#SweetEarth #Breakfast Sandwiches #Review #Vegan #Meatless #Vegetarian

A Review

The Product: Sweet Earth Harmless Ham, Vegan Chickpea Patty and Sundried Tomato on Flax Bread, 2ct box.

The Details: Purchased with a VIP BOGO Free coupon. $5.69/box at my local Whole Foods.

What did I think? Although this sandwich should have a mix of flavors, the overall taste is VERY mild to the point of being bland. How is this possible?! You mix all these great ingredients together and come up with only a passable sandwich. Personally, I'd rather just eat the raw veggies than ever eat this thing again, but then I'm vegetarian. Might be more acceptable for someone who doesn't normally eat a lot of veggies.

The main benefits here are its convenience ---  microwaves in 1 minute --- and having a nutritional punch condensed into an easily portable form (each individual sandwich comes in sealed wrapper). If you're looking for a quick veg meal option, something like this might fill the bill.

The Results: I tried it, but I didn't much like it. So I personally wouldn't make it a regular purchase.

#MobileBanking: Deposit by Picture. Check! #Smartphones #Apps

As a geeky techie engineer, I seldom handle actual cash any more. The few times I've encountered it, I've thought that paper bills of today look a lot like fake Monopoly money. Neither have I ordered (or used) personal checks in well over a decade. Practically everything I do financially is in the virtual realm. I use electronic BillPay and eMoney. I've always opted for Direct Deposit nearly since my first job as a teen. I eTrade. Every vendor on the planet takes debit or credit cards and one can even "split a tab" with friends electronically these days.

So, I was at a momentarily loss when out of the blue I received a physical check in the mail recently (a surprise gift from an older relative who'd been told about the recent vandalism of my home). After penning a Thank You Note, I wondered half-seriously, "What does one do with a paper check?" I could have mailed it in to my bank I suppose, but I almost never use snail mail either. (The exception being personal correspondence with the "older generation.") Postage? What's that...

I settled on trying out my credit union's newish "Deposit by Picture" method, wherein one snaps a photo (back and front) of an endorsed check and uploads it to the bank --- basically DIY digitizing. Having never done this before and hating taking pictures as I do, it took a couple of tries to get the lighting and focus just right on the image so that the bank system would accept it. Eventually, I was successful, however, and minutes later the deposit was approved and the balance was added to my account (with a notice to hold onto the physical check for 60 days and then securely destroy it).

It's not like I'm going back to paper checks, but this was kind of a fun exercise and an apt usage of the ubiquitous smartphone camera. (Technology making life more convenient! Imagine that.) Will probably never need to do it, again. Paper checks are going the way of the Dodo.

Why #AlwaysOn #HomeAutomation Needs an [OFF] Button: #IoT #Wiretapping #PrivacyPolicies #DataMining #DoNotTrack #Supercookies

As commercial entities rush to Internet-enable everything (can the smartflush toilet be far away?) consumers should hit the [PAUSE] button and examine the cost of all this "convenience". One should always remember that technology often outpaces legality (and unfortunately, ethics); if something can be achieved with technology, it likely will be, with or without license.

When the Internet first became the domain of commerce, online shopping early adopters were the first to test the waters and bear a share of the cost. As more and more people --- across various socio-economic strata --- went online, businesses realized that potential consumers could be drawn in by offering something for "free." There is no such thing as a free lunch; the exchange always consists of the consumer giving over some detail/s in order to obtain said freebie. Sometimes it's merely a name and address, but increasingly it's become a request for more and more extensive demographic information. (Fill out this survey, get a free pack of gum. Oh, did we forget to mention the gum is extra sticky and will track you for the rest of your life?)

Once businesses realized that consumers were willing to trade all sorts of data in exchange for a perceived "freebie," commercial exploitation of the Internet commenced in full measure. The Age of Freemium Enterprise was born. A entire global enterprise ecosystem has sprung up based upon the repackaging and selling of you (your data). Some of the biggest Internet tech companies make most of their money from advertising and advertising is lucrative for these companies because they take the Freemium Model to extremes: Offer a consumer a free service, get reams of personal information in return; tack on another free service, get more data; rinse and repeat. And because they realize that the average user is either too lazy or too ill-informed to bother to "unjoin" something included at signup, these companies use opt-in as the default --- you have to take action to opt-out --- automatically gaining access to tons of data, often from unwitting consumers.

The Freemium Model soon evolved into the Convenience Factor Model: Consumers were willing to pay for a service or gadget with perceived convenience for everyday life tasks and still give access to their data in return. (Yes, we literally buy into being spied upon with the advent of smart devices.) And the big boys took notice. Companies like Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon have expanded into the home automation market because it's a most hallowed step, an open doorway into your most private space, granting access to information that previously might have been off limits. All via a consumer invitation to come on in.

Companies can now get real-time stats on your security setup (smart doorbells and smart cameras), your energy consumption (smart thermostats and smart meters), your entertainment choices (smart TVs, radios and gaming systems), your food consumption (smart refrigerators and smart crock pots) and even your linguistic patterns, random ruminations, shopping habits, and personal preferences (smart hubs or smart assistants) and much more --- all attached to location data and to a person or household. (There's a reason you're encouraged to sign-in with your often long-standing personal account to use all these new home automation tools and services offered by the behemoth tech firms.) Consumers are being quantified at every level and on every front.

Previously, much of this data could be intimated by tracking web search and online browsing habits, but it was an incomplete picture. IoT devices deployed in the home are allowing businesses to fill in those data gaps --- currently with little to no oversight as the arena is so new. For advertising and consumer sales dependent businesses, this is much better than the ill-advised supercookie Verizon used. (I'm paying you for what?) Better than stating "websites are not required to adhere to a Do Not Track request." Not only are many of these smart devices designed to be "Always On" but consumers are being sold on the idea that this is for the sake of our convenience, for our benefit, to help make our lives easier. Yes, it's a great boon for advertisers, vendors, and the data miners who feed them.

Think about it. Not only is an "Always On" smart device with an omnidirectional microphone and/or camera essentially an unhidden wiretap or voyeuristic eavesdropping box that can potentially record everything, but we're being told to think it's merely a cute toy or a dead helpful essential gadget. The convenience of getting on demand answers and actions, is supposed to blind us to the IoT connected home trade off. Namely, that "All Your Base Are Belong to Us." I would caution anyone to be aware to what data you are granting access when using any so-called smart device. (I've touched on this subject before, but the IoT consumer market is so new that the learning curve is still expanding.)

This can be difficult because some companies do not disclose how their device/s tracks your information or the disclosure is limited or buried in reams of other jargon. (Vizio is currently all over the news for surreptitiously tracking the viewing habits of its Smart TV users for years and selling the data, all without consumer consent. Samsung pulled a similar stunt several years ago with its early Smart TVs and so did LG to mention but a few cases.) Recall what I said earlier about technology often outpacing legality and ethics? It is apparently too tempting for a commercial entity to gain near unfettered access to you in the intimate setting of your home and not go overboard. Any web camera or Internet-connected Mic not only presents a potential security risk from hackers but also from the very purveyors of the devices. You would do well to never trust any device that is programmed to automatically phone home.

I'm not telling you to abstain. (Though certainly that is a choice, the ultimate opt-out. While it may keep you relatively safe at home, the outside world is now rife with Internet-connected devices. Cameras and microphones are everywhere in the public sphere. Short of moving to Mars, it helps to have an auxiliary plan.) I'm not saying these devices have no use. We all like convenience and the idea of tasks being accomplished for us effortlessly. I'm a techie, a tech geek and an engineer. I love my tech toys, too. I'm simply saying be aware, be educated, be proactive, especially when allowing any device with its own brain into your castle. (I'm an AI advocate, not a patsy.) As a consumer, the responsibility assuredly rests upon the individual to safeguard his own information. Do not count on a "business that depends on access to as much of your data as possible in order to insure its bottom line" being altruistic. Do not count on human decency. Better safe, than sorry.

You are the commodity. Realize this and act accordingly. Always check privacy policies and disclosures about how your information is collected and used (and if this isn't stated upfront contact the vendor), check the vendor reputation, keep abreast of the industry news and legislation that governs how companies can use your data (become active in lobbying for government regulations & consumer protections, if necessary), check device/s settings and controls (whether you're allowed to opt-out or limit data collection, turn off or limit device Internet access without affecting functionality), consider setting up a separate user account only for your device distinct from your personal account/s (I often do this) and if all else fails to stem the flow of your information remember to use the [OFF] button or simply unplug the thing when not in use.

Know that if a vendor, any vendor, tells you that having an "Always On" device in your home is not an invasion of your privacy, this vendor is full of it. It may not automatically be a nefarious intrusion, but it is still a third-party potentially gleaning access to things where previously the expectation of privacy was the default. Consumers should pause and come to terms with this before rushing head first into the coming dawn of data siphoning and purchasing the shop vac for it.

NOTE: I know that the popular refrain used by many folks whenever someone sounds an alarm regarding the potential for third-party observation in certain areas (police cameras in the streets, for instance) is "Doesn't bother me, I have nothing to hide" as if anyone concerned with personal privacy must be wanted by the law and on the lam. Instead, my concern is for the potential for misuse. Once your data is out there it's rather difficult to call it back, therefore any safeguard must occur prior. If you trust a third party with your data and later find out a fourth party hacked it, you may not have anything to hide per say, but you might still find yourself taken advantage of. But by all means, feel free to remain cavalier in your attitudes, it's what keeps unscrupulous businesses, identity thieves and other unsavory characters in the green. Just saying.

Mundane Yet Mesmerizing: The First Wave of the #Robot Revolution #AI #Automation #Robotics #ProductDevelopment

While reading the Sunday paper [AJC 29/01/17], I noticed two articles on robotics being used to automate common tasks. The first concerned a European company called Starship Technologies that is developing rolling robots about the size of a large cooler to make parcel deliveries. (A pilot program is launching in the US and Europe.) The second was an overview of some retail friendly automation ideas on display at the National Retail Federation's Big Show, including a discussion of Softbank Robotics, an Asian conglomerate, that plans to integrate its Pepper humanoid robot into the retail environment with the hope of automating many common customer service inquiries. Taken together, the articles provide a snapshot of where mainstream uses of robots will first occur, namely in automating tasks that tend to be mundane and repetitive --- jobs often thought of as mundane and/or menial.

Getting a delivery is a fairly routine occurrence in many quarters. (For a time, shipping company UPS dubbed itself merely "Brown" --- the distinctive color of its employee uniforms --- because its drivers are so ubiquitous everyone understood the reference.) But getting a delivery made by a robot will wow many onlookers. Of course, as the technology develops robots will take on more complex tasks in our everyday life and we will become more accustomed to their presence. It remains to be seen whether one day we will be taken over by so-called smart robots powered by their own thoughts as predicted in many a sci-fi script (and some academic hypothesis). Are we developing our own robot overlords? I think not.

In spite of the dire warnings sounded by a few prominent scientists and engineers, I would like to think that human ingenuity will always outweigh programmed intelligence. This does not mean that AI robots won't accumulate more "knowledge" than the average human or that an AI program cannot outstrip a human in a specific, even complex arena (as has been demonstrated with chess). I simply believe that the totality of human engineering (our complex body systems and our still evolving brain organ) is more intricate than anything which humans can engineer. The robots will have to prove me wrong. (The possibility that things may go horribly wrong should not prevent our developing AI robots, but it should impart circumspection into said development.) Humans are the most fantastic machines in existence, but certainly man-made robots are cool.

On a personal level, I plan to use automation to an advantage in my home (and my business). I want to employ robots for many tasks from mowing the lawn to vacuuming the floors. The use of robots and/or artificial intelligence systems will allow me to manage the homestead without needing a lot of manpower. Home automation will allow for the creation of a one man run estate. I am fascinated by the promise of AI and what it could mean for reclaiming individual independence. I already use a Smart Assistant (Amazon's Alexa platform) and Smart Appliances. I do not fear the future, as a techie early adopter, I embrace it. And if need be, I will be one of the first to rally against Skynet ...should that day arrive.

Keurig 2.0 K450 < Hot

As a coffee-lover, gadget geek and slave to convenience, I'd been keeping tabs on Keurig since its brewers first debuted, but had initially shied away from purchasing one because I didn't like the flagrant waste the K-Cups generated. However, once reusable filters were developed for the machines, which would allow me to compost my coffee grounds and not generate tons of trash that couldn't be easily recycled, I became more excited and started to seriously consider getting a Keurig.

Mind you, I still thought the ~$200 price point was a bit steep for such a gadget — considering I can use a single-cup pour-over filter for cents on the dollar — but I figured I'd find a good deal and eventually score a discounted one. Around Black Friday of last year, I got a Keurig 2.0 K450 single-serve + carafe coffee brewing machine using a gift card I earned writing some online knowledge-base guides. (I'm all about thrift and economy.)

I enjoy coffee. I'm big on beverages in general. And the thought of being able to quickly brew a cup of coffee with the "touch of a button" made me long for frosty mornings and the simple beauty of holding a hot mug in my hands while watching the steam rise over the rim.

So to the Keurig: it's quasi-modular (the H2O reservoir snaps easily onto its side) and black so it fits well with my plethora of other small kitchen appliances. It's a snap to operate. Simply touch the [ON] button, wait for the machine to pre-heat the water, lift the arm and insert a pod in the chamber, place a cup under the spout, select a brew size and/or type, and press the brew button — all of which takes roughly two minutes. It's so simple that my technology-inept siblings can operate it with ease.

I could customize everything quickly. Choose to brew a (4, 6, 8 or 10 oz) cup or a 3-4 cup carafe, choose to make it strong, or use various prefab K-cups to try a variety of coffee, tea and other beverages (or soups/broths). In spite of the DRM, I could brew what I wanted, how I wanted it. (The DRM is so ridiculously easy to defeat, if need be, I won't bother detailing how-to do it.) I thought I was in love.

Then I tried to drink a cup … and was disappointed. The coffee was lukewarm.

Yes, for all its convenience factor, for all its tech promise, the Keurig 2.0 K450 failed at the most basic tenant of coffee-making: producing a piping hot cup of coffee.

Despite being a gadget geek, I thought perhaps I was at fault. (I wanted it to be my error.) Did I miss a temperature setting? Had I not touched an unseen "hot" setting onscreen? I'd been snookered by the promise of one-touch brew heaven. I took to the internet. I did a little research and tried all the suggestions for "making a perfect cup in a Keurig". I warmed the mug, etc., etc.. but all the suggestions still resulted in lukewarm coffee.

Keurig literature states that this model does not have a temp change setting but that it is supposed to brew coffee to 190 degrees, presumably determined to be the perfect cup temperature by its coffee gurus, but my brewer doesn't produce anything near this. I measured it time and time again, and the best temperature I could get it to produce is 158 degrees, quite a bit off the 190 degree standard.

Was it a fluke? A defect? Back to the internet, this time to read reviews and complaints. I found consistent reports of people saying their machine did not heat the water well enough to make hot coffee. (There was even one fellow who stated this as the reason why he returned his purchase.) And while no-one quoted the actual brew temperatures their machines were producing, it seemed a common enough issue.

I considered returning the machine, but didn't. (It was basically a freebie anyway; the deal I scored when I bought it was that good.) Besides, one of my tech inept sisters loves it, even though she needs to microwave the cup of coffee to achieve a piping hot serving. She likes coffee but was too lazy to use a traditional brewer. Plopping a K-Cup into the chamber and pushing brew is about the most she can do. I think she considers walking to the microwave afterward some form of exercise. So I kept the machine for her benefit. She's excited by it. The dweeb.

But I am a gadget geek and I say, "Keurig, you can do better." This should be easy to correct.

My Rating: 2.5 stars (out of 5). The machine would be nearly perfect if it actually produced hot coffee. It doesn't and that's a pretty important thing for a coffee maker.

NOTICE: This post is a reblog from (the now defunct) castlemodern.tumblr.com. It was originally published 17-Feb-2016. Post may have been edited or updated from its original text.