eYeks' Musings

AT&T, Atrix and the Amazon Appstore

2011-03-24T11:10:00.000-07:00

Lexington Reservoir - Los Gatos - Full Again!

Amazon launched their own Android AppStore on April 22^nd and most AT&T Android users found themselves missing out on the promotional Premium App-of-the-day being given away free. Other than ease of use, there is no reason to wait for AT&T (or whoever is ultimately able) to fix it and miss out on the freebees, just follow the step by step guide below.

1) To install apps from sources other than Android Market without ‘rooting’ your phone, get a copy of Android Central Sideload Wonder Machine. You can get all the details and download this wonder machine from the Android Central Forum Post. Download the AC-swm-v10.zip file. Note: you must be signed in to see the download links. [Update: version 1.1 is released, it allows updates.]

2) Unzip the file into its own directory – and remember its location. [Update: 1.1 must be in c:\]

3) Next, go to Amazon.com and click on the Get Started section and have them get the app to you via email. You can get it on the phone too, but that will make the 1^st step a little more involved.

4) Download the .apk file and make a note of where you save it.

5) Next connect your phone to the PC using the USB cable and in the USB connection dialog select ‘None’. Your PC should install drivers off the phone, if not visit the Motorola Atrix ADB drivers site, download and install the drivers before re-connecting the phone.

6) On the phone go to SettingsàApplicationsàDevelopment and then select the USB Debugging option.

7) Now go to the directory where you installed the Sideload Wonder Machine and locate the program: AndroidCentral-SWM.exe and run it. You should see the following application screens Version 1 followed by Version 1.1 (notice the update check box):

8) Click the “Choose ...” button, navigate to the location where you saved the .apk file, select it and you’ll be instructed to click the Go button in the above dialog.

9) When you click Go, a command prompt box will open and you will be asked to hit any key to continue after you read some status messages. Following installation if you see the words “Success” you are all set.

Download the apps of your choice from Amazon using the Amazon Appstore App. Once you have done that, you’ll be presented with an Android Security Warning and all you’ll be able to do is OK it. To install the app, locate the .apk files on the phone’s internal memory and follow the steps below:

1. Connect the phone using the USB and this time, select the USB Mass Storage option.

2. Use the windows explorer to navigate to:

[driveletter]:\Android\data\com.amazon.venezia\cache\

The .apk files should all be waiting there with cryptic filenames beginning with the letters ‘vnz’.

3. Copy these off the phone to a known location on the PC – then repeat steps 5 onward above and you are off to the races!

I am hoping this long winded method will be short lived and AT&T will restore Android’s freedom like it was meant to be - before updates begin to show up!

Enjoy!

[Soapbox: Finally! I'm back from the dark side! Refreshing to leave iJail. Shout out to nVidia Tegra 2! Check out the Atrix on Amazon Click: Motorola Atrix 4G Android Phone (AT&T)]

Three Days with the G2

2010-10-27T14:13:00.000-07:00

A Thawing Tioga Lake in late May, 2008

I've had the iPhone 3Gs since June 2009 and while I enjoy everything good about the platform, the grating "my way or the highway" doctrine around everything Apple keeps sending me on these off ramp excursions. This write-up is about one such 3-day exit on an off-ramp from Apple highway.

T-Mobile worked hard to get my business, including an allowance to ease the breakup fee
, hats off to them for that. It reminded me of how good it feels to be wanted! The T-Mobile plan offered more than our service with AT&T, adding unlimited texting for all four of us, but with 100 less any-time minutes per month and no rollover minutes, my plan with T-Mobile would cost $40 less per month! Costco had the G2 for $50! All told, the new setup would put $155 cash in my pocket and save me $480 per year after paying to get off my AT&T contract. Ask me how and I'll tell you!

The G2:

The HTC G2 is an excellent phone. The sliding keyboard is smooth but it felt like it would need the 2-year hinge warranty that HTC provides. Overall, construction quality is top notch, the phone exudes a solid personality helped by its weight which is a bit more than the 3Gs.

Young The Giant, a family favorite SoCal Indie Rock band, released a new album that my daughter said was being featured on KROQ. Being the gadget-junkie dad I am, I had her go to it on the iPhone while I navigated the G2. We got to the site at the same time but only G2 delivered the goods. KROQ uses Flash. Ouch. All you iPhoners, you don’t know what you are missing - but as they say, ignorance is bliss. Stay happy!

Click to View

My teenager is also an avid texter, not super-fast, but definitely better than I am. Having just discovered Swype on the G2, I went about trying to recreate the Swype Versus iPhone duel. All I can say is, Swype made me look good! It appears that a Swype keyboard app called ShapeWriter was on the iTunes App store for a while, but now it isn't. Anyone know why? I have a couple of guesses.

I'm a Google Voice (GV) user and the G2, like any Android phone, works seamlessly with GV. None of my callers even had a clue that I was trying out a new carrier! Now that GV Mobile+ is back in the App Store, iPhones are usable with GV. Wish GV Mobile+ had push notification for SMS delivery! The G2 does! Very cool.

The best part was not having to deal with an interface app to load media. I connected the USB up came a dialog on the G2 asking permission to enable USB. Touch it and I have a new drive on the machine. Drag & drop and you're off and running. This was the best part! iTunes fatigue is killing me - this open storage was such a breath of fresh air.

Switching on to the G2 would have left me without Netflix, Chase banking and most importantly, Roboform. A price I would happily pay to get away from iTunes ;-)

I did love the G2!

T-Mobile:

I couldn't stay off the "highway". AT&T drops calls all the time - but rarely when I'm at home. I used the G2 for a total of 130 minutes over about 10 or so calls. I had nasty drops on 4 of them. Unlike AT&T, where the call degrades before dropping, T-Mobile drops on a perfectly good sounding call.

After the 2nd drop, I continued the call from my Ooma VoIP line while I watched the bars on the G2 - 5 bars one moment, down to one and then a little 'x' appeared and no bars. The T-Mobile customer support person suggested network improvements in progress and for six hours I kept that as a valid reason. When my call to the T-Mobile dealhut at Costco was abruptly dropped at 7:30 pm. I called back and flipped my decision.

Grating down The Highway

So, if you hear from me, its still the iPhone 3Gs on AT&T. I'm not sure which phone will take me on the off-ramp next?

Thumbs Up Mint.com; Thumbs down PayPal...

2010-09-04T11:51:00.000-07:00

A view from Hoover Dam, Dec 2009

I have been using Quicken for more than a decade and average a desktop session a couple of times a week with the application. In Quicken, I do a sweeping download of all transactions in all accounts. Most accounts are set to auto-reconcile with the online balance and 95% of transactions are automatically classified into their respective budget categories. When Intuit acquired Mint.com, I joined in and let Mint monitor my active credit cards and a few other accounts. That little effort returned an effective result.

Yesterday, I received an alert from Mint that my Visa card was charged a $10 fee. This was a welcome alert because this Visa from

Charles Schwab allows a download of transactions only when the statement closes. So, for an entire month my Quicken remains out of date. Without this alert from Mint, I may not have seen this service fee for an entire month.
When I went digging on the credit card website, I saw what may have triggered this $10 service fee: a charge for 30 cents from PayPal.

Normally, PayPal defaults to your linked bank account to draw funds, so one doesn't have to do anything unless they want to use a credit card. However, for fees, it appears that PayPal hits the credit card. Further, this is classified as a 'cash advance' not a purchase. Thus causing the 'cash advance' transaction fee.
A little tidbit to file away in the back of your head for use when transacting with these entities. Charles Schwab promptly reversed the charge when I pointed out that this was rather punitive, so all's well.
With kids going to college and starting to manage their own money, mint.com should figure as a potential platform for prudent personal money management.

Order Complete; All Notes Issued... (2) Filters & Workflow

2010-08-05T15:49:00.000-07:00

O'Shaunessey Dam from Wapama Falls at Hetch Hetchy, April 2010

Let me jump right into 'what' I do in the 5-8 minutes I spend each time I login to LendingClub, the 'why' will follow.

On the Account Summary page, I first click on the "Invest" link which brings up the Build a Portfolio page.
After a short delay, the page is populated with the count and what's possible from currently available notes: the total number, the three automatic portfolio selection buttons, each with their predicted rate of return - a conservative, moderate and an aggressive option:

On the right there is a "More Options" button where you can dial in your preferred rate and get a basket of notes recommended. If you wish the entire available amount could be invested - all in one fell swoop! I, however, prefer to do my own filtering. I click on the "Open" link in the Filter Notes box along the left column.

I have a saved filter that I select which causes the number of notes to shrink to about 20% of the total number available. More on my filter below.

One of the filter items that I include but leave without a value is the Funding Progress slider. Depending on the amount of time I have in any given login session, I slide this over to 50%, if I'm not rushed and 80% if I only have a minute or two. This filter reduces the resulting number of notes to just a handful that already have lenders.
I click on the number of notes available to actually see a list. Strangely, the notes are presented in some random order. I click the "Rate" link twice to sort the short-list into descending interest rate order.

Finally, starting with the note offering the highest rate, I begin my manual analysis.

The Filter

Having scoured through the Statistics pages at LendingClub, running Excel Pivot Tables on the downloaded data and through my own learning from non-performing loans in my trial account, I've come to rely on the following filter criteria for hand picking notes in my IRA.

"Reviewed by LendingClub" - I only look at notes that have been approved. It is my perception that almost 25% of notes that are initially presented do not get approved - since I am investing time on each loan, I find this filter worthwhile. Committed funds to unapproved notes are returned to the available funds pool after a few days. This filter may not be as important when using automated investment tools.
"Interest Rate" - having set a goal to have a portfolio yield above 10%, I exclude grade A loans which yield below 10%. Based on statistical analysis of yields for each grade, I used to filter out grade F notes too, but it appears there was an anomaly in F grade loans in the early days. You can see the change in borrower selection criteria has had a marked effect on the overall default rate which, as of this writing, is 2.11% annualized across the entire LendingClub platform.

"Loan Purpose" - This filter has been derived from the pivot table exercise, the statistics page and my own experience with non-performing notes in my trial account. The filter I use only shows me notes with the following stated purpose: Refinancing credit card; Consolidate debt; Renewable energy financing; Wedding expenses; Paying for dream vacation; and Other. A word on the two odd appearing purposes - Wedding and Vacation. My initial instinct was to refrain, but statistically, the default rate on these two is extremely low - counter intuitive at first blush. Right?
"Term" - my initial pass picks 60-month notes only. Two reasons: higher yield and lower fees for same class of borrower and 2 years longer earning period for same time spent on selection. However, if in a given note picking session I don't find enough notes to invest in, I'll turn off the 36-month filter and take a look at those notes too.
"Exclude Loans already invested in" - this one is obvious.
Finally, "Funding Progress" - I try not to buy into notes that have not had at least 50% funding commitment, mostly because by the time the notes get this level of commitment other lenders have asked questions and received answers, the broad lender sentiment is visible and you know the note will close in the next few days causing your funds to begin working sooner.

Once this saved filter is applied and results updated, the original set of notes gets whittled down to a very manageable set that I process individually.

The Manual Analysis

With a list of only about a dozen or twenty notes sorted in descending rate order, I begin my final selection. Starting at the top, clicking on the loan title, which is a hot-spot even if it doesn't look like one, the load summary appears in a drop-down. I then scan for the following:

Eyeball the ratio of Monthly Payments/Gross Income - I try not to go too far north of 10% on a 60-month note, with a little more latitude on the 36-month, the theory being: lend to borrowers who can afford to service the debt. Unfortunately, this is not a filter that can be programmed today. I look for the green check mark next to Gross Income, if one exists, my lending confidence goes up since the income has been verified.
Scan through the Revolving Credit Balance and Line Utilization - filters do exist to handle these criteria - but I've noticed that the credit reports are often inaccurate and lump debts together and can skew the filter. If utilization is high (>80%) I'll take a closer look if other aspects are favorable, if not, I may pass on the note.
Length of employment - again, it's possible to filter on this, perhaps I should. I typically do not lend to those employed less than 1 year - unless they are employed by a known main-stream employer.
Loan Description and Q&A - I'll walk away if there is no loan description AND there are no answers. Sometimes notes get funding without these - perhaps through automated funding, I avoid them. In case the note is for debt consolidation - I'll look for the kind of debt the borrower is funding. I pass on the note if I see the borrower being irresponsible, funding low rate debt with a higher rate LendingClub note in the name of convenience. I've seen 9% loans being repaid with 15% notes. I also scan for any issues with borrower attitude.

Determining size of loan fraction

This is a very nebulous item. I've noticed that the amount I invest in a note depends on my mood, level of comfort with the statistics and the Q&A. The only numerical guidance I sometimes use is to determine the average per lender investment in the note so far. Unfortunately, determining that figure is labor intensive so I look at it only if I feel a strong urge to. To get that figure, one must look at the 'complete listing' - a link is available just below the loan description section.

In Conclusion:

As I wrote this blog, I went through a real-time note buying session and you can see that I was able to buy 6 notes worth $425 that met my criteria. Click on the next link and you can see what my methods have allowed me to achieve over the last seven months, a reasonable placement rate, varying between 102 notes in March and 39 in April yielding expected rates between 14.49% in February and 16.12% in July.

Finally, reiterating the caveat: my filters and methods represent my personal appetite for risk - I guarantee that yours will be different. Do share your thoughts and experience. I hope this has been helpful.

Here's to low default rates and happy peer-to-peer lending!

Order Complete; All Notes Issued... (Part 1)

2010-08-04T12:29:00.000-07:00

O'Shaughnessy Dam at Hetch Hetchy, April 2010

     I didn't like when I received notification that of the notes I had picked a certain number didn't issue and the funds were returned for re-investment. It felt like being cheated of the time I had spent picking them. I have since developed a workflow and filters that have made the "Order Complete; All Notes Issued..." email a more frequent occurrence.
   Admittedly, my LendingClub portfolio is young - only seven months for my IRA - and eleven for the original trial account, hence caveat emptor - what I'm about to share are my ideas and methods and represent my risk profile. Yours will be different - guaranteed! I hope as a LendingClub investor, you, the reader, will be able to adapt or outright reject some of the ideas presented.
   I wrote about how I was able to justify moving a portion of my IRA to LendingClub in my post: Peer-To-Peer Lending in a Balanced Portfolio: Justified!. I made that commitment after familiarizing myself with the goings on and workings of LendingClub and the process of “note-picking”. In my trial account I allowed myself latitude including the use of automatic selection tools and kept these notes in separate portfolios to keep track. Several excellent webinars organized by LendingClub for investors were a big help. The one I got the most out of was by Scott Langmack in October, 2009 entitled, "Higher Returns Through Diversification". Watch the webinar if you are new to LendingClub. I particularly liked his personal thoughts on hand-picking notes as part of the Q&A session exactly 37 min into the presentation. What I have to say here is just once instance, you’ll serve yourself well by browsing through Scott Langmack's website, reviewing the vast investor information he has placed for public consumption.
   The charts below are a snapshot of what my IRA looks like today:

Ever since LendingClub introduced 60-month notes, I've preferentially purchased them and they now make up 34% of my holdings. 60-month notes provide a premium in rates for the same borrower risk profile. The portfolio note composition, as of this writing, with 621 notes is as follows:

In Funding - 7
Issued & Current - 597
Fully Paid - 11
Late 16-30 days - 3
Late 31-120 days - 3
Default - 0
Charged Off - 0

On the other hand, my trial account looks like:

No 60-month notes in this account and you can see, it is seeing it’s fair share of defaults, 3, and five are on the brink from a pot of 182, while the IRA has 3 notes on the brink in a pot of 621 – let reiterate, my portfolios are young and I expect more defaults. I am hoping I am able to stay below the 3% LendingClub lifetime default rate average across all notes. The fact is: loans do go bad. Hence, the importance of diversification – what better way than to lend to hundreds of borrowers? LendingClub makes it easy to do with just $25 per note. It’s a whole lot safer than lending to a friend – if that loan goes bad you lose both money and the friend!
I am still hand picking each note – on first blush, it may seem like too much work – and it was, before I got myself a workflow. Now I spend between 5 and 8 minutes any time I want a break to run a bunch of filters, eye-ball some ratios and finally scan the Q&A section of the offering. My basis for the fraction of the note to be purchased remains nebulous – and I just go with my gut – buying in from $25 to $250 chunks with only a couple on the high end. With this methodology, I have been able to achieve a purchase volume ranging from a low of 39 notes to a high of 102 notes in a month with weighted average monthly portfolio rates between 14.5% and 16.12%. The entire portfolio comes in around 15%.
Ouch, this post is getting long... in my next write-up, I will go through my filters and subjective criteria. Consider following this blog so you know when it is published and do comment! Happy P2P-Lending!

Peer-To-Peer Lending in a Balanced Portfolio: Justified!

2010-07-29T00:42:00.000-07:00

June Lake, CA in June, 2009

Certified Financial Planners are taught to shift to more conservative distribution of investments for clients as they get older and are faced with college expenses and retirement. This rebalancing typically begins in the late 40s or slightly later, depending on how old your kids are. Equity positions are sold, ideally locking in years of appreciation and funds are placed in instruments that deliver a fixed income while preserving capital.

I was presented with such an option last year, with college expenses 3 years away. Unfortunately, fixed income instruments at the time were yielding between 2% and 3% before tax on 3 to 4 year terms. Dismal. Not too thrilled about locking cash up at those rates and calling it ‘income’, I was on a prowl for alternatives.

I believe I caught a news blurb about Harvard Business Review’s pick of their Top 20 Breakthrough Ideas of 2009. I became intrigued by LendingClub and the peer-to-peer lending concept and opened a small $1,000 account to find out first hand.

I am a Schwab Private Client and at the next quarterly review, I asked them about LendingClub – I explained the concept and let them do some homework. They pointed out that in a portfolio diversification and liquidity were important considerations. I explained how LendingClub worked as best I knew how and highlighted that LendingClub allows fractional purchase of notes for as little as $25. At the $25 level, one could invest in 40 different loans with only $1,000 of capital. Loans range from Grade-A paying around 7% where borrowers have FICA scores north of 780, to Grade-G which pays as high as around 22% and borrowers typically have scores just north of 660 and every flavor in between. Diversification - done!

At a follow-up phone call with my advisor, I got an unofficial thumbs-up. Being that Schwab had not reviewed LendingClub at a corporate level, they were not in a position to ‘recommend’. However, since I had specifically asked for their oversight, they were able to ‘not object’ to including P2P as a part of my portfolio. They did suggest that instead of a taxable account, I should consider moving some of my retirement funds there. Liquidity - non-issue! I am now slowly depleting the taxable account.

With that ‘oversight’ in place – last December, I opened an IRA at LendingClub and transferred funds from my existing IRA after liquidating some equity holdings. Since then I’ve proceeded to build upon my ‘fixed income’ portion of my portfolio which currently has a Net Average Return (NAR) of 15.13%. My target is to slowly have LendingClub holdings become 30-40% of my fixed income piece. Since my account is only 7 months old, I expect for some defaults to begin showing up – if you look, there are 3 notes between 31 and 120 days late from a total of 605. The following charts capture the current state of my holdings at LendingClub:

If you discuss peer-to-peer lending in the context of fixed income with your financial adviser, do return and comment on this post. Heck, comment even if you don't!

On my style, strategy and methodology... next time!

Close Encounters of the Statin Kind

2010-03-22T15:23:00.000-07:00

Mono Lake from Mount Dana 13,200ft - September, '08

Earlier this year I attended a two hour session at Kaiser on prevention of strokes and heart attacks. The doctor delivering the information was quite passionate about the subject and he delivered good information to the 20 or so attendees, none of whom had had an attack but had lipid levels in the high risk bracket.

The presentation was followed by a one on one session with a team of residents. With printouts of my blog and the statistics that you have all seen in hand, I spoke with a resident. He quite appreciated that I had titrated niacin and EFA dosage to achieve the necessary results and encouraged me to stay the course. Before I left he suggested we both have the doctor review the recommendation.

In less than a minute, the presenting doctor dismissed the resident, glanced at my chart and pointed out my peak HbA1C at 6.4 (from Feb, 08) and LDL 159 (from Nov, 07) - and proceeded to prescribe 40mg/day of Lipitor suggesting that I achieve an LDL level below 100. I offered to try to achieve that level using niacin, to which he said, "You'll have to take 7 gms/day to get to those levels."

"Great, I'm happy to do that!" I said, causing him discernible aggravation.

"No, you should treat yourself as a diabetic and aggressively take Lipitor to bring your LDL down below 100. If you want, you can start with 20mg/day." he said.

"What's the smallest Lipitor tablet?" I asked and with a little more discussion and I negotiated him down to 10mg/day. With prescription entered on the system, I left.

I emailed my primary care physician, reviewed the interaction and right away he had the Lipitor prescription canceled and encouraged me to continue with my regimen.

Statin mongers are everywhere - if you've experienced an episode, statin is a blessing so that lipids can be quickly controlled. You must follow your doctor's recommendation. If however, you've caught the symptoms early, get on the diet + exercise + EFA + niacin regimen in consultation with your physician to avoid having an episode before you start on a statin regimen - give yourself a chance. You can always fall back on statins.

As corroboration that this statin-free regimen works, look at a good friend's lipid chart below. His numbers are heading the right way after only 4 months on the diet-exercise-EFA-niacin regimen! It works!!

Final word: get a handle on your lipid statistics - get tested every six months, more frequently (every 3 months) if your plan will allow it, especially when getting started. Getting blind-sided thinking all is well when it really isn't would not be a good outcome.

Stinting Lipids without Statins (V) - Correlation

2009-11-17T11:27:00.000-08:00

My latest numbers from the sample draw last week are in and the chart now has 7 data points spanning 2 years 7 months and 12 days (957 days) with six distinct periods. In this edition of Stinting Lipids without Statins, I will list the conditions during each period, labeled A through F, and seek some correlation. I hope you will be able to extract your own conclusions which may help design your own lipid trajectory. (Click on chart to see larger image.)

Periods A and B were discussed in some detail as part of the Execution segment. To recap, during period A, I attempted to control my lipids without any supplements, relying only on attempted 'lifestyle changes', you can see that the attempt could hardly be called successful. With the threat of having to go Statin, during period B I took on Niacin, taking the dosage all the way to therapeutic levels of 3 gms/day. Each lipid statistic took on the correct direction during period B. The sharp drop in triglycerides (TGl), however, should be attributed only partially to Niacin, I believe the bulk of that reduction came from weight loss. I started period B weighing 156 lbs (71 Kg) and ended it at 140 lbs (63.5 Kg); dropping the weight was a vehement instruction from my physician. FYI, I am 5'9" (175 cm) tall. I attribute my weight loss to frequent snacking of roasted chana, and the quarter tea-spoon of white bean powder before lunch and dinner. Yes, I used to carry the powder in a zip-lock pouch!

I was very encouraged as I started period C, albeit a bit alarmed at the sharp drop. I relaxed dosage across the board. Niacin dropped from 3gms/day down to 1gm/day; and Omega-3 caps from 1gm/day to an average couple of capsules irregularly over the week. The bean powder was taken only on instances when I expected a large carbohydrate intake. I ended period C gaining back 3 pounds weighing 143 lbs (65 Kg). Period C showed an increase in cholesterol, LDL and TGl - though my good HDL continued to improve, perhaps a residual effect of previous period's Niacin dosage. Fortunately, this period was only 2 months long, and I was able to take corrective action quickly.

Rather than writing it all out for each period, look at the table of key variables below:

If you look at this chart along side the lipid chart, it will appear that, in my case, Niacin dosage of 2gm/day with 2gm/day of Omega-3 will continue to deliver the desired results. 1.5 gm/day of Niacin (taken 3gm every alternate day) was not able to hold down the TGl, and a return to 2gm/day achieved the same reduction in period F as it did in D. While each of these variables, and the daily activity level are inter-related, Omega-3 at 2gm/day appears to correlate well with reducing LDL levels.

The Not-So-Good:
My Glucose levels are not coming down and I am now exploring natural ways - without total deprivation beyond what I have already instituted. While my HBA1C is right a the border at 6%, my fasting glucose is elevated - to 121 - again.

Have any of you been able to control glucose levels? One colleague suggests including as much as 35 gms of dietary fiber in the diet everyday - I can see doing that some days, but to do so every day will require some measured means that is palatable - I'm looking for suggestions!

I hope this has been helpful - do comment and if you feel others may benefit, click on the 'ShareThis' icon below to easily send a link using your preferred social medium!

Now on to other subjects!

Header Photo: Halfdome at Sunset from Glacier Point, taken Sept 7, 2006

Stinting Lipids without Statins (IV) - Execution

2009-11-04T18:45:00.000-08:00

With only 3 months to show results I took myself on a war path starting in December, '07 to prove to my doctor that I could change the course of my lipid charts.

With my exercise regimen reasonably in place - an hour of yoga twice a week and a decent 3+ hour hike every week - the areas I had to work with were my weight, diet and adding Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids (EFA) and Niacin to my regimen.

Niacin: Perhaps the trickiest part of the plan is how you build up to the therapeutic dose of 3 grams of Niacin per day. Niacin causes a release of histamines when first introduced - causing temporary itching and hot flashes - uncomfortable but not dangerous. There are several methods and tricks to build up the dosage, I'll describe what worked for me.

I started with 100mg/day for 2 or 3 days - taken as soon before falling asleep as possible. It helps to take a baby aspirin about 1/2 hour before bedtime. Spicy dinners can aggravate the flush when getting started.
Step up the dosage to 200mg/day after a couple of days. I continue to take my Niacin just as I am ready to switch off at night - literally, just before I can't keep my eyes open any longer. The itching and hot flash is rarely strong enough to wake you up.
Double to 400mg/day - again for a couple of days before taking it to a gram, then two and finally 3 capsules each night.

I personally prefer the regular Niacin over the slow release or the newer non-flush kind. If you have more discomfort than you'd like to tolerate - try the non-flush variety. I've come to a personal conclusion that the slow release kind puts a sustained load on the liver without respite for recovery on top of that therapeutic concentrations are not achieved.

Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids: This is the easiest part of the whole regimen. Just get your favorite Omega-3 supplement and take up to 2gm/day. I settled on the one from NSI discounted by Vitacost.com.

The Diet: I watched out for the Glycemic Index (GI) of foods and began including those with low GI and shunning high GI foods.

I kept a bag of these dry roasted small chickpeas with brown skins (chana, चना) handy and kept popping a few whenever I remembered. With a GI between 10 and 30 (depending in the variety), the chana I was never really very hungry at meal time and was able to get away feeling satisfied with only 1/2 my normal intake. For about a month, I kept a very close watch on my intake and The Daily Plate was extremely useful in keeping track of my intake: calories, fat, carbs, protein, what have you.

Replaced most things white with colored alternatives, e.g. refined sugar, white bread, rice, were banished from regular meals. I still take a bite or two to satisfy the taste buds - strictly just the taste buds!

The Weight: Around the time I just happened to come across the book Sugar Busters! Cut Sugar to Trim Fat from which I gained an understanding of how sugar, and most things white, in our diet converted into stored fat within our system. The main steps I took that helped me lose 14 lbs were:

Elimination of most things white from my daily diet: refined sugar (replaced by brown sugar and honey); rice (brown rice, on rare occasions; preferred whole wheat tortillas); potatoes.

Take about a gram (1/3 tsp) of White Bean Powder along with my 1st bite of any meal that I thought to be high in carbohydrates. These are available in capsule form or in bulk. I poured the gram or so of the power on my first bite of food and if necessary sloshed it all down with liquid. The powder has a mild tolerable taste. If you choose the capsule, it must be taken 1/2 hour before meals. Caveat: Skip taking the bean powder if you are planning any exercise after the meal. (I found out the hard way!).

With this regimen, I was able to achieve the numbers on my chart in 3 months at my February, 08 checkup. IMO, the key is consistency - just stick with the program and results will happen - it gets easier after you see the results!
Remember, if your physical constitution does not cooperate, go take the prescribed statins - keeping the lipids in check is more important than how you get them down!
May the force be with you!

Header Photo: Sunset in Waikoloa, Hawaii - July, 2009.

Stinting Lipids without Statins (III) - The Plan

2009-10-19T14:11:00.000-07:00

It took longer than I'd hoped to get this 3rd segment written. In this edition, I'll walk through my 1st lipid panel on April, 07 to my third in Feb, 08. This period during my ongoing journey is the most significant. Refer back to the chart in Segment 1.

In April '07, my doctor raised the flag after reviewing the lipid panel - I was just under the borderline (<239) with cholesterol at 237; and on the better side of the line with HDL (>40) at 47; but my triglycerides (TGl) were 16% too high at 232 (should be <199) which caused my calculated LDL (<129) to be off at 144. The doctor prescribed statins. A little shaken, I left the appointment without filling my prescription. A couple of days later I emailed my doctor and got him to agree to give me six months to try controlling my lipids on my own.

I did what I thought was best, with yoga and hiking and consciously controlling diet; I thought I was doing well. I took seven months instead of six before going back for the next lipid panel. You can tell from the chart that I actually regressed. When I went in to see the doctor in person, I was read the riot act.

Fortunately for me, the results were online a week before I got my appointment. During that week, I met with a few friends who had been there before and had seen good results without using statins (if you are reading this, you know who you are & thank you again!!), I read through reference material, and with help came up with a game plan for myself. At the in-person doctor's appointment, right after I was read the riot act, I presented the plan, asked for his input and permission to try this over the next 6 months. This time around I got permission only for 3 and a strict ban on taking any grace period. Exactly 3 months later on Feb 21st, '08 I went back for the tests. If you recall the chart, you know how that turned out! Let me share that game plan with you - it worked for me. Work with your doctor perhaps he will OK a version of the plan for you. Here goes...

1) Sugars in the diet seem to be the main cause for high TGl and the best way to reduce it is by controlling sugars. In the process you may notice that you drop a few pounds.

I am 5' 9" (175 cm) tall and in Nov, '07 I weighed 156 lbs (70.8 Kg). I never thought I was overweight - but dropping the pounds was still recommended - goal was to drop 15 lbs (6.8Kg). I eliminated most things white: refined sugar, rice, white bread, etc. I switched to honey and raw brown sugar, 9 grain, oatnut & whole wheat breads, and I'm continue to avoid rice. I was pre-diabetic with my fasting glucose going from 121 to 127 and then down to 119 at the Feb 08 test.

2) Reducing the bad and further improving the good HDL cholesterol came from introducing Niacin and Omega-3 into the mix. The target was to achieve the therapeutic concentration with 3 gms/day of Niacin. During this period I took one 1gm capsule of Omega-3 a day. Acclimatizing to the Niacin dosage took some effort and pain, more on that in the next blog.

To say the least, I believe I have had some success in getting a handle on my numbers as evidenced by my Feb 21, '08 numbers. The process of putting this little game plan in place is worth a separate edition - and I promise I'll put that up soon.

Please share your thoughts in the mean time - click below and leave a comment.

Header photo: Sunset on Jimbaran Bay, Bali, Indonesia. August 13, 07

Stinting Lipids Without Statins (II) - Resources

2009-09-30T23:17:00.000-07:00

In this 2nd segment of the series on my journey stinting lipids without statins, I list below the main set of resources I used to achieve my own outcome. From the mundane to the complex - I hope this list becomes a good collection worth referring to. I'll add to it as I remember them, so do return.

Reference material:

Sugar Busters! Cut Sugar to Trim Fat - brought clear understanding of how carbohydrates & sugars metabolize. This book helped me pick the right foods.
The Daily Plate - Now a Livestrong property - this site has a very rich database of foods, e.g. you don't have to guess the breakdown of samosas! It helped me keep a close track of my calorie intake - I only used this for three weeks - after that I knew.
The Glycemic Index - A reference site to determine the glycemic index and load of common foods.
Roasted Gram - भुना चना - (black chickpeas roasted) A snack with low glycemic index, and if consumed with the husk it may provide dietary fiber too. Nutritional info is available here.
Kidney Bean White (Phaseolus vulgaris) Powdered Extract 4:1 - when given with a starchy meal, has been shown to reduce the subsequent rise in blood sugar levels of both healthy people and diabetics. I have a story to tell you - this thing really works! I only used it for about 2 months after which I did not feel the need.
A balanced multi-vitamin - I have been using NSI Synergy Basic Multi-Vitamin Version 3. The complete composition of this tablet is available here. Choosing a vitamin can be tricky - check out this YouTube video to get an idea.
Essential Fatty Acid (EFA) - I saw my Triglycerides go up during one period when I reduced taking EFAs. I brought it back into my regimen after that to restore the trend. I use the Mega EFA® Omega-3 EPA & DHA, I have also tried Krill Oil, Flax seed oil and plain fish oil - I finally settled on this variety. Note: the fastest way to drop triglycerides is to drop some pounds and keep them off. And Finally the main component:
Niacin - Vitamin B3. Heavily researched, published but poorly promoted, IMO because no one can really make money on it. In order to add value, pharma has come up with a) non-flushing niacin; b) slow-release niacin; etc. so they can charge their preferred prices. I use the purest kind again from NSI.

Let me add a few links to reading material that I found useful:
1 - Niacin (Vitamin B3) Lowers High Cholesterol Safely. Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, September 30, 2005.
2 - A National Institute of Health writeup - a must read for anyone considering niacin therapy.
3 - Read what Mayo Clinic has to say about Niacin

In my next post, I'll walk through the variables that caused my trajectory on the lipid chart - while mine is just one data point - the observed cause and effect may be indicative of a valid correlation.

Caveat Emptor: Notwithstanding anything you read anywhere, your doctor should have the final word. As mine does for me.
Do add your comments below!
Header Photo: Sunset in Bodega Bay - April, 2002.

Stinting Lipids without Statins - I

2009-09-21T12:23:00.000-07:00

My ongoing campaign to rein in my lipids started soon after I turned fifty when the results from a routine lipid panel and fasting glucose blood test indicated numbers on the wrong side of the borderline. My primary care physician ('PCP') raised the flag, prescribed statins and admonished me to bring about changes to my life-style.

In graphical form, my lipids from April 2007 to May 2009 looks like the chart on the left

(click on the image to see a larger readable version, or click here to view it in tabular form). The fasting glucose chart and HBA1C chart is shown here on the right. Click this link to view it in tabular form.

To top it off, I was also showing signs of pre-hypertension with my pressure hovering around 140/90 and rising. So, I was dealing with a three pronged situation - pre-diabetes, pre-hypertension and a brewing cholesterol problem; together a potent recipe for heart disease.
I asked my PCP to allow me 6 months to bring about changes and he agreed to retract the statin prescription and ordered me a fresh lipid panel test 6 months out.

You can tell from the charts that my initial attempt to rein in my lipids and fasting glucose levels failed miserably. I should add, throughout those 6 months I was feeling confident of being able to control my numbers strictly through the exercise regimen, yoga, and dietary changes I was making. My PCP appointment of Nov, 2007 was not a happy one. Though you'll agree that the statistics from Feb 2008 were exciting.

In the next several postings, I will take you along my journey so far. Identifying all the resources I used along the way, how I used them, and the results I continue to see - without the use of statins. What you'll see is just one example of what is possible and is not a prescription for anyone. Your mileage WILL vary. I have kept my PCP in the loop at every stage and if you do decide to embark on your own statin free journey, keep your PCP informed of your proposed regimen.
NEXT: List of resources used so far - drugs, dietary supplements, books, web resources, etc.
Please share your thoughts in comments below!

Header photo: Sunset in Monterey near Lone Cypress

I Own My Phone, My Number AND My Dialtone!

2009-08-04T13:38:00.000-07:00

For most of us who have grown up having a telephone, hearing a dial-tone when you lift the receiver is a sign of being privileged and prosperous. From the early days, it has been a big deal and often a reason for pride, to order and, after a waiting period, be provisioned to receive a dial-tone that would connect you to a loved one after the dialtone had been interrupted by multiple pulses manually, or by using a rotary dial or more recently, by DTMF tones.

In the mid-80's I recall letting go of my leased phone unit - going to a store and buying my first physical device that I could connect to the wall was a bold step. My friends called me brave to take responsibility if the unit went bad - no Ma-Bell to replace it 'for free' if it broke. I owned my own phone and not having to pay a monthly lease fee was liberating!

Notwithstanding, the ability to use the telephone continues to be a privilege for which a monthly fee is entirely expected and never questioned. An entire world population remains accustomed to paying a monthly fee for this privilege.

Yesterday, I took ownership of my number, the one I have had for almost 20 years. A few weeks back I took ownership of my dialtone. I bought it - It's mine; it is created in my home. I am now ultimately responsible if it does not work - much like when in 1984 I became responsible for my telephone unit. Except, I think this is bigger - because now we are changing a paradigm - not having to pay a monthly fee for the privilege - is a huge shift. Can it even be called a privilege any more?

In May, I embraced VoIP letting go of POTS by taking on AT&T's U-Verse Voice service. I have to say, my wife is not handling that bereavement well. From U-Verse I've now moved to ooma (I wrote about how AT&T Lost My Voice). Now with my number ported over, I have a definite sense of ownership - I wonder if sharing this feeling will replace her sense of deprivation of POTS with the pride of ownership of our own number on our own dialtone WITHOUT monthly fees! Will it?

Porting my number from AT&T U-Verse to ooma was entirely transparent and seamless. I'll write more about my ooma configuration over U-Verse in a future post.

Do you remain apprehensive of letting POTS go? Would eliminating an entire monthly bill get you over the hump? Am I making too big a deal about 'ownership' of my dialtone?

Banner: Parorama of Crater Lake, taken in July, 2007.

Why AT&T Lost My Voice

2009-07-27T08:24:00.000-07:00

I have been a Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) customer for decades.

My original service consisted of basic POTS: dial-tone and long distance; then came caller-ID, I paid for that. For a small additional fee call waiting caller-ID followed. Enhanced calling features came next, busy redial, three-way calling, call forwarding, selective call forwarding, and I paid for them too. With my phone service bill bloating, I called 611 and was introduced to bundled pricing for about a 30% saving. Privacy Manager and Unified Messaging were late entrants that helped rebloat my monthly bill bringing telemarketeer freedom, our voice messages in email as attachments and incoming FAXes. We had it all - for about $48/month. I've paid at that level for more years than I care to remember.

Then came U-Verse - AT&T's new bundled service delivering TV, broadband and VoIP on a single copper pair. In late April - U-Verse became available and the AT&T tech verified that I was the first one on the block to help light the fiber to our curb.

With UVerse installed on May 7th, I found the voice service much below par. I could hear myself talk, my own voice was clipped and came with a chirp - a call to 611 helped a little. There was no Privacy Manager, but that was acceptable. They allowed an online address book, but there was no way to import - like they think users were going to type in contacts by hand. Not happening. The killer was voicemail which did not come as an attachment - a feature my wife and I had gotten used to. No FAX either - an entire service removed. And I was now paying $30 per month. Considering the service reduction, I was not really saving anything. How does AT&T expect to introduce a lesser product and keep customers?

So - I have gone with Ooma and AT&T lost my voice business. For $229 one time charge, I get almost everything. Voicemail as an email attachment is part of their $99/yr annual option and I'll have to give up on receiving FAXes. My 20 year old number is currently being ported over to Ooma for a one time $39.99 fee - and then I am done! No more monthly bills.

What are you doing with your landline service? Are you as apprehensive letting go of POTS for VoIP as some of us? From up to $600/year to nothing - is that incentive enough to switch? Does the Ooma business model have legs?

In a future post, I'll talk about my Ooma experience. Stay tuned.

PS: In AT&T's defence - I have to say, UVerse broadband and TV service are excellent.

About the banner: A fascinating piece of architecture - if you recognize it, leave your answer in a comment!

Did the iPhone Stay?

2009-07-22T00:01:00.000-07:00

When my last smart-phone, the Sony Ericsson P910 began to die mid last year after four and a half years, I went hunting. A friend, (thanks, Joel), let me use his Nokia N95 after he took on the then new iPhone 3G qualifying that the N95 was the best he'd ever owned. Soon after I heard of the Nokia N96 and decided to order that. The N95 went back to Joel in December when I got the N96.

Unfortunately, the N96 took a back seat to the N95 in usability, so while still able, I sent the N96 packing. Right around then, Google gave out their annual bonus in kind - the unlocked G1. I got to use the G1 on the AT&T network for a few months (thanks, SBG). Nokia had announced the N97 in Dec 08 just as I had got the N96.

To cut the story short, SBG wanted his annual bonus back before the N97 was shipping, to fill the gap, I borrowed an old SE P1i - ouch! I got antsy, ordered the Nokia 5800XM which some claimed to be an iPhone killer - NOT! That went back and I then got the Nokia E75. I have to admit, I liked the E75 - a solid player if you are ok with a non-touch, small screen phone. Solid performer. I had pre-ordered the N97 so the E75 had to go. Then Nokia messed up my pre-order - long story - and in retaliation, I found myself in line on June 22nd at the Apple store.

Brandyn J at the Valley Fair Apple store took great care of me as a customer - I was totally impressed, he assured me I'd have no trouble bringing it back after trying it for 30 days - that's now! Will I go back to the Apple store today?

To all who read my last blog, 'i' Feel Squished by the iPhone thank you! Special thanks to reinharden for his elaborate comments, and PBG - you have it spot on - you captured how I feel and I too hope companies put products out there that are not artificially debilitated like the 3Gs.

If I were to take the iPhone back, I would have to get the N97 from Nokia nothing else comes close on the AT&T network. Unfortunately, being a gen-1 device, it needs much work - the blog post:

4 Bugs on Nokia N97 That Give Me a Headache along with the
PCMagazine article by Sean Ludwig

sealed the deal. Sean says it well and while he has not taken "the iPhone plunge (blasted contracts!)", I completely relate.

The iPhone deserves to be my 1st contract phone on over 10 years and my very 1st Apple product EVER - and I will continue to rile about my displeasure with the hope of getting others to join in make noise; collectively becoming the squeaky wheel.

My iPhone stays!

About the Banner: Tioga Lake looking looking West from the Eastern shore in June, 2009.

'i' Feel Squished by the iPhone

2009-07-19T23:23:00.000-07:00

The iPhone 3Gs - I've had it now for just under a month and in the next couple of days I must decide if I am to keep it.

Why is it that such a remarkable piece of technology leaves me feeling squished and small inside? Like being given rules to live by that you fundamentally disagree with. In order to keep using the iPhone, I must surrender to the whims of, not one but two, corporations: AT&T and Apple. Let me express my thoughts - so you can share my dilemma.

iPhones require the $30/mo for unlimited data plan, instead of $15/mo; and if I select podcasts larger than 10Mb, the download is unilaterally blocked until I connect to iTunes or have a WiFi connection. No recourse; No options; no way out. Leaves me feeling cheated.
Being able to tether a laptop while traveling is a huge benefit - i was able to get it working during my last trip, but with the next update it will be shutdown; Leaves me feeling cheated, again. Unfortunately, I could jailbreak, but I feel subjecting users to need to do so is just plain wrong.
Oh, the new 3Gs has video capture! I shoot a video and there is no way, that I know, to pull the video off in its raw form so I can edit it using tools of my choice. I'm told, if I have iMovie on a Mac, I'm home free. Not happening.
Try sending a picture you just took with the camera - without warning, the picture is down sampled to 800x600 before being sent. Come on, give me a choice! Ask, seek permission - give the user the credit he is due, allow user to set defaults. Respect the user.
iTunes - an iPhone user is FORCED to use iTunes - iTunes tries to take over my music library and promptly begins to convert my files.I have to iTunes to subscribe to podcasts and use sync to refresh the iPhone. I have not found a way to have the iPhone refresh over the air... I feel cheated, yet again.
Frankly, I can't stand iTunes - how did it get to be so popular. Or perhaps it isnt, just because everyone has a ball and chain around their ankle wouldn't make it "popular". Why should I need iTunes even to delete consumed content on the iPhone?
The processor on the iPhone 3Gs is plenty powerful - why can't I listen to streaming music while checking my email? Why must each application quit, most without keeping context, when a new activity is started. Multi-tasking and task switching is painfully absent on the iPhone.
Battery life leaves much to be desired - I have had to resort to keeping the iPhone plugged in whenever I'm near a source and using an external battery pack.
And then there is this: ATT has had system wide iPhone visual voicemail failures: http://shar.es/JzvV

There is more. Don't get me wrong, I could expand on things likable about the iPhone too: the App Store the UI, the browser, are all top notch; none of them would be empowering though and would make for a very long first blog!

So, without further ado, would you share your thoughts? What should I do about feeling 2nd class, about being subjected to arbitrary restrictions, about paying for undelivered service, about being 'squished'?

Please take the poll, add a comment and share your thoughts about the subject AND my very 1st blog! Thanks!

About the Banner: A Partially frozen Saddlebag Lake, off 120 Tioga Pass Road, late June, 2009.