Brick O'Lore YouTube Channel

Doh - there go my plans for buying a private island.

"Under the new eligibility requirements announced today, your YouTube channel, Brick O'Lore, is no longer eligible for monetization because it doesn’t meet the new threshold of 4,000 hours of watchtime within the past 12 months and 1,000 subscribers." 

Cryptocurrency Adoption

An interesting graph and even more interesting discussion...

Bitcoin compared to other historical adoption curves. One of my followers made this, I can't recall who (please let me know and I'll repost with h/t). $BTC pic.twitter.com/iod6CxMY8H

— Parabolic Trav (@parabolictrav) December 18, 2017

Cryptocurrency Summary

Cryptocurrencies in 4 words or less:

Name            | Sym.  | Description                              
----------------|-------|------------------------------------------
Bitcoin         | BTC   | Digital gold                             
Ethereum        | ETH   | Programmable contracts and money         
Bitcoin Cash    | BCH   | Bitcoin clone                            
Ripple          | XRP   | Enterprise payment settlement network    
Litecoin        | LTC   | Faster Bitcoin                           
Dash            | DASH  | Privacy-focused Bitcoin clone            
NEO             | NEO   | Chinese-market Ethereum                  
NEM             | XEM   | Batteries-included digital assets        
Monero          | XMR   | Private digital cash                     
Ethereum Classic| ETC   | Ethereum clone                           
IOTA            | MIOTA | Internet-of-things payments              
Qtum            | QTUM  | Ethereum contracts on Bitcoin            
OmiseGO         | OMG   | Banking, remittance, and exchange        
Zcash           | ZEC   | Private digital cash                     
BitConnect      | BCC   | Madoff-like investment fund              
Lisk            | LSK   | Decentralized applications in JavaScript 
Cardano         | ADA   | Layered currency and contracts           
Tether          | USDT  | Price = 1 USD                            
Stellar Lumens  | XLM   | Digital IOUs                             
EOS             | EOS   | Decentralized applications on WebAssembly
Hshare          | HSR   | Blockchain switchboard                   
Waves           | WAVES | Decentralized exchange and crowdfunding  
Stratis         | STRAT | Decentralized applications in C#         
Komodo          | KMD   | Decentralized ICOs                       
Ark             | ARK   | Blockchain switchboard                   
Electroneum     | ETN   | Monero clone                             
Bytecoin        | BCN   | Privacy-focused cryptocurrency           
Steem           | STEEM | Reddit with money voting                 
Ardor           | ARDR  | Blockchain for spawning blockchains      
Binance Coin    | BNB   | Pay Binance exchange fees                
Augur           | REP   | Decentralized prediction market          
Populous        | PPT   | Invoice trading futures                  
Decred          | DCR   | Bitcoin with alternative governance      
TenX            | PAY   | Cryptocurrency credit card               
MaidSafeCoin    | MAID  | Rent disk space                          
BitcoinDark     | BTCD  | Zcoin close                              
BitShares       | BTS   | Decentralized exchange                   
Golem           | GNT   | Rent other people's computers            
PIVX            | PIVX  | Inflationary Dash clone                  
Gas             | GAS   | Pay fees on Neo                          
TRON            | TRX   | In-app-purchases                         
Vertcoin        | VTC   | Bitcoin clone                            
MonaCoin        | MONA  | Japanese Dogecoin                        
Factom          | FCT   | Decentralized record keeping             
Basic Attention | BAT   | Decentralized ad network                 
SALT            | SALT  | Cryptocurrency-backed loans              
Kyber Network   | KNC   | Decentralized exchange                   
Dogecoin        | DOGE  | Serious meme bitcoin clone               
DigixDAO        | DGD   | Organisation manages tokenized gold      
Veritaseum      | VERI  | Vaporware                                
Walton          | WTC   | IoT Blockchain                           
SingularDTV     | SNGLS | Decentralized Netflix                    
Bytom           | BTM   | Physical assets as tokens                
Byteball Bytes  | GBYTE | Decentralized database and currency      
GameCredits     | GAME  | Video game currency                      
Metaverse ETP   | ETP   | Chinese Ethereum plus identity           
GXShares        | GXS   | Decentralized Chinese Equifax            
Syscoin         | SYS   | Decentralized marketplace                
Siacoin         | SC    | Rent disk space                          
Status          | SNT   | Decentralized application browser        
0x              | ZRX   | Decentralized exchange                   
Verge           | XVG   | Privacy Dogecoin                         
Lykke           | LKK   | Digital asset exchange                   
Civic           | CVC   | Identity and Authentication App          
Blocknet        | BLOCK | Decentralized exchange                   
Metal           | MTL   | Payments with rewards program            
Iconomi         | ICN   | Digital asset investment funds           
Aeternity       | AE    | Decentralized apps (prototype)           
DigiByte        | DGB   | Faster Bitcoin                           
Bancor          | BNT   | Token Index Funds                        
Ripio Credit    | RCN   | Co-signed Cryptocurrency Loans           
ATMChain        | ATM   | Advertising network                      
Gnosis          | GNO   | Decentralized prediction market          
VeChain         | VEN   | Supply chain item IDs                    
Pura            | PURA  | Cryptocurrency                           
Particl         | PART  | Privacy marketplace and chat             
KuCoin Shares   | KCS   | Profit-sharing exchange fees             
Bitquence       | BQX   | Mint for cryptocurrency investments      
FunFair         | FUN   | Decentralized casino                     
ChainLink       | LINK  | External data for contracts              
Power Ledger    | POWR  | Airbnb for electricity                   
Nxt             | NXT   | Cryptocurrency and marketplace           
Monaco          | MCO   | Cryptocurrency credit card               
Cryptonex       | CNX   | Zerocoin clone                           
MCAP            | MCAP  | Mining investment fund                   
Storj           | STORJ | Rent disk space                          
ZenCash         | ZEN   | Privacy-focused Bitcoin clone            
Nexus           | NXS   | Bitcoin clone                            
Neblio          | NEBL  | Decentralized application platform       
Zeusshield      | ZSC   | Decentralized insurance                  
Streamr DATAcoin| DATA  | Real-time data marketplace               
ZCoin           | XZC   | Private digital cash                     
NAV Coin        | NAV   | Bitcoin with private transactions        
AdEx            | ADX   | Advertising exchange                     
Open Trading    | OTN   | Decentralized exchange                   
SmartCash       | SMART | Zcoin clone with rewards                 
Bitdeal         | BDL   | Bitcoin clone                            
Loopring        | LRC   | Decentralized exchange                   
Edgeless        | EDG   | Decentralized casino                     
FairCoin        | FAIR  | Bitcoin that rewards savers

Thieve.co: Makes AliExpress Look Hi-End

As if it wasn't tempting enough to by random, cheap stuff from China:

officially addicted to this website curating the best aliexpress products https://t.co/EiMb2XSWz5 pic.twitter.com/FzU0a5otsp

— juan (@juanbuis) May 10, 2017

Check Cashing Better Than a Bank?

Interesting article - I had always assumed they were a more expensive option.

Professor @LisaServon explains why check cashers and payday lenders can be the smart choice https://t.co/59VlkElXIi pic.twitter.com/C3UR7NAapz

— Business Insider (@businessinsider) February 12, 2017

The first part of this quote gives me pause, but the latter I can see as a real issue:

"If Carlos is like many small contractors operating in New York City, he relies at least in part on undocumented workers, who are unlikely to have bank accounts. If Carlos deposited his check in a bank, it would take a few days to clear — too late to deliver cash on payday. Or maybe the check was a deposit for a job he had just been contracted to do, and he needed supplies to get started. If he couldn't start right away, he risked losing the job to another contractor." 

Raise

I want a $10k/year raise for being a ham.

Deputy Associate Chancellor of Academic Technology of the Committee on Strategic Dining Affairs

A follow-up to my post yesterday about spending... university title generator. I think I should apply for Deputy Dean of the Committee on Athletic Technology.

@iowahawkblog Don't know if you saw this https://t.co/6CyJRGkxlE Suggests a salary, too!

— HAL 10000 (@Hal_RTFLC) May 21, 2016

Equitable Structure for Employee Parking

New Equitable Structure for Employee Parking Begins August 1 at UTK:

"Beginning in the fall 2016 semester, the university will begin charging for faculty and staff parking through a tiered, equitable pay structure.

The changes are the result of feedback from employees and research conducted about faculty and staff parking at other large universities.

Employee permits for the 2015-16 academic year expire on July 31. The new pay structure will take effect for permits that begin on August 1.

The new employee payment structure has four cost levels and is based on an employee’s annual compensation.

Here are the levels:

• $29,999 and under annual compensation will pay $20 per month
• $30,000 to $59,999 will pay $30 per month
• $60,000 to $149,999 will pay $35 per month
• $150,000 and over annual compensation will pay $50 per month

Most faculty and staff will see no change to the price they currently pay, while a substantial number of our staff will begin paying less."

Grant

I went down a rabbit hole for no real reason, but stumbled across this document [PDF] about neighborhood grants available in Knoxville. The reason I found it interesting is that the awards could be used for ham radio training. Under project examples, the text reads:

Crime and Public Safety
—
Projects which reduce crime and increase public safety, such as establishment of a neighborhood watch program; creative alley lighting; National Night Out activities; and crime prevention, fire safety and emergency preparedness programs (including First Aid, CPR and Ham Radio training)

The grant process is competitive, so I suspect that ham radio training might not be as compelling to some as a park or program to benefit seniors or children.

Tech Fatigue

People are getting tried of keeping up with all the changes or maybe most things are good enough.

In the last year, I went from an old 42 inch HDTV LCD to a new, thin Vizio 55-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart TV. I upgraded to an iPhone 6. I've had an old iPad Mini for years that I rarely use. I don't have a smart watch. I've had my Honeywell Wi-Fi thermostats for a while. I'm not really interested in a drone.
I might upgrade my Garmin GPS running watch or add a fitness band. I geek out over the data, so I'd like to have the heart rate and sleep information that something like the Garmin Vivosmart HR would provide.

More Cord Cutting

First, people were dropping cable TV. Now, they are dropping home internet service. I stand by my crazy suggestions to keep customers.

Cord Cutting Accelerates

People are dumping cable faster than ever. How can cable companies stop the decline?

I have a crazy idea - charge less and improve service.

Debt in 2015

A random fact I found interesting... Debt:

"According to the Federal Reserve and other government statistics, our penchant for indebtedness means that the average household now owes $7,281 in credit card debt alone. 

But here’s the thing – that average includes even those who carry no debt at all. So when you take out the households and families that don’t carry a balance on any of their credit cards, the average outstanding balance surges to $15,609."

FCC Fee Changes

FCC Eliminates Amateur Radio Vanity Call Sign Regulatory Fee

“The Commission often receives multiple applications for the same vanity call sign, but only one applicant can be issued that call sign,” the FCC explained. “In such cases, the Commission issues refunds for all the remaining applicants. In addition to staff and computer time to process payments and issue refunds, there is an additional expense to issue checks for the applicants who cannot be refunded electronically.”

FCC Eliminates GMRS Regulatory Fee:

"The fee, which was previously assessed at $5 per year, added $25 to the total cost of a GMRS license, which has a term of five years. While it does not eliminate the cost of a license altogether, the complete elimination of the regulatory fee brings the total cost of a General Mobile Radio Service license from $90 down to $65."

IoT: Keen Smart Vent

Sounds like a great idea... the Keen Smart Vent. I've got problems with hot and cold areas in my house. (It's much better since I've replaced both HVAC systems in the last 8 months or so.) I'd love to see if it could actually lower utility bills rather than just even out the temperatures.

HP Stream Laptop - Plus Office 365

I've rolled the dice on an HP Stream 13" laptop. When I bought it, it was $200. It is back to $230 now. We needed something for my wife and I was thinking about shelling out for some cloud storage. The laptop comes with one year of Office 365 Personal which includes 1 TB of OneDrive storage. If I had bought the Office 365 subscription separately, it would have been $70.

I've completely rationalized this now, so it is just a $130 laptop. If it doesn't meet her needs, then we aren't out much. I could probably let my 6 year old use it. Although, she would probably be baffled by the lack of a touch screen!

Cord Cutting

ESPN has been one of the main reasons I've not considered cutting the cord and dumping cable TV. Things are starting to get interesting as Dish announces a streaming service that includes ESPN for $20/month:

"But what is Sling TV? For $20 a month — yes, twenty dollars — you get access to a lineup of cable networks that includes TNT, TBS, CNN, Food Network, HGTV, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, the Disney Channel, ESPN, and ESPN2. ESPN is obviously a huge get for Dish and could earn Sling TV plenty of customers all on its own."

Via lifehacker

Books - Purge Mode On!

If it's not nailed down, it's at risk for getting tossed, sold, recycled, etc.

Books from these authors didn't make the cut:

David Baldacci
Gene Kranz
Ken Follett
Larry Correia
Matthew Pearl
Nelson DeMille
Stephen Hunter
Tom Clancy
Tom Wolfe
W.E.B. Griffin

I'm not saying I don't like the books, but I'm still keeping a ton and I don't see me re-reading these anytime soon. For a lot of these, I've got stacks by each author.

I'll do another list of the authors I did keep.

Happy Singles Day

In honor of Singles Day, buy a Chinese radio from Amazon.

Cost

I just posted about the Raspberry Pi A+ and the last quote was about how much the A+ cost in terms of Starbucks coffee. I've used the same metric for thinking about buying an app on my phone. My stream of consciousness led me to the latte factor next. Which then got me thinking and I realized the Starbucks comparison does not include a key factor - time.

I'm cheap, so the following may not surprise anyone... I'm going to start thinking about the Starbucks comparison this way - using a few assumptions:

A cup of Starbucks is $4.
My average annual rate of return over the long term is 6%.
I have twenty years until I retire.

That means the Raspberry Pi A+ that is "the cost of 4 Starbucks coffees" with my calculations will cost: $52.