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New Ideas

lawn gnome

I had an email exchange with my close friend and business partner earlier this week.

“I get ideas but think they are probably stupid. Okay, I have some ideas. Again, I get scare you’ll think I’m reaaaally dumb.”

My response?

“No ideas are stupid. You start filtering **** like that, we’ll never find the ******* gold.

Brainstorming has no filter. You never know where a “stupid” idea might lead or what associations it might trigger.”

When you are trying to generate new ideas, applying a filter like “That sounds stupid” won’t get you anywhere. It’s idea suicide.

Could a discussion on the possibilities of becoming a lawn gnome distributor lead to becoming a successful manufacturer of combat gnomes?

Brainstorming involves turning off your stupid filters and running with it. Keep a recorder or a notebook handy and keep track of everything. Go off on tangents and see where they lead. Maybe they’ll lead to the gold.

The one thing you can’t do while brainstorming is criticize. If you start shooting down ideas, you are destroying the opportunity to find greatness. Even if an idea is impractical, build on it. There has to be an angle that becomes worthy of consideration. On the off-chance that there’s not, run with it anyway. It’s an exercise in creativity.

I regularly send my friend emails with potential business ideas. Most of them come to nothing, but once in a while, something clicks and we launch a successful venture together. If I were filtering ideas because they might be stupid, we might not have some of the projects we’ve got.

In addition to random & odd emails, I’ve got a notebook of some kind with me everywhere I go to record any passing idea I may have. In my car, I use a voice recorder. I periodically review everything I’ve noted and copy most of it into evernote.

Someday, those pieces may come together into a billion dollar idea.

How do you generate ideas? Do you bounce ideas off of friends or get drunk and shuffle a Trivial Pursuit deck into a Monopoly game?

Effen Carpets, Effen Pets

Finance

We’ve got pets. Lots of pets.

Chinese Food in Minutes (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

4 cats
3 kids
2 pythons
1 dog
1 hamster

And yours truly.

I count, I make a good mess.

Pets have hair. Well, except for the python and the horrible abominations of mis-evolved Chinese food known as bald cats.

Pet hair gets every-damn-where.

A few weeks ago, we watched our friend’s dogs for a few days.

Those things pee. Not in the backyard like good dogs, but on the girls’ bedroom carpet.

I hate pee.

Not my own, of course.

I really, really hate animal pee in my house.

So we got the carpets cleaned. Linda told me it would be a bit more than normal, since we were going to get the air ducts cleaned at the same time. I was fine with that. Animal hair gets everywhere, and in the ducts, it makes the furnace and air conditioner work poorly.

Then, I got an email alert from Capital One.

Seven hundred freaking dollars!

That’s about $400 more than I was expecting.

Not flipping thrilled! <—-Understatement.

Thankfully, we have money tucked aside for crap like this, but if stuff keeps coming up, we’re going to be hosed.

Chromecast: Saving Money on Cable

News

Google has decided to jump into the competition of content streaming by introducing its very own streaming device, the Chromecast. Following in the footsteps of other dominant content streaming devices and services such

as Apple TV or the Roku, Google hopes to allow casual video watchers the ability to watch streaming content on their TV instead of on a tablet or smartphone. With penny pinching being on everyone’s minds as prices increase for everything ranging from food to gas, cutting costs on entertainment expenses by eliminating cable is a wise decision.

Chromecast costs significantly less than other devices available on the market at a mere $35. Three months of NetFlix are included with the purchase, which essentially puts the price of Chromecast at only $11. It is a bit larger than a thumb drive and plugs into an open HDMI port on your high-definition television. It can be powered directly through the HDMI port on newer televisions as long as you have HDMI 1.4, but if you have older HDMI technology, Chromecast can also get power from a USB port if your television has one. As a last resort, you can also get an optional power cord to power the device from a regular outlet. You’ll also need to have Wi-Fi access to send the signal from your chosen device.

Chromecast is designed to allow you to stream your content at a low cost without requiring you to buy a smart TV. Once it is connected, you can stream video or audio content from your phone, tablet or computer directly to your television. One of the key benefits of Chromecast is that it can be controlled with multiple devices, not just Google’s. It can be controlled with an iPhone, iPad or Android-powered tablet or phone. You can also project content that you have open in Google’s Chrome browser on your computer to your TV screen. Unfortunately, you’re completely out of luck for the moment if you use a BlackBerry or Windows device since they trail behind Android and iOS in popularity.

Since Chromecast is relatively new, only a few apps currently support the “cast” ability that projects your content to the screen. The device runs a barebones version of Google’s own Chrome operating system. When you press “cast” through an application the content is sent directly to your television. It doesn’t merely mirror your device’s screen, so you can still play games, surf the web or check your email while watching your TV.

Control of the Chromecast is also simple since you can select what you want to watch, adjust the volume and control playback directly from your device without having to adjust to a new interface or have another remote floating around the house. Another selling point is that family and friends can utilize your Chromecast without needing to jump through any set up hoops along the way.

Ditch the costly cable service and get with the times by utilizing streaming devices and services.

Apple Launches iPad Air in November

Business

<a href= — iPad Air” width=”240″ height=”160″ /> iPad Air (Photo credit: Nokton)

With a lighter and thinner chasis, the newly announced iPad Air has a more powerful processor with a great new design and performance features that’s sure to continue Apple’s trend setting reputation. Apple senior vice president Phil Schiller is calling it the biggest leap forward for a full-sized iPad. We expect people have already started packing overnight bags for their long wait on the sidewalks outside the stores.

Apple is promoting its newest innovation as having the power of lightness, hence the addition of the “Air” moniker. That’s because the iPad Air weighs a mere pound and even then doesn’t feel like it. It’s 7.5 millimeters thin and has a design that might remind you of the iPad mini. It’s been engineered with a smaller bezel that shrinks the tablet without losing any screen size. The new dimensions and weight actually makes it easier to hold the tablet in one hand.The device will certainly impress its fans with its incredible power. The new A7 chip has a 64 bit architecture, providing graphics and CPU processing that’s significantly faster than the previous version. Working alongside the A7, the M7 motion co-processor, according to Apple, provides a graphic performance that’s over 70 times faster than the processor in the original iPad model. In fact, in terms of graphics, the Retina Display is likely the most impressive aspect of the new iPad. Graphics promise to render at two times the speed of the last iPad. The pared down bezel makes the screen stand out prominently.The iPad Air is supposed to give a user the chance to do more in more places with an advanced wireless connection. It’s faster than ever in more locations than ever before. The iPad Air brings a WiFi performance twice the speed of the last iPad. It utilizes two antennas instead of one, and MIMO, the latest in communication and smart antenna technology. The WiFi and Cellular model will support more LTE brands, offering greater support and quicker connection anywhere in the world.

With almost a half million apps already available for the iPad, you have a great head start on things to do. Apps built into the iPad Air will include solutions for routine tasks, like web surfing and checking email. A number of previously apps that had to be purchased are now free, such as iMovie, Keynote, iPhoto, GarageBand and Pages. Popular apps for other Apple products, they have all been upgraded to work with iOS 7 and the iPad. Quickly put together an original song or detail a presentation anywhere. As a lot of apps are developed solely for Apple products, these can look stunning on their displays.

The iPad Air’s current launch date is November 1. It will come in black and gray or silver and white. It will start at $499 for a 16 gigabyte WiFi version. This is $100 more than previous generation launches, but supporters say the consumer is getting more screen real estate. The Cellular model will retail for $629. The iPad 2 will continue in the stores for $399.

Charity Scams

Finance

: Image by Emery Co Photo via Flickr

‘Tis the season to give away your stuff.

As Christmas rolls in, it’s common to see people ringing bells for charity outside of stores, or knocking on doors asking for your help with their pet causes. Phone and mail solicitations are up. You’ve got your pockets open and everybody’s hoping for some cash.

Good for you. Charity is wonderful.

I openly treat charity as the selfish act it truly is. Donating my time and money to causes I support makes me feel good about myself. I like feeling good about myself. The other reasons people give to charity are A) to make people like them, or B) to receive tax deductions. That’s it. There are 3 possible reasons to donate: to like yourself, to make others like you, or to save some tax money. I thought about adding guilt to the list, but that is covered by some blend of the first two reasons.

How can you know that the charity you are donating to is worth it? There are a ton of evil bastards out there trying to cash in on your desire to feel good. They want your money because rolling around naked in ill-gotten gains is what makes them feel good. Naked scammers sprawled across my cash isn’t a visual that makes me feel good.

Wait, you say? People use charities for cons, you ask? In 2005, The National Arthritis Association was busted for convincing people that it was somehow related to The Arthritis Foundation, when in reality, it was using the money for hookers and blow. Or something decidedly not arthritis-cure-related. If a charity sounds like something you know, but isn’t quite there, check into it before you donate.

It’s also common for scammers to run a phone campaign, pretending to be the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, or United Way. Those are all good charities, but they don’t benefit from the good intentions of the victims. The scammers just want the credit card information. Once they have that, it’s off to Rio for a crazy week of xxxxxx on a xxxxxx with a xxxxxxx for xxxxxx. (Editor’s note: This is a family-friendly blog.) Don’t give out your credit card information to anyone over the phone. Ever. Tell the caller to send you something in the mail, or promise to visit their website. But don’t give them the keys to your cash.

How can you avoid funding a Nigerian coup that will surely end in the downfall of the righteous king, causing all of his heirs to email me(as the only trustworthy person in the world) to help move the nation’s fortune out of the country in exchange for a mere 10% of the loot? I mean, how can you be sure you are donating to a good organization?

The easiest way is to ask the IRS. You can call them at 877-829-5500 or visit their website at http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=96136,00.html to search for charities that have actually filed with the IRS. Not all charities have filed. Some state-based nonprofits don’t bother, but you can check with your Secretary of State to verify their status.

Always pay by check or credit card. Cash is untraceable. If a charity turns out to be a scam, leaving a trail makes it easier to prosecute.

Don’t give in to the guilt-tactics. If a charity is worth giving to today, it will be worth it tomorrow, too. There’s no rush. If the solicitor is trying to rush you, it’s probably a scam.

Remember, it’s your money. Take care of it.

What are your favorite charities?

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