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March 8th, 2010

Why Marrying 4 money is never a good idea

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Written by Barak Paztal
Topics: General
 

Jesper sent me this funny post and I wanted to share it with you…

THIS APPEARED ON CRAIG’S LIST

What am I doing wrong?

Okay, I’m tired of beating around the bush. I’m a beautiful (spectacularly beautiful) 25 year old girl. I’m articulate and classy.
I’m not from New York . I’m looking to get married to a guy who makes at least half a million a year. I know how that sounds, but keep in mind that a million a year is middle class in New York City, so I don’t think I’m overreaching at all.

Are there any guys who make 500K or more on this board? Any wives? Could you send me some tips? I dated a business man who makes average around 200 – 250. But that’s where I seem to hit a roadblock. 250,000 won’t get me to central park west. I know a woman in my yoga class who was married to an investment banker and lives in Tribeca, and she’s not as pretty as I am, nor is she a great genius. So what is she doing right? How do I get to her level?

Here are my questions specifically:

- Where do you single rich men hang out? Give me specifics- bars, restaurants, gyms

-What are you looking for in a mate? Be honest guys, you won’t hurt my feelings

-Is there an age range I should be targeting (I’m 25)?

- Why are some of the women living lavish lifestyles on the upper east side so plain? I’ve seen really ‘plain jane’ boring types who have nothing to offer married to incredibly wealthy guys. I’ve seen drop dead gorgeous girls in singles bars in the east village. What’s the story there?

- Jobs I should look out for? Everyone knows – lawyer, investment banker, doctor. How much do those guys really make? And where do they hang out? Where do the hedge fund guys hang out?

- How you decide marriage vs. just a girlfriend? I am looking for MARRIAGE ONLY

Please hold your insults – I’m putting myself out there in an honest way. Most beautiful women are superficial; at least I’m being up front about it. I wouldn’t be searching for these kind of guys if I wasn’t able to match them – in looks, culture, sophistication, and keeping a nice home and hearth.

it’s NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
PostingID: 432279810

THE ANSWER
Dear Pers-431649184:

I read your posting with great interest and have thought meaningfully about your dilemma. I offer the following analysis of your predicament.
Firstly, I’m not wasting your time, I qualify as a guy who fits your bill; that is I make more than $500K per year. That said here’s how I see it.

Your offer, from the prospective of a guy like me, is plain and simple a crappy business deal. Here’s why. Cutting through all the B.S., what you suggest is a simple trade: you bring your looks to the party and I bring my money. Fine, simple. But here’s the rub, your looks will fade and my money will likely continue into perpetuity…in fact, it is very likely that my income increases but it is an absolute certainty that you won’t be getting any more beautiful!

So, in economic terms you are a depreciating asset and I am an earning asset. Not only are you a depreciating asset, your depreciation accelerates! Let me explain, you’re 25 now and will likely stay pretty hot for the next 5 years, but less so each year. Then the fade begins in earnest. By 35 stick a fork in you!

So in Wall Street terms, we would call you a trading position, not a buy and hold…hence the rub…marriage. It doesn’t make good business sense to “buy you” (which is what you’re asking) so I’d rather lease. In case you think I’m being cruel, I would say the following. If my money were to go away, so would you, so when your beauty fades I need an out. It’s as simple as that. So a deal that makes sense is dating, not marriage.

Separately, I was taught early in my career about efficient markets. So, I wonder why a girl as “articulate, classy and spectacularly beautiful”
as you has been unable to find your sugar daddy. I find it hard to believe that if you are as gorgeous as you say you are that the $500K hasn’t found you, if not only for a tryout.

By the way, you could always find a way to make your own money and then we wouldn’t need to have this difficult conversation.

With all that said, I must say you’re going about it the right way.
Classic “pump and dump.”
I hope this is helpful, and if you want to enter into some sort of lease, let me know.

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December 6th, 2009

Amit 2nd Birthday in Gan Shaked

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Written by Barak Paztal
Topics: Family
 

On Friday, November 27 we have celebrated Amit birthday in Gan Shaked in Givatayim. It was 10 weeks after Amit actual birthday. it is never to late to celebrate…

Here is the edited video from Mac editing software – Amit watches it at least 5 times a day and is not getting bored…

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November 23rd, 2009

Russian president – The damage from Road accidents to global economy – 500B$

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Written by Barak Paztal
Topics: Road Safety
 

Yesterday I read in The Marker that President Medvedev attended the world summit about road accidents and claimed that Road accidents damage to the global economy is estimated at 500 billion dollar per year (1% of the world GDP) with an estimated death rate of 3,500 people per day… I will be very happy to see this become a global trend as dealing with the environment.

Here is the original content published in The Moscow Times:

”

President Dmitry Medvedev called on the international community Thursday to rally around the problem of road safety and treat it with the same urgency as they have the global financial crisis.

“It is no less dramatic for our planet than the consequences of the world’s recession or food supply security,” Medvedev said while opening the First Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety.

The annual damage to the global economy is $500 billion, he said.

In July, Medvedev criticized the country’s road safety record, calling the situation “monstrous” after a series of fatal bus and car crashes left dozens dead. He held a special meeting on road safety Aug. 31, giving a number of orders to ministries and agencies.

“The situation in our country remains very serious. Last year, about 30,000 people died on Russian roads,” Medvedev said Thursday.

The government wants to decrease casualties on the road by 33 percent by 2012, compared with 2004 levels, when about 35,000 died, he said.

There have been roughly 168,000 car accidents in Russia this year, killing more than 21,000 people and injuring 212,500, according to Kremlin data.

About 1,500 delegates from 150 countries gathered for the conference, which had preliminary meetings Wednesday and continues Friday. Participants say the economic and human costs of road deaths often exceed those of war and disease.

The World Bank estimates that 12 people die in car accidents every minute.

Russia first proposed hosting the high-level meeting during a March 2008 United Nations meeting.

In addition to Medvedev, a number of senior Russian officials attended.

Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev said his ministry was reinforcing measures against drunk drivers and high speed on the roads.

Speaking a day earlier, Colonel General Viktor Kiryanov, head of the traffic police, told delegates that the number of road deaths had been decreasing since 2004 but that problems remain.

In particular, corruption still exists on Russian roads, he said, calling on drivers to avoid giving bribes. “Don’t give them. And don’t break rules, then we won’t have these conflicts,” he said.”

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November 19th, 2009

What is the unemployment rate in the US?

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Written by Barak Paztal
Topics: Jobs, USA
 

New York Times created a cool calculator to see unemployment rate in the US based on Demographics.

It is quite clear that the lower the education level and the age – the unemployment rate goes up…

I would wish I had the same calculator in other countries as well

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November 9th, 2009

The HISTORY of books made of PAPER

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Written by Barak Paztal
Topics: General
 

web

10 years ago, I purchased my first Digital Camera. It was big and expensive – around 900$, the quality was poor and the storage was up to 2MB… I even purchased another storage card that was up to 20 MB and cost me a similar price as the camera… Back then, People were quite conservative about the new device. Many claimed that it will remain a niche market and will never evolve. Today it is the market standard and the old film cameras became the niche market… This was only 10 years ago!

3 weeks ago, I bought my first sony e-book reader. It looks a bit clumsy and remind me a lot of the camera I purchased 10 years ago… It is no where as sexy as my IPhone… BUT and this a big BUT. I am sure this is the future of books.

My first reading experience was to read a GREAT book about doing BUSINESS IN CHINA,  written by a good friend from Beijing, SAM GOODMAN, a writer of this BLOG that wrote the book when East eats West. Sam sent me his draft book about a year ago, and I am sorry to tell that reading a PDF format on my laptop is not enjoyable at all, so I delayed reading the book. BUT now I had the pleasure to read his book on my new reader and it was an awesome experience! Why you might ask? Well here are my top 6 reasons:

1. ELECTRONIC INK – The fear I had when I purchased this new GADGET was will it be as good as the good old paper book, Since PDF books on computers have the annoying tendency to generate fatigue. This was totally not the case with the reader. Due to the fact that the E-INK is very clear and looks much like a book. You can actually read FASTER than a regular book with no fatigue what so ever.

web-1

2. WEIGHT & SIZE- It is by far lighter than 99% of the books and it can hold up to 1,500 books! No more 10KG in books in my next trip to Thailand. It is even easier to read since you don’t feel like you are in a GYM when you are reading the new 1,000+ biography of WARREN BUFFET…

3. FONT SIZE – Assuming the book was written in English you can read it in big fonts (3 different size). This advantage will become even more handy in 10 years when my eyes will need glasses to read from close glance.

4. PRICE – Assuming that you want to PAY for books, you can purchase most books in a discount that is 40-60 percent cheaper than a physical book. If you DON’T want to PAY… Well then the price drops in 100%…

5. GO GREEN – Of course you support the environment when you read E-BOOKS and the trees can stay where they are.

6. ACCESSIBILITY – Anxious to read the new Dan Brown book, and don’t want to wait for the translation, or for AMAZON to ship it in 21 days, just download in less than 60 Seconds, and you can read it immediately.

I am certain that this reader is just a kick start and within 10 years, we will laugh at the fact that we used to read Physical books, just like MP3 and Digital cameras…

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November 8th, 2009

5 Tips that will make your presentation shine like Steve Jobs

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Written by Barak Paztal
Topics: Blogging Tips, Entrepreneurs
 

Steve Jobs

“ Recently I met several entrepreneurs that presented their new business ideas to me.

“Sometimes I was puzzled by the amount of slides and text on each slide, and then I have stumbled upon this column. it is about a new book about presenting like Steve Jobs. Jobs is one of the most Charismatic speakers out there today. So I thought why not share it with you… In this link we can see many tips demonstrated in pictures from Steve Jobs events.

“The Apple music event of Sept. 9, 2009, marked the return of the world’s greatest corporate storyteller. For more than three decades, Apple (AAPL) co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs has raised product launches to an art form. In my new book, The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience, I reveal the techniques that Jobs uses to create and deliver mind-blowing keynote presentations.

Steve Jobs does not sell computers; he sells an experience. The same holds true for his presentations that are meant to inform, educate, and entertain. An Apple presentation has all the elements of a great theatrical production—a great script, heroes and villains, stage props, breathtaking visuals, and one moment that makes the price of admission well worth it. Here are the five elements of every Steve Jobs presentation. Incorporate these elements into your own presentations to sell your product or ideas the Steve Jobs way.

1. A headline. Steve Jobs positions every product with a headline that fits well within a 140-character Twitter post. For example, Jobs described the MacBook Air as “the world’s thinnest notebook.” That phrase appeared on his presentation slides, the Apple Web site, and Apple’s press releases at the same time. What is the one thing you want people to know about your product? This headline must be consistent in all of your marketing and presentation material.

2. A villain. In every classic story, the hero fights the villain. In 1984, the villain, according to Apple, was IBM (IBM). Before Jobs introduced the famous 1984 television ad to the Apple sales team for the first time, he told a story of how IBM was bent on dominating the computer industry. “IBM wants it all and is aiming its guns on its last obstacle to industry control: Apple.” Today, the “villain” in Apple’s narrative is played by Microsoft (MSFT). One can argue that the popular “I’m a Mac” television ads are hero/villain vignettes. This idea of conquering a shared enemy is a powerful motivator and turns customers into evangelists.

3. A simple slide. Apple products are easy to use because of the elimination of clutter. The same approach applies to the slides in a Steve Jobs presentation. They are strikingly simple, visual, and yes, devoid of bullet points. Pictures are dominant. When Jobs introduced the MacBook Air, no words could replace a photo of a hand pulling the notebook computer out of an interoffice manila envelope. Think about it this way—the average PowerPoint slide has 40 words. In some presentations, Steve Jobs has a total of seven words in 10 slides. And why are you cluttering up your slides with too many words?

4. A demo. Neuroscientists have discovered that the brain gets bored easily. Steve Jobs doesn’t give you time to lose interest. Ten minutes into a presentation he’s often demonstrating a new product or feature and having fun doing it. When he introduced the iPhone at Macworld 2007, Jobs demonstrated how Google Maps (GOOG) worked on the device. He pulled up a list of Starbucks (SBUX) stores in the local area and said, “Let’s call one.” When someone answered, Jobs said: “I’d like to order 4,000 lattes to go, please. No, just kidding.”

5. A holy smokes moment. Every Steve Jobs presentation has one moment that neuroscientists call an “emotionally charged event.” The emotionally charged event is the equivalent of a mental post-it note that tells the brain, Remember this! For example, at Macworld 2007, Jobs could have opened the presentation by telling the audience that Apple was unveiling a new mobile phone that also played music, games, and video. Instead he built up the drama. “Today, we are introducing three revolutionary products. The first one is a widescreen iPod with touch controls. The second is a revolutionary mobile phone. And the third is a breakthrough Internet communications device…an iPod, a phone, an Internet communicator…an iPod, a phone, are you getting it? These are not three devices. This is one device!” The audience erupted in cheers because it was so unexpected, and very entertaining. By the way, the holy smokes moment on Sept. 9 had nothing to do with a product. It was Steve Jobs himself appearing onstage for the first time after undergoing a liver transplant.

One more thing…sell dreams. Charismatic speakers like Steve Jobs are driven by a nearly messianic zeal to create new experiences. When he launched the iPod in 2001, Jobs said, “In our own small way we’re going to make the world a better place.” Where most people saw the iPod as a music player, Jobs recognized its potential as a tool to enrich people’s lives. Cultivate a sense of mission. Passion, emotion, and enthusiasm are grossly underestimated ingredients in professional business communications, and yet, passion and emotion will motivate others. Steve Jobs once said that his goal was not to die the richest man in the cemetery. It was to go to bed at night thinking that he and his team had done something wonderful. Do something wonderful. Make your brand stand for something meaningful.

For more of Job’s techniques, flip through this slide show. Then catch a video interview with Carmine Gallo about how he researched his book.

Carmine Gallo is a communication skills coach for the world’s most admired brands. He is also a popular speaker and the author of several books, including The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience. More of Gallo’s columns are available in hisongoing series.“

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November 3rd, 2009

100+ top headlines for your blog or emails

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Written by Barak Paztal
Topics: Blogging Tips
 

For some time now I have been looking for a good list of titles to use in copy of blog posts, email titles and landing page headers. I have collected from the internet a list of recommended titles. I hope online marketing professional will find it useful. This is not my original content and credit goes to Authority Blogger

And here is the full list which is very long…

1. 10 Money/Time Saving Tips for ______
2. The Secret of Getting the Best Price for Your _______
3. How to Find the Best _____ Deals on the Web
4. Top Gadgets for _____
5. Are _____ Worth the Money?
6. Everything You Need to Know About Getting Cheaper _____
7. Top 10 Tips For Hassle Free ______
8. Best ____ For Under [Price]
9. Unusual but Achievable ____
10. 5 Ways to Boost Your ____ Without Spending More _____
11. Ways to ____ on a Budget
12. 5 Ways to _____ and Profit!
13. 21 Audacious and Creative _____ Ideas
14.Who Else Wants to ____?
15. Now You Can ____ for Free!
16. How to Get _____ in Half the Time
17. 10 Stars and their ____
18. _____ Life Styles of the Rich and Famous
19. How to Look and Act ________
20.Now You Can Have Get More and Better ____ With Less Effort
21. ______ like a Movie Star
22.9 Ways You Can ____ Better Than You Deserve
23.How to ____ in 10 Seconds
24.Have a ____ You Can Be Proud Of
25. 21 _____ Conversation Tips
26.Finding Your Perfect _______
27. Plan a Perfect ______
28.What ____ Really Want
29.7 Signs You Are/Can _______
30.Get ____ Now
Crystal Ball and History
31. The History of _______
32.How _____ Will Impact _____ in [Year]
33._____ Then and Now
34.40 Predictions on the Future of ____
35.The Modern Rules of ______
36.___ Lessons from History
37. The _____ Story
Problems and Fears
38.Are _____ a Dying Breed?
39.How to Beat the Fear of _____
40.10 ____ Scams and How to Avoid Them
41. How Secure Are Your _____?
42.7 Most Frightening ____
43.Top 10 Scary _____ Facts
44.Outrageous _____ and How they Could Impact You
45.Get Rid of Your _____ Once and For All
46.Could Your ______ be a ________?
47.What Your ____ is Not Telling You About _______
48.Beware ______ and How to Spot them
49.10 Good Ways NOT to ______
50.How to Safely _______
51. The Unseen/Biggest Dangers of _____
52.______ Do’s and Don’ts
53. 21 Ways to Screw Up _____
54. 10 Reasons Not to _____
55. 7 _____ Danger Signs
56. 7 things _____ Should Never Do
Fact, Fiction, Secrets, Truth and Lies
57.What Everyone Ought to Know about ______
58.____ Personality Test: What Your ____ Says About You
59._____ Lies and How to Spot them
60._____ Facts and Myths
61. The Real Truth About ______
62.21 Secrets the _____ Experts Don’t Want You to Know
63. 101 Most Popular _____ Myths
64.10 ______ Facts You Need to Know
65.The Secret of Successful _____
66.Little Known Ways to _____
67. Truth and Lies in _____
68.All You Need to Know about _______
69.10 Lies We Tell Our _______
70. 101 things Not to tell _______
71. Revealed: Why _____
72.How to Spot a Fake ______
How-To Tricks of the Trade
73.When is it Smarter to ____ or ____?
74. Little Known Ways to ________
75. 10 Reasons it’s Better to ______
76.How to Plan the Ultimate _____
77. How to _____ Like a _____
78.____ Jobs You Can Do Yourself
79.Here is a Method That is Helping _____ to _____
80.Here’s a Quick Way to _______
81. 7 Creative Ways to ______
82.How to be a _______
83.9 Surprising Things You Can _____
84._____ Like an Expert in 10 Easy Steps
85.21 Expert ____ Tips
86.5 Reasons You Should ______
Best and Worst
87.Top 10 Worlds Cheapest/Best/Most Expensive _____
88.The Worlds Best _____ You Can Actually Afford to Buy
89.The Worlds Worst Ever _____
90.The World’s Most Unusual _____
91. Funniest ______ Stories
92.Sexiest _______ in the World
93.The Top 10 Best and Worst _____ in the World
94.Top 19 Most ____ Friendly ____
95. 100 Useful or Beautiful ____
96.5 Reasons _____ is Better than ______
97. The Worlds Top 10 Most Important ______
98.Top 20 Clips About _____ in Films and Television
99.10 ____ We Don’t Want to See ____
100.21 Most Hilarious _____
101.The Worlds Worst _____ Advice
102.10 Reasons ____ is the Worst _____

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November 1st, 2009

How Volvo will prevent road accidents – This is not science fiction

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Written by Barak Paztal
Topics: Road Safety
 

In this movie we can see some of the new state of the art technology that volvo plans to include in their new cars. This is an amazing piece of Technology and well worth to watch it…

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October 31st, 2009

How to invest in Phoenix in 4 days

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Written by Barak Paztal
Topics: Investment
 

Phoenix ForeClosure

I just came back from a great tour in the US. Main reason for my visit was a due diligence tour in order to meet the  agents, management companies and also understand the different parts of phoenix in order to be able to invest from remote. I spent 4 days that were  organized perfectly by my partner Guy. We met two agents Jim and Ofir and we were very happy with the results of the tour.
Main reasons to  invest in Phoenix are:

1. Investor Paradise – Real estate  price are over 60% down from peak time in 2007. Rent on the other hand stayed relatively stable. Thus increasing the yield for potential investors.

2. Positive immigration to Phoenix due to the low cost of living in the city.

3. Strong rental market.

4. Lower than US average unemployment rates.

5. Very nice desert layout and great infrastructure.

Now after completing my tour I am ready to bid on new assets in the next few months.

Here are some pictures from my US visit. Starting with Phoenix and Scottsdale, then some pics from Berkeley and San Francisco where I spent some time with Guy and Sharon, and last but not least New York City, the urban city I like more than any on this Globe

Ofir also shared with me this great presentation:

Bank Owned Real Estate

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October 10th, 2009

How to take criminals off the road

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Written by Barak Paztal
Topics: Featured, Road Safety
 

chaim hecht

In this movie Chaim Hecht is checking serial road killers in Israel and current status. The movie reminded me the situation in the city of New York in the 80’s. It was a mess and a complete anarchy. Rudy Giuliani later came in to become the mayor and the saver of the city from that anarchy. He activated new measures to punish minor crime, and the result was immediate…Crime was reduced in much more than 50%…
I assume that if serial road killers will have severe punishment. Same result will be achieved in Israel as well. The impact on other crimes would also be very positive because of the change of context. To learn more about the impact of context on the level of crime read the book The Tipping point. The goal of this year in casualties from Road accidents is no more than 375. I am sure we can be much more demanding than this. For an example in this research we can see than countries like Denmark or the Netherlands have better results than Israel in preventing car accidents. Within 20 years I personally believe this number can be reduced from 375 below 50. We can make it happen.

I have a new dream. Within 90 days we will have a protest in Tel Aviv. All the families that had a casualty or a severe injury from car accidents and all the people like me that want to prevent criminals from driving would be there and support our cause. Chaim Hecht and Israel Cats, Israel Transportation minister  will be the guests of honor. In the protest, we will set up a date for the reform suggested by Chaim Hecht to start by The first of March 2010.


Please join me to make this dream come true!

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