So you think 2014 wil be down in US Stock market. Think again.

Update 9/4/14: When I wrote this 7 months ago and boldly predicted that for the next 10 yrs, the growth per yr would be 6.1%, S & P 500 was at1848 and today 2006. That is 8.54% in 7 months. I guess I got it right. Don't be surprised if it is flat till the Christmas sales are reported in Jan 2015. In the mean time, 1.8% dividend in S & P 500 is better than the near zero or even negative return in a bank.

I looked at the last 57yrs.

-->

				7.6%	Average change in S & P 500 was 7.6% per year.
					In the last 57 years, the average below 8% or negative for 20 years
					Best performance was in 1982 34%. 2013 was 26%.
					1994 to 1998 had 18 to 30% per year
					1994 to 1998 had 18 to 30% per year
				8.4%	Average per yr over last 20years
				6.1%	Average per yr over last 10years
					Average per yr over next 10yrs could well be over 6.1%
DATE	VALUE	Absolute Change last 10yrs	% Change last 10yrs	% Change last 1 yr	Comments
Average			113%		In 10 yrs more than doubled on the average.
					Losses in 4 of the 30 10 yr periods recovered in 1 to 3 years
1957-01-01	44
1958-01-01	46			4%
1959-01-01	57			24%
1960-01-01	56			-3%
1961-01-01	66			19%
1962-01-01	62			-6%
1963-01-01	70			12%
1964-01-01	81			16%
1965-01-01	88			8%
1966-01-01	85			-3%
1967-01-01	92			8%
1968-01-01	98			7%
1969-01-01	98			-1%
1970-01-01	83			-15%
1971-01-01	98			18%
1972-01-01	109			11%
1973-01-01	107	38	54%	-2%
1974-01-01	83	1	2%	-23%
1975-01-01	86	-2	-2%	4%
1976-01-01	102	17	20%	18%	Money invested in 1965 recovered and went over 88 1 yr after the 10 yr period
1977-01-01	98	6	7%	-4%
1978-01-01	96	-2	-2%	-2%
1979-01-01	103	5	5%	7%	Money invested in 1968 recovered and went over 98 1yr after the 10 yr period
1980-01-01	119	36	43%	15%
1981-01-01	128	30	30%	8%
1982-01-01	120	11	10%	-7%
1983-01-01	160	53	49%	34%
1984-01-01	160	78	94%	-0%
1985-01-01	187	101	117%	16%
1986-01-01	236	134	132%	27%
1987-01-01	287	189	192%	21%
1988-01-01	266	170	177%	-7%
1989-01-01	323	220	214%	22%
1990-01-01	335	216	182%	4%
1991-01-01	376	248	194%	12%
1992-01-01	416	296	247%	11%
1993-01-01	452	291	181%	9%
1994-01-01	460	300	187%	2%
1995-01-01	542	355	190%	18%
1996-01-01	671	434	184%	24%
1997-01-01	873	586	204%	30%
1998-01-01	1086	820	308%	24%
1999-01-01	1327	1004	311%	22%
2000-01-01	1427	1093	327%	8%
2001-01-01	1194	818	217%	-16%
2002-01-01	994	578	139%	-17%
2003-01-01	965	514	114%	-3%
2004-01-01	1131	670	146%	17%
2005-01-01	1207	666	123%	7%
2006-01-01	1310	640	95%	9%
2007-01-01	1477	604	69%	13%
2008-01-01	1220	135	12%	-17%
2009-01-01	948	-379	-29%	-22%
2010-01-01	1140	-287	-20%	20%
2011-01-01	1268	73	6%	11%
2012-01-01	1379	385	39%	9%	Money invested in 1999 recovered and went over 1327 3yrs after the 10 yr period
2013-01-01	1466	501	52%	6%	Money invested in 2000 recovered and went over 1427 3yrs after the 10 yr period
2014-01-01	1848	717	63%	26%

For $40 I replaced a switch which turns on light at sunset and shuts it off at 10pm.

I bought GE Z-Wave dimmer switch for $42. That was $25 more than I paid for a Levitron dimmer.

It took me actually more time to try 10 of my circuit breakers to shut off the power to the switch I wanted to replace. Once that was doen I swapped the old mechanic switch with the GE switch.

Worked perfectly.

I then opened the SmartThings App on my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 phone running T Mobile stock Android 4.3.2 and selected the plus button to search for devices.

See this blog how I added devices.

That is it. I can use my phone to turn on-off-dim-bright the light.
I used this Cree dimmable LED. The light is just as bright as the "100W equivalent" FEIT CFL I replaced.

Of course the CFL costs just $2 each Vs $20 for this bulb. CFL does not dim.
Not as instant ON. Besides CFL consumes 23w Vs 9.5W for the LED.

I had 3 bulbs consuming 69W. Now I have three consuming 19.5W for the same light. This light is ON for 4hrs a day. So, more green I guess.

Now comes the more interesting part.

I used ifttt "recipe" to turn ON this light at sunset every day and shut it off at 10pm every day. I can use my phone to control it at random.

Now isn't that cool?

Now I can monitor, control my home without monthly payment. Cost $100 plus $50 per sensor.

This is part of my ongoing quest for how "Internet of Things" can be practical and replace expensive monthly service by ADT, ATT, Comcast Xfinity and others.

It all started when I first tried iSmartAlarm.

Without monthly fee, I have home alarm system. If intruders go past it, they have to deal with my dog. Alarm siren rings, phones get text message and check how the security breach happened and then we call police. These days, police stopped responding to automatic phone calls. Security companies have some one to call the neighbors and then police. I don't need the middleman.

Then, I added Belkin WeMo InSight to get a text message when my Laundry stops. That worked nicely. Did not have wrinkled or smelly clothes since then.

Then I added Kwikset electronic deadbolt.

It has Z-Wave wireless and Kwikset will be happy to sell you a device which connects to their server and you pay $10 a month or so. I decided to try SmartThings Hub.

Someone wrote a nice blog about it. Read it if you like. Better yet, see SmartThings on Youtube.

I first activated the hub using their instructions. Just needed to go to their website using their App on my smartphone, enter the activation code.

Then I tried to let it discover my Kwikset electronic lock. It was searching for ever. I sent a request online and also email last night.

This morning I was pleasantly surprised by email from Ryan of SmartThings.
He said that the SmartThings Hub was partly paired with the lock. He used chat messages to quickly remove it and added back. It worked like a charm.

Photo below shows discovered (Green device).

Then I opened the main menu and found the device.

Then I was able to lock or unlock the door by pushing that UNLOCKED icon.
Then I selected the gear icon right above the UNLOCKED icon. It opened the below screen.

All this took just 5 min. The when I hit refresh, it showed battery status is 60%. However no matter what I do either from the phone or from the lock directly (only 2 ways) the status is stuck at unlocked. Ryan of SmartThings agreed that it a bug they are working on. He offered to push firmware update Release Candidate to my hub. I agreed. RC is usually quite stable. After he pushed it to the hub, I saw battery status 40% and device status is stuck at unlocked. He apologized and asked me check blog.smarthings.com for updates.

I guess that will be a future blog and I may add another sensor or 2 by then...

Kwikset 910 series zwave electronic deadbolt $110 is flimsy.

Updated Jan 11, 2015

I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS.

Main issue is very bad battery life even with the best AA alkaline battery.
Barely a month if used once a day on the average. I really do not want to
remotely unlock my door over internet. If someone I trust needs to enter,
I will give them the code to unlock. Schlage Camelot electronic deadbolt
I use has a 9V battery and in 3plus years I replaced the battery once on a door
used many times a day. It costs less than $90.
http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NJJ1MQ?keywords=schlage%20camelot&qid=1452558472&ref_=sr_1_4&sr=8-4

You can read how to install if you want to, else you can stop right here.
_________________________________________________________________________________
See  photos (last one is video if it works) here.

I bought Kwikset SmartCode 910 Satin Nickel Electronic Deadbolt with zwave chip on E-Bay but Amazon also has it.

It took me just 30 min to install.

I also ordered SmartThings Hub for $100.

It has an App on Android and IOS devices.  I connected the hub to my router, installed this app used the code which came with the hub and activated it.

I can see the hub as active when I login to smarthings.com website and also on my phone.

Supposedly all I have to do is choose + button on the App to add the lock, press a button on the lock and it should connect.

All it said was searching... and never found the lock. Smarthings is a small company funded by Kickstarter. I sent them a request and waiting to hear from them. I will write about the outcome once I am done. "Internet of things" began in 2013 and so very pre-mature. Not for the average Joe user yet. A challenge for me though...

For now, I can say that the lock works fine and I like it better than Schlage because of more key combinations and easy of replacing the batteries without any screw driver. Schlage lock I have has a 9V battery which my son installed almost year and half ago and it still works. Schlage has 4 number code using 10 buttons. This has 4 to 8 number code using 5 buttons.

If you cannot see the video on my Google+ link for Photos (last one is video), it is also on Youtube. Google has to get this process right.

AARP helped in my Auto + Home Insurance. Shop around.

I started auto insurance with my first care back in 1984 with Statefarm and when I came to California in 1989, the rates started going up even though I never had a claim. California AAA gave me a better price around 1995. Then I had one very low speed accident in 2001 where I rear ended the car in front of me at a yield sign when the car in front moved and suddenly stopped. Perhaps CA AAA paid about $3k max for both the cars. They increased the premium by almost $1000 a year for 3 years (effectively collecting what they paid). 3 years later, I switched to Costco American Express auto insurance which later became Ameriprise. 12 years later in 2012 June I had one accident in small town where what I thought was yield for me and stop for the other car in a 25mph zone was the other way around. No injuries but my car was worth $10k and that is what I got. The other car seemed to be worth $5k. My wife hit a speed bump at night on her minivan at barely 10mph at night but it damaged a cruise sensor on her Sienna which costs $2k to replace. The Toyota dealer suggested that I file a claim and I had to fight with Ameriprise to get coverage. This happened in early 2012. When I got my renewal, the premium went up by whopping $2k per year which they said will remain for 5yrs. So, they planned to collect $10k from me even though I paid them perhaps $15k in the past 12 yrs.

So, I was able to get Hartford insurance with AARP for $1k less than the new quote from Ameriprise which would remain for 5yrs. If I am lucky, my wife will not be called a "bad driver" 3yrs from her only "accident" by Jan 2015 and may be the rate will come down by $600 per yr.

So, AARP did help me for now. However, the summary of the story is that if I paid $2k for my wife's Sienna instead of filing the claim, I would have saved at least $2k in 3 yrs. Basically Ameriprise collected whatever they paid for the Sienna. The lesson to learn is that if there is no third party involved, pay it rather than file a claim. This is true even for Home owner's insurance. The repair person always tells you to file a claim and they quote a very high price and tell you that you don't have to pay anything out of pocket. If I shopped around I would have probably found some one to fix the cruise sensor for $1k.

Conclusion: AARP can help you if you are over 50 and got a high quote for auto insurance if you have an accident. AARP was actually $3 more expensive than best internet rate for a motel 6 I booked $61 Vs $64. I plan to take a cruise to Hawaii and Alaska. Last time I used Costco after checking AAA and Costco. Next time I will check AARP. Also, I saved $100 per yr when I got 100 mile coverage for me, my wife and son (less than 25years). The service is offered by Allstate. I did not use it so far but I guess that may be another blog in future...

Shop around for insurance every time you have a renewal on Home or Auto insurance. Once you are their customer, the insurance companies don't have any motivation to reduce your premium even if you have no claims. Excuse is inflation. Same is true with Cable/Sat TV and Internet service providers. Only new customers get a promo. I do have a story to tell about Dish Network and Comcast one fine day...

I chopped 100 pieces of Tindura Vegetable in 4 min and clean up was 30 sec!

How did I do this?

I used Nemco Vegetable Chopper which cost me $154.

My "video equipment" was a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 phone mounted on a tripod using this $12 mount.

I selected 100 pieces of Tindura to do my test. It took 4 minutes to chop
and 30 seconds to clean up. Very impressed.

See video here.

It is sad that physical and even online newspapers are a dying breed. I finally stopped paper even online.

Update 9/4/14: I finally stopped the Sunday paper and all days online. I don't miss it. Google News is good enough for me. I hear that USA Today may become online only. It is probably sooner than later when there will be a consolidation of many newspapers to online only and paid by Ads online.

Until July 2012, I was paying $150 per year for a newspaper to be delivered 7 days a week. In the days when there was no internet I used to read newspaper for 30min in the morning and again for 30min before going to bed.

Then, I got a promotion for $20 for 1 yr to get Thu, Fri and Sun physical paper and 7 days a week online. I really did not miss the physical paper on the other 4 days.

When that ended, I got a promotion for $15 for 1 yr to get Sun physical paper and online 7 days a week.

This Sunday, it is raining and I looked at the newspaper online after I first went to Google news, Facebook. I spent entire 10min looking at the online newspaper and did not even feel like going out to get the paper just to look at a few department store ads and Best Buy ad. Those are available online too and I get to avoid impulse shopping just because I saw the Ad.

These days most of the shopping seems to be either for groceries or home maintenance (like paint, tools) and the rest online.

May be this year, I may not even want the online newspaper.

What next? Will newspaper companies in developed countries get bought off by the Googles of the world? Is Newspaper going to be free online funded by advertising like the OTA TV?

When my clothes washer got SMS with Belkin WeMo but it failed....

9/1/14: See latest update on why I had to replace WeMo Insight switch due to failure. See blog http://hari-google-blog.blogspot.com/2014/08/replaced-belkin-wemo-insight-60-wifi.html

One of pet peeves was that we frequently forget to take clothes when the washer stops and in the best case they get wrinkled a lot and in the worst case very smelly and I need to wash again.

So, I experimented and bought Belkin WeMo Insight switch (actually a plug with a power button and WiFi indicator) for $50 when it came on sale. Regular price was $60.

First I installed Android App WeMo. I then plugged in the WeMo Insight into the wall outler and then the clothese washer to the WeMo Insight. Then I connected to WiFi "router" called WeMo something which was built into WeMo Insight.

After that it asked me which is my home WiFi network and I gave it the password. WeMo Insight which I named WeMo Laundry then connected directly to my router and so did my phone. Then I registered my WeMo laundry to my ifttt account directly from the WeMo App.

Then I went to ifttt (IF This Then That)
and created a "recipe" to send me text message when my WeMo laundry enters standby mode. ifttt asked for my cell phone number and sent me a 4 digit code by SMS which I was asked to enter in my ifttt account to authenticate the transaction. Done.

I started my clothes washer. While the washer was running, I was able to see the power consumed in Watts in real time using the App on the phone. Within seconds after the washer entered standby mode, I got a text message. I guess it worked!

I cannot do the same to my electric clothes drier because it runs on 220V and WeMo Insight only comes in a 110V version.

Update 8/13/14

I changed my router and now Belkin Wemo will first allow my phone to connect to it as an access point and then I open WeMo App and provide the password to the router I want to connect. Once I do that, WeMo is supposed to act as a client and connect itself to the router. It does not. I guess there is a failure. I am going to use Smarthings multi-sensor to sense the stopping of Vibration to detect end of cycle just as I did with the dryer. My conclusion is that Belkin WeMo is not quite there yet...

Fixed distorted sound in Ubuntu 13.10

Found a fix at this link

Distorted sound or no sound at all in Skype can be fixed by modifying file

/etc/pulse/default.pa

sudo mousepad /etc/pulse/default.pa
Find line with
load-module module-udev-detect
and change it to
load-module module-udev-detect tsched

I changed it in 2 places. Commented out the old line. No need to restart the computer. Just quit and re-opened skype.

### Automatically load driver modules depending on the hardware available
.ifexists module-udev-detect.so
#load-module module-udev-detect
load-module module-udev-detect tsched=0
.else
### Use the static hardware detection module (for systems that lack udev support)
#load-module module-detect
load-module module-udev-detect tsched=0
.endif

 

Replaced broken CCFL LCD display with LED display on 2010 Asus laptop K52F-BBR5.

About 1 year ago, my dog ran into the power chord of my wife's Asus laptop and it fell down and display cracked. She was using it with a external monitor.

Here are the Photos

I ordered a repalcement lcd screen for $60 on E-Bay from Boston Computer Pros BCP Inc

They shipped it by USPS Priority mail and I got it in 2 days.

I used a video to remove the old panel to replace it with this panel.

It was easy to remove the panel using a Phillips screw driver.

Problem was that this was LED panel and what I had was CCFL panel. When I wanted to return using e-Bay, Marc responded instantly and said that the CCFL panel can be replaced by a $160 CCFL panel on back order or with LED panel and an adapter board to replace the inverter used by CCFL panel. He offered it at his wholesale price of $30 instead of $40 and shipped it as soon as I shipped back the panel and sent him the tracking number.

In 2 days I received the LCD panel and the adapter. Problem was that I was unable to connect the the CCFL to LED adapter to the LED panel. In fact the connector broke and also a metal strip on the panel broke. When I called, Fumio answered, saw the photos and offered to send me a replacement CCFL to LED adapter and panel already attached to the panel. It arrived in 2 days,

See the photos, It worked great. Total cost $110. Replacement cost of equivalent computer is about $400.

Home Wifi suddenly unstable? It could be your microwave.

You probably noticed that your wireless internet can suddenly be intermittent.

This morning, I was using my computer at home to listen to TV audio using Slingbox which was also on my home network. Suddenly the audio become choppy and picture was freezing. I heard the microwave running in the kitchen and asked my wife to shut it off as a test case. Bingo! wireless was great. Then I swapped the Panasonic Inverter NN-SA651S 12.4Amp microwave with a Sharp Carousel microwave and the problem did not occur.

So, before you replace or move your router, check your appliances for interference. It could even be a blender or any small appliance with a motor controlled by electronics (not a good sine wave).

Finally I can make Yogurt at home consistently.

As I was cleaning my garage I re-discovered my Yogurt Maker Euro Cuisine YM80 Yogurt Maker I bought on Amazon now $24 http://www.amazon.com/Euro-Cuisine-YM80-Yogurt-Maker/dp/B000EX16RY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387383830&sr=8-1&keywords=yogurt+maker

Then I used starter culture my sister suggested which is Yogourmet Freeze Dried Yogurt Starter now $16.35 on Amazon for a 3-pack http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001GVIS4M/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I used a Pyrex 4 cup glass container for 1% milk.

1. Microwave and highest power for 10 minutes in a Sharp 1200w microwave.

2. Let it cool for about 15 minutes.

3. Add 1 packet of the starter and stir well with a fork.

4. Put it in the Yogurt maker and turn it on.

5. Checked after about 4.5hrs and found that it is mostly done (It is supposed to maintain about 120F. Room temp was about 66F in Dec In Northern CA).

6. Shut off the Yogurt Maker but let the yogurt sit in it for an hour or 2 and then put it in the fridge.

To make the next batch, I used 3 teaspoons of this yogurt as the culture. Worked for NF milk too and perhaps needed another 30min in the Yogurt Maker.

Now I am the resident expert in making yogurt!

Upgraded Samsung Galaxy Note 2 T Mobile SGH-T889 from 4.1.2 to 4.3.

My Samsung Galaxy Note 2 T Mobile SGH-T889 was rooted but otherwise stock because I wanted to use wifi calling where the signal was not good in my sister's house in Bethesda, MD surrounded by woods and in UCSC campus room of my son. As the signal gets better perhaps there is no need for wifi calling.

Anyway, because my phone was considered "modified" OTA upate did not work. I used Samsung Kies to update and it did go reasonably well. It took barely 1 hour. To root it again I used http://honai-android.blogspot.com/2013/12/how-to-root-galaxy-note-2-t-mobile-sgh.html and it also worked. Only problem was wifi tether App gave me some trouble but eventually I got it to work. Not sure if the phone is subject to T Mobile's 500MB per day limit though. I ended up spending almost 2hrs on the wifi hotspot.

So far the phone is stable but there is one surprise. Firefox Sync does not work. May be it is time to switch to chrome browser on the phone. It seems Android 4.4 aka Kitkat will be available around Mar 2014 from T Mobile. I may end up going to cyanogenmod and Kitkat, the minute I decide that wifi calling is not so important. It is possible right now to update this phone to Cyanogenmod kitkat. I just don't want to be on the bleeding edge particularly with a phoen I depend on every day.

I did not like the Samsung GUI. So, I used Apex Launcher like before and now it is like I had it before. I will update this based on my experience in the next few days.

Update: Dec 17th
unistalled Firefox Browser and Firefox beta. Re-installed Firefox (Not Beta).
Now able to sync with firefox on other computers.

My experience upgrading Toshiba R835-P94 from Win 7 to Win 8.1.

It all started when my son who is a Windows expert of sorts decided that it is about time he switch to Win  8 and and he actually said that he got used to the Metro interface easily. I decided to check it out. So, here is what happened roughly.

At about 9pm last night, I tried to create bootable USB using Win 8 Pro .iso I had when I bought it for $15 promo about 1 year ago and have a key. unetboot on win 7 struggled and failed to create USB boot image.

I tried to do it on Xubuntu 13.10 (dual boot on the same laptop) using startup disk creator and it did but did not boot and was not seen in Windows either.

So, I used xfburn on Xubuntu and created a DVD. It was 11pm by then.

This disc did not boot either. So, I opened Win 7 and found setup.exe file. I double clicked it and then it asked for my key. I entered it and then it tool 2.5 hrs and several boots and at 1am, I was in Win 8 Pro. So, what about Win 8.1? That required update to Win 8. I pushed the button to install all updates and went to bed.

This morning at 7am, it said that updates failed and to retry. I did and finally it got done at 8am after several reboots. Then I upgrade to 8.1. It finished at 9am after several reboots. I installed classic shell to get the familiar start button. There you have it.

Moral of the story so far, I did not seem to have gained anything. Just did this to make the OS current for what it is worth. My son did a complete delete and clean install directly from Win 7 to 8.1 and he said that it took 15min. Just because I wanted to keep my taxcut software intact, I upgraded and kept all the files and programs. If I knew that it takes so, long I would have backed up my data and re-installed programs.

Google Voice obi110 replaced Vonage. Perhaps next year would be end of landline.

http://blog.obihai.com/2013/10/important-message-about-google-voice.html
"Google announced the end of support for XMPP based calling with Google Voice. This will happen on May 15, 2014.
Since your OBi device uses XMPP to communicate with Google servers, the end of support will directly impact how your OBi device can be used with your Gmail account and its associated Google Voice phone number. Unfortunately, you will no longer be able to use the Google Voice communication service to make calls using the phone connected to your OBi device.  Also, the ability to receive calls to your Google Voice number, directly from Google’s service, will not be possible."

So, what am I thinking? Me and my wife have unlimited calling in the US using our cell phones with unlimited LTE data on T-Mobile. I am sure that we will have unlimited calling feature on any carrier or prepaid card.

I have panasonic link2cell cordless phone system with 4 handsets. I already paired my phone and my wife's phone to receive calls using bluetooth on the cordless handset. All I need to do is forward my google voice calls to cell phones and I can receive calls made to my land line number. Outgoing calls will use my cell phones. Only limitation with the link2cell is that for outgoing calls, DTMF tones are not passed on from cordless handset to the cell phone. That means, I may have to directly use cell phones to call if DTMF tones are required.

One thing is for sure. Technology will evolve. Perhaps, Google will directly sell a product like chromecast and call it phonecast to connect to any landline phone to make receive calls?

Teens glued to electronic Media.

If you know a teen who is spending lot of time on electronic media, you are not alone.

See: http://www.pcworld.com/article/187353/todays_teens_glued_to_electronic_media.html

9hrs per day with a gadget, 9 hrs per sleep leaves 6 hrs a day for hygeine, food, exercise, studies, talking to parents.

I predict that this will lead to increase in Obesity, decrease in life expectancy
for the millennial generation in the US and the baby boom generation in Asia compared to their parents.

If you have been using AAA for a long time, you now have other choices.

Are you a member of AAA? If so, you now have other choices.

I have been a member in AAA since 1984. In those days, if you had a car you pretty much needed AAA.
Emergency roadside assistance for dead battery, out of fuel, flat tire.
Maps and Trip routing when you travel to a new place for the first time.
Tourbook to find places to visit and also on Hotels/Motels 15% or so discount.
Also, you could get discount on parking at airports.

Then came internet at home in 1995 due to work account that you access using a modem. No real substitute to AAA.

In 1996 Mapquest.com was launched but then many of us did not have internet at home unless we used office computer.

In 1999, DSL was available for $50 a month and it was paid for by the office. Internet then came home to the desktop PC.

In 1996-2000 map software was available such as Expedia Streets and Trips for $20 with a $20 rebate = free. It replaced the need for AAA maps, Triptik but you could use AAA to get discount on Hotels/Motels and airport parking. Better than Mapquest since you could take your laptop on the road and you could connect a cheap $100 Garmin GPS to actually have a geek's GPS.

In 2002 Garmin GPS (fat and heavy) but great navigation came for about $700 plus a $200 for a 2GB Compact Flash. It was for early adopters who wanted to save time on a weekend but did not want to spend $2000 on a car Nav system.
It certainly replaced AAA maps, Triptik. Still AAA was good for discounts on Hotels/Motels and airport parking.

Then came Expedia.com in 2002 to book hotels and flights. You could do even better than AAA discount with Expedia. Also came coupons for discounts for airport parking.

So, you need AAA for emergency roadside assistance. Right?

Wrong! You could get this for a small addition to your auto insurance.

In fact for Executive Members of Costco who get 2% discount on all Costco purchases like me who also have Auto Insurance from Costco Roadside assistance and 5 mi towing was free for which you pay $54 per yr for primary member and $31 for additional driver. So, I paid $85 per yr for 6 yrs to AAA for nothing. That is $500.

Then I gave my 1994 minivan to my college going son in 2008 and upgraded to AAA $89 primary and 2 x $46 for other drivers for 1 year till he turned 21 and then he had to get his own for $89 which in a way I was paying too. That is another $180 for 1 year and $135 for the last 6 months totaling $315. Then came the surprise! Apparently there is limit of 4 Roadside assistance per member per yr and there is a limit for total as well. My inexperienced son called AAA 5 times and I was billed $65 for the 5th instance. AAA will not consider my long history with them and not waive the charge. They just did not care if I stopped being a member.

You could get a GPS for under $100 and use it for 2years. Beats the heck out of $54 per yr for maps at AAA. In fact if you have a smartphone you have a free GPS now.

Finally I woke up and realized that I spent at least $900 since 2002 for something which was free to me.

If you are like me, may be you can wake up now and cancel AAA.

I finally added update manager icon back to panel in Xubuntu 13.10 beta.

I finally was able to add back update manager icon to Xubuntu menu item or panel launcher.

Here is how I did it.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4e-yCoZRAkTaHRpb19FY0FzMTg/edit?usp=sharing

Diet Soda is not really good for you.

So you think Diet Soda is OK?

Think again.

https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B4e-yCoZRAkTN2VlZWQxOTMtMmVjMS00YmVhLWI4MTEtYjdjNjVmNTU2ZmI0&hl=en

What to store in the cloud and what not to? Here are my thoughts.

Are you scared if your computer dies? I am not.

I organize the data as follows:

1. Very critical and fits in 2GB:

I use Dropbox.

Examples:

Word, Excel spreadsheets. Any finacial date must be password protected and    even encrypted. 

Save only on Dropbox folder. Why Dropbox? Multi-platform: Windows, Mac, IOS, Android    and even Linux. 2GB free. Other choice is Ubuntu One 5GB and all the same platforms.

Disclosure: I use Xubuntu Linux for everything except filing taxes for which I use WIndows    on a dual-boot laptop and I use Android Samsung Galaxy Note 2 5.5" 720p "Phablet".

2. Somewhat critical and fits in 10GB:

I use GoogleDrive.

Examples:

Documents you share with others, Favorite photos or music you always want    to access even from a phone.    

I bought 80GB of space per year under Google's old plan for $20 per yr. All my    photos and video clips go there. There could be better and cheaper choices just    for Photos and Videos.

3. Important but too big to save in Dropbox or Google Drive:

I use external drive + copy on a computer.

Examples:

Photos and Videos not on GoogleDrive such as home video.

Have a copy in data drive and frequently backup to external drive.

   

4. Not that important but nice to have:

I use external drive only.

Examples:

Movies from youtube you download to watch on a plane or your DVD or Bluray movies that you backed up.

If you really like the content, have 2 copies on 2 external drives/

5. Strictly temporary and small files you can get again.

Just fine to leave them in your Download folder.

6. Strictly temporary and big files you can get again. 

Examples:  

 

.iso files of software you paid for or free. Moving data around or sharing with others.
Put them in a directory on the external USB drive called Temp.