. . . goes super, well with a slice of pumpkin pie, a cranberry scone, berry pie ... oh, anything from the fresh baked goodie display. Or breakfast rice and eggs ... (please stop me from reciting the entire menu).
Monday, March 11, 2013
Coffee Company - Half Moon Bay
This is an old photo, but it brings back the aroma memories every time . . .
. . . goes super, well with a slice of pumpkin pie, a cranberry scone, berry pie ... oh, anything from the fresh baked goodie display. Or breakfast rice and eggs ... (please stop me from reciting the entire menu).
. . . goes super, well with a slice of pumpkin pie, a cranberry scone, berry pie ... oh, anything from the fresh baked goodie display. Or breakfast rice and eggs ... (please stop me from reciting the entire menu).
The Fifth Winter This Year
Kansas has unique weather patterns. Having grown up in Massachusetts, lived in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, California and now Kansas; Kansas has the wildest swings in weather.
Look at the geography of Kansas. It is sandwiched between the jet streams from Texas and Canada with a "shotgun" of weather from Colorado. I experienced my first thunder-snow on a weekend before Thanksgiving in Kansas. There was a lightening strike to the tree in front of the apartment that split in two and blocked the front doorway.
This year's winter season, 2012-2013, has delivered five winters with five spring thaws and this one in February was the craziest.
Look at the geography of Kansas. It is sandwiched between the jet streams from Texas and Canada with a "shotgun" of weather from Colorado. I experienced my first thunder-snow on a weekend before Thanksgiving in Kansas. There was a lightening strike to the tree in front of the apartment that split in two and blocked the front doorway.
This year's winter season, 2012-2013, has delivered five winters with five spring thaws and this one in February was the craziest.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Watch Reality TV and Learn to Negotiate
It sounds silly, but you can learn some negotiating skills, selling tips and how to evaluate a business valuation from watching reality TV. The majority of reality TV is rubbish, drivel and should be banned to another planet. There are three shows that are really better than you might think and demonstrate some real world business skills. They remind me of those lame training films that your company will show with the scripted acting, but the difference is that this is a live setting.
Compare your price-value negotiating skills watching:
Compare your price-value negotiating skills watching:
Challenge business valuation by watching:
Saturday, March 9, 2013
2013 Life After the Cliffs
We all have our personal cliffs that we run up against. Rarely do we fall off and even rarer than that does life end after going over the cliff. It is a steep ride but with safety nets and sometimes over-stated concern, we survive.
My family has been falling down our fiscal cliff for quite some time. We manage to grab a root or branch that is sticking out, pull hard and climb back up the cliff face.
We went over our first cliff back in 2003. With perseverance we have moved to new places and tried to stay invested in savings, home and life-style. The lifestyle was the hardest to maintain and has suffered the most. After a nice, [seemingly] secure salary and savings, we entered into a zero-income lifestyle which required liquidating saving assets during the job search.
New job networking tools, techniques and training was required. The job search circle expanded from regional, to state, to "close to family", to the entire USA with consideration for overseas. After more than a year of sending out resumes, reaching out to colleagues, friends, family and recruiters, a contract 2500 miles from home was signed. That three- to six-month contract lasted 19 months with 60-70 hours a week of work. This was still more than a 50% cut in salary equivalent -- not to mention lack of savings and out-of-pocket benefits.
Now, after eight years and five employers later we are still coming up short. The life style has down-sized from renting a house to renting a single-bedroom apartment; from two cars to one car to no cars and walking to shopping, doctors, bank, etc. There are hidden benefits and hidden costs. Still not enough to start saving again and the salary is nearly where it was at the time of the first layoff. However, the earning power that was lost over eight years is compounded by six years of accumulated debt.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but it is very dim and has a tiny beam of light. The cash flow is still slightly negative, but near zero. With some additional belt tightening, if we get past April 15th, we could experience a positive cash flow for the first time in eight years.
Meanwhile, with all that budget planning, a second income and job skills retraining, the Federal Government's fiscal cliff and cost of living increases (the rent went up and so did groceries) has eroded our efforts back to zero.
Plan B (probably on Plan F, G or H by now), is to find a way to increase the family revenue through some cleaver small business devices.
We know we are not unique, but this is one time that there isn't comfort in numbers. We offer our prayers and best wishes to anyone else who is living a similar, or possibly worse, experience. The comfort will come when we are all, once again, enjoying vacations with family, feeling financial security, sleeping a full night's sleep without stress and sharing more with others in need.
My family has been falling down our fiscal cliff for quite some time. We manage to grab a root or branch that is sticking out, pull hard and climb back up the cliff face.
We went over our first cliff back in 2003. With perseverance we have moved to new places and tried to stay invested in savings, home and life-style. The lifestyle was the hardest to maintain and has suffered the most. After a nice, [seemingly] secure salary and savings, we entered into a zero-income lifestyle which required liquidating saving assets during the job search.
Rethink Possibilities
New job networking tools, techniques and training was required. The job search circle expanded from regional, to state, to "close to family", to the entire USA with consideration for overseas. After more than a year of sending out resumes, reaching out to colleagues, friends, family and recruiters, a contract 2500 miles from home was signed. That three- to six-month contract lasted 19 months with 60-70 hours a week of work. This was still more than a 50% cut in salary equivalent -- not to mention lack of savings and out-of-pocket benefits.
Now, after eight years and five employers later we are still coming up short. The life style has down-sized from renting a house to renting a single-bedroom apartment; from two cars to one car to no cars and walking to shopping, doctors, bank, etc. There are hidden benefits and hidden costs. Still not enough to start saving again and the salary is nearly where it was at the time of the first layoff. However, the earning power that was lost over eight years is compounded by six years of accumulated debt.
Don't Give Up
There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but it is very dim and has a tiny beam of light. The cash flow is still slightly negative, but near zero. With some additional belt tightening, if we get past April 15th, we could experience a positive cash flow for the first time in eight years.
Meanwhile, with all that budget planning, a second income and job skills retraining, the Federal Government's fiscal cliff and cost of living increases (the rent went up and so did groceries) has eroded our efforts back to zero.
Plan B
Plan B (probably on Plan F, G or H by now), is to find a way to increase the family revenue through some cleaver small business devices.
We know we are not unique, but this is one time that there isn't comfort in numbers. We offer our prayers and best wishes to anyone else who is living a similar, or possibly worse, experience. The comfort will come when we are all, once again, enjoying vacations with family, feeling financial security, sleeping a full night's sleep without stress and sharing more with others in need.
My Economy Strategy
I have not mentioned much about my strategy to survive and flourish in this economy. It is a plan with many moving parts. The trick is to keep them going and revive them when they stall.
First, I have my 9-to-5 job. That would be wonderful if it really was only from 9, got done at 5 and it payed all the bills with something left over. The reality is that it is often 10-11-12 hours of time at work and the pay does not cover the mortgage, rent, credit cards, food, let alone savings, retirement, car repairs. A corollary to this is that I am staying in touch with my profession network for better opportunities.
Second, I have a hobby that I want to turn into a business that eventually supplants my day-job or at least gives me back my time. On evenings and weekends, I carry my MacBook around with me as I work on some iPhone applications that I hope to bring to market. After that, I plan to port them to the Android and BlackBerry markets.
Third, I have a website for the hobby where I have such pages as technical information, favorite web sites and product information. The plan is to make it a web destination such that the technical community finds useful and, as a result, clicks on an AdSense advertisement.
Fourth, I have this blog that I hope inspires others with the same aspirations and needs to visit, share comments and click on a valuable advert from AdSense, Amazon, GoDaddy .... (any suggestions for others) when visiting. I visit and follow blogs of interest to me and if it has advertisement, I am assuming the blog has the same need as do I, so I click on a link and learn something that I otherwise might not know about.
It may sound gratuitous, but it is not intended to be. It is a survival strategy that I hope will have mutual benefit to my visitors and myself.
Oh, did I mention that my business plan is to donate a portion of sales (before profit) to charities and small business lending? That is part of the hope to help others by building financial strength as a community.
First, I have my 9-to-5 job. That would be wonderful if it really was only from 9, got done at 5 and it payed all the bills with something left over. The reality is that it is often 10-11-12 hours of time at work and the pay does not cover the mortgage, rent, credit cards, food, let alone savings, retirement, car repairs. A corollary to this is that I am staying in touch with my profession network for better opportunities.
Second, I have a hobby that I want to turn into a business that eventually supplants my day-job or at least gives me back my time. On evenings and weekends, I carry my MacBook around with me as I work on some iPhone applications that I hope to bring to market. After that, I plan to port them to the Android and BlackBerry markets.
Third, I have a website for the hobby where I have such pages as technical information, favorite web sites and product information. The plan is to make it a web destination such that the technical community finds useful and, as a result, clicks on an AdSense advertisement.
Fourth, I have this blog that I hope inspires others with the same aspirations and needs to visit, share comments and click on a valuable advert from AdSense, Amazon, GoDaddy .... (any suggestions for others) when visiting. I visit and follow blogs of interest to me and if it has advertisement, I am assuming the blog has the same need as do I, so I click on a link and learn something that I otherwise might not know about.
It may sound gratuitous, but it is not intended to be. It is a survival strategy that I hope will have mutual benefit to my visitors and myself.
Oh, did I mention that my business plan is to donate a portion of sales (before profit) to charities and small business lending? That is part of the hope to help others by building financial strength as a community.
United ... States ... of America
While admiring some of the postings on Facebook in my friends-community, it ocurred to me what is really bugging me about the Obama administration. From his first campaign speech to his state of the union addresses and all the TV spots in between, this thought summarizes my dismay and anger best.
Once the states get their control back from the Federal control we can put our representation back to doing what they are mandated to do -- represent the people of the state and our (state) values. Each state has its uniqueness in culture, its specialty resources and the people who appreciate it for all that it it worth. By uniting the States, we have the strength to accomplish greatness and the power to overcome any adversity. That is America, the people of states, united as a nation -- United States of America.
Getting the State control is the first step in putting the People back in the position of governing of laws as expected; as is written in the Constitution. The checks-and-balances that are built into the system have been hijacked through coercion and it may take protests and standing-down for principles for unpopular (eyes of other states) values -- but if Obama does not want to work with the States, then he can rule the District of Columbia but leave the USA to the people and the States can appoint new representative leadership.
The states have to stand against the Federal government which uses blackmail and intimidation to get compliance and consensus.
Once the states get their control back from the Federal control we can put our representation back to doing what they are mandated to do -- represent the people of the state and our (state) values. Each state has its uniqueness in culture, its specialty resources and the people who appreciate it for all that it it worth. By uniting the States, we have the strength to accomplish greatness and the power to overcome any adversity. That is America, the people of states, united as a nation -- United States of America.
Getting the State control is the first step in putting the People back in the position of governing of laws as expected; as is written in the Constitution. The checks-and-balances that are built into the system have been hijacked through coercion and it may take protests and standing-down for principles for unpopular (eyes of other states) values -- but if Obama does not want to work with the States, then he can rule the District of Columbia but leave the USA to the people and the States can appoint new representative leadership.
Go Green -- For Whose Sake?
I have a pet peeve with the Financial Services community and 'going green', by stopping my mailed accounts.
Carrot or stick
Finite or infinite access
Realtime or delayed
Who is really getting the benefit of the saving?
It is *my* info ... its already in *their* archives. Archives can be 100% dynamic, online and accessible 7x24. Computing, storage and bandwidth should not be an issue for my 60+ years of data, reports, etc. There are no excuses in this day-and-age. If Google can give me virtually unlimited email, cloud-stored documents, video, photos, maps, all for free, then Financial Services like Bank of America, CitiBank, Chase, Charles Schwabb, American Express, Franklin Funds, etc., etc., etc. should be able to provide secure, always available, unlimiited access to their electronic warehouse of my information.
Furthermore, credit scores should be mandated to be free and real-time reported, real-time disputed, and real-time corrected. No excuses.
Carrot or stick
Finite or infinite access
Realtime or delayed
Who is really getting the benefit of the saving?
It is *my* info ... its already in *their* archives. Archives can be 100% dynamic, online and accessible 7x24. Computing, storage and bandwidth should not be an issue for my 60+ years of data, reports, etc. There are no excuses in this day-and-age. If Google can give me virtually unlimited email, cloud-stored documents, video, photos, maps, all for free, then Financial Services like Bank of America, CitiBank, Chase, Charles Schwabb, American Express, Franklin Funds, etc., etc., etc. should be able to provide secure, always available, unlimiited access to their electronic warehouse of my information.
Furthermore, credit scores should be mandated to be free and real-time reported, real-time disputed, and real-time corrected. No excuses.
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