Google Wave

An abridged version of the presentation from Google I/O. I attended the conference but missed this part.

I'm still not sure what I think about using Wave's (perhaps I just like email and IM the way they are). Take a look at what my be the next generation of communication on the internet.

Back from Vacation

Back from vacation and I'll be blogging later this week. Here's a little something from Donald Duck's vacation.

Get A Job!

It's inevitable in this economy.

The weekly layoffs, the constant uncertainty, the building pressures everyone now feels in this recessive economy. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment this year has reached a staggering 9.7%. In relation, unemployment in 2009 has surpassed the 9.0% rate in 1975 and is now only eclipsed by the 10.8% rate in 1982. What's worse is that the trend continues to climb and economic analysts state that we may not see consistent employing anytime in the near future.

It hits close to home too. We all have friends, family and colleagues who have discussed their employment woes with you. Some have lost their job, others have survived layoffs only to be subjected to "layoff survivor sickness" characterized by depression, fear, anxiety and loss of motivation. Whether you've been in these situations or not, we've all been within earshot of the next unemployment story. This day and age, it's more of a norm than an exception.

But there's still hope. What can we do to combat the tireless business battle between the labor market and self preservation? Here's a few ways.

Target Industry Growth Opportunities
While many businesses are cutting costs and shedding employees, there are still industries that are looking for labor in a market chock-full of supply. Jack Welch said "The team with the best players wins" and in a market saturated with labor, businesses have a great opportunity to select prime players who can give their companies greater competitive advantages. So where are these industrial growth areas? Take a look at the Ameriprise financial article Where the jobs are: Opportunities for everyone to get some perspective on where you may land your next opportunity.

21st Century Marketing
The cold call interview or résumé in the mail is so 20th century. In this day, the Internet is king, providing many new avenues of promoting yourself to the world. One new avenue on the web is VisualCV.com, a service that provides résumé building tools with a rich splash of 21st century on your traditional résumé. The site is full of media options like pictures and video to complement your work experiences which give prospective employers a fuller perspective of who they are investing in. Want to see some examples? Why not check out the Presidents VisualCV to get some ideas of the service in action.

Band Together
Online social networking is nothing new to today's technophiles. Yet traditional workplace norms and cultural stigmas have held pre-Gen Y'ers back from socializing on the web. To get into the mainstream, LinkedIn.com provides a services that allow you to stay networked with your colleagues regardless of your working status. Once you've started using the service, you can stay connected with them while searching for career opportunities that are targeted to your work experience.

Banding together on LinkedIn isn't just about networking with people, but increasingly about referring and recommending them as well. Take some time to recommend your colleagues by posting a short blurb about your involved experiences. Also, ask them to return the favor by writing a recommendation for you on your profile. These short statements about you can go a long way when interested employers find and read through your profile.

One Last Measurement
An economic trend that I've always found interesting is the negative correlation between civilian unemployment and military recruiting rates. The basic trend shows that as civilian unemployment rises (or people lose their job) that the military recruiting rate increases. For example, in the 80's when the US unemployment was high (yikes! almost 11%), military manpower remained at constant, high levels. Then in the 90's during the dot com boom, military enlistments dramatically decreased (with exception to the Marine Corps) and civilian employment increased (or unemployment decreased) as people instead went to into the civilian workforce.



It's not too surprising to understand why. In the military, servicemen and servicewomen enjoy high levels of job security, and earn free family healthcare and housing. In fact, there are relatively no other jobs this day and age that provide that type of economic stability. Today, what makes the trend more interesting is that while the US is busy fighting two wars, the recruiting levels continues to increase which, is instead, a positive correlation between the two factors.

What this means is that although there is potential and inherit dangers by enlisting in the military, the current recession motivates people to a greater extent to enlist than in a normalized economy. In fact, military recruiting today continues to thrive in the weak economy and as a result fosters a civilian/military business employment cycle that can be forecasted with relative certainty.

An interesting trend indeed.

Until next time.

Celebs' Favorite Places on Google Maps

I read an interesting on SFGate.com yesterday where Google has enhanced their mapping service to display celebrities favorite destination spots around the world. Gavin Newson presented his favorite spots as part of the rollout of Google's new project and selected a handful of places in San Francisco (his pin resembles the Golden Gate bridge) to display. This new service is designed to target businesses to increase interest in their products by soliciting celebrity "endorsements" of sorts.

Some other interesting celebs who took part in the project were former Vice President Al Gore who likes to hang in the Maldives, an island off the coast of India. Among places, professional skateboarder Tony Hawk likes to go Alyeska, noted as the "best" heli-skiing destination in the world. Tony even spent time with Google to record video of his favorite places and can be watched on the map itself. Kerri Walsh, the professional Volleyball player (and former Archbishop Mitty Alum) has many places in the USA she likes, but also likes the Hanalei Surf Board House in Hawaii.

Take a look for yourself at http://www.google.com/help/maps/favoriteplaces

Friends, Joey and a Ghost!

Let me set the premise of this story up properly.

This weekend we were playing Taboo up in Clear Lake with our friends. Taboo is a game where one person tries to get you to say a specific word without using a certain set of unusable terms on a card. It was a great time. Part way through the game someone was working on trying to get the guys to say a term and an episode of Friends popped into my mind when I hollered out "A Ghost!" Some of us laughed hysterically, others were confused. I couldn't explain it at the time because you just had to understand the reference. Take a look at the video below and you'll get it.

For the rest of the weekend someone would randomly holler out "A Ghost!" when the situation suited. Try it with your friends ... It's a blast!

Memorable Moments from Jackson Tribute

Passing along some memorable moments in video.

Provoking. Heartbreaking. Inspiring.



Courtesy NBC and Hulu

Arrh! The Economics of Piracy

Ahoy! I couldn't resist retelling this tale about the high seas.

Remember back in April when the Captain Richard Phillips on the Maersk Alabama was taken captive by Somali Pirates and the US Navy choreographed a daunting rescue, unseen before on public television? The whole story captivated us for it's brief period of popularity and then faded off into the sunset. Surfacing some time afterward were interesting side stories about the phenomenon of Piracy and its untold truths. One in particular that grabbed my interest centered around the economics of Piracy and how it can be a profitable business for those looking for high stakes rewards on the high seas.

Pirates Have Timesheets
NPR's Planet Money has run a few stories about Pirating and how, in comparison to other investments, can show profitable returns. The first podcast aired on 4/22/09 entitled "Pirates Have Timesheets" (Listen or Read). The most captivating element of the broadcast was the fine balancing act between the Somali Pirate's business acumen versus their primitive boorishness that is modern Piracy. The story has all the elements of a business case study, ripe with classic examples of investment, risk and rewards. There is the occasional surprise however when you run into the crudeness of Pirate strategies which awaken you into the reality of who you are really trying to do business with. It's quite entertaining.

So You Want To Be A Pirate
Ready to run your own crew? If you are, here are a few important Pirate tips you'll hear about, which you should take with you to Davey Jones' Locker:

1. Finding Capital Financing for your to train your new Pirate recruits
2. Creating a Business Plan to determine which ship to attack (Americans and Europeans are "worth" the most)
3. Rounding up your professional Pirate negotiator (Customer Servicing to "be polite" and how to include employee incentives)
4. How to ensure your Pirate business phone card always has calling card minutes
5. Filling out and retaining your Pirate timecard for submission
6. Faxing and transferring the money (actually ... how to drop millions into the ocean and have your Pirate crew fight hand-t0-hand for 30 hours over their booty).
7. Profit sharing based on your Pirate Job Description (from financier to basic security).
8. When you've been paid off, how to get a ride home from the ship you just hijacked
   

There's so many business/pirate elements in juxtaposition that it's hard to fathom.

The Follow-Up Report
After the original report, there was a buzz about the economics of Piracy. It was such a new and curiosity piquing topic that a follow up was done with the same shipping company. In fact, the most puzzling and unbelievable thing was new relationship that was built between Gullestrup and Mr Ali (Listen or Read). Where one was once the victim and the other the negotiator, both now have a strong relationship between them that they continue to cultivate. It really is just a business to them.

A Few Other Thoughts
The real differences in this economic model lie in the details. The Pirate's have the funding, business plan, investment and operations just as any other business has. One major difference with this model is the excessive risk premium which is expected by their stakeholders. Anyone knows that financing a Pirate enterprise is on the risky end of any market. This type of risk is something that is typified by risky equity investments or low grade (rated) bonds where unnatural returns on investment are demanded. As you'll here in the audio, you just can't get these returns on Wall Street that these Pirate financier's are getting in such a short period of time.

Further, the Somali Pirates believe that they are protecting their waters (a la the US Coast Guard). Hard to believe because no one is attacking them or their country, yet this is partially their motivation. There is some weight in the argument that pollution and dumping in their economic zones, (exclusive or special) is occurring. But these Pirate attacks are extending out into international (uncharted) waters so the entire argument doesn't fully stand up.

Hope you enjoy the trip!

For some last minute fun ... head over to PirateGlossary.com to get some updated Pirate terms to share with y'er folk. Also, some Pirates of Caribbean bloopers is in order as well. It's so cool to blog about Pirates :)

Streaming MJ's Memorial Service

Just announced ... video service provider hulu.com will be streaming the Michael Jackson Memorial service live on their website. Clicking on the link will directly open the feed on your browser. Some of the announced performers will be Mariah Carey, Usher and Stevie Wonder. The memorial will run from from the Staples Center on June 7th, 2009 at 12:55PM ET / 9:55AM PT.

Is Texting While Driving Enforceable?

Although there is a law out to enforce those who text while driving, it seems like it's almost unenforceable law. I've seen many a person tinkering with their phones while driving and have inevitably used mine on the road when needed.

Interestingly, the SJ Mercury is reporting the same issue. In the article "Texting tickets are few because violations are hard to spot" they report that although traffic citations for talking on your phone is high at 200,000 tickets issued, only a few hundred have been issued since the law went into effect on January 1st.

It's not hard to understand why. Traffic cops say they have a hard time verifying that people are actually texting instead of doing something else in their car. That definitely wasn't the case however for this Kettering, Ohio woman who was cited for talking on her cell phone while breastfeeding (way too much multitasking here).

But is this all hypocrisy? On the freeways, I've seen Police speed along in their cars, cutting through traffic as well as talking on their cell phones. Apparently not as cops are allowed to use their cell phones while driving regardless of how civilian law is enforced.

There is necessary concern however. Take a look at the clip below to see a teenage girls perspective on texting while driving. An interesting comment she made was "I don't feel afraid that I'm going to get into a car accident while texting because ... I'm a good texter." Shouldn't she had said ... good driver? She's got all the excuses for her minor "accidents".

Sesame Street Turns 40

You know them as icons of your youth. Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch and the bunch. Yes, this year, Sesame Street the long running children's program on Public Broadcasting turns 40 years old.

I found out about the anniversary when watching the Capital 4th of July celebration where the Sesame Street gang sang along with Natasha Bedingfield on stage. It's impressive to think that the show was running when I was a kid and it remained on TV on Saturday mornings when my sisters grew up as well. The show was simple. Spelling and arithmetic in the song form. I even experienced diversity by learning simple Spanish phrases from the colorful characters.

The most memorable skit I can remember was Grover's "Near and Far" episode where Grover runs back and forth, dictating his position relative to the screen. There wasn't much to it, but I remember laughing at Grover's frustration and eventual on screen collapse. It was very humorous ... well at least as a child.

We're Moving!

We're moving ... domain names! Please update your bookmarks and links to http://www.myluckypen.net

I found it more convenient to access (as well as manage) a site with a normal domain name. Over the next few days some features may not work unless you're using the new URL. Let me know if you notice any problems.

Tornados!

Wow! I can't ... not ... watch ...

These guys are nuts to be going after these tornadoes. It's spooky seeing all the debris floating around in the air as they go in reverse. Take a look in full screen HD if you can (also mute cause they're pretty annoying).

I'll take earthquakes any day!



Link: http://www.hulu.com/watch/80716/atmospheric-pressure-twister-insanity-hd