Saturday Morning Dump: Lip Sync Links

 Saturday Link Dump  8 Responses »
Jul 302011
 

I know most of you follow my work situation with your utmost attention, so here’s an update.

The guy I work with is old. He’s been whining talking about retiring for most of the last year. Part of the reason I was actually hired is because the company knew that he was going to retire sooner or later. So I work Friday-Monday and he works Monday to Friday. I enjoy 3 days a week off, but I know I want the extra money that comes with working more. Besides, I’m getting really sick of working weekends. Everybody else is off and I’m working. It blows.

Well, he finally bit the bullet and has given his notice for the 1st of October. It’s company policy to offer the route to everybody, and then they narrow it down depending on who’s interested. There’s been quite a few rural routes come available over the past year, and I don’t think anybody has offered to transfer from the city for any of them. I’m fairly confident I’ll get it.

I like the job. It’s like running my own business but without risking any capital. I talk to the boss once a week for about 10 minutes and I see her once every 3 months. I work until I’m done all my stores and then I go home. People leave me alone. So I’m pretty excited about this.

Random Thing I Enjoyed This Week

The Blue Jays acquisition of Colby Rasmus was pretty exciting. He’s gonna be some kind of good.

That’s all I got. Apparently I had a pretty crummy week.

Random Thing That Irritated Me This Week

I went out for lunch to with a guy this week. We went to Dairy Queen because we’re the epitome of class.

So I go ahead and order the Fajita Ranch Burger, since there were approximately 1.2 million posters promoting it in the restaurant. When the cashier dude asks my buddy what he wanted he says “I dunno. I’ll just have what he’s having.”

Who does that? Just make a damn choice. If you’re going to order the same thing as me, at least make it look like you’re thinking about other stuff.

And the burger? Kinda crappy. The peppers were a little slimy and the burger was dry.

Song I Like And Therefore You Should Too

Did you know that Justin Bieber’s song Baby has the most views ever on Youtube, with over 500 million views. Without further adieu…

I would never make you guys watch a Bieber video. No promises about a Taylor Swift video though.

This video is a tribute to the Montreal Expos. What separates it from every other tribute video is that this one is only a little cheesy. I wonder if the Big Cajun Man has ever seen this?

Simpsons Quote Of The Week

Flanders: Now throughout history when people get wood, they’ll think of trojans!

Homer: Hehehe! Trojans!

Lisa: What are you laughing at, dad?

Homer: If I’m laughing at what I think I am, it’s very funny

Me So Hungy

The particular potato chip company that I work for is coming out with two new flavors in the next couple weeks- dill pickle Doritos and spicy ketchup Ruffles. Those should be tasty and I definitely recommend you buy a bag or twelve.

Along the same lines, I had some nachos this week, and they were outstanding. I’m no fan of sour cream- in fact, I always request two salsas instead of a sour cream. One salsa immediately gets poured all over my nachos while the other waits for the chips that went salsa-less during the first pour. It’s a mess, but nachos are a mess anyway. You should definitely eat nachos like I do.

How come you can never get the nacho cheese dip at restaurants? Maybe I just eat at crappy places.

Entertain Yourself Dammit

I SAID entertain yourself, dammit.

Babe Loosely Related To Finance

I was gonna go with Amy Adams, but apparently I’ve already I’ve already thought inappropriate thoughts about her.

I’ve been watching a lot of Storage Wars lately. That show is pretty fun, I like seeing the cool stuff they end up finding in these lockers. I kind of want to go to garage sales to try to see if I can find treasures. Until then, we’ll just have to ogle this picture of Brandi, easily the best part of the show.

Oh Right, Time For Links

Would you let Dave Ramsey be the CFO of your company? Money Mamba wouldn’t. Don’t bash Dave too loud there JT…

My token link to Control Your Cash this week explores the logic of working overtime to impress your bosses. You might impress them, but at what cost?

I picked the low hanging fruit over at Landlord Rescue, talking about buying U.S. property. Like I always do, I put a little twist on the post. Speaking of Landlord Rescue, Rachelle had a pretty funny exchange with a liar tenant. Go for the swear words, stay for the funny story.

Both me and Echo inspired a post over at Retire Happy. Jim asks what rate of return should you assume for your retirement investments. I assume 8%. Is that too high? You’ll have to click through, I won’t give it away.

Speaking of Echo, he wrote about refinancing your mortgage. Americans do this all the time, Canadians don’t. More people should, the savings can totally be worth the few hours of work.

I wrote about moving to a cheaper and warmer climate over at Canadian Finance Blog. It’s actually much easier than you think. Besides, you’ll look like a rich white guy when you show up, where you just look like some moron here.

Young and Thrifty tagged me to participate in something called the 7 Links Challenge. Here’s her 7 Links. Sandy from Yes I Am Cheap did one too. And so did Krystal from Give Me Back My Five Bucks. Look for mine on Monday, just in case you care.

Holy Potato has a bit of a man crush on Jason Segal. It’s a little creepy.

Carnivals

I’m a slacker. So sue me.

Have a good week everyone.

 

 Posted by Nelson Smith at 4:20 am

Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em. Video Games, That Is.

 Big Picture Stuff  No Responses »
Jul 292011
 

Every year for Christmas, my Grandparents get me a subscription to Canadian Business. Overall, I like the magazine. Not every article can be a winner, (just like here, suckers!) but the crap to non-crap ratio is solidly positive. On the cover of this month’s edition I spied a little bubble off to the side, all alone. The contents of the bubble? It asked whether video games were the new tobacco.

Naturally, I was immediately interested in the article. It talks about a recent supreme court ruling that made it legal for American retailers to sell violent video games to whoever wanted to buy them. The court ruled that it was a form of free speech- that consumers should be free to purchase anything they want regardless of age. That’s the same out clause that allows hardcore pornographers and tobacco companies to operate, hence the comparison.

Video games are like cigarettes in other ways too. They both have warning labels on them, with some video games being worse than others. They’re also both commonly enjoyed by young people. So that pretty much seals it. Video games and tobacco are exactly the same.

Video games are also directly related to cancer. It’s not lung cancer though. It’s some other cancer. Let’s go with ass cancer, since gamers spend a disproportionate amount of time sitting on it. Video games are also technically illegal for young people, yet their parents obviously don’t care. After all, that’s why so many parents get their kids video game systems for their birthdays.

The ironclad similarities don’t end there. Video games are also linked to various breathing problems, mostly because the people who play them are so fat. Video games cost people thousands of dollars per year, just like tobacco does. Video games are known to be addictive, maybe even more so than smoking. Do you know anybody who has ever successfully quit video games? I didn’t think so.

But wait, there’s more! Tobacco companies have other products designed to get you hooked like chewing tobacco or those lame stinky cigar things. Video game companies offer portable systems to keep you hooked on the go. Both are linked to thousands upon thousands of deaths per year, video games maybe even more than smokes. In fact, if you stop playing video games for a smoke break, you’re actually getting healthier when you do it.

Is there anybody who hasn’t figured out I’m being sarcastic? I hope not.

For some reason, video games get crapped on all the time, usually by people who have never bothered to ever play one, since they’re obviously best qualified to give an opinion on the matter. I’m not really sure why, since all the arguments are easily diffused by anybody with a brain.

Video games are violent? Yeah, they are. So are movies and television shows, and nobody seems to have a problem with them. Little Timmy can watch any number of tv shows that show people getting shot, but it’s different somehow because he controls the character in Grand Theft Auto? Little Timmy isn’t that stupid, why are you?

The same arguments apply when people accuse video games of objectifying women or promoting sex and drug use. Apparently those people have never seen a Lady Gaga video. I can’t say I blame them.

Or maybe you’re mad because video games keep kids cooped up inside. Well, there are two arguments to that. If video games don’t keep kids inside, then tv, the internet, cell phones, Facebook and ipods will. Why would kids go outside when inside is so awesome? Or maybe kids don’t go outside anymore because parents are paranoid every weird guy wants to lure their kid to the big pedophile van.

Go play in the yard! But stay where I can see you!

But Mom, I’m 21!

Video games are mindless entertainment say others. Well, just like tv, don’t fault the medium. Even noted violent games like the aforementioned Grand Theft Auto franchise require many hours of progressively more difficult play to complete. Players have to make their way through challenges that test their abilities and require them to use logic, reasoning and other higher brain functions to figure out a solution. Is that really worse than an episode of Big Brother?

Yes, some kids get addicted to video games. I’m sure you can tell me about a tragic story about some kid who murdered their parents because they took away his Playstation. Ultimately though, the number of lives ended prematurely because of video games pales in comparison to things people should actually care about, like drug abuse or underage drinking. All sorts of people accidentally drown, yet nobody wants to ban swimming pools or deep puddles.

So anyway, go ahead and keep playing video games. They’re just another form of entertainment, one that can get expensive if you let it. And if anyone ever whines about how they’re crap, just finish them with the moves you learned from Mortal Kombat.

 

 Posted by Nelson Smith at 4:20 am

Athletes Are Not Overpaid. Stop Whining About It.

 Money of Sports  21 Responses »
Jul 272011
 

Because my Mom is such a good cook, I can often be found eating supper at my parents’ house. On the menu last night was just homemade pizza, with a flat bread crust and ample amounts of pepperoni, peppers and other vegetables. It’s no wonder I’m a recovering fat guy.

So I’m watching the Blue Jays’ game with my Dad as we eat, and Travis Snider hits a routine ground out back to the mound. Snider puts his head down and hustles to first, but was still thrown out with plenty of time to spare. I was impressed with Snider’s hustle, so I went ahead and voiced my admiration with his hustle. My Dad was not impressed. A quote:

Well, I’d sure hope he’d hustle! Look how much he’s getting paid! In fact, every time a guy doesn’t run hard they should deduct 10% of his salary!

Oh Dad. Never change.

So what does that say about my Dad, besides a poor understanding of contract law? He’s squarely in the camp that thinks professional athletes are overpaid. In the past he’s told me that salaries for professional athletes should be capped at $100k, mostly because he came up with this number. I’m not sure why the number should be capped at $100k. I think he likes the roundness of it.

This post isn’t to bash my Dad. Many people share his opinion on athlete compensation. Some of them might even be reading this blog. Unfortunately, they’re all wrong. Athletes should get paid as much as the market will demand. Here’s why.

As someone who’s endlessly interested in economics, professional sports is a great proxy for capitalism as a whole. Thanks to free agency, professional athletes sell themselves to the highest bidder. From the athlete’s perspective, free agency is designed to extract money from the highest bidder. The team, meanwhile, has the exact opposite intentions, trying to acquire the best talent at the lowest price.

Most of the time, though, it’s fairly easy to value the services of a professional athlete, thanks to statistics. Sometimes statistics are inflated- maybe due to great teammates or because of one fluke year- but usually serve as a decent predictor of future results. If a baseball player has averaged a .300 batting average and 25 home runs over the past 5 years, chances are they’ll get close to those results.

What was the point of all that? Athlete salaries are one of the closest things I can think of to pure capitalism, especially in sports that don’t have a salary cap. (which is really only baseball I guess) There’s no government regulations. All that remains is pure supply and demand, the two forces that drive prices in a free market.

Let’s look at supply first. Being good enough at your sport to play professionally is really, really hard to do. Let’s take a look at hockey, Canada’s game. According to Hockey Canada, there are approximately 500,000 kids who play organized hockey in Canada. A quick search over at Hockey DB says that about 3000 players spent some time in the NHL since 2000. Approximately half of current NHLers are from Canada, meaning 1500 of those players are Canadian.

To summarize, 1500 Canadian kids end up spending time in the NHL. 500,000 play organized hockey. That means that any given kid has a 0.3% chance of making the bigs, even for just a cup of coffee. That’s 3 out of every 1,000 that ever make it. Out of those 1500 that do make it, maybe only half of those will end up being impact players. So in reality, only 1.5 out of 1,000 who ever play organized hockey will end up being contributors in the NHL. Those are pretty steep odds to overcome.

Meanwhile, we have normal jobs. I’m willing to bet that at least 25% of the population has the intelligence and work ethic to become a doctor or lawyer. Most professions can really be done by anybody. Obviously, there are limitations here. To be an engineer, you have to be good at math, and not everybody is. But a large chunk of the population has the multiplying skills to become an engineer. And frankly, any moron can get their major in communications.

Just kidding communications majors! Don’t kill me!

The point is, having the skills to become a professional athlete, even a poor one, is something that’s incredibly unlikely. You have to be outstandingly good at your sport to do it professionally. To be able to become a teacher, or engineer, or doctor, or whatever, you just have to be pretty good at the skills needed to do the job. Not everybody can do those jobs listed, but a lot more than .15% of the people who try end up succeeding.

Let’s face it, sports owners are usually pretty astute business people. Most are billionaires, and I can guarantee you they didn’t become stinkin’ rich by making foolish money choices. They know exactly what they’re getting into when they pay their athletes these millions. If they can get the right combination of athletes together, the team will be successful. If the team is really successful, they’ll go deep into the playoffs, maybe even winning a championship. The team wins, the owner makes lots of money and the players are paid what the market will bear. Is that why they’re overpaid?

I think that ultimately, the issue of player salaries comes down to your view of professional sports. If you view it as legitimate business that provides a valued product, then you’ll probably tolerate whatever salaries become. You’ll probably even shell out the cash for a ticket every now and again. If you’re the type of person who doesn’t care for watching sports and see no value in the medium, then you probably think salaries are too much. After all, why should someone get paid so much for playing a pointless game?

Like any job, professional athletes are paid what the market will bear. Complaining about it just makes someone look stupid. So just sit  back and accept those outrageous salaries. Except if they play in the CFL. No wonder everyone laughs at the CFL.

 

 Posted by Nelson Smith at 4:20 am

Think Balancing The Budget Is Easy? You Try

 Big Picture Stuff  1 Response »
Jul 252011
 

It’s 10:21 on Sunday night. As usual, I’ve screwed around on the internet instead of writing a post. The good news is, though, that I’ve been playing with something pretty cool, a game that’s both educational and fun, for about 15 minutes anyway. It’s called Budget Hero and it calls for you to balance the U.S. federal budget. Or, if you so choose, you can not balance the budget and lead us all to financial doom. It’s your call really.

Although the game isn’t quite as complex as I’d like, it’s still a pretty cool look at what needs to be cut to avoid both a near term and long term budget crisis. So spend some time with it and see how good your deficit busting skills are, and I’ll be back with a real post tomorrow. Or the next day. Or whenever I have nothing better to do.

I tried for at least a minute and a half to get the damn thing to embed, but it turns out I’m a moron. So go here to play it.

 

 Posted by Nelson Smith at 4:20 am

Saturday Morning Dump: Thumbs Up For Links

 Saturday Link Dump  2 Responses »
Jul 232011
 

I woke up Wednesday morning to the sun shining in through my window and the birds singing. I rolled out of bed, took a whiz and made myself some toast (with peanut butter, the only way to have toast). I sat down on the couch with my toast and turned on BNN to see what was happening in the markets. This is what happens every morning I’m not rushing off to work, it’s my routine.

So I’m reading the news ticker and there’s news about a takeover offer received by Zarlink Semiconductor, a company I own some shares of. My interest piqued, I grab my laptop and check out the stock.

It was up over 50%. In one day. SCORE!!!

The best part is that I paid just a little over $1.50 per share. As I write this, they trade above $3.70. That’s just a little less than a 150% return.

After failing so badly at picking Duoyon Printing, it’s nice to have one that I actually get right. On Monday, I’m locking in my gains on that bad boy.

Random Thing I Enjoyed This Week

I was watching the Blue Jays game on Thursday. It was an early game since the Jays started a road trip in Texas last night, and that’s the closest thing baseball players get to a travel day.

Now I’m no fan of Buck Martinez, the Blue Jays’ play by play guy (and former manager). I think he doesn’t really know that much about baseball. Neither does the color guy (Pat Tabler), but at least he has a nice soothing voice.

Buck was saying something about how Seattle’s starting pitcher wasn’t getting any run support, so his 3-11 record looked much worse than he deserved. Except he didn’t exactly describe it like that. Instead, he said that he was being “jewed” out of wins. And then he went silent for at least 5 seconds.

Yep, he got yelled at by somebody for that.

Random Thing That Irritated Me This Week

A dog humped my leg. It’s hard to be mad when you’re laughing your ass off though.

The guy who lives in my basement takes showers that last way the hell too long. They last at least 15 minutes. What kind of dude showers for that long?

My first thought is that he’s, uh, taking care of business in the shower. Which would be okay, but still. It takes the guy 15 minutes to finish up? What’s wrong with him? Maybe he likes foreplay.

I know water costs next to nothing, so I don’t care about that. It’s just he’s always showering when I want to, meaning I have to endure horrible water pressure if we shower at the same time. And I gotta wash my hair, or else I don’t look pretty that day.

Song I Like And Therefore You Should Too

1997 just called. They want this song back.

I have a couple of Goo Goo Dolls albums. This song is, by far, the best thing on either of them. When I was 15 and this song first came out, I used to play it over and over again, much to the annoyance of my parents. Sorry guys.

Simpsons Quote Of The Week

Homer: I lost our life savings in the stock market. Now let’s move onto the real issue, Lisa’s hogging of the maple syrup!

Lisa: Well, maybe if Mom didn’t make such dry waffles! There, I said it!

Blogging Snack Of The Week

I really ate high class this week.

When I was kid, one of my favorite meals was Kraft Dinner and fried bologna. So I was in the grocery store one day and noticed a little pack of bologna was on sale for the low, low price of $1.00. Add in the 68 cents for the store brand KD, and I was eating like a king on a very low budget.

It was pretty tasty, but I forgot just how greasy fried bologna is. I’m sure at least 72% of that grease is deposited in my arteries. Still worth it.

Entertain Yourself Dammit

I started reading The Little Book That Beats the Marketby money manager Joel Greenblatt. It’s pretty entertaining for a book all about picking good stocks. The strategy Greenblatt presents seems a little simplistic, but I’m not done the book yet, so I don’t want to pass judgement quite yet. Still, it’d be a solid read for a beginning investor, being that it’s pretty entertaining and does a nice job introducing stock market basics in a way even a novice can understand.

As for TV, I watched Hell’s Kitchen this week. Gordon Ramsey swore at some guys. That amused me. I’m really surprised someone on that show hasn’t punched him in the face.

Hot Babe Loosely Related To Finance

That new movie Friends With Benefits looks pretty okay, I guess. Better than the Smurfs movie, anyway. So let’s go with Mila Kunis.

I think every guy is a little jealous of Justin Timberlake. He’s cool. He’s stinkin’ rich. And, he get’s to roll around with a naked Mila Kunis. I’d want to beat him up if he wasn’t so cool.

Oh Right, Time For Links

I skewered Echo over at Canadian Finance blog, questioning the assumption that future returns will suffer. Okay, maybe “disagreed with politely” is a much better choice of words than skewered.

Control Your Cash wrote about a high school grad who is actually considering going to a very expensive university instead of using their full scholarship at a less prestigious school. You can probably imagine which path they’d want her to take.

Kevin from Thousandaire wouldn’t hire a long term unemployed person. You know a post is good when you get commenters who threaten to unsubscribe.

Sandy tells us the story about how she got rid of her tenant from hell. Here’s part 1. Once the tenant from hell is gone, what will she talk about on the site? Also, she swears, which is awesome.

For some reason, Mike from MoneySmartsBlog took his kids camping. If I was him I’d take them camping too… in Grandma’s back yard.

Five Cent Nickel invests like a girl. Probably throws like a girl too.

Fabulously Broke tries to define success. For me, success has always been that one million dollar net worth.

The Frost Report gives us the summary of a conversation with a Chinese property developer. I won’t give away the whole post, but the Chinese market might be a little crazy…

Carnivals I Was In This Week

Well, uh…

I have a moustache.

Have a good week everyone.

 

 Posted by Nelson Smith at 4:15 am
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