What HQ2 city would you prefer to live in? Raleigh?

With the debate on where Amazon HQ2 will be located continuing, Geekwire asked it's readers where they would prefer to live of the options.  Raleigh came out the winner.  Read more below.

https://www.geekwire.com/2018/asked-geekwire-readers-amazon-hq2-city-live-not-expected/

Gary  Hoke
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The Best of 2015

The Best of 2015

As 2015 comes to a close I thought that I would share some of my best investments, experiences and products purchased of the year.

1.  Best Financial Investments

Stocks, bonds and commodities all seem to have had a lackluster year.  Some of my best returns actually came from alternative investments.  While I wouldn't recommending investing a large percentage of your investments in these, they are good for some portfolio diversification. 

• Bitcoin (via Coinbase):  Up 34% in 2015.
• Upstart:  Consistent 6-7% ROI on a portfolio of loans.
• Sharespost 100 Fund:  Portfolio of late stage venture backed companies

 2.  Best Conferences/Events

• By far one the best experiences that I had this year was attending the Hive Global Leaders Program in August.  If you are trying to find or solidify your "why" I would highly recommended it.  You'll come away with a life plan and a supportive network of kindred spirits to help you make it a reality.
• Second on my list would be attending the 50th Annual Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder meeting.  Myself and 44,000 others made the pilgrimage to Omaha to see Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger for the largest attendance at the event ever.  I'm not sure that I would want to attend every year, but it is definitely worth attending at least once for the experience and knowledge you'll gain. 

3.  Best Products Purchased

• Audible by Amazon:  In early 2015 I grew absolutely sick of satellite radio, so I decide to turn my commute into a rolling classroom.  24 books for under $10 each through Audible's Platinum subscription have allowed me to listen 8-10 hours of audio books a week.  The best part is that if you don't like a book you simply return it (no questions asked).  If you are not already a member you can get one of the books below for free from me just to give it a try.  These are a few of my favorite books of 2015: 

             - Intentional Living: Choosing a Life That Matters by John C. Maxwell

             - Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel

             - The Self-Made Billionaire Effect: How Extreme Producers Create Massive Value by John Sviokla

             - Bold: How to Go Big, Make Bank, and Better the World by Peter H. Diamandis

• Apple Watch:  No surprise here right?  While I can say that I haven't mastered all it's functionality yet, I am quite pleased with it's functionality and performance so far.

Happy New Year!!!

Gary Hoke

The consumerization of 3D printing is getting closer and closer. Lots of advancement happening in this space right now.  Quite a big step forward by the company below...

3D Systems' Sense scanner is compact, $400 and ready to transform 3D printing as we know it

http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/08/3d-systems-sense/

Gary Hoke
Twitter:  @garyhoke
LinkedIn:  Gary Hoke

Use These Secret NSA Google Search Tips to Become Your Own Spy Agency

So this recent story on Wired.com caught my attention.  It drives home the premise that big brother is watching, but so is everyone else.  Definitely something that CIOs and CISOs should sit up and take note of with regards to information and data security.

Use These Secret NSA Google Search Tips to Become Your Own Spy Agency
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/05/nsa-manual-on-hacking-internet/

The article references a public compiled by the NSA, which is now declassified and available on their website thanks to a FOIA request.
http://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/Untangling_the_Web.pdf

The content is a little dated, nonetheless the awareness of such methods just became that much more well known thanks to this article.

Wikipedia provides a slimmed down guide referred to as Google Hacking.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_hacking


Give it a try.  You might be surprised by what you find.  Especially, searching inside files by filetype or searching within a specific site of interest.

Gary Hoke

The value of MOOC...

Got MOOC?

The article below provides some details on the value that Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) can provide.  As a manager/supervisor I personally enjoying hiring those who are intellectually curious and lifelong learners.  They always seems to be more engaged, look for innovative ways to solve problems and are overall more well-rounded.  MOOCs are a great way to complement your primary skills and differentiate yourself from others seeking similar roles/positions. Most importantly, did I forget to mention that they are free?!  Where else can you get a tenured college professor to unveil decades of his/her education and research for you for free?

http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/blog/2013/04/mooc-wisdom-finish-course-it-shows.html

Some popular MOOC sites:


Coursera  https://www.coursera.org/
edX  https://www.edx.org/
Udacity  https://www.udacity.com/



Regards,

Gary Hoke
http://www.garyhoke.com

Microsoft forges ahead with new home-automation OS

So is home automation due for a comeback?  I recall all the hype about a decade ago yet adoption has not lived up to the hype. 

http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57423253-75/microsoft-forges-ahead-with-new-home-automation-os/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

What do you think?

Gary Hoke

Need PDUs to maintain your PMP certification?

There is one month left to get up to 12 PDUs for free through the IIL.

http://events.unisfair.com/index.jsp?eid=1022&seid=374

Enjoy!

Gary Hoke, MBA, PMP