To be honest, I’m not really sure what to think of T. Boone Picken’s “plan”.  He’s been showing up fairly frequently on T.V. as of late pushing his plan for energy independence.

A noble cause, to be sure, and I don’t think he’s too far out of line here.  At least on the surface.  But look a little bit deeper.

Mr. Pickens is a business man at heart and he’s certainly done well for himself as an oil man.  Now he’s looking to capitalize on the alternative energy push.

Why does he want you to buy into …

If you don’t watch television, you may not know Randy Pausch.  If that’s the case, let me introduce you.

Randy Pausch was a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in August of 2006.  One year later the cancer had moved into his liver and spleen, which meant the cancer was terminal.

As part of an ongoing lecture series, top professors are asked to impart some advice and knowledge upon the world as though it was their last chance to do so.

Randy gave his last lecture, entitled “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” on September 18, 2007.  For him, however, it really was his last lecture, as …

It’s been a while since I posted anything regarding my investment activities, mostly out of lack of information to report on. I’ve been buying more shares of PVX (PVX: chart, web, Y!) recently, but more significantly, there is some good news on Duncan Energy Partners (DEP: chart, web, Y!).

Second quarter results are out, and things are looking strong. A few snippets:

The partnership reported a 45 percent increase in net income to $6.6 million for the second quarter of 2008, compared to net income of $4.5 million for the second quarter …

Another Drew Carey Reason.tv video on the true cost of the wall between the Southern United States and Mexico.

Personally, I believe the most effective way to secure our boarder is to economically secure our boarder.  Creating jobs in Mexico, and promoting and stimulating the Mexican economy will shore up the boarders more effectively than a wall.

However, we must enforce the laws of our country, and ensure the security of our great nation.

Yesterday the White House and the Federal Reserve took steps to prevent Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from going the way of the Bear. Bear Stearns, that is.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the “global reach of Fannie and Freddie necessitated unprecedented action”. In other words, the government believes that Fannie May and Freddie Mac are too big to fail. Must be nice.

Technically, the treasury increased its existing line of credit to Fannie and Freddie. On top of that, the treasury was given the power to buy the two companies stock.

Wow.

So much for a free market economy!

So I suppose the question is, how much of …

I’ve always been a big fan of Drew Carey, and I thought this interview with Michael Eisner was interesting.  Actually, I enjoy most of the interview on “Conversations”.

After doing some extensive research, I broke down and started buying up shares of General Electric (GE: web, chart, Y!) in my retirement account last week.  After several trades, I’m averaged in at $26.77 and will continue to evaluate the value movement for the next several months.

Last Friday, the company reported earnings in-line with market estimates, which in this market environment is reassuring.  Jeffrey Immelt also reported that the company is selling off its Japanese consumer finance unit to Shinsei Bank, a midsize Japanese bank for $5.4 billion, including $1.7 billion mortgage and credit card assets.  GE, however, still gets …

Today Starbucks (SBUX: chart, web, Y!) announced that they will be closing 600 stores in the next year.  The company originally proposed shutting doors on just 100 stores, but it seems the struggling U.S. economy has increased the need to trim the fat… er, the froth.

The company said that the additional 500 stores due for closing were not profitable, nor were they expected to be profitable in the foreseeable future.

One other interesting feature about these additional 500 stores is that they had been opened (all as recently as 2006) in close proximity to existing stores.  (The closest Starbucks to my house is …