James M. Jackson's Blog, page 20
January 10, 2015
The Effect of Amazon’s Subscription Service
Kindle Unlimited (KU) has interesting features for readers and authors. To summarize the basics of their subscription service:• As a reader you have unlimited access to download and read (but not keep) any of their listed books (~700,000 available) for $9.99 per month.
• Amazon pays authors an unspecified amount each time a KU subscriber selects (and at least partially reads) one of their books.
Which Readers Will Choose KU?
Which readers will utilize this service? After the thirty-day free...
January 1, 2015
Goals: 2014 Results & 2015 Plans
Let me wish all my readers a spectacularly positive 2015.
I am looking forward to a great year. You may recall from previous blogs and Facebook posts that I used the potential of embarrassing myself as motivation to obtain two of my 2014 goals. I wanted to lose and keep off twelve pounds, and I wanted to maintain a certain level of exercise through the year.
Weight – Mission Accomplished
The chart demonstrates that when I put my mind to it, I can lose weight, although I struggled while we were o...
I am looking forward to a great year. You may recall from previous blogs and Facebook posts that I used the potential of embarrassing myself as motivation to obtain two of my 2014 goals. I wanted to lose and keep off twelve pounds, and I wanted to maintain a certain level of exercise through the year.
Weight – Mission Accomplished
The chart demonstrates that when I put my mind to it, I can lose weight, although I struggled while we were o...
December 18, 2014
OPEC is the new Amazon
A little historical background
The first time I ever consciously thought about oil supply was 1973. On October 6, 1973 Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel, kicking off the Yom Kippur War. The U.S. sided with Israel and the Arab members of OPEC retaliated by first imposing price increases and then an oil export ban on the U.S.
At the time the U.S. produced less than two-thirds of its oil needs; OPEC accounted nearly two-thirds of imports. Consequently, almost 25% of our oil came...
The first time I ever consciously thought about oil supply was 1973. On October 6, 1973 Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel, kicking off the Yom Kippur War. The U.S. sided with Israel and the Arab members of OPEC retaliated by first imposing price increases and then an oil export ban on the U.S.At the time the U.S. produced less than two-thirds of its oil needs; OPEC accounted nearly two-thirds of imports. Consequently, almost 25% of our oil came...
November 7, 2014
Protecting Your Identity in a Cyberworld
The headlines continue to shout examples of major retailers, banks and insurance companies whose databases have been hacked, providing the hackers with your personal information. What can you do about these breaches of security?
Short of dying or cutting yourself off from all commerce, you can’t do anything to stop the security breaches, but by preparing you can limit their damage to you when they occur.
It will happen; your credit card information will be stolen.
The most important first step t...
Short of dying or cutting yourself off from all commerce, you can’t do anything to stop the security breaches, but by preparing you can limit their damage to you when they occur.
It will happen; your credit card information will be stolen.
The most important first step t...
November 2, 2014
Jim Goes Hollywood
I confess the blog title reeks of hyperbole, but what better way to announce that I am now in the video business? In a day and age where three-year-olds post selfies to Facebook and kindergartners make YouTube videos from their smart phones, I am perhaps a bit behind the curve. I decided to rectify the matter and create YouTube videos of me reading the opening scenes of my Seamus McCree novels.
While my son, Brad, was vacationing at our camp in the U.P. in September, he and I experimented with...
November 1, 2014
Two months left for 2014 Goals
I am using the fear of ridicule as part of my motivation to realize two of my 2014 goals: weight loss and exercise. To make that fear real, I need to periodically publish my results. After a few rocky months, I appear to still be on target, but all will not be easy in the last two months. Here is what I have accomplished on the weight goal:
The original 2014 objective was to lose and keep off twelve pounds. When I lost fifteen pounds, I knew that if I gained three pounds back I would still mee...
The original 2014 objective was to lose and keep off twelve pounds. When I lost fifteen pounds, I knew that if I gained three pounds back I would still mee...
October 14, 2014
Blocking Political Spam
With the midterm elections three weeks away, political “advertising” is heating up. Thankfully I’ve found a way to stymie the system. Note I do not claim to have beaten them; it’s just one battle in a long war.
I have met no one other than a politician who thinks that when you sign your phone up for the “No Call” list that politicians shouldn’t be barred from robocalls and the like. However, since politicians pass the laws, they exempted themselves.
I found an app for my cell phone that now all...
I have met no one other than a politician who thinks that when you sign your phone up for the “No Call” list that politicians shouldn’t be barred from robocalls and the like. However, since politicians pass the laws, they exempted themselves.I found an app for my cell phone that now all...
October 1, 2014
2014 Goals Progress
Another month has dashed by, and it is time to fess-up to how I did with my twin goals of exercise and weight. Good news all around. I met my exercise goal for the month and reduced my weight below the 12-pound weight loss goal for the year.
The key for the last quarter of the year is to maintain exercising and keep off the lost weight through the end of the year. Overall on exercising, I now have had more months of success than failure and have the opportunity to end on a solid note.
Keeping w...
The key for the last quarter of the year is to maintain exercising and keep off the lost weight through the end of the year. Overall on exercising, I now have had more months of success than failure and have the opportunity to end on a solid note.
Keeping w...
September 25, 2014
Authors United Next Tries DOJ
After deciding Amazon’s Board of Directors might not understand Amazon’s business practices, [see my previous blog] Authors United now thinks they can educate the United States Department of Justice on antitrust issues as reported by The Bookseller in this article .
According to Douglas Preston, the leader and spokesperson for Authors United, “They (DOJ) are expecting this letter and they have told me that they welcome any information we can provide.” Well, sure. The DOJ is alwa...
According to Douglas Preston, the leader and spokesperson for Authors United, “They (DOJ) are expecting this letter and they have told me that they welcome any information we can provide.” Well, sure. The DOJ is alwa...
September 17, 2014
Latest Authors United Letter Misfires
The group Authors United spearheaded by Douglas Preston intends to send (or has sent, depending on when you read this) a letter to the Amazon Board of Directors regarding the Amazon/Hachette dispute. Given the dispute has been going on for months, it seems unlikely any director is unaware of the situation, so what is the purpose of the letter? Perhaps the group is trying to put pressure on the directors in their other working capacities? It will be interesting to see what (if any) reaction th...
