Reminder: This site has moved

Links to Ed Stephens Jr.'s current and recent columns are now available at EdStephensJr.com

See you there!

This site has moved!

The weekly link to my Saipan Tribune column can now be found at: www.EdStephensJr.com . The archives are also there. Please update your links or bookmarks! Thanks.

Christmas shopping for Saipan techies

This shopping season doesn't seem to offer a "must-have" gift for the techie on your list, a situation I lament in this week's column.

But here are a few things (tech-oriented or otherwise)that I reviewed in 2008:

1. Saving Memories. Feb. 29. This extolls the benefits of the new generation of small external hard drives. Many of us have moved our photo albums to our computers; those are memories worth saving....and backing up.

2. A great piece of gear. Aug. 15. The Cabela's Outback Computer Attache is my best product discovery of the year.

3. Saipan and Everywhere: Four essential books. Oct. 24. The title pretty much says it all. Any, or all, of these four books would be a nice gift for the thinker on your list.

Paradise is for learners

"As the CNMI economy continues to transition to a totally government-based economy, anyone who wants to earn a living in the Commonwealth while remaining in the much-hated 'private sector' has got a tough challenge...but it's a doable challenge."

Here are links mentioned in today's column:

1. May 23 review of The Long Tail.

2. The A.P. story on Wyoming's Ten Sleep. (The title of this article is different than the one I mention in my column, but it's the same article.)

The Korean Juggernaut

As 2008 is drawing to a close, I noticed that I haven't filled my quota of glaring typos. So here's a "baron peninsula " just to lend an air of genuine Stephens authenticity to this week's article. Enjoy hunting for that little gem! Accept no substitutes.

Financial wisdom from Mom

"...Earned money trumps make-believe wealth in the long run. This wisdom will set the stage for the coming financial turmoil, which is just getting started. Some people in the Commonwealth get the point. Some never will."

True indeed. Catch today's column here.

Crazy Eddie's Saipan Love Brokerage

"...I suggest that you list 'rich,' 'in poor health,' and 'heavy smoker' as the primary attributes you seek in a husband."

Catch the column here.

TEOTWAWKI syndrome

The End Of The World As We Know It? Relax. The world is doing just fine. Don't let the winds of doom cloud your view of the opportunities out there, particularly in Asia.

Saipan and everywhere: Four essential books

For those hardy captains of industry who read the Saipan Tribune, and who are contemplating the economic situation, here are four books I highly recommend and summarize in today's column:

1. Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, by Joseph A. Schumpeter.

2. The Road to Serfdom, by F.A. Hayek.

3. Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.

4. The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, by Eric Hoffer.

World Wide Woes

Need to build a great web site? You've come to the right place for inspiration...

...or maybe not!

Zany, mad-cap antics

A quote from today's column:

"....Many (not all, but surprisingly many) of your counterparts in the Prozac Nation have ceded management of their own lives to any institution or demagogue who had a slick sales pitch. The Panic of 2008 is probably in its infancy; just wait until the masses figure out that their pensions are worth less than my old gym socks. Some odd notion in the states goes that if you collectivize something, then everybody gets more of it, since the pile is so big."

The household budget?

Sick of all the pompous advice about "household budgets"? Join the club. Here's my take on the gig in today's Saipan Tribune.

The Tribune is also running an insightful piece by former Tribune publisher John DelRosario, Jr., who takes a look at the U.S. Wall Street Bailout bill here. Well said, JR!

All about Azipods

Today, we contemplate the Azipod!

I warned you

I've been warning Saipan Tribune readers for years that the U.S. financial bubble would eventually bring weirdness to markets.

Post script: A bailed-out bubble is still a bubble. The economic underpinnings of distorted capital allocation don't magically disappear. Joe Six-Pack is happy that stock prices have zoomed up at the end of the week, but he doesn't know who the rube is yet.

Utils and Utility

Blackouts don't mean that we have to sit in the economic dark. Here's some wonkish economic stuff on "utils" and "utility."

Deputy Director of Notebooks

Shopping for a notebook computer? You're not alone: Notebook sales are up 35% for the year. Here's my take on the gig.

Digitimes.com has interesting data on notebook market share here.


UPDATE:

Since I've got notebooks on the brain today, I just caught an article on CNNMoney.com about one new offering in the ultra-small, ultra cheap notebook computer sector--the Dell Mini 9, which has a 8.9 inch display, WiFi, a teeny capacity flash memory of 4gb to 16gb, and a teeny price of $350 (with Linux) or $400 (Windows XP).

This surely isn't a substitute for a full blown notebook computer, but as a "computer-like appliance" (or "sub-notebook") for road trips (it weighs under two pounds), it might be an interesting tool, or maybe toy, for some folks.

Dell's offering is coming on the heels of a similar little offering from Taiwan's Asus, the Eee PC. I checked one of these out in Asia when they were pretty new on the market. Although I'd love to shave four pounds from my travel kit, my enthusiasm was curbed when I actually used one of these things.

Leaping into lethargy

Looking for some inspiration? Don't ask me for any. Especially in August, which always seems to be an 0ff-month.

Strategic moves, island issues

Is is possible that military bucks might be on the way to the CNMI? Well, the ever-more-tense world situation, combined with Guam's lucritive stint in the stragetic limelight, does feed speculation, and even hope. But how would the CNMI government react? My forecast might surprise you.

Column?

Thanks for the email regarding the absence of my usual Friday column from the Saipan Tribune Op-Ed page. It's probably just a technical SNAFU, given that I submitted later than I usually do.

Stay tuned to SaipanBlog.com, and I'll post an update.

UPDATE: It was just a SNAFU, and the column is carried in Saturday's edition.

A great piece of gear

"Commonwealth Road Warriors, your travel-weary comrade has discovered a dandy piece of gear..."

And thus I introduce the Cabela's Outback Computer Attache, which I highly recommend.