Crazy numbers

I was just looking at some stats for my little blog.  It is interesting but not always enlightening.  recently the average entry view count has gone up dramatically, from just breaking into the double digits to triple digits practically overnight.  I am not sure why.  I haven't noticed any new comments or mentions.  I think maybe it is a fluke of search-bots that started to take notice.  I guess that is okay.  Any attention is flattering.

The numbers indicate that it started a couple of months ago and goes backward to around September 2015 then the numbers drop off to to the first of 2015 when I start seeing numbers more in line with what I have been experiencing for the majority of this little experience.

As I was browsing this list I also happened on a little entry that was a favorite of mine on the special nature of the simple yet profound cookie, an entry made almost 7 years ago.  It had a view count of one.  Still it was one and I am grateful for that viewer.  If you happen to go there and have a read leave a comment of your favorite cookie.

There are several other entries that appear to have topped out at one view.  It happens.  On the other hand the most popular page remains the one I made about the experience I had taking the ACSC course back in September 2008.  If I was into niche marketing this would surely be an opportunity knocking but the subject was one that did not inspire me to invest any more energy with it.  I am guessing that the many page views came from others that were going through the course at the time and they were looking for any insights that would make their experience more manageable.  It is also probably why I have received views from Russia.

So here is entry #194.  According to the stats Farrwestview has had a total of 17,751 page views to date.  All are welcome and I hope that all will find something that will entertain, educate, inform, and enlighten.  After all, this is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

Very few people worthy of real admiration

There are very few people out there that are individuals of great character.  People that have one or two traits that are admirable and worthy of emulation.  People that although not perfect are striving towards being the best they can be.

One of the individuals that I have admired through the years is Richard Branson.  If you have not heard this name, he is the force behind the Virgin brands covering everything from music to space travel and a lot of things in between.  He is a man that knows how to enjoy life.

With his enjoyment of life comes stories of life experiences that don't always work out the way he expected.  One of these stories is about a bicycle training ride for an upcoming event which you can read about in his blog post you can find at this link and it comes with some pretty amazing pictures.

https://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/my-life-flashed-my-eyes

This is someone that I would like to spend a day with sometime.  We have a lot of the same interest.  We were at the same event one afternoon but the majority of the audience was looking his way and not mine.  That is understandable.  It was at Oshkosh and he was there to show of White Knight Two the plane that would lift and launch SpaceShip Two into space.  I am having trouble finding my photos but when I do I will add them.  Until then I will have to borrow one from http://www.futura-sciences.com/sciences/actualites/astronautique-tourisme-spatial-whiteknighttwo-vole-20052/

It is kinda nice to have someone in the public limelight that you can still look up to, and in his case it is often done quite literally.  This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

Best of Black Friday wishes

Happy Black Friday  to all that are out there braving the madness.  I must admit I have been brave in years past and rallied myself out of bed in the wee hours only to find that the things I thought I needed were long since gone or had a line a mile long with angry looking customers wrapping themselves around the various packaging and licking the box to make sure no one else will touch it.

I remember one store offering orange juice and donuts for the first ones there but by the time I got to the table it was all crumbs and bottom of bottle drippings.

In the past the truly committed would go in teams and tackle the various stores based on opening times and carry around all the ads they had been scouring the day before powered by the feast of Thanksgiving day.

Now people still work in teams but use strategy and cell phones to stake out the prizes of the day.  And if cell service is unreliable because of the load placed upon them then resort to walkie-talkies, the gift of Christmas past, to come to the rescue.  They will think nothing of leaving their 5 year old to guard one of their finds while they go racing off to capture another temporary treasure.  Sadly, some shoppers are not put off by the 5 year old guard ply and will acquire the item for themselves since their 4 year old is much more deserving.

Sometimes I have been lucky and some of the smaller, not so sought after items were still available even if it was three hours after the initial rush.  It might just have been a B movie DVD but I saved two dollars.

Now a days I find that I really don't need anything that badly so if I decide to go out it is usually to do a little people watching and taking in the energy of the moment while trying not to get trampled.  If I happen to find something worth picking up then that is a bonus. If I don't expect anything, I won't be disappointed and anything above nothing can be a happy dance moment.

I won't let myself be emotionally tied to an outcome that is beyond my control.  (I learned a long time ago that it is fun to dream about winning a lottery but don't act as if you have already won or get all caught up in the what if because the disappointments can be rough.  It is better to believe in yourself and becoming who you are and taking action on that.  You will go much further.)

For those that enjoy the chase, the hunt, the thrill, the excitement, may the bargains be all on your side of the store.  For the rest, sleep in if you can.  Extend the festivities of joy as long as you are able.  Either way, may you all have the best of Black Fridays.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

#thanksgivingthursday 24 November 2016

It's #thanksgivingthursday again and today it is all about the family. I am so thankful to have the family that I have. And that goes for all of them. Parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, son, daughter, grand-kids, grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, all of which doubled when I got married and expanded my family with in-laws.  I also can't forget all the ancestors that came before.  They are the foundation for which we have the families of today.

Families can have their moments and most of them are wonderful and memorable. Thanks to all mine that have helped build a world of awesome.  May my family continue to grow and prosper in the coming years and I wish the same for you.  This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

#thanksgivingthursday 17 November 2016

I am thankful that music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.  Music has been with me to lift my spirits up, inspire me, pace my workouts, and console me when I'm blue.  Music has been very personal and sometimes private but at other times it has been something that is shared and celebrated with friends and a couple of thousand other fans.

I am glad that I have had a diverse taste in music that reaches across a pretty wide spectrum of genres and yet there are some types that I just don't care for in the least.  I admit that I can be a bit of a music snob but I am not nearly as much of a critic as I was in my youth.  I think we all have a little bit of music snobbery in us but that is just part of who we are.

There are many times when I wished I had done more with music directly...and I may still.  Never be too old for anything.

I have been fortunate to have seen many wonderful musicians play live and in person and that is amazing to me when I reflect back on all the many groups I have seen.  It is one thing to see an orchestra perform wonderfully the works of a renowned dead composer, but then to take it too the next level and get to see the composers perform their own works of mastery the way they wish them to be known is really special.

And tonight will be one of those nights and my excitement mounts.  A few of my family and I are going to enjoy an evening of music.  And even though the concert starts just before my bed time and even though my ears have been a little plugged for three days from fighting a cold, and the change in the weather is making my joints ache just a little more than normal, I AM EXCITED.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

A new start...#thanksgivingthursday

I know Thanksgiving happens to fall on a Thursday this year but I think it is a coincidence as I had a great idea, especially what with all that is going on all around us. I am going to start my own #thanksgivingthursday and you can join in if you'd like. Every Thursday I will try to make an entry publicly, on my blog or facebook or on a sticky note, as a show of gratitude for something/anything I am thankful for. It can be big or small. It just needs to be something meaningful to me, meant for me, and without consideration of what others might think. (Insert your name in place of 'me' if you wish to try this yourself.)

So to kick things off, I must start with one of, if not the most important things in my life that I am grateful for and that is my wonderful wife. It took me a long time to find her and the powers of heaven to bring it all together but I am so glad it happened. She is the one that adds meaning to life, she is my love.

See you next Thursday.  This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

Share a picture 28 Oct 2016

Today was a day without pressing needs other than to get out and enjoy.  I need to have one of these every so often.  Sometimes I let it go too long before I allow myself the opportunity to hit my reset button.  If it goes too long it starts to wear on me and I am not at my best.  When this happens, I know that it doesn't just affect me but it affects those around me and those I love.  My loved ones deserve to have me at my best so I try to remain mindful and take the time to do as Stephen R Covey says and 'sharpen the saw'.

Part of that ritual for me is to take the time to smell the roses as it were, (or the next best thing if there are no roses around).  If I put a little effort into it I can take much pleasure in some of the simple things in life.  Today it was a flower that caught my eye on this overcast day doing its best to shine before the days turn completely to winter and hide its beauty under a layer of snow.

This did the trick and for the rest of the day there was beauty all around.  It isn't about knowing where to look, it is just a matter of looking.  If I would just bother to remember to do a little looking every day, I am pretty sure it wouldn't always feel like it has been a long time in between, mostly because it wouldn't be.

See the beauty around you.  This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

“Every master was once a disaster” - David T.S. Wood

I am a fan of David T.S. Wood.  He has a few different podcast out there and I have enjoyed ever one I have listened to.  He has an interesting back story for his life and has overcome many obstacles that have been the excuses of other lesser men.  He has worked in the network marketing field and become a motivational speaker and trainer of some renown.  He is worth looking up.

The above quote is a simple one that when I first heard it I lightly past over it without fully appreciating its genius.  I have reflected on it a lot since that time.

If I can suggest one thing to anyone that has been struggling with finding and defining their place in the world it is that "Every master was once a disaster".

Know that where you are now is not where you will be tomorrow just as it is not where you were yesterday.

Realize that anyone that is at the top of their field did not start out there.  No one.

At birth all start with a clean slate.  Any skill, knowledge, talent had to be earned.

Granted some are born into situations that provide easier paths or more apparent opportunities.  Some have life handed to them on a platter.  Some are given honorary degrees and noble prizes (sp) for unrelated causes but that is not the way of the master.  The master is not the master because of what others say or think.  The master just is.

There is a path the master must take and the point that it starts from is the point where the master was once a disaster.  The master found their path and then followed it through with whatever it took to become the master they were meant to be.

And so can you.  Find your path.  Set your goal.  Make the commitment.  Let nothing stand in your way.  Do what it takes.  Become the master you wish to be.  Start today.  Continue today.  Work forward today.  You have the same right as any other to become the master you want to be.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

Is it just me or is there way too many people speaking Valley talk on TV?

It seems like I am hearing more and more people on TV talking like Valley girls with all the included timing, syllable emphasis and accents that were so noticeable decades ago.  It is so like gag me with a spoon.

It might not be the over the top annoying chatter teens used to use and others made fun of but it is still present albeit in a lighter version.  I still find it annoying. I also still do a fair version of it when I want to make fun of something.

I hope I haven't spoiled your favorite TV show because you will now be looking for it or at least subconsciously noticing it around you.  From HGTV to CBS it rears it's ugly head and after an involuntary cringe I reach for the remote, because I can't take it in large doses, fur sure.

Maybe its just a fad.  I sure hope so.  This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

Way to go General Mills

I just saw a commercial for General Mills that got me excited.

"Do you mean the same General Mills that makes famous cereals such as Cheerios, Chex, Wheaties, and Lucky Charms as well as others?"  "Do you mean that General Mills?"

"Yep, that General Mills."

"But why would a commercial from General Mills get you excited?"

"Well, let me tell you."

The commercial starts off by telling you that whole grain is the first ingredient in all Big G cereals and although that sounds like something that should be noteworthy if you read the nutrition label you would expect there to be a greater level of dietary fiber listed and it seems pretty low by comparison.  So no that is not the part that got me excited.

It is the next thing they mention that really got me excited.  Their cereals contain No High Fructose Corn Syrup.  O happy days.

I still think that HFCS or high fructose corn syrup is slow poison that creates long term negative health impacts that we still don't fully understand but that we will pay for in the years to come.  There are a lot of web sites out there that discuss HFCS, and if you haven't run across the topic you might find it an interesting research project, but from what I have seen I have serious concerns about it and have personally taken to reading ingredient labels and actively avoided foods many times because of the presence of HFCS.

And now to see yet another major company using the tag of "No HFCS" as a way to promote their product makes me think that the movement is gaining some traction and is moving forward.

There are other companies that have seen this as an opportunity and others will follow.  Whether this is an honest effort on behalf of their customers' welfare or a marketing ploy like being a 'green' company I don't know but I will take it.  I really hope the movement will continue to grow.  To me this is bigger and more important than peanut allergies, glutton scares and organic labeling.

General Mills I hear you and applaud you.  Hey Coke and Pepsi and all you other soda makers, are you listening?  It is time to get real.  Hansen's Soda is the real deal.  I know Pepsi has made throwback soda and I look for it.  To get a real Coke you have to look for an import from Mexico at three times the price.  Really?  It is time to get with the program.  If for no other reason than that real sugar just taste better than laboratory created substitutes that slowly kill you.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

I hate teasers

Teasers are those lousy, misleading sound bites and headlines that are designed specifically to entice you to stay tuned or click a link only to be disappointed by the lack of substance that follows.

News shows used to be the worst by stating things like 'research shows that most homes contain an item in your kitchen that could make you very sick and possibly kill you.  We'll let you know what it is after this break' and then they cut to a commercial and you can't wait for them to get back only to learn that if you have the same sponge sitting on your sink for the past 13 months that it might grow some bacteria that might not be the best for you...duh.

The practice has grown beyond any semblance of sensibility on the web.  Sites like MSN and Yahoo have taken this to a whole new level of ridiculous and then they double down with their advertising links from the likes of Taboola.  (By the way if you see any advertisement by Taboola I suggest that you ignore it completely and do not click it even if you think it might be legit as I have never, ever found anything of value associated with them.)  They use titles that sound like something but are really nothing.  They are designed to draw you in but never deliver.  The term for this is click bait.

Yes click bait, just like the bait you find on a hook used to lure a fish to latch on and lose its life thus becoming someone elses' dinner.

They always take a popular subject (and there is always something to choose from) and allude to the possibility of having some new information about said subject or update about your fan favorites.  And then you sucker in only to realize that the only purpose they had was to sucker you in.  The web site they link to may have something to do with said subject (but many times it does not) because the real intent is to overwhelm the viewer with ads in the hope of getting the viewer to act on the ads or at the very least expose you to even more ads.

Even though the percentage of views that actually convert to a buy are probably very, very small it must still be profitable because we continue to be exposed to so much of it.  The cost to load millions upon millions of these ads is less than the revenue they see from their efforts or they wouldn't bother.

And there is a lot of them bothering with it.  It feels like 99% of all these ads are of this nature.  (I am pretty sure it is only 98.9% but I don't have the statistics to prove it.)  And you wonder why we have gotten so good at ignoring ads, whatever they are or wherever come from.

It amazes me that the advertising industry can be this big and spend so much money and have so little concern for their customers or reputations of the companies they represent.  It is so hard to find quality or excellence in advertising on the internet, print or broadcast let alone memorable moments or anything worthy of water cooler discussions.

Even when we want to like and talk about ads and try to make them a main topic of focus as big as the event they are tied to such as the Super Bowl, where the biggest and brightest culminate all their skill and effort into creating the hoped for viral adoration of millions to justify their fees, we can still be disappointed.

As someone who enjoys and prefers the advertising driven content over the paid subscription business model, I am left wondering what the future will bring.  I believe that the volume of advertising to content has driven much of the subscription market where you pay for the content to be ad free.  We have gone from a show that was sponsored by a company that mentioned the sponsors name in the show to a few well spaced and placed ad interruptions but with the majority of the shows hour being content, and now having longer and more frequent interruptions where the content barely covers the majority of the hour.  When a 96 minute movie takes 3 hours of broadcast time you know something is messed up.  No wonder TiVo became so popular with it's ability to skip ahead past the commercials.

And if the quality of the commercials continues to fall off across the board, then you know a vacuum will develop and that means opportunities for those who are willing to offer an alternative to fill that vacuum.  You see it happening already when you see how many have left local radio for internet and satellite broadcast and the big move from cable to internet sourced TV.

The content has to be pretty incredible to overcome what advertisement is doing to it.  That is asking a lot given the current state of programming.  Changes are coming and I am hoping for good things to come from it.  Actually I am counting on it.  I am always looking for a better way.  Let's hope we get it.  This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

Which presidential election are you watching?

Okay so I wanted to watch the last presidential debate but once again I found myself among others that just weren't as interested in the political process as I was.  Rather than creating a confrontational environment I thought it best to just go with the flow and try to catch the highlights or low-lights as the case may be after the fact.

I don't usually like to watch political events second hand i.e. through sound bites and talking heads' opinionated selective reporting because it is hard to get the full story let alone the real story but, if that is the only option, you take what you can get.

News however has a shelf life.  Some stories have shorter shelf lives than others.  Before I was able to see a much about the debate it was no longer being talked about.

One of the things I found most interesting is the amount of actual news coverage given not to the actual debate but the satire versions done by Saturday Night Live.  I know this is nothing new and really shouldn't be unexpected, not when a normal part of the political coverage involves a review of the late night talk show monologues to share the jokes from the night before.  It is about ratings after all and if pretend delivers better than reality, what's the problem.

So I get one more chance to watch the head to head to missing heads (there really should be more heads at these debates).  Wednesday should be good for me.  Nothing scheduled, wife busy at her volunteer job, no weather emergencies planned and it should all happen before my bedtime.  There is no guarantee that there wont be some intruding phone calls though.

Halloween season is here and The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror is allowed to air before November this year thanks to favorable football scheduling.  What better reason to spend some time watching the most fear inducing event we can create in this country.  If you aren't scared now you aren't paying attention.

Maybe I shouldn't be allowed to watch this all alone in an empty house with no one there to hold my hand and tell me it's okay and everything will be all right.  Maybe its not too late to arrange to watch Big Bang Theory reruns with friends instead.  Ah that's okay, I'll just make sure to leave the lights on.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

Chuck Todd must go

I have watched 'Meet the Press' for many, many years.  Perhaps I should say I used to watch 'Meet the Press' but I can't really stomach it much anymore.

Tim Russert gave the show the legitimacy that it needed as a valued news program.  Then he passed away from a sudden coronary thrombosis on June 13, 2008.  It was a great loss.  Not just of a good man but of a good political show.

It was also a great loss for NBC.  Their news program collectively is crap.  It is totally biased, nonobjective and non journalistic.  They maybe able to convince themselves that they have integrity but it only exist within the minds of their own small group of bobbing heads sitting around their round table discussions.

When Chuck Todd is the cream that raises to the top of your cup and is considered the best choice to take control of the most prestigious political show on your network then you have a serious credibility, integrity and believability crisis in what is usually the core strength of any national network and that is its' news coverage.  Without that you are sitting on a chair that is missing one of its' legs, all wobble and little comfort.

Of course the other networks don't have any better bragging power.  Chris Wallace on Fox and George Stephanopoulos on ABC (and who does CBS have I can't recall); what have any of them got to offer?  Where does a person turn to get real, unbiased, objective, true journalistic news?

I recently did a survey about this years political election coverage and the type of questions and multiple answer format was interesting.  It gave me the impression that they do not get it either.

I don't think that anyone with a more than passing interest in politics and the election is able to get all the information they need from one source.  Not legitimately anyway.  I also don't believe that any reporting is complete and unbiased enough to accept one version, and that it requires several different versions and much reading between the lines to get a more complete picture of any given topic.  It cannot be done by visiting only one site.  It takes effort.  Sometimes a lot of effort.  You might not find it worth the effort.  Many don't.

As the noise gets louder and more voluminous it is good to install filters that cut out the worst of the worst and ensure that the sites and sources with little or no value added are cut from your view.  Shove it to the peripherals or off the screen entirely.

And that is where Chuck Todd belongs.  I have added him to my automatic 'switch the channel' list.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

Amazon ratings warning

I had heard a comment about this before concerning the Amazon Fire Phone where the ratings started out on the rough side and later when they were trying to clear out the old stock with a sale, they cleared the star ratings and basically started over in an attempt to get a better star rating.  I saw this but wondered if it had anything to do with the phone being pulled from the market for a period before giving it one more effort.  They brought it out with a much better price and threw in a year of Amazon Prime for less than half the original introductory price.

If this was merely a second attempt to market the phone and/or a version 2.0 of the phone, then it would make sense to make this the equivalent of a new product and deserving of a new star rating but if it was not, and the fact that they were still listing a rather large number of total reviews given just days after the reset, then they were playing games.

I have read others mention that this was happening and for items other than just the Fire Phone but didn't take a lot of heed.  I couldn't believe, or didn't want to believe that Amazon would do this.  Besides this seemed like a numbers game that others might play but not our tried and true Amazon.

Then I got an e-mail that talks about saving big on Xfinity Internet.  Always looking for a deal I clicked to see and was met with the opening visual:

At first glance it doesn't look too bad other than the price is kind of high for a measly 25 Mbps and excluding equipment, install, taxes and fees.  Go faster and it gets worse.  Still it looks like 916 customers have given it an average of 4 stars.  Pretty good by normal ratings standards.  Remember that on a scale of 1 to 5 the median is 3 and not half of 5 or 2.5.

Now after the first impression, you being the savvy shopper you are, you look down the screen to see what some of those reviews actually say and then com across this:

Initially it is still looking good.  Sure 3.8 is not the full 4 stars that it shows being filled in but 3.8 is still a good way to the higher side of middle ground.  But wait a minute.  86% of the 916 reviewers gave it a one star.  If you have read many reviews you will know that the only reason for some to give a one star review is because they have no way to give them a zero star review.

So let's do some math.  Don't worry, I will keep it simple.
916 * 86% = 788 then times 1 equals 788
916 * 2%  = 18 then times 2 equals 36
916 * 2% = 18 then times 3 equals 54
916 * 2% = 18 then times 4 equals 72
916 * 8% = 73 then times 5 equals 365

Double check 788+18+18+18+73 = 915  within one is better than government.
Now add 788+36+54+72+365= 1,315 for total stars given

so that means if we take the total stars and divide by the number of reviews we should get the real star rating of 1,315/916 = 1.435589519650655 or rounded out to 1.4 stars.  By the way, even if I throw in the extra person to make it a full 916 and give the benefit of the doubt that the missing count would have given a full 5 stars the number still rounds to 1.4 (1.441048034934498 to be exact).

Wait a minute, they calculated it to be 3.8 and rounded it to 4 when filling out the stars to display.  What gives Amazon?  Real math doesn't even come up to half that amount.

Is this just really bad math, somebody falling asleep at the wheel, or are you playing games because you have a deal going with Xfinity that is paying you to push their product on your web site and through you customer's via their e-mails.  If the later, then this is major league bogus, deceptive and fraudulent and should be beneath you or any business that desires to deal from a place of integrity.  If this is an innocent mistake then you have got other problems that need to be addressed and corrected quickly.

I understand that stuff can happen, typos occur and sometimes mistakes are just that.  If it starts to happen often or you start to hear examples coming from more than a few minor sources, it may indicate a trend or a change in policy that may negatively impact the relationship between a company and its customers.  I am not ready to make the call just yet because I have had a pretty good relationship with Amazon myself but this is worth watching to see where it goes form here.  If I were an investor looking at the company, I would definitely want to know more.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

Pick your Poison...

...would you like arsenic or cyanide?

Is that a crazy question or does it seem reasonable?  Would you like more information?  Is the  poison for a big animal or a small animal.  Is the poison meant for me or perhaps for someone else?  If the poison is meant for me or for those I love and respect, why am I facing this question?  Why is it an either/or question in the first place?  Surely there must be an alternative answer.

There should at least be an alternative question such as which ice cream would you like, vanilla or chocolate?  Who cares either way it is still ice cream.  (The correct answer to that one is of course yes.)  And in case you hadn't noticed it by now, ice cream comes in way more than two flavors and with very few exceptions they are all ice cream and you have a high probability of having an enjoyable experience with any choice you make.

So how in the world did our country get itself into this mess?  Like most of our sporting events we reduce the competitors to two teams for the finals but this time we really did get the two biggest losers.  Sad part is we knew this about them before we got to this point.  The signs were all there long before anyone even decided to start campaigning.  How could a reasonable person not see them for who and what they are?

And as for the original question, how could a reasonable person be expected to answer it?  How do you make a logical choice in an illogical world?

Perhaps it would be better to change the question entirely.  Perhaps we would be better off changing the way the game is played and refuse to be stuck in a lose lose proposition.

In track and field the final race is not between two individuals but between a field of the fastest and best individuals.  Here is an idea worth pursuing, open up your field and let the others in.  I mean really open up the field and go beyond the few side shows the media has been willing to mention a few times in the effort to appear to be journalist.

I am saying that this is the year to stand for something and not just take action to be against something.  If you honestly like one of the choices you have been given that take it and bare the consequences.  But, if you like one of the earlier candidates then write them in.  If you didn't like any of the candidates at all and would much rather have someone else you know would represent you better then write them in.  If you think that a dead comedian would do a better job than the current bunch then write them in.  (I am sure that Pat Paulsen would love the attention and always showed more common sense than the average politician.)  Just make sure you know the rules for write in candidates for your voting area or the rules of the game will get you thrown out.

'But Ed, doesn't that mean I will just be throwing away my vote?'

You don't think it is thrown away already?

What better time than now to make a statement and stand for something?  In the movies when the good guy is presented with a 'pick your poison' question he usually reacts by spitting in the questioners face.  You can at least respect him for that.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

Tsu I hardly knew ya

You might remember that I recommended a new site called Tsu some time ago.  It is one of those sites that took me away from many other things.  Sadly it is no more.

It made great promises of revenue sharing with those that contributed content which was a great concept and I imagine some actually made a few bucks as they testified to the fact on the site.

It was also a great way for me to experiment with a social networking site similar to Facebook but with the potential to reap some reward from your original content.  I was certainly intrigued enough to go for it and made a few connections along the way.

A lot of the content became very similar to what others had and did and there was a whole lot of copy and paste and share from others and initially that was okay because that was a way to be introduced to others on the site.  After awhile it was not invigorating enough but you could still happen on to some wonderful nuggets now and then.

It grew fast, fast enough that it scared Facebook into pulling any mention of it from their site for a time before they were pressured to put those mentions back.  You could see new members come and make many post with much enthusiasm and attention.  You could also see those new members fall to the way side as the promises of payout were not big enough soon enough to convince them to stay.  But the model was valid and the promises were possible very much like network marketing.

But then they changed.  (see the previous post and you will know what I am talking about)

They change the payout formula, they changed the way you could interact with others, and then they changed the whole web face and format so that your pages and your community took a back seat to the site itself.  Tsu took center stage and was now only willing to share the spotlight with any outside of its controlled group.  I am sure that was the beginning of the crash.  A couple of months later and the web page became a letter saying thank you but we are done, pick up your belongings.

Not the first Web site to die, not the last.  Regrets? Not really other than a good idea gone sour.  I did learn from it and I did enjoy the ride even if I was not one that made it pay.  Actually it did pay because as I said I did learn from it and I did enjoy the ride.  Payment enough sometimes.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

Why I don't have bumper stickers on my car

When I was young I thought bumper stickers were cool.  I would collect them from anyone handing them out.  I wouldn't actually put them on the family car, Dad wouldn't allow that, and later I wouldn't put them on my car either.

You see, I learned at a young age that things change over time and not always for the better.

One of the easiest to get stickers was for the local radio stations, but guess what.  That's right, the radio stations are the first ones to change.  Not just ownership but format.  My saddest day was when the hottest rock and roll station became a country western format. Ugh.

Radio stations always seem to be changing but not all.  Some have found a formula that works and they stick with it just tweaking some minor things but staying true to the same old simple format.  They will never be the latest fade or at the top of the listings but they are solid, dependable and somewhere near the top of the listings.

Restaurants also change and when they do it is seldom a good thing.  'Now under new management' the banner screams.  You ask yourself why, did it need new management, what was wrong with the old one, what will new management do that the old one did not, is this going to be worth a try or should I wait a week and see if they are still open?

I like it if a business is making a change not just for the sake of making a change but because it is trying to do something better.  If it isn't making it better, then don't bother.  If the formula is right but it is no longer working then something has changed and not for the better.  What is it about the formula that you are no longer doing right?  If you have a solid group of type A customer then why on earth would you risk alienating them just to attract a faddish type B customer.  Instead continue to serve your type A customer to the best of your ability and if you must, start a new business to try and serve the type B customer.  That sounds more like win win to me.

But that doesn't happen, and businesses change, radio stations change, quality changes, service changes, very, very few things remain the same.  So a recommendation you or I might give today may not be the same as one offered tomorrow.  In fact you might do a complete 180.  And bumper stickers are hard to remove.  (I remember reading a bumper sticker once that said 'vote for Clinton' and in smaller print at the bottom it said 'easily removed with gasoline'.)

Do you wish you hadn't put a bumper sticker on your car?  Leave a comment and share your favorite.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

Too many sites, or is one too many

Last time I talked about spreading yourself too thin by trying to make a presence in every site out there on the web.  The other side of that is belonging to all the sites you possible can and then staying connected or current with all of them even if you are not a regular contributor.

I know some that have their phones constantly monitor their Twitter or Facebook account and are constantly checking it throughout the day to see what the latest is.  I on the other hand have wondered how much of my Facebook post got removed between now and the last time I was in even if I set the sort by earliest and not relevance order.  Lately it only lets me scroll so far and it still doesn't know me well enough to figure what is relevant to me.

And I think that the term relevance is the key.  People will spend time where they find relevance or at least relevance for them.  The other will get left behind.  So even if a site has 800 million members, it is how many, how often, and for how long that matter and those are the numbers we don't get to see very much of.

Another interesting statistic I saw was for a celebrity that had over a million followers but didn't actually follow anyone.  I won't name names (mostly because I can't, which tells you how truly famous they are/were) but that seems silly to me.  A social media site is designed to be social which would indicate some form a social interaction between real live people.  Anything else is a one way street that then places the responsibility on the provider to provide something of value even if it is merely entertainment.

If they can be entertaining then I can accept that.  I would relish it in fact.  I would settle for interesting, amusing, thought provoking, educational and informational.  I have been exposed to quite a lot so my standards are getting pretty high.  Well okay, not that high but with so much to choose from it is getting harder and harder to make my cut.  And with my time being more and more limited I have to make cuts.

And so should you.  If you find yourself missing out on things because you are too busy getting in on things that aren't really the kind of things that are your things but are someone else's things then you need to be cutting out a few things too.

If the choices are good, better, best, choose best every time.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

When do you get to it all

I talked about e-mails and keeping up with all the ones that find their way into my inbox, but what about all the other sites out there vying for your time.  Of course there are selective blogs that must be written and read but what about Facebook, and LinkedIn and Twitter, and Snapchat, and Pinterest, and Instagram and all the other sites I don't even know about.

It seems that we have all been told (and especially those in business) that we need to have a presence in all of these sites all over the whole world wide web.  I say WRONG.

The more I have learned about different sites a couple of things stand out.  Some sites are better suited for some people, businesses, cultures, types etc. and some are not.  Find the one that best matches your clan, with who they are and who you are and where they are and where you are and go with it.  That is because of the second thing I have seen.

You will spread yourself too thing and not be able to be in all places at all times.  I am sad to say I am a bad example of this.  I wanted to learn about the other sites and so went on an expedition only to come back to base to find that no one had been keeping the place up.  I was gone for many days, weeks, months between entries in my blog while I was off making entries elsewhere.

I am not the only one with this problem.  Many businesses have tried to put there brand all over the web only to have the site one would go to have the last entry be months and sometimes years ago (outdated and no longer relevant).  If they had multiple sites they might have tried to produce one entry and copy and paste it to all the others and it would leave me asking why bother with the others.  Or, the business had grown beyond a solo player and so different teams would maintain different sites only to end up with a different persona at each of the different web sites.  (Big corporate has a real problem with this even though they think they are just marketing differently to various niches.  Maybe so but it feels more like sending mixed messages.)

So my word of advise for now is to produce our product and placed it where it belongs.  If you produce a different product and it belongs in a different place then so be it.  But don't spread yourself so thin that you can not support who and what you are with what you have.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

Just got caught up with checking my email...

...and boy are my eyes tired.

I had let things go a little.  Actually a lot.  It took between 3 and 4 hours to get caught up over the course of two nights.  Why, I asked myself, and there must be a better way.

I like the thoughts Tim Ferriss has on how to handle e-mail in his book 'The Four Hour Work Week'.  He mentions limiting the checking of e-mail to twice a day.  Let others know so that they know not to expect an immediate response.  That way he is not pulled away from whatever he is doing every time the little notification dings saying you have something new in your inbox.  This can work well in some situations depending on your work, your interaction with others, and your scheduling.  It can also work in matters other than e-mail.

Dividing work and personal though can create a whole different set of rules to work by.

It was my personal e-mail accounts that I had let slip to the point that many items had expired or were no longer valid while some of them were follow ups or should I say predecessors to later conversations.  OOPS.

I have studied what others have done and I have some good habits of my own so I really need to focus or rather reapply those lessons I already have in hand.  The rules for old postal physical e-mail can apply here.

1.  Is it junk?  Toss it. -- Most e-mail programs have pretty good spam filters but some still slips through.  It is a good first line of defense though and we should rely on it more.  I still look at the junk folder just to make sure nothing good was sorted there by mistake.  It very seldom is.  I could probably just delete it blindly and be none the worse for wear but I still look.  Maybe I will quit that habit and just clear the bin.

For those things that make it through, if it is junk and you can tell right away then toss it.  We have all seen more than our share of junk in our lifetimes.  It is not that hard to identify.  'But maybe this one is different' I say to myself.  Wrong.  It is junk.  Do not get a case of invalid curiosity.  Do not get attached.  Do not place value on it that isn't there.  Just let it go, quickly, quietly, efficiently.

This also goes for all those little e-mails from companies we have signed up for with the hope of having an honest to goodness too good to pass up one time offer that really qualifies for a bargain.  I get a lot of these and to be honest with myself it is just so much wishful thinking.  If over the past year I have not received an offer that had me act on it or at least wish I could have at the time, then they are no longer worthy to send me e-mail and it is time to unsubscribe.  You are junk to me now.

2.  Does it require action now?  -- Yes.  All interruptions require action now, if not, they would have waited until they were not an interruption.  Question is, does the action required need to be done now or can it be done later?  How much time will it take, how important is it, how does it align with my priorities; the continual weighing of effort and importance.

If you have taken any time management courses there is always someway of ranking work and personal effort.  Whether categories of A, B, C or four quadrants of important, unimportant, urgent, and un-urgent, or some variation, it comes down to what you want, but you must decide.

2a.  In a work situation that requires you to be available real time, then my suggestion is to quickly decide if this is something I must respond to now (like a note from a boss) then by all means respond now.  If the priority exceeds what you are working on at the present time then your workload has effectively been re-prioritized and you need to respond now.  Otherwise, add it to your to do list in properly prioritized order and get back to what you where doing.  Work your list in most important to least and as long as there is not a specific deadline for it's accomplishment or if it is further out than today, then first priorities first.

2b.  For personal situations I will do it differently.  Since I am at my designated time for checking e-mail I will sometimes use available time and effort required as the first priority.  Since I have already delayed checking my inbox until I was ready to deal with it then my priority at the moment is working the inbox.  If an e-mail takes very little time to view and if needed respond then that is what I will do.  As quickly as possible read the offer, notice the event announcement, take note of the news, and move one.  If it is an e-mail from someone I know, I will take the time to view and respond as required.  If the e-mail looks like it will take a longer amount of time to read, or act upon then I will decide if it is something that interest me enough to want to take the time (I because I have such a curiosity factor at play it usually always does) to delve into the e-mail, but if I just don't have the time to devote to it now then I will set it aside for later and use other time when available to spend on these items.

That is pretty much it.  My problem arouse from when twice a day became twice a month because it had been a very busy month.  Then it becomes a catch up problem instead of a keep up problem.
As my Dad used to tell me, 'If you would just do some yard work 30 minutes at a time a couple of times a week your yard wouldn't look like that'.  Also I wouldn't hate yard work so much because I wouldn't get stuck spending an entire day off just trying to keep the city from giving me a ticket.  Some cities are just like that.

But the same principle applies.  If I spend a little time every so often and not letting it become a big catch up project, then taking care of business is not an issue.  It is probably a good thing I don't get a lot of comments on this blog.  I could take way too long to respond and you would think I didn't care when in reality I was just off checking my e-mail.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

A place where a Honda Fit stands out...

is believe it or not, Las Vegas.  

I was up in the Summerlin area a little while ago and was noticing all the BMWs and Mercedes driving around and realizing that although they caught my eye for a moment, none of them really held my interest.

There have always been cars that just fill space, bland, cookie cutter, non-descript because they are meant to appeal to the masses with functionality that will met 80% with 20% commonality.  In a place like Summerlin even the Bimmers and Mercs fall into this category.  It would take a very special example to stand out and there are very few of these.  Very few.

Even a new Tesla SUV driving around the block looking for a parking spot made me look for a moment but didn't begin to spark flames of interest.  I just realized now that I did not even think about pulling out my cell phone to take a photo even though this is the first one I had seen in person and it may have been a prototype for all I knew.  It may be a little different with a different nose, and slightly different flow but it is still blah.

This is a place where cars are status symbols, where the many of the owners quite often can't tell the difference, let alone appreciate the difference between an everyday 7 series from Munich and a Chevy Malibu other than by the price tag and the symbol on the hood.  (I didn't say all, I said many.)

I do remember while on this trip and driving around Vegas that there was one vehicle I did not see much of.  In fact I only recall seeing one.  The Honda Fit.  On a rarity scale that puts it on par with the Tesla.  Pick a bright color instead of the typical white, silver/gray and black and you have a car that will stand out.

I admit I have always liked intelligently designed small cars, especially if I can fit inside without too much trouble.  I have looked at the Fit as it meets a lot of utility questions really well and so I do not have the blind eye to them that many cars have because they are completely off the radar.  They do not blend into the background for me like other cars would.  That is why it was so surprising to realize how few I had seen on this trip.

I guess it goes back to deciding what you want out of a car.  In Beverly Hills the status car of choice was a Toyota Prius to show you cared for the environment even if the other car in your garage was a 12 mpg supercar.  There are people that might not recognize how expensive your shoes are or the handbag is that you carry but surely they will know how well off you are by the car you get in and out of.  But even that can become common place in certain parts of the world.  

It is getting harder to be unique...unless you are actually willing to be unique.  Just saying.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

All things testify of Jesus Christ

I have a natural curiosity of all things and a strong desire to learn.  That desire and the strong love of discovery and exploration has taken me to many new and exciting places, introduced me to a wide variety of educational studies and given me a greater appreciation and understanding of a plethora of people both living and dead.

The last few months have had me exploring books and podcast by a diverse group of individuals with great and varied backgrounds.  Some have gained large followings and produced volumes of work and others not so grand.  Each has had his own search for truth and each has had to come to his own conclusions, and it is those conclusions that have driven their lives work and directed their energies into action.

I was told of a popular 'new' atheist that has drawn much attention.  He has a podcast that covers a wide range of topics but always seem to circle back to his central theme of atheism.  His logic and reasoning on some subjects is sound and sensible but that same practical logic is overlooked when it turns to the topics of theology.  This paradox shows itself strongly when the conversation turns to moral issues as he seems to have a strong sense of right and wrong but will not recognize the source from which it comes.  Any evidence of a Supreme Being will not be acknowledged in the least no matter how or in what form it comes in.

Another podcast I came across was that of an apostate, one who had the truth but turned away from it.  He was raised in a good family and taught the gospel from his youth.  He was moving forward down a bright and prosperous path when a trial of his faith came.  He initially did what he thought was right and yet the consequences that followed were not easy to handle.  His faith was shaken and as he proceeded toward his writing profession, he was introduced to a new group of social contacts that did not strengthen his faith but rather made it possible for him to renounce his roots.  His habits became more worldly and he scorned his past and mocked those that still belonged to where he came from.  His criticism of the old was used as justification for his new lifestyle, taking strength in his denials in an effort to overcome his guilt.  It may seem as though he has come to peace with it but I wonder.

Yet another podcast shows the views of a Jewish Rabbi who has come to a sense that his duty is to convince all Jews that Jesus is not the Savior.  He is highly educated and well read.  He knows well the scriptures of not only the Jewish people but also those of many others.  He has become a counter point to all those that would try to convince others of the divinity of Jesus Christ but especially to those that would try to convince the Jewish people.  Because his scriptural knowledge is so vast when compared to those he converses with it might be easy to be persuaded by his arguments but the conclusions he draws from the references he uses are not the same that others might find.  His teachings do increase my understanding by adding contextual reference to my readings and for that I am thankful.

The last to be mentioned is an autobiography of a man who found God and dedicated his life to him.  He studied the scriptures and came to his knowledge of God and his words and his ways by a dedicated effort to answer questions that related to Gods will.  His life was not without struggle and challenges but he was always trying to choose do what God would have him do rather than take the easy path or follow the dictates of other men.  His life was revelation by scriptural study that somehow missed the fullness he was seeking.  He went on to establish a worldwide church through the use of radio broadcast and print media.

These examples all come from the current era but any study of history and scripture will show that these individuals are not unique.  Their stories have been told time and again by and about others over and over throughout all earthly time.  They are not the first and they will not be the last.  They are the story of mankind.  And in them one and all their stories to me still testify of Christ.

"...The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator."  Alma 30:44

In my life I have learned that all things testify that Jesus is the Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit I know that it is true.  From the examples above you can tell that they have not received their testimonies from the Spirit of Truth and yet their words still testify.

If you would have even a simple desire to know for yourself, then do the work for yourself to know for yourself that your testament might be your own.

"And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of all it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."  Moroni 10:4-5.

I wish that all mankind might know God the Eternal Father and is son Jesus Christ.  I wish that all might know the truth of all things.  It is available to any and all that would know.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

The Either/Or Dilemma

dilemma

noun

1.    a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives, especially equally undesirable ones.

I am sure you have already guessed what this is going to be about.

The last post was actually started here but turned into it's own entry.  This is a follow on prelude if you will with reflections on our current state of political affairs.  Isn't it sad that  our nation has an either/or mentality.

I mentioned faulty logic in the decision making process in the last entry and it is a much larger topic than I gave it space for.  One of my greater pet peeves is the either/or presentation especially when it comes to communal decision making.  We are played by politicians all the time and we continue to put up with it and frankly I am getting sick of it.

It is used whenever they have already decided to implement a change that will be unacceptable to the general public and usually comes in the form of new taxes, new policy or new regulation that will limit your rights and freedoms and take money from your wallet.  It is offered in the form of either you take this choice we have made for you or you take this other choice that we know no one in their right mind would take because it is so much worse that the one we want you to pick which is the choice we have made for you.

Either we raise your taxes or children will go hungry, or police and fire departments will have layoffs, or potholes will grow, or garbage will pile up, or sewage will back up...etc., etc..

Either you live or you die, that is all, end of discussion.  Or is it.  Life is not just an either/or decision.  It is made up of many, many decision.  It nearly always comes with more than two options.  Look around you and tell me if there are more than two kinds of snowflakes.

I happen to know that there are three kinds of people in the world.  Them that know numbers and them that don't.

So now we are headed into an election where for many there are only two choices.  Gosh I feel sorry for you if you find yourself in that category.  I for one decided a long time ago that neither one of the traditional parties provided a viable candidate or platform that I was willing to support or endorse and this was before the conventions, so I went looking...looking for options.

I must not be the only one as some of the polls I have seen show that a third and a fourth candidate for president are drawing 10% and 6% interest and 3% for any others in place of the more attention grabbing first and second slots.  At least some people are smart enough to know that when a bad either/or choice is placed before them that you should choose neither.

If someone ask you "do you want pie or ice cream" you should answer "yes".  If some one ask you "do you want me to break your arm or break you leg?" you should say "neither thank you, I'd rather go to dinner and a movie with my sweetheart."

If neither choice will leave you in a desirable state (based on your criteria not theirs) then your first action should be to start looking for other options.  During this election there are many that are looking for other options though sadly they are looking for the same old solutions just with a different face.  That is how we got ourselves into this mess in the first place.

If you are afraid to cast your vote (speak your voice) for someone outside of the main two party system because you will just be throwing away your vote then haven't you in actuality done just that.   I thought that if ever there was a time for a third party candidate to rise up that this would be it.  So far the candidate alternatives have remained in the also ran category which is a shame because there is at least one of them that sounds much more intelligent and is running on a platform that far exceeds those of any I have heard so far, yet there are not enough voices willing to throw away their votes and provide at least the option of having his name on the ballot in all fifty states.

When all is said and done (and more will be said than will be done) I am sure that I will not have my choice be the one made by the majority but at least I know that I will have made my choice and I can live with knowing that.  So come on, throw away your vote, but at least do it in a way you can feel good about yourself for doing it.  And don't fall for the either/or trap.  We know better.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

Choices, choices, choices

We have been blessed in the country far beyond what others in the world have and it is a wonderful thing.  One of the biggest blessings comes in the form of choices or options if you will.  Since before the days of 31 flavors of ice cream we have had options aplenty to choose from.

With all this variety comes comparisons.  Which one is better?  And, more importantly, which one is better for me?  Best of all, as the customer you get the freedom to choose for yourself.  How awesome is that?  Also, because of all these choices and the choices of everyone else, what we have to choose from just keeps getting better and better.  As long as we make good choices, the good things will continue to exist and the bad choices will just drop off with no one to support them.

Everyday you have the opportunity to choose, what to have for breakfast, where to go for lunch, should I have leftovers for dinner, what should I watch on T.V., or should I go to the movies, or better yet read a blog.  From the clothes you wear to the car you drive, from the decisions to take an elevator or take the stairs, and even looking at the caller id and deciding whether to answer or not we face a multitude of choices everyday.

Many of these choices are made without hesitation or much thought.  Sometimes the choice is made once and we did such a good job of making that choice that we do not need to make that choice again but stick with it for a lifetime.  Some choices need to be readdressed periodically as new information comes to light or circumstances have changed.  Some choices are made over and over again but are of little effort and little consequence.  Some choices take much deliberation and agonizing analysis while other can be made on a whim.

All Choices have consequences.

If you take responsibility for the choices you make then you can also take responsibility for the consequences that follow.

Now a couple of things to keep in mind.  There can be a point of decision overload, that is when there are too many decisions to be made all at once and/or there are too many items to choose from when there can be only one choice made.  If you are not aware of this problem, it can throw you into a state of indecision.  You can get stuck, you will stew and fret and increase your anxiety to a point of exhaustion and still not come out of it with a decision that will allow you to move forward, and believe me decisions are all about moving your life forward.

There have been studies done that show the average person can not handle more than such and such a number of choices before reaching this state of inability to decide.  They claim it would be better if we had less choice.  I call that hogwash.  I have been caught up in this myself and know for a fact that having less choice would have made it easier but not necessarily better.  If I am aware that this state of indecision is happening, then I can choose to change myself and how I handle the situation thus I return to choosing a solution rather than allowing it to become a problem.  So how to go about it;

1.  What is the problem and what is the desired outcome?  Define these first.  Have you asked enough questions to fully understand the situation and aren't rushing into making a snap decision.

2.  What are the alternatives?  Do not try to look at every possible alternative, some are bad from the get go and add nothing but distractions.  Do however brainstorm long enough that you don't overlook real possibilities.  This is where innovation comes from.  New does not come from choosing to do the same old thing.

3.  Choose the level of effort needed for the decision.  How big a decision is this really, and how bad are the consequences if I get it wrong?  Don't sweat the small stuff, it isn't worth it.  When deciding which flavor of ice cream to have, go ahead and just pick one, it won't be the last time you will have ice cream.  If you are deciding on which water softener to get you might want to take a little longer.

4.  If you are only making the decision about and for yourself go ahead and be self centered.  This is the right time to be all about you.  If you are considering others, then always look for Win-Win.  That means finding a solution that will met everyone's needs as much as possible without doing it at the lope-sided expense of one of the members.

5.  Beware of faulty logic.  It is okay to consult others if needed.  It can be useful to get a different perspective on the situation.  I love to talk with others and learn new ways of thinking about things and doing things, especially if it is a better way.  The problem is that sometimes we forget the advice often comes with the intro "Well if I were doing it, I would...".  Until the decision is made it is still your decision, and after it is made it is still your decision.  Make sure it is your decision.  (Keep this in mind also when you give advice and it isn't taken so that no bad feelings are kept when you have a "That's not the way I would have done it."  Just note it and let it go.)

6.  Compare the alternatives.  Look at pluses and minuses, pros and cons, cost vs. benefits.  Use any and all methods that seem to fit the decision being made.  Don't ignore gut feelings, and remember that prayer is always available.

7.  Decide.  Decision made, follow through, stick with it, adjust if needed as a last resort, reflect latter and learn from the choice.

Choices are a fact of life.  Don't give up your responsibility to make choices and if you do, don't turn over that responsibility to others lightly.  It is hard to get it back if you do and you might not like the choices made on your behalf.  Not everyone is looking out for you best interest the way that you would and should and do.

I am glad you chose to read this post.  This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

Predicting the future

I wish to predict here and now that a very popular social phrase will sweep the nation starting November 9th.  The most common phrase that will be used repeatedly on that Wednesday and many days to follow will come from every possible demographic that can be conceived of by media and pollsters and will be representative of people from all walks of life.

The phrase will be used by all social classes, both rich and poor, and it will not matter which race, religion, or national heritage you claim.  It will not matter your age or gender.  It will not matter your educational background or news network preference.  Even music taste will not determine the usage of this new flash phrase that will encompass all Americans and ex-pats living abroad.

This phrase was not developed by use of Ouija boards, Tarot cards, divining rods, or supermarket tabloids.  This phrase is not being published in several different locations with different predictions on each in an effort to promote the one that is correct.  I did not dial up any 1-900 psychic numbers and ask for this information.  No seances were conducted in the obtaining of this phrase.

The confidence of this prediction is so great that if it were made in relationship to the stock market, earthquakes, famines, wars and/or pestilence, great monies could be made by the predictor and the user of said information.  It is the stuff of legends of which books, and poems, and music and movies are made.  University students could create doctoral thesis on just this kind of predictive power and reasoning.

And the phrase that you can look back on remembering the day that you discovered it before others within your social realm, a phrase that will become a part of you and those around you is;
"Don't blame me, I voted for ...(fill in your choice)."

The choices will run the gamut from anyone you may of heard of this time around as well as a few old favorites like I voted for Kodos (search for Simpson episode from Treehouse of Horror, still one of their best) to lesser known also rans from yesteryear like my favorites Pat Paulsen (look it up on YouTube and you will know why) and Rudy Taft.

Even if you happened to pick the winner no matter who that might be you will still be tempted to use the phrase for your own peace of mind.  Think about it, you probably have already.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

My blog is ranked...

...just outside of the top 10.  Okay, way outside the top 10.  According to urlmetrics my Farrwestview blog is ranked 4,623,480 in the United States while being unranked worldwide.

What does this mean?  Just about anything I guess.  It doesn't bother me, nor does it excite me.  Well maybe it does but only a little.

It is fun too know that even though I am small stuff now I am still big enough to create a blip on somebodies radar.  That is kind of cool.

The internet helps create freedom of speech and it also provides proof that there is no guarantee of an audience...that you have to earn.  I send out a warm thank you too all that have, are or will give my blog a little bit of their time.  Who knows, with a little more effort on my part, maybe I can overtake number 4,623,479.  Fingers crossed.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

Cell Phones...what did I miss?

Does anyone else find it interesting that I have just done an extremely long article about cell phones and didn't even cover the use of the devices as a cell phone let alone any comments on cell phone companies.  Just saying.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

Amazon vs. Apple vs. Google vs. Microsoft vs. Samsung vs. other

and the winner is???

I am willing to wager that you like me have had to wrestle with this battle royale yourself, either in the past, present or to be addressed again in the future and always trying to come to some conclusion as to which is the best way to go.  This has not been easy, and the decisions made do not seem to be permanent.  Things change.  And that means, like Wrestlemania, roll out the roman numerals because even if you found a winner last time, it soon will be time to do it again.

I have been in a constant shopping mod for cell phones, tablets, laptops, desktops and any other electronic gadgetry that comes along that promises to advance my standard of living with the mere transfer of a cash transfusion and a future draft pick to be named later.  I used to thrill to the hunt, leap at the chase, research with relish, and analyse till the cows came home with the confidence that I would know at the end of it all that I could determine what was good, better, best.

It works with cars so why not electronics.  

By looking at the universe of products, you layout a list of features and attributes measured against their effectiveness of meeting certain personal objectives weighted to your biases and desires and rated on your relative scales of values to come up with a very limited number of finalist that make the cut.  You try them on for size, select one, find a store willing to give you the best deal and next thing you know it finds its way home among your most prized possessions.

With cars it is fairly easy to make apples to apples comparisons.  With electronics not so much.  With everyone using a different language and different measuring sticks the comparisons become confusing rather quickly.  The comparison quickly becomes one of Apples and Oranges or Androids or MS as the case maybe.

If all you know is that 'an 8 cylinder engine is more than a 4 cylinder engine so it must be better right' and don't care about what either one does or why then you may not be in the same boat as I am.  I am looking for more.  I need more.  More helps me define and confirm my decisions.  I don't want to know that it has a quad chip, I want to know which quad chip and what speed it is running and which generation ship it is.  These things matter when trying to make an informed decision but it takes some real detective work to find the answers especially with some manufacturers.

Not everyone likes to look that hard or think that hard or spend that much time worrying about what is right for them so they phone a friend, "Hey, what have you got? Do you like it? Cool." and go get one of those but the next model up cause you have to have some bragging rights, end of story.  And for many that works great.

I am still from an era where a dollar was hard earned and hard spent and have wanted to get the most bang for the buck so it was important to try and find the best of whatever for me, and as I said before, I really did enjoy the whole shopping experience.

It is all about the system

So for those still with me I will start at the foundation.  Every system out there tries to be a closed proprietary system meaning they want you to be locked into only buying from them for all your wants and needs.  That is fine if they can deliver all your wants and needs but if not drop them and look elsewhere.  Please take note, systems change, some for the worst, some for the better, some stick around, some die off.  Just because you can get a great 'deal' on something be aware that it might not just be the model that is being closed out.  Also note that even if the system on the whole is solid, one of its divisions may not be.  There are a lot of products out there that have come and gone without a lot of impact and barely able to make one of those 'do you remember these' lists that get past around your email inbox.

So my system look narrows quickly when related to cell phones and tablets with a slight pause at the desktop/laptops.  I have grouped these a little because even though the operating systems are different the main systems all come from the same roots.  Basically you have Apple, Microsoft and Android or some version thereof.

Let's start with Android and it's derivatives of which there are many.  Most closely associated with Google, Android is a base upon which many have built such as Samsung, Amazon's Fire and dozens of other names too numerous to mention here.  Some use their own modified version of Android and that presents its own set of challenges for the user.  For example Amazon wants you to stay with Amazon and will not play with Google.  Also the further away from a pure Android system, the less likely it will be kept up to date with it's operating system.  And Android has a lot of versions.  So many it is hard to keep up with which candy name you are on or dealing with.  (Was I eating a jelly bean or a lollipop?  And does it matter?) It matters.  Although I like the fact that the software side of a system is in a constant state of update, meaning improvements and advancement, it also means that the hardware side is in for the obsolescence pile sooner.  When the hardware can't keep up with the latest software you are stuck with an upgrade, one you might not have been planning for.

Microsoft on the other hand is trying to be all things to all people and failing miserably.  For the desktop/laptop scene they have a pretty well established line that has served them well even if it has made many a user scream in frustration.  The attempt to move into other areas has not gone as well.  Cell phones with Windows do not capture 2% of the market and when you are that small it doesn't pay to bother with them.  At some point they will get their act together or give up and I am betting on the later.

Which leaves Apple the 500 pound gorilla that may or may not use gorilla glass.  Apple probably has the best universal approach out there.  It's users can find a consistent, stable, universe of commonality.  And even though there are different systems for the cell phone and the desktop you have a better chance of interfacing here than on most other platforms.  There are of course downsides and they will be mentioned later but they are the current king for finding simple utility in a product.

There are other solutions out there but they are on the fringe so to speak.  If you have these other solutions then you also are on the fringe, and I don't say that to belittle anyone but to give them the respect they deserve because they are the ones willing to put up with a few inconveniences in order to have a better solution and more power to them.  I have found that I spend too much time fighting with the simple solutions let alone trying to be one who is running on the fringe.

Or is it?

There is something more to consider than just the system and that is what are you going to do with it?  I remember a few decades ago when the first PCs were coming out the the question again was Apple vs MS.  Going to school at the time and with limited funds and the fact that businesses were using IBMs and MS I went with a MS based PC rather than a Mac.  In the process of looking I had a friend that asked, 'What are you going to do with it?' as if I knew.  We are talking way back at the start of all this so I wanted the world but soon found out the technology of the day was very short of ideal.  What he was referring to was not so much the hardware but the software or applications that I wanted to run that would help me to 'do' what I wanted to do.  Which platform or system gave me the best chance of doing what I wanted to do?

Same thing today.  What apps do you want that will 'do' the things you want to do and do them the best?  And more importantly where can you get them?

Here comes the big elimination.  It isn't really about who has the most apps...but it is.  You can do pretty much anything you would like to on any system but...then again you can't.  And so here it is boiled down in a nut shell.  When you see an app advertised 99% of the time it will say 'Get it now at Apple or Google Play'.  If you are not one of those two or if you cannot access one of those two then you no longer count.  Sorry and thanks for playing.  Microsoft/Windows will get a few mentions but generally not enough to worry about.  Everyone says Apple iTunes or Google Play, but I don't recall anyone saying Amazon Apps other than Amazon so for now all the Fire devices are out because if Amazon Apps doesn't have it, even if it is an Android based app, you cannot get it from Google Play.  Even if you can get it from Amazon Apps there is no guarantee if it will work on the Amazon Android Fire devices, some don't.

And after apps, content is king.  

Everyone knows that Apple's iTunes is a treasure trove but much of it can also be found with Google Play and Amazon and Podcasts Addict and so on and so on and so one possible next step is to compare pricing of your favorite albums and books.  You may be willing to pay more for the hardware but are you willing to pay up for the further installments of apps and content?

Wait a minute, didn't you eliminate Amazon earlier but you mentioned them again, what gives?  Amazon was smart enough to have a two way street but dumb enough to close off half of it.  You can get Amazon apps that will run on any Android device as well as your Apples so their store is wide open for all, just don't expect their Fire devices to work the other way.

Now for the most part I like Google and Android and I have found relative good use from them but I find that they often keep coming up short.  All too often they are just not quite there.  I hate it when that happens because the hardware used to run Android can be had at such a better price and sometimes flat out better hardware that it disappoints me to think that I am considering, let alone deciding, that my best choice for next upgrade will be Apple.

And Here is Why

I love my wife.  But you knew that already.  Her tolerance with technology is not as high as mine therefore whatever we get next must be simple, intuitive, functional, and easy, and if that doesn't describe Apple I don't know what does.

Everyone I talk to that has an Apple says about the same thing.  They love it and wouldn't go back.  They get long life out of the product and good service even if it comes with long lines.  The phones are everywhere so you can feel good about being part of the 'in' crowd if that means something to you.  Their products work, so even if they are dated right out of the box, they have been tested enough to give you a pretty good assurance that you won't have any issues from the get go or from future releases and with fewer variations and a tightly controlled system there are less worries for the apps as well.

And if I get a phablet I can try to justify the costs by telling myself that I am really getting a phone and a tablet and an MP3 player and a camera both still and video all in one.  So if I add all those items up the cost of a new iPhone is only twice what I would normally spend for all the others combined.  And I would be cool.

Basically though, I have been down the other path, tried it, been there, got the T-shirt.  It is time to try the other side of the fence and see if the grass really has a greener hue from a Retina resolution display.

Just have to figure out how to afford it.  If I forgo the around the world cruise and down grade my next car from an S class Benz to the Civic...

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.