New Ways to Deal with Robocalls

Fighting back...

Robot callers are busier than ever.

If it seems as though you've been getting more annoying automated phone calls than ever before, it's because you probably have, Anthony Giorgianni writes on consumerreports.org.

In the month of September alone, 2.4 billion robocalls were made in the U.S., more than twice the amount in September 2015, estimates YouMail, a provider of voicemail and call blocking services, Giorgianni reports.

The good news is that there are also more ways to stop or at least minimize the annoyance of these calls and potential of being scammed by them, he added.

For some new ways to fight back: https://www.consumerreports.org/robocalls/how-to-deal-with-robocalls/

Photo: Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report: 
Risky: Russkie Jet Flies Five Feet from US Navy Plane

Give Your TV a Super Bowl Tuneup

How to get your set ready...

Make your TV look like a champ.

We’re hoping that Super Bowl LII, which kicks off this year on Feb. 4 on NBC, brings football fans plenty of fast-paced, gripping action, James Wilcox writes on consumerreports.org.

But if your TV isn’t adjusted properly, even an exciting game could look flatter than a glass of three-day-old beer, he added.

Not to worry: With a few adjustments to the settings, you can give your set a big-game TV tuneup before the coin toss, he noted.

For tips on tuning up your set: https://www.consumerreports.org/lcd-led-oled-tvs/super-bowl-tv-tuneup/

Photo: Giphy.

Next time on The Allen Report: 

New Ways to Deal With Robocalls.

Backlash Over White House Plan to Nationalize U.S. 5G Networks

Leaked memo...

AT&T's and Verizon's 5G networks are coming this year, 

promising insanely fast Internet speeds.

A leaked White House memo that calls for the government to build and control a “5G” next-generation wireless data service drew immediate backlash Monday from industry groups, regulators, and even some within President Trump’s own administration, Brian Fung reports on washingtonpost.com.

Although the proposal is reportedly dated, its disclosure sparked a debate over how much weight it carries, Fung wrote.

Both Democrats and Republicans decried the idea of the government stepping so forcefully into an area that has largely been in the hands of private actors, he added.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai issued a statement opposing the proposal, and White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders dismissed it as dated and just the start of a conversation.

For more:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/news/the-switch/wp/2018/01/29/why-everyone-is-freaking-out-about-a-white-house-plan-to-nationalize-the-countrys-next-gen-data-networks/

Photo: Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report: 

Give Your TV a Super Bowl Tuneup.

Axios: Washington Experts Speed the News Online

Quick, punchy Washington news...

Mike Allen, co-founder of Axios.

Mike Allen, a 53 year-old reporter, upended Washington media coverage when his Axios news service burst on to the scene in the nation's capital in 2016.

Today, Axios is a must-read for Washingtonians and others who want to Go Deeper and know Why it Matters, just two of the news service's features.

For Steven Perlberg's timely Axios report on buzzfeed.com: https://flipboard.com/@flipboard/-be-smart-mike-allen-wrote-the-rules-of-/f-f3840fa344%2Fbuzzfeed.com

Photo: buzzfeed.com

Next time on The Allen Report: 

Backlash Over White House Plan to Nationalize U.S. 5G Networks.

Haute Coutre: A Review of Paris Fashion Week Highlights

32 stunning photos...

A model wearing a Jean Paul Gaultier gown.

Fashion designers showed their spring 2018 coutre collections in Paris this week, delivering on all the glitz and extravagance we expect from these shows, Julia Brucclieri reports on huffingtonpost.com.

Clare Waight Keller, who took over at Givenchy last year, turned out her first couture collection for the label, and simply put it was stunning, Brucculieri wrote.

Speaking of debuts, Kaia Gerber, daughter of supermodel Cindy Crawford, appeared in her first coutre show -- and at Chanel, no less.

For more: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/paris-couture-fashion-week-2018-photos_us_5a68aa24e4b0e56300758798

A model in a Zuhair Murad creation.

A model in a Givenchy gown.

Photos: huffingtonpost.com

Next time on The Allen Report: 

Axios: Washington Experts Speed News Online.

Beware: Wide-spread Identity Theft on Social Media

The dark web at work...

Facebook disclosed in November that it had at least twice as many fake users as previously estimated.  It may have up to 60 million automated accounts.

Everyone wants to be popular online, nytimes. com reports today.

Some even pay for it, the news service wrote.

But there's a dark side to popularity and the web.

For a fascinating look inside social media's black market:  https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/01/27/technology/social-media-bots.html?mtrref=undefined

Photos: Giphy, Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report: 

Axios: Washington Experts Speed News Online.

Smile: A Great New Week is Almost Here

Fun...

Hang on, honey!

For fun videos to start your new week:

-- Audible: Troubled waters: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/wt6h/audible-com-troubled-waters

-- Audible: Traffic jam: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/wpJ2/audible-com-ride-with-audible-affirmation

-- Progressive: Monster under my bed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jR3z1qdi28

-- Audible: Flight attendant: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/AZNK/texture-flight-attendant

-- GEICO: Airshow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMcvcPLQwr8

-- Honda: My girl friend needs to sell her car: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KlNeiY4Rf4

(For the story behind the Honda/girl friend commercial: http://www.upworthy.com/this-hilarious-ad-for-a-1996-honda-is-the-perfect-commentary-on-materialism?c=ufb1

Photos: Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report:

Beware: Wide-spread Identity Theft on Social Media.

Musical Moments: Master and Commander

Final song...

A Boccherini masterpiece from a great movie.

Musical Moments features music and artists I've enjoyed over the years.

Today's selection is a Boccherini masterpiece from Master and Commander: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l78VNe_dhAM

Photo: Tumblr.

Next time on The Allen Report: 
Smile: A Great New Week is Almost Here.

Darien Ends an Active Real Estate Week

Weekly update...

Lamar River Rapids, Yellowstone National Park.

Darien ended an active residential real estate week today.

Results, according to the Darien MLS, were:

-- 12 new listings of property for sale;

-- Eight price changes;

-- Four accepted offers; 

-- No properties going under contract and,

-- Seven closings.

For more:

Next time on The Allen Report: 

Musical Moments: Master and Commander.

Cities, States Keep the Net Neutrality Battle Alive

Challenging the FCC...

Montana Governor Steve Bullock joined the fight this week to keep the net neutrality battle alive.

States are starting to make good on their promises to fight net neutrality in the wake of the Federal Communications Commission's decision to jettison rules that banned broadband providers from blocking or discriminating against Internet content, Flint Findley reports on wired.com.

On Monday, Montana Governor Steve Bullock signed an executive order effectively banning state agencies from doing business with Internet service providers that violate net neutrality, Findley wrote.

New York Governor Andrew Como signed a similar order on Wednesday, he added.

The moves follow a suit filed by 21 states and the District of Columbia challenging the FCC's decision to overturn its own protections, Findley noted.

For more: https://www.wired.com/story/states-and-cities-keep-the-battle-for-net-neutrality-alive/

Burger King offers a brilliant explanation of a difficult to understand topic

The repeal of net neutrality is a hot topic in America, but it can be difficult to understand.  That's why Burger King produced a video on the topic.  Don't miss it.  It has drawn millions of viewers this week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltzy5vRmN8Q&t=5s

Photo: wired.com.

Next time on The Allen Report:

The Latest Darien Real Estate Update.

Riding the Wind to New Records

Transatlantic airliners hit speeds near 800 mph...

In the past few days, Norwegian Air 787 jets have broken a subsonic speed record.

When Randal Miles woke up from a nap during his flight from Los Angeles to Paris last week, he opened the interactive map on his seat-back screen to see how much longer he'd be in the air, Jack Stewart reports on wired.com.

But the number than caught his eye was the jet's speed.

The Norwegian jet was flying at 770 mph -- about 200 mph faster than its standard cruising velocity, Stewart wrote.

For more on how standard Boeing jets are taking advantage of strong jet streams rushing west to east across the Atlantic: https://www.wired.com/story/norwegian-air-transatlantic-speed-record/

Photo: wired.com

Next time on The Allen Report:
Cities, States Keep the Net Neutrality Battle Alive.

The Dumbest Passwords People Still Use

12345...

Still using your cat's name?

Sh1a-labeouf

We asked network security experts to tell us which passwords Americans just can't stop using, znet.com reports. 

Here's what they told us.

Yes: A bizarrely high number of Americans are taking the name of a sometimes-troubled actor, moving some characters around, and calling it a password.

For more amazing passwords, including the ever popular, 12345: www.zdnet.com/pictures/the-dumbest-passwords-people-still-use/

Photo: Pinterest:

Next time on The Allen Report; 

Riding the Wind to New Records.

Five Rules for Writers

Omit needless words...

Elmore Leonard, a grand master of writing.

As a professional writer, I’m always trying to improve, John Miller reports on nationalreview.com.

I’ve studied the work of the top writers. I’ve debated great opening sentences with colleagues. I’ve thought long and hard about things like serial commas, concluding that they are good and necessary (don’t @ me), Miller wrote.

He reviews rules from some great writers, including Elmore Leonard, George Orwell and Ernest Hemingway.  Of course, he recommends Strunk and White's classic, The Elements of Style.

Then he offers five rules of his own from his new book: Reading Around: Journalism on Authors, Artists and Ideas: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/455406/writing-rules-john-j-miller

A little book with a big following over almost six decades.

Photos: Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report:
The Dumbest Passwords People Still Use.

Getting a Roommate in Your Golden Years

Home sharing...

Grace Linderholm, 23, and Thelma Chesney, 91, share a meal at home in Brooklyn.

Like many older Americans, Shazzi Felstein recently found herself in an unexpected financial bind. About a year ago, she noticed that her savings had dwindled, Kaya Laterman reports on nytimes.com.

To her horror, she realized that her monthly Social Security check would not cover her rent-stabilized one-bedroom apartment in Chelsea and monthly expenses like utilities and food for much longer, Laterman wrote.

For more on how seniors and younger people needing a reasonably priced place to live are  becoming roommates and sharing a home: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/12/realestate/getting-a-roommate-in-your-golden-years.html

Photo: nytimes.com.

Next time on The Allen Report: 

Five Rules for Writers.

Home Improvements With the Highest ROI in 2018

Cost vs. value...

Return on Investment (ROI) can vary.  For instance, kitchen renovation ROIs range from 81-54 percent.

A strong housing market isn't necessarily all good news for sellers, Jameson Doris reports on rismedialcom..

As evidenced by Remodeling magazine's newly-released Cost vs. Value Report for 2018, average return on investment (ROI) for home improvement projects dipped across the board, with "upscale" projects taking the biggest hit, Doris wrote.

The report, which measures the average cost of 21 popular remodeling projects and their average resale value one year later, found that garage door replacement has the highest ROI at 98.3 percent (up from 85 percent year-over-year). Backyard patio jobs garner the lowest ROI, at 47.6 percent (down from 54.9 percent year-over-year), Doris added.

For a breakdown of projects and their ROI: http://blog.rismedia.com/2018/cost-value-home-improvement-projects/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email

Photo: rismedia.com

Next time on The Allen Report:
Getting a Roommate in Your Golden Years.

Smile: Your New Week is About to Begin

Fun...

Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle.

For fun videos:

-- Subaru: Forever Young: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGxWSQ7pUWY

-- Allstate: No Buts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HyVGtz4Fog

-- AARP: Caregiver:  https://www.ispot.tv/ad/woJI/aarp-tougher-than-tough-caregiver-assistance-feat-danny-trejo

-- United Healthcare: Maze: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/wSy8/unitedhealthcare-aarp-medicare-plans-maze?autoplay

-- Ring: Welcome to the Neighborhood: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ve6RR-Ohezw

-- GEICO: Washington Crossing the Delaware: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/wHX7/geico-washington-crossing-the-delaware

Photos: Giphy, Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report: 

Home Improvements With the Best ROI in 2018.

Musical Moments: East of the Sun and West of the Moon

Wonderful...

Musical Moments features music and artists I've enjoyed over the years.

Today's selection is a wonderful piece by George Shearing, East of the Sun and West of the Moon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmm63Z_vUMM

Photo: Giphy.

Next time on The Allen Report:

Smile: Your New Week is About to Begin.

Darien Sees an Uptick in Real Estate Activity

Weekly update...

Nice shot.

Darien saw an uptick in residential real estate activity in the week ending today.

Results, according to the Darien MLS, were:

-- Five new listings of property for sale;

-- Five price changes;

-- Two accepted offers; 

-- One property going under contract and,

-- Five closings.

For more:

Next time on The Allen Report:

Musical Moments: Shearing, East of the Sun, West of the Moon.

More Health Insurance Changes Ahead in 2018

Look for new options...

With attempts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act on hold, the Trump Administration is stepping up efforts to overhaul the health insurance market by loosening regulations, Donna Rosato writes on consumerreports.org.

The administration has proposed a raft of changes that would expand individual insurance offerings, allow states more flexibility in administering Medicaid, and provide more health insurance options for small businesses and self-employed people, Rosato added.

The latest move came Thursday, when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) issued guidelines that for the first time would allow states to impose work requirements on non-disabled adults receiving Medicaid. Though most able-bodied adults on Medicaid already work, new requirements could make it tougher for people to qualify or remain in the program, she noted.

For more, including other new options under consideration: https://www.consumerreports.org/health-insurance/how-health-insurance-will-change-even-more-this-year/

Photo: Giphy.

Next time on The Allen Report: 
The Latest Darien Real Estate Update.

10 Car Repair Red Flags

How to avoid costly fixes...

Getting 200,000 miles of use—or more—from a vehicle is an impressive feat, but it’s not impossible, Jon Linkow writes on consumerreports.org. 

Owners should be aware, though, that as a vehicle approaches that milestone, many of its components will start to wear out, he noted.

You’ll see some warning signs, or red flags. Pay attention to them and you can avoid the double whammy of being stranded and slapped with an expensive, unexpected repair, he added.

For help in estimating the expenses involved to fix these common problems: https://www.consumerreports.org/car-maintenance/car-repair-red-flags-older-vehicles/

Photo: Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report:
More Health Insurance Changes Ahead.

Russia's Next-Generation Doomsday Plane

Flying command post...

Russia's latest Doomsday Plane shown in 2016.

Russia's new, third-generation airborne command post is based on a modified Ilyushin Il-96-400 wide-body aircraft. It should be noted that late in 2015 the Russian military has already received a second-generation 'doomsday plane' based on an Ilyushin Il-80 aircraft, according to Sputnik, a Russian news agency.

For more: https://sputniknews.com/russia/201607281043728673-russia-doomsday-plane-ready/

For a report and video on "Putin's Doomsday Plane:"  http://www.euronews.com/2017/12/13/putin-s-doomsday-plane-

For a Gizmodo report on "Putin's Doomsday Plane:"  https://gizmodo.com/this-russian-doomsday-plane-is-president-putins-person-1555424146

Photo: Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report:
10 Car Repair Red Flags.

The E-4B: America's Doomsday Plane

Backup command center...

An airborne Pentagon.

For a video offering a peek inside of America's Doomsday Plane: https://twitter.com/businessinsider/status/917972296739852288/video/1 (If audio doesn't play, stop and restart video.)

For a report from The Sun: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3468599/inside-the-doomsday-plane-that-follows-the-us-president-all-over-the-world-in-case-nuclear-war-breaks-out/

For a report on the future of America's Looking Glass aircraft and more: http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/11207/pentagon-may-replace-its-doomsday-planes-and-air-force-two-with-one-new-type

The Pentagon may replace the E-4B with a version of the C-32A, which the vice president also uses.

Photo: Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report: 

Russia's Next-Generation Doomsday Plane.

Confidence in Housing was Subdued at Year-end

"Consumers remained cautious..."

The housing outlook was cautious for some at year's end.

Confidence in housing was subdued in December in the Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI), derived from Fannie Mae’s National Housing Survey® (NHS), Suzanne De Vita reports on rismedia.com.

The HPSI overall posted 85.8 in December, two percentage points lower than the month prior, she wrote.

“Consumers remained cautious in their housing outlook at the end of 2017, as tax reform discussions continued,” says Doug Duncan, chief economist and senior vice president at Fannie Mae. “In December, mirroring the other major consumer sentiment benchmarks, the HPSI reflected this caution and declined slightly,” De Vita added.

For more: http://rismedia.com/2018/01/13/confidence-housing-subdued-year-end/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=eNews#close

Photo: Tumblr.

Next time on The Allen Report:
The E-4B:  America's Doomsday Plane.

Smile: Your New Week Awaits

Fun...

Oops.

For fun videos:

-- VW: Holi-dang: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/ws8E/volkswagen-sign-then-drive-event-dang

-- Acura: Deck the halls: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/wWQl/acura-season-of-performance-event-deck-the-halls-2018-rdx

-- CNN: This is an apple: http://theweek.com/speedreads/732472/cnns-new-ad-uses-fruit-attack-trumps-bogus-fake-news-claims

-- CNN: Distractions: http://creativity-online.com/work/cnn-chatter/53258

-- Progressive: I'll stand by you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Itl-H1vuRsA

-- Doritos: Fetch me a bear: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc7R6RvSI0M

-- Mass Mutual: Two ways: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IF1dvq3Qu2Y&list=RDIF1dvq3Qu2Y

-- Coca Cola: America's Beautiful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-KxPRptu_Y

Photos: Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report:
Confidence in Housing was Subdued at Year-end.

Musical Moments: Debussy, Clair de Lune

Famous...

Musical Moments features music and artists I've enjoyed over the years.

Today's selection is Debussy's famous Clair de Lune: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvFH_6DNRCY

Photo: Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report: 

Smile: Your New Week Awaits.