Reading about Sabbaticals

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I've long been intrigued by what a sabbatical affords you in terms of opening up a way of making big changes in your life. Not surprisingly, you can find some books on personal sabbaticals to get guidance on how to structure a sabbatical (You can also get a sabbatical coach (e.g., Coaching Services) but you should be able to get a lot out of reading a book and spend $600/month!). Some interesting looking books on the topic include:

Working for the future of the children we love

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In the shower this morning, I was thinking about how difficult it is to plan, let alone work, for the long-term. It helps profoundly to have children in mind, children we love and for whom we fiercely desire a wonderful future. I was specifically thinking about how life will be like for my nephew when he has reached 41 years old, my own age. Since he is currently 5 years old, I'm imagining his life in the year 2044. Thirty-six years in the future may seem remote – I myself will be 77 years old, if God willing, I live that long. But it's not hard to imagine my nephew in his prime, living in a world that I hope will be many times more grand and promising as the world is today. That optimistic scenario depends on the work we do today, and tomorrow, and a year from now, and 10 years from now to meet the big challenges facing us today today – that of climate change, the collapsing economy, and the need to transform our global society into a sustainable enterprise.

Of course, the future isn't just about what life will be like for my nephew -- but it sure makes a difference for me to have individual children in mind.

Pickens on The Daily Show: natural gas is the way?

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After watching T. Boone Pickens on The Daily Show last night, I would like to learn more about the Pickens energy plan. From what I can gather watching the interview, Pickens wants the U.S. to shift to consuming natural gas produced in the United States, which he says is owned in great supply by the US. Pickens argued that electric hybrid technology is a good thing for passenger cars, but inadequate for large trucks. Does his plan make sense? What are the greenhouse gas implications of his plan?

Remembrance Day 2008

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Remembrance Day 2008, originally uploaded by Alana Elliott.

One way in which I knew Laura and I were in Toronto last weekend is the presence of poppies to commemorate Remembrance Day. I wanted to get my hands on a poppy to take back to the States, where wearing poppies is very uncommon. (Photo by Alana Elliott)

Reacquainting myself with the Psalms

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This morning I was happy to take down for my bookshelf something I had not read in a while: my copy of The Access Bible, New Revised Standard Version with Apocrypha. I found reading the introductory essay to the Psalms a real pleasure, inspiring me to read through the Psalms to look for the themes and structures identified by the essay. This morning I started my journey through the Psalms by reading Psalm 1, which happens to be not only at the beginning of the Psalms but also already very familiar to me. The passage that sticks with me this morning is also appropriate for me to ruminate on throughout the day: "but their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night." (Ps 1:2)

Making GOTV calls for Barack Obama

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I spent this morning volunteering to make "get the vote out" phone calls for the Obama campaign.  Laura and I are living in Pittsburgh, PA this fall, so we feel the tension and excitement of being in a battleground state, something I didn't get all those years in California.  I will admit to being nervous about making political phone calls -- even though I have spent years making phone calls for a (non-political) good cause.   It made a big difference though to show up at the home of an Obama supporter where I was trained and where I drew encouragement from my fellow callers.    I wish I had managed to work up the courage to participate in phone banking earlier but it's important to take those little steps.

Figuring out some basic investing advice: use value investing?

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I've had two investment books out from the public library on my bookshelf for several weeks: The little book of common sense investing : the only way to guarantee your fair share of market returns and The little book of common sense investing : the only way to guarantee your fair share of market returns and am finally getting a bit of time to look at them. I've had a fair amount of my retirement money invested in a S&P 500 index fund -- so I'm familiar with the notion of investing in an index fund. As Laura and I consider investing in BRK.B - Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Laura and I learning about Value investing, particularly its relationship to Warren Buffett, which is described in the following terms:

    However, the future distributions and the appropriate discount rate can only be assumptions. Warren Buffett has taken the value investing concept even further as his thinking has evolved to where for the last 25 years or so his focus has been on "finding an outstanding company at a sensible price" rather than generic companies at a bargain price.

I'm still trying to understand how to apply concepts such as P/E ratio to assess how good a buy Berkshire Hathaway is. Should I believe what Berkshire Hathaway Intrinsivaluator says?