World Population Hits 7 Billion

Today, October 31, 2011 our planet reached a world population of 7 billion people.  Some are celebrating, some are worried, and most don’t care or know why this is important.  As the world population grows, our available resources decrease.  Since we are 100% reliant on mass production to meet the growing demands of all the people that need food, one could easily say that oil is a staple in this process as well.  Our dependency on oil, to produce the massive amounts of food around the globe is unthinkable.  If we ran out of oil today, millions of people would starve in a matter of weeks due to inability to grow and harvest the food, as well as transportation of it to all the remote locations across the planet.  It’s a situation that most aren’t aware of, and would have most if not all social and foreign policy advocates cringing at what would be required to tackle this problem. I won’t elaborate, but you can use your imagination as to what would be required to control this issue.  It’s definitely something to think about.

Zero Percent Interest on Startups

This is a reply to this article by Scott Shane

Capital Gains on Startups

It is now 2011, and as Shane said, this policy most likely has tax lawyers drooling at the ability to label every company in the U.S. as a start-up.

Another great point he makes is this.  Do we really want an influx of “likely to fail” start-ups popping up all over the country?  Scott nailed it.  How would that impact the economy if every person blows their life savings on a start-up with the only motive behind their venture is to avoid capital gains tax?

I don’t think I could have said this any better:

“I’m not sure we’d be doing the entrepreneurs themselves any favors either. When governments intervene to encourage the creation of new businesses, they stimulate people to start new companies disproportionately in competitive industries with lower barriers to entry and high rates of failure. And the entrepreneurs who run those businesses typically earn less money and have worse benefits than they would have earned had they remained working for someone else.”

“So perhaps we would be better off letting the market work and not provide extra incentives for people to start businesses.”

Government intervention usually doesn’t work for the greater good for the overall economy, and the bailouts are extreme proof of that alone.

Ordered the Laser Interceptor Generation 8

So 6speedonline.com had a group buy for the Laser Interceptor Generation 8 for $550 and I couldn’t resist. After watching a couple videos, and reading a couple reviews it seems that this equipment is unmatched. I am anxious to get my hands on this to see how well it works. Look for a thorough review of the Laser Interceptor in the next week or so.

Should I buy a house right now?

Well the time has come for my daughter to graduate college and we can’t decide if we want to buy her a small house as an investment, or just put her in a budget apartment until the market turns around. We did find some good advice on the Michael Todd Chrisley report, but it’s not clear cut as to what the state of the economy is right now. In fact, I’m not sure anyone knows where the economy is headed as we move into 2011, especially with Obama having the ability to pass anything he wants through the house. Also, keep in mind that George Bush’s tax cuts end in the coming months. This could cause major problems for small businesses such as mine. It’s a big dilemma because we want her to get a good start in the real world, but we also don’t want to get locked into a poor investment. Do you think it’s a bad time to buy a house in 2010, or wait til 2011?

Michael Todd Chrisley in Howard Park

Michael Todd Chrisley visited Howard Park today in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Hurricane Hermine was no threat, so a bit of snorkeling was in order. Sadly the seaweed was so thick, snorkeling was a bad idea. Michael Todd Chrisley would not recommend making a special trip out to Howard Park if snorkeling is a big part of your plans. Regardless, it was a nice day and a great end to the Labor Day weekend.

Michael Todd Chrisley at first UF Football Game without Tim Tebow

Michael Todd Chrisley paid a visit to University of Florida on September 4, 2010 to show support for sponsors at the University of Florida vs Miami, Ohio football game. Although no affiliation, Michael Todd Chrisley was in favor of Florida. UF finished their first post Time Tebow game of 2010 at home with a final score of 34-12 over Miami. Florida’s offense was terrible, but they lazily managed to squeak out the win. If Florida plays like this again, they could be in store for a rocky season. There didn’t seem to be any leadership from the new quarterback John Brantley, but it wasn’t entirely on his shoulders. The offense played terrible with many dropped balls, fumbles and turnovers. Michael Todd Chrisley probably won’t be making anymore appearances this year if the Gators continue on this type of path.  See the full coverage by ESPN.

Porsche Tuner UWE Gemballa Missing – Update

UWE Gemballa Missing

As of August of 2010, Porsche Tuner UWE Gemballa is still missing in South Africa. Current rumors and speculation are that Gemballa fled to South Africa to avoid investigation by the German Government for tax issues. Other rumors are that UWE Gemballa was being held for ransom for $1 million dollars. Allegedly his wife Christiane sought reward. Opposite of that, rumor has it that she wired $1 million to South Africa. The only facts we do have, are as follows.

Gemballa was closed in February 2010. The company was liquidated and Gemball cars were seized by German authorities.

Gemballa earned €16.2m in 2007, and €8m in 2009.  With the recession looming, collapse was on the horizon. By January 2010, Uwe decided to seek out investors in Dubai and South Africa.

On February 8th, Uwe arrived in Johannesburg for a two-day business trip. On the evening of February 9th, Uwe called his son and told him he had an accident and desperately needed one million dollars. It was the last time UWE Gemballa was heard from.

UWE Gemballa’s wife filed for power of attorney and plans to reopen are a done deal.  She initiated a bankruptcy filing which seemed to be the end of the Gemballa tuning brand, but it has been announced two men have purchased the rights to the Gemballa name along with some of the company’s assets. Andreas Swartz has been announced as the new CEO of Gemballa, backed by investor Steffen Korbach.

Still no news on UWE Gemballa.  At this point speculation is that UWE Gemballa is dead.  Nothing official has been announced.

997 GT2 Porsche Gears in 996 Turbo

Thanks to Stan at Gbox, we now have taller 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gear in the transmission in our 996 Turbo. The Getrag official Porsche gears were used in the build. The gear ratios have been changed dramatically, giving 1st gear the ability to finally go over 40mph opposed to the dreaded 20 or so mph from the factory. Michael Todd Chrisley is pleased to say that Gbox does wonderful work.

Michael Todd Chrisley to the batting cages

Today we are taking little Michael Todd Chrisley junior to the the batting cage. Wow, it’s been almost 10+ years since I’ve swung at a baseball. I remember the first time I went to the batting cage, and how nervous I was about that ball catching a drift and pegging me in the face. Hopefully we can ensure he doesn’t have that same fear I had as a young lad.

Ultimate Motorwerks Turbos Review

Ultimate Motorwerks Turbos are a piece of work. Kevin at Ultimate Motorwerks built us the Stage 2b Zero Clearance Turbos and we couldn’t be happier. The car feels like a matchbox toy being pushed around by a 400lb linebacker now. Utterly astonishing. Kevin is truly a genius when it comes to the Porsche 911 Turbo cars. We have a 996 Turbo fitted with all of Kevin’s bits and pieces and it’s a thing of beauty.