Collect Experiences. Not Things. :')

October 30, 2009

Yeah Right!

Yesterday, according for the reports and stock market the recession was over. Today not.

Unrealistic Dream or Work?

I don't want to be nearing retirement still focused on my unrealistic dream, then not have enough investments to retire. Ugh. Come January it will be 5 years since I last collected a pay check. I have to admit, it's been fun 5 years.

October 28, 2009

Starting to Have Second Thoughts

Do I give up the dream or not? That is the question. I feel like I'm spinning wheels, so I got out the old resume and dusted it off. It's not a great time to be looking for job, but I kind of miss having a steady jog (just a little). I especially miss playing with the data and statistical elements. When working on my dissertation, I spend hours and hours playing with SAS - a statistical computer program - evaluating data, and loved it. It was like my playstation. I was psyched every time I could find new parameters to improve my model's fit. But that was back in 1996, data was very limited then. Today everybody has data to analyze, especially web data.

As for the screenplays, well they are starting to bore me. One of them, "Growing Up Catholic" made it the Top 100 (or 5%) at Slamdance , and a reader from the contest contacted me. He suggested I sent it to a contact of his, who is interest in the subject matter I wrote about. But other than that, I don't really know what to do with them. And to be honest, I'm really not thrilled about sending them out blindly to producers. Mostly, because I hate the rejection. I realize not everybody is going to like everything, but when they say no thanks, it still feels like a rejection. I guess most artist have to deal with rejection on a daily basis. Hence, maybe it's more fitting for me to find a job, and write part-time. I'm starting to feel extremely reclusive in my home. Plus, I'm wasting an extreme amount of time surfing/reading the web, instead of writing. Another element that I don't particularly care about the film industry is the self-promotion. It takes a certain type of person to do it and I don't think I'm that type of person. Moreover, the independent film industry is in a bit of a flux right now. Everybody is spending more and more time on the web and playing video games. Less and less people are attending independent film. People do attend blockbusters or large budget films with huge advertising budgets, but not independent film.

I spent the weekend down in DC visiting Chad and Rehan. It was Rehan's 36th birthday and Chad was visiting from Pakistan. He returns to Pakistan next week. He's there on a 2 year contract. He says it's crazy, but he feels safe in the "compound" in which he lives. I also visited with Ayo and her baby Quinn, while in DC. I accompanied them to the doctors. It was Quinn's 3 month check up. Cute baby. Before the birthday party, I hung out with Abdi, one of my Somali friends, at Ruby Tuesdays and sucked down 3 Long Island Ice Teas in two hours. Abdi stumbled out of the bar. I was fine. On the drive home the next day, I stopped at my brother Chris' and his partner, Donna's home north of Baltimore. He made a great dinner, just like Mom used to make. I make it home, late Sunday night. Next week, I leave to Cancun and then Cuba. Yah.

October 14, 2009

GOP: There's A Rep For That!

Americans Think They Have It Bad

Yes there's a lot of Americans out of work, or who have lost value in their homes and retirement saves. But look on the bright side, we don't live in Iraq.
The report by the Human Rights Ministry said 85,694 people were killed from the beginning of 2004 to Oct. 31, 2008 and 147,195 were wounded.
The population Iraq is 29 million. Since the beginning of the Iraq War 0.4% of the population have been killed. And killed why? Because George W. Bush made a mistake. George W. Bush is now relaxing and enjoying his retirement in Texas. Iraq families have been decimated for absolutely no reason. Imagine coming home at the end of the day, and your wife or husband is killed or your children, parent or grandparents.

The 600 billion spent to fight the war that resulted in 85,694 Iraqis and 4000+ Americans dead could have been better spent on Americans jobs, education, health care, etc. But no a senseless war was more important.

October 12, 2009

Cuba Trip Is On

Everything is a go. I'll be spending three days in Cancun scuba diving and visiting Chichen Itza, the Mayan's ancient ruins. It's the only Seven New Wonders of the World that I haven't seen yet.

Then heading to Cuba for 10 days. Looking forward to the time warp. I'm told it looks like circa 1950.

The focus of the trip is "Sustainable Agriculture and Urban Gardens".
In its 2006 Sustainability Index Report, the World Wildlife Fund (WWFdetermined that there was only one nation in the world that could truly be designated as living "sustainably," and that nation was Cuba. In making this determination, the WWF utilized a combination of the United Nations Development Program's Human Development Index (educational achievement; adequate food; clean, available water; access to health care, etc.) and the Ecological Footprint (or natural resource use per capita) of nations. The ideal, of course is a high HDI and a low Ecological Footprint.
One of my travel goals was to visit Cuba before Castro died. It appears like it will be a reality. My only other personal experience with visiting a communist country was back in 1987 when I visited Poland on an agricultural exchange program for three months and worked on a government owned farm, shoveling potatoes and distilling vodka. Hopefully, this trip to Cuba would be just as memorable and informative.

October 09, 2009

Top Ten Reasons

Why you know the Economy is Bad...

#10: I got a pre-declined credit card in the mail.
#9: I ordered a burger at McDonalds and the kid behind the counter asked, “Can you afford fries with that?”
#8: CEO’s are now playing miniature golf.
#7: If the bank returns your check marked “Insufficient Funds,” you call them and ask if they meant you or them.
#6: Hot Wheels and Matchbox stocks are trading higher than GM.
#5: McDonalds is selling the 1/4 ouncer.
#4: Parents in Beverly Hills have fired their nannies and learnt their children’s names.
#3: A truckload of Americans was caught sneaking into Mexico.
#2: Dick Cheney took his stockbroker hunting.

And finally, drum roll please, the #1 reason you know the economy is bad is:

Bernie Madoff, the guy who made $50 Billion disappear, is being investigated by Congress, the people who made $1.5 Trillion disappear!

Credit Writedowns

October 07, 2009

Interesting Public Option Debate

In my mind, a single pay healthcare provider would without a doubt mean lower quality and the rationing of healthcare. But if the public option was in place as an alternative to private insurance, how bad is that?

It'd be like the University System in the U.S. If you have the means and want to attend a small private University with a lower student to faculty ratio and more resources available, then that's your choice. If you don't have the means, state school are available. You get the same degree, except state schools are larger institutions and with less one-on-one service. Having attended both, there is difference. You basically you get what you pay for.

If the public option was approved, a government subside would be required, and undoubtedly have lower care standards, longer waits, end of life counseling, etc. But for some, that's all they can afford. Others could still choose private insurance. The dilemma for the private healthcare providers, however, is: how much will the government subside the public option?

My conclusion: I pseudo support the public option, because I want Obama to succeed. If W. Bush was promoting the public option, I'd be against! I loath that guy.

Alternatively, l'd hate it if there was no public option, and everybody was require to purchase health insurance. That would be a huge boon to the private insurance companies. Private insurance companies are salivating over this possibility, and dumping big money to kill the public option and require everybody purchase health insurance.

Lastly, the GOP guy in the video has a point. People who overeat, don't exercise and smoke should pay more health insurance premiums, similar to risk-rated car insurance. However, there'd have to be some clause that differentiates if being overweight is genetic or self-induced. I firmly believe some people are genetically disposed being overweight.

Almost lastly, what's irritating is the Iraq War has cost a little under $700 billion to date, instead those funds could have funded the majority of the $900 billion healthcare reform.

October 06, 2009

The Now Famous Four Bears

dshortWhere do we go from here? There's so much liquidity in the market stocks, commodities and gold are cranking. The dollar is suffering.

TARP Turns One

Taxpayers stand to lose between $100 billion and $200 billion on TARP -- Treasury's $700 billion financial market bailout.

While that's nothing to sneeze at, many experts say that the Troubled Asset Relief Program helped rescue the economy from a second Great Depression.

But there are others who argue that the billions of dollars that taxpayers shelled out simply delayed an inevitable epic collapse of the financial sector.

A year ago, when the financial markets were in turmoil, the Bush administration and supporters in Congress said TARP would be used to buy banks' troubled assets, and would be an investment -- it could even turn a profit.
I agree with the view TARP saved the economy for a second Great Depression. A significant cause of the financial crisis last October was a lack of confidence, and the inability to accurately quantify and communicate risk exposures. The capital infusion stanched that fear. On the flip side, the capital infusion locked these loan losses within the banking system. If the banks weren't so large and intertwined, a true capitalist society would let them fail and new green sprout banks would arise. This did not happen. This a major reason why most economist believe economic growth will be slow. Bank earnings are being allocated towards loan losses, not building capital to make new loans.

CNN Money

October 04, 2009

Obama's Accomplishments? Nada


SNL slam dunks the political humor. Other than stimulate the economy, what really Obama has really done nothing so far? Hopefully, they'll get past this health care debate and move on, because it's boring. Then again Obama's presidency just minght be a bunch of "nada", especially if he looses the House and/or Senate in 2012. But in my mind, since I'm mostly a fiscal conservative and social progressive, he's already accomplished two huge feats: 1) a black man can be POTUS, and 2) the World doesn't HATE America as much as it did. The second feat should translate into a safer America.

Typhoon Ketsana - Philippines

About a week ago, Typhoon Ketsana made landfall, and dropped 455 mm (17.9 in) of rain on Metro Manila in a span of 24 hours on Saturday - the most in 42 years. A month's worth of rainfall in a single day washed away homes and flooded large areas, stranding thousands on rooftops in the city and elsewhere.

36 more pictures, quite devastating.

October 02, 2009

October 01, 2009

Humorous Headline

NYTimes Reports: "U.S. General Rejects Scaling Down Afghan Military Aims"

This is like reporting:

"NFL Players Reject Closing of All NFL Stadiums"

"Children Reject Removing Play Equipment from Playgrounds"

Of course the General rejects the notion. War is his playground. He's spend his whole life studying the "art of war". If there wasn't a war, he'd be sitting behind a Pentagon desk or teaching at West Point. Why wouldn't he want to scale up the military and extend the war?

Fred Goes Swimming

Fred's one of the most watched YouTube creators.

"I'm wearing my T-shirt because I'm not comfortable with my body."

Kids today! :)

Republicans Say They are Shocked

haha.....Socialists vs. Knuckle-dragging Neanderthals

What nexted?

Mario Nguyen's Equality Speech

Marriage Equality is being put to a vote in Maine this November. Currently, Marriage Equality is ahead 50% to 41%. The biggest opposition to equality are the Christian Haters. They continue to used the bible to hate. The same group of people historically used the bible to justify slavery and to oppress women. And actually, many Christian Churches continue to oppress women by not allowing the in to the Churches hierarchy. If the Christian haters want to find true evil in this world they only need to look to their own.

Hopefully, the Marriage Equality's lead in the polls will last to the ballot box. One of America's many good qualities is that equality typically prevails.