How We Occupy Wall Street

When my oldest son Seth turned 13 last month, I wanted to use the opportunity to teach him the best way to Occupy Wall Street, and that is to learn at a young age how to successfully invest in the stock market.  My dad got me started at age 14, and so I figured I'd give Seth a one year head-start.  So, yesterday I scheduled time with him after school and presented to him a Stock Market Basics tutorial, made up of material from the Internet, and some of my own advice based on my own successes and failures at investing.

I told him about how many large companies started out as small mom-and-pop's - like McDonald's, Apple, and Dell, and how these entrepreneurs raised money by going public and selling shares.  And when you own stock, you actually own a small piece of the companies in which you have invested.  We also talked about how investors share in the profits, losses, assets, liabilities, and even decisions of the company.  It was a great father-son discussion about the wonders and beauty of Capitalism. 

We then studied some charts and reports from Investors Business Daily, my favorite source of investment wisdom. He then settled on deciding the first 2 stocks he would buy with the savings I had set aside for him over the years - just as my father had done.  I bought Virginia Electric & Power Company (VEPCO) when I was a kid, and between the dividends and steady increases, I had doubled my investment within a few years.  Seth picked Apple (3 shares) and Dollar Tree (10).  We placed limit orders last night, which executed this morning.  So he's now a stockholder.

This afternoon, after school, he texted me...  "The stock market did horrible today."  I checked.  Dow was up 37.  But AAPL was down $3.31 (0.83%) and DLTR down $0.20 (0.25%).  Guess it's all about perspective...  He lost nearly $12 his first day in the market.  Let's hope the other days are better.

And the Shirts Go to...

Well not everyone had the same answers as me (see comments in post below)... but some were close. To solve this riddle, we need to start with what we know about the boys.

Luke hoards money and is frequently making deals to get more money. He thinks he should be paid for getting out of bed in the morning. He will go to the store to buy a $30 item, and will leverage parental equity to pay for the sales taxes. He also is giving and has been known to give money to parents, grandparents, and brothers. B-School for Luke.

Caleb... Legos... Legos... Legos... Never concerned too much about money. Likes to read intricate Lego procedures in his spare time. A little eccentric and not concerned about what he wears. Focused on the task at hand (when it's something he wants to do). Strong in science in school - to heck with everything else. Likes to help people. Med School for Caleb.

Seth... Could do anything, I think, but there is a sense of justice and logic to him. Having two younger brothers who tend to cause him some issues on occasion, Seth has to argue his position often, and is usually pretty calm and level-headed. Often is able to identify how brothers have wronged him in some way, and convincingly proclaims his innocence in the matter. Law School for Seth.

Of course, I would not be disappointed if I have all this wrong. All of these are tough fields of study followed by time-consuming careers. I just want each of them discover God's will on their own, and to make the best of their lives by living that out.

So where's the engineer and jewelry designer in the family? I guess that is Dad and Mom! And I'm still thinking about opening that hot dog stand in the shallow waters of the Keys in Florida.

IBM Business Insights at Harvard

This week I am at the subject class in Boston. Today we got done a little early so I got over to the main campus - pictured here at Harvard Yard. This is a great experience, the likes of which I hope someday my boys can receive. Tonight, however, I have a lot of homework!

While at Harvard, I went to their "Harvard Coop" store which is where they have a bazillion shirts and other logo merchandise. I accomplished my mission buying shirts for my boys. Since I don't "really" go to Harvard, I guess it would be pretentious for me to wear their brand, especially since they are certainly not known for their sports teams. However, buying shirts for the kids allows me to live vicariously through them, as well as encourage them to strive for making the grades to go to such an extravagantly expensive, but distinguished, school. I guess every parent wants their kids to accomplish more than they did, so I guess I'm settling into that mode myself. So while I would shudder to think about paying for that sort of college for 1 to 3 children, I would try to find a way if that challenge ever presented itself.

So I bought 3 shirts... one was Harvard Business School, one was Harvard Law School, and the other Harvard Medical School - each one carefully selected to fit the personality of one of our boys, though perhaps not their bodies due to the lack of child sizes. So for those who know Seth, Caleb, and Luke: Who gets which shirt? Post a comment here with your guess (and why), and I'll answer later with my choices.

Attention College Basketball Recruiters...

Please see the following video of my 10 year old son Seth. We will be accepting invitations to visit ACC schools offering full scholarships. There is also a teammate and 5 year old brother whom you will also want to consider to round out your back court. I'm sure they will provide you years of conference superiority, as well as raise your scholar-athlete rankings. Unlimited XBOX and PS/3 access will be required, as well as an account on iTunes paid for by your booster club. Their agent and deal-maker will be the 7 year old brother. He usually gets what he wants.

At the NC State Fair

Here we are at the NC State Fair. We just had some footlong dogs and now we are going to ride some more and see if we can get sick!

Backyard Campout

Tonight we bought a tent and had our first big campout in the backyard. I remember my dad camping out with me when I was about 6. The tent was green and canvas and had wooden stakes and room for I guess 2 small people. We didn't have power in the tent with a DVD player, lights, a cell phone with a camera, and room for 7 people, but I still remember it. I think my dad's feet stuck out of the tent and we went in before the night was over, but it was still memorable. Time for bed now. Good night.

Seth and Me at NC State

Today I took off work and will be attending my accounting class in person. Seth came with me so he can get a taste of real college life. Here we are outside of my old dorm, Tucker Hall. The top left room was mine ... 359 Tucker... "Corner room at the Y." The dorm looks to be co-ed now.

We were walking past Reynolds Coliseum and Seth noticed and asked about some man-hole covers. "What's in there?" he asked. Ironically, from my memory, the one he had asked about was one of the entrances to the steam tunnel system underneath the campus. I had told him about the days when we would climb down underground and then wander the maze in the "otherworld" beneath NCSU. So I guess he found it. Upon searching the web, I found something that indicated the tunnel entrances have been secured since after 9/11. So I guess he'll never know the fun (or fear) in running through the tunnels after midnight.

Then we went to the brickyard area where we had lunch in the "atrium." Back in the old days, the choices includes burgers, hot dogs, and fries. Today, they have Chick-Fil-A, some pizza vendor, and of course, burgers, hot dogs, and fries. I was tempted to get the burger, just to hear some person say "Want cheez on that?" but I opted for the CFA stand-by, as did Seth.

Out in the brickyard, there was what was known as "the brickyard preacher." Not sure if it's the same person year after year, but the message is the same, "Turn or burn, you worthless evil drinking sleeping-around college-aged sinners!!" (click on picture to read the sign) The crowd usually stands clear of the guy, but in this case, I think an athiest was getting into a shouting match with the Most-Righteous One, and so the audience moved in closer. I have to wonder how effective this method of evangelism has been over the years. Perhaps they should try actually meeting people and telling them "You know, none of us are perfect. We all screw up and do the wrong things sometimes... Even so, God loves each and every one of us, and wants us to know him." Nah... that would just fill up our churches with a bunch of sinners and people with problems.

Then we walked around the brickyard some more and got the picture with the upside down NCS brick logo. We went into the incredible DH Hill Library, which was alive with students and collaboration and computers and studying... It was amazing to see the bustling and lively environment. It was peak season on campus.

We then walked down "engineering row," passing the buildings for nuclear, mechanical, industrial, and electrical engineering (at least that's what they used to be in the 80s). Then, when I pointed out the chemical engineering building, Seth commented, "Yea - I thought I smelled something." So that was a good laugh for me. Those Chem-E's and their noxious experiments.

Hopefully all my boys will make it to college somewhere, perhaps even to NC State University.

Made it to 64

We made it all the way to highway 64 in Apex!

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American Tobacco Trail Bike Ride

Here we are on the American Tobacco Trail enjoying a nice Saturday bike ride. That is Brandon, not Luke, along with Caleb and Seth.

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Funny Things the Kids Say: Seth at the Swim Meet

At the swim meet this week, I noticed that Seth (and many of the other kids, for that matter) spends a lot of time looking around at the competition while he's swimming a race. That evening, I gave him some advice. "You shouldn't look around while you're swimming. Just swim hard and don't worry about what everyone else is doing," I said.

Seth said laughingly, "Yeah. I was swimming, and I looked around and I didn't see anyone in front of me, so I thought I was in first place! But then when I got done I realized everyone had already left the pool!" He's such a good sport.

For the record, he was 5th place. Out of 6. He's got a good build for a swimmer. So he'll get better if he practices.

Funny Things... The Kiss

Last night at the dinner table, out of the blue, Luke proclaims, "I kissed Claire before." Claire is the adorable little 5 year old girl next door. They hang out, but we didn't know it was serious. An older woman. Go figure. Luke will be 5 next month. "When did that happen?" asked Mommy. "In 2006," replied Luke. So that would make you, uh, like 2? 3?

So then Caleb comes clean. "I've kissed someone too," he said. "Did you kiss Claire, too?" asked Mom. "Noooo," Caleb says with a grin, knowing Mom is one guess away from getting it right. "Anusha?" asks Mom. Bigger grinning Caleb says "Yes." Then after the laughter dies down... "We were watching Harry Potter..." More laughter. Caleb grinning even more. "at her house..." Pause. Grin. ".. under the blanket." Big laughter from everyone. Mommy and Daddy are wondering if their legs are being pulled.

So Mom asks, "Seth, have you kissed anyone?" "No," replies Seth, a little surprised he's such a ladies man but has been beat out by his younger brothers. Caleb gives him some fatherly advice, just as serious as can be... "Don't worry Seth... You will."

Baptizing our son Seth

As a parent, there are a lot of things you hope and pray for your kids. Good health, being smart, making good grades, success in sports, find a good job, "be happy," etc., are some of the many things we hope for our kids.

There is none more impotant than this one. My wife Lori and I have prayed since our boys were babies that they would grow up and someday choose, on their own, to follow Jesus. Baptism is an outward display of this decision. Our oldest son Seth made the decision to follow Christ at New Life Camp this summer. He was baptized at Jordan Lake by ME August 26, 2007 at the Vintage21 "BBQ Baptism!" It was a smokin' hot day in the high 90's, and we were glad to have many friends there, as well as all 4 grandparents.

The pictures show our pastor, Tyler Jones, in the UNC T-Shirt on the left. I almost called the whole thing off when I saw what he was wearing. But I had on my red NC State T-shirt - so we went on as planned. All in all, about 20 people from The Journey and Vintage21 got dunked that day. It was a beautiful thing. Now we have 2 more boys to go, Caleb (6) and Luke (4), and pray that they will come to this decision point in their life in the future as well.