Smartraveller site and advertising links a need to register and travel insurance which isn't necessary.

I was quite surprised to see on TV last night an advertisement which implied people needed to register on the government's Smartraveller site with an implied connection to travel insurance. I just felt this was quite misleading.

I consider travel insurance to be a must when travelling overseas. Don't just take what is offered by the travel agent or they'll sting you. You can save hundreds by shopping around. Do check what the insurance offers/covers, because people may be surprised that some of those activities you're looking forward to may not be covered.

I noticed a well known credit card bragging about their travel insurance and shortly after I'd checked the free travel insurance you get with the credit card, I was approached in a shopping centre by a person flogging the card and saying how good their insurance was. However to me the level of cover was totally inadequate. Much to my surprise the credit card I currently have has excellent travel insurance cover so no additional cover may possibly be needed as long as I purchase everything using the credit card. However, before travelling I'll still want to make sure I'm covered to the level I think I'm covered for with the credit card. Insurance companies are always looking for ways to minimise making a payout, so make sure you understand what you are covered for.

As for registering and subscribing to the government's Smartraveller website, I just don't see the need and there is certainly no connection to the travel insurance you decide on.

By the way, don't trust those ads you see for cheap travel insurance when searching on the internet . I checked some out and their cheap offers to find they were nearly double what I could find elsewhere. You'll find after you search for travel insurance, ads keep popping up because that's how Google works. You a tracked for what you search for and as you move from site to site, sites displaying Google advertising will show you ads relating to what you've searched for, often many hours after you performed your search. Many people get freaked by this online tracking. As long as you are aware it's OK, but if you aren't, you may just get tricked with one of those overpriced "cheap" travel insurance offers.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.JustLocal.com.au

Crown Casino offer - Selected main meails for $9.95 plus 5 hours of free carparking.

I noticed the advertisement on TV for the Crown Casino meal offer. As with ads on TV often you miss part of the information or the full details of the offer. I noticed the free parking but didn’t notice the meal part of the offer. To make it easier I decided to find out more information on the offer.

Enjoy a selection of satisfying mains for just $9.95... Read More

- Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for help with your computer problem.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

Google reveals the difficult levels 33, 65, 97 and more in Candy Crush

If you think you’re stuck on a level on Candy Crush perhaps it may not just be you. Perhaps it is the designers of Candy Crush have made the level difficult to make you part with your hard earned cash.

Global Candy Crush Addiction Earns Game Maker $670,000 a Day... Read More

Interestingly if you type into Google, “Candy Crush level”, you’ll see a list of suggestions and you may not be surprised to see the level you’re stuck on is the same level as many others enquiring about. You can probably bet that many people will simply pay up to continue playing their game. Rest assured however you don’t need to. With a bit of reading by searching ‘Candy Crush’ on Google you’ll probably find the tip you need to progress to the next level. That’s how I helped one person who was stuck on level 33.

If you find yourself tempted to make a payment you should probably also ask if perhaps you may have become addicted. Those small amounts add up just like playing the pokies, and from what I’ve read, game developers are using the same techniques to make money as used by the pokies.

- Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for help with your computer problem.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

Approached by the developer of the Fuel Monitor App in Apple Store

I received an email from the developer of the Fuel Monitor App available in the Apple Store. Initially I thought this was simply spam. But the reality is if another business has a legitimate sales pitch should they be treated as a spammer. It is a hard call. Email is treated differently than snail mail. Of course the app developer could avoid the issue of being a spammer by sending a written letter. Then there is no question. Always be careful when approaching others using email that you have not had contact with. Even if you don't consider what you are doing is spam, they may.

I decided the offer of using their database (which contains figures for 60,000 vehicles) is not what the Petrol Cost Calculator is about. As the developer stated the user has to enter their figures manually and they usually don't know their information. However that is the whole point of the Petrol Cost Calculator. Of course you can look up the manufacturers figures. The government also provides such figures. But the reality is I don't believe figures are that useful. They are at best a guide. The problem from what I've read are tests are performed in a laboratory following a serious of test over short time intervals. Yep, that really equates to how we drive out cars – NOT. In addition I've read manufacturers even remove weight from the cars, such as the spare tyre, to improve the fuel consumption figures.

How you drive and where you drive will significantly affect your fuel consumption. How many passengers you have in the car will affect your fuel consumption. To me the best way to find out realistic figures is to perform some simple tests. Again the result is only a guide because the environment we travel in is quite variable, but they measure 'your' fuel consumption, in 'your' vehicle, as 'you' use it, and to me that is what I want to know. Not what someone else supposedly provides to the government as I simply don't trust that figure. I've seen the energy rating figure for two washing machines differ where in fact the physical machines were identical, except one was labelled 7 litres and the other 7.5. The energy figure used the information as provided by the manufacturer which means one machine was wrong.

It really isn't that hard to record the distance you travel on the back of the receipt for three tanks of petrol, average those figures and you then have a good estimate of your car, in the current condition, for how you drive. Not totally accurate, but a better figure than something determined in a laboratory. If you'd like to have a better estimate of the cost of using petrol in your car use the Petrol Cost Calculator and use the L / 100 km Calculator. If you just want to get a quick idea, check the government site, or even use and estimate and enter the figure into the Petrol Cost Calculator. No need to install yet another app in you mobile device. Just visit the Petrol Cost Calculator which you can find on the JustLocal site www.JustLocal.com.au.

Happy motoring.

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

Bank of Queensland Bonus Internet Savings account rate drops below special term deposit rates.

A while ago I decided to move funds from Bank Of Queensland's term deposit to the bonus interest savings account they offered. I'd watched the bonus interest savings account for some time and the rate offered exceeded the best term deposit rate. Today I checked and the interest rate offered on the bonus interest savings account has fallen below the lowest special term deposit rate.

I've found in the past you need to watch the rates Bank of Queensland offer. With the term deposits I found they'd vary the best rate so if you simply left your money in a 6 month term you could end up with a significantly lower rate. Every time your term deposit comes up you should review the rates for the various terms. Now with the bonus savings rate having dropped so far it is time to review whether or not you should reconsider using the term deposit if like me you've moved to the bonus interest savings account.

I hope this helps others improve their deposit return in this time of quite low rates.

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

Search Australia - Our systems have detected unusual traffic from your computer network. - Google Custom search blocked by Google.

Today I went to use Search Australia, as I have hundreds of times in the past month and nothing happened. I entered 'g' followed by the search term, which sends the request to Google, and the page just sat there. No results were displayed. Nothing happened at all.

Google for some reason as a result of something I had done decided to see if I was a real human or a robot. Unfortunately I couldn't see Google's message. I decided to use the mobile version of Search Australia (clicked on the link) and then I was presented with the following screen.

I then entered the characters as requested and was able to continue with my searches. If you find when using Search Australia and after pressing Search the page doesn't display any results, suspect that Google may have blocked you. Click on the link for the mobile version of Search Australia, perform a search and you may receive the test to check if you're human.

Alternately if you just want search results, use Bing or Yahoo by entering 'b' or 'y' before your search term.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au

Alert: Adobe Customer Care - Important Password Reset Information

I received an email today from Adobe Customer Care regarding resetting the password for use of their site. From what I've recently read, Adobe has been hacked and possibly up to 38 million users may have been affected.

Even though this does appear as a legitimate notification, as is my usual recommendation, do not click on a link to go to a website. Open your browser and then enter the website address you wish to go to. Even though this email may be legitimate, the next could be a fake email from a scammer.

If you do receive an email from Adobe and use the same password across multiple sites, you should reset your password on all sites and where possible and appropriate use different passwords for each site. The reason is if hackers have obtained the password file, there is a possibility it will contain your email address and your password and that combination is now often used across multiple sites.

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

Welcome to Big Brothers Pizza Bulleen

Looking for an excellent pizza at an excellent price. Check out Big Brothers Pizza in Bulleen. You can now find Big Brother Pizza on the Bulleen page of JustLocal (www.JustLocal.com.au/3105), or view the Big Brothers Pizza menu at http://www.justlocal.com.au/clients/big-brothers-pizza-bulleen/.

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

Last in Melbourne Cup 2013

It appears RUSCELLO, number 24 was last in the Melbourne Cup for 2013.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 if you require help with your computer.
No problem too small.

Search Australia updated to easily provide calorie content of food.

A common search we're carrying out at the moment is the energy content of different food. Yes, we're dieting, so it does help if you can work out quickly the energy content of different food. For example, how many kilojoules are there in an apple?

Interestingly Google provides this information. The information returned is in Calories, but multiplying by four (actual conversion is to multiple by 4.2) is fairly easy and gives an approximation of the energy in kilojoules. (Note the use of the upper case in Calories. I've explained this below.)

I decided to make it even easier for myself and those using Search Australia. If you now enter the letter 'c' followed by a space and then the food item, you'll get the Calories for the food. There is a selection option which enables you to vary the size of the food item.

So now if you want to know the energy content of an apple, just enter 'c apple' in Search Australia and there's your answer.


Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

PS. When referring to energy content in kilojoules is easy. However, the terms calorie and Calorie are frequently interchanged and can cause some confusion. Calorie with a capital is 1000 calories. If the number you're expecting to see is out by a factor of a thousand then this is the reason. The energy content of food is often shown in Calories and kilojoules. If you see the energy content shown as calories, chances are it is an error and the word calories should have been capitalised. When we write about the energy content of food is it OK to use the word calorie, but do keep in mind when we are using the measurement of the amount of energy in a food item, we are usually referring to the Calorie value in capital 'c', because it is a more convenient smaller number. That is 1 Calorie equals 1000 calories. 1 Calories equals 4.2 kilojoules. 1 calorie equals 4.2 joules. 1 Calorie is also known as a kilocalorie.

12V car kettle product is a dud.

I continue to review products in terms of saving electricity and one product I thought would be worth testing was a 12V car kettle. I have a low wattage solar panel, regulator and 12V 38Ah battery which easily stores enough power to boil water for a cuppa. What better way to save money than using the sun to boil water for a cuppa.

I purchased a 12V car kettle and performed a test. For two cups of water it took around half an hour and for a single cup around 15-20 minutes. I don't know about you, but I don't think waiting 15-30 minutes for a cup of coffee makes sense.

I was hoping for a better outcome but really it makes sense. The car cigarette lighter is most likely only designed to take appliances using about 10 amps. That means we are probably using about 120 watts. A normal kettle runs at around 2000-2400 watts, or uses nearly 20 times the amount of power. Thus if it takes about 1-2 minutes to boil a cup of water in a kettle it would take 10-20 times longer in the car kettle. Had I known this at the time I wouldn't have bothered purchasing the car kettle. We live and learn.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.energycostcalculator.com.au
 

Use Weight Loss Maths to lose weight.

I've recently finished changing how the Weight Loss Maths sites is structured and updated the main page with the three main concepts behind losing weight and that losing weight doesn't have to cost you a cent. I lost 22 kg and part of my weight loss journey was to see if I could lose weight without any additional exercise. It's not that I'm lazy, it is just that I wanted to prove whether or not you could lose weight without changing your exercise routine. The answer is, yes you can. That doesn't mean you shouldn't exercise, just that you can still lose weight without building up a sweat. I'd also highly recommend activity as it will further increase the speed of losing weight once you have your diet under control.

I'm sharing my story and the tools I used to lose weight and your can find the information at www.WeightLossMaths.com.au.

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

Alert: CatchOfTheDay.com.au - Gift - 150 AU$

If you receive an email with the subject 'CatchOfTheDay.com.au - Gift - 150 AU$' you should delete it. It is a fake message containing the following.

CatchOfTheDay.com.au - Gift - 150 AU$
You have (1) new message.
Click here to get your 150 AU$ voucher
You can spend them on whatever you want on http://www.CatchOfTheDay.com.au.

The link does not take you to the CatchOfTheDay site.

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

Booking.yeah, booking.com commercial

Since I'd just booked some accommodation I decided to crosscheck the Booking.com site with another site I use. It turns out the price of the accommodation I checked was slightly more expensive on Booking.com.

If you're looking for accommodation through an online booking site, it only takes a few minutes to check the offers from others online booking sites. A good advertising campaign will get people to check out the site and many will book without checking the other sites. Make sure you look after your interests by checking a number of sites. Also keep in mind add-on costs such as booking fees and/or credit card fees. I let my guard down once with Expedia. Their prices seemed so good compared to Wotif.com, but Wotif included taxes upfront and Expedia gave a total cost and then added the taxes separately. Overall the prices were around the same but I felt tricked with the Expedia approach. That was my fault for not being thorough.

More recently when I booked I used a trick I learnt a while ago. It saved me $47.50 and I don't have to pay most of the money until I reach the hotel. I share the trick for clients in MyAnswers solution 2392, which can be found in the General section of MyAnswers.

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

MyAnswers: How to get a better price than Wotif, Expedia and other online booking services.

The following MyAnswers solution 2392 is now available:

Booked accommodation and saved $47.50 over Wotif's prices, including obtained a discounted night that wasn't available on Wotif. The prices also beat Expedia. I share how I often get better prices than the online services.

Click here to obtain the solution.

Click here for related solutions.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au/myanswers/
(An Online Connections service.)

I read a while ago Samsung was going to region lock one or more devices. If you're thinking about getting a Samsung device this may be reason not to.

The following article alerts people that Samsung are region-locking the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. To me this is one big incentive not to touch the device.

Sammy region-locks the latest version of its popular poke-with-a-stylus mobe... Read More

The problem is you never know in the next couple of years when you might travel to another region and you don’t want to end up carrying around a device that is locked in some way.

I don’t think many people are happy with region-locking of DVDs, but we got used to that from the dark ages. To start region locking devices to me is a concern. You never know if the device you have will or won’t work if you travel. I’ve also heard that Microsoft has region-locked their latest OEM version of Microsoft Office. How that will affect travellers I don’t know, but I wouldn’t be taking chances with region locked software or hardware if I could avoid it.

- Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for help with your computer problem.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

McDonald's Drive Thru To Win unique letter combination won't be accepted. Error 'Sorry the code you have entered is invalid, please try again'

I decided to enter the McDonald's Drive Thru To Win competition since the receipt was just sitting there. Easy I thought. Just go to the website and enter the code. Of course I'll be signing my life away, but what the heck, it's a competition. I tried entering the code and I kept getting the error message 'Sorry the code you have entered is invalid, please try again'.

I decided something wasn't quite right but wasn't quite sure what. I decided to count the number of letters in the code I had and compare it to the code in the example. There was a letter short in my code. On closer examination I found the printed docket was missing a vertical strip on right. Given the printer used thermal printing technology, that means every docket printed using the printer at the Eltham McDonald's drive-thru would have had the same issue.

So if you find you're getting the error code 'Sorry the code you have entered is invalid, please try again', it may not be your fault.

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

How do Target Ticket USA prices compare with how much Australians are paying for renting online movies.

I noticed Target in the States has released a new service to sell and rent movies and TV shows. I decided to check out the pricing.

A new release movie from Quickflix or Apple iTunes typically costs around $5.99. If I select one new release movie as an example, such as Iron Man 3, the price on Quickflix is $5.99 (which looks like standard definition based on the size), on Apple iTunes the price is $6.99 for HD and $5.99 for SD. The price on Target Ticket is $5.99 for HD and $4.99 for SD. Tax in the States is usually not included in the price so I would assume tax needs to be added.

Allowing 10% for tax and adjusting for the current exchange rates would make the $4.99 SD price from Target Ticket equivalent to around $5.86 in Australian dollars. Given there is a charge when exchanging currencies it may actually be more expensive to use an overseas such Target Ticket if it was possible. Services like Target Ticket will normally be geo-blocked.

I did expect the Australian price to be greater, but this example shows we're currently close to parity. One advantage Target Ticket does have is they do offer lower prices on older movies and I can't find that with Apple iTunes.

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

How does E10 (ethanol) petrol compare with unleaded petrol?

I thought it would be interesting to run a few tests with E10 petrol (up to 10% ethanol) and compare the fuel consumption result with standard unleaded petrol. I'd read literature on the internet and found the following.

Ethanol has a lower energy content than standard petrol and thus it is expected you'll get less kilometres for the same amount of petrol. E10 petrol is typically around 3 cents per litre cheaper. The RACQ site states you should expect around a 3% increase in fuel consumption. Whilst we can simply believe what we read, I prefer to perform my own tests. The reason I want to perform my own tests is whilst ethanol has a lower energy content, E10 has a higher octane rating, and a higher octane level (95 as compared with 91 for unleaded) is associated with improved petrol consumption. Performing a series of tests will provide the information I desire.

Test 1 – City driving

Filled the tank with 45 litres of E10 petrol. The tank capacity is 60 litres. That means around 25% of the fuel is still unleaded.

I next filled the tank with 48.22 litres; the distance travelled was 462.7 km. 

This gives a fuel consumption figure of 10.42 litres per 100 km.

This result was unexpected. Normally I consistently fill up the tank with around 50 litres of petrol having travelled around 450 km, or around 11.11 litres per 100 km. I had used less petrol and had gone further. This is opposite to what I'd read on the internet and expected. Since ethanol has a lower energy content from the articles I read I was expecting to get less than 450 km, but instead achieved more.

This is the first test. I like to perform three tests and then average the results. Unfortunately the test was interrupted with the next tank being used for country driving. I will return to perform further tests for city driving.

Test 2 – Country driving

Filled the tank with 41.38 litres of E10 petrol; the distance travelled 531.9 km.

Fuel consumption  7.78 litres per 100 km.

I currently do not have any country driving comparison with standard petrol, but in the future I hope to perform additional country driving tests.

The litres per 100 km calculator is available at http://www.petrolcostcalculator.com.au/litres-per-100-km/ for those who wish to perform their own tests and calculations. As I complete further tests I'll publish the results on this page.

8 October 2013
Filled tank with 44.24 litres of E10; the distance travelled 412.6 km.
Fuel consumption 10.72 litres per 100 km.

9 November 2013

Filled tank with 48.97 litres of E10; the distance travelled 444.4 km.
Fuel consumption 11.02 litres per 100 km.

Based on the three test with the results of 10.42, 10.72 and 11.02 litres per 100 km the average fuel consumption for city driving for my Toyota Avensis is 10.72 litres per 100 km. The variation is 0.3 L / 100 km or 2.8% variation.

I'll now perform three tests for city driving using regular unleaded petrol.

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

PS. The result of the first city driving test is improved fuel consumption whereas the expectation was fuel consumption would be degraded. Further testing is now being done to verify this figure. I would suggest those using E10 perform their own tests.

Update: 5 January 2014
Three more tanks of petrol. City driving.
14/12/13  Unleaded 52.41 L, 495.1 km - 10.59 L / 100 km
22/12/13  Unleaded 49.86 L, 461.1 km - 10.81 L / 100 km
31/12/13  Unleaded 28.32 L, 266.3 km - 10.63 L / 100 km
Average 10.67 L / 100 km +/- 0.14 L / 100 km or 1.31% variation.

Based on this limited testing using my normal day-to-day city/suburban driving, the fuel usage difference between Unleaded and E10 is on average 0.05 L / 100 km. This is an increase in petrol usage of 0.46%, which is much less than the RACQ information.

Logically ethanol has around 30% less energy than petrol. Since E10 uses 10% ethanol that means E10 would have 3% less energy. Using E10 we should see an increase in fuel consumption per 100 km. We do see an increase but not by that amount.  In this test we saw an increase of 0.46%.

I suspect that whilst E10 does have less energy, the increase in the octane rating counters this to a degree and thus we don't see as great an increase in fuel consumption as expected.

E10 at the local service station is typically priced 3 cents a litre cheaper than unleaded fuel. At current petrol prices of around $1.60 a litre, 3 cents is a saving of 1.8%. This saving is reduced by the increased fuel consumption of 0.46% leaving us with a saving of 1.34%. Keep in mind there is no guarantee this saving even exists as the variance in the measurements exceeded this percentage, but if we assume this saving exists, how much saving a year would this mean.

First the petrol stations I use to purchase E10 don't take discount vouchers from the leading supermarkets. A voucher saving would exceed any E10 saving. But lets assume you don't use vouchers.

I do about 14,000 kilometres per year. Using the Petrol Cost Calculator I can determine I'd use an estimated $2,473 of petrol a year. A 1.34% saving would be $33 a year.

It has taken a while to get to this point in this testing and analysis, but since I don't consider a $33 saving over a year to be a  significant amount, and I always have a discount voucher available often far exceeding the E10 discount, it makes little sense to choose E10 over unleaded petrol from a service station which accepts discount vouchers. If the service station you use has both E10 and unleaded, and you're happy to use E10 and believe it won't adversely cause problems with your car,  then a small saving may be possible with E10.

Personally I am concerned United Petroleum doesn't promote greater fuel economy as a benefit of using E10 on their site. If the company selling the petrol doesn't see this as a benefit which can be promoted, then that begs the question why. I also have a lingering concern that since ethanol is hydroscopic (attracts water), and water can damage the fuel system, is there an increased risk to causing damage to the car. I haven't been fully convinced the additives may counter the issues but perhaps with more reading those fears could be allayed. The increased risk factor, small potential savings, and other ways to make greater savings using discount vouchers, does sway me towards not considering E10 in the future. You may come to a different conclusion.

The IV Sale program is now available on JustLocal free of charge.

Recently I used the IV Sale program to assist a person who wanted to collate and document their art collection and make the list of art available on the internet for others to see. In the past I've used a version of the IV Sale software to promote my own excess items. I decided to fix a few bugs and release the IV Sale program for others to use. The program is totally free and enables you to collate your list of items (complete with pictures) and then to make the list available on the internet.

A hidden gem in Google's Drive program enables you to use a Google Drive folder as a website. This feature has been utilised by the IV Sale program. You simply enter your items in the IV Sale program, view the web page, and your web page displaying your list of items is automatically updated to the internet.

Now you can keep your list of excess items conveniently located on your computer, update the list when desired and your items will be visible to others with no extra work on your part. How handy is that.

Visit www.IVSale.com.au and download the IV Sale program. You can also find the IV Sale program on JustLocal (www.JustLocal.com.au).

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.