<p>I saw the article on mlps.</p>
<p>I dont like the concept of having to sell stock or issue debt to pay dividends. However all mlps can not be painted with the same brush. </p>
<p>I thought the article was thought provoking.</p>
<p>The winner in the smartphone battles is GOOG. They make money no matter which smartphone you buy (outside of Windows Phone). I read a CNET article on a selection of prepaid smartphones. They ran from about $50 - $200 with no contract.</p>
<p>Most of the intc I owned was because of the trade show on jun 3. I sold that out profitably. </p>
<p>I kept some shares as an investment longer term. I am having doubt about the long term. </p>
<p>Aapl making that deal with the taiwan foundry is not bullish for intc. Intc’s advantages are not going to make a difference in the low end smartphone market. The low end market doesnt need the best chips. </p>
<p>So, if we are talking the high end market, we are talking aapl, samsung, htc and maybe someday windows products.</p>
<p>If intc doesnt get appl, that takes care of a lot of the high end market.</p>
<p>I have been thinking. How many people are really going to wear google glass? I dont want to wear glasses. I dont want to wear a watch either, but if I had to choose… I would choose a watch.</p>
<p>Ron Baron might be right. He is talking his book a little bit, but most do. :)</p>
<p>In 20 years I am going to be old. I do expect to have my own teeth in 20 years.</p>
<p>Having your own teeth is easy, as long as you consider hybrids as your own.</p>
<p>Taiwan Semi has been having problems which is why Apple is still buying from Samsung.</p>
<p>I do think that performance at the low-end does matter. Look at Haswell’s battery life over Ivy Bridge. 100% improvement in battery life. Will customers spend a few bucks more if you double battery life? That’s certainly a draw for me. If someone could make a phone that you could use with 24 hours of runtime between charges, they’d sell a ton of them.</p>
<p>You might be right. Battery life is important. </p>
<p>My breakeven in intc is around 21.50. Just checked. </p>
<p>I do have some wash sales. Tax time is going to be so much fun. :)</p>
<p>I have to remember to pay NH estimated dividends and interest taxes. I think that they are due next week.</p>
<p>My son’s Nexus 4 is compatible with wireless charging modules but I think that they cost around $40. I think that I’d get one of these if I had a MicroUSB charging port as it’s a pain to get them lined up right if your vision is bad. It would be nice to just throw it on the bad for charging. The iPhone charger is decent because the plug is omnidirectionl. I just wish that they didn’t cost so much for a simple cable.</p>
<p>I guess there are great profit margins in these cables.</p>
<p>I am going to be gone for several hours after 3:30 eastern.</p>
<p>Any word on your daughter’s job interview?</p>
<p>No word. I’m kind of half-expecting that she doesn’t hear from them. That’s kind of the norm for these things these days.</p>
<p>I saw an article that the second largest US employer is Kelly Services. So the largest employer is WalMart, a company that pays minimum wage and is reported to ride roughshod over employees and the second is a temporary staffing firm. Seems like we are headed in the wrong direction.</p>
<p>^That’s so depressing!</p>
<p>It happened with my son and it’s happened with my daughter. After the interview, they say that they’ll call you back by such and such a time and you never hear from them again. I’ve heard the same thing from lots of other parents so it seems like it is standard business practice today.</p>
<p>BCEagle91, that is depressing.</p>
<p>Looks like the market has been going higher. Oh well, I’ll be diving on the Great barrier reef in a couple of hours. Hope everybody has a great summer.</p>
<p>Well, as expected, no call. She was told that she’d get a call within a certain timeframe and it didn’t happen. Surely someone here works in HR and can explain why HR people lie all the time.</p>
<p>
Kelly is the employer of record for over 550,000 employees worldwide. I would not be surprised if they were second to WalMart among private US employers (unless you consider USPS private).</p>
<p>The temp staffing model is interesting. Not sure if it’s ever been studied carefully.</p>
<p>“Well, as expected, no call. She was told that she’d get a call within a certain timeframe and it didn’t happen. Surely someone here works in HR and can explain why HR people lie all the time.”</p>
<p>I did not realize that Kelly Services was so large. </p>
<p>The job hunt game sucks.</p>
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<p>It’s not limited to HR people.</p>
<p>My wife gets stood up around 50% of the time when she is showing apartments, and that’s from people who confirm <em>that day</em> that they will be there.</p>
<p>It is not uncommon for her to make an appointment for 2 hours from the time of the call, and then the person still doesn’t show up.</p>
<p>The percentage of people that call to cancel is vanishingly small.</p>
<p>Many people just have a lack of respect for others.</p>
<p>“Many people just have a lack of respect for others.”</p>
<p>Yep.</p>
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<p>The HR people don’t even have to call. They can just send an email. Or a form letter. They probably even have a button with their hiring software to automatically send a rejection notice. But someone can’t even push a button.</p>
<p>Busy, busy day. I didn’t get my workout in today so I’m going to go to the Y for a short run. I’m probably going to have a bad weak physically - our group has a visitor from one of the countries that we outsource to and I’m on the entertainment committee.</p>