Trying again

Let's try this one without the backlit tv. ;)

Testing the new phone

Nice, rotates and everything. Sorry for the unfinished cabinet, just fitted it for the tv.

Phones

A few weeks ago, I changed from a Blackberry Pearl to a Blackjack II. I Love the change to Windows mobile 6, but the Blackjack II only has Windows Mobile 6 Standard, and I couldn't really customize it that much. I was expecting to have PDA functionality, but found it lacking. So I went ahead and went up to the Tilt. Let me say, I am thoroughly impressed. This is what I was expecting. It has WM 6 Pro, which has the full functionality of a PDA. It also has 802.11 connectivity, which makes it tons faster while at home and work (Blackjack didn't). Many more nice features are included like a 3 megapixel auto focus camera (it actually moves the lens to focus), GPS with the ability to tether it to a laptop for GPS, and of course the ability to tether for connectivity. I love this phone. I still think AT&T's data network leaves a little to be desired, and will stick with sprint for my personal phone and data card, but for business, this phone can't beat anything I've seen so far. Believe it or not, it comes with the installer for Blackberry connectivity, so tomorrow I will switch back to my Blackberry unlimited data plan to test that out. Leaving the Blackberry messenger is the only reservation I had in leaving the Blackberry, and now it looks like I will have it all!! Bwahahaha!
For valentines day, I will probably get my wife a Sprint Touch phone. She's been asking about the iPhone, which is locked to AT&T, but the Touch looks like it might be a competitor to it, and as long as the phone offers touchscreen and music, my wife will be happy. Plus it's WM 6 Pro also, so she can access her personal email, etc. I'll let everyone know how that phone turns out.
Stay tuned for a pic from the new phone, as I test blogging from it. Should be nice!

Don't peek...

Anyone who is young and is invested in growth stocks should just ignore / not look at your statements, unless you actively manage your portfolio, in which case it's a little too late. I'm serious, put your head in a hole. Here, I'll give you a glimpse: my most aggressive portfolio is a Roth I have with Vanguard. It's a side retirement account I have just for my aggressive tendencies and because I'm young. For the past five years it's done wonderful, but then December hit, and it's only gotten worse. It went from a share price in late Oct of 34.39 to currently 29.80 (and that was on the 18th). So say I have 1000 shares of this. That means I've lost a little over $4500 in the past couple months ($34390 to $29800). This month has been terrible. High of 33.90 to today's low, which means most of what I lost has been in the last couple weeks. I'm young and a big believer in just put it there and ignore it (as long as it's doing well over the long haul). It's hard to do with this downturn, as that takes a huge chunk of any returns down. I can only hope that it's temporary, and all will be gained back by the end of the year. I'd say this lends credit to the big "R" word being talked about in the media every time you turn them on.
Don't feel sorry for me, as my main retirement account is much more diversified, and not seeing nearly the losses I talked about above. But again, if you're one of those that doesn't actively manage, then seriously, find something else to preoccupy you.
BTW anyone wanting to look at the fund mentioned above in more detail, look up ticker symbol VIGRX.
I suppose it's only worse now with the current news. Even the Fed must be scared as hell if they just made an emergency cut of 3/4 point. That's huge considering their previous strategy. I'm just glad a recession won't affect me that much. :)

Holy crap, is it already 2008?

I'm starting to think I'm staying too busy. Life is flying by. In the past year, I feel like I've accomplished quite a bit and am starting to catch up to everything I'd like to finish. It's amazing when you get an extra couple hours back a day how much more you can accomplish. I think this country's productivity would go up tremendously if more employers would allow telecommuting, escpecially in areas like Atlanta, LA, etc. Sorry, random thought. I am seriously anticipating this year's chase season. For the first time I will be in a position to go chasing when the opportunities present themselves. I could sometimes in past years, but this year I have built up time with the employer, and as long as there are no emergencies, I'll be chasing.

One more thing, since I never blog in my other blog, I think I'll somewhat combine them. Not too heavy on my rants, but make this a little more personal. Great, there go my nonexistent readers. :)

About the primaries: I'm now torn between Clinton and Obama. I was all for Clinton, as I am what Rush used to call a "Clinton Koolaid drinker". Seeing as how she can draw on her, and more importantly for me, her husband's experience, it was an obvious choice for me. However, the more I hear from Obama, the more I realize what an intelligent man he is. Plus I like change, and of all the canidates, he would most definitely bring it. Hopefully I will have a more resolved opinion by the time the primaries reach Oklahoma February 5th.

This also means you'll be reading more books, such as this. I'll try to keep the personal opinions at the end so you can skip them if you wish.