Be Careful When Selecting Space Heaters

    The leaves are almost gone and, even though we had a wonderful Indian Summer over the past week or so, the temperatures are dropping.   You need only look in the pages of newspapers or magazines to be reminded that winter is on the way.  Looks like those Amish craftsmen have been hard at work over the summer building those fake “crafted” fireplaces.  There is a new ad that caught my attention this year. 
   The ad for EdenPURE Heaters promises to cut your heating costs and features a testimonial by none other than Richard Karn. You may remember him from TV’s Home Improvement.  In this full page ad Mr. Karn gushes about this product’s efficiency and emphasizes its laudable “American Made” pedigree.  It has been my experience that if they need a full page ad with more text than a John Grisham novel to explain the product benefits, I may want to be careful before giving out my credit card info.
   The EdenPURE heaters employ technology that has been around a long time.  The heaters use an infrared lamp to heat a large panel of copper.  The air passing over the copper panel is heated and circulated through the room.  This same principle is used in many space heaters, not just the EdenPURE models.  Like most others, the EdenPURE will keep you warm when used as directed but will it really save you more money than the others?
   If you walk through any big box store and examine the electric space heaters looking closely at the label you will find information on how much electrical current the device will draw.  This is usually measured in watts or kilowatts per hour.  Most all space heaters made for the home market will use between 1000 to 1750 watts per hour.  The EdenPURE electrical consumption is about 1250 watts per hour or in the low end.  The big difference is that the EdenPURE heater prices start about $200 and go up while models that will give about the same efficiency can be purchased for less than $50.
   Space heaters can help to take the chill off a cold room.  They can also be used to actually save money if you choose to heat only one or two rooms in your home to a comfortable level leaving the rest of the house much cooler. Most of us don’t live like that.  For sure you don’t want to be warm and toasty watching your favorite TV program in the family room one minute and cold and frosty when you go to the kitchen to get a snack.
   My advice is to use space heaters to warm up cool spaces but don’t count on saving much money on electricity, gas or oil without major changes in how you actually live in your home.  In all cases, never plug more than one heater into your wall socket and never use extension cords.  Keep the unit way from drapes or other combustible materials and never leave them on when you are not home.

You Could Win $50K and Create World Peace

When the Federal Trade Commission offers cash reward to help find a solution to problem it gets people’s attention. That is precisely what they are doing and it got my attention. According to the FTC website the Commission is challenging the public to create an innovative solution that will block illegal commercial robocalls on landlines and mobile phones.

As part of its ongoing campaign against these illegal, prerecorded telemarketing calls, the agency is launching the FTC Robocall Challenge, and offering a $50,000 cash prize for the best technical solution. The fact that the government is reaching out for help to address this issue demonstrates that the increase in these incessant and irritating interruptions to our peace and quiet may not be a risk to our national security but for sure to our national sanity.

While I am trying to wean myself from old habits, I still do try to answer my phone when it rings. I may be raking leaves, fixing the roof or washing the car but will stop to answer the phone. It is great to hear the voice of my wife or kids on the other end but not so great to hear, “This is Mary Sue from Credit Card Services informing you that there is no issue with your credit card but if you stay on the line one of our representatives will describe an offer that will…”

In the olden days, i.e. a year ago, these calls came in on landlines to our homes and offices. Today you are just as likely to get one on your mobile phone. Many of us are now getting calls that begin with the sound of an ocean liner horn and continue with the wonderful news that we can travel around the world free.

It is not only commercial enterprise that has adopted Robocalling. Not to name drop but I regularly get calls from Steve Chabot, First Lady Obama, Josh Mandel and several of Sherrod Brown’s close associates.

I for one don’t have a solution. I wish I did not so much as to collect the $50,000, although that would be nice, but to put these guys out of business. I have till January 17th to submit an idea. If the phone would stop ringing perhaps I could concentrate.

Where High Art Meets High Tech

If you have not been to Over the Rhine recently, you need to go and visit Washington Park the next time you are in the city.  The recently redeveloped park located across the street from Music Hall and adjacent to the new School for the Creative and Performing Arts is an absolute gem.  Not only is it an inviting and welcoming place for people of all stripes, it now has a high tech way to experience the beauty of the park and learn about Classical Music at the same time.

Cincinnati is the home of the American Classical Music Hall of Fame, a nationally recognized body that honors individuals and organizations that have made extraordinary contributions to Classical Music in the United States.  Recently they dedicated The Walk of Fame in Washington Park.  The Walk is an interactive classical music educational experience that is integrated into the park. The Walk of Fame is the only project in the world that combines classical music, mobile technology, public spaces, and a dancing fountain. The experience begins with pavement stones engraved with names of Hall of Fame inductees – similar to the Hollywood Stars.  But the Walk of Fame is also about learning, fun, and classical music, so it doesn’t stop there. 

Visitors to the park who have a smart phone can access a special website www.classicalWOF.org and, once connected using the phone’s GPS location app, will have access to a multimedia experience like no other in the world.  On the device, they will see all the content for Hall of Fame inductees (pictures, bio, links, and movies) and if a user wishes to hear a short music sample (3 minutes or less) of an inductee, they click a music icon on their device.

Here is where it gets really neat. If you select music choice number one on the smart phone, you will be able to hear the music played on your phone/device through the device’s headphones.

If you select choice two, the music selection will be sent to the park’s virtual jukebox and put in a queue prioritized by order selected and/or popularity (if more people in the park simultaneously select the same example, it will move to the top of the list). The music will then be played through the park’s public speaker system in the Walk of Fame zone!

If you opt for choice three, the selection will be added to the jukebox queue and will play through the park’s public speaker system in the Fountain zone. The fountain is an interactive water feature that also acts as a splash park in the summer months.  When the music plays through the fountain system, it will trigger dancing fountain technology so that the fountain jets and lights will move and react to the music being played.

This is truly a unique experience.  It is a great place to take out-of-town guests and show them something unique about Cincinnati that couples high tech and the fine arts. With the weather turning colder you may wish to wait till spring but your visit will be worth it.  If you want to get a preview you can visit www.classicalWOF.org  from any computer.

Cincinnati Enquirer's New Online Subscription Model

Last week The Cincinnati Enquirer began a new subscription model for those wishing to read the paper online.  Responding to the changing readership patterns fostered by a myriad of electronic devices, Cincinnati’s sole daily newspaper has adopted a model already embraced by some other major national publications.  Now those wishing to read articles online will be able to read a limited number without paying for a subscription.  In any given month that number of articles is twenty.  Want to read more that month and you must pay.

For several years, newspapers have been struggling with how to monetize delivery of online material.  In the early years of web publication, newspapers looked at online content as a novelty.  It was something that only a relatively few technically adroit readers would find useful.  Jumping ahead to 2012 we find the landscape much different.  The number of daily “paper and ink” publications is shrinking and paid readership of those still publishing is also on the wane.  Even award winning newspapers like the New Orleans Times Picayune no longer publish a hard copy version every day of the week.

Last Year the New York Times adopted this online subscription model.  I subscribe to the New York Times and can read it on my Kindle, smart phone or computer.  I have also been a subscriber to the WallStreet Journal online edition.   The latter was never offered free on line.

I signed up for the online version of the Enquirer.  So far I am impressed.  The Enquirer has adopted a point and click navigation system for reading the newspaper.   You can read the paper page by page as the online version has the same page layout and format used in the print edition.   You also have the choice of reading the articles in a regular text format.  Using this method allows you to copy and paste the article from the newspaper into a word document or email.

Unlike Cincinnati.com, the Enquirer’s website, which is filled with intrusive display ads that dominate the page and make reading articles painful, the Enquirer’s E-newspaper contains only the ads as they would be seen in the printed edition.  You can click on them to make them larger but if you choose to ignore them they blend into the page.  This may not be good news for the advertisers but it is a real plus for the reader.  Let’s hope that the intrusive ads remain on Cincinnati.comonly.

While it is a positive sign that the Enquirer is providing these online options, the key to future acceptance and success will be what they deliver, not how they deliver it.