Ron Paul for President!

My disdain for Barrack Obama as our President is not something I've hidden from you readers. If it's not already obvious posts such as this or this, then you know now. He seems to be a genuinely good guy based on his personal demeanor and hobbies, but unfit to become the president of a nation. For one, he is spineless when it comes to matters of his own party -- and it often appears he does not have a clue of how to run a country. Obama's 2008 campaign moniker of "Change" has not been realized at all. Instead, we have gone backwards as the country has fallen deeper in debt and unemployment levels at decades-high. Enough of Obama. Time for a breathe of fresh air.

Into this backdrop comes, in my humble opinion, the worthiest candidate thus far declaring his intention to run for the presidency. His name is Ron Paul, a Republican state representative from Texas, who has served many terms in Congress and is well known for his libertarian beliefs. I actually supported him in 2008 -- until his defeat to John McCain in the Republican primaries. but whereas in 2008 I could only provide moral support, this time around, I intend to support him with my vote and (possibly) with campaign contribution.

So why do I like Ron Paul? There are a number of reasons:

1. Consistency. In an era where politicians flip flop on issues faster than the time it took me to type this sentence, Ron Paul is a breath of fresh air. He is part of a minority in Congress who stays true to his platform and vote accordingly. The Ron Paul you see today isn't much different from the one that first appeared 20 years ago.
2. Experience. With age comes experience, something very important in the political arena. If you are naive (e.g. Obama), then others will manipulate you or it will be difficult to build consensus. Ron Paul is old. His age may be a bit worrying, but Ronald Reagan was older when he was first elected.
3. Honesty and frankness. This one may be the biggest reason I like Ron Paul. He is a straight shooter who is not afraid to tell the truth. His frankness may not always be well taken (e.g. when he suggested that September 11 is a result of American imperialism), but we must learn to live in reality. I would like to see a president who can be honest with the country about its issues, and work to resolve them.
4. Platform/Economics. Ron Paul has demonstrated a very high level of economics understanding, particularly in the neo-classical tradition (Austrian school is neo-classical). As an economist myself, I can identify with this. More importantly, his goal would be to implement the ideals of libertarianism such as small government and privitalization. However, I think a lot of people inflate the amount of economics Ron Paul really understands -- he is a doctor too, after all. His statements about the gold standard are not 100% correct from a economic perspective. But he also has a great deal of common sense, which is definitely a good thing for running a country.

Based on what I have read in the news article comments and blogs, a lot of people share my hope for Ron Paul's election. But the snag in the path is winning the Republican primary in order to become anointed as the GOP's challenger to Obama. And herein lies the snag: in a national election between Obama against Ron Paul, the latter would win in a landslide. Yet the political structure is not designed this way -- each GOP candidate must first fight off other candidates in local elections for registered Republicans. These elections are "local" because they take place in only specific states. To make matters worse, those inclined to vote for Ron Paul are likely not registered Republicans (e.g. moderates). This means Ron Paul's chances are entirely to how his message and platform targets a niche segment of the voting population.

I am hopeful that Ron Paul can win the Republican primary. In 2008, he lost due to a lack of name recognition and ostracization by the mainstream media. The latter looks to remain --which is perplexing, as Ron Paul is for deregulation-- but more people know his name know. More importantly, there is tremendous frustration with the direction the country is headed. Obama shouldn't shoulder all the blame for this country's woes on debt and unemployment, but shoulder a considerable portion of it. Looking back at Obama's track record, I am very disappointed.

Personal Anecdotes on Optimism

For those who do not know (aka 99.9% of you readers), I am a very optimistic person. It's been a trait I have had for many years, at least since mid-way through high school. This sense of optimism, or having profound hope and positive thinking for the future, can be found in every aspect of my life -- in relationships, in career, and in family. The funny thing is, I cannot pinpoint the origins of this optimism.

Does this glass look half-empty or half-full?

What I can do is share with you 3 personal stories to illustrate my optimistic self. This hopefulness does not always serve me well, but I'd say the good results overshadow the bad. One thing that will become obvious is that I am more optimism than the average person; as a dear friend kindly shared today, mine borders on idealism.

1. The first comes from something I realized yesterday while driving to a church event. When I attend church or visit Baltimore, my preferred travel path is to take I-295N for as long as possible. This wouldn't be a problem if I-295N was not often congested with traffic, which is particularly bad during rush hour (go figure). One solution is to transfer onto I-95N at its intersection with I-295: I-95 is broader, better paved, but slightly longer. As evidence for my optimism, I never transfer onto I-95N...even when it is quite obvious I-295 is heavily congested. Tens of such occasions have arisen and, paradoxically, I stuck to I-295N in every single one. In my mind, I always believe that the congestion will clear up --even when real-life experiences clearly debunk this belief.
2. The second is born of a conversation I had with a friend. We were talking about our perspective on personal relationships, and used the analogy of cups being half empty vs half full. I made the honest admission that I always regarded half-empty cups as half-full and oftentimes even 1/3 full cups as half-full. I then made the (still truthful) declaration that even if there is only a single drop of liquid in the cup, I may consider it to be half-full. At this my friend refuted that "what if there is no cup?" I replied "there is always a cup".
3. Last but not least, I think the single greatest example of my optimism is in my regard for Mandy. There clearly is little factual evidence and lots of conjurations in my posts about her. Sometimes I realize I am being delusional (which is very bad) but I never really stop believing in a bright future -- even while saying that I will.

So there you have it, a few illustrations of my optimism. I firmly believe that optimism is better than its opposite: pessimism. And I hope you are optimistic too.

UPDATE (07-23-2011)

After just watching an episode of Scrubs (season 3, episode 3?), another anecdote of optimism just came to mind. The analogy is that of a hot air balloon: the balloon is anchored to the ground but has a tendency to float up into the air. When disappointments happen, the hot air balloon is punctured and falls back onto the ground. Yet over time the puncture is repaired and the hot air balloon takes flight once more. The point is the balloon will float as long as there is someone willing to repair the puncture and fill the balloon with (hot) air once more. The anchor represents reality -- if you cut the anchor, then the balloon will float away (into oblivion).

On a different line of thought, one must also try and strive to the best possible. This is like playing basketball -- you have to take a lot of shots, and you are bound to miss a few. But if you become discouraged and fear missing shots, then you will not score any points. Even the best shooters recognize that they will miss sometimes. But practice makes it better.

(Yet Another) Blog Update

[This will be a short status update as I am still working on posting more. Today's triple posts is an outlier to the norm.]

The biggest change over the past few weeks to this blog is the decreased number of technology-related posts. While the lack of exciting news was a factor, this change was mainly the result of a personal decision. I realized that the 50-plus views enjoyed before (now this is about ~25 a day) is attributable to the various "tech news" I had been blogging about. It seems a lot of people were coming across my blog when searching for more information on the tech announcements -- and I suspect they were not interested to read my thoughts/opinions. More readership is nice, but I do not want to compromise the purpose and quality of this blog for just that.

I have been making an attempt to write more about the young professional life, and reflecting on my own experiences to advise others. Hopefully this will become the main focus of this blog for the future. All the other topics (e.g. cuisine, personal finance) serve mainly to entertain.

Apple 2011 Q3 Earnings

It's that time of the year! Companies, especially technology ones, are releasing their quarterly earnings statements. One of the most awaited ones in recent years has been Apple's and its Q3 2011 earnings do not disappoint at all (perhaps only for competitors).

Apple's Q3 2011 earnings are its best ever, with revenue totaling $28.57 billion -- of which $7.31 billion is profit. Not sure where this ranks the company in total revenue, but these figures have to Apple within the elites. A brief breakdown of the revenue sources reveal something we already known for a while: most of the revenue come from hardware sales. The Apple juggernaut sold 20.34 million iPhones, 9.25 million iPads, and 3.95 million Macs. These are extremely impressive figures, with which no other hardware manufacturer can compete against (especially when you factor in the diversity, e.g. Samsung/HTC may ship more phones, but nowhere near the number of tablets). Even the slight blip in the earnings statement was expected: a decrease of iPod Touches from 9.41 million to 7.54 million.

While I am no fan of its products, I am a fan of Apple's sheer business savvy-ness as measured by the loyalty of its massive customer base. The ecosystem Apple built, while decried (rightfully so) by critics for how closed it is, looks to be sustaining the company's revenue growth. Customers who are lured into a single Apple product will ultimately buy other Apple products too. Case in point: my roommate started off with an iMac, but now owns a MacBook, an iPhone, and an iPad.

Well done Apple, Jobs well done (couldn't resist). I may even break my self-imposed embargo on your products by buying the iPad 3...if you release it soon.

Bearish Financial Markets = Time to Jump In?

It's been a while since I have shared my (valued?) thoughts about the financial markets. The reason for this is better explained by the bearishness of the markets, rather than my lack of interest. After all, I have invested a considerable portion of my liquidity into certain companies. But I will also admit that it has been tough looking at the market movements over the past couple of months -- wild fluctuations with a generally downward spiral.

The writing of this post coincides with a visit yesterday to my bank, in order to make a deposit I received. My bank's tellers (very nice people) have been attempting to convince me to open a savings account from the day I opened my checking account 6 months ago. I haven't opened a savings account for three reasons: (1) pitiful interest rates, (2) possibility of buying a house, and (3) possibility of investing more into stocks. Now, the first reason remains and I do not think I will be taking up reason two unless something really good comes up. I have been muting on the third reason due to the inactivity of the financial market. Yet I realized moments ago that right now may be a good time to jump in.

The stock market (Dow Jones, Nastaq alike) have been acting crazy for most of the summer. And I do not mean "crazy" in a good way at all -- nor am I glad that a former prediction turned out to be correct. Reasons for its melancholic activity can be attributed first to the slow disintegration of the EU's monetary stability, and now because of the possibility the U.S. will default on its debt. Both are worrying developments with a very real probability of the worst becoming realized. The EU and its single currency system, in spite of looking good on paper, has resulted in all member states tying economic stability to one another. This means that a domino effect -- the economic downfall of one country, say, Italy-- can drag the entire EU bloc into economic hardship. For the U.S.'s debt default problem, the fear is that the current political standoff between Republicans and Democrats will not be resolved in time. Neither party is willing to suck it up for the good of the country.

So where does that put me? Well, I am unsure about how to invest the savings I've been accumulating for the past many months. The only certainty I have it that I need to find elsewhere to park it than my checking account -- which pays an even more pitiful interest rate than the savings one. Problem is, the highest interest rate I can get for a savings account is 2% -- which is at least 3% less than real inflation. This leaves the other viable alternative as jumping back into the stock market. Yet this triggers another question: where or who to invest in?

There are a few options:

1. An obvious course of action is to bolster my current positions, namely in AMD and in Ford (GE grows too slow). AMD is the more attractive option at the moment: not only did its stock price jump up almost 6% today, but the fortunes of its main rival, NVIDIA, has been faltering. (Ford Motor has actually been slowly sinking lately.) But I hesitate to strengthen my hand in AMD further due to a number of concerns. The first is that the microprocessor market may be moving away from x86 architecture in the future and into ARM architecture. I would use Microsoft's demonstration of its Windows 8 OS running on ARM as the evidence to support this; furthermore, the current disparity between processing power is not an unbridgeable gap. Another is the persistent debt-to-asset ratio of AMD -- it's still too high a number.
2. Buy Pepco Holdings. I've been eyeing this stock for almost a year now, namely because of the high dividends the company likes to pay out. It seems stable, with a steadily cashflow, and even possibility of being acquired by a bigger rival (lots of consolidation in this industry). BUT, its stock price has been holding steady, which makes it a GE-clone.
3. Buy Nokia. If you've been reading my posts on "tech news", you'd realize that I am a big fan of Nokia. I have not been thinking of owning its plummeting stock...until I read this article today. The author sounds overly optimistic, but I understand the stated optimism. The CEO sounds like a complete idiot when making statements like this though. More research is needed but, for now, it looks promising.
4. Buy Towers Watson. A very close friend of mine works for this consulting company, which was formed last year out of a merger between two competitors. It appears to be a solid company based on my friend's anecdotes and, if synergy means anything to you, I anticipate an upward movement of its stock price.

There you have it, the options have been documented. Hard part is to decide which one to take -- as I do not have the capital/audacity to try more than one. I am going to think about this for the next couple of days...

Story of Jonah

This past weekend, my church held its annual summer conference. The theme of the conference was on "calling", as in being "called" by God for a purpose or mission. One of the pastors gave a sermon on the book of Jonah in the Old Testament, which made me remember how much I liked the story of Jonah. This post is a reflection of this affinity..

The book of Jonah revolves the prophet of the same name, who is called by God to the city of Nineveh to proclaim the word of God and call its citizens to repentance. Failure to repent will result in their destruction. Comically, the prophet Jonah does not like the mission he receives and attempts to flee from his duties. This results in him being famously swallowed up by a whale, an entire city in sackcloth and ashes (including animals), and an angry diatribe from the prophet toward the Lord. All the aforementioned are unique to the book of Jonah. Needless to say, of all the books of the Old Testament, Jonah's story is perhaps the most entertaining one.

First off, how could one reasonably expect to escape God, the Creator of the world and ruler of Heaven, by fleeing? Jonah did, or at least tried as hard as possible to run away. The prophet simply did not want to travel to Nineveh and deliver the warning God had for them. It's a complete farce and, as expected, God "catches up" to Jonah and persuades him to fulfill his calling. The interesting thing to point out is that, despite half-heartedness from Jonah in delivering the message, the whole city of Nineveh quickly responds in repentance. Perhaps this is a strong indication that calling is more important than the caller. Furthermore, the final exchange between God and Jonah is also farcical -- Jonah suggests that he understands God's intention all along and whines that his efforts were unnecessary. Jonah obviously has never heard of Job.

Back in college, I took a course on the Old Testament. The professor was a rabbi who definitely knew her (strange, right?) ins and outs of the texts. I had known of the book of Jonah at that point, and therefore wrote an entire essay analyzing the merits and legitimacy of the book itself. Below are certain excerpts I copied from the essay:

• Various pieces of evidence lend legitimacy to the book of Jonah as biblical text, and to the individual of Jonah as a true prophet. The presence of themes such as universalism, repentance to God, and God’s compassion echoes biblical traditions found in other prior books, such as the book of Isaiah. As exemplified in Isaiah 43:7, the God (Yahweh) worshiped by the Israelites is proclaimed to be same deity worshiped by other peoples. “Everyone” including foreigners and eunuchs are called to partake in God’s “glory”. In calling the inhabitants of Nineveh to repent to “his” God, Jonah expresses the tradition of universalism. God’s own words appear to uphold this tradition at the end of Jonah, when He rhetorically asks Jonah “should I not be concerned about Nineveh?” (Jonah 4:9). Biblical Schlar John Collins notes that the book of Amos also reflects universalism in the prophet’s final vision, which suggests that “Israelites are not favored by God, but that God lords over all people and is responsible for everything that happens” (158).
• The story of Jonah also depicts a God whose character is consistent with what is revealed to other prophets. God is active and intervening throughout the story, from sending a storm to conversing with Jonah. Just as the Elijah and Elisha narratives contain extraordinary events, like ravens providing bread and meat for the prophet (1 Kings 17:6), so does the book of Jonah, as when the fish “provides transportation” for the prophet and the bush “give[s] shade over [Jonah’s] head, to save him from his discomfort” (Jonah 4:6). Perhaps the best indication of God’s character is His great compassion for the Ninevites. God first offers the opportunity for the Ninevites to repent for their sins –through sending a prophet to deliver the message. Subsequently He relents in the destruction of the city.
• Jonah is shown to be a very self-centered prophet, even after God offers him a second chance to do God’s work. He expresses little concern for the lives of the Ninevites. Instead, he cares much more for his own reputation and the possibility of being labeled a “false prophet”. This is first evidenced by his terse “cry” to the Ninevites to repent, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” (Jonah 3:4). The terseness of Jonah’s calling may imply of his desire to see the people of Nineveh continue leading their sinful lives, which would ultimately result in their destruction. His selfish desire contrasts the often lengthy and repetitive preaching by other prophets for the people to change their away –examples by Joel and Jeremiah have already been noted. In addition, there is no reference in the narrative to Jonah himself partaking in the repentance rituals. The impassiveness of Jonah is odd in the tradition where prophets were seemingly the first to take action: the prophet Isaiah “walked naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Ethiopia” (Isaiah 20:3), while Ezekiel laid on his side for 390 days and ate food baked “on human dung” (Ezekiel 4).
• Throughout Jonah’s interactions with God, examples of his reverence of God are rarely found. His actions and speech towards God contrast with attitudes of adoration and devotion as one expects in response. This is epitomized by the revered reaction towards God by the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel. In contrast to Jonah’s displeasure at God’s work, Isaiah proclaims his unworthiness to stand in His presence. “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips…” (Isaiah 6:5). Ezekiel similarly falls on his face and is “stunned for seven days” following his divine encounter. Isaiah and Ezekiel are both deeply afraid of God’s holiness, which is evidently a fear not shared by Jonah. Aside from referring to God as “Lord” and offering a prayer, Jonah appears to treat God casually –as one treats a human acquaintance. He attempts to run away, becomes angry and, most significantly, believes he can predict God’s character and actions. This sense of arrogance is exemplified by his question “Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country?” (Jonah 4:2). Unlike other prophets, Jonah thinks he has God “figured out”.

I thought the conclusion to this essay was very written and, because it encompasses the purposes of this blog post, I thought I would end with them:

Contrary to popular perception, Jonah is not the main character of the narrative. The story is primarily about God and only secondary about the prophet, since God is the protagonist active in on every occasion. God is the one who: calls Jonah, sends a storm, provides a fish to rescue Jonah, judges Nineveh, and teaches Jonah about His character; His presence is all-encompassing. In the book of Jonah, God is shown to be a personal God. Jonah himself can be interpreted as merely a foil to highlight God’s power and character. As previously shown, the prophet Jonah possesses numerous personal flaws such as deep-seated selfishness and lacking compassion.

The last chapter of the book of Jonah indicates the main theme of the story: God’s boundless compassion. His compassion is available for everyone, regardless of nationality or even former belief. All God requires is repentance from sin, and people can be assured that He will relent when they repent. Like many of the other prophets, Jonah’s calling for the Ninevites to repent implies a need of Israel to repent for her sins. One can argue that the quickness and willingness of Nineveh’s response represents a model for Jerusalem. But God’s mercy sometimes can become the basis for pride and prejudice –which is evident by Jonah’s attitude toward the Ninevites. When Jonah’s selfish concern for the plant (Jonah 4:8) is compared to God’s concern for Nineveh, the sheer absurdity of the comparison testifies of the extent of God’s compassion. God is not limited to humans; He is also compassionate towards animals (Jonah 4:11).

Self-Inception (Mandy)

I am an idiot. That is a fact. This is evident in my predisposition toward the lovely lady named Mandy, with whom I am (hopelessly) attracted to. I have written about her in various posts -- posts summarizing our current situation and outlining steps to take in the future. For repeat readers, I hope my posts on the matter have been more about entertaining and less about didactic-ness...because I am about to re-reevaluate my situation with her.

There are many reasons I consider myself an idiot in relation to my relationship (or lack thereof) with Mandy. The biggest is perhaps the unwillingness to let go and just move forward -- which I suppose makes Westlife's song more relevant than ever. I often make intentions to minimize my thoughts or hopes related to her, but rarely act on them. It's the classic "intention without commitment", or "talk the talk but can't walk the walk". Part of this stems from the fact that she is absolutely gorgeous; I admitted to a confidant last night that, honestly, I consider to be the most beautiful girl in the whole world. Therefore, it makes is very difficult to forget about her, as the mere sight of her compels me to throw my plans of abandonment to the winds and jump back into the foolish aspirations of being with her, etc. In other words, she is what I consider to be the epitome of the definition of "eye candy" -- even more so as I know she has the persona to back up such a claim.

I think a good analogy for what I have been trying/failing to do is found in Christopher Nolan's film "Inception". The movie was very good, but I like it more for the ideas about dreaming and the subconscious discussed. One such idea is the act of performing an inception: planting an idea into someone's mind, which leads this person to act according to the planter's schemes. In my situation, I have been intending to perform inception on myself by planting the idea that my relationship with Mandy is over and now it is time to move forward. Yet this obviously has not worked. While part of the problem is the lack of commitment (discussed in greater detail later) to execute, I think the bigger part could be underestimating the difficulty of this so-called "self-inception". It's one of the most difficult things I have ever attempted. Period. It's probably harder by the reluctance to completely jump ship. Have you ever attempted to destroy a hope or dream of yours? Organically (e.g. voluntarily), it is excruciating at best.

My lack of commitment to implementing my (abandonment) plans is born of reluctance. As my confidant so helpfully pointed out, I have not been willing to follow through with moving forward with Mandy. In reality, when I have been taking a step forward, I seem to immediately take two steps back -- and the result isn't pretty at all. What can I do from this point on? I believe the first step is to repeating to myself the reality of the situation: I am powerless to influence her at all and, after clearly (albeit awkwardly) expressing my affections, there is nothing to do besides wait and hope for her to come around. In the words of Stephen Covey, the famed author of the book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" (a blog post exclusively on this is coming), Mandy is outside of my "circle of influence". Realization of this is very important, because it persuades us to not waste time trying to influence something that we cannot really influence. I am still working on step two...

Frankly, I have been hoping to "get coffee" with Mandy for the past couple of months. The purpose of such a meeting would simply to ask her: WHY NOT ME? My rationale for asking such a question isn't as foolish (though it still is) as you may think. At the heart of it, I simply want to understand what about me repels her and whether I can ameliorate any personal shortcomings. Things like looks, height, and profession, I will not be able to change; but if it is behavior-based, then that is very much possible. I picture this as being a comical meeting if it ever happened --yet could be instrumental in solidifying my commitment to move forward (after all, I can't change my looks or height). Just to be clear, my confidant is very much against this course of action.

[I am tired and now going to sleep. This blog post was originally intended to be longer, but I have run out of things to say. It's essentially a stream of consciousness type of a post...]