“On average, the 52 economists surveyed now expect U.S. gross domestic product to contract in the third and fourth quarters of this year, as well as the first quarter of 2009.”
I strongly believe the fundamentals of the world’s economies are sound, and most of the panic and negative outlook is purely financial.
I am perhaps idealistic in my not-so-negative outlook for what’s to come, but as is everybody’s guess, only time will tell.
This is where we stand as of October 2nd, 2008. Few interesting things there.
Apart from the Troubled Assets Relief Program, the bill before the Senate includes:
* Extensions of the AMT patch, tax deductions on state and local sales taxes, tuition, teacher expenses and real property taxes and tax credits for business research and new market investors
* Energy tax credits and incentives to encourage wind and refined coal production, new biomass facilities, wave and tide electricity generators, solar energy property improvements, CO2 capturing, plug-in electric drive vehicles, idling reduction units on truck engines, cellulosic biofuels ethanol production, energy efficient houses, offices, dishwashers, clothes washers and refrigerators, and fringe benefits for employees commuting by bicycle.
* A requirement for private insurance plans to offer mental health benefits on par with medical-surgical benefits
* Tax relief provisions for victims of this summer’s Midwestern floods, and Hurricane Ike
* Freezing of deductions for sale and exchange of oil and natural gas, mandatory basis reporting by brokers for transactions involving publicly traded securities and an extension of the oil spill tax
But it also extends the following tax provisions:
* Economic development credit to American Samoan businesses
* $10,000 tax credit for training of mine rescue team members
* 50% immediate expensing for extra underground mine safety equipment
* Tax credit for businesses with employees from an Indian reservation
* Accelerated depreciation for property used mostly on an Indian reservation
* 50% tax credit for some expenditures on maintaining railroad tracks
* 7-year recovery period for motorsports racetrack property
* Expensing of cleaning up “brownfield” contaminated sites
* Enhanced deductions for businesses donating computers and books to schools, and for food donations
* Deduction for income from domestic production in Puerto Rico
* Tax credit for employees in Hurricane Katrina disaster area
* Tax incentives for investments in poor neighborhoods in D.C.
* Increased rehabilitation credit for buildings in Gulf area
* Reduction of import duties on some imported wool fabrics, transfers other duties to Wool Trust Fund to promote competitiveness of American wool
* Special expensing rules for film and TV productions
And there’s more:
* Increasing cover of rum excise tax revenues to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
* Making it easier for film and TV companies to use deduction for domestic production
* Exempting children’s wooden arrows from excise tax
* Income averaging for Exxon Valdez litigants for tax purposes
1 cup of Fage fat-free yogurt (tons of protein, low in carbs, only 120 calories)
Some skim milk (probably 1/2 to 3/4 cup… just eye it!)
1 banana
1 spoon of strawberry jam (low sugar even better)
Optional: any other fruit (frozen strawberries, or blueberries)
Mix in blender… and enjoy!
Good amounts of protein, relatively low in carbs, filling, refreshing… Simply delicious!
I’m going to pull a bad Seinfeld here, but here are a few things that annoy me about people.
For instance, not really sure why we do things like hold the door for somebody who’s right behind you but people sometimes won’t respect the line when you’re waiting for T or the bus. Here are a few more:
Why do we say “Thanks” to somebody who opens the door for us, but we don’t say “thanks” when a car stops in the street to let us cross the street?
Why do we tip cab drivers but not bus drivers? Should bus drivers be paid less and work just for tips? Maybe that way they would be nicer.
Why do people stay at work late even when there’s no work to do?
These are the few that I can remember for now. More to come.
We’ve been interviewing a few people to fill out an opening in my company and I’ve been thinking of a few things I would change from the way the candidates interacted with me to give them a better chance of getting the job.
Here are a few tips that might come handy if you’re new to the whole interviewing process:
Do:
• Research where you’ll be working. You should know this one from Interviewing 101, but please, research thoroughly.
Don’t:
• If you research thoroughly you’re bound to have questions – legitimate questions. Don’t ask generic questions to inflate my ego. Questions like “what is the most challenging thing you’ve ever done at your company” are a tad annoying, generic, and give me a sense that you don’t have a deeply rooted interest in the job or company.
Do:
• Ask questions. Smart questions (see above). Remember this: He/She who asks the questions controls the conversation. It’s not the person speaking (like we typically think it is) but the one asking the questions.
Don’t:
• Be afraid of talking about yourself. If you are a bad cultural fit you’re probably better off somewhere else.
Do:
• Send a “Thank you” e-mail
Don’t:
• Wait 24 hours. Discussions about you might take place right after you interview, so you want to be top of mind for the people you interviewed with.
Do:
• Bring you’re A-game on your salesmanship. Be passionate, project yourself, project your energy and enthusiasm. Drink a few Red Bulls if you need a boost, but please, show me that you’re interested.
Don’t:
• Be passive. Don’t just “sit” there. Don’t just go through the motions – you need to show that you care.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it should allow you to focus on a key few differentiators that can tip the scale in your direction.
Been reading a lot of good things over the last week - way too many good things - and I think I’m having trouble retaining what’s important and what it’s not.
How do you do it?
I’m currently reading 2 books, read too many blogs, publications for work, write my own articles, read newspapers, watch TV… How do we as new generations digest this information overload that surround us?
This is the first time that I’d ever written any resolutions for any given year. Thought it would be a good idea not only to write them down (i.e., loose weight) but also set out a goal (i.e., XX amount of kg) so that I can keep track of things throughout the year.
Here is what’s top of mind (not in order of importance):
1. Blog more than in 2007
Metric: 57 posts in 2007, so I’m aiming for 100 in 2008.
2. Run more.
Metric: Will fill out this shortly, but probably to run >300 miles this year.
3. Go Skiing.
Metric: Haven’t been in a while so I’m aiming for at least 2 skiing trips this year.
4. Be more spontaneous.
Metric: Thinking I didn’t go to that many new restaurants in Boston last year so 2008 should be a good year. I’ll consider 6 new restaurants (1 every 2 months) a success.
5. Gym it up.
Metric: I typically go on a roll for a few weeks but then stop going to the gym. This year I’m shooting for not missing a workout for more than 2 weeks straight (either running or lifting)
6. Red Sox!
Metric: Went to 1 game last year, so aiming for at least 1 game this year.
7. Take the GMAT
Metric: Well, self explanatory.
8. Fix pending paperwork
Metric: More qualitative than quantitative in nature, but to be more proactive about administrative work.
9. Be a better person.
Metric: This is kind of a soft resolution, but I’ll include being a better boyfriend to my amazing girlfriend, a better family member, and last but not least to continue to try hard at excelling at my work.
Some funny Yogi Berra(isms). I couldn’t stop laughing for a good 15 seconds!
“This is like deja vu all over again.”
“If you don’t know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.”
“Ninety percent of the game is half mental.”
“You can’t think and hit at the same time.”
“I wish I had an answer to that because I’m tired of answering that question.”
“If you can’t imitate him, don’t copy him.”
“A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.”
“You can observe a lot by watching.”
“We’re lost but we’re making good time.”
If you don’t measure something, you can’t change it. The process of leadership is one of painting a vision, then saying how you’re going to get there, and then measuring whether you’re actually getting there. Otherwise, you risk only talking about great things but not accomplishing them.
I had a really productive meeting last night with my friend Cris from Live by the Chip. I was running some of the ideas I have for my new website (for which I’ve hired a freelancer from Nepal) to see what his take was on and the implementation and the business idea itself.
A few things came to my mind after our chat about how to make these things more efficient and useful for us (and people in general who are doing similar things):
Sharing is good. Ever heard of 1+1 = 3? The math is simple: My idea + You Idea = A third (combined) idea. Cris gave me tons of great recommendations that I might have not thought of by myself.
Do it early. I got lucky and my idea seems to be sort of on track, but if I thought about some things Cris talked about I might have been able to better utilize the freelance I hired.
Bring a notepad. We spoke about lots of things. Cris smartly brought some Post it notes which came VERY handy. If you don’t bring a notepad, meet at a restaurant/coffee shop. Why? They have napkins. Use those as note pads
Sort your ideas beforehand. Granted, a lot of times you meet to brainstorm, but you can be a lot more efficient if you sort your thoughts ahead of time. .
Hopefully we’ll have another one of these once the prototype is up and running, which should be within the next few days.
I can predict the future
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