighted the handful of buy signals that all occurred at the same time. It began with the consolidation above the $90 price support level, where there was also the 200-day moving average (blue line). The ETF had traded above the 200-day moving average for over a year and the $90 area just happened to fall just above it. At the same time the RSI crossed out of oversold territory, signaling a crossover buy signal. There was also the RSI divergence, which occurs when the ETF makes a new low, but the RSI does not. This signals the ETF is strengthening and when this occurs on support it is a very reliable buy signal. When all the indicators are combined it leaves us with a high reward-to-risk buy setup. BUT, with the potential for oil to drop down to $100 it was an aggressive trade. Also, this type of technical setup is what I call a "swing trade", meaning it could last a few days for a couple of weeks. I will let the chart dictate the holding period.
====================================
2008.09
Eclipse Trader is an Eclipse Rich Client Platform (RCP) application focused to the building of an online stock trading system, featuring shares pricing watch, intraday and history charts with technical analysis indicators, level II/market depth view, news watching, and integrated trading. The standard Eclipse RCP plug-ins architecture allows third-party vendors to extend the functionality of the program to include custom indicators, views or access to subscription-based data feeds and order entry.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Petitions/Polls
Online petitions, free and easy
* Custom design petitions, customize your question list
* Filter duplicate signatures, access real-time data
* Simply the most flexible activism tools on the web
* Easy to use
* Custom design petitions, customize your question list
* Filter duplicate signatures, access real-time data
* Simply the most flexible activism tools on the web
* Easy to use
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Search Engine Visibility Report
Person enters their domain name and service compiles report from all search engines.
Free, display ads.
Free, display ads.
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Hussman Metal Timing Indicator
... the combination of all of these is rare but extremely powerful.
Here's Hussman's money quote from that article:
Not surprisingly, the combination of all of these is rare but extremely powerful. In the rare instances when 1) The rate of inflation has been higher than 6 months earlier, 2) Treasury bond yields have been lower than 6 months earlier, 3) the NAPM Purchasing Managers Index has been below 50, and 4) the Gold/XAU ratio has been above 4.0, the XAU has soared at an astounding rate of 123.63% annualized. In contrast, when none of these have been true, the XAU has plunged at -53.21% annualized. That's a gaping difference.
Track these to learn how to integrate a web site to pull data.
Here's Hussman's money quote from that article:
Not surprisingly, the combination of all of these is rare but extremely powerful. In the rare instances when 1) The rate of inflation has been higher than 6 months earlier, 2) Treasury bond yields have been lower than 6 months earlier, 3) the NAPM Purchasing Managers Index has been below 50, and 4) the Gold/XAU ratio has been above 4.0, the XAU has soared at an astounding rate of 123.63% annualized. In contrast, when none of these have been true, the XAU has plunged at -53.21% annualized. That's a gaping difference.
Track these to learn how to integrate a web site to pull data.
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