Tonight Obama speaks on jobs — our biggest problem. See today’s worsening nemployment stats. Yuch. There is nothing that Obama or any government leader can do. I could write endlessly on failure of government jobs problem — for example read David Brooks’ Where the Jobs Aren’t. Read Forbes’ story “Will There Be Any Jobs in the Future At All?“
I worry for my unemployed neighbors. But I worry most about our kids and our grandkids. The education they get at school and in liberal arts colleges prepares them poorly for the world they will face.
They learn no accounting, no finance, no marketing, no salesmanship, no entrepreneurship, no software programming, no website programming, no customer service, no commercial law, etc. All the skills they’ll need when they enter the real-world. those few who succeed do so often in spite of their education. Many of today’s most famous entrepreneurs – Steve Jobs and Bills Gates – are actually college dropouts.
The solution? Two simple examples: nice lady invented a stainless steel popsicle maker.
She was selling 30-40 a week. Then she got written up in the New York Times and New York Magazine. Amazon now carries it. And she now has a factory employing 20 people.
To buy one from Amazon, click here.
Another example. My friend sells the world’s best eyeglass holders. They’re made of rubber and neat industrial materials.
They have a magnetic clasp at the top that works really well.
I love these things. I’ve already bought three of them — one for me, one for Susan and one spare. Most people use them to carry their reading glasses. I wear my computer/reading glasses. I use them to carry my long distance glasses — which I need for driving and playing tennis. they make great preents.
He’s just started. He has a web site — hitechloops.com. He’s presently making these in the studio next to his house in Spencertown, NY. (He’s a neighbor.) But soon, he’ll get written up in the New York Times and New York Magazine. And he’ll get into the Sundance and MOMA Catalogs. Then Allan Davidson will no longer speak to me. He’ll be rich and famous. His eyeglass holders are $25 and worth every penny. Call him and buy one.
The Theory of Unintended Consquences strikes again. From This Week magazine:
The CIA allegedly turned a key Libyan dissident over to Gadhafi
The CIA turned over at least eight terrorism suspects to Libya, according to uncovered documents. Notably, the CIA — almost certainly with MI6 help — intercepted former Libyan Islamic Fighting Group commander Abdel Hakim Belhadj en route to Britain from Malaysia, allegedly tortured him, then handed him over to Libya, where he was jailed and abused until his release last year. “In a curious twist of history,” notes Jon Lee Anderson at The New Yorker, “Belhadj has emerged as a prominent leader of the anti-Gadhafi rebellion,” and was just named military commander of Tripoli.
Must-Have Downloads for School. PCWorld magazine collected some free and low-budget downloadable favorites for work and play. Mention this to your kids. Click here.
Harry’s and Dan Good’s favorite high-tech stores:
NewEgg
Cyberguys
Buy.com
Apple
Amazon
TigerDirect
Shop4tech
ABT
ABE’s of Maine ( mostly camera stuff)
Why Some Men Have a Dog And No Wife. The first time I received these, I erased them. I figured they were offensive to women. But, then at dinner party (I get invited occasionally), my friend read them aloud. and my wife laughed. Maybe yours will too?
1. The later you are, the more excited your dogs are to see you.
2. Dogs don’t notice if you call them by another dog’s name.
3. Dogs like it if you leave a lot of things on the floor.
4. A dog’s parents never visit.
5. Dogs agree that you have to raise your voice to get your point across.
6. Dogs find you amusing when you’re drunk..
7. Dogs like to go hunting and fishing.
8. A dog will not wake you up at night and ask, “If I died, would you get another dog?”
9. If a dog has babies, you can put an ad in the paper and give them away.
10. A dog will let you put a studded collar on it without calling you a pervert.
11. If a dog smells another dog on you, they don’t get mad. They just think it’s interesting.
And last, but not least:
12. If a dog leaves, it won’t take half of your stuff.
To test this theory:
Lock your wife and your dog in the trunk of your car for an hour. Then open it and see who’s happy to see you.
Harry Newton who eyes the Septemmber investment scene with trepidation. Yesterday, gold took a hit because industrials went up. But I don’t have the enthusiasm for industrials and tech stocks that Cramer has. I’ll stick with gold and high-dividend yielders (NLY, AGNC, ANH, etc.) You mightn’t see much growth in these stocks — but I do see handome regular cash dividends. And cash is a great benefit in today’s world, almost as good as money.
Meanwhile gold continues its role as the ultimate safe haven. What will look better in 12 months? Gold — as in GLD or SGOL — or a 1.15% per year CD at a local bank. The answer is obvious.
Thomas Friedman’s new book, “That Used To Be Us — How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back” seems worth reading, based on his interview on CNBC this morning. Buy it at Amazon and read it on your Kindle or your iPad — both American inventions, like Allan’s eyeglass holder (which actually costs more than Friedman’s book in hardcover. The world is changing.
The glass holders are interesting but your friend is making it too difficult to see them in action. As in, on a person. You can't quite figure out how they work. He should have more pictures.
Hello what what is the name of the dual monitor product that used to be on your site/
Thanks
Its called a ViBook. Check here http://the-gadgeteer.com/2010/…