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Sunday, July 1, 2012

The Art Of Manipulation

Let's admit it, we in the consumer web industry are in the manipulation business. We build products meant to persuade people to do what we want them to do. We call these people "users" and even if we don't say it aloud, we secretly wish every one of them would become fiendishly addicted. Users take our technologies with them to bed. When they wake up, they check for notifications, tweets, and updates before saying "good morning" to their loved ones. Ian Bogost, the famed game creator and professor, calls the wave of habit-forming technologies the "cigarette of this century" and warns of equally addictive and potentially destructive side-effects.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/qJonNfGvrY8/

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Fort Bragg shooting suspect in critical condition

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fort-bragg-shooting-suspect-critical-condition-205506862.html

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Video: Oil: Bull & Bear Over a Barrel?

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/48019646/

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Gunfire, explosions rock troubled Nigerian city

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gunfire-explosions-rock-troubled-nigerian-city-201123162.html

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Calculating Airplane Ownership Cost | Internet Contents

Over the years, calculating the cost to own an airplane is one of the most frequently asked questions I receive. There are a lot of different cost factors that go into owning an airplane. The purchase price is just one piece of the entire cost of the airplane ownership pie. Other pieces include taxes, hangar or tie down costs, fuel, oil, insurance, ramp fees, engine reserves, routine maintenance, inspection items and subscriptions to name a few. The following article will help you determine what costs are involved in owning an airplane and how to plan your finances accordingly. Keep in mind the following article offers a generic estimate on how to calculate the ownership costs of most piston airplanes.

First, we will divide the total cost of ownership into two sections; the first section will be the indirect cost, and second section direct cost.

INDIRECT COSTS

Indirect costs are the costs that you will pay whether or not the airplane flies. These expenses include the purchase price of the airplane (or monthly payments), insurance, tie down or hangar fees, subscription fees, taxes, and tax benefits.

Let?s start with the first indirect cost I mentioned, purchase price or capital cost. This is one of easiest expenses to calculate. If you finance the airplane, get a quote from the bank on the down payment required and interest rate. Currently, rates are approximately 6% with a minimum of 15% down and 20 year financing. As an example, if you put 20% down on a new DA40XLS priced at $350,000, your monthly payment would be just over $2,000 a month over 20 years.

To calculate insurance fees, call your insurance agent and obtain a quote for the airplane you are considering purchasing with your experience level.

Hangar fees and tie downs are self explanatory. Call the airport or FBO where you want to base your airplane and ask what options are available. Usually there are about four choices: tie down (leaving your airplane outside in the elements), covered (airplane is outside in the elements but has a shade covering), hangar in common (airplane is constantly moved around in a large hangar shared with several other airplanes), and finally an individual or T hangar. At many airports hangar space is scarce so don?t be surprised if you end up on a waiting list. Hangar prices vary according to your location. My T hangar in Concord, NC costs just north of $300/month while that same hangar in Fort Lauderdale would cost well over $1,000/month. If you keep your airplane outside, please be sure to at least cover it. It will protect the interior and the avionics. Also, keep in mind that some insurance companies will lower your premium if you can hangar your airplane rather than keep it on tie downs.

Subscription services may not apply to you. If you own a J-3 cub, you can skip to the next paragraph. Almost all aircraft manufactured after the early 1990s offer an IFR GPS. If you have an IFR GPS, you will need to subscribe to a monthly update to keep your database legal to navigate solely by GPS and shoot GPS approaches. If you have XM weather, you will pay around $30/month for the basic subscription or $50/month for the full package. The winds aloft feature on the full package is more than worth the additional cost to get it. XM radio is additional. If you own a glass panel airplane, you may opt for Garmin?s safe taxi charts and/or approach plate services. Visit http://www.mygarmin.com for cost information. Jeppesen also offers approach plates for glass cockpit airplanes. This service requires an initial upfront cost to install and a higher monthly payment, compared to Garmin?s approach plate services.

Unfortunately taxes do not disappear with airplanes, with the exception of tax exempt corporations (see an aviation tax consultant for more information to see if you qualify). Taxes vary from state to state. In Florida, it is 6% of the purchase price. In North Carolina it is a flat tax of $1,500. North Carolina, however, charges property tax which varies by county and by city. Where I live in North Carolina, the airplane property tax rate is around 63 cents per 100 dollars, and I have a city tax of 42 cents per 100 dollars. If you use the airplane for business, you may be able to depreciate the use and cost of the airplane which benefits your estimated cost of ownership. Please consult with an airplane tax specialist to determine your individual situation.

DIRECT OPERATING COSTS

Calculating the direct operating costs is a little trickier. There are different ways of calculating what it will cost you each hour to fly. My method is just one method, but it works. Here you need to decide on how many hours you plan on flying a year to establish an annual base budget.

Let?s start with the basics. Most pistons engines will require an oil change every 50 hours. Depending on where you live, a standard oil change will cost between $150 to $300. Call the local mechanic on the field and find out what he charges. If you plan on flying 100 hours a year, the math is simple.

Fuel consumption varies according to different aircraft. You can usually visit a manufacturer?s website or consult the POH to get the cruise fuel burn. If you are flying an aircraft with a worn out engine, consider the published fuel burn to be the best case scenario (which often is not the case). Find out what avgas costs at your local airport and do the math. Keep in mind avgas prices vary

Engine and propeller reserves are calculated into the equation even if you own a low time or new airplane that you plan on selling long before overhaul. You can usually get a quote from a local FAA engine repair station on the cost of overhauling your engine or on the cost of installing a factory remanufactured engine. Take that price and divide it by the hours remaining till TBO and you will get an idea of how much you need to put away each hour. If you plan on buying a twin, double the fuel, engine and propeller costs.

Scheduled maintenance is another cost worth planning for. Every year your airplane will be due for an inspection. Again, prices will vary depending on where you do your inspection. Shop rates in South Florida average $95/hour, while in North Carolina they are around $70/hour. Call a service center familiar with your airplane and see what they charge for a standard annual inspection. Keep in mind that the price they quote you doesn?t include squawk items, airworthiness directives, service bulletins or regulatory replacement items. These are extra costs. If your airplane is still under warranty, then you shouldn?t expect any surprise repair bills when you pick your airplane up. A safe bet for budgeting additional expenses for an airplane out of warranty is to double the price of the annual inspection fee; this budgeting will cover almost any unexpected surprises that may occur during the year. You may also consider a reserve for paint, interior, and avionics upgrades in which case you will want to put away a little extra.

Finally, you will need to determine what your airplane will be worth if and when it comes time to sell it. Airplanes typically stop depreciating after 5 years. Like cars, their depreciation rates vary. Companies such as Vref and Aircraft Bluebook offer retail pricing and trade-in pricing.

Calculating Airplane Ownership Cost

Ryan Ramos is the sales manager for Premier Aircraft Sales and represents Diamond Aircraft, Mooney Aircraft and the Aviat Husky in the Southeast. Based in Charlotte, NC, Ryan is a FAAST speaker and has been featured in several aviation magazines. You can also find Ryan at most aviation trade shows. To learn more, visit http://www.ryan-ramos.com or http://www.flypas.com. You may also contact Ryan directly at ryan@ryan-ramos.com.

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Source: http://www.econtentz.com/contents/travel-and-leisure/aviation-airplanes/calculating-airplane-ownership-cost/

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GOP hopes fade to repeal health care law

Read the Tulsa World continuing coverage of the health care law.

Republicans said Thursday that they'll try hard to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act starting with a July 11 repeal vote in the House of Representatives, where the party holds a huge majority. But they'd need 60 votes to get it through the Senate, and 67 to get past President Barack Obama's certain veto. They have 47 seats in the Senate now.

The only faint prospect for repeal would be a strong mandate from the 2012 congressional and presidential elections - a Republican landslide that does not now appear on the horizon. Polls suggest the public is not overwhelmingly opposed to the law, and the elections are more likely to be seen as a mandate for economic change, not an overhaul of health-care laws.

To pass repeal next year, the House would have to remain in Republican hands, and the party probably would need 60 senators.

The odds are staggering. Twenty-three seats controlled by Democrats are up for election this year, compared with only 10 for Republicans. Independent analysts see at best a four- to six-seat Republican gain.

While Republicans may win a Senate majority, the chances the party will gain 13 seats are daunting. No party has had that kind of net gain since 1958.

Republicans' best bet for change is likely to be an effort to dismantle the law piece by piece. They've already tried, and in some cases they've picked up dozens of Democratic votes.

Earlier this month, for instance, the House voted 270-146 to repeal a 2.3 percent tax on the sales of medical devices. Thirty-seven Democrats joined 233 Republicans in approving the measure, which is awaiting Senate action that is not expected anytime soon.

More such efforts are expected, particularly next year.

"What you're looking at is a Whac-a-Mole approach rather than full-scale repeal," said Ilisa Halpern Paul, managing government relations director at the Drinker Biddle & Reath law and lobbying firm.

Congress could try to deny funds for implementing the law, for instance, or reconsider the law's Independent Payment Advisory Board, which will be making recommendations about Medicare cuts.

Senate Health Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, would not rule out changes in the law. "I've often said that the ... act is not like the Ten Commandments chiseled in stone. It's like a starter home, suitable for improvement," he said.

But he, like most Democrats, is a strong supporter of the law's major provisions and is likely to resist serious changes.

"It is now in the hands of the American people to determine whether this disastrous law will stand," said House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis.

Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney on Thursday cast the effort to revoke the law as a crusade.

"If you don't want the course that President Obama has put us on, if you want instead a course that the founders envisioned, then join me in this effort," he said in a brief statement. "Help us defeat Obamacare. Help us defeat the liberal agenda that makes government too big, too intrusive and is killing jobs across this great country."

Democrats tried to move on, suggesting they won't be entertaining changes to the health-care law anytime soon.

Said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., "It's time for Republicans to stop fighting yesterday's battles."

Source: http://www.tulsaworld.com/site/articlepath.aspx?articleid=20120630_13_A9_WASHIN161748&rss_lnk=16

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Mobile money firms seek Nigerian riches

It would seem to be a sure thing for firms offering mobile money transfers: large population, a growing economy and just about everyone has a mobile phone, but as with many things that seem to be a sure bet, particularly in Nigeria, there's a catch.

Mobile companies have been thirsting to mimic the success of other African markets and tap into the potential for money transfers by phone in Nigeria, but a number of factors have slowed the service's development.

"Nigeria might be a bit late... and there has not been a lot of good news yet," said Emmanuel Okoegwale of the Mobile Money Africa consultancy group.

"I think the central bank saw mobile money as a bit of a risk," he added.

Nigeria's central bank has been cautious so far, blocking mobile companies from running their own cash transfer services and forcing them to partner with banks.

Telecos like South Africa's MTN, the continental giant, say they should be able to run their own services, given their proven success in other markets, but in Nigeria they are positioned as junior partners.

Four years ago, Nigeria's banking sector was plunged into crisis due to massive corruption and mismanagement which led to huge amounts of bad loans and forced a $4 billion bailout. Bank executives were sacked in the process.

The central bank's efforts in leading the sector to recovery have been widely lauded, and it has been reluctant to relax control in a country considered one of the world's most graft-ridden.

Some in the mobile industry say that by withholding licenses from phone companies, the central bank is simply seeking to protect a lucrative market for Nigeria's banks.

"The network operators said, 'if you are not allowing me to claim the market, why should I help you?'" according to Okoegwale.

Central bank spokesman Ugo Okoroafor said the rule was designed simply to protect Africa's largest oil producer and warned that if not properly regulated mobile money could cause inflation.

Analysts further noted that a broad mobile money scheme could pose systemic risks to Nigeria's economy if it goes sour.

In Uganda, MTN's MobileMoney has seen massive success since its launch three years ago, registering more than two million users who pay at least 33 cents per transfer.

But earlier this year, the company revealed that more than $3 million was stolen through a fraudulent MobileMoney scheme in which some of its employees were implicated.

"Look at what happened to MTN in Uganda (and) now imagine if that leads to a contagion effect," in Nigeria, said Okoegwale.

The revenue potential in Nigeria is huge: only 38 percent of the country's 160 million people use a formal bank account, according to a 2010 poll by Gallup and NOI-Polls, a Nigerian opinion research firm.

Meanwhile, there are more than 93 million mobile phone subscriptions in Nigeria, the most in Africa, according to a 2011 report by the GSM Association of mobile phone operators.

The delays in Nigeria, caused largely by the time taken to finalise regulations, have been frustrating, said the General Manager of MTN's MobileMoney in Nigeria, Usoro Anthony Usoro.

"Obviously, I would prefer a telco led model. It would mean less having to manage too many players before taking the product to market," Usoro told AFP.

Examples from other African nations show what is possible. Indeed, versions of the service are now used by 16 percent of the sub-Saharan population, according to an April World Bank study.

To use the basic cash transfer service, the sender loads their account with a registered agent, sometimes the same person who sells talking time cards.

The recipient gets a text message with a transaction code and can collect the money by presenting the message and a piece of identification to an agent elsewhere.

The commissions vary depending on the size of the transaction, and the technology has gained traction by being cheaper than services like Western Union and more reliable than human couriers.

Kenya's Safaricom, a mobile phone company, was the African pioneer: its M-Pesa programme, launched in March 2007, claimed 14.7 million registered users on its five-year anniversary.

The possibilities can be easily imagined in densely populated Nigeria, where many people have family members in faraway cities. Most of the population lives on less than $2 per day.

"In Nigeria, you have a significant young population... and the challenges that the existing population has in opening a bank account are still there," said Okoegwale. "For me, these challenges are an opportunity."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mobile-money-firms-seek-nigerian-riches-032450359.html

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