My ZooLoo blog

Hmmm, I seem to have endless accounts I have created for all these free social media/online backup type sites. I never use them hardly, can’t even remember I have them usually. I think I have close to 6 free 2 gig online storage accounts that I signed up for cause they looked interesting. I don’t really need them though, so they just sit there.

ZooLoo was just sitting there unused too, until they sent me a reminder email. Couldn’t even remember what ZooLoo was to be honest, so I clicked on the link and explored again. I can see this being useful for the student or heavy socially active person, but I have neither time nor energy to be doing more than Twitter and Facebook updates – and the occasional blog posting.

Course, having read that something like 55% of companies block employee social media access, site like this might be a nice workaround. Be on ZooLoo, but really you are also able to access Facebook and Twitter from here. Sure the company dictators will spot this and block it too though!

I just downloaded dropbox app for the iPhone a couple of days ago. I like the premise of being able to sync files from any computer and easy to use. I still will be unlikely to remember about it though. I use Evernote for keeping things synced and TeamViewer to remote desktop into any of my computers.

Ah well, as long as they keep offering free stuff, I will likely keep signing up for it in case I might miss out on something REALLY useful!

Update: I posted this on my ZooLoo account under the blog feature and tweeted out the link. Someone said it came back as a spammy page. So I moved the blog back to good old WordPress – at least this works without me having to figure out what setting I screwed up on ZooLoo!

Who’s Watching Me?

I like the iPhone TV commercials – all those apps I haven’t even heard of.  The App store very conveniently even has a section devoted to those apps seen on the TV commercial – smart!  I was browsing about the other day and noticed the genius tab.

Seemed like an interesting take – suggest apps I might like based on what I have already. However, as I started to read the privacy notice I became more concerned. Maybe I am just getting a bit paranoid, but the idea of having some entity tracking not just what apps I have, but how often I use them just seems a bit creepy.

Some people I know won’t use online banking cause they are scared. I figure it is way safer then leaving my checks in a mailbox though. Netflix just awarded a million dollar prize for a predictive movie picker to help make better movie suggestions for users. Fine, based on what movies I have watched and liked, suggest more.

Amazon sends me emails about products I might be interested in based on what I have bought or is in my wish list or what I have looked at. This is slightly creepy, but I found Ooma from this and that has saved me money!

I know what these companies want to use this for – make better suggestions to me so that I will buy more. That’s business, but there is a limit to how much information I really want to give up.

Tracking what movies I rent, what I buy at the grocery store on my points card or using my bill payments to set my credit score is one thing. Tracking my browser history or my app usage just seems a bit more invasive.

Last week I went to get my biometrics taken for my citizenship application. I asked why I needed to give the fingerprints again when I had done the same thing for my permanent resident card. Agent said because we only keep fingerprints on record for 15 months. Huh? Then why take them? Just take my DNA and be done with it! Probably Google has a more information on me now that the USCIS!

So, long story short, I declined the genius app tab function. Will this be short sighted of me? Will I miss some app that would have made me 30% more productive? Maybe, but I feel better anyway!

Brand Perceptions

I find it interesting how our perception of a company/brand can change depending on our interaction with it. For instance, we see something advertised on TV and it comes across as professional. Our perception of the brand is created and is set high.

There is a magazine advert that we come across and again it is clear and professional looking. Perception remains high.

We wander into the mall and there is the store. Expecting good things we go in and are disappointed. Maybe the racks are disorganized or we have to wait in a queue for too long or the assistant is rude. Perception takes a dive.

Wary of the brand now, we hesitate when we get an email from them, but decide to take a look at their online site because maybe there is something worthwhile there. The online store is impressive and we find good deals, easy layout and checkout goes smoothly. Perception is lifted again.

We come across a tweet from someone who works at the company and it is an inappropriate rant, or a blog about some poor customer service situation. Our perception takes a dive and will probably not recover because we feel these are the real people talking, not some company image.

I like to think of myself as savvy about advertising – I know the supermarket tricks to make you buy the expensive brands, I read up on products before I purchase them, etc. Looking at this stream though, I can see how much I really am influenced by media. Hardly surprising that social media has become such a boon and fear at the same time.

Companies want to control their image which is much easier through traditional media channels. But being proactive with your coverage monitoring is important because you can quickly act on a negative story and hopefully turn it to something positive or at least mitigate further damage.

An example I came across the other day was Whole Foods. They have had some bad press lately for something – not sure what, but it lowered my perception of them. Not interested enough to go research out if the issue had merit or not. Then I watch Top Chef and they always use Whole Foods. My perception is restored because I figure these people should know what good food is and if it is good enough for them then that is fine with me.

Not that I ever shop at Whole Foods, but if I had one near me, I would at least visit it!

Data Quality communication

I have been reading with interest the current debates on who controls data quality – the IT group or the business group. Looks like the consenus is that both own a piece of it. Makes sense really.

From my experience working with our own internal data quality initiaves, the ones that fail had people in charge who didn’t listen to both sides. Spend all the money on a fancy interface, but don’t understand the data needed underneath and you have a Porsche body with a Focus engine! Likewise though, if you get all the data in the system, but make the interface too difficult for business users then nobody will use it.

Being from more of the IT side of things I understand the frustration they feel about users. If nobody was allowed to write anything into the system it would be perfect! Users can’t be trusted. It’s true, to an extent. The IT involvement is needed to help balance the business users need for information and the human nature of shortcuts and malice!

An interface that can be designed to be both easy for a user, but also limit free form text is good! How many ways can the country name US be spelt – take a look in any database with free form country field and you will soon discover! Using check boxes and multi-selection boxes can all be used to keep data quality in the system even with users adding content.

Of course, IT doesn’t always really understand what information is being stored in the system – just that the fields are not null, have consistant values and are complete. The business user needs to clearly specify what they want from a data quality project so that IT can figure out where the data is going to come from.

Problems can arise when the business user doesn’t understand that a legacy system just isn’t accessible – the joy of mainframe accounting systems!  The users think IT is being difficult or not team players when in fact it is just that IT has not clearly communicated to the business user why the data is not available.

Communication! An oft used term, flung around at other groups/managers/people, but never ourselves. We communicate perfectly, it’s the other people who need to get it! So, business users write your requirements in plain English so that IT can understand them. IT people need to use diagrams and simple words without acronyms to explain existing systems so that business users can understand.

Next week I will cover how we can use data quality to resolve the  Middle East conflict!

Gadget Addiction

As anyone who has been paying attention to my Facebook comments can attest, I have been on a gadget purchasing spree lately.  Gadgets have always been fascinating to me – ever since watching those early Bond movies.  On the whole though, they have tended to disappoint after purchase. The calculator watch – yeah, that looked real pretty!  The early walkie-talkies – that weren’t wireless!

Now though, gadgets are actually living up to the literature and there are some decent bargains out there too. Couple of weeks ago I ordered a Touch wireless FM transmitter – $4.99 from some website. It works well enough for me. Yesterday I picked up my first Blue-tooth headset on clearance at Staples for a whopping $3.50. Wanted to test if it would work for Skype with my netbook – it does!

Last week Amazon sent an email featuring some electronics I might be interested in. Normally I would just delete it without even opening it, but I thought why not just check and see if there is anything. Not that I need anything, but just look (famous last words).

There was this Ooma product – free US and Canada calls for life. Uh-huh, what stupid thing is this? Have to plug it in to an always running PC? Buy a special phone for it? Get crap call reception?

I almost didn’t bother, but then I saw it had almost 5* reviews – I was more curious now. There was this one review by a guy who covered everything you would ever need to know about it. He was a VOIP engineer, but didn’t work for Ooma, just loved the product and wanted to see the company do well. Amazon page

I ordered it. Set it up in 5 minutes with my complicated network and can use my existing phones with it and no PC has to be on. Neat, one time $220 cost with free calls as long as the company stays in business. Even if it only last another year, it will have paid for itself.

So now I am feeling a bit gadget addicted – need a constant fix of new toys to play with! Good thing there are a lot of free or 99c apps for the Touch!!!

Wifi not so reliable…

I am just back from a vacation to Scotland – took some of my buds over with me!! In preparation for this trip I kind of went on a tech gadget spending spree.  Shock  horror, yes I spent some of my hard earned dosh.

Picked up my Ipod Touch and a netbook and some headphones with the special built in microphone for the Touch. Then I signed up to Skype, iCall and FlightStatus.

All of this was designed to make it easy for me to stay in touch with UK and US people while I was in the UK. Needless to say, actual performance of this did not live up to expectations.

Not that it was the hardware that was a problem. Wasn’t even the software that caused me much in the way of issues. No, it was the darn wifi network connectivity that was dismal!

The hotel wanted to charge me $15  for 24 hour wifi access – or use the PC for free in the reception area – guess what I chose! So then I was like, no biggie, just got to find one of these wifi cafe places – like McDonald’s or Starbucks. Yes, they had them, but we were never going to them when I needed the access. Can’t very well drag my friends of to McDonald’s while I make a Skype call to book a restaurant for dinner!

Even at the airport which had signs posted all around about free public wifi – never once was I or anyone around me able to connect to it. Sometimes I could connect, but the response was so slow I would have used up my battery before I got my tweet out!

In Edinburgh I gave up and bought a pay as you go cellphone for $50. The cellphones there are so much more advanced than US ones – it even has an FM radio in it! Everyone texts over there, and I now understand why it is so popular – no PC and always connected!

The Skype account was actually quite good – I created an online number that was local to the UK so that anyone calling me in the UK can use a cheap call to get to me – even when I am in the US. It also lets you forward the call to another phone number – cell or land-line and then to voicemail.

Verizon gave me  global cell phone before I left, but even with the plan it would have cost 99c a minute – even to check voicemail. I was much to worried to use it often. Wouldn’t bother with this again.

The touch was still good – even without my precious internet access.  I downloaded an app before I left called Stanza which is like an ebook reader. They have a bunch of library books that are free – got a nice Agatha Christie one and then a new release book too. Invaluable when jet-lag kicks in at 3.30am!!!

So next time, I will take my new phone over to the UK and just get a new SIM card for it – sound all geeky now, but the lady in Carphone Warehouse set the phone all up for me – phew!!! Then I can text my buds and not feel like such an offline loser when I have to ask how to send an SMS….

Why You Need A Roth IRA

I am always surprised at the number of people who do not know what a ROTH IRA is and why they should have one. My financial adviser explained it to me years ago and I have been a strong proponent of them. For my UK audience, sorry I have no clue what might be equivalent to this!

Easiest way to explain this is through an example.

Joe is saving $500 a month into his 401k. He pays no tax on this money. When he retires he has accrued $500,000 in his retirement account and starts to withdraw. With each withdrawal he pays tax at whatever the current rate is. So if he had paid in $200,000 with no tax, he then pays tax on withdrawing $500,000.

Mary is also saving $500 a month into her Roth IRA. She pays tax on this money at today’s rates. When she retires she has also accrued $500,000 in her retirement account and starts to withdraw. With each withdrawal she pays NO tax. So if she had paid in $200,000 and paid tax on this, she gets to withdraw $500,000 TAX FREE.

The only gamble you are taking with this account is whether future tax rates are going to be higher or lower than today. The way governments are having to spend I think there is very little chance of future tax rates being less than today.

Most Credit Unions and banks/brokerage firms offer Roth IRAs. Best to use 401k to keep company match money in and then extra money you invest into your ROTH. Remember, don’t keep all your eggs in one basket!!! With my sense of balance I have always thought this a very apt expression.

OK, I better do some legal disclosures here, just in case. I am not a financial expert nor do I have any qualification in it. Consult a certified financial professional before changing your investment strategy. My words of wisdom are my free expression of speech and do not reflect the views of anyone I am affiliated to, whomever that might be!

I am just so Touched!

A few weeks ago I bought an Ipod Touch. It was one of those gadgets that had been sitting at the back of my mind, but not enough to make me run out and buy one. I don’t know what happened though…oh yes, I remember now. I am going for a vacation trip to Scotland and won’t be staying with my Mum. How is one to stay connected on the web if you have no PC with you?

I didn’t want to bring a laptop – too much hassle. So I was looking for alternative. Just needed something that would let me surf basically. I looked into a blackberry, but I was dubious about the whole cell phone data transfer costs.

Into my radar pops the Touch – uses wifi so no cell phone contract and it looks cool and is cheaper than a laptop. Who could ask for more? Course, I had to have one right there and then – instant gratification and all that!

Oh, how it changed my life…well maybe not quite that extreme, but I do love it. Amazing how many places have wifi available now. I downloaded some free apps that let me do quick currency conversions, bank account checking, free voip calls, airline checking options, weather and time for specific locations, Google maps and toilet finder based on location and of course games.

I’m not a big gamer – but I am addicted to Solitaire again. It also changed my TV viewing habits. I can surf while I watch TV on the couch. /never realized how distracting Twitter could be when watching CSI!!! I now find that every 10 mins I have to check if I have new email of tweets. I check the news before I go to sleep at night. Ahhh, portable web surfing in the palm of your hand – I LOVE it!

And there are so many cool FREE apps that let you play. I have one that lets you make your own bobble heads out of any picture you have loaded. Another one lets you tap a drum set along with any music you are playing. Stupid little things, but fun to amuse friends with.

I got the 8gb version and I still have a load of space left. Probably if I was really into the games I would be better of with a bigger version. For now though, this little gadget suits me just fine.

Making the piggy bank virtual

I’m one of those people who likes to save for things. I like to save for new appliances, car care items (yes, those performance tires are expensive) and fun money for vacations, etc.

If I had the patience I would be en envelope stuffer – an envelope for this and one for that and stuff some twenties in it every week. I am not though and it just doesn’t feel right to have the money sitting in the house doing nothing. I have suggested to my credit union that they should let you divide your savings accounts into separate folders, so to speak. All I got from that was a suggestion to use the holiday fund account. I don’t want that though, I want my money all in one account, but kept in different little buckets.

My whines have been answered though, not by the credit union, but by this cool online site called SmartyPig (www.smartypig.com). I get to create a savings goal for my little piggy bank and it decides how much I need to save every month to reach the goal. I can have as many little piggy banks as I want and I can see them filling up and how far they have to go. Of course, what really swung it for me was that they offer 3.25% apy on the savings! Emigrant and ING online savings aren’t close to that these days.

They are FDIC insured too, for those of you more cautious types (me!) and everything is done electronically – you can even access your money whenever you want. Such a simple idea, but so effective. Now I have my little piggies for the car tires, the pet expenses, the vacation and the fun money.

I think you can also set it up so that you can let it be public – not done that but, maybe it would be nice to have that for a kid and let the relatives contribute to it for Xmas and birthdays. Don’t really want people to see how big my vacation  account is before I decide where I want to go on vacation!

There are a lot of online financial tools now available – mostly for free. I have used Mint.com to track expenditures and Wasabe.com to check my checking account purchases. I used to mainly use Emigrant and ING for online savings, but since their rates are junk right now (it’s the economy, stupid) I don’t do much with them.

The Scottish building society (like a credit union) The Dunfermline just crashed. Kind of sad to see these old institutions die because of bad decisions, but new ones will take there place. Iceland had a complete meltdown financially and a lot of UK councils appear to have lost money because of it.  The old adage of not keeping all your eggs in one basket would seem to be one that should be a standard refrain for everyone these days. Stuffing the money under the mattress doesn’t make sense, but neither does keeping everything you own in one place.

Maybe if more people take advantage of SmartPig accounts then everyone can get back to learning how to save money. My mother taught me about that at a young age – wasn’t particularly appreciative of it at the time, but it did sink in. She told me how she bought a new jacket for me when I was about 4 and got it on the never-never – pay 20p a week for 5000 weeks and it is paid off. Course, I had the thing ripped to shreds well before the 20th week! I think about that sometimes when I see people buying these big plasma TVs – have they really got the money for it or are they paying a ludicrously small amount every month for it?

Ah well, I may not have a big plasma, but my 5 year old 32″ CRT is doing just fine, thank you very much!

… and they call it puppy love?

I am sure people with kids must go through the same thing – like where you just wonder why on earth did I think getting a puppy (or having a child) would be a good idea? Was I mad? Could I plead temporary insanity?

What could be prompting me to these deep questions, you ask? Well, let’s just say that this should be a warning to all!!!

The other evening I was out with Bailey in the front yard when one of the neighbors came down. He has a sausage dog and he brought his daughter too. We were having fun watching the digs chase one another around and his daughter chasing the dogs. All fun and game…

His daughter drops her glove on the ground and Dad tells her to pick it up before the dogs get it. Well, Bailey must have suddenly got his English translator working because no sooner were the words uttered than he comes racing down and snags the glove. Of he goes, glove in mouth. I wasn’t too worried though because he has been at obedience training for a few months now and knows what the ‘come’ command is. So I thought!

No amount of calling is persuading him that it would be a good idea to come anywhere near us.

I try chasing, but he is way faster than me.

Then I figured I will go get some real cookies for him. He has, as the training instructor noticed, a real food motivation. So I run in the house and get his favorite treats – those yucky smelling liver things. Come out and start to call him and show him his yummy treats. Usually this is a no brainer, but not tonight.

No, he raises his head and flicks an ear at me and decides that what he has in his mouth is obviously some important prize not to be relinquished for anything so feeble as a few liver treats. I creep a bit closer to him and keep trying to persuade him how nice these treats really are.

He starts to come over and I am beginning to savor the anticipation of out foxing the little beast … aaahhhhh @$#@ he swallows the glove!

The whole glove – gulp – down it goes. True it is a kids glove, but it is still quite big and knitted.

I rush over and try to stick my fingers down his throat – nope, it’s all gone.

So now I have a screaming kid who lost her glove, a father who is in shock never having seen a dog Bailey’s size swallow a glove and me wondering what the heck to do now!!!

Bailey is dragged in the house and I decide I should try and make him puke it up. Not thinking of anything better I start to squirt salt water down his throat. Yeah, he wasn’t too impressed by that! He didn’t puke anything though.

I call the emergency vet and she says not to make him sick, but just to watch him for vomiting or cramping or bowel issues. ‘Em, right, so how do you tell if a dog is cramping?

Anyway, I give him lots of water to drink – after the salt water he is a bit suspicious of liquids, bot overcomes it eventually. He seems fine and we all go to bed – well the neighbor goes home to his own one though, before anyone gets any ideas!

Next morning, I am woken by bailey puking and what pops up, but one kiddie glove, some assorted mulch and cherry stones.

Will he have learnt his lesson? No!

He still is eating mulch, cherries, rotten apples and anything else that his nose finds in front of it!!!