Thursday, October 29, 2015

Wealthfront vs. Hedgeable: YTD Performance

We have been comparing Wealthfront to Hedgeable: for a hypothetical deposit of $5000 at the beginning of this year (2015), the performance of both portfolios were observed from month to month: thus far Hedgeable seems to be outperforming Wealthfront--here are the end of month balances for the most aggressive investment profile available on both platforms:

Jan/2015Feb/2015Mar/2015Apr/2015May/2015Jun/2015Jul/2015Aug/2015Sep/2015Oct/2015
Wealthfront$5,000$5,148$5,097$5,256$5,181$5,031$5,038$4,729$4,570$4,926
Hedgeable$5,000$5,322$5,202$5,255$5,300$5,261$5,655$5,274$5,223$5,566

Note that during the July to August drop, Hedgeable may drop a little bit more, but due to their active (or reactive) rebalance into bonds, the subsequent drop in September was much less than that of Wealthfront.

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Show Your Support: United In Orange Shirts

Let's support the United In Orange campaign with these shirts:

http://teespring.com/united-in-orange-now

http://teespring.com/football-is-like-life

Saturday, January 3, 2015

Package Delivery Security Tips (FedEx/UPS)



Fedex Package Security Tips:

http://blog.van.fedex.com/blog/keep-holidays-happy-and-bright-%E2%80%94-tips-keeping-packages-safe
  • FedEx delivers joy with each package, connecting customers to loved ones around the world every day. But while FedEx team members do their utmost to ensure the safety and security of every package they deliver, there are steps all our customers can take for added peace of mind.
  • Customize your deliveries. Use FedEx Delivery Manager® to customize your residential deliveries. You can change the time and location of delivery, request a signature upon delivery and even ask FedEx to hold your package if you know you’ll be out of the house when we try to deliver. Sign up for free online and avoid the risk of unattended packages sitting out on your doorstep.
  • Consider an alternate destination. When you order something online, consider sending the package to your workplace or to a family member, friend or neighbor who is home during the day to accept delivery. When you know someone will be available to receive your delivery, you eliminate the possibility of your specially ordered gift being left unattended.
  • Send it to your nearest FedEx Office location. You can have your deliveries sent to the nearest FedEx Office location and we’ll hold it for you for up to five business days. FedEx provides this service at no added cost. If it’s a FedEx Express® package, you can also send have your package sent to one of our FedEx Express stations. Find the location nearest you at fedex.com/locate.
  • Request a signature. Many packages today are sent without requiring a signature for delivery. If you’re shipping something of high value — or you just want to be sure items aren’t left unattended — you can require a signature for packages to be released. Either the shipper or the recipient can make this request.
  • Request a vacation hold. Taking a holiday trip to visit family or friends? You can request a vacation hold on all shipments for up to 14 days.
  • Redirect your packages even when they’re already on the way. With FedEx Delivery Manager, you’ll be alerted to every FedEx® package headed to your home, even if you don’t have the tracking number. If you know you won’t be home and want to send the delivery somewhere else, just redirect it to where you’ll be, or another secure location.
  • Ask for a ring. Use FedEx Delivery Manager to let your driver know you want a ring—or a knock. You can leave instructions for drivers to always ring your doorbell or knock on your door when a package is being left. Do you like your packages left behind the big planter, or tucked behind the grill beside the back door? Use FedEx Delivery Manager to leave one-time-only or standing instructions for where you want FedEx to leave your deliveries. You can also let your driver know your instructions by calling 1.800.GoFedEx (1.800.463.3339).
UPS Package Security Tips:
 
If customers have concerns about the security of their deliveries they have options:
  • They can have the shipment sent to where they are – not where they aren’t. In other words, if they are at work during the day they can have packages delivered to where they work. They can also choose to have things sent to a relative or neighbor who is home during the day.
  • They can tell our driver where they would like packages left, for example, in the shed in the back yard, or behind the garage, etc. Our drivers can enter that information into their handheld computers for future deliveries.
  • They can sign up for a free service called UPS My Choice, which sends a proactive email alert to the customer letting them know when their package is going to be delivered.
  • As far as what to do if a shipment is stolen, UPS will instruct the individual to file a police report. The customer may also wish to call the shipper to get a replacement item shipped.


Wednesday, December 24, 2014

TeeSpring Alternatives

Everyone knows about TeeSpring, but there are alternatives.  Here are some of them--check them out:

TeeZily
Fabrily (based in UK)
TFund (based off CafePress)
PrintAura
SpreadShirt
Zazzle
TeeChip
TeeLeap

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Typical Eye Exam Charts

Some common eye exam charts--notice the patterns:
-----------------------------------
ZFTPE     TPECL     CFEFD
FTPEO     OZFTF     ZFTPE
ZBDEF     CPEFD     TPEOL
DZFTP     ZFTPE     FTPEO    
TPEOL     FTPEO     DZFTP
-----------------------------------
COFEP     OBPTL     FDOBC
ZFPDE     ZBDEF     ZBEFD
OBPTL     PTFLE     COFEP
PTFLE     ECPFD     ZBDEF
ZBDEF     ZBEFD     OPFED
-----------------------------------
PTFLE     EPTFL     FLEPT
EPTFL     FLEPT     LEPTF
LEPTF     TFLEP     PTFLE
FLEPT     PTFLE     TFLEP
TFLEP     LEPTF     PTFLE
-----------------------------------


Saturday, December 20, 2014

Sony Hack Isn't Really About "The Interview" Movie At All--Or Is It?

There is more to just a hack into Sony: the latest PR fiasco involves various inconsistencies between what Sony and the White House are saying from their respective points of view--something that has become quite ridiculous and absurd:

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/sony-hack/white-house-sony-never-told-us-it-planned-pull-interview-n272381

First of all, clearly there is a lack of communication between Sony and the US government (i.e., did CEO Michael Lynton even talk to the FBI or President Obama at all after discussing with the theaters and making the decision about whether to proceed with the movie showing?).  If anything, this not only exposes Sony's lack of judgement and poor decision making, but also erodes the company's credibility as to whether this whole thing is really about "The Interview" movie and North Korea, or there is something else dark and sinister that the company is trying to hide?  The fact that the company is hiring David Bois to deal with the media seems to show that there is more to it than meets the eye:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/15/business/sony-pictures-demands-that-news-organizations-delete-stolen-data.html

Let's be clear: Sony as a company is the victim here.  However, the way the executives, board, and PR are handling this case only makes matters worse and calls attention as to whether the executive team is really honest or they are more worry about protecting their personal interests and jobs.

Secondly, all signs seem to point to the fact that this is an inside job: clearly there is a mole (or ex-mole) in the company for this to even happen.  How else can that much data leak without IT noticing?  Either IT team is clearly incompetent, or they don't care--in either case, it points to poor judgement on the executive team's part: didn't they learn from the previous Sony hack?  What investments have the company made to protect their IT infrastructure and secure the company's data?  What on earth were the company's priorities to start with?

The person (or persons) who did the hack is clearly targeting Sony--not the movie itself (nor the moviegoers for that matter).  "The Interview" is simply an opportunistic excuse that plays into the timing of it all.  The hacker's motivation here is not about money, but ideology.  But why?  To answer that the investigation should focus on the question of who might Sony have offended in the past--perhaps a disgruntled (former) employee, contractor, or otherwise person of interest who might want to see Sony destroyed--whether North Korea is involved or not is really a side question at this point:

http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-these-experts-still-dont-buy-20141221-column.html

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-sony-hack-inside-job-not-north-korea-20141231-story.html

The best thing that Sony can do now at this point is not to play the PR game and confuse the matter further, but to come clean and face the matter with courage and honor: the company owes its employees--and the rest of the world--at least that much.  As to whether the executive team can truly put their personal interests aside and face the truth, only time will tell.

Wednesday, December 17, 2014