Moderation in Everything

Posted on January 12, 2011 by Tom Trimbath

Moderation in everything, including moderation. There are many folks far more frugal than I. At the other extreme, some investors I know can never have enough. I even know people who embody both. I tend to the middle road, but occasionally go uber-frugal (I tend to repair my typing letter-by-letter rather than deleting misspelled words). Today I have swung to the other side. I’m at a ski resort.

Maybe I should have put “balancing life and money” in my book’s subtitle (Dream. Invest. Live.: Pioneer the Investment Frontier So You Can Live Your Dream.), because that’s one of the important lessons I’ve learned, and continue to learn. Lessons learned later in life, after entering the “world of grownups” can be more revelatory and reach a deeper understanding than lessons ingrained through childhood.

I’ve always known about balancing life and money. Chasing money for the sake of the chase or for some misplaced love of wealth isn’t healthy. That I’ve known seemingly forever. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until my health began to degrade that I learned how far out of balance my life was. I thought I was living in balance. My body disagreed. It has taken years to begin untangling good habits from bad, and begin reweaving a stronger, more flexible cloth.

As I type this, the snowcat drove by the window grooming the ski tracks. I’m on my annual ski vacation. Ski-in/ski-out, quiet, comfortable accommodations, for cross country and telemark skiing. The lifts are full of alpine folks, but I don’t do that. I slowly waltz down the mountain ticking off younger snowboarders. Half the time I am locked into cable bindings linking genuflected turns down a half mile drop of mountain. Half the time I’m on skinny skis, kicking and gliding along. Few would call this a frugal vacation.

Yet, despite my attempt at luxurious living, I realize that I am able to do this because I approach it in a frugal fashion. Check the prices of downhill versus cross country equipment. Cross country is much cheaper. Actually I can’t say that with authority because some of my equipment is old enough to vote. Maybe things have changed. Trail tickets are cheaper than lift tickets, and buying both brings discounts. I stay in a full service condo because that way I can cook for myself. The extra cost for a kitchen is far less than the cost of dining out every meal. I even got a deal by staying longer.

Frugality isn’t about being cheap, at least not within the definition I ascribe to. Frugality is about respecting resources like time and money. Of the two, time is more valuable and can’t be created. Money burns, but it can be regenerated, and is worthless after death. My time here in this life isn’t only to be spent making money. It isn’t only to be spent spending money either. Life is here to celebrate life. Sometimes that means volunteering to help other lives. Sometimes it means me helping me celebrate mine. Snow is falling, covering the freshly groomed tracks.

Time to clean up the kitchen, suit up for the day, and go outside to play – moderately of course. Ha!

My favorite Warren Miller quote:

“If you don’t do it this year, you’ll be one year older when you do.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pundits Got It Wrong

Posted on January 8, 2011 by Tom Trimbath

In an uncommon move, I’ll start with a passage from my book, Dream. Invest. Live. This is part of one of the case studies in the book, my experience with America Online, their stock, and what the pundits had to say.

“Over the next few years, I listened as the pundits changed their tune. Their volume and level of confidence remained as high as ever, but instead of saying that the company would never become profitable, they said it would be too long before profitability;
oops, the profitability would happen, but it wouldn’t be worth the investment;
oops, the profit growth wouldn’t justify the stock price;
oops, the market isn’t big enough for growth to continue for very long;
oops, oops, oops.
They said all of that except for the oops. Pundits rarely say oops.”

AOL wasn’t the only time that happened. (And yes, the longer story is more complex, but life is always that way.)

This week Dendreon (DNDN) had a conference call to talk about progress with their first treatment, Provenge, a vaccine for fighting prostate cancer. They met their revenue target for 2010, look to meet their tenfold increase in revenue for 2011, are aiming for expanding into Europe in a year or two, and can now begin working on other cancers like bladder cancer. A tenfold increase in revenue, or expanding into Europe with it’s market that is larger than the US, could produce billions of dollars in revenue shortly. The stock was up about 8%, which is still in the range of where it’s been for over a year. You see, the pundits saw that news and said things like, “Ah, but it will take more testing”, and “EU approval is not certain”, and “We still don’t know if Medicare will pay for it”.

Before that they said, and I am paraphrasing, “It doesn’t cure the disease. It only lets them live longer.” Or step back further. “Surely it doesn’t look like it has bad side effects, but that’s because they haven’t used it on enough people.” Or step back further. “It’s too novel. The FDA won’t approve it.” I could keep going, but who would still be reading?

DNDN has gone from below $5 a share to as high as $55. Some estimates of where it can go are much higher. “Is Dendreon a $360 Stock – Or Is That Too Low?” Not all pundits are negative. Yet throughout the tale, the negative pundits get the best press. It seems to be the way the news is edited, designed to highlight every possible fear while bypassing positive potentials.

If you want my views, see my end-of-year review of DNDN that I posted on the Motley Fool, Silicon Investor, or Investor Village. I’m holding on as long as I can.

DNDN might make the pundits look silly in retrospect and it may not be the only current example.

Microvision (MVIS) showed off some progress this week at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. They have a prototype of a projector that fits in a cell phone, an improved game controller that greatly simplifies navigation and makes the game more real, and demonstrated new equipment for rich displays in cars.

Their detractors point out that the units are too expensive, too dim, are limited by supply, and that the company is always experiencing delays and always on the financial edge. They are right – for now, or about what was true in 2010. They may be right in the long run too; but it is also possible that any one of those devices, or something similar that hasn’t been revealed yet (they have a lot of NDAs), could launch the company into massive profitability. No one knows. Time will answer those questions. For now, MVIS languishes below $5. I’ve seen $360 estimates for it too. I won’t know if they are right, just like I don’t know if DNDN will reach that level.

Waiting that long is why long term investing isn’t emotionally easy for many people. Patience measured in years amidst persistent pessimism is taxing in private and can be grueling in public.

I don’t know how this will play out. Logically, I see a good probability that Dendreon and Microvision will succeed. Their technologies are protected by patents, and their competitive positions are protected by their head starts. Back in 2006, both had lows below $5. DNDN rose. MVIS hasn’t, yet.

If you want my views, see my end-of-year review of MVIS that I posted on the Motley Fool, Silicon Investor, or Investor Village. I’m holding on as long as I can, but alternate between enthused and cautious.

I pick on the pundits, but I remind myself to look in the mirror. I wonder about how my life will progress. Will my portfolio sustain my desired standard of living? Will my books, art, and other businesses sustain themselves and me? Regardless of money, will I be happy and healthy? It is too easy to drop into the litany of aches, pains, complaints, and worries about every aspect of my life. It might have something to do with what I learned as a child. My memories of Catholicism aren’t exactly upbeat.

Yet here I sit, in the nicest home I’ve ever owned, healthier than I’ve been for months, with chores out of the way, a vacation coming up soon, and remembering last night’s party while preparing for this night’s dance with the deepest network of friends that I’ve ever experienced.

Maybe when I was worrying about what I might be doing wrong, I was wasting time, and didn’t recognize that I was actually doing something very right.

I guess I’ll lighten up on the pundits, and I might even listen to what they say, but that doesn’t mean I have to only hear that side of the story. The right thing to do is remember that there’s good news too, and I won’t forget it.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pushing Hurts

Posted on January 5, 2011 by Tom Trimbath

It’s Wednesday morning and time to blog, but I’m frustrated because two of the topics I had in mind are waiting for links to be posted in places and by people that I can’t control. Staring at the screen and hitting Refresh every five minutes is not going to make anything happen sooner, except for being able to produce a headache. Doctor, doctor, it hurts when I do this. Well then, don’t do that. Duh. It intrigues me to watch that lesson go by again because I know that many of my accomplishments were the result of slow and steady efforts. Persistence and perseverance paid.

Sometime today I’ll go for a run. I’m back up to a couple of miles at a time. Some neighbors think I am too fit. My doctor may not agree. I know that I have been in better shape. I’ve run marathons. A regular training run was nine miles. A two mile run feels good, but it also reminds me that I’ve run farther and faster, and may yet again. (Running in this neighborhood is fairly restrictive though, so I’ll use that as an excuse. No shoulders or sidewalks equals a sub-optimal route.) I learned that I didn’t have to make every run an example of optimal performance. Regular exercise eventually prevailed and I could finish 26.2 miles, not quickly, but more than once. (I’m continually amazed at the ultras that I know, the people that run 100 miles. Oy.)

By now you’ve heard about my bike ride across America (Just Keep Pedaling). There again, I wasn’t fast, but I was persistent. My average speed was only 10 miles an hour. I know runners that move that fast. But I kept at it and made it, well there were a couple of breaks in there, but the memory of them fades with time.

I’ve even started meditating again. “Sit this way. Breathe like this.” It is possible to stress out about how to meditate “right”. I even know someone that was upset because someone else was meditating “better” than they were. They’d turned meditation into a competition, and were mad that they were in second place.

I am not a competitive guy. I love dancing, but am not trying to be the best dancer on the floor. Every day I want to be better than I was yesterday, and that’s good enough for me.

Winning a marathon is possible, but improbable. Crossing a continent in record time gets a bicyclist into the book. Is there even a way to measure whether a person has meditated better than some ultimate figure like than the Dalai Lama? Would it matter?

My investing style works the same way. I am not trying to be the best, have the optimally performing portfolio, or have the highest CAPS rating on The Motley Fool. I aim for enough. And I’ve learned that enough can come from slow and steady progress, and that while frantic activity works for some, I have a different comfort zone. If I day traded I’d probably burn out my circuits within a month, regardless of my results.

Pushing is good. Without some effort nothing happens, unless something like gravity gets a chance to work. Just ask Wile E. Coyote. Eerp. A little constant and gentle effort accomplishes a lot, whether that is in training, endurance events, or reaching some financial goal. It makes sense to check if enough progress is being made, because some goals are tied to schedules. Everyone’s portfolio can become worth a million if it’s generating any positive return long enough, but a 20 year old has a better chance than a 50 year old of seeing it happen within their lifetime instead of just as part of their estate.

I’m breathing easier as I run, and am chafing against my locale’s limits, so I know I am progressing. I’m enjoying dance more, and I usually have a full dance card, so I must be doing something right. Even my meditation sessions are easier to fall into and tend to linger longer. My portfolio isn’t moving as quickly as I’d like, but I also know that the companies are doing better and that eventually the stock prices will follow their finances.

So, I guess I’ll take it easy for a while. I’ll practice a bit of karate today (kata is a good thing), which I’ve been doing now for 26 years. I’ve never been as good at it as I would like, though I am better than I was. And when those links are finally posted I’ll write a bit as a way to pass them along. But there’s no rush. Okay Tom, stop typing. Push yourself away from the computer. Easy now. Don’t hurt yourself.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Writing Competition

Posted on January 2, 2011 by Tom Trimbath

Hey, for once the title isn’t some clever, yet obtuse word play. This post is actually about a writing competition. Details are below, and have been announced in other places too, but I wanted to spread the word farther. Feel free to do so yourself.

(If you just want to check into the competition, skip about halfway down or go directly to financialintegrity.org.)

For the curious, let me tell you a bit of my story.

Being labeled a stock investor means that some people brand me with a stereotype. They imagine that I think money is the most important thing, that I strive for luxury, and that money can make all problems go away.

Money isn’t everything, it is less powerful than people, and sometimes problems will arise that can’t be fixed by either. Money must be balanced with the other elements of life. But, if you don’t have enough, then living in today’s world can be difficult. That’s the way we’ve built our society. I look forward to a more equitable system, but this is the one we have right now.

An old confession for some and a new confession for others, I don’t have enough. Well, maybe I do, but my net worth is not at the comfort level I have calculated and witnessed, so for now I am tighter with my money than I like. From my experience, an awareness of myself, and from a frugal lifestyle, I believe that my net worth will claim to and through the “enough” level soon. That does not mean that my needs or wants will change, or that I will abandon my frugal ways. A lot of things will get fixed and replaced, there’ll be more charitable contributions, and I’ll take more vacations, but I don’t aspire to a mansions, limos, or yachts. A nice cruising sailboat, maybe about a 36 foot Westerly, or a Dragonfly Trimaran 8 meter would be nice, but I am human and I digress.

I learned my frugal ways from my parents, and have a new appreciation for the sustainability of such a lifestyle because of our current crises. My awareness of myself is largely self-taught through lots of reading, introspection, commiseration, and meditation. Knowing what’s “enough” though is something I learned from the 9-step program developed and popularized by Joe Dominguez and the Vicki Robin in seminars and the book, Your Money or Your Life. Those lessons reaffirmed many of my ingrained habits, helped me identify my values, and helped me calculate how much money I need to live that lifestyle.

Life takes interesting twists and a couple of years ago I was asked to join the board of The New Road Map Foundation, aka financialintegrity.org, the non-profit organization that was funded by the original seminars and that continues today to encourage financial literacy, integrity, and independence. I am not their poster-child. Others are more sterling examples. One thing I noticed when I joined was the diversity in people’s experiences as they journeyed towards their individual goals. I wrote about my story in Dream. Invest. Live., not because it was the best approach, it isn’t, but because it was simply another example. The other stories are more engaging and educational, but many of those people didn’t have the time, energy, or incentive to write their story.

Working towards financial goals, or becoming less fearful of money, can benefit from reading lots of stories. Someone has written something you can learn from. I took an entire book to write about mine experience, and continue this blog because I am not done. The stories don’t have to be as long as my book. Last year’s entries in New Road Map’s competition proved that. Birds will two bells and kids with cookie jars weren’t part of my experience, yet I learned from their few hundred words.

There’s room for more, and a demand for more because more people are looking for insight, encouragement, and instruction.

What’s your story? Writing it down probably won’t cost you much, and others may find it invaluable. Besides, you might get a check for your efforts. Ask a writer. Getting a check for writing is a great feeling.

Here are the instructions, slightly paraphrased from the original. The full details are on the site financialintegrity.org.

FinancialIntegrity.org (The New Road Map Foundation) is holding its second annual writing competition.

Around the world people are aligning their spending with their values. They’re trusting their own choices more than what the advertisers put forth. People are emphasizing financial integrity. Stories are being made, as real people make real choices and experience the bumps and bruises and triumphs of transforming their relationship with money. We want to hear those stories, and share them on the FinancialIntegrity.org web site. Whether you’re downsizing, scaling back, making progress through the 9-Step program, or just becoming aware of your financial situation, you have a story to tell, and we’d love to hear it.

Our goal is to make financialintegrity.org home to a vibrant community where members can find – and give – support and encouragement, no matter where they are on their financial journey. We invite you to join in through our writing competition. No submission process: simply upload your story to the website by the end of February 2011. No entry fee. No subject restrictions, other than that the story – or poem – should be about financial integrity. No word limit, though shorter is usually sweeter (under 500 words is best). A few hundred words that others will find entertaining and useful is what we have in mind, but feel free to surprise us, too.

This year, winners will be chosen in four categories, and a member of the FI community is contributing cash prizes for each! It’s also possible to win in multiple categories. So, a poem could sweep the competition if it was the best poem, the most useful, the most engaging, and was about following the 9 steps.

* Most Useful (specific hints or advice) $60
* Most Engaging (inspiring or entertaining) $60
* Best Lesson from the 9-steps (Financial Integrity Program) $60
* Best Poem (any format) $60

Remember that content is more important than style: What will inspire and help others striving for financial integrity?

In addition to the NRM Board members, we are pleased to welcome to the panel of judges last year’s winners ( Colleen, Candice, and Jeff). Winners will be announced the day after US Tax Day 2011 (mid-April.)

All stories will be owned by the author, but by entering the competition, you grant New Road Map Foundation and FinancialIntegrity.org rights for use on the web site, and in any communications, advertisements, and fund raising literature. The use of Creative Commons Copyright is encouraged.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Semi-Annual Exercise

Posted on December 31, 2010 by Tom Trimbath

Investor geeks, dig in. Anyone that wants an insight into how I think, join them. It’s the last day of the year and time for my semi-annual exercise. Don’t worry. This exercise isn’t very sweaty.

Twice a year I review all of my stocks to ask myself why I own them and what I should do with them. It’s an idea I got from Peter Lynch. An investor (as contrasted with a trader) should be able to concisely describe the companies behind their stocks. I consider myself an investor, though some call me a speculator. You can judge for yourself whether I am concise. I suspect I use more words than he suggests. I also don’t quite adhere to one of his other quotes,

“If you spend more than 14 minutes a year worrying about the market, you’ve wasted 12 minutes.”

I think the market is more entertaining than almost every sport and sitcom so why would I ignore it? Besides, even if I spend a few hours every six months compiling these synopses and casually watching my stocks during the day, I’m glad to say I spend even more time exercising other bits of my life like running, dancing, skiing, kayaking, and socializing.

These synopses are most valuable if they become part of a discussion. That’s why I post them on various discussion boards on The Motley Fool, Investor Village, and Silicon Investor. If you want to comment, great. Register for whichever site suits you. The best sites let you read for free. Every year I gain an insight because someone challenged an assertion, pointed out an omission, or revealed something I’d overlooked. One year someone pointed out a typo. I’d written that I won a stock. They wanted to know what lottery I was playing. (I owned it not won it.)

Motley Fool
American Superconductor AMSC
Dendreon         DNDN
Gaiam            GAIA
Geron            GERN
Microvision        MVIS
Real Goods Solar    RSOL
Economy and Markets

Investor Village
American Superconductor AMSC
Dendreon         DNDN
Gaiam            GAIA
Geron            GERN
GigOptix        GGOX
Microvision        MVIS
Real Goods Solar    RSOL

Silicon Investor
American Superconductor AMSC
Dendreon         DNDN
Gaiam            GAIA
Geron            GERN
GigOptix        GGOX
Microvision        MVIS

Most of these semi-annual exercises go back for years, so you and I can check my view of their progress.

One thing I learned in this year’s exercise is that my portfolio of speculative companies from a few years ago is maturing into a portfolio of profitable companies. All of them except Geron are generating product revenues. American Superconductor, Gaiam, and Real Good Solar are profitable. Dendreon, GigOptix, and Microvision have good chances of profitability by the end of 2012. When their stock prices reflect that it will be easier to buy a new muffler for my Jeep. Maybe within two years my portfolio will make it esay to replace the muffler, donate the Jeep, buy a new electric SUV, and set off on an extended hiking, kayaking, bicycling, dancing, skiing road trip vacation while the contractors renovate my house and someone manages everything I’ve temporarily left behind. It could happen. Hey, if Microvision becomes a success many things will change for the better.

Stay tuned.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

TV Less

Posted on December 29, 2010 by Tom Trimbath

On Monday I gave myself a Christmas present. I turned off my TV. More specifically, I canceled my DirecTV service, a satellite that will continue to beam a signal at my house, but that I will ignore and not pay for anymore. My monitor continues to live, but now it exists to stream internet content, some of which I generate. Except for that last part, this takes me back to how I started my adult life, TV-less.

Many people can proudly state that they survive without television, and have done so for years. I’m not a hard one to convince. That’s the way I started my adult life.

When I went to college I didn’t have one in the room. They may not have been allowed. Virginia Tech was a very strict school then. When I moved off campus my roommates had one, but it didn’t matter much because I was busy studying and barely surviving as an aerospace engineering student. When I graduated and headed west to my job at Boeing in Seattle I didn’t buy one because for awhile I was too concerned with paying for things like food and rent. I actually took a pay cut from my summer job in the steel mill to become an engineer. That says something about both places, but that’s another post.

Living without a TV is quiet and a wonderful incentive to read or get out of the house. It is not the life for a single, lazy, illiterate hermit.

I lived without one because I was addicted to it as a teenager. When there were only three or four networks it was possible to memorize the weekly schedule for optimal viewing. It was a geeky thing to do. I didn’t want to fall back into that habit. My parents weren’t so sure that it was a good idea to disconnect. So, they bought me a television for Christmas. I thanked them for the computer monitor, because that was all I expected to use it for. Kids never do the expected. I hooked it up to my Texas Instrument computer (remember those?), programmed in Basic, and stored the data on cassette tapes. But I hit the slippery slope and slid back into watching the networks, and then cable, and then satellite feeds for the next 28 years. My entertainment went from free to expensive so slowly that it was hard to notice.

I’d heard about streaming, and did some via my computer, but my computer is old and some of the content buffered excessively. Finally I saw that the price of the simplest streaming boxes were about the same that I was paying for one month of satellite service. I watched the way I watched. And I found myself turning on the TV, scrolling through untold channels, probably settling on some rerun of a documentary, and then hitting MUTE or OFF when an noxious commercial came on. What was I paying for?

Television does have a place, but programming decisions made it less useful in my life. Originally I justified watching to keep aware of trends, the news, and the stock market. Trends are reflected on shows, but I can see many trends by walking through shops and going to dances. The news has switched from factual reporting to emotional commentary. Even CNBC, “First in Business Worldwide”, alienated me with some of their myopic and self-centered coverage during the financial crisis. Besides, getting information from their scrolling stock ticker is chaotic and random, while Yahoo Finance and Google Finance can provide me with better information in the time it takes to wait through one commercial.

Industries, technologies, trends, many aspects of our culture arise from a need, develop based on their environment, and come to believe themselves indispensable, but time can allow accumulated anachronisms and bureaucratic complexities. Simple actions and ideas can unseat them. Within physics, epicycles fell to Newton’s Law of Gravity. The Reformation fractured Catholicism because Martin Luther posted a note to a church door. Television is being challenged by the Internet. Steve Jobs frequently redefines experiences and industries. Imagine other ideas that are complex and anachronistic awaiting simple challengers: Microsoft Windows, the US Tax Code, anything in your life that inspires the response, “There’s got to be a simpler way”. Why do we (though not me anymore) commute for miles and hours in single occupancy vehicles?

Every change brings a need for education. Streaming video is better, but I miss some things (come on Alton Brown, get on hulu or Netflix) and I’m involved in a treasure hunt for some of the shows I know exist somewhere in that box (I bought a roku). But change is good. Education is good. And not having to watch alarmist ads for medical conditions is marvelous.

Getting rid of my TV service may not be as dramatic a change as accepting Newton’s laws, but it feels good to replace archaic complexity with modern simplicity.

(note: There’s a development within the world of Simple Living. The discussion forums from the Simple Living Network have a new home www.simplelivingforum.net courtesy of The New Road Map Foundation. More about this later.)

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Little Gifts

Posted on December 25, 2010 by Tom Trimbath

Merry Christmas! And yes I do celebrate it despite my ambiguous religious philosophy. The world needs more celebrations, so I’m grabbing them as they go by. When’s Buddha’s birthday? As I’ve aged, matured, gotten older, the pile of presents around the tree has shrunk, and yet, the holiday and its gifts mean more to me.

Back in the bad old Dark Ages they had something right. Just about every other day was a holiday. (Wish I could find the attribution for that, but it was from a PBS show about twenty years ago.) They worked from dawn to dusk, unless they had the entire day off for a saint’s day or to commemorate some event. They worked harder than people today, but they also had more time off. They had time, but they didn’t have money. Their gifts were small, handmade, and they didn’t come in stacks.

I remember piles of presents back in my childhood. Sorting through to find the From:s and To:s and then distributing boxes around the room to everyone’s selected seat for the morning. Eventually the ripped wrapping paper would be piled high enough to bury a few unopened presents and a mining expedition would be launched to locate the lost toys or overlooked socks. I think I still have unopened boxes of handkerchiefs.

Every year the task got harder. People get older, and but their own things. What does anyone get any well-paid person? Today’s working American has probably already bought more luxury items in a year than a peasant owned in their life, and for the peasant, a dozen tube socks would be a major prize.

One year, for the fun of it, I gave my Dad a Nerf ball. My mom didn’t understand why a man in his twenties would buy his dad a spongy ball. At which point he and I started throwing at each other, and started laughing.

It was the simple thing, the small gift that appealed the most.

I’m over fifty. Family is scattered, and I celebrate my own traditions, including at Christmas. I mimic a bit of my mom’s cooking by baking a ham and cooking up a few other side dishes. The lights are up, though only a few strands because my house and yard are small. That’s all I need and want. The tree is only a five footer. I picked a small one because it is still alive and will be replanted as a donation in a deforested area. Live trees are heavy. My back agrees that small is good. The presents around the tree make the smallest collection ever, but I know that the ones I’ve added for myself are just what I want. I don’t know about the others yet. They’re still wrapped.

Getting to know myself has helped me realize that, for me, some $200 sweater isn’t as appreciated as a good $20 walking stick. Socks really are good gifts, especially those expensive hiking ones that are big enough for my size 14 feet. I also realize that things that are just trinkets can accumulate. There’s a limit to how many Nerf balls a small house can hold. But food, really good food, may not last long, but it will be savored. One treat I give myself is to run around to the local winery, and the local seafood/smokehouse and stock up on fine victuals. Smoked salmon. Yum.

Heart-warming gifts are the things that can’t be wrapped. Friends dropping by. Great conversations. A walk after every meal, and maybe singing carols as if no one could hear.

We’ve been through some tough times. Despite its Christian basis, I think this particular Christmas is a celebration and a sigh of relief for many non-Christians  too who didn’t think they’d get through the economic slump. Many are still waiting for the good days, and I hope they find them. That’s the handy thing about society and community, the ones that reach solid ground can help the others.

The ads for cars and wall-sized TVs may help the sales of really big ribbons, but I suspect that the small gifts, a smile, a donation, an open door, a hug, are bigger and better than all the rest.

Merry Christmas.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

From the Middle

Posted on December 22, 2010 by Tom Trimbath

I am a moderate, which in today’s land pundits and opinions is looked upon as boring, non-committal, uncertain, and inconsequential. I like the middle. The middle is where balance is achieved and is the fulcrum for motion.

I’ve been called a “wild-assed” investor, probably because I invest in stocks instead of bonds, and favor small companies, at least at the start. I’ve also been labeled as a a boring investor because I hold stocks for years. That’s not very aggressive and misses out on lots of opportunities as stocks pop and drop. (Of course, that book is the basis for this blog.)

I call myself a chicken adventurer. Many people call me an adventurer because of a few things I’ve done, bicycled across America, walked across Scotland, climbed Mt. Rainier, written a series of books based on hiking throughout the year in various wild places. Yet I know that I am a chicken. I rode along the interstate and tried to finish each bicycling day before afternoon traffic, only walked along Scotland’s buses and rail lines, climbed with a guide service, and stepped back from back weather and avalanche chutes.

Being in the middle, being moderate or intermediate, has its advantages. I’ve lived some fascinating episodes without taking on too much risk. I’ve retired early though to a frugal lifestyle. I’ve been able to accomplish many things, not because I am more talented than most, but because I am willing to venture forth knowing that I’ll make a few mistakes.

I love to dance. Opinions differ there too. I’ve been asked to teach, so someone must think I have a skill, but professional dancers know I work more from exuberance and creativity than from consummate technique. But I keep in mind that, by my own criteria, I am good enough and could get better. I measure my dancing by how much I enjoy it. That’s not a technical assessment, but it is a fundamental and primal one. When I go to a dance, I only sit out a few songs, sometimes because I don’t know what to do with it, but usually because I need a break. As entertainment, my dancing is more than good enough for me.

There are very few things at which I am trying to excel: listening, communicating, living a healthy life, being a better person, etc. By accepting imperfections, it becomes easier to accomplish more. That extra time required for perfection can be used to indulge in some other task, or spend time having more fun.

I’m satisfied with a portfolio that does better than most, even if it doesn’t maximize potential. I enjoy the intermediate ski runs, with occasional trips to the greens and blacks for variety. I don’t know every dance style or step, but dancing makes me smile, so something must be working.

I keep this in mind at this time of year. The holidays can be stressful where they should be joyful. Finding the exact gift is stressful. Giving a gift with good intent is more joyful. The recipient may be a bit confused when they unwrap their present, but perfectly predicting everyone else’s behaviour is impossible. It is the thought that counts, at least when it comes to presents.

The mainstream media may focus on extremists and alarmists, but I’m glad to hang out here, in the middle, where we can rock it back and forth, have a bit of fun, and also have a place to rest and relax. I hope you enjoy the holidays and I ask the writers amongst you to pardon my overuse of the word “I”. I just didn’t feel like wordsmithing the post that much. It’s sunny outside and I want to soak up some photons. Gotta keep it all in balance, eh?

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Busy People

Posted on December 18, 2010 by Tom Trimbath

A literary manager who needs to be a bit more selfish and find time for her own writing too, a serial novelist who is great at picking titles and knows her genre, (Hanna Rhys Barnes, author of The Scorpion Moon Trilogy), and someone who understands that even cancer should be laughed at, (Cancer is a Funny Thing by Marie de Haan). I met them all and a dozen others this week. Sleepy islands tend to be inhabited by very busy creative people. The island just seems sleepy because it’s quiet. It’s quiet because everyone is working on something. I’m sure that we’re not the only ones, and we don’t always do it alone.

I love to talk. Public speaking isn’t hard for me, except for the first three minutes. That’s why I have more of a problem standing up for “Just give us a quick few sentences Tom” than I do for “We’d love to hear you give your slideshow. Will an hour be enough?” For many people, talking to an audience for an hour would be a torture that begins days before the event. I’ve taught kids karate classes. No group of adults has been more intimidating that three dozen twelve year olds who are looking forward to punching and kicking. Good thing there were mirrors in that room so I could see behind me.

Andrea Hurst is a writer and literary manager, who doesn’t let the word “agent” appear anywhere on her business card, who also hosts a writer’s group in Coupeville. She does a lot more, but I was introduced to her and her group by accepting an invitation to talk to them for about twenty minutes or so. Of course I said yes. Besides, they meet over my current photo essay. They get together at a coffee shop (Local Grown) at the end of a wharf that sits over the waters of Penn Cove. Nice place to sit.

In a time when many feel malaise from economic and environmental concerns, she gathered fifteen people so they could support and encourage each other. Some support groups are group hugs with kind words. These folks do that, and also bring their notepads, computers, advice, and reports of progress. Maybe the shop’s caffeine powers them along, but I suspect they would be busy no matter where they met. And I suspect that because they meet, they are busier than they would be alone.

Humans are social creatures. Our current society emphasizes the individual, which I applaud, but it can be taken too far. Independence is powerful. A lot can get done when it isn’t necessary to negotiate. A singular vision, pursued without distraction, can be manifested more quickly than by any committee. But much of what needs to be accomplished benefits from collaboration.

I donate my time and effort to two organizations: Whidbey Camano Land Trust and The New Road Map Foundation. I do more than that, but those are the only two official positions. For the Land Trust I am a site steward, which means I help tend one of the properties. I use it as an excuse to kill invasive plants like blackberries. They seem to appreciate it. Besides, what else is there to do? It isn’t like anyone is going to steal the land. For New Road Map, I am on the board and the Secretary, so I lend a hand by typing furiously during our meetings and speaking up on occasion. Evidently, everyone else that doesn’t want to take notes is very appreciative of the fact that I will do it for them.

Writers can write alone. I finished five books that way, but even then I had a little help here and there. I appreciated the folks who checked my manuscripts: brave souls willing to wade through typos and bad punctuation. But I couldn’t take on the Land Trust’s job on my own, not even if I had millions. I couldn’t take on New Road Map’s financial literacy campaign as effectively as an organization can. They’ve pulled together a wiki, lists of speakers, online study guides, and are reaching out to forums and larger community. A group of writers accomplishes more together, even though most projects only need one writer.

We’ve got problems, global, economic, and environmental; and while the pundits and the politicians posture, the rest of us, or at least many of us, are working at making things better. Individual efforts count. So do the collaborative ones. We’re coming up on Christmas and I think we, the great unheralded us, are giving ourselves the greatest gifts to ourselves, each other, and the planet. It may seem like nothing is going on, like everyone else is asleep, but I think it’s quiet because so many people are as busy as Santa’s elves.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Unpopular Innovations

Posted on December 15, 2010 by Tom Trimbath

Want to drive a lot of traffic to a blog? Get angry. Vent against the injustices of the world. Lambast the causes of the issues that are being overlooked or marginalized. The media and the politicians are caught up in ideological combat taken to such an extreme that the results of their debates are trivial. A senator was censured for concealing hundreds of thousands of dollars of personal finances. The Senate spent precious months of their time getting around to slapping his wrist. I imagine their time was worth millions, and I suspect that the more important issues affected billions. We have bigger issues for our elected officials to deal with, and people better equipped to prosecute criminal actions. See, it’s easy to find something to get angry about. I spend more of my time watching the problem solvers of the world. For some reason, the media considers them to be less worthy of news time. For some reason they are unpopular.

Here’s a list of gifts given to the world, in no particular order though I’ll start with the companies I am most familiar with, some of those from my portfolio.

Electric cables that do for electrical power what fiber optics did for electrical signals – American Superconductor (AMSC) is building and shipping superconducting cables that incredibly efficiently flow electricity at 100 times the power density of old cables. That’s very handy for replacing old and overworked copper cables that run under our cities. Fewer losses means less power has to be generated. The cables are also self-limiting. If a cable gets too hot, it shuts down itself instead of the whole grid.

Cancer vaccines that train the body to fight its cancers – Dendreon (DNDN) is the first company to receive FDA approval for a cancer immunotherapy. Their prostate cancer vaccine, Provenge, is a treatment, not a drug, that retrains the body’s immune system to recognize the cancer’s markers. It isn’t a panacea, but it is as effective and frequently better than chemo and radiation, but without their side effects. It looks like it might work on other cancers too.

Stem cells to regrow damaged body parts, including nerves – Geron (GERN) is already testing a stem cell treatment to help paralyzed people regain motor control, or as I hope, walk again. Simple enough to say, hard to work within the science, harder to work within today’s ideological climate. And they are making progress despite the hurdles.

Wall-sized displays that fit in your pocket – Microvision (MVIS) is building and selling a projector (ShowWX) the size of an iPhone that makes a display as large as you like, well as large as you con see considering the surrounding lighting and its current 10-15 lumens. I use it to watch movies after sunset. But the projector isn’t the size of an iPhone. The real unit is much smaller. Most of the volume is battery and electronics, so any electronic device that can use a display that already has power and a circuit board is a candidate for using Microvision’s components. That’s not a big deal until you consider the materials and transportation involved in every laptop, monitor, and television display.

The most interesting things are happening outside my portfolio.

The Space Race is begun anew – SpaceX just celebrated the first private orbital launch and recovery. Finally we can get back into space without worrying about the government. The military-industrial complex has competition, and I suspect that the private companies will win. Lots of the Space Age dreams from the sixties weren’t fantasies, but they weren’t going to succeed when they had to be funneled through NASA and the Air Force. Any agency that relied on Congress for funding while also fearing Congressional review wasn’t going to be able to truly innovate in ways that more directly benefited private citizens.

Lasers against malaria – Intellectual Ventures, a firm founded by Nathan Myrhvold, loves to invent stuff. Now, that’s a place I’d love to work at. They’ve invented a laser that can track, identify and kill malarial mosquitoes while avoiding the rest of the insect world. It may sound bizarre, but they bought the components on eBay. Now they are trying to make it economical enough to deploy where it really matters.

Electric cars that aren’t dull – Tesla (TSLA), okay this one is a cheat because maybe you have heard of them, but come on, an electric car that is actually desirable. The age of making fun of electric cars with really long extension cords is over. Tesla’s cars take advantage of electricity to be powerful and simple. They are an elegant and fun solution rather than an exercise in grudging acceptance of scarcity.

Repurposing, or as I think of it mining our second hand mountains – There isn’t only one person to mention, but I’ll pass along one example. Dan Phillips built a house, then he built houses, and he did it with stuff that people had thrown aside. Many people have very little money, or see no reason to spend what they have; but, they are making houses, windmills, lives out of stuff that normally ends up in the landfill. Their ideas and attitude can pervade the planet and have a greater impact than any corporation, but they only make the news as human interest stories. They embody my greatest hope for our future. That’s real human interest.

This is a season of hope, and I find it fascinating that it happens amidst winter (at least for half the planet). To me, innovations are gifts, tiny unexpected packages that lighten my world. The media may not find innovations as popular as ethics panel debates, but innovations and innovators are popular with me.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment