A writer's interpretation of the modern world.

It’s official. NPR announced this morning that the United States is in economic recovery. Congratulations in order? Well, I would hold off a bit on popping open the champagne. The rest of us are still a little skeptical. Where are the jobs? And more importantly, why are our account balances still edging dangerously toward financial oblivion?

The truth is, no one’s escaped it and no one will for at least a few more months. If it’s not a personal issue, it’s certainly a social issue. And despite the signs of economy’s recovery, the rest of us are still going to have to ride the wave of financial hell– at least for a little while longer.

Symptoms of the “20-Something-Year-Old”

Recent college-graduate

Masters/PHP candidate

Taking time off from school

Unemployed or on furlough

Aggressively job hunting

Unmarried

Decrease in luxury items (paying rent on time, etc)

Increase in student loan interest rates

Increase in car insurance premiums

Packed lunches

Good use of “overdraft protection”

Minimum payments on maxed out credit cards

Parental funds depleted

Increase of “me” time

A general reduction in happiness

Let’s face it. There is no stress like financial stress. If you fit the profile, here are a few tips to keep both your sanity and checkbook balanced.

1. Relocate
If you live in Michigan, Rhode Island, California (like me), South Carolina, Oregon, Washington D.C. or Nevada — you’ve got it rough and deserve an applause for surviving this long on your own.

2. Find a Roommate
This is a no brainer. Shared rent, shared utilities, shared groceries… it’s really the best thing you can do outside of getting hitched. And to be honest, if you find a good one — it’s one of the best financial decisions you could make. Free entertainment, free therapy and overall increased enjoyment. The roommate will also come in very handy for the other tips…

3. Acquire a Netflix Account ( Cost: < $10/mo)
The Internet is a necessary evil, but cable television is not. Besides 24 Hour Fitness, cable television is really the biggest cash-cow around. And with the “Watch Instantly” feature, who the hell needs it? Just stream your favorite TV shows and watch them whenever you want to. Unlimited enjoyment at a very low cost.

4. Buy an xBox 360 Console (Minimum Cost: < $100 High Cost: $300 + $7.99/mo)
If you’re generating any income, get yourself an xBox 360 console, xBox Live and some games. If you’ve got a roommate invest in an additional controller.

Forget the clubs. Forget the movies. Forget everything that isn’t free. Nothing else matters. Just save the world from zombie mutants and pound the living daylights out of banshees into the wee hours of the night. You can even buy clothes and accessories for your avatar. You might think it’d get old after a while. It doesn’t.

Hint: If you’ve got an xBox, xBox Live and a Netflix account, you can even stream movies and TV shows through to your TV.

(My gamertag is “sailawaykid” if you’re ever looking for friends. )

5. Play Monopoly (Cost: < $15)
Totally broke? What better way to spend 4 hours on a Saturday afternoon than to play a game pretending to have thousands of dollars to invest in real estate.

Warning: It does make losing just that much harder. Just take solace in knowing that it’s Monopoly for you, but for someone else… man, it’s real.

6. Read Books
Just kidding. Maybe comic books though. They’re only a few bucks a pop and are real pretty to look at. I recommend X-Men, Danger Girl, Teen Titans and Sandman. I’m still investigating.

7. Wear Seat Belts (Cost: ~$5-10/box)
Okay let’s be honest…this is the best past time of them all.

But you’re barely able to pay your own way through. So keep the spawn at bay, at least until you can answer a 1-800 phone call without using a fake foreign accent.

Hang in there!

-Lex

…then you’re gonna LOVE this.

Truth be told, I am a Zachary Quinto fan. Did you know he produces comics, too?

-Lex

“I find it disturbing that we all collectively determine the future. It would be better left in my hands alone.” – Me

New Venture Capital firm, opening its gates.

http://blog.pmarca.com/2009/07/introducing-our-new-venture-capital-firm-andreessen-horowitz.html

-Lex

I can think of better ways to spend 4 hours.

Lesson Learned: Make $0/yr.

-Lex

Today is not Friday from Lex White on Vimeo.

Lesson Learned: Look at the calendar before you think today is a good day.

-Lex

This past week did not go according to plan. Rather than overseeing a few special projects in the office and hovering over developers ’til the wee hours of the night, my company sent me out to Las Vegas for a few days to attend the AT&T Development Conference and do some networking at the CTIA 2009 Wireless Convention. Translation: I had to oversee a few special projects and hover over developers remotely via e-mails and by hassling the executive assistant while traveling, taking notes, collecting business cards and smiling at CEOs and CTOs from Corporate Giant #1, #2 and #3. That said, rather enjoyable. Rather informative. And definitely a wake-up call.

The future we read about as children with paper-thin LCD screen tablets, video phone watches, voice, eye and finger-print recognition home security systems, electronic high-fashion and flying cars is literally around the corner. Wait, make that knocking at the front door. And by that, I mean these things are already on the market, just at a price Joe Schmoe can’t afford yet. Okay, perhaps I’m overstepping a bit with the flying cars but I stand firm about the Versache watches with WiFi, 3g and 2-way video capabilities on the for sale rack. Technology has finally pushed its way into high-fashion. And thank God, too, because at least now our geeky little gadgets are gonna look real pretty. I suppose credit goes first to Apple for making geeky look sexy.

Now that’s the fun part but there’s also something dark brewing (pun intended) amidst us, something big. It’s a new war, a new sort of revolution that will undeniably affect us all in a major way. There won’t be guns, but there will be bankruptcies, buyouts and dare I say, corporate espionage. We all know the different mobile platforms, OTA networks, and operating systems; Windows Mobile, iPhone, RIM, BREW, J2ME, Symbian, UIQ (R.I.P.), GSM, CDMA, etc. And, likewise, we all know the agony they pose to software development companies, manufacturers and mobile carriers. The development costs, support and porting are enough to put even the largest company under in this tight economy in a millisecond. Many have already fallen. The truth is, companies that aren’t taking a stand choosing some over the others are dropping left and right.

There is only one natural conclusion, platform unification, at least in terms of software development. But that means large contracts, agreements, partnerships and putting the largest egos in the industry aside. It also means the reduction of anticipated profits and potentially a reduction in competition, inherently meaning a reduction in quality. Who’s to say; the market changes every week. Who knew Apple and Google would be the ones to change the face of mobile forever?

The most note-worthy contenders stepping up to address the mobile platform unification (MPU) challenge are Yahoo!’s BluePrint, Sony Ericsson’s Capuchin and AT&Ts new partners BONDI and ONE-API. Anyone catch the irony in having multiple MPUs? And no, it won’t stop here. It won’t stop next year either. There will be other contenders entering the arena and there will be blood.

Eventually, someone will win or we’ll all lose.

Frightening. Exciting. Amusing.

Just don’t be fooled by the glitz and glamour of it all. As high and glistening as the tides of the future of technology are, there is always the wrath of the undercurrent to follow. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

-Lex

P.S. – I forgot to mention Vegas nightlife. Coming soon…!

Dear Future Offended Friend,

I write this letter as an advanced apology for offending you. I know it is bound to happen at some point or another, so I have decided to just get this over with right now. If you come to me angry, offended, hurt or torn I am simply going to send you the link to this post.

You see, I am a writer. That means I have free rein to write about what I want, who I want and when I want. And if I know you, happened to be born into your family, was raised by you, worked with you, fought with you, had a class with you, was taught by you, slept with you or even just saw you across the street minding your own business, your likeness is mine. If you find this to be an issue, I strongly recommend you never meet me or never let me see you across the street pumping your gas or getting coffee. That also means you must make absolutely sure not to stand out in any way humanly possible. And I realize this may be hard to do since I know so many people, am very observant and travel so often from here to there. But believe me it’s a harder task for me not to write! (See paragraph two, “…I am a writer…”)

I will not be fair when I write about you. I will be honest. If I hate(d) you, I will say so. If I loved you, I will also say so. If I thought you were a hack, a goddess, a tyrant, a gentlemen, boring, brilliant, pathetic, a man when you were really a woman, a woman when you were really a man, ugly, beautiful, a liar, wealthy, disgusting, good at Checkers, spoiled, brought up right, bad at sex, etc I am going to tell it like I see it.

If you’re afraid I’m going to tell the world horrible things about you, you’ve got (or had, depending on when you’re reading this) two choices:

1. Steer clear and be as ordinary as possible. But not too ordinary or you’ll really stand out!
2. Don’t be a horrible person. (If you’re related to me, this is your only option.)

I do hope you can find it within yourself to accept my apology in advance. And if you don’t, I’ll be sure to write about it. I’ll even leave the door open for you to write about me as well.

Kind Regards,
Lex White

Most people I know love Friday mornings.  It represents the 12 hour countdown to the weekend.  5, 4, 3, 2, 1 hour ’til party time, hard drinks and bright shiny lights.  People dig it.  I dread it.  Friday mornings mean 1 major decision I have to make every week.  That’s 4 times a month and 52 times a year.  And it’s no fleeting decision. It’s a decision I’ll have to live with for the subsequent 2-4 days.  It’s serious. 

What jeans am I going to wear?

Okay I know what you’re thinking.  But It’s not as easy as it seems because I’m not like everyone else.  I change my jeans twice a week max despite the fact that  I have 12-15 pairs of jeans at my disposal.  And trust me, 12 jeans is a feat for me.  I had 42 pairs at one point.  I eventually had to get rid of them because Friday mornings were just causing me too much anxiety.

It’s a ritual really.  You’ve got to change belts, file receipts, put away change, empty the miscellaneous “garbage” that never actually makes it to the trash can and just sits on your dresser and then you have to decide to hang the damn things back up or throw them in the hamper.  And even once that’s done you’ve still got to appoint the chosen pair of the new week, apply the belt, fill up the pockets and hope to God the jeans match with the shirts you randomly pull from the closet the rest of the week/end.  

So maybe you don’t think my choice is as tough as Sophie’s, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t.
-Lex

A few weeks ago I heard a legend about the Kogi Truck, a Korean BBQ Taco Truck, that travels all around Los Angeles.  To find the Kogi Truck you have to go to their website (http://kogibbq.com/) or their Twitter (http://twitter.com/kogibbq).  They announce their schedule 1 week in advance. 

Luckily for me, they happened to be stopping around the corner from my office.  So needless to say I took a detour and my new Flip MinoHD.  (Just take a look at the quality…!)  In line I met Linda, who drove all the way from Anchorage to Los Angeles to get a taste of these famous tacos.

Driving from Anchorage, Alaska for the Kogi Truck from Lex White on Vimeo.

Was it worth it?  Yes.

-Lex