Retail Therapy

I've never liked the transition to winter weather. I like the full-on cold and snow, because then I can ski, but those dark, stormy and wet days just aren't my cup of tea! To make up for it, I like to shop... sound familiar ladies??? Or, I just take off to someplace warm.

Recently I've been looking to buy a new timepiece... no just a watch... but a true marvel of precision that tells me the time. I've been torn between a few different Rolex and Omega models. I've had a Rolex for years, which I plan to keep, but I feel it's time for a new model that is a bit more classy. In other words, I'm compensating for the fact that I'm getting older.

This is the 2009 Rolex GMT II, with the ceramic bezel and half golf strap. I think it's absolutely stunning! It's elegant and looks great with any clothing, whether it be a suit or just jeans and a shirt. I had been thinking about getting a watch for a few months but last week a friend on facebook posted this picture and I can't stop thinking about it.

This masterpiece might just win my heart over the Omega Double Eagle Perpetual Calendar. The Omega is less expensive than the Rolex but it's still a great watch. Tiger Woods wears one and it's the first and only watch to be worn on the moon.

I will never play golf as well as Tiger and I will likely never be on the moon, but even I can look pretty good with one of these fabulously designed watches strapped to my wrist! Now I just need to decide... I think wifey would notice if I got both.

GOLD GOLD GOLD

By the title you might have already guessed what I'm thinking about. GOLD!!! It's been a good week for gold, closing at over $1000 after peaking at $1054 an ounce. I've read some "serious speculation" about gold pushing past the $1100 mark before the end of October.

This might sound like good news but basically here is what is happening. Investors are flocking to gold as the save haven of investing. The US dollar is losing strength, something we've been watching for a while, but with more concerns arising every week it is becoming less of the world monetary benchmark that it once was. Some Middle East countries are even making noises about moving away from pricing oil in US $.

All of this puts downward pressure on the US dollar, and whether or not the recession if done for good (or not) there isn't enough confidence yet in real estate or equities. As gold is one of the more solid investments, it's value tends to rise with the pressure on cash. I'm not trying to convince anyone to invest in gold, but it's not a bad "hold" for a while. Historically, gold has done a crappy job of even keeping up with inflation, and when things are booming there are plenty of better options available.

This chart shows gold's real value - not much gain since the mid 80's.

Gold can sometimes be a reverse thermometer of how an economy is doing. It will be interesting to watch where it goes in the next year, how the dollar fares, and whether the economy really does recover like we are being told.

Congratulations Mr. President!

Today, President Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize about as honorably as any man could have. Only a woman could have done better! (hope wifey is reading this). It's striking not only how well-liked Obama is, but how well he carries himself and how he is quick to share credit with others. I'm quite happy for the man. He works hard and let's be honest, he needs a confidence booster once in a while - doesn't he! How long can he ride this "I'm the President" thing anyways. A man needs to establish himself in this world.

The 44th President of the United States is reportedly worth only about $2M. Not a huge sum compared to his rival McCain, who was worth over $40M. For a man of such power and influence he will only receive an annual salary of $400,000.

Given that he has received the Nobel Peace Prize, and that other thing (being prez), we all know he will have many years (since he isn't old) of traveling the lecture circuit. Bill Clinton (popular) has been making huge sums of money for years giving speeches and he has probably even paid off all those legal bills he accumulated at the end of his 2nd term. Even George Bush (not so popular) makes a killing (no pun intended) doing events. I was reading a newspaper in Ottawa, Canada recently about a speech that Dubya was giving and I believe it stated he would be paid $250,000 for showing up. Pretty descent work!

What was interesting was that the RCMP (Canada's national police force) was going to spend upwards of $500,000 on security just to keep the Ex-Prez alive! It got me thinking, why doesn't the Canadian government just pay Bush NOT to show up??? Too bad we couldn't have paid him not to show up to work those 8 years!

I'm sure Obama will be financially comfortable when he leaves office, unlike Jimmy Carter who returned to life as a peanut farmer with over a $Million in debt. Funny enough, Carter was the only President to receive the Nobel Peace Prize (2002) after leaving office. Congrats again Mr. President.

iCandy store!

We are about to leave on a flight back home this morning after having a few days with family and seeing the Bryan Adams concert here in Vancouver. It's back to work for me tomorrow and back to school for the kids. As a special treat I took them to a great candy store in West Vancouver called Frankies Candy. The kids love it. It isn't very big, like the one I like in San Francisco, but it's great for them.

The location is in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in one of the most expensive areas in Canada, and in the top 12? in North America anyways. I managed to cram dad's little Porsche in between a Cadillac Escalade and an enormous Mercedes. Once inside the store I wanted to stay forever. I could not get over how many beautiful women go in there to buy crap for their snotty, winey little kids. Most of these ladies wore tight jeans that looked oh so hot, and many were also enhanced... yes, they had breast implants that made them very boobalicious.

Watching all the trophy wifes coming and going from the store I was starting to feel like a pervert for spending so much time there. The funny thing was that while we were there going through ALL the candy, the lady at the desk got a call and said "I'll be right there." She opened the back door and in came a famous lady. I won't say who because that just isn't done. But it was cool to see her. She shopped quickly and was out the back within two minutes.

I was temped to get a picture of this "famous person" but didn't. Instead I took a quick blurry picture of a candy stand with an iPhone. Too bad it didn't turn out well, like my afternoon did!

iPhone versus Android

I had spend a lot of time looking at new cell phones a while back and became more and more frustrated the more I looked. I must admit to being a bit of a crackberry addict. I loved my Blackberry and I loved the physical keyboard attached to it. I could type out an email just about as fast as anybody could with that thing. It was great.

At one point we had numerous mobile devices at home. I had a US and CDN phone and we had two others also. We had one for the nanny when she was at the home. Wifey got a new iPhone last year and at first I considered it a toy, boy was I wrong. The iPhone turned out to be one of the best devices out there.

Here is a funny comic about the Android vs iPhone (Google vs Apple)

Now that I have a Blackberry and an iPhone, I'm actually leaning towards getting an Android phone. It's actually an Operating System that is called Android (OS). You can read more about it here. Looks like Google's Android OS kicks butt!

There is lots of talk about which mobile device maker will take most of the market share in the next couple of years. Some of the big players are Apple, Google, Microsoft, Palm, Sony-Ericson, and Research in Motion. Right now RIM has most Blackberry devices out there but the iPhone has more apps and is growing faster than the rest. But... Google is huge and has plenty of resources and money behind then to push forward and push hard!

I don't need a Blackberry, iPhone and Android phone, so I will have to decide which one I won't keep, because I don't need three!

11

I'm in Vancouver, Canada, again for a few days and making the most of it. Summer and the glorious weather had finally ended when I got here on Wednesday, but it's back to sunshine today, albeit somewhat cooler.

As usual the reason for visiting here is to see family again, but the real reason is that in June I bought tickets to see Bryan Adams at the Vancouver Orpheum Theatre. A small, classy, and personal venue for such a great performance. The four of us had pretty good seats and a very nice view of "An evening with Bryan Adams." I had a bid on some special seats that came with a post concert meeting opportunity with Bryan and some autographed bits and bytes. Unfortunately I was in Vegas (unfortunately losing big time) when the bidding was taking place and it was a pain in the ass to keep checking on my US Blackberry. My Canadian iPhone would have been useful but it was in San Francisco. Hmmm... iPhone, never leave home without it!

Back to Bryan... What a fantastic show he put on. Right from the go he had us going with an older song from the Reckless album, Run to you. I was still a teenager when Adams released that album and I've been an avid fan of his since. One very nice touch to last night's performance was how much he talked to the audience. He shared a few personal experiences an even gave some explanations for the song's inspirations. I learned a few things. Bryan even joked with the crowd a bit and had us laughing a few times.

Overall he put on a very good show. I enjoyed all the songs. Some were classics, some were new (from his album 11) and some I had never heard of. He did a great blues type song dedicated to Ray Charles. Bryan used only an acoustic guitar, a harmonica and his voice. He had a piano player, Gary Briet, who joined for a number of the songs and Jim Vallance even played for two songs.

I left the show with a big smile on my face and a huge motivation to see him perform again... I don't mean his next tour but I mean catching him again on THIS tour. I did a quick check last night of where he'll be in the next two months and I will try to meet up with his tour again when I'm traveling. Mrs. Wealthy thinks I'm crazy but going again with different friends will be like a whole new experience, even it he plays the same songs. Another nice touch was that Bryan Adams does a great job of personalizing each for the town he's in. It was just that much more personal as Vancouver is where he grew up. I even got to cross paths with him a few times as a teenager.

Jeans versus Genes

I've never been one to claim much fashion knowledge or to be on the leading edge of what is considered chic clothing to wear. I usually go to some trendy shop (expensive too) and have one of the young ladies help me with my clothing decisions. They know what's hot that week and have much better taste that I could ever have. One thing I do know, is that jeans are in.... again! It's been an on-again off-again affair of whether it's kosher to wear jeans to work but unless you are a lawyer (sorry dad) or an uptight accountant (sorry Bob) then a nice clean pair of designer jeans is just fine!

I must try on about 10 pairs for each pair I end up buying. This is why my wife won't go shopping with me. It takes me an hour to buy each item. She's a much better (meaning faster and more expensive) shopper than me. I recently bough the MOST comfortable pair of jeans I've ever owned, and they are made in California. The name of the jean is Gringo and they fit very well. I don't know how guys wear those tight jeans that are high in the crotch - OUCH! Not too comfy. I also don't like those baggy "shit catcher" jeans that expose half your underwear. Anyways, these Gringo jeans look and feel awesome. For $245 they should! Made by Agave, I recommend these jeans to anyone!

Here's a photo of my pair of Gringo jeans! Lots of belt loops help them stay snug.

As much as I might complain about how different my father and I are, I have come to realize we are very similar in a lot of ways. Another odd reality is that he has always been on the leading of clothing trends. My dad loves his jeans. He's very much a suit kinda guy during the week but on weekends he's been a jean guy for many years. Now that he's partially retired he's wearing them more and more.

Take a nice pair of jeans and match it with smart dress shoes and a tapered shirt and you can go just about anywhere. OK, I'm off to get another pair for me and a pair for my dad as a gift... it's in the genes!