[Hatfield]

Law School: No Information Available

Is that what they’re calling Cal Western these days?

[Hatfield]

Law School: No Information Available

Is that what they’re calling Cal Western these days?

[Hatfield]

Law School: No Information Available

Is that what they’re calling Cal Western these days?

[Hatfield]

I agree with drunkle, ignore the steel vs. aluminum nonsense, and don’t bother screwing around with electric motors and the like. I also recommend against getting a mountain bike unless you’re actually going to do some trail riding.

I went through this about 2 years ago, and I decided on a Giant FCR-3. This is a pretty decent commuter/hybrid bike. It has a fairly upright posture so it’s comfortable to ride, it’s fairly light, and it’s fairly fast. I actually did the Tour de Palm Springs (100 miles) on mine in 2008. It’s a very decent bike for the money.

Add a rack and a bag in the back, and you’re set to go. I paid a little over $300 for mine at Bicycle Warehouse. I did look at the Treks, but bang-for-your-buck, it’s pretty hard to beat Giant. I do recommend that you get some bar ends, as the straight bar gives you pretty limited hand positions which gets tiring on long rides. Also, be sure to invest in a good helmet, lights, bell, etc.

I’ve since purchased a Specialized carbon-frame road bike that I use for longer rides, but I still ride my Giant FCR-3 all the tine. It’s great for anything up to about 40 miles.

[Hatfield]

I agree with drunkle, ignore the steel vs. aluminum nonsense, and don’t bother screwing around with electric motors and the like. I also recommend against getting a mountain bike unless you’re actually going to do some trail riding.

I went through this about 2 years ago, and I decided on a Giant FCR-3. This is a pretty decent commuter/hybrid bike. It has a fairly upright posture so it’s comfortable to ride, it’s fairly light, and it’s fairly fast. I actually did the Tour de Palm Springs (100 miles) on mine in 2008. It’s a very decent bike for the money.

Add a rack and a bag in the back, and you’re set to go. I paid a little over $300 for mine at Bicycle Warehouse. I did look at the Treks, but bang-for-your-buck, it’s pretty hard to beat Giant. I do recommend that you get some bar ends, as the straight bar gives you pretty limited hand positions which gets tiring on long rides. Also, be sure to invest in a good helmet, lights, bell, etc.

I’ve since purchased a Specialized carbon-frame road bike that I use for longer rides, but I still ride my Giant FCR-3 all the tine. It’s great for anything up to about 40 miles.

[Hatfield]

I agree with drunkle, ignore the steel vs. aluminum nonsense, and don’t bother screwing around with electric motors and the like. I also recommend against getting a mountain bike unless you’re actually going to do some trail riding.

I went through this about 2 years ago, and I decided on a Giant FCR-3. This is a pretty decent commuter/hybrid bike. It has a fairly upright posture so it’s comfortable to ride, it’s fairly light, and it’s fairly fast. I actually did the Tour de Palm Springs (100 miles) on mine in 2008. It’s a very decent bike for the money.

Add a rack and a bag in the back, and you’re set to go. I paid a little over $300 for mine at Bicycle Warehouse. I did look at the Treks, but bang-for-your-buck, it’s pretty hard to beat Giant. I do recommend that you get some bar ends, as the straight bar gives you pretty limited hand positions which gets tiring on long rides. Also, be sure to invest in a good helmet, lights, bell, etc.

I’ve since purchased a Specialized carbon-frame road bike that I use for longer rides, but I still ride my Giant FCR-3 all the tine. It’s great for anything up to about 40 miles.

[Hatfield]

I agree with drunkle, ignore the steel vs. aluminum nonsense, and don’t bother screwing around with electric motors and the like. I also recommend against getting a mountain bike unless you’re actually going to do some trail riding.

I went through this about 2 years ago, and I decided on a Giant FCR-3. This is a pretty decent commuter/hybrid bike. It has a fairly upright posture so it’s comfortable to ride, it’s fairly light, and it’s fairly fast. I actually did the Tour de Palm Springs (100 miles) on mine in 2008. It’s a very decent bike for the money.

Add a rack and a bag in the back, and you’re set to go. I paid a little over $300 for mine at Bicycle Warehouse. I did look at the Treks, but bang-for-your-buck, it’s pretty hard to beat Giant. I do recommend that you get some bar ends, as the straight bar gives you pretty limited hand positions which gets tiring on long rides. Also, be sure to invest in a good helmet, lights, bell, etc.

I’ve since purchased a Specialized carbon-frame road bike that I use for longer rides, but I still ride my Giant FCR-3 all the tine. It’s great for anything up to about 40 miles.

[Hatfield]

I agree with drunkle, ignore the steel vs. aluminum nonsense, and don’t bother screwing around with electric motors and the like. I also recommend against getting a mountain bike unless you’re actually going to do some trail riding.

I went through this about 2 years ago, and I decided on a Giant FCR-3. This is a pretty decent commuter/hybrid bike. It has a fairly upright posture so it’s comfortable to ride, it’s fairly light, and it’s fairly fast. I actually did the Tour de Palm Springs (100 miles) on mine in 2008. It’s a very decent bike for the money.

Add a rack and a bag in the back, and you’re set to go. I paid a little over $300 for mine at Bicycle Warehouse. I did look at the Treks, but bang-for-your-buck, it’s pretty hard to beat Giant. I do recommend that you get some bar ends, as the straight bar gives you pretty limited hand positions which gets tiring on long rides. Also, be sure to invest in a good helmet, lights, bell, etc.

I’ve since purchased a Specialized carbon-frame road bike that I use for longer rides, but I still ride my Giant FCR-3 all the tine. It’s great for anything up to about 40 miles.

[Hatfield]

I agree, it seems like a good idea to hold some amount of gold in a form you can touch. Last time I checked (back in October) the big problem with coins was that due to the 1 oz coin shortage the coin dealers were all charging hefty premiums. This wasn’t an issue with kilobars, only with coins. You couldn’t even get Gold Eagles or Krugerrands, but Maple Leafs were still available. I’ve never owned a kilobar so I’m not too familiar with them. I don’t know how liquid they really are. That, and of course you need to have ~ $24k loose that you can drop in one shot. At the time I checked, the primary attraction of the kilobar is that the premium was 2%. Otherwise, if the premiums are the same which is ordinarily the case, coins are obviously the way to go.

BTW, as noted previously, Cellar Coin on Garnet is a great shop, as is SD Coin on Clairemont Mesa.

[Hatfield]

I agree, it seems like a good idea to hold some amount of gold in a form you can touch. Last time I checked (back in October) the big problem with coins was that due to the 1 oz coin shortage the coin dealers were all charging hefty premiums. This wasn’t an issue with kilobars, only with coins. You couldn’t even get Gold Eagles or Krugerrands, but Maple Leafs were still available. I’ve never owned a kilobar so I’m not too familiar with them. I don’t know how liquid they really are. That, and of course you need to have ~ $24k loose that you can drop in one shot. At the time I checked, the primary attraction of the kilobar is that the premium was 2%. Otherwise, if the premiums are the same which is ordinarily the case, coins are obviously the way to go.

BTW, as noted previously, Cellar Coin on Garnet is a great shop, as is SD Coin on Clairemont Mesa.

[Hatfield]

I agree, it seems like a good idea to hold some amount of gold in a form you can touch. Last time I checked (back in October) the big problem with coins was that due to the 1 oz coin shortage the coin dealers were all charging hefty premiums. This wasn’t an issue with kilobars, only with coins. You couldn’t even get Gold Eagles or Krugerrands, but Maple Leafs were still available. I’ve never owned a kilobar so I’m not too familiar with them. I don’t know how liquid they really are. That, and of course you need to have ~ $24k loose that you can drop in one shot. At the time I checked, the primary attraction of the kilobar is that the premium was 2%. Otherwise, if the premiums are the same which is ordinarily the case, coins are obviously the way to go.

BTW, as noted previously, Cellar Coin on Garnet is a great shop, as is SD Coin on Clairemont Mesa.

[Hatfield]

I agree, it seems like a good idea to hold some amount of gold in a form you can touch. Last time I checked (back in October) the big problem with coins was that due to the 1 oz coin shortage the coin dealers were all charging hefty premiums. This wasn’t an issue with kilobars, only with coins. You couldn’t even get Gold Eagles or Krugerrands, but Maple Leafs were still available. I’ve never owned a kilobar so I’m not too familiar with them. I don’t know how liquid they really are. That, and of course you need to have ~ $24k loose that you can drop in one shot. At the time I checked, the primary attraction of the kilobar is that the premium was 2%. Otherwise, if the premiums are the same which is ordinarily the case, coins are obviously the way to go.

BTW, as noted previously, Cellar Coin on Garnet is a great shop, as is SD Coin on Clairemont Mesa.

[Hatfield]

I agree, it seems like a good idea to hold some amount of gold in a form you can touch. Last time I checked (back in October) the big problem with coins was that due to the 1 oz coin shortage the coin dealers were all charging hefty premiums. This wasn’t an issue with kilobars, only with coins. You couldn’t even get Gold Eagles or Krugerrands, but Maple Leafs were still available. I’ve never owned a kilobar so I’m not too familiar with them. I don’t know how liquid they really are. That, and of course you need to have ~ $24k loose that you can drop in one shot. At the time I checked, the primary attraction of the kilobar is that the premium was 2%. Otherwise, if the premiums are the same which is ordinarily the case, coins are obviously the way to go.

BTW, as noted previously, Cellar Coin on Garnet is a great shop, as is SD Coin on Clairemont Mesa.

[Hatfield]

I worked at the Q for about 10 years, and here are my insights FWIW:

1. Through my grapevine I heard that the Portland office was closing. This was announced internally last week.

2) I have not heard anything about a massive layoff. That doesn’t mean it is or isn’t going to happen. In the old days, before the company divisionalized, news from one division traveled a lot faster to other divions, because managers typically had direct reports working in other divisions. When the company was split up into divisions many years ago, that ended this cross-pollination and news travels a lot slower now. So if you have a friend who’s a VP in Division X, there’s a pretty good chance he has no idea what’s about to happen in Division Y until it actually happens.

3) As someone already noted, Qualcomm is like any other company in that, in tough times they need to control costs just like anyone else. The vast majority of QCOM’s revenue is driven by handset sales, and handset turnover time has increased greatly in the past year. With the iPhone (not a Qualcomm product) being a notable exception, people are waiting longer and longer to replace aging handsets. As the economy continues to worsen, these upgrade cycles are going to continue to lengthen.

4) QCOM’s days of explosive growth have been over for a long time. The company has matured into a solid performer with strong revenue, but they are now selling into a fairly saturated market, and they have more adversaries than allies, especially in Europe. I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if European regulatory agencies managed to lock QCOM out of Euro 4G standards, similar to what happened in 2G with IS-95 CDMA essentially being outlawed in Europe in favor of GSM.

I’ve had doubts about their earnings growth potential for a long time. They’re pretty much in turn-the-crank-and-collect-the-royalties mode, but I don’t see what their next act will be when this gravy train eventually grinds to a halt.

[Hatfield]

I worked at the Q for about 10 years, and here are my insights FWIW:

1. Through my grapevine I heard that the Portland office was closing. This was announced internally last week.

2) I have not heard anything about a massive layoff. That doesn’t mean it is or isn’t going to happen. In the old days, before the company divisionalized, news from one division traveled a lot faster to other divions, because managers typically had direct reports working in other divisions. When the company was split up into divisions many years ago, that ended this cross-pollination and news travels a lot slower now. So if you have a friend who’s a VP in Division X, there’s a pretty good chance he has no idea what’s about to happen in Division Y until it actually happens.

3) As someone already noted, Qualcomm is like any other company in that, in tough times they need to control costs just like anyone else. The vast majority of QCOM’s revenue is driven by handset sales, and handset turnover time has increased greatly in the past year. With the iPhone (not a Qualcomm product) being a notable exception, people are waiting longer and longer to replace aging handsets. As the economy continues to worsen, these upgrade cycles are going to continue to lengthen.

4) QCOM’s days of explosive growth have been over for a long time. The company has matured into a solid performer with strong revenue, but they are now selling into a fairly saturated market, and they have more adversaries than allies, especially in Europe. I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if European regulatory agencies managed to lock QCOM out of Euro 4G standards, similar to what happened in 2G with IS-95 CDMA essentially being outlawed in Europe in favor of GSM.

I’ve had doubts about their earnings growth potential for a long time. They’re pretty much in turn-the-crank-and-collect-the-royalties mode, but I don’t see what their next act will be when this gravy train eventually grinds to a halt.

[Author]

Posts