Market Skills

Hello,


Watching a Charlie Rose interview with Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. Who are two of my favorite people as far as multi-billionaires are concerned. Warren Buffett because he is very simple and down to earth, yet also surprisingly smart. And Bill Gates because he is such a humble powerhouse.

I find this interesting because when Warren Buffett during the interview says that in the future there will be more rich people and billionaires. Although it will actually get worse for people at the lower end of the continuum. He said for people with no skills that fit with the market things will actually be much worse. So this has me considering wether or not I want to start building skills privately that are applicable to the market.

 Obviously the market being the general trend of jobs and careers and where the economy is going. 

What I am considering is learning to code, and or some sort of computer based skill. I have so much general knowledge on computers and experience. I believe I would be wasting that experience if i did not turn it into something. I will continue researching and brainstorming.

I always heard that the way to find ones niche and or perfect situation was to sum up all of your experience. So you would take your life and ask this question. What are the things i have spent the most time on and or gained the most knowledge and or skill with. For me working in a factory has been a large part of my life for better or worse. Also computers as I was making websites and coding at 12 years old which would have been  1997-1998. Also learning psychology and studying human behavior and how the brain works. Those were more personal passions for me. Looking at myself and seeing my own sickness and wanting to help myself and also seeing sickness in others. As well many years spent playing music via drums and or more recently the guitar.

I would really like to find a way to correlate and combine all of this knowledge into something tangible. My dream has always been to make a difference in the world and leave some sort of mark.

Day in the life

The last few days have brought a realization. I have found myself quite intense and jumpy lately. I suppose i will start learning to relax more and become still. I find when i am still the answers tend to come to me without having to ask a question.

I love trey parker and matt stone. These are people i would like to hang out with in real life. South park is such a funny show, and i enjoy that they dgaf. I also really like viggo mortenson he reminds me of myself or someone i was at one time. 

I also just had to come up with a $400.00 dollar water bill heh. That was amazing to say the least especially considering partially my car savings. Oh well problem solved as usual. I took the night off work because i was shaking from stress, and my dad had advised me to relax. 

Relax...... 

Everything i do i do it big

Life is good. Making money and lookin up.

Im drunk right now and about to eat my favorite food group a pizza then netflix and chill. I couldn't imagine life would be this good. Im so determined to reach my goals. I wanna cut everyone out who isnt serving them. Bye bye.

We dem boyz

New job, happier, a bit more optimistic.

I know its been awhile since i posted on my blog, i would like to use it as a general of sorts to record my inner thoughts. It seems like life is getting better. I would say im alot more optimistic lately, although a car cannot come soon enough. I want to explore the world. This town is too small and familiar to me. I want to leave it behind forever.

Its almost as if fate keeps sending me back here. I see a question. Im not absolutely certain what it is, although i sense the presence. I believe life is a question. And its up to the person to answer it.  

The Hobbit

So the other day i finished The Hobbit. Suffice to say i thoroughly enjoyed the movie. The plot revolves around Thorin Oakenshield and his band of dwarves seeking to reclaim their homeland/kingdom that was destroyed/taken over by the evil dragon Smaug. Along to help them is the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, uncle of the LOTR trilogy Frodo Baggins, and Gandalf the Grey. The movie is one part of a three part trilogy and begins like the Fellowship of the Ring on a rather light note combined with a slower pace. Although the scene in Bag End with the dwarves is pretty entertaining.

Peter Jackson's trademark touches are in full swing here. The landscapes are breath taking and the sets are trully a step back into another time. All of the monsters look incredible and i noticed even the goblins and orcs look more realistic than their LOTR trilogy counterparts. I was particularly impressed with Thorin Oakenshield and Bilbo Baggins. Both have well developed characters and its easy to see how each ended up with their particular world views. What i really enjoyed was the courage of Bilbo Baggins and relatively simple minded yet crafty way they portrayed him. It was a breath of fresh air after the overly emotional performances of Frodo and Sam in the trilogy. We have a simple homebody hobbit whos clever, crafty and enjoys the finer things in life, but when push comes to shove dedicates himself to a worthy cause. Oakenshield plays the warrior king struggling to find his way home.
Gandalf the Grey is his usual smart and elderly self. For some reason this film worked better with relatively no
name actors instead of a bunch of over acting "stars".

 One of the bigger criticisms i heard about this film was in the form of a question. Is this movie really needed? To the minimalist possibly no, but give Peter Jackson credit for continually doing the books justice and bringing them to life. I actually enjoyed this movie better than most of the trilogy ones, not because of the fight scenes, or special effects, because the characters are more likeable and seem more fleshed out to me. One of my biggest criticisms of the trilogy was the overly emotional interplay between Sam and Frodo. And also Orlando Bloom as Legolas. I also didn't particularly like Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn, but thats another thing entirely. Yes the movie is basically one long walk from point A to point B buts its entertaining because of the interplay between the characters. If its not Oakenshield doubting Bilbo Baggins intentions and being consistently proven wrong, its the way the dwarves turn seemingly normal activities into song and dance numbers.

All in all i would highly recommend the movie and its sequel. It's slightly less nauseating in the melodrama and more meat and potatoes tolkien universe. It's not the most action packed movie around but for those looking to transport themselves to a place where hobbits and dwarves and wizards eat at the same table, and sing song and dance while puting away dishes. Look no further.

Update January 31, 2014: News reports indicate that legislation to renew expired Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) will be back on the Senate agenda next week, with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is hoping for a vote next week on a 3 month extension. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) said yesterday that, if this legislation is passed it would be retroactive, "The proposal that is being pushed now involves making the payments retroactive. So if we pass it that will be the case."
In addition, President Obama has announced an initiative to encourage hiring of the long term jobless. Here's a list of companies that have pledged to encourage the hiring of unemployed workers.

This is good news, retroactive, i like the sound of that

Contact Congress: Here's how to contact Congress to urge them to renew federal unemployment benefits.

Bitcoins are the new revolution

Welcome To The Colorado Gas Station Where You Can Fill Your Tank On Bitcoins

By Grace Hood

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Credit Grace Hood / KUNC

Greeley Cosmic Market Owner Shahzad Sarwar demonstrates a Bitcoin purchase. For him, offering payment via Bitcoin comes from a deeply held philosophical belief.

The Bitcoin revolution is steadily marching toward a merchant near you. At the first gas station in the U.S. to accept Bitcoins, Funyuns, energy drinks and a full tank of gas are a brief digital money exchange away.

Once reserved for hackers, gamers and online activists, the peer-to-peer digital currency is quickly gaining legitimacy. In Colorado, you can buy a scuba trip for your family, a checkup for your dog, an acupuncture treatment for your mom, a bottle of wine for dinner, or even the mundane: gas for your car.

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Credit http://coinmap.org

About two dozen businesses in Colorado currently accept Bitcoin, according to coinmap.org.

At Greeley’s Cosmic Market, a large Bitcoin poster hangs in a shop window proudly proclaiming: “Take The Power Back! Let The Banks Eat Cake!” A large yellow sticker near the credit card machine says “Bitcoin” in black letters.

On a recent Saturday most customers didn’t even know what Bitcoin was.

In a nutshell, Bitcoins are a decentralized digital currency that uses cryptography to control transactions rather than a central authority. There’s no government agency or central bank, like the United States’ Federal Reserve, keeping tabs on the millions of Bitcoins exchanged daily.

At first i was sceptical as most probably were. This seems like a pretty cool idea as long as nothing super illegal is done with it.

But that doesn’t bother owner Shahzad Sarwar, who works by day as a computer programmer. For him, offering payment via Bitcoin comes from a deeply held philosophical belief.

“I don’t believe in making money from money,” he said. “So this really gets the banks out of the system, and governments out of the system.”

There’s also an economic incentive. The peer-to-peer system has no transaction fee, standing in sharp contrast to credit cards.

“The amount I spend in credit card processing is close to $35,000 every year,” he said. “That’s a shocker when people first hear that.”

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Credit Grace Hood / KUNC

Shahzad Sarwar demonstrates a Bitcoin purchase at The Cosmic Market.

A growing number of businesses are now accepting Bitcoin. Two recent announcements from theSacramento Kings and Overstock.com give enthusiasts hope. The currency is also being touted as a possible banking solution for Colorado’s marijuana dispensaries that work largely in cash because banks are reluctant to offer accounts to the businesses.

Sarwar won’t be throwing out his credit card terminal anytime soon. So far only about one dozen customers have made purchases in Bitcoin since he started offering it. Many of those customers were enthusiasts who sought out Sarwar’s gas station to support the currency.

As i read more about it, starting to form a picture. It's a pretty cool idea, but they need to put a stop to people using it to buy illegal drugs.

As for the majority of customers clueless about Bitcoin?

The way Sarwar sees it, his gas station is just part of an educational campaign. Call it bringing Bitcoin to the masses.

“They go home, and they Google it. Slowly it’s an awareness campaign in itself,” he said. “Just putting the posters up and just saying ‘Bitcoin accepted here,’ it’s getting people to go out and learn about it.”