Rickster's Tips

RIP Steve Jobs

2011-10-05T17:41:00.000-07:00

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. - Mr. Jobs

Is it really a deal?

2011-10-04T18:27:00.000-07:00

We are all so programmed for "getting a deal". Stores know this and have become experts at taking advantage and sucking our money away. Let me share the most recent example I've noticed. Like a lot of people when we get food out I look for deals. At pizza places I'm often willing to spend a little more to get multiple pizzas for instance because I know I'll get left overs. But when is a deal not really a deal?

Taco Bell. I like Taco Bell. Since way back in college I've always thought it was a good place to get food at a cheap price. I also like easy ordering, especially when getting food for four in our family. Enter the Taco Twelve Pack! 12 hard shell tacos for only $12.99! Sounds like a good deal to me; sure we don't really need twelve but it's probably the same cost as 10 or 11 so we might as well, right?

WRONG! Lets do the math. A single hard shell taco is $1.09 (might vary by location?). So the price of 12 would be $13.08. So that wonderful Taco Twelve Pack saves you an entire 9 cents!!!! 9 little cents. Now yes, that is cheaper than if you just ordered twelve and I certainly want to save everything I can. But when I see a deal like that I have the expectation that I'll save enough to justify getting more food. What is happening is that Taco Bell is getting people to order more food with this deal, more food than they need and thus taking more money than the consumers need to pay. I could get 11 tacos for only $11.99 and if I only need 11 there is no savings for me to get the Twelve Pack.

So, my advice is to not always order the easy thing. Yes that Taco Twelve Pack looks good and has a nice box (yippee), but do you really really need 12 tacos? Yes? Then go for it, you are saving 9 cents. No? Then just get what you need, run for the border and get your fifth meal because Yo quiero Taco Bell.

Over a year since the last post!!!!

2011-03-29T14:38:00.001-07:00

Ok, I've not been a good blogger recently. Well, for the last 15 months almost actually. I've meant to post things; really, but some times it's just hard to find the time and motivation to write something. Even now what's the best I can come up with...... a post about not posting! Well, I hope to resume blogging here more in the future so stay tuned. More to follow soon (I hope).

Electronic books, yay or nay? Follow up.

2010-02-28T20:12:00.000-08:00

Back in December I made a post about electronic books, speaking particularly about the Kindle, and whether or not I thought they were a good idea. At that point I had not actually used a Kindle but was reading books using the Kindle Reader App on my iPod Touch. Well, in January I was able to check out a Kindle from the Creighton University library and thought I should post a follow up from that experience.

My first experience with the Kindle was quite good. I had one of the 6" models and it looked very sharp. It even had a leather cover and nice carrying case that the library had put together with it. It is very thin but still feels sturdy. Trying to turn it on did take a bit of time though as I could not find the power button; actually resorting to the guide to finally find it (turns out it's on the top as a slider thing). It fired up quickly and had a nice look to it. My first goal was to see if I could get one of the books I was already reading with my Amazon account onto this library Kindle.

As I tried to navigate I had trouble getting around. I think this was largely due to being used to the touch screen on my iPod Touch. I kept trying to control things by touching the screen, which does not work on a Kindle. I found the buttons and little joy stick type device and used them to get around. The joystick worked, but I was never sure if I should press in on the button to select or press to the right. I'm not saying it was a bad design, just hard to get used to for me. The Next Page buttons I also found to be stiff and not as pleasant as touching or swiping the screen on my iPod.

But, back to my goal of getting my books available. I found that I was not able to add any books since the Kindle was not registered. So, how about I just register it for myself? I googled it first to make sure I could "unregister" the unit before returning it to the library and after I was sure I went ahead and did it. Simple enough and soon I was able to download books to it through some mysterious connection. I'm still a little puzzled about the book downloads as it won't connect to WiFi and I'm not paying for any cell phone coverage for it. I have to assume that somehow Amazon has worked out a deal to use cell phone coverage for this data transfer and must work the charges into either the cost of the Kindle itself, or the books you purchase. At any rate it was easy and fast to get a book downloaded. At the end of my check out time I was also able to unregister the unit although interesting enough my books stayed on it (shhhhhh, don't tell the library).

Reading. I had been hearing about how much like a book the Kindle screen appears and that this is the reason people will want it. Yes the screen looked like a page from a book, but also in my mind that is it's biggest problem. There is NO back lighting to it. Just like a book you have to have light and I really found this annoying. I like to read in bed and with my touch I don't have to worry about getting a light positioned right. I can even read in the dark. But not with the Kindle; if the lights are off you can't see it. Very frustrating for me.

Aside from the lighting I will say that reading on the Kindle was pleasant. The larger screen than my iPod Touch was somewhat nice, however it also meant I usually held it with two hands. For my touch I only use one. The buttons for changing pages took a little getting used to but did work well. I can't help but wonder what my opinion would have been if I had not used my iPod Touch to read books with first. I found myself constantly comparing it to and liking to read on my Touch better. If only it were a little bigger.....

A bigger iPod Touch.... hmmmm maybe we'll see one of those soon? Yes very soon I believe and it's called an iPad. In my opinion, once the iPad is released there will be no reason to have a Kindle. I know many will disagree and this is just MY opinion, but from my own experience I love the back lit touch screen available on the Touch and iPad. And the cost? Why spend $489 on a Kindle DX with a 9.7" screen when you can get a 9.7" iPad for only $499. For a mere ten dollars more you get something that not only lets you read eBooks with a touch screen, but so much more with all of the apps available.

So, as I said in my December post I am a fan of Electronic Books and think they are here to stay. I also think many people like the Kindle and continue to use it. I myself really like the Kindle store and Kindle apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch. However for my own electronic book reading I think I'll be sticking to my iPod Touch and perhaps an iPad down the road. It will be interesting to see how many agree with me and move to the iPad when it is released (I hope the library gets a few!)

Rickster's Awesome Hypermiling Techniques

2010-01-17T12:13:00.000-08:00

I like to use as little gasoline as possible. For me it's not only about saving money but also about just general waste. Despite was some fools like Rush Limbaugh try to say, there is a finite amount of oil on this planet and the more we can do to not waste it the better off we will be.

Besides driving a fuel efficient vehicle and making sure it is well maintained there are some driving techniques you can do that can help your gas mileage. Hypermiling is the term used for these techniques and was the 2008 word of the year for the New Oxford American Dictionary.

There are many sites around that discuss various hypermiling techniques and honestly, I have not read them. I have developed my own methods which I'm sure are not unique but I'm going to share in this post I'm calling "Rickster's Awesome Hypermiling Techniques".

The most important thing to remember is that your brake pedal is EVIL! Or at least in terms of trying to save gas it is. This one simple notion influences piratically everything I do in trying to maximize my gas mileage. Let me explain.

When you are driving, your vehicle consumes more gas when you press on the accelerator to either speed up or maintain speed. The more you press the more gas you use. So, if you are going a set speed and step on the brake, you must then press more on the gas pedal to get back up to speed. You've used more gas than if you could have maintained your speed. Your built up speed is a "potential energy" that gets wasted when you use your brakes.

Similarly, if you have to use your brake to slow down and come to a stop you are also wasting potential energy that you had already built up (and used gas to build up). Instead of braking you could have taken your foot off of the gas sooner and coast to a stop.

So, with that basic principle in mind here are things I do to conserve gas when driving.

1. Anticipate stops and potential stops. Since braking is evil try to avoid it. For regular trips such as too and from work you should know the route very well. Where are the lights that you always get red? How about stop signs? Know where they are and instead of driving at the max speed limit right up to the spot and then braking, plan ahead and TAKE YOUR FOOT OFF THE GAS sooner so that you slow down to a stop with minimal brake use. With stop lights you can also work your speed ahead of time to get there just as they turn green. Braking a little to slow down and get a green light is much better than having to come to a full stop at that light.

2. Maintain a good distance behind other vehicles. Ok, this is a safety issue we all know about it but it also affects gas mileage. Why? It's all about the brakes. If you are right behind a car and it slows down even a little you are going to have to brake. By leaving a decent distance you allow yourself time to simply pull your foot off the accelerator to adjust your speed and not use the evil brake unless you have to.

I know there are some who think that you should tailgate especially behind big rigs to save gas by drafting with the vehicle in front of you. Professional car racers do this and it does work. But only if you are a matter of a few feet behind the other car. One of my favorite shows, Mythbusters, covered this topic in their 2007 season. While they did show there is a fuel efficiency benefit you have to be crazy close to realize it. Not only is this illegal it is extremely unsafe and not a good thing outside of a race track.

So, I know my list was short but really it's providing a mindset to help you drive more efficiently. When you understand the impacts of braking you can find your own methods for doing this. But one thing to keep in mind; BE SAFE. And part of being safe is NOT annoying other drivers. While I use my techniques and slow down over a longer period of time to minimize brakes use I still need to keep in mind cars around me. You should do that too.

Electronic books, yay or nay?

2009-12-03T14:57:00.000-08:00

When Amazon first came out with the Kindle my first thought was WHY? Who would want to spend the same amount as a cheap laptop for something that could only read books? Why not just read ebooks on your computer? While I still haven't actually held a Kindle in my hands, I now understand why. Something handheld is just so much more comfortable than reading off a computer.

While I don't have a Kindle I do have an iPod Touch through my work; and low and behold, there is a Kindle app. With it I've been reading some books recently; free books even and I really like it. With my Touch I can hold it in one hand and turn pages with just a flick of my thumb. I like having small pages because I find it easier to focus and not get lost on the page. The lighting is good letting me read in the dark, and best of all it's almost always with me. If I'm standing somewhere and have a few minutes I can pull it out of my pocket and knock out a few pages.

Now I realize several of my likes are specific to reading a Kindle book on my iPod Touch, and for me that may be all I ever use. But for those who do have a Kindle and an iPod Touch or iPhone it is way cool because they all sync together. If you read so far using your Touch and then later open the book on your Kindle it knows what page you left off on, even though it was a different device!

So for me, I now give the Kindle two thumbs up for concept. Does that mean I'm gonna buy one? Probably not but who knows. My office is in the same building as a University library and the lure of books that are FREELY available to read is a big one. I hate to spend money when I don't have to. I also don't like the clutter of owning books and that actually would be a plus with the Kindle as I wouldn't have to store books anywhere; so who knows. Maybe Amazon will send me one for free since I've written nice things about it!

Keep files synced between multiple computers with Dropbox

2009-12-02T06:16:00.000-08:00

One application that I really love is called Dropbox. This application is free and allows you to both synchronize files between multiple computers, and have copies available to you online through their web interface from any computer. The process is simple: you specify one folder on your computer as your "dropbox folder". ANYTHING that you put (or keep) in this folder automatically gets uploaded to the dropbox website and also downloaded to the "dropbox folder" on any other computers you have it installed on. It's that simple. The web interface even keeps records and changes you've made to files and lets you revert to previous edits if needed; it even lets you recover deleted files.

Even more cool is it's cross platform capabilities. I have a desktop computer at home with Windows XP and my work computer is a MacBook Pro. I have dropbox installed on both so that any files I add to or edit inside my dropbox folder automatically get updated on my other computer. There is even and iPhone app! I actually have an iPod Touch with the app and while it doesn't actually download and store the files, it does give me quick access to anything in my dropbox when I'm within range of a wifi network. An iPhone would have access anywhere will cell coverage.

So yes, it is a free application/service. For $0.00 you get 2 GB of storage. For those wanting more space there are of course upgrades. $9.99 per month will get you 50 GB, and $19.99 per month will get you 100 GB of storage.

I also came across one of those "in plain english" videos about Dropbox. It does a good job explaining the system and these videos are also just fun to watch.

Jing...... a ling a ling

2009-12-01T11:13:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted for a while but have been meaning to talk about Jing, a free piece of software from TechSmith. Jing is a cross platform (Mac and Windows) screen capture tool. You can capture still images that can be marked up, or capture video of your desktop with audio for up to five minutes. Unlike some applications that do this, Jing lets you select what area of the screen you want to capture, either manually or by auto selecting a window. Now for some you might think... "only 5 minutes?". Well I tell you, it is a blessing!!! I use Jing all the time for showing someone how to do something, or even showing tech problems to support personnel. I just "jing it" and send them a link (more on that to come). The fact that I only have 5 minutes is great because I have to be concise. Also since I can't edit; I don't.

Now, remember I said that I send a link to people with my videos... some of you might have said, "a link to where?". This takes us to the second great part about Jing. It comes with an account on ScreenCast.com where you can host files for FREE!!! Jing uploads files seamlessly to ScreenCast but you can also upload files directly to the site. The free account is for 2 GB of data. The short video below gives a nice overview of the product.

Of course in addition to the free version, TechSmith does have a Pro version for about $15/year which gives added features such as MP4 compression, direct uploads to YouTube, and the ability to add a web cam to your capture. Being a cheap person I still with the basic product. There is also the ability to upgrade your storage space on ScreenCast.com if needed, but again I'm cheap and the free account has served me just fine.

Jing is even mentioned in a recent book named "The Digital Handshake: Seven Proven Strategies to Grow Your Business Using Social Media". This is an excellent book for anyone trying to learn about about social media and especially how it can be utilized by small businesses.

Google Voice: a cool service AND you can save money with it

2009-08-25T20:20:00.000-07:00

When google first announced the upcoming release of Google Voice I requested an invite right away. I wasn't sure what it would actually do at the time, but I certainly wanted to be one of the first to try it out. In a nutshell here is what it does....

Google Voice gives you a new phone number which you can have ring any number of other phones. You can even program it to ring certain phones at certain times. Now, for many of us we just say "I already have a cell phone which I always carry and just have people call it....". But it can do more. It also acts as your voicemail system; and even transcribes your messages to text to be emailed or sent to you as a text message. I love this feature as I'm often in meetings and can't take calls. I can't call my voice mail during a meeting but I can read an email.

What else can it do? It can let you screen calls, block callers, send SMS messages, record calls, etc. etc. etc. Google can tell you about it better than I at this page http://www.google.com/googlevoice/about.html. You can even make free long distance calls with it to anywhere in the USA and Canada.

So, lets talk about the money saving. Obviously free long distance can save you money, but you are probably saying I already have that will my cell phone. But, are your minutes limited on your cell phone? This is a similar trick I use with Goog 411... My wireless provider is Alltel and they have My Circle plan where you specify certain phone numbers to be in your circle and then those do not count against your minutes. So, I add my Google Voice number. Now any time someone calls me through Google Voice which transfers to my cell phone those minutes are not counted against my plan. But it gets better.... If I call my Google Voice number I can place outbound calls through it. This means Alltel sees me call a number in my Circle and doesn't count the minutes, but then Google Voice lets me call anywhere else. And the long distance is FREE. I can even use my land line now for free long distance as long as I route it through Google Voice!!!

I'm still learning about it more each day; it's a bit hard to start asking everyone to call you at a new number. But by using Google Voice now I should never go over my cell phone minute and could probably even reduce my plan to save ever more money.

How do you get a Google Voice account? Well, it's still only available by invite only. I've heard from a few others who asked for an invite that it only took a few days, but who knows. The site to request an invite is https://services.google.com/fb/forms/googlevoiceinvite/. You can also watch a short video from Google about the service below.

April's 2009 Team CF Marathon & Triathlon

2009-08-08T09:43:00.000-07:00

I'm posting a little off topic today but it's for an important cause. My cousin Laura has Cystic Fibrosis and her partner is running an Olympic Distance Marathon in Chicago to raise money for research on the disease. Cystic Fibrosis is a genetic disease that affects the lungs. In the United States, 1 in 4,000 children are born with CF.

In 1959, the median age of survival of children with cystic fibrosis was only six months. In the United States, the life expectancy for infants born in 2006 with CF is 36.8 years, based upon data compiled by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. This is a disease that research has really helped in extending and improving the lives of those afflicted with it, and it is truely believed that a cure is in reach with more time and money for research.

If you would to know more about the disease and/or donated to the cause follow this link to April's page. It will tell you a little more about the run she is doing to raise money for research and allow you to donate if you would like to.

Saving money on you cell phone bills with Goog 411 and Bing 411

2009-08-07T07:26:00.000-07:00

We all like saving money or at least not having to spend too much. One of the services I've been using for a few years now really helps on my cell phone bill. The service I'm talking about is Google 411 (1 800-GOOG-411, or 1-800-466-4411), and now also Microsoft's version called Bing 411 (1-800-Bing-411, or 1-800-246-4411). Among other things, both of these services allow you to call and search business listings using voice commands and then will connect you directly to the business.

Cool features to be sure, but how does this save you money? Well, many cell phone plans have a way to specify numbers that you call frequently to NOT be counted against your plan's minutes. I am with Alltel and they call it My Circle. So, I have Google 411 as one of my My Circle numbers and use it whenever I call a business. Honestly I'm usually using Goog 411 anyway because I don't know the number, but by doing so I am not using any of my plan minutes for the call.

Bing 411 does the essentially the same thing and will even provide you driving locations. I have to say that I really prefer the voice they use on Google 411 over the one for Bing. The gal on Bing's message is just more difficult to understand. I was showing the service to a friend the other day with my cell on speaker phone and we couldn't even tell what she was saying. So my preferred service to use is Goog 411.

Here's a video about it:

Saving money by NOT using 10% ethanol gasoline

2009-07-27T19:51:00.000-07:00

I grew up in the 70's during the energy crisis and learned about saving money on gas from my dad. He always knew which stations had the cheapest gas and even considered gas mileage when purchasing vehicles. Tracking miles per gallon at each fill up was a MUST. That mentality rubbed off on me and I too try to look to find the best way to save money and conserve gas now on my vehicles too.

My dad always thought gas was gas. The brand didn't matter and neither did ethanol blend. Just buy the cheapest one at the pump. Most of my life I've thought the same; just buy the cheapest gas. However a little over a year ago something struck me. A couple of folks on the radio were talking about Flex Fuel vehicles that ran on E85 (blend of 85% ethanol) and how they did not get near as good of gas mileage. As an example a 2009 Chevy Tahoe on the highway gets 20 MPG with regular gasoline but only 15 MPG with E85 (as reported on http://www.fueleconomy.gov/). So I was thinking.... how much difference is there in gas mileage between regular gasoline and the 10% ethanol blend we have here in Nebraska? The 10% blend costs less at the pump, but do you really save money with it?

As it turns out I have a situation which lends itself good to test this out. I have a 99 Ford Ranger that I drive almost exclusively to and from work; 54 miles each day mostly all on the highway. The consistent usage pattern would make it possible to compare MPG fairly accurately between regular and ethanol blend gasoline.

Saving all the collection details, here is my data. Using the 10% ethanol blend gasoline I was averaging 23.5 mpg with my pickup. After switching to regular gasoline without ethanol I am averaging nearly 26 mpg; a difference of 2.5 mpg.

Is that significant? Well, for me the best way to tell is to see which costs more for a given driving scenario. So here in my logic. Lets take 10 gallons of gas and compare. Typically in Nebraska it cost $0.10 less per gallon for 10% ethanol blended gasoline.

10% Ethanol blend
Cost for 10 gallons @ $2.49 per gallon: $24.90
Distance traveled per 10 gallons: 235 miles

Regular gas
Cost for 10 gallons @ $2.59 per gallon: $25.90
Distance traveled per 10 gallons: 260 miles

Notice that the ethanol blend saved me $1.00 when I filled the tank with 10 gallons of gas. However, I was able to travel 25 miles further with the regular gas. So I would need an extra 1.06 gallons of 10% ethanol blend gas to go the same distance as regular gas. At $2.49 per gallon that is another $2.64. So when I use the 10% ethanol blend gasoline instead of saving that $1.00 that I thought I was, I actually wasted $1.64 per 10 gallons of gas!!!

Only $1.64 you say? For me I use a little over 10 gallons a week driving 270 miles to and from work over that time. So over a year that ends up being almost $100 dollars. Not only that, by not using ethanol blended gas I don't have to fill up my tank as often. With the 10% blend gas I was filling up about every 4 work days. Now I go 5 or 6 days between fill ups. With higher gas prices which I think we will eventually see again the savings will be even higher.

I guess the main point that really struck me though is how what I thought was saving me money by using the 10% ethanol blend really was not. I saved a buck at the pump but ended up paying more in the long run. An interesting additional analysis would be to see if you actually use less gasoline overall with the 10% ethanol blend - maybe in another post.

I feel I must have the disclaimer that I have only run this test on my one vehicle. Your results may vary. We also have a Dodge Grand Caravan but the driving on it is not consistent so testing would be hard to really compare and know that the ethanol is making the difference. Perhaps soon I'll collect more data on it for testing too.

Oh yeah, and one more thing... there are some really nifty web sites you can use to track your gas and service data. I used to use Service Beacon but kept getting a note they were shutting down back in April (site still is up as of July 28th though). So I switched and currently use MPG Tune which works well too; but there are actually lots of others out there. Some even allow you to text in your data or have iPhone apps to let you do it. I've gotten into the practice of taking the receipt from the pump and just writing the odometer reading on it. When I get to a computer everything is there I need to add to track my mpg and expenses.

Welcome

2009-07-21T06:47:00.001-07:00

I've been wanting to start another blog with various tips, mostly technology related, and have had a few things come up finally making it get it done. I look forward to researching and writing in this blog! More to come later....