I Have Seen the Future...

I have seen the future and it is WolframAlpha. I am not going to waste your time with unworthy explanations - check out this demo for yourself. This company has the potential to be the next Google or Microsoft (or to be acquired by one of them for insane amounts of money), if it even comes close to achieving the performance shown in that demo.

If I did not have a family to support, I would quit my job and go look for any job, paid or unpaid that I could find with that company. Yeah, I am sort of blown away. This is the same way I felt about Google when I first saw it.

The site should be going live in just a few days...

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Easy Cases and Bad Laws

There is an old saying in the legal community: "hard cases make bad law", but maybe that saying should be changed to "easy cases make worse law". From time to time we hear about incidents so bizarre, absurd or ludicrous that their stupidity seems to cry out for government intervention. Such easy cases make really horrible laws. The case of the Octo-mom - the bizarre single mother, who after having six children gave birth to octuplets, by means of in-vitro fertilization. Listen, there is something plainly wrong with that woman, but you wouldn't see me writing about such tabloid fare if not for an even more preposterous person: Georgia State Senator Ralph Hudgens, who recently introduced a bill to regulate the number of embryos that may be implanted into a woman's womb. Seriously? 

That's what I call completely bogus legislation. The esteemed senator - and I use esteemed in loosest sense of the word - seems to think that there is a serious issue here that merits strict regulation. How many times, Mr. Senator, have we run into a problem of this nature that you decided that a law must be placed on the books to eliminate this public nuisance? Regulation is not free. It has a carrying cost. Government should not inflate the law books for the questionable benefit of preventing a rare and bizarre case. Does such questionable benefit justify replacing the judgement of medical professionals and their patients who desperately want to have a child? If something is wrong with the Octo-mom, we have such perfectly adequate institutions as child protective services and mental institutions. A law is most certainly not needed, just as one was not needed and was morally abhorrent in the case of Terry Schiavo. 

Of course in this specific case, I suspect that state senator Hudgens is riding the octo-mom horse to push a pro-life agenda. And that's the other thing that's bad about easy cases: it gives special interest groups a red-herring by which to further their pre-existing agenda. Nevertheless, I have no doubt that copy cat laws and regulations will now pop-up all over the country. Who can resist the lure of such easy cases?

Our self righteous legislators and government officials should mind their own business. Their role as legislators gives them no moral advantage or additional intelligence to make people's decisions for them. 'Nuff said.

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In Honor of Darwin

Last week was Darwin's 200th birthday and many publications took this as an occasion to write about this great man and his work. Even though this has nothing to do with personal finance, I decided to also use the opportunity and celebrate the birth of one of the most creative and influential people ever born, while also telling you something about myself.

I consider myself somewhat of an empiricist and fancy myself a rationalist, someone who uses the available facts and a rational theory to make his decisions and to inform his view of the world. Where God is concerned, I am an agnostic, but only to the extent that I can't prove that God doesn't exist, much like I can't prove that fairies don't exist either (sorry for stealing that one from Richard Dawkin's recent book). Darwin's work is an inspiration to me. This is a man who single handedly developed a rational, empirical and amazingly testable theory that explains the origins of humankind and of every other living organism on the face of this planet. And he did so through hard work, brilliant deduction and inspired leaps of logic. Is there any higher honor or calling? Do you need any further proof that humans are an incredible species? By the way, did you know that the theory of evolution was also independently developed by Russel Wallace?

This is a man whose work underlies much of my own philosophy and perception of the world. It is people like Darwin, and Newton, and Watt to which we owe modern life as we know it, and science is the tool with which they have given us this bounty.

I would like to end this post with a quote from Kurt Vonnegut's "Timequake" which mirror's my own view of the world and of what I aspire to be:

"Humanists try to behave decently and honorably without any expectations of rewards or punishments in an afterlife. The creator of the universe has been to us unknowable so far. We serve as well as we can the highest abstraction of which we have some understanding, which is our community."

What have creationists done for us lately? (or ever?)

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The Presidential Debate

I gotta tell you: I like this John McCain guy. I like him a lot. I support many of his views and I respect him as a man. I would seriously consider voting for the man if he had chosen a reasonable running mate...

After the debate this evening I checked the actuarial tables at the Social Security Administration website that give the chance a person of a given age will die within the next year. John McCain was born in 1936, which means he will be about 72 when he takes office, if elected. According to my calculations he has a 16% chance of dying in the following 4 years (calculate for yourself).

If he does die during his putative presidency, his running mate who I find EXTREMELY unpalatable (and that is an understatement) would become President. That's a 1 in 6 chance of getting a Sarah Palin presidency. The same chance as rolling a "6" on an ordinary game die.

I, for one, would rather not roll the dice on that specific bet. I am voting for Obama.

I've Decided Who to Vote For...

After the conventions are over and the running mates have been picked, I have finally made my selection. I am a registered independent, and although I have strong political opinions on each specific issue, I am very much undecided between political parties in each given election cycle. This time, I have taken longer than is typical for me to make a decision. The reason is that both candidates were appealing to me for different reasons.

Before I let you know my decision, let me tell you something about my political views. Readers of this blog already know that I am a staunch free market capitalist. I am very much pro international-trade, I am against large government, I support lower taxes AND a balanced budget. I am very much against corporate and farm subsidies. My economic agenda pretty much matches that of the traditional Republican Party, before they decided that deficits were the way to go and that corporate welfare was a good thing.

However, I am very much a social liberal. I am for gay marriage. I am pro-choice. I am for reasonable gun control. I very much support social security and I am extremely pro-environment. Drilling for oil? Not if I can help it. Tax credits for clean energy? You betcha. You could say that my social agenda is pretty close to that of the Democratic Party, although I seriously dislike big labor. 

My rationale for both my social and economic positions is similar: I don't think that government should be interfering in people's lives. They shouldn't be picking economic winners and losers, and they shouldn't tell us who we can and cannot get married to. For that matter, I don't think they should be telling us what we should or shouldn't be smoking in the privacy of our homes. Basically, my philosophy is: live and let live, and I view good government as an impartial regulator that steps in to prevent an individual or a group from taking unfair advantage of another individual or group. It's as simple as that.

So you can see my dilemma. I don't completely agree or disagree with either the Democrats or the Republicans. If I vote for McCain, I get his right-wing religious fanatics stepping in to push their creationism and erode the separation of church and state. If I vote for Obama, I get to pay higher taxes and give more power to organizations like the teachers' union who will keep fighting against school reforms. Darn it.

BUT, I finally did make up my mind, AND it wasn't that tough either. I am voting for Obama. Here are my reasons:

1. Disgust -  I was driving back from work one evening during the Republican convention and I was listening on the radio to Rudy Guilliani speak at the GOP convention. A more vile, condescending and obnoxious speech I have not heard in recent years from a "main stream" American politician. Guilliani was actually belittling Obama for his previous work as a community organizer. Would he dare to do this if Obama worked as a teacher, fireman, sanitation worker or any other profession? How dare he stand up on the national stage and insult someone's honest day's labor? Well, that's just Guilliani, right? Nope. Instead of shouting the idiot down, the Republican establishment stood around, laughed, clapped and cheered.

When I got home and turned on the TV to watch Sarah Palin accept her nomination, the vile rhetoric continued to spew. Sheer arrogance is the message I got from the screen. After 8 years of a disastrous Republican presidency, I would think that more humility would be in order.

2. Environment - global warming is the biggest challenge facing human kind today. Hearing the cries of "Drill, baby, drill" coming from the Republican convention, I am now sure Republicans simply don't get it. They may pay lip service to the problem, but they will drag their feet until it's too late. Economy and Environment are my two main issues this year, and the Republicans clearly fail this one.

3. Economy - from my perspective this one would typically be an easy one in favor of the Republicans. I think that it still is, marginally. However, after having mis-managed the economy for the past eight years, even if they win a few points in my book compared to the Democrats, their record is simply not good enough to tilt the balance in their favor.

4. Hope - as jaded and cynical as I am about the American political system, I have to say that I find Obama inspiring. Listening to his speech at the Democratic convention, I heard something that I haven't heard from a politician in a long time: vision. This makes me want to bet on him. 

4. Sarah Palin - I like McCain. Until he chose Palin as his running mate there was a decent shot that he would get my vote. No more. I have no problem with Palin's lack of experience. OK, I have some issue with this, just like I have some issue with Obama's relatively short record. My real problem, however, are her positions on the issues (as far as these have already been revealed). This is someone who supports abstinence-only sex education - after the utter failure of this approach has been demonstrated by her own teenage daughter's pregnancy. I don't question her personal decisions, I simply refuse to let these misguided opinions be applied to my kids. Palin is someone who truly believes in creationism - even if, to her limited credit, she hasn't tried to push this superstitious and ignorant position as Governor of Alaska. Perhaps worst of all, she doesn't believe that global warming is man made...

It was after Palin concluded her speech that I made up my mind. I like McCain. I like him a lot. If he had chosen a centrist running mate, such as Lieberman, chances are that McCain would have gotten my vote. However, with his party so full of hubris after eight years of failure, and his horrible choice of running mate my choice seems simple enough. In fact, it's not even close.

I went to Obama's website and made my campaign contribution. This is the very first time I have ever contributed financially to a political campaign. I truly hope he gets the job. 

Prepare: More Government Idiocy Coming to an Airport Near You

Airport security. That's one of the dumbest, least effective and most disruptive government programs in existence. I know this is completely off topic, and has nothing to do with personal finance, but since I am headed for the airport this morning for an international trip, I thought I would expose you to this little rant. AND... here is the best part. CNN reported yesterday that:

" Investigators with bomb-making components in their luggage and on their person were able to pass through security checkpoints at 19 U.S. airports without detection, according to the Government Accountability Office."

Oh yes, they did, and if you are a frequent air traveler that should not surprise you one bit. Airport security is completely impotent. They are very capable at disrupting traffic, randomly searching 80 year old ladies and making business travelers take off their shoes and laptops. As we all know, shampoos pose a mortal threat to civil aviation and hence the common police saying:

"Sir, put the head-and-shoulders down and step away from the vehicle."

So as explained above the good folks at the GAO just proved that airport security is completely ineffective. Do you think that the TSA now understands the error of their ways? Do you think that they are likely to stop making you take off your shoes, relinquish your tooth-paste or search your grandmother? Not by a long shot. Here is what I foresee as the likely outcome: be prepared for more stringent and completely meaningless security measures.

Here is a hint of things to come (quote from the same article):

"Although it would not discuss the specific nature of its recommendations, the GAO said it recommended establishing special screening lines based on risk and passengers with special needs. The TSA should introduce more "aggressive, visible and unpredictable" measures to detect concealed items and develop new technology for screening at checkpoints."

And here is an even better quote from the article, from venerable TSA chief Kip Hawley:

"Our ongoing success is a result of the tremendous power in the reinforced, multiple layers. Truly, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts -- and together, they are formidable."

Yes, and my amazing success at keeping pink elephants from invading my living room is the result of my formidable defensive efforts, the special kind of screening process I inflict upon my guests, and the numerous pink elephant traps that I have strategically positioned around my drive way. Give me a break.

Before you label me as a crank and an unrealistic idealist who is "anti security" (which is almost as bad these days as being pronounced a communist or a liberal), do I have a better solution? Hell, yes. For one thing, how about we start using some common sense here. Your 80 year old grandma or three year old boy that I saw going through a pat-down during one of my trips are NOT terrorists. Yes, use your chemical sensors to look for explosives. Use your explosive sniffing dogs. The politically correct should now cover their ears: how about we use profiling to assess high risk passengers? There are intelligent things you can do to actually increase security. Real security, not the pretend kind.

Leave my laptop, shoes and shampoo alone, you buffoons.

It was Ben Franklin himself who said: "Those Who Sacrifice Liberty For Security Deserve Neither, and Will Lose Them Both." I am humbled by his eloquence.

Blog Action Day

October 15th is Blog Action Day. Many of the blogs you read today will offer a post about the environment. I have decided to join this movement, because I feel strongly that big problems need to be addressed head-on, and the sooner the better.

I have written about the environment many times in the past. You can find a couple of examples here and here, but today is special. Today, Money and Such is just one of thousands of blogs all with a single theme: the environment.

Please support Blog Action Day by letting as many people as you can know about it. If you have your own blog, post about the environment today. If you don't, comment on someone else's blog. Write your representative. Let your local newspaper or television station know about this effort. Get involved.

Look for my post on the subject first thing in the morning (California time).

Why Your Next Car Shouldn't be an "American" Car

A slightly off-topic post today.

It's no secret that American car manufacturers have been struggling for years, and have been losing ground to imported brands. Personally, I think that many foreign vehicles are a better value than American cars, particularly Japanese brands. Every car we have ever had, with one exception, has been either a Toyota or a Honda, and we have never had cause for complaint.

However, what I am writing about today is a (not so) new reason to avoid buying a car made by the so called "Big Three" U.S. car manufacturers. Big Three management and labor alike have been fighting an ongoing battle to prevent Congress from enacting new Corporate Average Fuel Economy ("CAFE") standards. The proposed rules will require automakers to improve gas mileage for the vehicles they sell, but apparently the Big Three couldn't care less about global warming or about the true cost of America's reliance on fossil fuels from questionable regimes. All they care about is selling more of their gas guzzling behemoths, and damn the rest of us.

Rick Wagoner, Chairman and CEO of GM testified recently before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Here is a link to his full testimony, in which, while paying lip service to the environment, he makes it abundantly clear that GM is very much against the whole idea of CAFE standards. Instead he offers up such grand visions as bio fuel, hydrogen cars and electric vehicles. All visions that will take decades to become truly viable commercial products. Anything to prevent us from thinking about what can be done to reduce emissions today.

Another brilliant gentlemen, representing the United Auto Workers, the union representing... errr, auto workers... testified before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. He went as far as to say:

"... because of the foregoing structural problems in the pending CAFE bills, the UAW urges the committee to reject these bills..."

This testimony too is filled with platitudes and suggestions for building a better system to control emissions, but the real intention is clear. The American auto industry is doing its best to reject environmental standards in any way they can.

They will (and are) telling you that better fuel economy will compromise safety. They will tell you that "the playing field" is tilted against U.S. car manufacturers and in favor of foreign manufacturers. They will tell you that the American auto industry will collapse. They will say anything that comes to mind, but all I hear is "we are dinosaurs and we will continue to object to any emissions standards".

If Toyota and Honda can produce more fuel efficient vehicles, its time those relics in Detroit wake up and smell the diesel. Until they do, I have no intention of buying a single car that they make. If you care about the environment, you should consider the same strategy.

Fun and Games with TSA

Ladies and gentlemen, Shadox has left the country (at least temporarily)! I am currently on an international business trip, and thought I would share some travel adventures, even though they are not directly related to personal finance:

1. Fun with the TSA - you know how you are no longer supposed to fly any liquids or gels in containers larger than 3 oz.? When I left San Francisco yesterday, I had with me a tube of toothpaste that was labeled 3.7 oz. however, the tube was almost empty (and visibly so). Not good enough. TSA confiscated this dangerous substance and tossed it.

I had one connection on my flight. On the first leg I received a soda can, which I didn't drink. I put it in my carry-on so I could quench my thirst while waiting for my connection. You know me - a cheap bastard - why should I buy $3 airport soda when I have a perfectly good can of Diet Coke that I got for free. Unfortunately, I did not realize that my continuing flight left from another terminal. I had to go through security again. Diet Coke can - confiscated.

It's a good thing that no one has tried to board an airliner with explosive underwear yet... every time the government imposes a new ridiculous rule, we just take it lying down, all in the name of fake security.

2. Luggage Adventures - my luggage didn't make it. I don't know why I thought it would. I had a 2.5 hour connection and changed airlines. All I have now are the clothes on my back and whatever was in my carry-on (which did not include any thing you can wear). I guess tomorrow is a clothes shopping day.

3. Car Rental Adventures - after a really long flight, it took me "only" 90 minutes to get my rental car. The car rental office was operated from a permanently parked van... next time, I am only renting from Hertz, and I don't care which rental company my company has a corporate rate with.

With so many little annoyances, restrictions and delays, it is a wonder business people are still willing to travel. The travel industry has been working diligently to make itself despised by those very customers from which it gets most of its income. Not a very smart business strategy, but I guess their comeuppance will have to wait for another day. Rest assured, their uppance shall come.

So, what does a frustrated and extremely jet-lagged Shadox do? Write some blog entries, of-course.

Mini-Meme...

My good friend Frugal Zeitgeist called me out to play in this little meme game that's been going around, it's called Five Obsessions. Well, since I have been given a soap box, I might as well climb it and start preaching, right?

Here are my top five obsessions:

1. Family - family uber alles! I feel blessed and extremely lucky to have a wife I adore and three awesome boys. They are the centerpiece of my life. The rest of my family lives very far from us and not being able to share the daily lives of my parents and siblings is one of my big frustrations. My wife's family is all from the Bay Area, so if we were to move closer to my family, my wife would be away from hers. It's an unfortunate state of affairs, but such is life.

2. Personal Finance - I think this is probably a clinical obsession with me. I manage our finances on a daily basis. I intimately know the details of our investment portfolio, bank accounts, 401k plans and credit cards. I am obsessive about planning my career, but you wouldn't know it from the number of strange turns my career has taken. I make it a point to start my day by reading a few personal finance blogs, as well as some economic headlines. AND I stay up well into the night writing these articles about personal finance that I post every morning. Clearly, I have an obsessive personality at least as far as personal finance is involved.

3. Science - Science defines me. It amazes me. It dazzles me. I voraciously devour anything science related, but I especially enjoy astronomy and physics. I find it simply incredible that humankind has come so far through its scientific reasoning and sheer will-power. I also find it hard to believe that while flying in planes, watching television and eating genetically engineered crops, there are some of us that still refuse to accept the underlying truth of science. Yes, yes, I know, that's why they call it an obsession.

4. Strategy & Adventure Games - Have you ever looked at the watch and realized that it's tomorrow? Happened to me more than a few times. If I get into a good computer game (think Civilizations III) I simply cease to notice the passage of time.

5. Being Right - Everyone that knows me, knows that I am obsessive about being right. I hate being wrong, and I like to argue. A deadly combination, but in a lovable sort of way... Or... that's what I tell myself... obsessively.

Extra Credit Obsession - 42 - About a year ago, I developed a little obsession with the number 42... Wanna know why? Check this out: 42.


So, now it's time to return the meme into its natural habitat of the blogosphere. I call Not Made of Money; 1st Million; and Mapgirl, to come out and play! I hope you enjoy playing the game as much as I enjoy reading your blogs.

The Cost of Early Daylight Savings Time

Daylight savings time is a great thing. I love the fact that I can pick up my kid from preschool at 6:00PM and still be able to play with him outside for a couple of hours. The benefits of daylight savings time are many, and I don't know too many people that object to the concept. However, what I do object to is the fact that this year DST came almost a month early.

I love sunlight as much as the next guy, but the amount of money and effort that went into shifting to DST early this year is crazy. For example, in my small office, I received at least three separate e-mails from out IT department informing the team how to download and install patches to adjust the clocks on both Outlook and XP. I also received a call from AT&T, my cellular operator, explaining how I should download and install a patch to adjust my smart phone. On top of that, I heard on the radio that many hotels use automated systems to send wake-up calls to their guests, and that such systems, if not updated in time, would wake guests an hour late. Think how much it must have cost us collectively for all these changes to be made. That's not even counting the cost of all the missed meetings, missed flights (for lack of wake-up calls) and frayed nerves that will be suffered in the next few days.

If this is the last time DST is changed, so be it. As I said, I like the extra month of evening sunlight, but we all know that Congress cannot let things be, so I say to our big wigs in D.C.: pick a date and stick with it.

Slightly off topic, but I thought this needed to be said. Tomorrow we are back to good ol' personal finance.