Not The Spoon That Bends...

Discussions that bring back the perspectives of how wild our technological realities are intrigue me to no end. People minimize the amazing technology because it is seamlessly integrated into our lives whether its communicating with people over vast distance, playing a virtual game of football with friends on Xbox Live, or the massive amounts of data that are available to us at any given moment.

I think it is always important to keep grounded in the fact that we are living science fiction, and even more important to maintain the Utopian Realist version of a future that is empowered through the human ingenuity that we all take for granted everyday. The world is becoming better, people smarter, and although there are still many people that can't eat... technology holds the promises of excess economics in our lifetimes.

The video from Nokia shown below offers a good example of how easy it is for our minds to get locked into concepts of "cell phones," "fashion," and the forms that they come in, and then how easy it is to accept the 'upgrades'. The future should be awaited with open eyes and minds... and the imagination cultured so that it continues breaks the molds.

Real Estate Opportunity

I'm sure you've heard all about the sub-prime crisis from your friends, relatives, and Larry the janitor in recent months. Everyone seems to have an opinion, albeit identical positions based on local newspapers and the network television stations. Don't get me wrong, this catastrophe has devastated our economy and will continue to do so over the next two years as the last of the sub-prime mortgages reach their two year rate reset. However, when it comes to investing in real estate, we are approaching the greatest opportunity of our lifetime.

Here is the best advice you've ever heard. When everyone is simultaneously freaking out, BUY. Whether it's the stock market or real estate, the best opportunity comes when everyone around you thinks the sky is falling.

Roll with me here. We have historically low interest rates hovering at 6% or lower. We have 2 million people facing foreclosure in the United Sates and an additional million struggling to meet payments. Home buying has decreased 30% over the last year and the value of homes across the U.S has been hit with a 15% correction. NO ONE IS BUYING! What does this sound like??? Yep, a BUYER's MARKET. Buy low, sell high, remember?

Over the last 20 yrs, if you invested in the worst performing indice of the prior year, you would have outperformed those investing in the best performing indice by about 6% annually. -Pacific Life

When everyone, including supermodels, start demanding to be paid in foreign currency, maybe it's time to start betting on a beat up dollar?? China sure is.

Once again cash is king, and those daring enough to go against the advice of Larry the janitor will come out on top.

Stress to Distress

Supposedly the human mind can consciously track 7 independent tasks, which could offer an explanation of why I find myself, paradoxically, much more stressed during a periods that are not generally critical versus periods of time where my potential success from a critical activity has a much greater potential to affect my future.

Here is an example:

Starting about a month ago I started to plan a relatively large move (which we got a glimpse of in Chris's blog) to Downtown from the Burbs. Along with planning the move, scheduling the truck, moving funds to cover all expenses, and jumping through the paperwork to get approved for the new apartment, I still had to deal with a full time job managing a research lab and the full-time classes in my MBA program. Everyone that was around me could tell that I was in complete distress, could not sleep, and generally felt like my head out explode at any minute from the feeling of "impending doom."

Fast forward two weeks, I moved to a place that was 1/2 the size of my previous place but I only was able to get rid of 1/4 of my stuff... which meant that I needed to scramble and sell off "assets" in order to fit into the newer apartment. Adding insult to injury, and piling on top of the rest of the stuff that is consistent, seeing my new apartment with so much stuff in boxes on the floor I almost past out a few times.

Fast forward another week and I am all smiles. I moved successfully. Back at work.

Here is the irony. In the last week my MBA Research Thesis schedule is coming full steam ahead, I am already behind, and the project is absolutely pivotal to my success in finishing the MBA... which is pivotal to my future.

So why am I feeling like a weight has lifted?

My conclusion is that because the individual stresses in my life can basically be boiled down into two seperate mono-directional stresses in "work" and "school." Now everyone has other aspects of life that dominate their minds on a daily basis, like fitness, love life, entertainment, family, and friends. I just gave six, so if you remember that a human can generally maintain focus on 7 different things, it is not surprising that I felt like I was in over my head while I was moving. However as soon as the move and all the tangential crap that goes along with moving evaporated, and the "really important" stuff came into focus I feel fine because the thesis is already lumped into an existing pressure (My MBA) which I have learned to deal with over the last two years.

A take home might be to plan ahead, and tell yourself to just forget about the other "irons in the fire" so that you keep your focus on the most important 7 things from evolving from stress to distress

iTunes Screws Up Movie Market

I absolutely hate to fly. Being that I'm headed to Dallas, Texas tomorrow for an investments conference, I have no choice but to trust a complete stranger with my life as I soar 30,000 feet above land.

Enter iPod.

No doubt this is the single greatest invention of the modern era. It's small, light weight, and easy to pack around on say, an airplane.

Apple's recent introduction of movies to the iTunes store is a nice touch, errrr, would have been a nice touch. The problems are so obvious that I am, for the first time, disappointed in the mighty Apple. Yep, I said it.

The whole idea of iTunes is to upload your CD collection into a simple, pretty package. DVD's, however, are off limits. Why? I own the damn thing. Why can't I upload it to my computer (which I also own) and place it on my iPod (which, go figure, I also own)? Interesting.

Furthermore, iTunes now offers movie rentals as a service as well. The tricky part being that you can only watch the movie once. In a world of NO LATE FEES and movies delivered to my doorstep, how, Apple, do you think you'll get away with this?!

I was looking forward to watching "Michael Clayton" via iPod on my flight, but just can't bring myself to bow down.

They must have relied on faulty strategerie. Or quite possibly, they mis-remembered what got them this far. User-friendliness.

5 Mega Ripper Investment Tips

1. Forget Social Security

SS is done. Over.

Even the White House says so.

SHHHHHIIIIT. They're stealing my money. I just realized that.

On the bright side, this is leading to higher contribution limits for programs which sneak by the tax man. Read on....


2. Max Out Your IRA

"Traditional IRA"
A max amount of $5,000 may be contributed annually and is deductible against ordinary income on your taxes.

"Roth IRA"
a better option for people in their 20's and 30's.
This option is not tax deductible, but you avoid taxes on the back end which is much more valuable.


3. Pay Yourself for Health Insurance

An HSA or Health Savings Account is a fantastic alternative to accepting double digit premium increases from a crooked insurance carrier.

The contribution limit for 2008 is $2900 for single people and over $5000 for famillies (all tax deductible). Additionally, you can invest your contributions in mutual funds and stocks similar to an IRA to foster growth.

But what if I get cancer or another severe illness? Choose your deductible of say...$1500-$2000. Stop loss kicks in for anything above that. BOOM! Now, you're your own insurance provider. How do you like them apples??

Oh yeah, don't smoke, exercise regularly, and wear shin-guards/bike helmet on a daily basis to avoid claims.

4. Buy a Home STAT

The housing market has taken a major major hit over the last 2 yrs. Of course home values could continue to decline, but you're forgetting something.

Interest rates are so stinking historically low that it only makes sense. Locking in a 5% rate is much more important than waiting for home values to hit absolute rock bottom. Plus, the interest is tax deductible. And I hate to break it to you, but on a standard 30 yr fixed loan, it takes about 22 years to pay off the interest.

People who were buying homes in the 70's, 80's, & early 90's would have stolen candy from their own children to see rates in single digits.

5. Set Up Automatic Investment Payments

It might hurt at first, but eventually you will learn to live without the money you're investing.

Start with as little as $100 a month and work your way up. I guarantee you'll be thankful.

5a. Don't carry credit card debt
5b. Don't buy a $30,000 car, moron.
5c. Live in the city
5d. Splurge for something nice once and a while.

Big changes, not just for me.

Big changes coming soon. I'm moving into a humble studio downtown to be closer to PSU this weekend (see picture). It's a whopping 420 sq. ft., street-overlooking studio that I'm looking forward to making home.

Much of my time as of late has been tying up loose ends: cleaning, packing, scheduling internet hook-up, signing papers, and of course homework. I'm not really looking forward to the move and subsequent time it takes to get acclimated to the new area, but it's still always a bit fun customizing and arranging a new home.

Big changes are in Yahoo's future as well, although neither I nor anyone else I know is really showing a shred of interest. All this hype about bids for Yahoo is so inconsequential. Is it Google that will buy Yahoo? No! Then Microsoft makes a bid on Yahoo. Yahoo denies! Then NewsCorp is in talks. Bleh. Who cares?! Shareholders I guess. Who honestly still uses Yahoo? And what the hell for? I'm not sure I've visited a Yahoo page, let alone conducted a Yahoo search, since 1991. Yahoo only holds about 14% market share on search (you know who holds the other 70-85%). I understand a large number of people still use Yahoo Mail, but I'm convinced that anyone not using or in the process of switching to gmail is nuts. Those poor board members...

Big changes for data coverage coming soon as well. The total 700Mhz auction value is up to $19.5 Billion, if you can believe that. I'm mega, super, ultra excited to see what happens with this spectrum. No one is entirely certain, but people are already speculating on nationwide, gap-less cell coverage, nationwide data coverage, etc. Unfortunately whatever the service, we probably won't see any products using this spectrum for 3-5 years.

Rumor is Samsung is releasing two phones to be available in September and December packaged with Google's open source mobile operating system, Android. There are a several markets where open-source software really thrive, and I think mobile operating systems is one of those, if not to at least bring some standardization to the market. As it stands now, it's quite difficult to install new applications on mobile phones--there's Windows Mobile, Symbian, PalmOS, and OSX based phones. Networks and developers can't guarantee 3rd party software will work, thus they lock them down. But a standardized, linux-based, open-source alliance (like Andoid) would bring standardization to the device world. That translates to more applications for the consumer. And because Android is free, phone developers can package it with their phones for essentially nothing, driving down prices--think smart phones for $100. Ubiquitous smart phones + nationwide data coverage = happy consumers.

Apologies if I am not back to blog in several days, I did not have a free block of time available before Tuesday to be present for the Comcast install.

*shudder*
I hate Comcast

Jim Cramer is CRAZY

So you've saved up a few bucks and decide it's time to start INVESTING. You say to yourself "Hey, isn't that crazy Cramer guy on CNBC?" STOP!!!! Stop right there.

Let me be clear. He is NUTS, INSANE, IRRATIONAL, AND I guarantee he doesn't follow his own advice (which is selecting stocks at complete random based on about 2% of the information that's out there). Buying and selling stocks on a daily or weekly basis will generate massive tax consequences in a non-qualified/taxable account. Not to mention racking up trading fees at $7-$15+ a pop.

Cramer used to be a great technical fund manager, true, but his show is about PURE ENTERTAINMENT. I've been saying this for years. Don't believe me? How about the guy Yale selected to run their $22 Billion Endowment? He's a bit more credible than myself, I agree.

Keep It Simple, Says Yale's Top Investor

Choosing individual stocks and attempting to time the market is virtually assuring yourself of underperforming an indice (S&P 500/Dow/etc). Top hedge fund managers and separate account managers rely on INFORMATION direct from the source. Most high-end funds have people on staff with the sole purpose of meeting with publicly traded companies 300+ times per year. That is who you are competing with.

I'll post a future article regarding my thoughts on investing in specific situations. For now, just let me make the point that Jim Cramer is absolutely bonkers and should be fired. He's ruining the lives of the poor people who follow his advice.

Cramer Meltdown

Dreamers

Dreamers is a collaborative effort of artists and musicians based out of Seattle, NYC, and Winnipeg. At its core, Dreamers is about believing that art and music exist in a symbiotic relationship. They post the latest music they're enjoying, as well as upcoming shows, and artists you should know.

You can view the blog @ http://www.wearedreamers.com/

I give this site my strongest recommendation! Contributors include capitol hill legend Mark Kirkpatrick (owner: Invicid Apparel) and Johnny Utah (We Are Fucking Awesome/Quarterback from Nebraska).

Socialized Medicine: Free May Cost You

The 2008 Presidential race is heating up. Never before have we had such a clear distinction between the candidates from our two main parties. Stay in Iraq, or pull out immediately. Raise taxes or cut taxes. Bigger government versus smaller government. Articulate and well-spoken against, well, old and pruney.

The issues listed above, minus the pruney part, are extremely vital as to the direction of our country. However, none will have as lasting of an effect on our economy as HEALTH CARE. The economy, according to every poll on the planet, is the number one issue on the minds of the American people.

Our government has managed to bring Medicare (1965) & Social Security (1935) to the point of bankruptcy despite receiving loans via double digit percentages of our paychecks at a whopping 0% interest. That alone makes it hard for me to believe that the government can handle Health Care. That and the lines at the DMV.

Socialized medicine, although sparkly and nice on paper, will bankrupt our economy, and severely decrease quality of care. We'll pay for it anyway with our taxes, so why not work on improving a free market system which currently offers the best care in the entire world?

Watch this video on the dangers of socialized medicine.

About Us

The Utopian Realist contributors include Alex, Chris, & Evan. Friends since high school, the team was formed in 2005 to conglomerate and exchange ideas. Our ventures include a private investment company, alternative fuel research, & political consulting. We are firm believers in progressive action and the life long pursuit of education.

This blog is intended to be an information resource across a broad range of topics. Postings will represent our latest interests in an open and free flowing format. While there is no IPO involved, we are simply going public with discussions we've been having in a closed group over the years.

Alex recently received his M.B.A after completing his B.S. in Biology. He specializes in biochemical research and platelet biology at OHSU in Portland, Oregon.

Chris is in the process of completing his masters in Computer Science after receiving his undergrad degree in Psychology. Chris also resides in Portland.

Evan is an investment consultant for an independent financial firm in Seattle, WA. Evan holds a series 7 & 66 license and is currently working on his CFA designation.