Viewpoints Industry News and Reviews: May 2014

Friday, May 30, 2014

Viewpoints Industry with Tips for Buying a Car

How many readers are driving an older car that will soon need to be replaced with a newer model? If that’s you, Viewpoints Industry has some tips that might make this nerve-wracking time a little easier.

While a new car lease might seem the way to go, consider buying a used car. Forget the old adage that you’re buying someone else’s problems. Most reputable previously-owned car dealers run their inventory through testing before certifying it and putting it on the lot. Also, used cars are made better than the newer models. (Think about all those GMC and Ford recalls in effect now.) And a used car costs less.

Think about your needs and what you liked about your old car. Do you like the idea of a sedan with a trunk or do you like a little sporty vehicle with very little storage space? Do you use your car to commute to work or do you intend to take longer road trips in it? These are personal preferences that no salesman can talk you out of.

ViewpointsIndustry TV suggests to visit your bank or credit union first to see if you can get a car loan. Then when you walk into the dealership or a car lot, you have some room to negotiate. And do negotiate. Never accept the first offer. Always stay true to what your budget allows and don’t let the salesperson sway you into a deal you cannot afford. Good luck!

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Thursday, May 29, 2014

Viewpoints Industry Examines the Urge to Control

Viewpoints Industry notes that mankind is a very controlling creature, constantly trying to determine everything about our environment and our society, including nature itself. Even the fact that we frequently are not successful in the attempt, we still default to the idea that we must try. Our society tried to curb drinking with a decade-long experiment known as prohibition. Human nature being what it is, however, alcohol was never out of reach of those who wanted it badly enough and who had the means to pay the price. So a noble experiment was ruined by the lack of the very control we were trying to exercise.

Viewpoints Industry reminds us that when we try to control everything about our lives, it doesn't always work out the way we want it to.

The Viewpoints Industry TV show has learned that efforts to control the e-cigarette, or vape, industry are meeting with resistance. While the beneficial effects of vapes on the part of those trying to quit a tobacco habit are still unproven, a number of prestigious researchers and health specialists from the World Health Organization have signed a petition to prevent the suppression of electronic cigarettes, which they see as being the best hope for breaking the addictive hold of tobacco. The internet is another medium that has been under attack for some time on the part of closed regimes that want to prevent their citizens from having free access to information and alternative opinions. The shock with the internet is that, early in its development, it was assumed that it would be impossible for anyone to control it. Sadly, the service providers and physical servers all need to reside somewhere, and it is those parts of the web that are vulnerable to censorship.

Viewpoints Industry Reveals Why Corporate Volunteerism is Important

In 2015, the Millennial Generation will make up the bulk of the working population. While most people think this generation is all about themselves, many of them donate time and money to charitable organizations close to their hearts. If businesses want to hire these new workers, they must step up their corporate volunteerism practices. Viewpoints Industry explains.

Giving back to the community or world is a quality many workers have and some participate in. But when the company they work for joins the cause, the benefits are plentiful. Employees feel more loyal to their employers and will hesitate to jump ship. Employers gain a better standing in their communities and maybe even a boost in respectability. Lower employee turnover is another benefit for companies. Workers are more likely to stay with their job during downtimes, according to Katherine Smith, Executive Director of the Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College.

Viewpoints Industry TV gives employees two paid volunteer days off per year. The charitable groups which benefited from them ran the gamut from clean water initiatives to sending needed items to wounded service members in an overseas hospital. The staffers reported feeling great about their “give back time” and the producers gained added loyalty from those who took advantage of the volunteer program. Corporate volunteerism is important for many reasons: it allows employees to follow their hearts, employers benefit from loyal and more productive workers, and the organization receives needed man power or essential items. This is a win-win-win for all.

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Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Viewpoints Industry Reports on a New, Environmentally Friendly Construction Material

Viewpoints Industry reports that according to the EPA, construction is not one of the cleanest, most environmentally friendly sectors in operation today. In fact, the construction industry results in 40% of the world's CO2 emissions, and 40% of the content in US landfill sites. Cement has been one of the industry's standard building materials for millennia. The ancient Romans refined the process of making cement, one that had already been around for many years before their time. A great deal of work -- resulting in a huge carbon footprint -- is required in order to make cement. But a researcher at the University of Edinburgh has found a better material from which to construct buildings, especially where raw materials and resources are scarce.

Viewpoints Industry examines a new building material that might replace concrete in some applications.

The Viewpoints Industry TV show is closely following the results of experiments using sporosarcina pasteurii, a bacterium that has the ability to bind material together. Mixing this bacteria with loose aggregate, such as common sand, and adding an activating agent, can produce a very stable material with which one can build housing or whatever structures are needed. The activating agent is very common as well: urea, derived from urine. And it's all biodegradable. This formula will allow development in remote, resource-poor regions or quick, reliable rebuilding following a natural disaster such as an earthquake or tsunami. This will go a long way toward making a building truly environmentally friendly.

Viewpoints Industry with Summer Travel Tips

Summer is the time of year when families and singles travel near and far. Viewpoints Industry shares some tips for summer travel.

Vehicle travel is the main mode of transportation for most people who don’t plan on going too far. To make it easier and less stressful for everyone, remember to pack these items before leaving the house: mints, upset stomach aids, a small first aid kit or make on up with bandages, antibacterial ointment, rubbing alcohol pads, bandage tape, bug bite remedies, Epi pens and whatever else might be needed.

Air travel is another favorite way to get someplace and most of the time, we tend to fly into another time zone. If going very far, say to another continent, jet lag can bring down the most frequent flier. Here are some suggestions on how to beat it:

Reset your body clock a few days before the flight by going to bed an hour earlier (if heading east) or an hour later (heading West) three days before departure.
Change the time of your watch to the time zone you will arrive in as soon as you take your seat on the plane.
Stay hydrated. Drink two eight ounce glasses of water before departure and one glass or bottle per hour on flights.
Eat light, healthy meals before, during and after a flight as heavier meals can mess with sleep.
Need a nap? Set a clock for 20 or 30 minutes and take a cat nap. Sleeping longer will keep you up later.
Go take a walk. Not only will this get blood moving again and loosen stiff muscles from sitting for a long time, but the sunlight is a natural energy booster. Go explore!
Pack and eye mask and ear plugs in your under the seat bag to block out anything which can interfere with a good sleep on the flight. Viewpoints Industry TV believes these tips will help all travelers enjoy a great vacation. Happy trails!

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Viewpoints Industry Warns That Your Own Phone May Be Tracking You

We at Viewpoints Industry love our technology as much as anyone else. But what kind of device do you really have in your pocket? Is it a benign friend or is it a spy keeping track of your every move. With the aid of the GPS circuits in every smart phone, it may be keeping a log of everywhere you go, how long you spend there and the routes you take there and back. For example, the I-Phone does this and most users have no idea this is even going on. So what happens to that information? Is it all being sent to Apple or the creator of your specific smart phone? Apple claims it's not, but when the capability is built in and the whole thing is kept under wraps, who can you really trust?

Viewpoints Industry suggests you take a good look at your smart phone to see if it's keeping tabs on you and sharing that information with someone out there.

The Viewpoints Industry TV show regularly covers technology and its impact on our lives, but has there ever been a bigger impact made on our day-to-day living than that from the ubiquitous smart phone? As for tracking personal data, whether on your smart phone or on your desktop computer, the manufacturer's excuse has always been that they do this for your own benefit, so they can offer you more tailored advertisements. As if funneling customized advertisements at you is really what you ultimately want. The tracking feature on the I-Phone can supposedly be turned off, but with the complexity of all this technology being far over the heads of the average user, do we ever really know if it has been disabled?

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Viewpoints Industry on a New Look at Retirement

(travel today because tomorrow you may not be able to)

A recent survey reports that many Americans fear being broke in retirement, yet really don’t want to change the way they live right now. This prompts Viewpoints Industry to take a new look at retirement for tomorrow.

Roughly 55% of those who responded in the survey said they fear not having enough money in retirement. The report from Bank of America’s Merrill Edge report, which is released twice per year, also found that 90% of the 1,000 people they polled do have retirement funds in various forms. Sixty-three percent said that living in moment is important to them while they believe that their standard of living will diminish in the after-work years. Many said that competing financial priorities get in the way of regularly saving for retirement. Some of those priorities are paying for a child’s college education, paying down debt, assisting elderly parents and rebuilding emergency savings after a job loss. Tomorrow’s retirement is much different than that of the Boomer Generation’s parents.

Many people who are nearing retirement age or are fast approaching it are finding a new way to enjoy view the coming years. Those who choose to “live for today” and spend earnings on rewarding vacations may know that they are more physically able to travel farther and enjoy new experiences while their health is good. Retirement is what we make of it whether that means endless games of golf and bridge, or working part-time to supplement any savings stashed away. Viewpoints Industry TV encourages readers to re-think what retirement means to them. Tomorrow is near. Retirement is close. What do you want your retirement to be?

Monday, May 26, 2014

Viewpoints Industry Asks: Is Anyone Else Out There?

Viewpoints Industry has read recent comments from the Earth-bound scientific community that say there is a high likelihood of our confirming the existence of extraterrestrial life within the next 20 years. It is now commonly accepted that there are over a trillion planets in our own galaxy alone. A number of them are being identified as potential candidates for life as we understand it because they orbit their stars in a range often referred to as the "Goldilocks Zone" -- not too close, not too far; not too hot, not too cold. Many of these worlds have been identified as good prospects because of the detected presence of oxygen and/or methane in their atmospheres. These elements are byproducts of living organisms here on Earth, so the assumption is that they would come from a similar source on another world. At this stage of the search for life elsewhere in the galaxy, we are concentrating on the types of creatures that we would recognize as being similar to those found here on our own home world.

Viewpoints Industry notes that the scientific community shares a consensus that we are not alone in the universe.

The Viewpoints Industry TV show has noted that tiny clues are emerging that our Earthly leaders may have been briefed about some kind of contact with extraterrestrial life which is soon to occur, if it has not already happened decades ago. The number of television documentaries on ETs one can find on the air has mushroomed. Government-issued procedural manuals have been found that include provisions for interaction with non-human visitors. Even the church is releasing policy statements that are trying to save face should the truth about extraterrestrials be released to the public. During the next decade or two, it should be interesting to watch the skies, as well as the headlines.

Friday, May 23, 2014

Viewpoints Industry Explores the Rare People Who Seem to be Immune to Disease

Viewpoints Industry reports that a number of children have been discovered in a village in Tanzania who have shown some significant resistance to the malaria parasite. Their apparent immunity to malaria is drawing researchers from around the world hoping to get an edge against the tropical disease that claims over 600,000 lives every year. The children appear to carry antibodies that have the ability to attack the malaria parasite during a sensitive stage of its development. As a result, the children appear to be well while others in their village are suffering from an acute malaria outbreak.

Viewpoints Industry reports on the medical industry's efforts to understand why some people seem to be immune to some diseases.

We at the Viewpoints Industry TV show pause to wonder -- is this simply a mechanism of evolution that has permitted the human species to survive down through a million years of biohazards such as bacteria, viruses and parasites? There was the classic case of Typhoid Mary, who was immune to the typhus disease in her body, even though she was a carrier who infected others. There have also been those found immune to bubonic plague, devastating influenza epidemics and even AIDS. The hope is that if researchers can figure out what is granting this immunity to these individuals, that the defense mechanism can be reproduced among other populations, and perhaps even generate a vaccine against these killer diseases.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Viewpoints Industry Warns of Yet Another Threat to Online Security

Viewpoints Industry reports that even as individuals find it a tedious nuisance to remember countless passwords in order to function in today's economy, now we're being warned to change them frequently. Since the dawn of online security, we've been admonished that our passwords should be random, not recognizable words, be different for every application and not be written down anywhere. Since we are asked to set a password for virtually every activity we wish to perform, some feel that this is asking way too much of our limited mental faculties. In recent weeks, it seems that the Internet is under attack as never before, and the targets seem to be your passwords. And worst of all, we don't ever hear about it until after the fact.

Viewpoints Industry is watching the security of the internet collapse under the attack of hackers.

The Viewpoints Industry TV show has discovered that yet another online stalwart has had its security compromised. This is following in the footsteps of Target and several other retailers -- most of whom the media has refused to identify -- and the wide-sweeping Heartbleed attacks that have shaken most of the internet to its very foundations. Now, Ebay and its subsidiary, Paypal, have alerted customers to change their passwords after discovering a hacking invasion. This latest development is critical because many people, regardless of whether they ever shop the online auction site Ebay, use its Paypal services to transfer funds. So what is the safest solution for securing our money? A big safe bolted to the basement floor? Sadly, a few nefarious people may end up unraveling most of our beloved technology of the 21st Century and send us back to the days of keeping our money in the mattress.

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Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Viewpoints Industry Alerts Municipalities to Check Their Assets for Unused Equipment

Viewpoints Industry has discovered that many cities, counties and even states, have accumulated massive amounts of equipment that has never been put to use. Initially purchased with taxpayer funds, this equipment burns up even more money by occupying large warehouses or, even worse, rented storage spaces. The County of Montgomery in Texas, home of City of Houston, recently discovered that an entire network of traffic cameras feed into a centralized nerve center that, once installed, had never been put to use. Some 500 roadside cameras feed into the derelict control center as well as a nearby communication center that has been managing them up till now.

Viewpoints Industry has found an entire road monitoring control room that has sat unused since it was built.

The Viewpoints Industry TV show suggests that there may be unused vehicles, plow attachments, video gear and special event equipment sitting in a warehouse somewhere in your community. As for Montgomery County's virtually-abandoned system, officials are researching what it would take to get the now-obsolete technology working again. Citizens had been promised the ability to monitor traffic on area thoroughfares from their own computers, a feature that never became a reality. Local officials have been quoted as saying that this project "has been in process all along and it is taking longer than any of us would like."

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Viewpoints Industry Host and Wanna-Be Evangelist Terry Bradshaw on Late-Late Night TV

Any fan of Terry Bradshaw will tell you it is worth it to stay up late and watch him when he’s a guest of late-night talk shows. On a very recent Craig Ferguson show, our classically handsome, always smiling and joking host cracks the audience up talking about wanting to go to Baylor University and become and evangelist. After all, he is always saying “can I get an Amen to that?!” when co-hosting on Fox Sports. We at Viewpoints Industry TV also saw and heard Terry tell a skinny robot that he looked like actor Kevin Bacon. But of course, he was just kidding and meant no offense. That’s our host Terry. Always making people laugh and not afraid to just be himself. And that’s why love the man.

Click here to watch.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Viewpoints Industry Raises the Question: Is Privacy Extinct?

Viewpoints Industry is monitoring the ongoing legal battles between nations and companies in regards to hacking, invasion of privacy and industrial espionage. The overall question is: can there be a reasonable expectation of privacy or secrecy any more? While the US is busy accusing Chinese officials of online invasions, the nation's own NSA is said to be potentially listening to every phone conversation, reading every text, tweet and e-mail and watching just about everything from the skies overhead. In the reporting of crime, television news departments very often have the benefit of surveillance footage from any number of the millions of cameras now situated on private and civic property across the nation.

Viewpoints Industry is watching the average American citizen ... and so is much of the country.

The Viewpoints Industry TV show acknowledges that it has been demonstrated that if you get in your car and drive across town, you will have been photographed countless times during that journey and that those images will live on some server for a very long time. While in the event of a crime, it is good to have these pictures available, what is it doing to the psyche of the population at large? There are many reasons other than the commission of a misdemeanor of some type that might have citizens wishing they were not being watched most of the time. If technology allows us to track down any person at any time, is that really a desirable thing? If words like "privacy" and "dignity" still hold any meaning, perhaps we can find a suitable compromise. There are probably some intense legal entanglements lying ahead on this subject.

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Monday, May 19, 2014

Viewpoints Industry on Travel Insurance Basics

People who want to travel overseas and go on exotic and far-away excursions might want to consider getting travel insurance to cover some basic emergency travel needs. Viewpoints Industry offers shares some information about what is available.

Travel insurance is useful to have as it covers a variety of possible travel issues such as: flight cancellation, illness, lost luggage, canceled tours, and accidents to name some. The amount of insurance one can pay for depends on a few things such as the traveler’s age, if they have medical insurance or not, state of their health, how much of the trip is prepaid already and more. There are many reputable travel insurance companies offering decent policies to protect Americans traveling abroad. A simple Internet search for “travel insurance” will provide informative sites to visit and research.

There are five types of travel insurance: trip cancellation and interruption, medical, evacuation, baggage and flight insurance. The comprehensive policies cover almost every situation which can happen and cover the traveler’s trip is delayed, they miss a flight or if the tour company changes the itinerary. The larger more commonly-used policies may offer a good overall policy which also includes some medical coverage so there less out of pocket paying for the adventurer. Viewpoints Industry learns that most packages cost between 5 and 12 percent of the total trip, and that age is a factor, but not unless the traveler is over age 50. When beginning the planning for any major travel overseas, factor the cost of travel insurance into the budget. Because not carrying it can be more hazardous than anything that may occur.