Iphone and ZAGG

Last night I suited up my iPhone with the protective shield product by ZAGG.  I was convinced to buy it from a friend and got it for 30% off online during their sale.  I honestly do not think it is worth the full price.  Here are my thoughts:

Price:  Get it 30% off or do not buy it – you can buy a simple case in it place

Installation:  Not too difficult.  I read the instructions and applied as directed.  A couple of tips:

• spray your hands liberally (both hands)
• watch out for getting your finger print on the adhesive
• peel off the non-stick piece and not the clear piece of plastic
• Have a high powered light within a few feet to find any bumps / air bubbles
• Push the bubbles from the inside out

Cons:  Applying the back was a bear.  The corner pieces are very difficult to set properly.  I nearly cut them off and may do that if they become loose.

I will post any updates on the product as they come to mind.

Best,

James DeLuccia

btw – my ATV / PLEX vs WD TV vs XBOX XBMC debate is firming up and I will post the final results of my research and tests – thanks to everyone for their tips!

Book Review: Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

My brother pushed me to read this book eventhough it was on the ’shelf’ to be read in the near future.  The pushback has always been the length 1,000+ pages and the fact it is fiction.  I have read very little fiction for a long time in favor of history and scientific journals… Nonetheless I have finished it and here are my thoughts..

Great book.  Thought provoking and eye opening.  It is a tale describing what happens when those who work hard and support those who choose not to…decide to stop working for them.  What happens to, for example, the Auto companies in the U.S. if the bailouts stopped – what if, I a tax payer said ‘NO’.

The book is fiction, there is a tale and adventure, and while I was bored with the romance parts of the book in favor of the serious issues outlined by Ms. Rand it is well told.

Bottom line: Read it and have a knowledgeable position and not one of ignorance.

Best,
James DeLuccia

Best MALT in NYC

Spent the day in NYC prior to speaking at the CSO conference, and had a great time.  In particular I found the Shake Shack.  They were featured on the Food network and excellent.  I had a Chocolate and Vanilla Malt and it was awesome!  Definitely worth the 10 minute wait on line (yes there was a line all night) and they are open till 11pm.  Check them out in Madison Square Park.

NYC was great, as always, and if you have a chance to go – walk around, eat, and enjoy yourself!

James

Fix a Doorbell

Long story short – I had painters put a new coat on the exterior of my house.  Afterwards my doorbell no longer worked…given the only thing that changed was on the outside I sought to replace / fix the button itself.  I found a great online set of videos at Expert Village that saved me enough money to pay for my starbucks habit for atleast 2 weeks.

The trick I was looking for was – how do I remove the doorbell… I knew there were connectors underneath but couldn’t figure that part out.  Simple enough – you take razor or other equally thin (I used my leatherman) piece of metal and place it between the cover and wall mount.  Then use it to pop off one side and work it out that way.  Here is the video link for convenience.

Good luck to those maintaining their houses!

James

Book Review: Fortune’s Formula

The last of a line of books on financial thought, financial models, and economists dueling for who is right or wrong – efficient market vs. inefficient market…. Kelly Criteria vs…. etc…

Fortune’s Formula is a smattering of material.  The author really tears apart the two schools of thought that have grown up around beating markets and casinos.  He does a very nice job of outlining the case for each, and does steer you to a single answer.  Essentially – if we had to determine who was right or wrong we would put money on line and see who comes out ahead.  That is precisely the type of examples he provides which give greater credance to the theories he provides.  I would have liked greater analysis of the algorithms and methodologies used by the parties involved, but found them to be a good overview to allow me to find additional books to enjoy and explore.

Bottom line:  Buy it, read it, check the Wikipedia entry on Kelly’s Criteria, and do what is right for you.

Best,

James DeLuccia

Book Review: The Intelligent Investor

CLASSIC!  I have enjoyed numerous analytical books that examined the ups and downs of the market – including a random walk and then a NON-random walk down Wall Street.  Mr. Graham’s book is the defacto standard when it comes to investing – specifically value investing.

The edition I read was his final volume with commentary added by Jason Zweig.  The commentary added about 30% more content, but was very valuable.  The examples from Graham’s last edition focus on the early 70s, and while they are eerily similar in problems to our current situation the updated commentary provides an added bit of perspective.

Bottom line:  READ THIS BOOK.  It is a long read and will take a good deal of time – not only is it 548 pages long, but you will want to look up details about the companies and ideas that he presents.  Yes – I will be rereading this book in the distant future.

Best,

James

Book Review: Free to Choose

It was recommended that I check out some works by Milton Friedman given my passion for economics, chaos theory, and developing patterns.  What is fun about this book is that it was written in the late 1970s (or at least the primary examples are from this period), and the author makes scientific arguments on problems and proposes solutions.  The reason this is fun, and your mileage may vary, is you as the reader can judge the author’s guidance and analysis because the world has changed!  Consider the books that are available today advocating XYZ – whether government policy, business strategy, etc….  Now think of the books that are still embraced today that were published 50 years ago?  Not many have survived the test of time, and it is because we are able to evaluate the author based on their proclamations and see how they apply to our current future.

Bottom line:   Buy the book and read it cover to cover.  It will take a bit longer than average because you, most likely, will need to do a bit of Googling on some subjects.  I often found myself saying “What!  Is that department still around… is that ‘problem’ still a problem.”  As in any book of this nature, watch for any political undertones and definitely check out some counter arguments to balance out your own perspectives.

Best,

James

Book Review: Competing on Analytics: The New Science of Winning

Finished this book while flying back from RSA hoping to find some quantifiable methods that could be applied to business risk management and security threats.  An area that is wholly lacking in specifics.  The book presented good business overviews and analysis of existing firms – in a Good to Great kind of approach.  The authors presented a framework that provided commonalities between each successful company identified.  While there may be a fallacy of induction in some of their results, I thought their analysis to be intriguing and beneficial.

Bottom Line:  I have been able to apply some of the metrics existing in example companies to my executive clients, but the linkage and application are not simple.  I would advise first reading books that focus on statistics and provide the meat and bones used for performing analytics prior to reading this book again.

James

Book Review: Jim Cramer’s Real Money

After watching, avoiding, becoming addicted, disgusted, and generally amused by Jim Cramer’s television personality I thought a richer understanding of the man and his methods was worthwhile. (I believe it is better to understand someone fully and truely have an opinion, instead of those who make moral and practical judgements with lesser information) So – the book was interesting. I enjoyed his positiveness and direct attitude (not once did he use the “it depends” statement). He presents a few very succinct strategies for investing, and makes it simple for anyone to understand how to invest. Bottom Line: I was buy it when it goes on sale in your area (I purchased it when Amazon was removing some excess inventory for 80% off cover price), Once you boil down what he outlines on paper – it follows common sense investing, but without his book some people would foolishly leave all their money in their employer – such as the financial experts at Bear Sterns.

Book Review: On the Origin of Wealth

I picked up this book with the hope of a deep analysis in what constitutes wealth and the many variations that may exist.  The author responds to this question and many others throughout the entire book.  The thesis that he provides is one based on the inadequacy and inaccuracy of traditional economic theory, and proposes a new theory that takes evolution, chaos theory, complex adaptive systems, and the work from other sciences.  Overall I enjoyed the book, and thought his digressions into analyzing businesses and social capital were very good.  So good in fact, that I plan to reread those sections independently of the entire text to truly consider their impact and value.
There are some points where the author champions a bit of political bantering, an unfortunate and obvious blemish on an otherwise well defined concept.

Bottom Line:  I would absolutely recommend the book, but perhaps stop 10 pages shy of the end, and forgive the author in a few places where he becomes a little to partisan.