Saturday, March 3, 2018

One Click Book Publishing

 One Click book publishing ....."business at the speed of thought' a la Bill Gates?
With machine learning, I won't have to worry about formatting my books anymore.....I will simply upload a VERY rough draft, and poof, the software, as cunning as it has become, will correct my grammar, spelling, format my scribbles into  a "bookish" looking type of style, add a trendy and attractive cover page and bam boom! I have suddenly published a brand new book that is ready for sale online worldwide within one hour.

Someone could foresee being able to write a book a day, if this were real. But it really is feasible and possibly already occurring....it's just that I don't have that miracle software in my little hands yet.

But it is coming...I feel it. I see it. Some folks on Kindle or other self publishing sites are already cranking out at least one new book per week. And yes yes, these books are admittedly NOT literary masterpieces, but at least these writers just might be earning a "legit" income instead of suffering in poverty and creative inertia..

Who said it had to be really hard to survive as a writer? It is possible to make a decent living writing online. Being a "starving artist" is really quite overrated don't ya think?

But tell me honestly now, is it "selling out" to give in to the temptation to produce books in volume instead of following your heart? Or is it just a matter of supply and demand, producing what the market demands...so that you will be supplied.

I suppose sometimes it's also about the practical versus the dreamy. Perhaps one can do both. One can keep writing the great American novel and yes, have the courage to submit it to publishers. But at the same time, one must do what one must do to keep bread on the table, and if that includes writing the obituary column for your local newspaper....then so be it.





The Oil Rally Ain't Over Yet Baby

Yes, yes, I know folks will be poo pooing any oil and gas investments for the next 50 years....but it ain't over yet!

It is a myth that electric vehicles DON'T run on oil and gas. They still use oil and gas BECAUSE Canada's electricity grid is still being fueled by OIL AND GAS to the extent of 8.7% of total Ontario energy!

Using intel from 2014, Ontario was feeding it's energy grid with 8.7% provided by oil and gas! Don't believe me? Check out this factual report Ontario Energy Board:
https://www.oeb.ca/oeb/_Documents/Regulatory/2014_Supply_Mix_Data.pdf


So many many folks simply refuse to comprehend this concept. They believe as soon as they spin off in their brand new Tesla, that all their fuel is simply floating down from windfarms and solar panels...

Now, for the record, I am not against buying electric vehicles. However, I want peeps to realize that you are simply transitioning your "power of choice" over to the managers of our energy grid.
And using the report I wrote about above, you can clearly see that Ontario's energy grid is provided by in large part nuclear, then comes water power, and then oil and gas, and then "alternative"sources, and finally comes coal.

If we really want to go whole hog on "clean" energies, other than nuclear ( btw.... I'm not entirely convinced yet that it is fair to leave an inheritance of high maintenance nuclear waste to my children's children) perhaps we need to be focusing less on the "end users" like Teslas or Toyota Prius's...

Perhaps we need to refocus our hard working clever Canadian heads and hands to rejigg this Ontario's energy mix, until the Alternative Power Sources become the Majority of the energy mix instead of  a mere 7.1% . Do you agree?

Peace,

Carla.



Sunday, February 25, 2018

Loaning $ to Others

Hetty Green, has long been passed, but her legend lives on. She was one of the first kick a$$ women to rock it in the male dominated world of investing and business. She was ruthlessly frugal, scouring the places she stayed for the absolute rock bottom places to buy breakfast or a bowl of soup.

She didn't see the need to spend recklessly....on anything. What was the result of her frugality and steel will? She had funds available to lend out at a modest profit to friends or others in the business or political community who found themselves strapped for cash.

One of Hetty Green's investment strategies was stunningly simple:
"conservative buying backed by substantial cash reserves" and her children carried on her strategy after her passing.

My question today is this. If you are lending money to people or businesses, what interest are your charging them? Hetty could well have charged exorbitant interest rates, but she resisted the temptation. She stated that she never charged people more than 6% in interest on loans.

I am quite impressed with that figure. 6% is quite modest and reasonable, especially when she was dealing with those who could well have afforded to pay higher interest rates. But Hetty Green did not believe in usury, and although folks made fun of her extreme frugality, they stopped laughing when they found themselves knocking at her door looking for a loan. I think she set a wonderful example.

Thank you Hetty for being a leader and using your skills to succeed and provide for others in a jam.
May God bless your legend forever.

In peaceful productivity,
Carla.