Where Will We Be in 2010

I've been doing a lot of thinking about the future. I can't speak for my wife, but I'm a planner. I try my best to think ahead and lay down the foundation for an easy and successful transition into what will soon be today. Here are the issues I'm facing today, and if you read this and have advice please help me out.

Mortgage:
I had thought about financing with ING to get a 5/1 ARM and start paying principal and get rid of our 30 year fixed Interest Only Loan. Thanks to Kristin and Brian I have decided that that market is a bit too volatile and that keeping a sure thing is better than paying a little principal off. I still need to get rid of this 9.00% variable Interest Only loan though with suntrust. Let me know if you have any thoughts on it, or have similar woes as the real estate market seems to cool down at record pace.

Electric Cars:
Dave sent me an article that exposed me to Tesla Motors. I am very excited about he prospect of electric cars. This new roadster that Tesla Motors is making is sweet. It goes fast, has only 2 gears; one for 65 mph and below and a second for everything above. It doesn't have a reverse gear instead they just rotate the direction of the engines gears (or something to that affect). It gets 250 miles to the charge (3-5 hours to charge) and costs around 2 cents pers mile traveled (2.50 for 250 miles). I think that is pretty good considering it is the first marketed electric car since GM's EV1 back in the early 90s. It will sell for 85,000 - 100,000 and is built on the sporty Lotus platform... if you don't' know what a Lotus is rent Pretty Woman, Richard Gere is driving one in the first 20 minutes. Within 3 year, if Tesla motors is around, they say they will have a more affordable and practical 4 door car out. It should get more miles to the charge and will probably have added features. Right now our fates rest in the hands of the rich and famous to drive this market and increase demand so supply will go up knocking the price down for the little guys. Sarcasm Alert: Thanks politicians for working so hard to provide an alternate solution from Big Oil!

Savings:
I opened an ING account and it is pretty sweet. I get 4.25% interest, but I wonder if there is anything better out there. I'm thinking about doing a CD... any suggestions? I figure that any amount of money I earn for doing nothing is good money, even if a CD is only 1% more than a savings account with ING.

Investing:
I need serious help with this. I want to invest in alternative fuel sources. My buddy Dave is currently the only person I know that is serious about stocks. He has some thoughts on where to stick money, but it would be nice to get a diverse set of opinions. Right now it doesn't look like there is any good move.. maybe Oil or Precious Metals. How much money should you start with when investing... is it a good move, or should you put your money somewhere else (401k, IRA, Mutual Fund, CD etc.)? Is there a ratio of money to living expenses that you should consider so you don't lose your shirt? Are the payoffs really that good for the little investors or does it require something over 10,000 dollars to see any real profit?

Interesting little quote I found about Tesla Motors - Hyipdiscussion.com

They are backed by some big timers and their new electric car out performed a Porche Head to Head with a 100+ MPG fuel rating!!! Profit Margins are well over 40+ on their first product being revealed soon. With those profit Margins and a Private company backed by 60Mil from Google, Merrill, GS, And Paypal Co-Founder as the Chairman Of their board. This Company was only built to GO PUBLIC!!! First Product is a niche market with huge Margins. Then that growth will cashflow into their Family Sedan models to follow... Definately keep an eye on this one.

Living Area:
Kristin and I have been thinking about where we will be in 2010. Will we be in Northern Virginia or will we head South to Charleston or West to Colorado? It does seem exciting to make a move and head somewhere else, but is it practical? What are the advantages and disadvantages to moving somewhere else. It does sound exciting, but will I find a job and will be able afford it? Where will all our friends be by that time? Will you be somewhere else, why?

Job & Education:
I think I still like my job... but what other options do I have? I'm an enterprise architect/manager. Does that make me marketable other places? Will I get paid somewhere else what I'm paid here? Should I go back to school, if so what should I go back for? I'll have to think about this one... if I'm going to change positions or careers I'll have to think carefully. Let me know what you do and if you like it... I'll be happy to go more in depth as to what an Enterprise Architect is if you have questions about it. I just don't want to bore everyone that isn't reading this with what it is I do.

Bar Golf Champion!!!

July 2nd, 2006 shall go down in history as the first annual Bar Golf Tournament held in Harrisonburg, VA. In recognition of Dave Moore turning 30 on July 6th, 2006 a tournament of wills and strong livers was held to determine who had the stamina to make it through 8 bars and over 9 hours of drinking. The official score card can be found on my website under spreadsheets. I may attempt to finish scoring as I was knocked out of commission sometime around the 6th bar.

The first tee was at Outback Steakhouse at 4 p.m., an old stomping ground for many of us, and the place where friendships/relationships were forged for most of us. The par was only 1 so it was easily achieved, however Kenny Close made a bold move to start the day off with a long drive using his Liquid Cocaine 3 wood. Brian Cassidy and Steve Luttrell were not to be outdone and quickly followed suit. The leader board read pretty evenly with most of us getting 1 under par.

Following Outback the group move north to Hams, previously The Biltmore, to face a new challenge... no bathroom breaks. Most participants felt the pinch of not being able to use the restroom almost instantly. This, however, was easily overcome as the rules clearly state that bathroom breaks are permitted when not using your gender specific rooms. Katie Mullqueen, Steve Luttrell, David Moore, Brian Cassidy, and Curtis Lupton made a strategic play to use the opposite sex bathroom and have an additional drink to put them at one under par for the hole.

Moving east the 14 some made their way to The Pub, previously Alstons, where a "rain" delay kept the group from making any progress. All attempts to Tee off from the Pub were thwarted so an auxiliary hole was established and the move was made to go and tee off from Jalisco's. There everyone enjoyed a much needed bathroom break, chips, salsa, and cole slaw?? Katie and Curtis made a push to try and subtract some strokes from their score by doing some challenges, but in the end Katie was the only one able to push ahead as all golfers wrapped their head in napkins countering Curtis' challenge.

Now needing to travel by golf cart across town to BW3s the group speedily made their way to the fourth hole. There all participants worked diligently to achieve par 2 on this long dog leg left hole. B52 challenges were taken by several players and a quick departure was made to downtown Harrisonburg for a long Par 3 at Dave's Taverna.

Here at Dave's it was clear that conservative play was showing to be the best strategy as the weary and drunk group was beginning to feel the strain of such a long day. Many of us were falling behind in pace, but others were make a strong push to finish the night and make it to the last green. In the hazy memory of this commentator and participant, I can not say with clear conviction what happened there. I believe I had 2 beers but I can't say for sure. I can't say for sure either if a challenge was taken or not. It may require the entire groups collective memory to piece together what happend.

Regardless of what happened at Dave's we pressed onward to the Artful Dodger and made short work of a well needed Par 1. Now approaching 10:30 p.m and 6.5 hours of play time I had begun to lose track of what most people were doing and was concentrating on not falling over or losing my stomach. Past the Dodger we moved to Calhoun's were I used the opportunity to drink water and regain some composure.

Needless to say I did not regain my composure and retired that evening well over par for the day at the last green, Finnigan's Cove. I think there is some debate as to who actually succeeded and won the tournament. It is in my opinion that either Brian Cassidy or Kenny Close won, but I really can't say for sure. I do have to say though it was impressive to see so many people participate and make it to the end whether or not they achieved par or not. Final play time ended around 12:45 a.m., adding up to approximately 9 hours of offical playing time.