Spreadshare – A New Concept

Share your exciting website finds -- for personal use, or to help you start up business or established business. By posting a spread sheet you have built with great "finds".

I have just started to look at this, but recommend you explore it if you are interested.

I suppose people submit spreadsheets that list URL's or links to a helpful website on their favorite topic – travel ?  entrepreneur? or building a “start up business”.  On their spreadsheets they have topics related with links to the appropriate web tools on those topics.

Here are two I have admired this morning… one on travel, the other on building a start-up business (possibly a web type business).

https://spreadshare.co/spreadsheet/top-336-travel-apps-and-websites

Aids for travel and related

https://spreadshare.co/spreadsheet/new-startup-ideas

Aids for a start up business

Here is one I found on my first drill=down look – I would bet it could benefit those with e-commerce websites, or other sites.

https://www.hotjar.com/?ref=stacklist

Please post any usefulness you find in these spreadsheet aids so others can benefit.  Thanks.  Dale

Amazon Echo Show -- coming in June

https://www.macrumors.com/2017/05/09/amazon-echo-show-june/

Echo Show to be released in June.  This is Amazon Echo with a screen.

1.     The biggest news is the possibility that it will allow users (owners) to do something like Skype calls between Echo Show devices, so, it will behave something like a free video phone call. It could offer something a bit easier and different from doing the same via iPad or iPhone or Android. A substitute for FaceTime, for example.  But, unlike the phone, it would be tethered to Wi-Fi, which should make it more reliable.

2.     “With the addition of a touchscreen, Amazon said that users will be able to watch video flash briefings and YouTube, see music lyrics, check on security cameras, swipe through photos, view weather forecasts, make to-do and shopping lists, and more. Far-field voice recognition, eight microphones, beam-forming technology, and noise cancellation allow users to be heard from anywhere in the room, as well as over loud music coming from the Echo Show itself.”  (from the website link above0

3.     $230 is the projected price, I think, per advance articles.  Less than the cost of some iPad models. 

I enjoy my Echo Dot – but don’t use it properly, or nearly enough.  I find it is much like Siri --- and I have Siri with me all the time, not just in one location.

A friend of mine has a full Echo, and enjoys the music features, and a few other features.  Another friend uses the Echo to add things to his shopping list – which then appears on his phone … segregated by stores.  For examples, he could say “Alexa, add pork and beans to my shopping list at Trader Joes”.   And, next time he is in Trader Joes, he can use that app on his phone to see what is on the list ---  saves writing down, and, if your hands are not clean, it is much easier to speak what you need, than start (or add to) a paper list.

Apple Pay Revisited

Have you subscribed to Apple Pay?  Would love to hear your experience.

It is very secure, probably more so than using a credit card.  It is fairly simple to use, and I think useful for small transactions like buying a coke at McDonalds. I am going to sign up soon, but first wanted to see if it would be accepted at stores I use. So I researched some of the stores that accept it now. Fast food places, grocery stores, and a few other places would be useful, since I always use my credit card in fast food places now, to avoid carrying change in my pocket.  Here is a list of useful stores that I think might be a benefit for me.  Disney does accept Apple Pay in the parks, but I don’t often go to the parks. Wouldn't it be nice if parking meters, nationwide, accepted it?  and parking garages?  And toll booths?

A few of the Fast Food places that accept Apple Pay :

Au Bon Pain*
Baskin-Robbins*
Chick-fil-A
Coca-Cola vending
El Pollo Loco*
Firehouse Subs
Fuddruckers
Jamba Juice
Dunkin’ Donuts
Jersey Mike’s Subs
Johnny Rockets*
Luby’s
McDonald’s
Panera Bread
Peet’s Coffee
Rubio’s
Subway
White Castle

A few of -Grocery stores and drug stores that accept Apple Pay:

BI-LO
Shop ‘n Save
Trader Joe’s
Walgreens
Wegmans
Whole Foods Market
Winn-Dixie

Gas stations that accept Apple Pay

Chevron
Chevron Extra Mile
Texaco
ExxonMobil (through the Speedpass+ app)

How To Escape From A Car In Water

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/14/magazine/how-to-escape-from-a-car-in-water.html?_r=0

This New York Times story, April 2017,  you might never need, but if you do, this is valuable advice.

If your cars goes in water (and many do every year) :

1.     do not open the door

2.     the electric windows will work after it hits the water, run down the window

3.     go out the window fast  -- within 60 seconds of hitting the water

4.     put out children first, oldest child first, then younger

5.     stand on top of the car if it is floating – THEN call 911

6.     survival depends on your doing this in this order, do not call 911 from inside the car, you don’t have time.  They won’t respond fast enough.

7.     some cars, like minivans, might float for 10 minutes but most will not

8.     your chances of survival are slim if you stay in the car -- or open the door

Bannish Wi Fi Dead Zones In Your Home or Office

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/26/technology/personaltech/mesh-network-vs-router.html    New story in New York Times Newspaper about Mesh devices

Banishing dead zones from your home with a mesh network is not news for some, but others are not yet aware that it is a trend and system that is better, and "here to stay", so to speak.

Mesh systems are getting more and more news stories.  Google and others have products out to solve a long standing problem. See links below.

1.     Wi Fi signals don’t penetrate brick walls and other things very well

2.     When Wi Fi signals are weak, devices might still work, but be aggravatingly slower.

3.     some Mesh Networks like Google have iPhone apps to adjust them easily

4.     Mesh systems are much more esthetic than multiple routers in a home

5.     they are now recommending Mesh system in all homes, not just large ones

6.     switching between mesh broadcasters is instant and always with the strongest one, that’s not the case with Wi-Fi “extenders” or even setting up a second router in a more distant part of a house

7.     the mesh networks automatically “hop” the signal around the home, some speed can be lost in this, but Orbi brand delivered the fastest and best results “overall” of the 3 brands tested.

8.     most users love their mesh system, I know one person who said it greatly improved coverage and performance of all the wi-fi devices in their home.

I suspect that these Mesh systems use a different frequency than Wi=Fi to send the signal with more clarity and speed through the more dense walls and distances.  Then, it re-broadcasts the Wi-Fi signal at the remote spots much more complete and stronger than the weaker Wi-Fi signal (which I think broadcasts a different, less efficient frequency). 

Here are the 3 most popular brands of these devices :

https://www.amazon.com/System-4000sqft-Tri-Band-NETGEAR-Satellite/dp/B01K4CZOBS/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1493698145&sr=1-1&keywords=orbi

ORBI – product

https://www.amazon.com/Google-Wifi-system-set-replacement/dp/B01MAW2294/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1493698173&sr=1-1&keywords=Google+Mesh

Google System Meshing devices (set of 3)

https://www.amazon.com/eero-Home-WiFi-System-Pack/dp/B00XEW3YD6/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1493698217&sr=1-1&keywords=eero

EERO – the original inventor of the Mesh system, the other two above copied it quickly, probably using similar frequencies, I am not sure.

What Does It Really Cost to Drive A Car?

http://exchange.aaa.com/automobiles-travel/automobiles/driving-costs/#.WP_6bNy1vsb

A surprising article I read in S.Club magazine says the costs vary widely, but you should consider liability insurance, property damage insurance, property taxes, license tags, routine oil changes, wiper blades, other inspection costs. Plus depreciation, tires, windshield washer fluid, radiator flush, cabin and other air filters. Repairs from minor scrapes you don’t report to insurance companies. Longer term things like fan belts, and timing belts, brake repairs.  Car washes and waxes could figure in as well.  Of course gasoline. Not to mention garage space rental (at work, perhaps?). Or the costs to the environment of your carbon exhaust (who pays for the clean up?). Road tolls? 

The best guess for a reasonably new economy car, small type, driven 20,000 miles a year is   $ .369 a mile.  So that 3 mile trip to save a dollar?  It costs you a dollar. A large sedan or SUV driven only 10,000 miles a year costs a staggering $ .931 per mile. That 150 mile trip to visit mom (round trip) costs you about $279. So air fare doesn't look all that out of line.

The above website is an interesting explanation of costs to own a car by AAA. 

Note that, due in part to big boxes, we now travel (on average) double what we did 35 years ago to get food and other items from stores.

Noting the shocking $ .93 a mile cost to drive a car, I notice that an UBER ride in South Florida that I was pricing (on line) before calling the car was going to charge me $37 to $43 for the trip of 31 miles from airport to hotel.  That’s about what it costs for a larger vehicle, driven only 10,000 miles a year. So, if that’s your option, the cost of UBER and your car would be about the same.  But we all know the fixed costs of car ownership (depreciation and all that) run on even if you don’t drive it.  So it’s not a fair comparison.

But, suppose the UBER driver had to dead-head back to the airport to get his/her next fare?  Then they break even or lose money, perhaps.

Our National Health Care Bill

(credit :  most content of this post was gleaned from AARP April 2017 bulletin)

Our annual bill is $3.2 trillion annually.  And the attached chart shows where it goes.  Since we are all involved in either paying for this, or using some of its services, I thought it would be good to share this graph from AARP Bulletin  April 2017

Age is a big factor in health care costs. With the exception of Japan, the world’s

25 “oldest” countries are all in Europe; the United States ranks 29^th in aging population percentage. That’s measured by the % of the population over age 65.

An interesting aging option (Government assisted) is a cash model. Germany, introduced a social insurance program for long-term care that includes a cash benefit option. This option provides beneficiaries with a cash payment to purchase services or support informal caregivers. In Germany, most cash benefits go to informal caregivers or are given to the household rather than used to buy formal services. 

http://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/health/2003_13_ltc_dv.pdf

Here is an interesting PDF on health care among developed nations – we obviously spend way more % of our GDP than most developed nations.   

Where does our USA health care dollars go?

1.     by far the most goes to hospital care  32% of all medical spending

2.     physicians get the next 20 %

3.     drugs get the next 10 %

4.     Government or Insurance company expenses get 8%

5.     Nursing care facilities take in about 5 % -- far less than I thought

6.     Research is about 5 %

7.     Personal care about 5 %

8.     Dental services about 4 %

9.     Medical equipment 4 %

10. other services  3 %

11. home health care only 3 % -- I thought it would be much more

12. public health care (for the poor ?)  3 %  .. not a great deal

Where does the money come from ?

1.     Private health insurance  33 %

2.     Medicare   20 %

3.     Out of pocket  11 %

4.     Medicaid  11 % --- not as much as some think but still sizeable

5.     VA or Military  3 %

6.     Public health money 3%

7.     other 3^rd. party payers  8 %

      8.     non profits  8 % --- I guess like the Gates Foundation?  Not sure