The Daily Pondering

Podcasts!

2005-07-22T22:15:00.000-07:00

Although it has taken a while, I've finally entered the world of podcasting. I think it's going to be big as more and more people catch on to it. In case you haven't heard of podcasting, it combines features of Tivo and radio together so that you can listen to short audio segments (i.e. 30 min) on-demand on your mp3 player. In my case, I listen to podcasts on my iPod and love the interface that Apple iTunes provides to search for podcasts. Anyway, podcasting is wonderful because virtually anyone can create their own podcast show that can be about any subject they want. And, the best part is that obtaining podcasts is FREE and EDUCATIONAL! In addition to listening to paid audiobooks in my car on my way to work, I can listen to FREE podcasts and learn about subjects that I'm interested in. Another bonus is that a lot of the information is current since new podcasts are being created! There is a lot of potential for podcasting and it will be interesting to see the evolution of this new trend. I hope that the bad podcasts (i.e., boring, unedited, lots of static on the microphone) will die through natural selection because there will be few listeners and I hope the good podcasts last forever since they will be a lot of loyal listeners.

So far, I've found one podcast that I think will be extremely successful as podcasting continues to catch on. "The Cubicle Escape Pod" (check out www.cubicleescape.com) is my favorite podcast that I am completely addicted to. The hosts are Jonathan Brown & Matt Thompson and they discuss a lot of issues that entrepreneurs face as they start a business. They have a good variety of segments in their shows from interviews with business owners to indie music. I also enjoy their sense of humor and entertaining approach to their shows. I have listened to the last 4 most recent podcasts, but am anxious to start from episode 1 and continue to the most current podcast at my own pace. I think their discussions on many topics are very valuable and I know that I am learning a lot listening to their podcast in a condensed period of time... and it's fun too! Though I might get bummed out driving to work every weekday morning, I look forward to listening to their podcast while I drive. It makes my mornings and evenings! And oh, word of mouth is going to spread fast about "The Cubicle Escape Pod" via co-workers in their cubicles as they await their big escape! Keep up the good work and keep on inspiring us all, Jonathan & Matt (Hey Matt, I hope you find this blog entry as a result of Technorati)!!!

Friends and Lifelong Friends

2005-05-16T23:08:00.000-07:00

What is my definition of a "friend"?
- Someone who has a similar sense of humor
- Someone with whom I can have an interesting & engaging bi-directional conversation
- Someone who has similar perspective on life as me (including ethics and values)
- Someone who makes me feel overall happy when I'm around them

Note: Some friendships tend to be stronger than others. I think that happens depending on how well your friend satisfies your definition of a friend & how well you satisfy their definition of a friend.

What is my definition of a "true friend" or "lifelong friend"?
- Someone who is my "friend"
- Someone who is *truly* happy for me when something good happens and *truly* sad for me when something bad happens
- Someone who can allocate time to be my friend
- Someone who I can rely on when I need their help
- Someone who makes me a better person by being their friend
- Someone who I can trust

Note: This criteria sounds like common-sense, but these are the things that make "true friends" stand out from "friends" in the long-run.

Windows of Opportunity

2005-05-12T23:11:00.000-07:00

Life is filled with many windows of opportunity. In order to take advantage of those opportunities, you have to make sure you see that they exist and be in a position to access them. If you are caught up in other things, those opportunities might pass right by you. Sometimes, those opportunities will come again at a later date. And other times, you won't have a second chance. Make your decisions carefully and wisely. You only have one life to live.

Life experiences

2005-05-04T22:44:00.000-07:00

As I reflect on my past, I realize that there are various experiences in my life that shape who I am today. Sometimes, I didn't even know that I was learning a small lesson through that experience until I reminisced about it. And many times, I was willing to try a new experience thinking I'd get X, Y, & Z out of it, and I ended up by getting X, Y, Z, and many other unexpected life lessons too.

Reminder to self - It is important to keep an open mind on things because you might learn something new when you least expect it. Putting mental barriers up can only retard the growth you gain from life experiences.

Top 10 Innovations I'm Grateful For

2005-04-20T21:21:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while, I wonder about how different life would be if I had grown up in a different era. It's tough to imagine what it would be like without all of its little luxuries, especicially the innovations that I have become dependent on. These innovations have enhanced my life (and I'm sure others as well) significantly. So, here it is - a list of my top 10 innovations that I'm grateful for (in no particular order):
1. Contact Lenses
2. Wireless Internet
3. Searching the Internet (Google!)
4. Cars
5. Computers (especially Macs!)
6. Personal Video Recorders (TIVO!)
7. Cell phones (and to think it used to be cool to have a pager!)
8. Japanese Hair Straightening
9. Digital camera
10. Personal Tele-transporter - oops, that one hasn't been invented yet!

These are the things that really improve the way I live day-to-day. A big THANK YOU goes out to all of the inventors!!!

How does my paycheck dwindle so fast?

2005-04-16T23:21:00.000-07:00

Every week, I receive my weekly paycheck stub. And every week, I gasp when I realize my income seems to disappear. So, it's time to sit down with my paycheck stub and determine how my money evaporates into thin air before I even have a chance to spend it. Here goes:

First, the number of hours I've worked each week is multiplied by the hourly wage. The result is called the total gross income. Simple enough so far.

Then, pre-tax deductions are subtracted...
- 8% of total income --> company's 401k plan (company matches 4% in pre-tax dollars)
- 2.5% of total income --> purchased company vacation time
- <1% of total income --> basic dental, vision, & medical benefits

The remaining amount is used to calculate my taxable gross income. Using my taxable gross income, all of my taxes are calculated ...
13.9% of total income (or 15.7% of taxable income) --> Federal taxes (a.k.a. Fed Withholding)
4.6% of total income (or 5.2% of taxable income) --> California taxes (a.k.a. CA Withholding)
1.4% of total income (or 1.6% of taxable income) --> Medicare (a.k.a. Fed MED/EE)
6.0% of total income (or 6.8% of taxable income) --> Social Security (a.k.a. Fed OASDI/EE)
1.0% of total income (or 1.2% of taxable income) --> California State Disability & Family Leave Temporary Disability Insurance (a.k.a. CA SDI FTDI)

Then, more post-tax deductions are subtracted...
<1% of total income (or <1% of taxable income) --> Accidental Death & Dismemberment , Long Term Disability, & Life Insurance

Believe it or not, all of the deductions and taxes add up to about 39% of my total income. So, that leaves me with a whoppin' 61% of my paycheck to actually see and play with! Wow! The leftover money is referred to as my net pay. And then, to think that we pay sales tax using our post-tax dollars to buy goods and services... what a rip-off!

Money, money, money

2005-04-12T22:16:00.000-07:00

After college, I began working and bringing in a regular income. But what I found mystifying was knowing exactly where to put all of my money. Afterall, I wanted to invest my money so that it would generate even more money for me in my sleep. The problem was that I just didn't know which banks, CDs, stocks, mutual funds, brokerage services, and retirement plans to choose. With all of the overwhelming decisions that needed to be made when you suddenly "grow up", I found it easiest to simply leave most of my money in my checking and savings account. Of course, while filing my taxes this year, I realized that I only made a few dollars and pennies on interest this year. I lost the opportunity to make more earnings on the money I saved this year and wished I had learned how to invest my money earlier so that I didn't find financial jargon so intimidating, overwhelming, and boring.

I think there are several ways that young kids can get a jump-start learning about finances in bite size amounts before they "grow up." Parents can take their kids to the bank to help choose a CD and in the process explain how CDs work. Parents can buy their kids a savings bond and calculate how much it will be worth in the future. Parents can buy their kids a small amount of stock for one of their favorite companies and monitor the stock's performance periodically. Parents can even hire their kids for small jobs and aid their kids in filing their own taxes. Or the kids can get a part-time job at their local bank as a teller. Such exposure to finance terminology and concepts will begin a personal finance education that will be quite useful later in life as the children transition into adulthood.

I have decided that it is time for me to take responsibility for my lack of personal finance knowledge. I am going to gain more personal finance knowledge by doing my own internet research, talking to people, and reading books on various subjects including: tax laws, investing, retirement planning, estate planning, and checking/savings accounts. Though I don't find personal finances a particularly intriguing subject (and it doesn't help that the laws are constantly changing), I must keep in mind that the time I spend now is an investment for my future. Ideally, if I can learn how to manage my money now, my money will grow with time so I can have financial freedom in the future. Wouldn't it be great not to worry about money? And wouldn't it be great to take vacations in different places of the world and still have plenty of money left for retirement? Well, I really hope that I can stay motivated to spend time learning about money now because I definitely think it will be worth it and pay off in the long-run.

The New World of Blogging

2005-03-10T21:26:00.000-08:00

Just thought it was about time to blog about my experience as a new blogger. So far, I'm liking it, but am realizing that it has been more difficult to keep a daily entry (maybe i shouldn't have used the word 'daily' in the title). I'll have to work harder on posting more frequently. In the meantime, I've learned a thing or two about myself that I'd like to share:
- I actually enjoy writing when I have a potential audience reading topics that are interesting to me - I find writing entries in my blog much, much more enjoyable than writing essays in high school or college on boring topics that were only read by an instructor
- I try harder to proofread my blog entries for spelling and grammar mistakes (at least, compared to my e-mails that I write)
- I am encouraged to do more in-depth internet research on topics before writing my blog entries
- I must be careful about what details to reveal through my blog - read this article about some unfortunate employees who revealed too much in their blog
- I respect journalists even more - read this article about how the differences between journalists and bloggers are becoming somewhat blurred
- I should scale back on the length of my blogs - I am going to try to keep them short and sweet in the future! Besides, it will save me time too!
- I need to learn about more features I can add to spice up the appearance of my blog
- I added a tracker to get statistics about the traffic through my blog - in fact, that's how I realized that the heightened increase in traffic to my site was because my blog entry about Britt Worldwide was cited as a reference by the March 5, 2005 entry called "The Dirty Little Secret" on a Quixtar blog - One Man's Perceptions!!!
- I added Google's Adsense Ads (context-based ads) to my blog - with enough traffic, I could make a profit - not bad, considering I haven't invested any of my own money
- I can search other blogs using cool websites such as http://www.daypop.com, www.bloogz.com, www.technorati.com, and www.blogsearchengine.com

Overall, I'm glad that I've joined the world of blogging. I still have a lot to learn...

Filipina Mail-Order Brides

2005-03-07T19:59:00.000-08:00

"Mail-order brides" is one of those topics you might usually see on 20/20 or Dateline. But when you hear about an American guy who suddenly is talking about marriage after taking a short trip to the Phillipines, you can't help but raise an eyebrow and think to yourself, "Is she one of those Filipina mail-order brides?" This has happened to me twice so far. Not knowing much about the subject, I decided to learn more about how these American men seek these foreign (usually Asian, Hispanic, or Russian) wives through the internet. What I found was disturbing - numerous websites geared towards finding foreign "mail-order brides". The following is a summary of how the entire process works: 1) 18+ year-old foreign woman posts pictures and descriptions about her desires to be a wife 2) American man pays a service fee to contact her 3) If both parties are interested, they send e-mails & talk on the phone 4) American man takes a trip to visit the woman at least once (to satisfy INS requirements) 5) Foreign woman applies for fiancee/spousal visas and they get married 6) New foreign bride arrives to the US. And if that isn't scary enough, this whole process can take place in a matter of months!!

Now, why does this strike me as odd? Because esentially, two people who barely *know* each other from two entirely different countries & cultures can get married quite quickly & easily! I don't believe you can truly get to *know* a person through e-mails, phone conversations, and a trip or two - not to mention, the honeymoon stage of a new relationship. And by rushing such a relationship and imposing marriage so soon, both the husband and wife are entering a VERY risky situation since they may have VERY different expectations about how they envision their marriage.

I found one website called FilipinaWives.com that really disturbed me. It presents foreign matchmaking services in a very positive light without addressing the riskiness of such a marriage (perhaps, because that would not be a financially lucrative business?). But is this website truly helping these American men in the way it portrays? I'm not so convinced. For example, one webpage FilipinaWives.com Mail-Order Brides clearly demonstrates the type of pretzel logic that is used to persuade these American men into believing that finding Filipina wives through the internet is not such a wierd concept afterall. This could ultimately be harmful to these men (and the women that they marry) in the long-run.

In the process of examining the illogical explanations and arguments, I decided to counter a few of its FACT or FICTION claims from FilipinaWives.com Mail-Order Brides (as an aside, I'd like to point out that the author tends to make FACT or FICTION claims about statements that are opinions!! ) in the rest of my blog entry:

2: American men who seek Filipina wives through correspondence services are "losers."

PROBABLY!: First of all, I disagree with the author that being a "loser" or not is even related to ethnicity, education level, religious affiliations, political/ideological beliefs, age, state residence, and/or economic status. However, the author does note that the definition of "loser" may vary from person to person. To me, I consider these men "losers" if they are driven to find foreign internet wives because: 1) they don't think American women will accept them and/or 2) they don't think American women will be obedient enough to them. In other words, they seek foreign wives who don't really know them because they think that these women will accept them easier (perhaps because these men have low-self esteems) and/or they these women will be more submissive to them (perhaps because these men have egos). These men need to better understand themselves rather than run away from their personal issues by marrying foreign internet brides.

4: Filipina-American marriages are more successful than American-American marriages.

HOW CAN YOU PROVE THIS?: The author claims that according to the Commission on Filipinos Overseas report, there is a divorce rate of 20% between Filipina-American marriages. But what is the definition of a "successful marriage"? Just because two people are married doesn't necessarily imply that they are in a "happy" marriage (if you define success as both husband and wife being "happy" - and then, how do you define "happy"?). Afterall, the wife might not be so inclined to divorcing since she may be in a more vulnerable position if she leaves her husband. English is most likely not her first language. She may not familiar with the laws and her rights in the US. She may not be able to support herself economically. She may not have family/friends to support her locally. She may not know how to do things that her husband typically takes care of. She may shame her family, culture, and/or religion if she divorces. And if she has children, the situation becomes more complicated very quickly. In the end, divorce may be avoided for various reasons and can not be used as the only measurement for a "successful marriage".

8: All Filipina "introduction services" are in reality illegal "mail order bride" companies.

LEGAL LOOPHOLES?!: Sure, technically these "introduction services" are legal. They are not promising marriage and are simply a service used to introduce two people. Also, the current laws attempt to protect both parties from problems that plague traditional "mail-order bride" cases in the most literal, strictest sense in which a husband paid for a wife he never met to be sent to him. Such problems include the foreign wife being abused/murdered, the foreign wife marrying the American husband for his U.S. citizenship. etc. Ideally, if the law imposes stricter rules (i.e., requiring that the husband and wife must have met face-to-face at least once, they must provide proof of a *real* relationship), then risk is minimized for these both husband and wife because the marriage is more likely to be based on a *real* relationship. But, if both parties desire to do the minimum to prove they have a *real* relationship and get married, it is still technically legal. However, if the INS finds out that you've met through an internet service and then had one trip to meet the other person, they will be highly suspicious of the new marriage. And the INS has a right to be concerned because these are two strangers that are getting married. Something is wrong with the equation! What irks me even more is that this website describes in detail how to deceive the Philipina girl and her family (i.e., what to say, how to act, etc.), the INS (i.e., what not to mention, what documents to collect, etc.), and the American man himself (i.e., why marrying a Philipina internet bride is normal). If you truly have a normal, *real* relationship, you won't need a step-by-step recipe describing how to successfully trick someone into coming to the US to be your wife.

9: "As soon as she gets over here she's going to want to bring her whole family over!"
YOU NEVER KNOW!: Sure, it will take a while to process her paperwork before she becomes a U.S. citizen and starts filling out the paperwork to bring her relatives to the U.S. But marrying a U.S. citizen is the first step to starting the whole process. The point is, does a man want a woman marrying him for who he is as a person or for his U.S. citizenship? And how can he be so sure that she is marrying him for the person that he is if he barely knows her? She doesn't completely know him and he doesn't completely know her either. A marriage resulting from a "correspondence service" (or "mail-order bride" service or whatever you want to call it) is a huge risk with a lot of unknowns.

I hope that these American men will not think solely about their own needs, but also about these foreign women and their lives too. There are plenty of local women already in the US!! Two local people can date each other in the same proximity, thoroughly learn about each other (which takes time and patience), and truly love each other in a *real* relationship before getting married... this will lessen the risks for both the woman and man and ideally, lead to a more "successful" marriage.

Britt Worldwide

2005-03-02T23:13:00.000-08:00

So, I walked into my local BORDER's Bookstore and began looking at various books, as I usually do at BORDER's. Not long after, I noticed that a female arrived to the same section and started looking at similar books too. So, I simply moved out of her way so that I was not blocking her from choosing the books she wanted and resumed looking at books. About 5 minutes later, she turned to me and began asking me questions about my interest in the book I was reading. Then, the questions quickly became more personal... where I lived, where I graduated from college, where I worked, etc. Naturally, I asked her similar questions. Since I mentioned that I work at a 9-5 job, she began telling me about her small business in "private franchising." This business gave her a flexible schedule. Not knowing what "private franchising" meant, I asked her to tell me what it was. Apparently, she thought this question meant that I wanted to be part of her business. She started elaborating about how there was a lot of room for growth with her business and how others in her industry were financially successful. She mentioned that she learned the ropes from her mentor and then, suggested that we exchange business cards. I went along for the ride and exchanged business cards, but I still had no idea what "private franchising" even was. We talked about other topics and then, somehow I was able to ask her again, "So, what is private franchising?". She responded with a very nebulous answer, "Well, you see, it is just very visual and might take a while to explain. It'd be better if we got together another time and I could tell you more about it." Then, she told me that she'd give me a call next week and we could meet again. She quickly scurried off and left that section of BORDER's. So, I was left hanging with an odd feeling. I never said that I wanted to be her new business partner. I only wanted to know what the definition of "private franchising" was. Why couldn't she summarize her business in 2-3 sentences? How does she do business like this if she doesn't give direct answers? And of course, if she called me to meet with her on a different day, what was the purpose? To find out the definition of "private franchising"? Couldn't I find out the answer on the internet? So, I noticed that her business card had an @bbw.com e-mail address on it. Curious, I looked up www.bbw.com at home and found a website for Britt Worldwide. It required a username and password to enter and there was no description about what Britt Worldwide was. That was odd. Doesn't every company want their customers to know what products/services they provide? Maybe I could ask my new "friend/business partner" that I met @ BORDER's? Or maybe I'd have to meet with her on yet another day to find out the answer to that question? So, of course, I googled Britt Worldwide and that 2-second search quickly explained everything. Britt Worldwide was another multi-level marketing company similar to Amway, Quixtar, Worldwide Dreambuilders, Alticor, etc. And the term "private franchising" was a new word for an old concept called "multi-level marketing" or "pyramid scheme". So, in the end, my initial gut feeling about something not being quite right was correct. When she called me back, I decided not to return her phone call. I was fortunate to have figured things out quickly. On the internet, there are many horror stories from people who weren't as luck as me. These stories are about people who go to large-group meetings to learn about these pyramid schemes, who were ruined financially, and whose existing relationships with family and friends were ruined too. So, if you find yourself in a similar situation, be careful...

Lessons learned:
1. It is important to remember that when meeting new people, you should be slightly weary so that you don't get pulled into any con schemes, but not so skeptical either that you never trust anyone. A good balance is important. However, I think you can generally tell peoples' motives for being friendly. Go with your gut feeling!
2. The internet is a great tool and you should maximize its use whenever possible.

My First Blog

2005-02-28T22:00:00.000-08:00

It has finally happened. I have decided to join the world of blogging. Yes, this is a bit of a shocker to me too. I've always liked the idea of diaries... that is, in theory. Writing about your daily happenings and inner thoughts always seemed like a good way to express yourself and learn more about yourself in the process. But on the practical side, the traditional diary (and by the way, who decided to invent the universal key for diaries anyway?) was too time consuming to handwrite and nobody would read it except for yourself (unless someone knew where you hid your diary and owned a universal key, that is). And then, blogging happened several years ago. It never did appeal to me though. Unlike a writing in a traditional diary, I thought that blogging was slightly too public for me. Afterall, if you write about details of your personal life, people on the internet anywhere in the world might know a bit more information about you than you might have never wanted them to know. And that's always just been a bit eery to me! However, I am realizing that blogging isn't just about being an online diary. There is nothing requiring you to write about the details of your life and there is nothing requiring you to reveal your identity. You can choose to discuss as much or as little as you want about whatever topics you want with whomever you want. I have come to conclusion that I should not be using the internet primarily as a tool for gathering new information, but should also be sharing information as well that may be interesting or helpful (or, I suppose, boring and a complete waste) to anyone in the world. Sharing information with others in the world with minimal effort through blogging is a powerful concept and I should be taking advantage of that. For me, I envision this blog to be a means by which I can share my "daily ponderings" with anyone who chooses to read them. Enjoy!