jriley

For mine: A reading light with a remote-control timer. We read a story together, brush teeth, then they get 10 minutes of independent time with their own storybook. But kids vary, so good luck.

This coalition seems to want both research and physical infrastructure across many process nodes. Fabs are expensive, so I hope Assembly-Test-Mark-Pack gets a look too. Not sure what happens to research IP sourced from domestic investment, or how this doesn’t overlap existing defense supply chain efforts.

From their letter: “Manufacturing incentives funded by Congress should focus on filling key gaps in our domestic semiconductor ecosystem and cover the full range of semiconductor technologies and process nodes – from legacy to leading-edge – relied on by industry, the military, and critical infrastructure.”

So... give us your semiconductor ecosystem gap analysis, SIAC :)

Source: Former semiconductor analyst / planner when domestic fabs went out of style.

I know volunteers for CASA. It is both uplifting and heartbreaking work.

https://nationalcasagal.org/

The SBA statistics are sobering. 46 days for application, 24% approval per slides. In my experience, asking for $50k was harder than $350k and a large distraction. Vendor financing and credit cards filled the gaps.

IME if you needed capital, you weren’t approved for capital. If you were cash flow positive with solid income and 2 years of operating history and tax returns, you could put up collateral and refinance at a lower rate.

Over ~5 years I was denied ~5 times, discouraged from applying ~3 times. I was approved once after several years of track record with a co-signer pledging a property with 100% collateral.

That small business (exited 2019) would have really struggled to survive right now. It would also be a difficult time to ask friends, family or spouse to help.

I wish I had a better policy suggestion to offer; it's a hard problem. Good luck to all small businesses out there, I’m pulling for you.

For anyone interested, the CBO published an excellent primer on military force structure here: https://www.cbo.gov/publication/51535

I think it informs ideas about what branches, soldiers, civilians, and contractors do. Once you track where the money goes there are practical ideas to reduce defense spending, as well as dispassionate pros/cons of what’s been tried in the past.

Texas also charges ~2.5% annually on value of inventory.

Some of Mike Myers A+ videos would have helped me in high school.

Adding data to consider: The Gini coefficient is one measure of inequality.

World Bank shows 1980=34.6 and 2016=41.5 for United States.

I cannot find a supporting data source for Dept of Defense having 460,168 employees furloughed in January 2019.

A course called Scientific Secrets for Raising Kids Who Thrive, available through Great Courses Plus.

A less scientific approach is a reference book called The Pocket Parent.

IANAL but believe one key difference is if work is done by US citizens or green card holders.

I use QuickBooks so someday other small businesses / investors / industries could easily review my books. Some areas ripe for disruption: better serialized inventory and warranty tracking, barcode scanner support, QBAR reporting documentation, adding custom columns to printed item receipts, integrating with HR providers (Gusto), importing bank statements for reconciliation in PDF, any marketing or CRM integration, running performance comps, mileage and GPS tracking (Corrigo is step in right direction), verifying customer addresses in invoices. Some things that strike me as odd: a feature to repair the data file (should I run daily? Annually?). Broken filters that still give reports without warnings they are broken (wrong data < no data). Multi-users in invoices, one saves and the entire system crashes. QBAR takes up to an hour to refresh data and says its on step 141 of 132. OS/2 Warp floppies had more accurate progress meters in the 1990s. If you had a button for “fax this PO to my vendor” it might be revolutionary.

I'll share for others. My dad served in similar role. They consider themselves silent professionals, and he didn't say much about it. He sent me a link today that one of that crew just got Medal of Honor, I think my dad was proud to see that. I asked him 10 years ago to record his history on video. It took him two years, we never discussed, I just got some DVDs in the mail one day. He said explaining history was hard for him to do, and discussed atheism in the foxhole. He discussed everyone's routines before you drop in - rechecking ammo, puking, praying, napping, nerves. In the end of second DVD he said the most important thing is to keep your sense of humor and be happy which surprised me, I expected grit. He is still really upset about losing one friend overseas. He went to the Wall 15 years ago and broke down and people surrounded him and helped him (apparently happens a lot). I think he graphite-copied his buddy's name. He is normal with stable finances and married 50ish years, now works with abused kids in retirement. Of that military group, most went on to normal lives and you wouldn't be able to pick out of a lineup. One owns a tire shop, one worked in tech, one refuses all contact with military folks and a notoriously shady one became an attorney. They all love the outdoors and meet at a convention once a year.

As a counterpoint, zero defect policies could be be harmful. If everyone must take a test and score 100% or otherwise end their career, shenanigans happen.

I used Consumer Reports car buying service for a new Toyota Prius. Two local dealerships submitted offers but couldn't find am exact match. Dealerships then attempted bait and switch (successfully). For two summers I was irritated every time I sweat in my car without tinted windows because I wouldn't pay $350 additional for their tint. But it was probably a better deal than I would have negotiated myself.

I know a small partnership added "key man insurance" recently. Don't know rate but exams were required.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_person_insurance

Fairly confident, although I do believe there is snake oil on the same aisle. I've used brands Natrol and Nature's Bounty.

I understand DHEA as a steroid hormone that is a precursor to testosterone. I consider the drug's banned status in athletic competition as a signal it might be effective.

From Wiki: "DHEA is legal to sell in the United States as a dietary supplement. It is currently grandfathered in as an "Old Dietary Ingredient" being on sale prior to 1994. DHEA is specifically exempted from the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 1990 and 2004 It is banned from use in athletic competition."

I found DHEA in the natural aisle of local grocery store under $10. I take a low dose daily (in my early 30s). Worth researching.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dehydroepiandrosterone

I found this course helpful: http://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/scientific-secrets-fo...

I was surprised North Korea had such a large army. I checked; 48.5 active per 1000 capita, whereas US has 4.4.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_...

I attended a VC dinner event a few years ago. A networking session followed. I felt shut out of conversation by most of the "money" folks and a few aggressive MBAs.

The only two polite people were 1) an open source developer and 2) a guy who turned out to be YC alum. Neither wanted anything from me, and both offered good advice.

Perhaps it comes from the top. Thanks.

Looks professional, my feedback is to reduce/simplify words on homepage box and consider using bold.

Example: "1. Verifies your application process and checks for any issues"

could be..

"1. <bold>Verify:</bold>Find errors automatically"

Anecdote for my sister in Texas: 2010: Started renting her house on AirBnB to build savings / side-income. 2011: Left full-time design job. 2012: Repaired house and added efficiency unit. 2013: Picking up freelance design work.

Results: She works less hours overall, but feels need to respond to AirBnB-related requests at all hours. Now has ~20% higher income but less predictability. She pays taxes. AirBnB taught her several skills necessary for entrepreneurship. Still cringes when there is a critical review.

Her local bars and cafes definitely benefit from her guests (she provides local recommendations). I suspect local hotels might be losing some but not all of the business. Her guests pay roughly 25% less than local hotels.

She also travels more now, and has built a network from people who have stayed with her. Examples: Helped plan a wedding, assisted commercial photo shoots, went for drinks when visiting former guests’ cities.

I'll make it not a rumor, and add used car dealerships who don't appear to sell many cars. Turns out they can be an investment strategy for land.

This is from an online class I took called "Texas Essentials of Real Estate Investment".

"With the elimination in 1986 of preferred treatment of capital gains profits and accelerated depreciation allowances, real estate investments lost much of their glamour as tax shelters. However, the tax laws have preserved other sheltering aspects, including tax-free refinancing, pyramiding through refinancing, special exemptions for profits made from the sale of principal residences, installment-sale deferments, exchanges, and inheritance tax exemptions."

I tried to verify if NFL players are "often from lower-income backgrounds".

I found some data for basketball: "...most NBA players come from relatively advantaged social origins and African Americans from disadvantaged social origins have lower odds of being in the NBA than African American and white players from relatively advantaged origins"

http://irs.sagepub.com/content/47/1/43

http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/6777581/importance-athlet...

"The rise in suicide may also stem from the economic downturn over the past decade."

I saw this in my local area. Some traditional breadwinners in established careers suffered in the last recession.

For those at risk having trouble getting help I'll highlight two options (no affiliation): http://www.crisischat.org/ http://ecouch.anu.edu.au/

Agreed. I've also seen males hold these positions with other titles such as Chief of Staff.

Fascinating story and agree.

Personal example: Friend worked for large financial services company in mid-2000s. Company branded themselves as #1, largest, highest volume, etc. They were soon buried in litigation. In particular, several state attorney generals used company as a career stepping-stone for a headline ("State AG Sues XYZ for Millions"), and later settle for something much smaller (i.e. rebated 4 customers). Company also seemed the first stop for negative media about the industry. For them, being branded #1 was expensive.

In 2011, a frustrated citizen in Killeen, TX started collecting signatures in a parking lot to recall the entire city council. Enough people signed to officially recall 5 seats.

Reference: http://www.kcentv.com/story/16070848/killeen-city-council-re...

Congrats on committing.

Do be aware you may owe regular income tax on the distribution as well as the 10% penalty.

For others looking to tap retirement capital you might research self-directed IRAs and 401ks. I don't have one but considered it for a real estate deal recently.

Quick Tax Reference: http://turbotax.intuit.com/support/iq/Less-Common-Income/Wit...