Why is there so much WHITE SPACE

The lure of quick riches in the stock market has created a cemetery of discontent for many unwitting investors. Emotions run high in the market and without proper due diligence, it is easy to make bad investments that drain portfolios. We all want to make money but long term wealth building is dependent on sound financial decisions and investing in companies with strong sales and high growth prospects. In the context of my personal investment portfolio, companies possessing these indicators are what I categorize as “investments that matter.”  

There are many other types of investments that matter outside of Wall Street as well; investments that strengthen our communities, provide hope for the hurting, or offer unique educational opportunities for our children. Living in Maine, we are fortunate to be surrounded with a host of organizations successfully addressing these needs and others. One of the organizations that I have chosen to invest my time and resources in is Junior Achievement of Maine.  

Junior Achievement of Maine is dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy. Through experiential, hands-on programs, Junior Achievement of Maine helps prepare young people for the real world by showing them how to generate wealth and effectively manage it, how to create jobs which make their communities more robust, and how to apply entrepreneurial thinking to the workplace. Students put these lessons into action and learn the value of contributing to their communities.

As a parent of two school-age children, I share Junior Achievement of Maine’s goal of helping our students to develop successful financial habits, empowering them to explore the potential of becoming an aspiring entrepreneur, and providing them with the skills necessary to succeed in a global workforce. And given our recent economic troubles, equipping our future business leaders to better address the economic challenges that lie ahead is a common-sense strategy with a strong ROI.    

In reality, investments that matter are all around us. It’s just a function of finding what is right for you.

For more information about Junior Achievement of Maine, please visit http://maine.ja.org/.

- Bryan Wyatt

One year in 120 seconds from Eirik Solheim on Vimeo.

—Scott

***SPOILER ALERT***

When we last left Jack Bauer, he was dying from exposure to a biological weapon… his only hope, his estranged daughter Kim and a stem cell procedure. Was Jack going to make it? Could thisformer CTU turned FBI agent, who once survived Chinese torture, have finally met his match?

Enter “Day 8” – eight months have passed. Grampa Jack is relaxing on the couch watching cartoons with his granddaughter contemplating his return to Los Angeles to be with his family, and live a normal life. After a visit from an old informant pulls him into a twisted assassination attempt on President Hassan, a Middle Eastern leader on a peacekeeping trip. Jack’s trip to LA is looking less and less likely.

Like previous seasons, the four-hour, two-night premiere, sets us up for another breath holding roller coaster ride with Jack securely strapped into the front. With the assassination plot thwarted in the first four hours, the rest of the day will surely be filled with the usual – Russians gangs, more uranium (didn’t we do that last season), torture (can’t have ‘24’ without some good, old fashioned torture), murder and espionage.

We’re introduced to new characters thisyear…. Agent Cole Ortiz (played by Freddie Prinze Jr.) will fit nicely into the role of Jack’s trusty sidekick…. Brian Hastings, CTU’s director, seems to believe everything he sees… Dana Walsh, the dimwitted computer analyst anxiously trying to hide a shady past and ex-con old boyfriend.

And our old friends… Chloe O’Brien, Jack’s “Girl Friday” who is desperately trying to get up to speed, while her snarky comments threaten to get her fired… Renee Walker, former FBI agent pulled back in as an undercover to infiltrate the Russians.  Seems she’s learned a thing or two from Jack on the ways of the torturer… and President Taylor, one tough cookie now divorced from her bitter husband after sending her own daughter to jail.

What will “Day 8” bring for Jack? How long will it be before he’s wishing he never answered his door that afternoon? Will he ever make it back to LA to live a normal life? Jack should know by now – his life is anything but normal.

~Stacy

Prior to the earthquake, Haiti was a place that hardly any of us could relate to or understand. I was there once in a weird sort of way about four years ago when the cruise ship I was on docked at Labadee –  a small, stunning area filled with recreational activities, beaches and picnic areas on the Northern coast of the country.

Photo from Wikipedia

At the time, I was appalled at what I saw, and that was just through the fence that ran through the back of the property. In fact, I was miserable that day because 2,000 tourists were gobbling up all you can eat BBQ, dancing to a reggae band, riding jet skis, drinking fruity umbrella drinks, and sunbathing just yards away from starving children begging at the fence. The sight has never left me, nor have I ever felt so ashamed of my own economic comfort.

Now, here we are and Haiti is not just a developing world country,  it is the equivalent of another world entirely. What little bit of civilization and familiarity existed before are obliterated for much of the population. The Royal Caribbean cruise ship will be returning to that port tomorrow, which was undamaged in the quake. Along with its frolicking passengers, the ship is bringing relief supplies and food. And while it is admirable for the cruise line to step up and deliver supplies, I can’t help but wish that each one of the passengers would be so affected by being so close to all that devastation that every one was moved to give to the relief effort instead of taking that snorkeling excursion or paying by the hour for a jet ski.

CBS News Photo - Earthquake Victim

As we all pray for the victims and anguish over the horrifying pictures, we all have to check our “compassion meter” as time goes on. After the shock is over, we’re all going to get numb to the painful pictures and TV footage. Eventually we’ll start to tune out the calls for help. Some of us are so caught up in our own worlds that we won’t hear any of it. But when the search and rescue ends and the rebuilding begins, that’s when the money will stop flowing and the world will go back to being self-absorbed once more. Yet, the most desperate country in the Western hemisphere sits just 700 miles from the richest country in the world. Since much of Haiti now has to start again from scratch, will Americans find it in their hearts to keep the “compassion meter” high and help it rebuild the right way or will we just be content to be frolicking passengers on a passing ship?

Visit this page at CBS News for an excellent list of how to give and help.

- Kim Stiver

Every music critic compiles a best-of-the-year list and, now in 2010, a best-of-the-decade list. That’s all fine. What’s missing is a list of the bands with the most intriguing names. Sure, names are superficial and irrelevant to the quality of the music, but, to steal a quote from the Beatles, “they’re guaranteed to raise a smile.” Influences range from… well, former Beatles to existential woe to novelist Don DeLillo. Here are ten of my favorites, in no particular order. A few of the bands even produce excellent music, if that really matters.

The Twilight Sad

TV on the Radio

The Black Heart Procession

I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness

Kings of Convenience

Gucci Mane

The New Pornographers

We Were Promised Jetpacks

Ringo Deathstarr

Airborne Toxic Event

—Scott