-JR-

My home and home office contain many sensitive electronic devices. We have several personal computers, a PC server, NAS drives, routers, switches, printers, cordless phones, security system, etc. All of these things (and more) plug into the AC mains and are therefore vulnerable to voltage sags or spikes and the occasional power outage. When a person invests a lot of money in electronic hardware, it only makes sense to do everything you can to protect it. That is why I always discourage people from plugging these sensitive devices directly into the wall. I currently have a total of 10 UPS systems and two line conditioners in my home, which protect my most valuable computer, security and A/V equipment.

Over the years the cost of power conditioners and Uninterrupted Power Supplies has dropped drastically, and yet the overall reliability and performance of these have improved a great deal. A typical UPS used to be thought of as a simple battery backup device. But today the majority of UPS systems also help to condition the power, to a degree, using technologies such as AVR (Automatic Voltage Regulation). There are several different types of UPS systems available, offering a wide range of output capacities and power conditioning capabilities. Of course the price goes up as your need of greater output and more sensitive voltage protection increases. But for some devices you can get by with a modest UPS system, to simply provide a moderate amount of power protection and battery backup time. This “modest” category is where the CyberPower CP850AVRLCD UPS fits in.

Model numbers of these UPS systems can be a little confusing, as many people think that the model reflects the output level of the device in watts. The model number of most UPS systems actually reflects the volt-amp rating, whereas the continuous watt load the unit can handle is usually a fraction of that VA rating, in terms of AC output. Calculating the exact watt output the UPS can sustain, strictly based on the VA rating, can be a little tricky since the AC load is not usually in precise phase. However, if you look up the specs of a given UPS system, the manufacturer usually indicates the maximum watts that the device is meant to sustain. In the case of the CyberPower CP850AVRLCD, the VA rating is 850 but the watt output rating is 510. That is a 60% difference between the VA and Watt rating.

This CyberPower UPS provides Automatic Voltage Regulation, shown by the letters “AVR” in the model number. This means that the UPS is capable of decreasing (Buck) or increasing (Boost) output voltage, slightly, in order to “clean” the power it is passing through to your electronic equipment. This is, or course, while the UPS is receiving AC power through your mains. If the voltage exceeds the minimum or maximum voltage tolerance, the system will automatically switch over to battery power, in order to protect your electronic equipment. The included PowerPanel Personal Edition software allows you a modest adjustment to these minimum and maximum voltage tolerance levels. The software also clearly displays the current status of the UPS, including voltage supplied, voltage condition, remaining battery capacity, battery status, remaining battery runtime and the current battery backed up load on the system. PowerPanel Personal Edition allows you to adjust the amount of time that your computer will remain running on battery power before shutting down. Of course you can choose to set the UPS to allow your computer to run as long as possible, but the UPS will still shut down your computer when it is down to only 5 minutes of remaining time. Therefore you will need to consider how much of a load your current equipment will put on the UPS, as too much load could cause the UPS to shutdown your computer almost immediately after an AC power failure. There is also a configuration screen for alert sounds, which allows you to enable or disable the beeping sounds this UPS would normally make during power events. There is not much more you can do with this software, which really limits its overall usefulness.

Some of the most important technical specifications of this device are as follows:

* UPS Topology: Line-Interactive
* Voltage Input: 90Vac – 140Vac
* Plug Style: Right Angle
* Cord Length: 6 feet
* Output: 850VA / 510 Watts
* AVR: Yes
* On Battery Voltage: 120Vac +/- 5%
* On Battery Frequency: 60Hz
* On Battery Waveform: Simulated Sine Wave
* Battery & Surge Outlets: 5
* Surge-Only Outlets: 4
* Overload Protection: Internal Circuitry Limiting/Circuit Breaker
* Transfers Time: 4ms
* Runtime at Half Load: 7 min
* Runtime at Full Load: 1 min
* Battery Type: Sealed Lead Acid – 12V/8.5Ah
* Typical Recharge Time: 8 Hours
* Surge Suppression: 1,080 Joules
* Phone/Ethernet RJ11/RJ45: 1-In, 1-Out (combo plug)
* Coax Protection (RG6): 1-In, 1-Out
* Computer Interface: USB x1 – Serial x1
* Dimensions (in): 10 1/4″ x 4 3/8″ x 8 7/8″
* Weight: 16 lbs.
* Product Warranty: 3 Years Limited
* Connected Equipment Guarantee: Lifetime
* CEG Amount: $250,000

The majority of my UPS systems are made by APC. However, I wanted to try a CyberPower unit, so I purchased this smallish 510 Watt unit to provide conditioning and battery backup for a DSL modem, an Ethernet Router, a wireless access point, and a 16-port Gigabit switch. The total load of this attached hardware is only about 45 to 50 watts, at full working load. Therefore this UPS should provide battery backup long enough for me to do some moderate Internet browsing from another UPS powered PC or wirelessly from a laptop. Setup of the CyberPower UPS was completely effortless. You don’t even have to hook up cables to the internal battery, which is something that all APC units require. Upon powering up the CyberPower UPS I was greeted with a nice blue LCD display, which can be toggled to show current load level, estimated run time, input voltage, output voltage, output frequency, battery capacity, and the current status of the UPS (normal AC, battery in use, AVR in use, if system overload is detected, if audible sound is enabled or disabled, or if there is a household wire fault). I think this LCD status display is very useful. However, CyberPower has decided that the consumer does not need the LCD to remain lit, for real-time monitoring. Therefore you will find that the LCD will shut itself off after about 20 seconds, unless you push the toggle button, which lights it back up again as you switch between status screens. I find this extremely annoying, as I like to be able to monitor input voltage and current power load by just glancing at the display. All of my APC UPS systems, with LCD displays, allow me to set the backlight to remain lit at all times. I just don’t understand why CyberPower would not provide this ability. I don’t like it when a manufacturer makes a decision for me that I don’t need something, even though I specifically paid for a UPS with an LCD display. Since I paid for it, I want to see it. I don’t want to have to crawl under the desk to push the doggone toggle button, just to activate the backlight so I can see the display. The engineer that designed this shortcoming should be fired!

Overall I am quite pleased with the CyberPower CP850AVRLCD UPS. It offers a reasonable amount of useful features, has plenty of backed-up (5) and surge-only (4) outlets, includes Automatic Voltage Regulation, and has a compact footprint. The battery runtime is rather low, especially when used for a mid-level or high-end PC and monitor. But for my low wattage needs, this UPS should keep my DSL modem, router, wireless access point and Ethernet switch up and running for quite some time. The LCD display shows, under the average 45 watt load I have, it will run for approximately 94 minutes. I almost expect that it will likely last even longer than that. My biggest complaints with this UPS are the weak software that CyberPower provides, as well as the unchangeable sleep mode that the LCD display goes into. CyberPower has really dumbed down this otherwise impressive UPS device. The product itself is a worthy, full-featured UPS system, but CyberPower has restricted user configuration to the point that it just can’t compete with other big players in the market, like APC. For a very basic computer user, this UPS could be a good, low cost solution. But for advanced users, who demand more control of their UPS settings and features, the CyberPower CP850AVRLCD simply falls short. I think the folks at CyberPower should consider updating their PowerPanel Personal Edition software, to allow more control of voltage tolerances, automatic computer shut down, LCD backlight mode (choices for sleep mode and always on), and the ability to setup a computer hibernation rather than simply shutting down the computer. Maybe some of their higher end (more expensive) UPS systems allow for these settings, but I definitely feel that they should consider adding these abilities to models like the CP850AVRLCD as well. I could easily give this UPS 5 stars if the software was more useful and the LCD display were user controllable, but as it stands now I can only give it 4 stars at best. Everything else about this UPS is solid and well designed, so I recommend it for basic computer users that do not require power user features and configurability.

The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 CUPS OF COFFEE
When things in your life seem
almost too much to handle,
when 24 Hours in a day is not enough,
remember the mayonnaise jar
and 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class
and had some items in front of him.
When the class began, wordlessly,
he picked up a very large
and empty mayonnaise jar
and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students
if the jar was full.
They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar.
He shook the jar lightly.
The pebbles rolled into the open
areas between the golf balls.

He then asked
the students again
if the jar was full..
They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand
and poured it into the jar.
Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
He asked once more if the jar was full.

The students responded
with an unanimous
“yes.”

The professor then produced
two cups of coffee from under the table
And poured the entire contents
into the jar, effectively
filling the Empty space between the sand.
The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor,
as the laughter subsided,
“I want you to recognize that
this jar represents your life.
The golf balls are the important things -
God, family, children, health,
friends, and Favorite passions –
things that if everything else was lost
and only they remained,
your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter
like your job, house, and car.

The sand is everything else –
the small stuff.

“If you put the sand into the jar first,”
he continued,
“there is no room for
the pebbles or the golf balls.
The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time
and energy on the small stuff,
you will never have room for
the things that are
important to you.

So…

Pay attention to the things
that are critical to your happiness.
Play With your children.
Take time to get medical checkups.
Take your partner out to dinner.
Play another 18.

There will always be time
to clean the house
and fix the disposal.

“Take care of the golf balls first –
the things that really matter.
Set your priorities.
The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand
and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled.
“I’m glad you asked”.

It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for
a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”

Please share this with
someone you care about.

I JUST DID.

Gary Vee has two things which set him apart that is his hustle and belief. Just remember that he turned an already successful wine company from 1 million into 50 million. The same principles apply with turning 20, 000 a year into 100,000 a year. Increase your hustle and focus your belief!

I’m not going to lie, it is a lil scary to choose an untraveled path by yourself against the unknown. Fear can either paralyze you or drive you into action. Which for some bring on more fear and anxiety.

Although that is the same thing that attracts me to it . I personally strive under pressure’s from fear, which requires quick  thinking  (reflexes).  Through out my life I have been known to climb the tallest tower’s (even surrounded by high voltage at times). Even skydiving, motorcycles, Ariel flips on my rollerblades and the list goes on and on.  Yes the risk’s are much higher, but so is a payoff of complete freedom.

As you put yourself in the path of fear more and more. You start to feel calm (immune)… which leads to an inner peace… which leads to a sense of freedom searching for bigger and bigger obstacle’s that life can bring. Like anything done repeatedly, you’ll be ready to take on anything when you face it.

What begins to happen as you “rise above” the emotion is that you begin to “see” yourself as if you’re almost an unconcerned third party (confidence).  You’re no longer trapped in anxiety and instead of making bad decisions, you can now enter in a solution mentality because your mind is thinking more clearly (as done more often).

“Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live.”
– Dorothy Thompson

The same goes for entrepreneurs that see an opportunity that no one else does.  Yes, the road is going to be tough, but the payout is something so much greater then what the standard can provide.

“If it was easy, everyone would be doing it”

Being a business owner there have been MANY days to wake up and think ” I wish i had a standard, steady 9-5 like everyone else”.  Although I have since I was 14 and it left me with no stability to start a family (explained here). I think besides the know how, fear is a big reason people block creativity from happening.  The worst that can happen is that you learn a lesson to pass on to the next generation of creative minds.

When it comes to the work place, most company’s dont embrace creativity from their employee’s. I’m not sure why, but in doing so will make the difference between a successful company and one providing slower growth or even destined to fail. Depending on where the chain of command to the top stops.

Look at google for instance. Google is one of the most sought out company’s to work for because of they embrace creativity instead of fearing it. Most of Google employee’s are working on their own side projects.

Probably why they have one of the highest traded stocks in the U.S. market and the fifth most valuable company in the country.  I’m just sayin…

Here’s a GREAT blog article on embracing fear on a personal level that I highly recommend and kinda jealous i didnt write it. haha

http://theboldlife.com/2008/11/embrace-fear-and-live-life-out-loud/

The first decade of the 21st century was one of the most instrumental learning stages for most 80′s baby’s.  It was a time to finish school and hit the “real world” and learn from those already there.   In 2000 I graduated from Devry and traveled North America as systems engineer for a couple years.  I met a lot of good people, traveled a lot and also got laid off more then most do in their entire life (2).  I did see more then most of my friends still away at school, plus more “real world” business’s experiences.  It makes me wonder how important the bachelor degree really is compared to real world experience plus an associates degree anyway?

Before starting a family like most of my friends were did after they graduated.  I opted to exploring my passion’s, relationship’s and love in order to see what i really wanted out of life.  It was a decade in my 20′s doing anything and everything to find how to make my passions my career. For me it was having all the freedom in the world and then stripped of it all the next day. It was a period of learning “money isnt everything” and its really the cause to most of society’s problems.  When you can be completely happy with nothing. Only then can you find who you are and where you wanna go, with what you got.

So what I’m gonna tell you is what I learned instead of reiterating the obvious of what happened in those years.

I learned:

-To diversify yourself because $hit can hit the fan real quick…

-Reality tv will sadly never go away…

-The quicker you get up, the quicker you can face a challenge.

- I should have been a rapper or football kicker…

- not to fear the uncertainty of chasing your passion…

- keep your license, license plates and stickers up-to-date and pay all your tickets on time no matter what else is going on that you think is more important…

-That songs on mainstream radio are just becoming really long commercials for liquor companies and drug dealers…

- Sometimes you gotta wear your ♥ on your sleeve open 2 the elements in order 2 get closer 2 what ur really lookin 4…

-Doing what your passionate about feels like everyday is Friday. You still have to work…its just more exciting.

-To “Go big or Go Home” always applies…

-Kids really are the future like MJ sang it (R.I.P.)…

-That corporate lobbying needs to be illegal as of 2010…

-It starts with family and ends with family…

-it is possible to work 2 full time jobs…

-that deep inside, we all want the same things in life and will get there faster by working together…

-the internet is the most powerful tool next to the human heart..

-“Teaching is the most noble of professions. What teachers do in their classroom affect not only their students, but generations of learners to come.” – Neil Postman

- Less is more…

J.K.Rowling speaking at Harvard

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Frozen in Grand Central
Life Lesson: Great things can be achieved if we work together.

One in a Million Shot
Life Lesson: Small miracles can occur.

Turn a Paperclip into a New House
Life Lesson: A big heart and a little persistance goes a long way.

Yes We Can
Life Lesson: The first step is believing.

Throw out your thoughts of any political sides, this is a great speech that was writtin.

Add music and I’m a fan.

Woman With No Arms
Life Lesson: Passion and determination can allow anyone to overcome their physical limitations.

Autistic 3 Pointers
Life Lesson: Sometimes all someone needs is to be given a chance.

Blind Painter
Life Lesson: Tragedies can open new doors of vision.

The following list contains y favorite inspirational and motivational YouTube videos.  Each video clip tells a different tale, a unique story conveying subtle lessons about life, love, happiness and success.  I’ve been bookmarking these slowly over the course of a year or so.  Each one is certainly worth watching at least once.

Commencement Address by Steve Jobs
Life Lesson: Find what you love, trust in your instincts, and follow your heart.

This video was created for the AARP U@50 video contest and placed second

It is based on the Argentinian Political Advertisement “The Truth” by RECREAR

Life and Music
Life Lesson: Don’t sacrifice your life for someone else’s idea of success.

Ninja Almost Defeated by a Bug
Life Lesson: Change your thoughts to change your world.

Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture

Life Lesson: Be honest, be tolerant, and lead a life you are proud of.

Al Pacino’s Inches Speech
Life Lesson: Short consistent steps in a positive direction will eventually lead you to victory.

Autistic Anthem Singer Gets Help in Boston
Life Lesson: Genuine kindness and hope exists in humanity.

Disabled Athletes
Life Lesson: No disability is an excuse for not trying.

Patrick Henry Hughes Inspires
Life Lesson: Everyone has a gift, it just needs to be found and unleashed.

Inspirational quote’s;
These are my favorite quotes that I have created & collected over the years.

@”Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity. It just doesn’t work.” Dr. Wayne Dyer

@ “You can travel the world, but sometimes the meaning of life is in your own back yard.” – unknown

@ “Most people don’t recognize opportunity when it comes. Catching the good that is within our reach, is the great art of life.” johnny romano

@ Reach for the stars and if you fall short you’ll land on the clouds – uknown

@You always pass failure on the way to success – Mickey Rooney

@ The feeling that you can do and achieve anything is only that unless you take the first step. – Johnny Romano

@ “If the grass is greener on the other side, you can bet the water bill is higher” – Unknown

@ “When your dreams turn to dust, vacuum” – Unknown

@ “You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not?’” – Uknown

@ “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C.S. Lewis quotes

@If you cant find a way out, then find a new way in – The international(movie)

@People are about as loyal as their options until they learn QUALITY is better than quantity!  Johnny Romano

@ Follow your heart and you’ll never work a day in your life – unknown

@”When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace…”
-Jimmy Hendrix

@ Follow your heart and you’ll have no competition the whole way – Johnny Roman

@  Sometimes you gotta take a chance & wear your ♥ on your sleeve open 2 the elements in order 2 get closer 2 what ur really lookin 4 – Johnny Romano

@ Dream as if you’ll live forever, live as if you’ll die today.”   James Dean quotes

@ Albert Einstein said, “Imagination is more powerful than knowledge.” I believe this is true in many respects because while knowledge allows you to see things as they are, imagination allows you to see things as they could be.

@ “Goods and services are no longer enough. To be successful
increasingly competitive environment, companies must learn to stage experiences
for each one of their individual customers. We have entered the Experience
Economy, a new economic era in which all businesses must orchestrate memorable
events for their customers that engage each one of them in an inherently personal

@ The Experience Economy: “Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage” – B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore

@Sometimes you gotta get out of your comfort zone to see a new perspective – Johnny Romano

@ “One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure its worth watching.” – Uknown

@ Everyone has a photographic memory, I just dont have film sometimes – Uknown

@ He who ask a question may be a fool for five minutes. But he who doesnt remains a fool forever. Uknown

@ “Teaching is the most noble of professions. What teachers do in their classroom affect not only their students, but generations of learners to come.” – Neil Postman

@ “Music is the electrical soil in which the spirit lives, thinks and invents.” -Ludwig van Beethoven

@ “It is the supreme art of a teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.” – Albert Einstein

@ “Great teachers teach from the heart 1st and the book 2nd” – Johnny Romano.

@ “Women are meant to be loved, not to be understood.” – Uknown

@ No one is going to hand your dreams to you on a silver plater. You dream em, you create em… – Johnny Romano

@ “A dreamer is one who find’s his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the sunrise before the rest of the world.” – Uknown

@ Plan your dreams and work your plan every day! – Johnny Romano

@“Dream as if you’ll live forever, live as if you’ll die today.” – Uknown

@Smooth roads never make good drivers.
Smooth sea never makes good sailors.
Clear skies never make good pilots.
Problem free life never makes a strong person.
Be strong enough to accept the challenges of life.
Don’t ask…’Why me?’.
Instead say, ‘Try me!
-Unkown

@ DONT CHASE THE PAPER, CHASE THE DREAM! – Puffy (notorious the movie)

@” Dont ever get intimidated just because someone shows up to the starting line with you.” -Johnny Romano

@”loosing has never been an option”  – unknown

@”Close minded folks get close minded dreams” – Johnny Romano

@”If you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best”- Marilyn Monroe

@”If you always do what you have always done, than you will always get what you have always got.” – Johnny Romano

@ “big things make the impression, little things create the memory.” – uknown

@”Sales will be a lot easier when you can prove “growth”, compared to suggesting it will just work” – johnny Romano

@ “I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word of what I am saying.” – unknown

@ “Success is measured by your struggle to overcome everything that holds you back” – Johnny Romano

@ “If you love somebody, let them go. If they return, they were always yours. If they don’t, they never were.”

@ “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” – Herman Cain

@ “Anyone that doesnt support your dreams most likely didnt follow theirs” – John Romano

@ “The hard part about being a bartender is figuring out who is drunk and who is just stupid” – Richard Braunstein quotes

@ “Give me the strength to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

@”Always listen to the experts, they’ll tell you what can’t be done, and why.
Then go do it.” ~The Notebooks of Lazarus Long (by Robert Heinlein)

@ “The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.”

@ “Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.” – Napoleon Hill

@ I WAKE UP IN THE MORNING AND PISS EXCELLENCE “msandrearenee ”

@ The radio business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There’s also a negative side” – Hunter s. Thompson

@”I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed” — Michael Jordan

——————————————————

“An entrepreneur is defined as a person who is willing to live like no one else will so that one day they can live like no one else can.” – Anonymous

“The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary” – Paul Mitchell, co-founder of Vidal Sassoon

“The successful person makes a habit of doing what the failing person doesn’t do.” -Thomas Edison, inventor and scientist

“Successful people are not lucky. They make their own luck.” – Anonymous

“The life of an entrepreneur is occasionally exhilarating, and almost always exhausting. Only unbridled passion for the concept is likely to see you through the 17-hour days (month after month) and the painful mistakes that are part and parcel of the start-up process.” – Thomas Peters, management consultant and co-author of “In Search of Excellence”

“If you can DREAM it, you can DO it.” – Walt Disney

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters to what lies within us.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“A dream is just a dream. A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline.” – Harvey Mackay

“Life without risks is not worth living.” – Charles A. Lindbergh

“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” – Les Brown

“It is good to dream, but it is better to dream and work. Faith is mighty, but action with faith is mightier. Desiring is helpful, but work and desire are invincible.” – Thomas Robert Gaines

“The rich buy assets. The poor only have expenses. The middle class buys liabilities they think are assets.” – Robert T. Kiyosaki, author of “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”