Ok SO.....

In the past, this blog has been several things.

1. It has been for school.
2. It has been inconsistent.
3. It has been forgotten.
4. It has been boring.
5. It has been unwanted.

WELL NO MORE!!! I am officially entering the blogging universe. So hello world, HERE I AM!!

Souls Surfer, Soul Surfing

This is an incredible story about an incredible girl living through an incredibly unfortunate experience.
This isn't how she sees it though!
Beth Hamilton was just an ordinary teenage girl competing in a cutting edge, competitive sport. She was always competing and pushing herself to the limits in surfing.
On one normal morning surf, though, her arm was bitten off by a shark! She was rushed to the hospital and fortunately survived despite great blood loss.
Through this traumatic experience, Hamilton was able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
She used what most would consider a great tragedy to serve as a light for the Lord!
She now travels around sharing her story and how God used this event in her life to her closer to Him.

And guess what... she still surfs! If that isn't a testimony, I don't know what is!

Business Brokerage 101

Experts and economists always talk about buyers and sellers markets for all sorts of things. Things like the housing market, used and new cars, condos, luxury lifestyle items, ect. What is less commonly analyzed: the market of businesses. Weird thought, right? Selling a business... It seems a little backward from the usual model of businesses sell goods and services. However, businesses have their own market just like any good. And there is more... Real estate brokers? Well there are actually business brokers too! They just so happen to sell businesses that cost millions to hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Now that the picture of the business market is painted, consider this in light of the current economy. There are many complexities in the situation, reasons to sell and not to sell, but this article from the New York Times sums it up pretty well: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/07/a-tough-time-to-time-the-sale-of-a-business/?ref=business.
Is it a buyer's market or seller's market? The article suggests that both are true to some extent, and focuses on the timing if the sale of the business.

Reasons to sell now:
1. Tax cuts- the Bush-era tax cuts have been extended to 2013
2. Coming out of the recession, people are looking for new careers and ventures... owning a business that already has some established credibility is a great place for many people to start.
3. The baby boomers looking to retire are going to flood the market with their businesses for sale in about ten years.

Reasons to sell later:
1. Business prices will stabilize after 2013.
2. Business valuations will increase after they return to pre-recession levels in 2014.

The article offers this last piece of advice to people planning to sell their businesses, "Whatever your situation, the sooner you start thinking about the many issues associated with the sale of a business and how they will affect you, your family and your transaction, the more successful your outcome is likely to be."

The Intangible Tulo

Troy Tulowitzki is no doubt a fantastic MLB player; there is a reason he is the only player in baseball signed through 2020. His stats further prove his exceptional success in the sport. The Rockies' head coach, Dave Snow, claims Tulowitzki brings more to the Colorado Rockies than just stats.

In a New York Times interview, he stated, "I came back a week later, and he was back in the lineup. Just his presence at shortstop, I noticed an immediate difference in the whole ball club — the tempo, the energy — and it carried over into the game. There’s something intangible with Tulo, with his makeup and his inner drive."

So how do you value such an intangible asset? Try $175.75 million from 2011-2020. That is around $17.575 million a season, or about 44 times the salary of Obama.

Consider this, young men of America...
You could be the future president of the United States of America.
Or, with some baseball talent and hard work, you could be ridiculously wealthy and play in the MLB.
It's your call, but the odds of landing the job are better for 'MLB superstar.' And you could be a millionaire.

Link to the NYT article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/13/sports/baseball/13tulowitzki.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&sq=rockies&st=cse&scp=2

Trash Your Backyard?

No one wants trash in his or her backyard. No family wants a landfill where their children play. This is the issue the Greek town of Keratea is facing. The government is being very persistent about planting the landfill right behind the town. The major complaint of the local citizens is that the proposed location of the landfill is a treasure chest of archaeological riches. Other Greek towns have also faced similar protests over landfills in recent years.
The protests have been raging for around 3 months. They do not appear to be near a compromise.

NYC and Quincy (that rhymes ;))

Well, the huge snowstorm that hit the North East is old news. Every year, a 'massive blizzard' dumps feet of snow on the North East and every major news group covers the storm from a week before it comes to weeks after the storm. They show pictures of buried cars and video clips of teenagers snowboarding down their streets.
Removal of the snow is an entirely different issue. Once the novelty of the annual snow-party-hoorah wears off, people are faced with the prospect of clearing the snow off the street. As New York City struggled with the task of clearing the snow, Quincy, Mass. had successfully discovered a way to clear snow more quickly and cheaply.
Instead of paying contractors by the hour to clear snow, they pay by the inch. This leads to a 5 to 10% savings and, miraculously, the work was finished more quickly! I suppose there is less incentive to dilly-dally at work if you are not getting paid by time spent! Maybe NYC should take a page out of the book of Quincy.

Here is the link to the article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/opinion/22tue4.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Enjoy the warm(ish) weather!!

Retirement 2.0

The man responsible for leaving perhaps the biggest impact on cycling that the sport has ever seen is finally retiring. His strong career included seven consecutive Tour de France wins and success in many other events throughout his years. He retired once before, but came out of retirement with hopes of earning an eighth title. He finished his next two races 3rd and then 23rd respectively, failing to acquire another victory.

Armstrong's road to his seven major titles was long and plagued with misfortune. Before winning his first Tour de France race, he had to overcome testicular cancer. He has also faced many accusations of using performance enhancing drugs, coming away clean after every drug test.

In this interview announcing his retirement, he even had a shout out to J-Beibs! He was quoted saying, "Never say never... Just kidding."

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Here is the link to the Wall Street Journal article:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/02/16/sports/cycling/AP-CYC-Armstrong-Retirement.html?ref=global

Publish Post

Are you FBO?

Are you FBO? (FBO = Facebook Official)
This phrase has officially entered the public jargon. Whenever a girl is beginning a new relationship, it is practically guaranteed the first question her best friend will ask is, "Well are you FBO yet?"
This forces couples exploring a dating relationship to "DTR" sooner and sooner. DTR means to define the relationship. This DTR phenomenon is becoming more and more important in relationships as there is increasing pressure to put a label on the relationship.
Another aspect of facebook relationship titles is the demographics behind the labels. More women than men report their relationship status. Of those reported, more men were listed as single than women.
So is the facebook relationship status a good thing? I guess it depends. If you are a single 30-year-old male, this could be very beneficial to you. If you are a confused college freshman unsure of where you stand with the cute boy next to you in class, you might not be in such a rush to define your late night Common Grounds conversations.
The good news: you don't have to list your status. So all peer pressure and social implications aside, enjoy your freedom is remaining relationship anonymous!

Here is the link to the article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/06/fashion/weddings/06FIELD.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=weddings

Go Green or Go Home

Have you ever considered the math behind going green? Sure, there are plenty of serious business equations involving risk and returns and expenses and assets... But for one family owned tortilla company, Mi Ranco, the math is clear. Basically, it boils down to:

Company - $$$ + new lights and green equipment = $$$$$$$$

Makes sense. Another equation that makes sense:

Tortillas  + Going Green = SUPER ENERGY SAVINGS!

While it is easy to oversimplify the process of going green, there are several legitimate business, practical and financial matters to take into consideration. For Mi Ranch, the cost of the green renovations is recovered, twice over within a year, due to high margins of energy savings. Whether going green will really make a large impact on the money savings of an organization depends on its individual needs and situation. That said, it is rare to find a company that would not benefit in the long run from going green. Are you feeling inspired to go green in your own home or office? Check out this video for a few additional tips:

Here is the link the the NY Times article: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/02/is-your-business-trying-to-go-green/?ref=smallbusiness

Work Hard, Work Harder

The typical phrase 'work hard, play hard' has little relevance in Chinese society, especially in the school systems. The mentality thrust upon the young children in the Chinese school systems, that is carried through all of their schooling and into adult lives, is that of 'work, work, work... and be perfect.' This unrealistic and creativity stifling viewpoint has lead to statistics like: 84% of high school students feeling depression, and over half of all elementary schoolers expressing discomfort and academic pressure from their parents. There seems to be a light forming at the end of the tunnel, however, as more and more parents begin to turn their backs on this viewpoint. The new trend these parents are embracing? Creativity. It seems so logical to those of us that have been raised in America, with play times and recess and freedom in exploring different activities that fit our personal gifts. In China the idea of creativity is revolutionary. I am thrilled to see a country so crucial to the global economy start to embrace a centuries-old idea.

This article is titled "Gingerly, Chinese Parents Embrace the Idea of Fun"
The link: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/26/world/asia/26iht-letter26.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=world

I recently started playing words with friends, play with me! Username: katiecoast

Beijing Hogging All of the Minerals?

Apparently the Chinese are getting a little more selective with sharing their minerals. Eleven mines in southern China were taken over by the Chinese Ministry of Land and Resources. This news is of particular interest to the US and western civilizations, because these actions may result in a lower availability of crucial minerals used in our technologies and other products. The timing of these mine takeovers is particularly interesting considering the Chinese President Hu Jintau is currently visiting the US. Hopefully President Obama is a persuasive fellow this week!


This article is titled "Beijing Tightens Its Control of Vital Minerals."
The link: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/21/business/global/21rare.html?_r=1&ref=business


Have a great day, and stay warm in the (bizarrely) frigid weather.

My First Blog

Blogging Community...

Hello! I am thrilled to be addressing you all via my brand new blog. This is my first experience blogging. My main purpose for this blog is to fulfill the blog requirement for my class Reporting and Writing for Media. I happen to think blogs are awesome, however, and I am excited to explore this new form of communication outside of class requirements. Have a blessed night!