Erich Stauffer

Category: Local News

  • Synchronicity: Axis of the Universe is Oriented to “Sextans” Constellation

    TL;DR: The universe has an axis and the direction of that axis from Earth is toward a constellation named after a tool to find the orientation of stars.

    According to this 1997 article, All Space is Not Equal: Physicists Find Axis that Gives the Universe Orientation, “From Earth, the axis of this orientation runs toward the constellation Sextans, roughly in the direction of Leo and Gemini and high in the southern evening sky,” around April of each year. “The other end of the axis points toward the constellations Aquila and Equuleus.”

    From the Wikipedia article on Sextans, “Sextans is a minor equatorial constellation which was introduced in 1687 by Johannes Hevelius. Its name is Latin for the astronomical sextant, an instrument that (from Wikipedia article on Sextants, is “used primarily for measuring the positions of stars.”

  • Intro to Essential Oils: The Starter Kit

    Are you interested in learning about essential oils?

    My wife and I have found essential oils to be a great blessing in our house to keep people healthy and the house clean. The uses of essential oils in the house never cease to amaze me.

    How to get started with essential oils?

    I always recommend a Premium Starter Kit from Young Living because it comes with the Everyday Oils collection, a diffuser, and your own wholesale discount. Young Living is the leading manufacturer of essential oils.

    What’s included in the kit?

    The Everyday Oils collection includes 10 of the most popular oils and a diffuser. These versatile oils are a great starting point to use for yourself, children, pets, and around the house. It includes two of my personally favorite oils: Stress Away (to reduce stress) and Digize (to help with digestion).

    What is a diffuser?

    The diffuser is tool that diffuses essential oils into the air for inhalation and use on the skin. At home my wife and I run diffusers all day long to improve moods and help us get our work done. The Young Living diffuser is especially nice because it comes with a one-year, no-hassle warranty.

    What is the wholesale membership discount thing?

    That’s just what Young Living calls it so that you can get discounts on ordering any other products you may want. It’s like getting a membership to Costco. By becoming a wholesale member, you are able to get your oils at a 24% discount.

    Do I have to sell anything?

    No. When you become a wholesale member, there is no obligation to ever buy another oil or sell anything. However, if you or your wife ever wanted to make money selling essential oils like me and my wife do, we would be happy to talk to you about that.

    What do I do once I have the kit?

    You can always ask me or my wife anytime or join online teaching classes including “Essential Oils 101” classes. My wife hosts classes on Facebook and all new members get subscribed to a 4 week email training course to help them get started.

    What if I have specific questions?

    If you have any questions, I would love to answer them for you. My wife and I are always available to answer questions. If you would like to meet over Skype we can do that to answer any questions you have about using oils in your home.

    Where can I find more information?

    I’ve attached a graphic to the end of this post that talks a bit more about the Premium Starter Kit. You can also find out more information on the Young Living website (https://www.youngliving.com/en_US) and on our site (http://livinghappyoils.com/)

    Why should I buy the kit now?

    The starter kit is normally priced at $160, however it’s currently on sale for $150 to celebrate an upcoming convention that is just a few days away. The retail value of the kit is over $300, so buying the kit bundled together in this way is a significant savings.

    How do I buy a kit?

    Simply go to this link (http://livinghappyoils.com/suzanne) and choose “Wholesale Member” to get the discount. This PDF (link) briefly goes over the enrollment process. Again, there is no obligation with a membership. It’s simply a fabulous deal!

    PSK-Flyer-WEB

  • The 10 Best Cities for Starting a Business in 2015

    According to a Forbes slideshow, the 10 best cities for starting a business in the United States is based on:

    • Average revenue of businesses
    • Percentage of businesses with paid employees
    • Number of businesses per 100 people
    • Unemployment rate

    It’s unclear as to what order these cities are supposed to be in or what makes these metrics an indicator of the best place to start a business. I decided to analyze the data further to determine how each city ranked based on each metric.

    Here’s how the cities rank when compared by Average Revenue of Businesses:

    Average Revenue of Businesses in 2015

    In this category, Beaumont – Port Arthur, Texas is #1:

    City Average Revenue of Businesses
    Beaumont – Port Arthur, Texas $   2,778,973.00
    Bridgeport – Stamford – Norwalk, Connecticut $   2,145,214.00
    Fort Wayne, Indiana $   1,965,562.00
    Evansville, Indiana-Kentucky $   1,844,834.00
    Peoria, Illinois $   1,698,149.00
    Green Bay, Wisconsin $   1,594,448.00
    Cedar Rapids, Iowa $   1,514,835.00
    Boulder, Colorado $       721,489.00
    Portland – South Portland – Biddleford, Maine $       716,382.00
    Wilmington, North Carolina $       665,548.00

    Here’s how the cities rank when compared by Percentage of Businesses with Paid Employees:

    Percentage of Businesses with Paid Employees

    In this category, Green Bay, Wisconsin is #1:

    City Percentage of Businesses with Paid Employees
    Green Bay, Wisconsin 31.1%
    Evansville, Indiana-Kentucky 27.5%
    Portland – South Portland – Biddleford, Maine 27.5%
    Peoria, Illinois 27.2%
    Fort Wayne, Indiana 26.5%
    Cedar Rapids, Iowa 26.1%
    Boulder, Colorado 23.8%
    Wilmington, North Carolina 23.6%
    Beaumont – Port Arthur, Texas 22.9%
    Bridgeport – Stamford – Norwalk, Connecticut 22.4%

    Here’s how the cities rank when compared by Number of Businesses per 100 People:

    Number of Businesses per 100 People

    In this category, Wilmington, North Carolina is #1:

    City Number of Businesses per 100 People
    Wilmington, North Carolina 15.1
    Boulder, Colorado 14.1
    Bridgeport – Stamford – Norwalk, Connecticut 11.8
    Cedar Rapids, Iowa 8.3
    Evansville, Indiana-Kentucky 8.2
    Portland – South Portland – Biddleford, Maine 8.2
    Fort Wayne, Indiana 7.7
    Green Bay, Wisconsin 7.2
    Peoria, Illinois 7.1
    Beaumont – Port Arthur, Texas 6.9

    Here’s how the cities rank when compared by their Unemployment Rate:

    Unemployment Rate

    In this category, Cedar Rapids, Iowa is #1.

    City Unemployment Rate
    Cedar Rapids, Iowa 3.8%
    Portland – South Portland – Biddleford, Maine 4.5%
    Evansville, Indiana-Kentucky 4.8%
    Green Bay, Wisconsin 5.1%
    Boulder, Colorado 5.2%
    Peoria, Illinois 5.3%
    Beaumont – Port Arthur, Texas 5.8%
    Fort Wayne, Indiana 6.3%
    Wilmington, North Carolina 6.8%
    Bridgeport – Stamford – Norwalk, Connecticut 6.8%

    Here is the full list, by city, for the best cities for starting a business in America in 2015:

    If you take the ‘best’ of each of the 4 categories, Evansville, Indiana-Kentucky is actually the best city for starting a business in 2015 (the lower the score, the better the rank):

    City Score
    Evansville, Indiana-Kentucky 14
    Cedar Rapids, Iowa 18
    Green Bay, Wisconsin 19
    Portland – South Portland – Biddleford, Maine 20
    Boulder, Colorado 22
    Fort Wayne, Indiana 23
    Peoria, Illinois 24
    Bridgeport – Stamford – Norwalk, Conneticut 25
    Beaumont – Port Arthur, Texas 26
    Wilmington, North Carolina 28

    1. Boulder, Colorado

    • Average revenue of businesses: $721,489
    • Percentage of businesses with paid employees: 23.8%
    • Number of businesses per 100 people: 14.1
    • Unemployment rate: 5.2%

    2. Wilmington, North Carolina

    • Average revenue of businesses: $665,548
    • Percentage of businesses with paid employees: 23.6%
    • Number of businesses per 100 people: 15.1
    • Unemployment rate: 6.8%

    3. Bridgeport – Stamford – Norwalk, Connecticut

    • Average revenue of businesses: $2,145,214
    • Percentage of businesses with paid employees: 22.4%
    • Number of businesses per 100 people: 11.8
    • Unemployment rate: 6.8%

    4. Evansville, Indiana-Kentucky

    • Average revenue of businesses: $1,844,834
    • Percentage of businesses with paid employees: 27.5%
    • Number of businesses per 100 people: 8.2
    • Unemployment rate: 4.8%

    5. Portland – South Portland – Biddleford, Maine

    • Average revenue of businesses: $716,382
    • Percentage of businesses with paid employees: 27.5%
    • Number of businesses per 100 people: 8.2
    • Unemployment rate: 4.5%

    6. Cedar Rapids, Iowa

    • Average revenue of businesses: $1,514,835
    • Percentage of businesses with paid employees: 26.1%
    • Number of businesses per 100 people: 8.3
    • Unemployment rate: 3.8%

    7. Beaumont – Port Arthur, Texas

    • Average revenue of businesses: $2,778,973
    • Percentage of businesses with paid employees: 22.9%
    • Number of businesses per 100 people: 6.9
    • Unemployment rate: 5.8%

    8. Green Bay, Wisconsin

    • Average revenue of businesses: $1,594,448
    • Percentage of businesses with paid employees: 31.1%
    • Number of businesses per 100 people: 7.2
    • Unemployment rate: 5.1%

    9. Fort Wayne, Indiana

    • Average revenue of businesses: $1,965,562
    • Percentage of businesses with paid employees: 26.5%
    • Number of businesses per 100 people: 7.7
    • Unemployment rate: 6.3%

    10. Peoria, Illinois

    • Average revenue of businesses: $1,698,149
    • Percentage of businesses with paid employees: 27.2%
    • Number of businesses per 100 people: 7.1
    • Unemployment rate: 5.3%

  • Perspectives from the End of a Generation

    As a person born in 1980, I fall at the end of Generation X and the beginning of Generation Y or the Millennial Generation. This gives me a unique perspective on life that I’d like to share from my generation.

    Sometimes it can be fun to get a little perspective. Age gives us this view. Some of these are related to people you may not know, but I’ll try to keep it as relevant as possible.

    Famous Births

    Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Beyonce Knowles, Kim Kardashian, and Paris Hilton are all around the same age as me (born either in 1980 or 1981).

    Space Travel

    The last time man left near-earth orbit was in 1972, 8 years before I were born, which was also the last time we landed on the moon during Apollo 17.

    The first time man left near-earth orbit was during Apollo 8 in 1968, 12 years before we were born and the first moon landing was a year later during Apollo 11.

    Civil Rights

    The American Civil War ended 115 years before I was born, but the Civil Rights Act was passed only 16 years before I was born in 1964.

    Brown vs. Board of Education was handed down 26 years before I was born, in 1954. If that seems like a long time, consider that I’m now 34 years old.

    Presidents

    In our lifetime we’ve lived through ~6 presidents (Carter, Reagan, Bush Sr, Clinton, Bush Jr, and Obama) over a span of 33 years.

    In the 33 years before we were born there were ~7 presidents (Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, and Carter).

    Leonardo Davinci and Michelangelo were to George Washington and Thomas Jefferson what George Washington and Thomas Jefferson are to me in regards to age and perspective.

    Technology

    The first nuclear test was 35 years before I was born in 1945, the same year WWII ended. The ENIAC was built a year later in 1946.

    In 1986, 6 years after I was born, Earth experienced both the Chernobyl and Challenger Disasters. 27 years later Columbia disintegrated in 2003.

    2 years before I was born, GPS was invented in 1978. 22 years later in the year 2000, President Clinton granted nonmilitary users access to an unscrambled GPS signal. 7 years after that the iPhone was released.

    Famous Deaths

    John Lennon died in December of 1980. Albert Einstein died in 1955, 25 years before we were born. Pablo Picasso died in 1973, 7 years before we were born.

    War

    5 years before we were born, the United States lost the Vietnam War (1975). 27 years before we were born, the Korean War ended (1953). 2015 is the same distance from 1980 as 1980 is from the end of World War II (1945).

    If you liked this, you might like BuzzFeed’s 7 Mind-Shattering Facts About Time that includes things like how Anne Frank, Martin Luther King Jr., and Barbara Walters were all born in the same year. How’s that for perspective?


    7 Mind-Shattering Facts About Time by buzzfeedvideo

    Update March 13, 2015 from Reddit

    What 2 famous people lived at the same time in history that people wouldn’t think were alive at the same time?

    • Tom Selleck, Bob Marley, Rod Stewart, Bubba Smith, Micky Dolenz, Eric Clapton, Mia Farrow, and Tony Dow were all alive at the same time as Adolf Hitler
    • Cleopatra and Julius Caesar
    • Picasso and JFK
    • Hitler and Einstein
    • Anne Frank and Martin Luther King Jr
    • Eminem and Elvis
    • Justin Bieber and Andre the Giant
    • Abe Lincoln and Charles Darwin
    • Bill Nye and Ken Ham
    • Abraham Lincoln and Karl Marx
    • Walt Disney and Adam Sandler
    • Mark Twain and Nikola Tesla
    • Salvador Dali and Walt Disney

  • Why I’m Going to Mixwest 2014

    Mixwest is an Indianapolis marketing, design, and technology convention with speakers and multi-track sessions spread out over two days: July 31-August 1, 2014. I’m going to meet new people and see old friends.

    Mixwest 2014

    I first went to Mixwest in 2011 when it was called “Blog Indiana“. Half of all of the people I follow on Twitter I met at that conference and I continue to keep in touch with them today. It’s any not different than many other conferences you might find in New York, Vegas, Austin, or San Francisco, it’s just that it’s in the Midwest, which makes it closer to me. I’m from around here, but it’s close enough that if you really wanted to come you could drive it in a day from Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, or Kentucky.

    The #Mixwest14 conference has a keynote speaker that opens each day, then there is breakout sessions, lunch, and an evening big speaker again. The first year they had Jay Baer, who I didn’t know of at the time, but have since realized is a pretty big deal in the social world. He lives in Bloomington, Indiana, which is an hour south of Indianapolis.

    You can learn more about the conference on Twitter @mixwest and can follow all of the speakers on the unofficial Mixwest 2014 Speaker Twitter list. If you’re looking to socialize with the tech entrepreneurs, social media pros, and freelance writers around Indianapolis, this is the place to do it.

  • 2014 Trends in Technology

    We’re just about 50% through the year and a few people have been releasing new reports on trends so I thought I’d highlight some things here:

    • Mobile – while the ability to make money from apps may be harder now, the use of mobile devices is only going up (1,2). The future of mobile is a more integrated society with more access to information formatted in new, useful ways.
    • Biofeedback/Quantified Self – from Fitbit to the new iPhone, sensors are becoming smaller and more ubiquitous. Accelerometers are now embedded in the processors themselves and the new iWatch may include advanced biosensor features.
    • Open Data – data.gov is the biggest example, but there are other examples, which you can find at http://www.opendatanow.com/. New businesses are being formed around analyzing and using this newly accessible data.
    • API Access – not only do sites like data.gov have open data, but now sites like http://open.fda.gov/ have API access to that data; and sites like IFTTT and Zapier make it easy for non-programmers to move data around in complex ways.
    • 3D Printing – CDW and Staples now sell 3D printers. Kids are designing and printing their own objects. If you want to ride the next PC-like wave, this is it. It’s hard to see now because it’s so new, but this is a new industry.

    If this interests you, compare it to the trends I speculated about the 13 trends changing the world in 2013 to see how many of them stayed true:

    1. Crowdfunding – Kickstarter just raised funding for Reading Rainbow.
    2. Crowdsourcing – The Reddit hive mind is the best detective on the planet.
    3. Open Source – Firefox just took their codebase closed-source.
    4. Insourcing – Robotics is allowing manufacturing to be cheaper in America.
    5. Infilling – Inner cities are encouraging growth to raise tax income locally.
    6. Cloud Apps – Chromebooks have risen in popularity and use.
    7. Long Tail – HBO shows now available on Amazon Instant Video.
    8. 3D Printing – SEE above.
    9. Augmented Reality – Facebook just bought Oculus Rift.
    10. Electric Cars – California’s biggest car manufacturer is now Tesla*.
    11. Private Space Exploration – Virgin Galactic not yet having regular flights, but SpaceX* is.
    12. Mobile Computing – SEE above.
    13. Mobile Payment Processing – Square and Starbucks continue to innovate.

    Out of the 13 trends, I’d say at least 10 are still going strong, but at least one has stagnated, replaced by Open Data and API Integrations.

    *Both Elon Musk companies.

  • A Passion for Soil

    While in West Lafayette at the Han Institute project meeting I was introduced to a man who claimed to have a passion for soil and how it relates to plants, animals, and humans. He was a project manager by trade, most recently working for Eli Lilly through BCForward in Indianapolis. He’s a reflexologist on the side, which is like acupuncture, but without the needles.

    He told the story of how his brother, while working for Albert Einstein, asked Einstein if his famous equation could be inverted to create mass from energy. The story goes that Einstein just rocked back and forth in his rocking chair a bit before saying, “I’ll leave that one for you to figure out.” His brother later worked on developing formulas for ionization, which was the beginning of his work in soil and plant science. His brother now consults with farmers about how to improve yields without fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides.

    The man’s name is Jerry Smith. He’s of Jewish descent, having had his name changed upon his ancestors entering the United States. He asked us if we knew the purpose insects serve? I said to clean up plant waste, but he said it was to eat unhealthy plants. He said the only way to tell the true health of a plant is to use a spectrometer. Unhealthy plants contain less sugar and are easier to digest. Then he asked us why weeds exist? He said it was to add nutrients back into the soil to prepare for other plants.

    In other words, his brother believed and has proven that healthy plants need no insecticide and healthy soil grows no weeds. These are pretty bold statements, but it gets even bolder. He said that plants, like corn, that have broad leaves get most of their nitrogen from the air, not from the soil. He said that people knew this back in the 1700’s, but somehow the knowledge was lost. On top of that he said corn should be able to water itself from the moisture in the air as long as the soil was healthy.

    So what are some characteristics of healthy soil? It’s soft. It has a smell to it. It’s cool in the summer and warm in winter. And it should have the same moisture level as the air. If any of these things aren’t true, it means the soil is dead or damaged. He did mention one way to restore the soil. He told a story of a farmer with a sandy hill. His brother asked him if he could plant some buck wheat on it for a year. As soon as the buck wheat would turn to seed, he’d plow it under. After the third time, the soil had turned black. The buck wheat had taken nitrogen from the air and energy from the sun and put it into the ground. He had created matter from energy.

    Corn Leaf

  • Grain Harvest? More like Great Harvest!

    I recently wrote about how I typically work and network in Indianapolis and while it started out as a way to discuss how to get the most out of little pieces of the city (what in my mind I call “hacking the day”), it ended up being more about networking and how I spend a typical day in the Carmel, Indiana area.

    After writing it I ended up telling my friend, Jason, about Jerry at the Great Harvest Bread Company in Carmel, Indiana. Jerry recently joined our BNI group in Carmel, and his business cards can be used to get a free loaf of bread.

    They are located next to the Stacked Pickle across from Meijer on Penn and Carmel Dr. They grind their grain each morning and only use natural ingredients.

    They want to do catering so Jerry is wanting to come give a groups a free catered lunch as a way to advertise their catering service. If you’re interested, contact:

    Great Harvest Bread Co.
    12505 Old Meridian, Suite 100
    Carmel, IN 46032
    317-575-8800

    I recently had lunch at Great Harvest Bread Company and I wanted to share a little bit about the experience. When I first walked in I got greeted by a fresh-baked slice of bread to try while I looked over the menu. Since I had just got back from Tom and Chee’s in Cincinnati, I was still craving a BLT so I ordered a BLT panini. Drinks were self-serve and coffee was available from a pump carafe in three flavors. After a short while, my sandwich was brought to me along with a wrapped pickle spear, which was delicious.

  • Indianapolis Networking with BNI and Rainmakers

    Yesterday, I wrote about attending an Indianapolis networking group called Linking Indiana, but recently I have joined both BNI (Business Networking International) and Rainmakers.

    I go to the BNI in Carmel, Indiana called “Network Masters”. It’s a referral group where only one person from each professional specialty is allowed. This means that there can’t be two web designers in a group, for example. They call it “exclusivity” and it helps you to be “the guy” for your particular industry or specialty.

    BNI is also strict on attendance, meaning that you have to either attend every meeting or find a substitute. You’re only allowed a limited amount of absences per year, but this can be a good thing because you know people are actually going to be there to hear what you have to say. The point is to learn about each other’s businesses so you can be a good referral partner when you’re out working in your field.

    Rainmakers is different than BNI in that its events aren’t required, but its “power circle” meetings are. The power circle meetings act more like BNI meetings because their seats are exclusive, meaning you can have only one type of profession in each meeting. The difference in power circles to BNI is that power circles are supposed to be made up of service professionals who naturally refer to each other, making the group potentially more effective than a general BNI group.

    Anyone can invite visitors to a BNI meeting or a Rainmakers event, but visitors can only attend twice before having to sign up as a member. BNI and Rainmakers are comparable in price per year and both have their advantages. If you’re interested in attending one, but don’t want to go alone, contact me and we’ll see if we can go to an event together.