Finance: Periodic table of investments for 2006

The Periodic Table of Investments was just updated for 2006. To me, this chart demonstrates the difficulty of predicting investment returns by asset class. What's hot one year (or for a few years in a row) may be a bust the next year. Check out the boring old bond index (LBB Agg) that is pretty sedate most years, but jumped up to the top during 2000-2002 when equities were not doing so well. Just another argument for a balanced, diversified portfolio of index funds.

News: German farmer raises giant rabbits for N. Korea

There's a story over at Spiegel regarding a German farmer who is raising gianormous rabbits to use as a food source in North Korea. Thank goodness we have the internet to bring us gems like this.

On a related note, I discovered that this plan may need a little more work. There's a disease called rabbit starvation which is malnutrition due to the over-consumption of lean meat, as you would find in rabbits. A little roast Thumper won't hurt you, but you can't live on it.

Wine: Thinking outside the cardboard

There's an article in the NYT today about the Bag-in-Box Wine Dispenser. Will this be enough to make box wine palatable? Will vintners actually start producing drinkable wines in boxes? Seems like a chicken-and-the-egg type problem.

If you can get past its reputation, there's a lot to be said for the concept of wine in a box. First, it does a great job of protecting the contents from light during storage. Once you open it, there's no chance that air is going to get in and start oxidizing the wine if you want to keep it around for a few days (a consistent problem with bottles). And ffom an environmental perspective, the packaging breaks down easier than a glass bottle (which requires proper recycling). I could make similar arguments in favor of the screw-top wine bottle (viva la convenience), but I have the feeling we'll be seeing corks in glass bottles for a long time to come.

Movies: Superman Returns

This was a bit of a letdown. I didn't feel any connection with Superman and it seemed like his personality was visiting another planet throughout the movie. I don't even think he had more than a page or two of total dialog from start to finish. Lois Lane was shrill and annoying. And right off the bat, I found the premise to be disconnected from the other Superman movies (granted, it's been a while since I've seen them, but still). The action sequences were formulaic at best, and too drawn out. One high point was Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor, the only decent character in the whole show.

Tech: iPhone

It never fails - a week after getting my new cell phone and signing a 2 year contract, they announce the iPhone. It certainly looks like it could be a hit, although I'm not sure how well the 100% touch screen will work, seems like it would be subject to damage and scratches. Still, a very cool integration concept with links to Google maps, digital photos, MP3s, and everything else under the Apple sun.

Then again, I doubt I could justify the $500 price of the iPhone versus the phone I got for free after rebate from Amazon/Cingular. And mine already has a 4GB MP3 player in it, with a smaller form factor. Do I really want to carry around such a large rectangular cell phone, even if it does have a picture of a clown fish in a sea anemone on the front of it?

Tech: Sony Ericsson W810i cell phone

I've been waiting to get a new cell phone for a while, but hadn't been able to find the right combination of features at a decent price. Since I was out of my contract with AT&T Wireless (since purchased by Cingular) I thought it was stupid to pay $200 for a new phone since I was going to have to get a new contract anyway (as part of Cingular's required conversion). But Cingular wouldn't cut me a break, so I held off. And now I've just heard that they're changing their name back to AT&T, but that's another story.

So over the Christmas break my current phone, a Nokia 6200, started to act funny, the screen would go blank randomly, and other problems. It had been pretty reliable to this point, but was now over 2 years old and since it replaced my land line, it has seen its share of use/abuse. Finally time to bite the bullet and get something new.

I headed to FatWallet and found a great deal on a Sony Ericsson W810i from Amazon. Only $25, with a $25 rebate. This deal had formerly been reserved for new activations, but they recently changed the promotion, so I was eligble for the discount even though I was technically a current customer.

Then I picked up a Sandisk 4GB Memory Stick (stupid proprietary hardware formats) on sale at Fry's for $90 less a $20 rebate to load up the MP3s for jogging. Then a Jabra BT125 bluetooth headset on sale at Best Buy for $30. It's not the top of the line, but perfectly acceptable for the occasional hands-free call.

So far, I've been pretty impresed with it. Call quality is good and MP3 playback is also nice. The interface isn't as slick as an iPod, but I'm willing to make some sacrifices in the name of one less gadget. The 2MP camera is also decent, although it's really only useful in well-lit environments. There is a small flash but it's range is no more than about 5 feet.

Movies: Snakes on a Plane

Calling this flick a "B-movie" is an insult to B-movies everywhere. I shouldn't be surprised...I mean, what did I expect? The title summarizes the plot from exposition to denouement, everything else in this movie is just details, details, details. I wish I could say that it was at least an entertaining mindless action flick (there's nothing wrong with those) but even that would be stretching it.

Anyone who paid $8/person to see this in the theater, you have my condolences.