Lifted by the Cloud

This presentation was submitted as part of a contest sponsored by the FCC, the Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities, and Raising the Floor, located on the web at http://challenge.gov/challenges/82.

The PowerPoint slides and script with additional details are available on SlideShare.

Texas abolishes TRCC

Homeowners of Texas (HOT) achieved a major political victory when the Texas Senate unanimously voted on 5/23/09 to abolish the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC). Homebuilder interests represented by the Texas Association of Builders (TAB) had conducted a far-reaching and expensive lobbying campaign to extend the life of the controversial state agency for six more years. But HOT stood firm, representing consumer interests and fighting to kill the TRCC. It prevailed against overwhelming odds and one of the most powerful lobbies in Texas.

This is a great day for Texas consumers. A 2006 Texas Comptrollers report recommended abolishing the TRCC, and that was the common theme of overwhelming public testimony and a 2008 Sunset Advisory Commission staff report that said it did more harm than good.

Mortgages Upside-Down

Deutsche Bank predicts that nearly half (48%) of U.S. homeowners with a mortgage are likely to owe more than their properties are worth by 2011, before the housing recession ends. That compares with 26% in March 2009 and an optimistic report a week earlier by Business Week, citing the National Association of Realtors, price declines, low mortgage rates, and first-time buyer perks. Why such diversion in opinion? What motives might each group have in its outlook? IS YOUR OWN MORTGAGE UPSIDE DOWN? WHAT ABOUT YOUR NEIGHBORS, FRIENDS, ELECTED OFFICIALS, CELEBRITIES?

Homeowner Caveat Emptor

CAVEAT EMPTOR — home buyers beware.

Set to depressing music, the slides in this video show how Texas laws favor builders rather than homeowners. So, there’s much to beware of.

The slides show sample construction defects and the devastating personal and social impact of defective homes.

HomeRF General Overview

In this HomeRF General Overview (16.8MB download), my recorded voice accompanies the slides. The presentation offers a good tutorial and comparison of wireless networking technologies. It was produced after the 2001 Consumer Electronics Show and saved as a .pps file.