linklings freaky puffy rabbits edition
OK, so I start out with supermassive corporation on a contracting basis on Monday. Lots of dire warnings about too much to do and late nights and whatnot are flung against the wall and left to droop. By Thursday I’m spending hours reading WSJ.com and money.cnn.com – although MSN Money is inexplicably blocked by the corporate efficiency watchgods. Yet CNNSI.com is not. Go figure. American corporations – in my experience – are a bizarre mixture of freakish massive deadlines and dull, endless monotony. This week for me has been bursts of intense activity and nothing – literally nothing – to do. It’s actually not that cool.
photo credit: el_monstrito
The links…
International Stock Investing – Are You Diversifying Your Portfolio Globally?: Er, yes, yes and yes. And yes. The US is not the dominant generator of capital anymore, people – if you invest and you aren’t in overseas markets, you are doing yourself a disservice.
10 Financial Tips for New Grads: Ah, the new grad. Hope springs eternal, etc. etc. ad nauseum. Seriously, if you follow tips like these and get off to a good start you’ll be WAY ahead of 99.99% of the US population. Cleave tightly to these recommedations…
Google Followed Yahoo in Offering Real-Time Stock Quotes: I have never understood why a 20-minute delay is such a big deal, but then again I’m not a day trader. Sun points out that now both Google and Yahoo, the overlords of the Internets, are providing up-to-the-minute stock quotes now…for what it’s worth.
Our Financial Progress Over The Last 10 Years: Here’s an interesting here-and-now look at a California couple’s finances. There’s progress, and risk, and growth. The most interesting thing to me is the dichotomy of a net worth 4X what it was 10 years ago versus a net income 1/4th what it was. It’s odd how this can happen, but I think that kind of flexibility is critical to building wealth – you can’t be hung up on the “my income must increase 5% every year” mentality.
Fundamental Index Funds/ETFs – The Basics: Don’t know what a fundamental index fund is? No? You and Senor Steve were in the same boat until you, like Senor Steve, read this article…
Netflix – Six Months Later: Oh Netflix. You scourge of frugality, you. Listen, if you’re like most Americans you hate going to a loud, uncontrolled, dirty and inconvenient (no pause) environment for your movie viewing pleasure. I lost interest in the movies after seeing Alien Vs. Predator in a matinee where about half the people in the audience were either mothers or babysitters accompanied by strollers and infants. Netflix is worth every dime. EVERY DIME. I had to repeat it in all caps to emphasize.
The Must-Have Kitchen Appliance That Will Help You Save Money and Eat Healthier: Well, I wouldn’t have believed it either but now I’m toying with the idea of getting one, too. And no, it’s not a panini press.
I’m Done with Walmart: I can’t say I disagree. Go to Target, Costco, whatever – it’s not that they aren’t also horrible multinational corporations, yada yada, but the stupid checkout lanes at Target – compared to Wal-Mart – are flawless. At Target I’m irritated if I have to wait 60 seconds for a human-manned checkout…
Boundaries of a Fat Dollar: Ever wondered how much a “paid diet” would cost you? Wonder no more…
New way to measure blog ROI: I absolutely loved this post. Loved it. This is writing. Whether you care about the subject or not, you are dragged along – and it’s compelling and (in my opinion) the conclusion is fantastic.
Does being an Entrepreneur run in the family?: (Ed.: apparently this blog doesn’t exist anymore) Does it? If so, I’m not going to be an entrepreneur, methinks. My grandpapa was, but other than him I have to go back a few generations to find entrepreneurs in my family, and they were farmers (which, in its day, was probably the equivalent to the corporate employee – the “default profession”). We’ll see.
Building Wealth Consciousness From Within: “There are many internal conflicts within the human psyche that people are motivated to resolve in order to flourish in life. One of those conflicts is the resolution of poverty consciousness versus wealth consciousness.” That pretty much sums up the struggle that you are reading about here at brip blap. This is a series at Queercents that I’m definitely keeping up with.
How to Take a Mini-Retirement: Tips and Tricks from Timothy Ferriss: I like Ferriss’s attitude. I hope to adopt some of it. I liked this interview by JD of Get Rich Slowly. I don’t buy all of Ferriss’s pitch, but I like his overall point: you can sell your life or you can sell your WORK. There is a big difference. I sell my life right now, but my intention is to get to point where I sell my WORK instead.
Beke, all, beke.
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Thanks for the link regarding an Entrepreneur running in the family. I am in the same boat that I have very little around me but I guess if anything, things led me to where I am right now to be somewhat of an Entrepreneur.
Keep up the great work on the site!
Haha I am sorry to hear this Steve! Corporations are a weird mix. At Halliburton when I worked in the office it seems nothing would ever be accomplished. I’d do one thing to have to undo it a few hours later which was undone later which by next week I was fixing the things that had been done that needed to be undone so we could do the thing that was the same thing to it again.
Overall, pretty exhaustingly pointless.
I am honored to be on your linkings! Never thought I’d get there : )
Hope all is well my friend!
-Greg the Writer
You go into a number of different companies, Steve. Do you ever start a contract and within the first few days realize that you don’t fit in there? That’s a difficult conclusion to come to, because it’s hard to distinguish between not fitting in and simply finding your comfort zone in the organization.
The cultural fit is hard to do correctly. I assume that it’s easier when you’re a contractor, but you still have to have something familiar on which to anchor, right?
Aaarrggghhh… Every corporation is the same. I really don’t think the goal of most companies is to make money. I think they plan on dumbing us down with useless drudgery so the freakish rabbits can take over the world.