pictures – Instant Coffee Wisdom

EVERYONE’S WATCHING!

Everyone’s being watched!

EVERYONES WATCHING

(Part one of a two part series)

Megabytes, Gigabytes and Terabytes, oh my…

As you are well aware the home computer boom of the 1980’s culminated with the birth of the internet in 1989. ‘Smartphones’ had been first introduced in 1992, but took fifteen years to evolve into the technological marvel that Steve Jobs demonstrated to a captivated audience at Macworld 2007 when he introduced the first Apple iPhone. NTT DoCoMo launched the first 3G network in Japan on October 1, 2001, making videoconferencing and large email attachments possible. For the roughly the next ten years this rapidly became the telecommunications standard. The iPhone could only have been possible with the 3G Network. Just as the Apple iPhone and many other ‘copycat’ Android smart phones continued to improve, so did the wireless network. By the end of 2010 4G was springing up, and now 5G is being rolled out. Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint have promised 5G devices for the first half of 2019, while T-Mobile says a nationwide network will launch in 2020. 5G will offer faster data and longer battery life. But network availability will be limited in 2019, and Apple’s iPhone may not support it until 2020. In terms of peak speed, 5G is approximately 20 times faster than 4G. The new technology also offers a minimum peak download speed of 20 Gb/s . When I purchased my first computer in the 1990’s the salesclerk at Radio Shack told me that the 50Mb hard drive would store more data than I could ever use. Now there are media files that are 1Gb or larger, and my computers have Tb hard drives.

The world in the palm of your hand, with a price!

In 1995, 27 satellites were launched into Earth’s orbit by the US government, creating what is now called the GPS constellation. The Global Positioning System (GPS) allows a user’s position, speed, and time to be tracked by the satellites using their equipment. (The constellation of satellites must have at least 24 to work, but can support up to 30.) The data is relayed through a ground control network which connects the two. GPS is used to support land, sea, and airborne navigation, surveying, geophysical exploration, mapping and geodesy, vehicle location systems, farming, transportation systems, and a wide variety of other additional applications. Telecommunication infrastructure applications include network timing and enhanced 911 for cellular users.

All modern smartphones have a built-in GPS receiver which trilaterates your position using data from at least three GPS satellites and the receiver in your phone. Whenever you have your cell phone with you, or near you, it can be tracked, and so can you. Now this is nothing to be alarmed by, unless you’re a criminal. The NSA (National Security Agency) can reportedly even track phones which are turned off.

Whenever you take a picture using the camera on your smartphone, the image is stamped by the GPS receiver with the location coordinates that is hidden in the code of the image. Software can scan the image to retrieve the data. This is how law enforcement can determine exactly where a photo was taken by examining the geotagging hidden in the exif code .

WiFi surveillance? WTF!

According to an article posted in The Atlantic in 2016, the human body interacts with the signals produced by WiFi, (Wireless Frequency). By observing disturbances in the WiFi field, the number of people in a room, what they are saying, or even typing on a keyboard can be monitored using sophisticated software.

The wireless router in your home allows all the WiFi capable devices to connect to the internet or network with each other. Even homes which do not have computers but have a cable box have WiFi because all cable boxes contain internal WiFi routers that allow the parent company such as XFinity or Spectrum to offer a WiFi guest network.

Most modern electrical meters on your house now use WiFi to transmit electrical usage to utility companies. They study the data and can tell when you are home, sleeping, or watching television by examining the spikes in kilowatt usage.

All new cell phones have the capability of being used as a mobile WiFi hotspot.

There is NO escaping WiFi.

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Who needs a Nikon camera? I have a PHONE!

They say a picture says a thousand words, and anyone who was in school before the internet existed probably had some moment that they wished they had a camera to record some unbelievable or breathtaking event. Now every smart phone produced since 2007 can record video, audio, or still pictures. With the ability to take pictures and video, as well as to transmit or receive those files via the internet, the smart phone has changed the way we see the world Using the internet or bluetooth , they can connect to pared items such as spy cams, action cams, and video drones. Events can be recorded and shared. I once attended a music festival in Ohio. Months later while watching a video on Youtube taken at that same festival , I was amused to see myself in the crowd. I never even knew I had been videoed.

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What? Me worry?

As stated earlier, unless you are actively engaged in criminal activity, or are being stalked by someone wishing to do you harm, there is nothing to worry about, at least here in the USA, for now. You shouldn’t worry that you are being watched, because no matter where you are, God is always watching. As always I wish you success and happiness!

Check back next week for part two FAKE NEWS?

LIVE BOLDLY!

Don’t DREAM it, BE it!

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Almost a year ago, on Sep 10, 2017 at 9:58 AM I launched my blog.

My first article was The 52 Week Challenge, and the purpose of that first post was to serve as both an introduction, and as a source of encouragement. Every Labor Day Weekend I enjoy a fun-filled vacation at the shore in Ocean City MD. It’s my ‘happy place’. If you followed the advice of that first post, by saving away just $25 every week, then you too should have been able to afford a fantastic getaway vacation to a destination of your choice. This year I spent even more days at the shore going down every weekend in August. I jet skied and even parasailed for the first time. I had a blast being 800 feet in the air, strapped to a parachute, while being towed by a speedboat.

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I was not always as wealthy as I am today, but I did not get to where I am by accident. I helped myself by reading self-help books and studying the habits of highly successful people. The knowledge I gained helped me grow as an individual and I’ve changed for the better as a result.

For years, I tried imparting the wealth building tips and tricks to friends and family, but sadly many of them ignored my well-meaning advice. I want everyone to be happy and successful. Now, through the magic of the world wide web, my blog posts have been read by people in 48 countries around the world. Hopefully each and every person who visited this past year found some useful and encouraging tidbit they could utilize in their own personal journey.

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Climb every mountain
Ford every stream
Follow every rainbow
‘Till you find your dream…

“Climb Ev’ry Mountain” Song from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music.

We all have dreams of a better life and a prosperous future. These things don’t happen by accident and rarely are they handed to us. We need to work hard and plan if we want to be successful in our endeavors. Sometimes, this means long shifts at the day job. But if you’re working to have just enough to cover your bills, your dreams will disappear in a cloud of smoke. I’ve known people who toiled away at dead-end jobs, or who took meaningless ‘promotions’ that were paid little more than their underlings, but were filled with nightmare time demands and far more responsibilities. I’ve had co-workers who died young from fatal heart attacks due to stress. My own father died at 57, never living to see retirement. Life is too short to be miserable. If you’ve worked at the mall, or waited tables for years because ‘you like it’, or ‘it’s easy work’, then the only thing you’ve accomplished is to help someone else fulfill their dream.

It amazes me when I hear people advocating for a higher minimum wage because they can’t live on minimum wage. Minimum wage was never intended to be a ‘living wage’. I do understand that sometimes it’s hard to find a better paying job. When I was in college, I worked three different minimum wage jobs each week. I applied for my current job five times, and went to eleven interviews before I was hired, as a temp! The entire time I spent working multiple minimum wage jobs, I was doing little more than working or sleeping, but the point is that all the while I was also seeking the better paying job and actively pursuing it. I never considered staying at any of my low paying jobs longer than necessary than to establish my credentials and prove that I was deserving of better jobs with higher salaries. I also never gave up striving to improve myself.

You need to examine your life, as well as your financial situation. It’s the quality of the time you spend living your life vs. the quantity of time needed at work to reach your goals. A minimum wage job will not cut it. The purpose of a minimum wage job is to provide training to a new employee, establish a work history, show responsibility, and prove dependability. No employer will retain or promote a new employee who constantly displays irresponsible behavior, or a lack of dependability. If you have a history of quitting jobs, finding employment will also be challenging. No one is going to hire someone who is going to quit shortly after being hired. Your reputation is important.

Your attitude and charisma will open almost as many doors as who and what you know.

For several years now, I’ve been trying to establish a coffee shop. I’ve done a lot of research and leg work on the subject as I’ve been building my resources. There have been several false starts. I’ve scouted more than a half dozen potential locations, and met with several potential allies. Three years ago, I received a phone call from the owner of a property I was actively and aggressively attempting to lease. I believed that this location in downtown Reading PA was a prime location as it was located near a movie theater, a community college, and a art gallery, as well as a block away from the bus terminal.
After several phone messages to the number on the leasing sign went unanswered, I crafted a courteous and well-worded business letter, which I mailed to the property owner, along with my business card and a very nice stainless steel coffee mug bearing my cafe logo.

Two days later, I received a personal phone call from billionaire department store tycoon Al Boscov. That ten-minute phone call was the most uplifting and empowering message I have ever received.

Mr. Boscov told me that he was impressed by all I had accomplished thus far, and that he was very proud of me. I can’t tell you what it meant to me to hear those words from such a successful businessman. Even thinking about it today brings tears to my eyes. It was like hearing the words of validation and praise I longed to hear from my father, had he lived long enough to see the man I grew up to become. Words have power, and you can change the course of a person’s entire life when you give them encouragement and guidance at a crucial juncture. Although I THOUGHT that the location was ideal, Mr. Boscov gave me several reasons why it was not as great a location as I believed it was. If a billionaire philanthropist tells you a location is not good, you listen. He saved me from a potential bad investment which I was too inexperienced to see. Before he ended the call, he told me that if he found a prime location in the city that he thought was suitable for a cafe, I would be the first person he called. I was on cloud nine for months after that phone call. Sadly, last year Mr. Boscov passed away from cancer on Feb. 10th, 2017 at the age of 87. Although I never met the man in person, I will never forget his kind grandfatherly voice, or the wonderful words he said.

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To dream the impossible dream,

To fight the unbeatable foe,

To bear with unbearable sorrow,

To run where the brave dare not go.

“The Impossible Dream (The Quest)” Song Andy Williams from the musical Man of La Mancha.

Don’t quit!

Life is not a destination, it’s a journey. As you travel down the road of life, you will meet many people who will try to discourage you, or dissuade you from pursuing your dreams. Just as it is important to examine your life, it is equally important to examine their lives. Always consider the source. Never take advice from people who are less successful than yourself. You’ll encounter many a wise guy or know-it-all who is filled with anecdotes, but has little results to show to back up their stories. That’s why I studied the habits of highly successful people and learned from their examples. Knowledge is power, and the more you know, the easier it is to see through charlatans and phony pundits.

Always keep in mind that the hopes and dreams of these detractors and naysayers died long ago.

Because they were not successful, they don’t want you to be successful. Because they are poor, they don’t want you to be rich. You’re smarter and better than them, and they are just jealous. Don’t let these emotional vampires suck the hope and dreams out of your life.

You will also encounter many false starts and set-backs as you pursue your dreams, but the important thing is to persevere! Don’t quit! Quitters never win, and winners never quit. Sometimes the end of one opportunity is the beginning of another. As I mentioned previously, I’ve scouted a half dozen possible cafe locations which all fell though, including one that was 99% a sure thing until someone threw a monkey wrench into the deal. I’ve lost some money in the process, but it’s only money. You’ve got to spend money to make money and the knowledge I gained in the process provided me valuable insight. My coffee shop dream is on hold at the moment while I regroup and rethink how next to proceed. I have not given up and continue to build up my cash reserves in preparation.

As for the immediate future, I plan to edit, collate, and adapt the past 52 weeks of blog posts into an e-book. Not many people read blogs, but there are people who will download an e-book into their tablet to read, especially if it’s inexpensive, so I might be able to reach a broader audience with my message. If you’ve been reading http://www.InstantCoffeeWisdom.com from the start, then you’ll have read 100% of what the potential e-book will contain. Sales of the e-book will hopefully add a second revenue stream towards eventually opening That Coffee Place. I’m not sure what other financial topics to cover in the coming weeks, I’ve covered everything I’m familiar with, and I’m running out of ideas. I’d love to hear any suggestions on money topics you’d like my opinion on.

“Do all the good you can,

By all the means you can,

In all the ways you can,

In all the places you can,

At all the times you can,

To all the people you can,

As long as ever you can.”

― John Wesley

We will not be young forever, nor will we live forever. Enjoy your youth and take advantage of as many exciting and fun opportunities as life presents. Collect memories, not things. Go places, try new things, meet new people and leave your mark on life. Be the best person you can be, and treat everyone with fairness and kindness, even the ones who don’t deserve it. You could be the bright light that leads that person from their dark place. Make the world a better place when you leave it than it was when you entered it. Experience in person all the great things that life has to offer, don’t live vicariously through others, or waste your life addicted to your electronics. Take pictures and record your adventures! There’s so much more to see of life when you don’t waste your time staring down at your smart phone constantly texting, tweeting, or playing game apps.

As always I wish you success and happiness!

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Say Cheese!

Don’t Lose Those ‘Kodak’ Moments!

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Louis Daguerre produced the first daguerreotype (an early photo process) when he shot an image of the Boulevard du Temple, Paris in 1838. Film cameras didn’t develop until 1888 when Kodak invented his film process. In 1900, the $1.00 Kodak Brownie camera was introduced, and modern photography was born. For most of the twentieth century, photography was pretty much the same. Cameras may have varied from company to company, some boasting better optics, wider shutter length settings, or built in eclectic flashes, but they all used film. Eastman Kodak pretty much dominated the market, but some swore Fuji Film was more vivid. The drawback of film is that you had to send it out to be developed at a film lab, and then wait for the prints to arrive in the mail, or at the FotoMat booth, or the drugstore. If you were willing to invent in a home dark room, and the chemicals needed, you could do it yourself, but most folks were content to leave it to the professionals. The only other alternative was the Polaroid instant camera. Like the early daguerreotype, the Polaroid process produced an instant print that was one of a kind, it had no negative, the print WAS the print, the only existing copy. If you wanted to copy a Polaroid photo, you needed to have the original photographed with a film camera, and of course there was slight loss of quality as this was a copy of a copy.

Today, more pictures are shot in a single year than in all of the last century. Each year over a trillion pictures are taken thanks to smart phones with built-in cameras.

Back in My day…

I have maybe five photographs of my father. My mother didn’t take pictures, she was never a photo bug. There were a few years when she arranged for a professional photographer to come to the house for baby pictures to be taken, or family portraits, but she couldn’t be bothered to buy a simple camera. The few pictures she horded were given her by family and friends, but most of those were lost as we moved like gypsies after she lost her second husband, my stepfather.

After my stepfather Alfred died, my mother had a boyfriend named Bill. In reality, this was a teenage crush that she bumped into many years down the road. He was a shutter bug, and owned a Polaroid Instamatic Camera. That was the first camera I ever used.

Years later, when I was about 12, my aunt Arleen gave me a Kodak Instamatic. Essentially Kodak had copied the Polaroid Instant Camera and were sued into dropping the new clone from their production line. You were able to buy the film for it for a little while, but eventually it was totally obsolete after the film stock expired and new film wasn’t manufactured.

My second job was working for Olden Camera in NYC, in their computer department. It was then that I purchased my first real 35mm camera, a Nikkon automatic. This point and shot camera was pretty simple to use and lasted many years. Eventually I did get a ‘real’ camera, a Minolta SLR with various lenses and accessories. It was a lot of weight lugging about that loaded camera bag of accessories, and it was annoying trying to explain all the settings and how to use the camera when I passed it to someone to shoot if the self-timer function was impractical and I wanted to be in the picture. Then disposable cameras came about, and I started using those as everyone knew how to work them. The point is, from the time I brought my Nikkon in the 80’s, for nearly twenty years I shot 35mm film. I have boxes of negative files, and envelopes of prints, as well as photo albums.

For almost the first thirty years of my life, you were limited to film cameras, and the most you could shoot on a roll was 36 exposures. So when you went somewhere and saw something that you wanted to remember forever, you selectively shot one or two photos of it at most, because you had limited shots, and buying film, and getting it processed and printed was expensive.

Nowadays, most of what we shoot is digital, and we send the pictures we want to share in e-mail or texts.

The sizes of the digital storage media has even changed, with most of the early media obsolete. Yet, because the photos are digital we are taking more pictures than ever because smart phones have built in cameras that are getting better with each new model. You still take better pictures with a dedicated digital camera than you do with a smart phone, but even I will use my phone to take pictures if it’s all I have on me.

Pictures have value. We prize them and treasure them.

A couple of years ago, I lost a SD card with pictures that were not yet copied to my hard drive. I was packing to return from a trip to the shore, and I think I left it on a table at the hotel. It was never recovered. If you use a digital camera like I do, back it up frequently if not after every photo shoot. Even if you use your phone to take pictures, copy the data. Theoretically, smart phones back-up their data to the cloud, but I still don’t trust that. This is why it is vitally important to frequently back-up and copy all your image files. If your electronics suffer a catastrophe, you don’t want to compound the blow by losing your precious ‘Kodak’ moments.

Pictures, or it ‘never happened’!

Organize your old prints and negatives. A few weeks ago, I was searching for some old vacation photos from 16 years ago, I needed an image, and I could not find either the prints or the negatives. It was very frustrating. It’s probably packed away in a box somewhere in the bottom of the walk-in, but damned if I know where.

Frequently copy your media cards.
If you have obsolete media, copy the data off the cards while you still have an appropriate reader. Media is useless if you can’t access it.
if you have old Polaroid’s or prints, scan them into a digital file.
If you have old negatives, invest in a good quality negative scanner and digitize them.

The time, money, and effort you put into preserving your treasured photos will be returned when you can locate and share your Kodak moments. As Always I wish you success and happiness!