BYU Tanner Building Preview

Today, I attended a meeting with Ned Hill, the Dean of the Marriott School, who shed some light on the upcoming plans of the expansion to the Tanner Building at BYU. The expansion looks like a miniature of the current Tanner building (it's about half the size) and will connect to the west side of the current building, connected by an atrium. Based on the plans, it seems like one of the emphases is to expand student study and group areas, which I think is a very good idea, since students are randomly located in nooks and crannies around the Tanner building. There are also some new classrooms, which will allow for more students to attend the Marriott School of Management. Here's a cool video that gives a virtual tour of the expansion. I'd highly recommend taking a look at it.

Be Careful of Scam Internet Companies

Be careful the next time that you use an escrow (or any) Internet company to secure your eBay transactions. An associate of mine showed me USA-Trader, which claims to be a leading escrow provider. However, the funny thing about the web site is that all of the business information has been stolen from EscrowTech, a legitimate company.

The web site (USA-Trader) has done everything possible to make the company look legitimate. They have the entity number, license type, and state origin right on the home page. They have a Lindon, UT address where the company is located. Yet, all of this information is actually related to EscrowTech. Another item that is meant to "legitimize" the company is the customer service phone number, which is actually a New York phone number. Or look at the secure connection certificate on the login page. The fraudsters have taken every effort to show people that they are a real company.

Defrauding people over the Internet is very easy. A rule of thumb is to only trust companies which are well established and that other people recommend. Yet, then you run into the pyramid-scheme technique of fraudsters where they intentionally build trust in current customers. That way, they can lure more people into the fraud. At USA-Trader, the first few transactions are run properly. Then, the third or fourth never goes through and suddenly all contact with the company is gone. An extremist would say to not do business over the Internet. But that is the direction of our economy. Just remember how easy it is to set up a web site, make up some information, rent a P.O. box, get a phone number, even get a security certificate. Take everything you read on a web site with some healthy skepticism, especially before sending your money to it.

Quicken Update

Quicken is one of the best things that I have found to manage my finances. When I got married, my wife and I tried to manage our finances just using the basic checkbook ledger and writing out a budget on paper. But I've never really been that great about keeping the ledger up-to-date (even though by profession I am an accountant) and it was difficult to calculate whether we were staying within our budget. But in Quicken, we can categorize our expenses and incomes, manage our investments, download our transactions directly from our banks' web sites to reconcile, and the list goes on. It's made it a lot easier to manage our money... maybe even fun.

I have an older version of Quicken and they are starting to phase it out, though. We've decided that it will be a good investment to purchase the latest version. I found this web site called SoftwareOutlet.com, where I can get the Premier Version for $34.99 (or you can get the Basic version for $21.99), which is half the original cost according to the web site. That's a lot better than going to Best Buy and paying $79.99 for the Premier Version. I guess according to Best Buy, SoftwareOutlet.com is more than half the cost. :) Either way, though, it is a great investment.

12DailyPro - An Example of a Ponzi Scam

How would you like to receive a 12 percent return on your money everyday? All you have to do is run an autosurf program on your computer everyday and such returns are possible. Or are they?

People should be skeptical when they hear about offers that sound too good to be true. The above example is taken from 12DailyPro, which is a classic example of a typical Ponzi scheme. People pay money to the company and are paid the promised return. However, the money they receive is only a portion of their money being returned to them. They think, though, that they are receiving interest payments and that the company is legit. Then they refer their friends, who also receive interest payments, and the cycle continues until the mastermind behind the scheme takes off with all of the money. A few people may end up ahead, but the majority loses everything.

Yet, people who have invested in 12DailyPro claim that that the secret to the return is savvy business tact. Users prove that such returns are possible by showing examples of Real Estate investments and online businesses with little overhead. I don't dispute that such returns are possible, but one also needs to remember the factor of risk that such people incur. A real estate wholesaler may make a down payment of $500 to purchase property for $150,000 (the example given on 12DailyPro's forum). He or she then turns around and sells/assigns this contract to somebody else for $165,000. That's a return of $15,000 on a $500 investment--a 3,000 percent return! But look at if from a flip side. What happens if the wholesaler can't sell the property at a profit and is forced to liquidate at $100,000? That is a $50,000 loss on a $5,000 investment--a 10,000 percent loss! High yields are possible, but come with certain risks attached.

Another point that users would like to make is that "the more members and traffic that visit an autosurf website, the more valuable its ad space becomes." This is true, which is evidenced by Google's phenomenal profits for its advertising space. However, what value is their in autosurfing a web site? In essence, advertisers are paying extra money for computers, not people, to view the web site. Eventually, smart advertisers would realize the poor return on this investment and cease the practice.

Lastly, people should be skeptical when a company requires a down payment in order to become an employee of the company. Typical companies do not pay based on the amount invested if everybody does the same thing (such as autosurfing a website). Compensation is usually based on skill, seniority, and other things of the sort.

Of course, users will discount all of these red flags and hail that 12DailyPro is different than any other business that has ever existed. I, for one, will still choose to invest in the stock market rather than investing in sketchy business practices.

A Mac Virus?

It looks like somebody finally decided that Macs needed to have a virus of their own. The Washington Post reports that a virus is now being spread through Macs using the iChat program. It disguises itself as a file containing a picture of the next-generation Apple operating system, called "latestpics.tgz." Once opened, it sends itself to everyone in the iChat buddy list. Although it is only one virus, it proves that even Apples can be the targets of viruses. I just hope that Mac users weren't too boisterous about the lifetime, virus-free history that they have enjoyed by not downloading anti-virus software.

Fossett Breaks Flight Distance Record

Wow! Steve Fossett traveled around the globe about one and half times, doing the trip in 3 and a half days and covering 26,389 miles! It's crazy to think that he did that alone in an experimental plane . And to top it all off, he had several close calls on the way (losing 750 gallons of fuel at takeoff, doing an emergency landing in England, and hitting stormy weather in India that almost caused him to eject). Sometimes I wonder what drives people to set records, especially when it involves such risk. I guess everyone has their own thing to drive them in life.

Top 10 Investing Books

I just opened a Scottrade account, so I'm trying to learn about investing. I found a list of Top 10 Investing Books that I thought might be helpful in learning some strategies. I've learned plenty in college about the theory behind stocks and why they go up and what not, but I've never actually learned anything about picking stocks. Maybe these books could help.

Good Year For Boeing

My Dad works for Boeing, so I'm a little biased when it comes to the airplane industry. However, statistics don't lie. It looks like Boeing won the airplane market last year, although Airbus disputes saying that it sold more planes. However, most of those planes were single-aisle planes while Boeing's majority were wide-body jets (777 and 787). Thus, Boeing won the market share in dollar figures with a total share of 55 percent.

I'm still interested to see what will become of the A380. Airbus has had a lot of bumps trying to get it released. I personally think that Boeing made the correct decision in choosing to emphasize the more cost-efficient 787. In a time when gas prices are unstable, does anybody else see the wisdom in opting for fuel-economy? I think that Delta felt the gas price strain contribute to its recent bankruptcy. Southwest Airlines, on the other hand, faired well with their strategic derivatives that secure a low gas price for a few more years. What happens when those run up, though?

New Way of Learning How to Read

I just read about an organization called PlanetRead that has developed a new way of eliminating illiteracy from the world. They implemented a program called Same-Language Subtitling (SMS) that is designed to display the subtitles in the native language during TV programs (especially with popular songs) in order to teach people how to read. Thus, people can here and see the words at the same time. It has been very successful so far in its implementation in India, but I find it interesting why some people aren't adopting the method--they think that it is too easy. They feel that people need to be more involved in the learning process than to simply watch TV. I think that it is interesting, though, how small and simple things bring about great things. And all of this for the cost of only $1USD for 10,000 Indians for a whole year! Read more about RedPlanet on Google's blog.

Thank You Tyler

I found it odd to read about students protesting against the War in Iraq during an event that was meant to honor soldiers. Their actions are in sharp contrast to another story about Pfc. Tyler MacKenzie, an Iraq casualty, and the citizens of his town in Colorado. In patriotic remembrance, there were flags and hands over hearts as the deceased soldier passed in a hearse. The reaction of Tyler's parents is especially significant: "If we leave, it makes Tyler's death in vain."

I feel the same. What good have we done if we leave Iraq in the state it’s in? Sure, it's a difficult task, but what I see is people who are hopeful for a peaceful life. I see Iraqis willing to risk their life just to vote in an election. They feel the significance of the cause for which we fight. If we leave now, the entire mission will have been for naught. Let's support the troops by taking a moment of silence when the National Anthem is played. Let’s pray for their safety as they help a fallen country. Let's celebrate their victories. Let's honor those who have given their lives for the cause of freedom.

The Holiday Season

I really like December. Well, it is cold outside, which makes it very hard to get out of my nice warm bed in the morning. And I never see any daylight since I am inside from before sunrise until after sunset (I guess I should really take some walks during the day). But despite these things, I'm very happy. Why? It's because everybody seems to forget themselves during this wonderful season. My friend, Rachel, told me about a lady she saw give her winter jacket to a homeless lady on the street. It's things like that that make me happy.

Google and NASA?

Based on an article in Mercury News, Google is teaming up with NASA to make a new research campus. It seems like an unlikely duo, but I can see how Google's technology can help NASA in "space age" technology. I'm not quite sure how Google benefits from this, except that it will probably receive a lot of goodwill to its name. Maybe Google just has too much cash to sit on and is trying to figure out useful investments. Microsoft has billions of dollars of cash on hand. It's not very useful to the company when it isn't employed in making more money. I think that Google is making a wise investment. It will help the company in some way.

Definition of Integrity

Since the fall of Enron and Arthur Andersen, I've heard a lot about integrity and how important it is to have leaders in the business community who have integrity. I feel that I have integriy in the sense that I'm honest with others. Well, I was at a seminar the other day and heard a new definition of integrity. The speaker talked about the integrity gap, which is the difference between what a person says and what he or she does. For example, a father might say to his kids that they shouldn't stay up late while he stays up late. The kids don't understand why it's okay for him to stay up late while they can't. I guess that it kind of goes back to the concept that Actions speak louder than words.

So, I've been thinking a lot about the integrity gap in my life. It's interesting because I realized that there is even an integrity gap between what I say to myself and what I do. I'm pressed for time, but still take a half hour to read my email. I'm running late, but I still stop to eat a casual breakfast. I don't always do what I need to do. So I'm setting a goal to be true to myself--to do what I say I'll do.

Google's New Instant Messaging Program

Up until the end of my freshman year, I used to constantly chat with people online using AIM and MSN Messenger. It seemed that I would look online to see if any of my friends were there so that I could procrastinate my homework longer. Anyway, I gave that up after my mission in Russia. However, today I was looking at Google News and saw that Google just released Google Talk. It is a program that can be used to chat with other people and talk to people using a speaker and microphone. You can download this IM program at www.google.com/talk. Even though I gave up instant messaging years ago, I downloaded it and thought that I would try it out. It's pretty basic right now, but is supposed to evolve into an IM program that also allows you to chat with people who use AIM and MSN Messanger. See if you like it.

Motorola Cell Phone with MP3 player

I found a cell phone with an mp3 player for a reasonable price. It seems that it got pretty good reviews on CNET. Here is the link to Motorola's web site.

This is a pretty cool picture of a plane getting hit by lightning in Osaka, Japan. Nobody got hurt in the plane, surprisingly enough.

Worst Drivers in the Nation

My mom and I always talk about how Utah drivers must be the worst drivers in the nation. Well, a study done by GMAC insurance shows that Utah drivers aren't the worst drivers. They are number 33 out of 50. I guess that's not number 50, but it's low enough to make my worst drivers list.

As a side note, Oregon and Washington rated number 1 and 2, respectively, in the study. I guess that says something about my driving since I'm from Washington.