Platform 327

Yeah, I know I’m late for both the Western and Chinese New Year’s celebrations, but for me, today is New Year’s Day. After a big bash last night, today is the day when things change. It is a time of renewal, a time of taking stock, and all those other lovely self-reflective things. Today was my first full day in almost four years as a non-corporate employee. In some ways, there is a new sense of freedom; in others, a sense of uncertainty. Ultimately, however, I know that things will work out and that whatever happens, something interesting is around the corner.

Frankly, I’m kind of excited about having a little bit of uncertainty and change ahead. I was starting to feel stuck in a bit of a rut. Now, if anything, there seem to be way too many options ahead of me. The biggest question is this: Do I become part of a company that basically keeps me doing the same job that I’ve been doing, or follow my own path by working part-time and exploring some new creative projects? The more I think about it, the more I’m leaning towards the second option. I like the idea of freelance work, but being responsible for a company and other people and all that ain’t something I feel up to. I’m going to take another couple of days to ponder, and then make a decision. I guess it boils down to picking what I can best live with.

More later.

As you’ve probably noticed, certain CDs and DVDs start up automatically when you stick them into your computer. Back when there were no weird copy protection methods on movies and music, and the only CDs that started automatically had software you bought on them, this wasn’t much of a problem. Now, not only does some weird proprietary movie player start when you put a DVD into your computer, but you’ve got viruses that use Windows’ “autorun” feature to spread themselves through the CDs you burn or the USB drives you back up your files on.

This article tells you how to turn “autorun” off, and also provides a little program (which, of course, you’re going to want to check with a virus scanner before you use) to do it for you if you’re not comfortable playing with your computer’s settings.

Just thought I’d pass it along.

A couple of funny things came up regarding the economy today that I thought I’d share.

First off, I got an idea that would probably make a ridiculously complicated game, but maybe a funny skit: Monopoly: 2008 Economics Edition! It would go something like this:

I own the Electric Company, and you own the B&O Railroad. You need some extra cash, so I’ll buy the rail lines from you and lease them back to you for for 50 years. I can now add that projected long-term income to my balance sheet and use that to float a loan to buy the Water Works, issue more shares, and then borrow from the bank to buy back the shares I just issued. The bank then converts that loan into an equity investment which allows me to issue even more shares which I use as leverage to buy hotels on the Boardwalk. These hotels are committed to purchasing water and power from my own utilities, therefore I can again add some projected long-term income to my balance sheet, get another loan from the bank, buy the Free Parking Lot and convert it to a condominium development and shopping complex. The bank doesn’t have any money to loan for this project, so it creates an investment vehicle that it can sell to its retirement-plan clients. Everything works swimmingly until the next person passes “Go,” discovers the bank doesn’t have $200, and nobody wants to play anymore.

The other amusing thing that came up today was something a friend sent me via email from the Edmonton Sun:

“If you’d bought $1,000 of Nortel stock a year ago, it’d be worth $49 today. A thousand bucks of CanWest Global 12 months ago would fetch $80 today. WorldCom stock? Now worth $5. But had you purchased $1,000 of cheap wine a year ago and drank it all, the bottle depot would give you $100 for the empties. Based on the above, the best current investment advice is to drink heavily and recycle.”

It’s official. The lease is signed, and in about 6 weeks my emigration to Hamilton begins. I’m going to miss having a pool.

I guess I should take this time to wish a Happy New Year to everyone. I’m not sure at this point whether my new year will be happy, but it is shaping up to be interesting. I’m leaving a corporate job to move into self-employment, moving to a new city, and continuing to work on my fiction writing. As unhappy as I am about losing the only steady job I’ve had in my life that I’ve actually liked, part of me is excited about seeing what 2009 has to bring. It’ll be a bumpy ride, but those are the ones that are often the most fun.