The age of no laptops

I always wondered how long it will be until my car key and wallet and cell are one little object. In the same curiosity parallel I wondered how long it will be until we get rid of laptops and have a communications device that fits into my hand.

The day is here…..

Well, almost.

That day was actually yesterday for me….in a form of an experiment.

I decided Monday to ditch my laptop and rely solely on my Samsung S3 Android and my Samsung tablet (about the size of an ipad with a Bluetooth keyboard, so it could pass for a mini laptop because of the case).

Day 2.  Still just me, my cell, and my tablet.

I am doing fine. Find myself less efficient but mostly because I have to figure out new ways to perform task. For instance – if someone IMs me and I am drafting an email, do I look at the chat through my phone or read the little blurb on the pop up of tablet? Little things like that.

The biggest problem so far is the traditional use of Excel and how to quickly use that for work. I am sure I will figure it out, but thats the hot topic right now.

Kind of curious if I can pull this off myself……

Ilya

Oh, and my thumbs are killing me. You try tapping a flat surface for 14 hours a day with the same 1/2 inch surface of your finger!

 

The Big Three O

Today I turn 30 and like millions or billions of others I don’t feel any different than yesterday.

Thirty….it is just weird to say. I got used to everyone calling me out on being the youngest in a business setting or comparing myself to “those people in their 30s”. I guess all of that ends now. Time to officially grow up and act the part.  Those that know me well know that it will be a while until I drop the humor and go into adulthood completely but I am “noticebly different” according to my Dad, Mom and many others.

I am glad of where I am at.  Everyone always thinks about what they accomplished to this point. Can’t say I am disappointed with myself, but the again who “in business” would publically say otherwise?

This is a big year for me. Anxiously awaiting July to become a father, it is 20 years in America for my family and I, and I start my own business again on the right note. My wife is supportive and my best friends are here for me…thank you Wob and Bertttt for the early morning texts!

Overall happy today. (Except awful pain in my neck, and my legs hurting, and my metabolizm not what it once was, oh man – ctarasts ne radast).

 

Scam: Lance Armstrong. I’m heartbroken

If you see this on my blog you are bound to scroll through and pickup on the fact that I really got into cycling over the past several years.  Lance was truly a hero to me.  I looked up to him.  Not in a cheezy “oh I want to be just like him” kind of way, but more of a “damn that guy is strong, I can push myself to be faster each time”.  And then he was exposed as a scam artist, a doper.

Scam scam scam, and it sucks.

Ilya Bodner

 

Universal Variable Life Insurance is a Big Scam

After I turned 21, sometime later I got into the insurance business with my best friend.  In order for us to get a huge bonus at the agency Allstate Financial was running a promotion that highest payouts will go to the local agencies that write the most life insurance policy.  I should have known it was a scam even back then, something wasn’t right and although it didn’t feel like a scam.  I, Ilya Bodner, felt the scam like promotion sneaking up.

Fast forward to today…

I am approaching the end of 2012, the end of my 20s, and soon the end of my immaturity (although my wife may argue that last one).  I sat down and went over my universal life policy that I opened up during the promotional days of the insurance agency.  All sorts of red flags went off and I realized that the true scam of this is that the insurance companies do a great job masking the fact that you can do very similar investment planning through a non-UVL policy.

There are those that may argue that a bit, but overall I’d say that unless you are independently wealthy at the age of 21 no one needs that type of “income replacement” unless they are in bad health or are extremely paranoid about dying at an early age.

 

Sincerely,

 

Ilya Bodner

 

How this Election may impact me

I have been an Obama supporter.  My main reason is pretty childish but it is dear to me: we immigrated to the United States because of a ruling Bill Clinton passed.  In fact, I remember as a 9 year old sitting in the hall way of my aunt/uncle’s house (along with 4 other of my cousins and siblings) waiting for the announcement;  Bill Clinton was voted to be the next President of the United States, and my parents started throwing hands up in the air and acting relived .   I was too young then to understand what was going on, but later in life I found out that my parents and family were all waiting for the Democrats to come to power so that we can get the H$$L out of of the Former Soviet Union (we probably could have eventually moved out even with Republicans but for some reason back then the big bet was on Democrats).

Anyways, my support of a democrat president and largely because of this thought.

Today however, I am 29 years old, newly married and focusing on the next big chapter of my life.  The election will impact me in other ways and it wasn’t until last week that I decided what it actually all meant to me:

Democrat elected.  More than likely on the home front things will be easier for me.  My mortgage rates will be low, my insurance will be secure, my student loans will be almost without a needed payment, etc etc.  However, at my job I think I will struggle.  Big companies will not be so quick to sign up for my proposed quotes and there isn’t going to be an overwhelming amount of business out there.

Republican elected.  My job will probably boom.  The companies that I have been waiting for to make up their minds may feel good about pulling the trigger on big orders, I will be in a hunt for new business that will probably exist in greater numbers.  Money that I make through stocks will be more rewarding.  However, on the home front I will have to pay more for the little things and us getting a home will be a bit more expensive probably.

I am voting for Obama.  But I wonder exactly how much that will impact my day to day.

Ilya Bodner

 

The Country Club of my generation

About a month ago a good business friend of mine and I got invited for dinner at a country club. The environment, the service, the food was excellent.  We both really enjoyed the rich culture of having a club house to go attend; talking shop.

We did notice that the people around us a bit older.  Was it the day, the timing of our dinner, we wondered.

As the conversation progressed Ben and I came to the conclusion that our generation does enjoy the face to face still ( although a lot lesa than thw previous generations thanks to instant messages, txt, and countless other ways of communicating). What our generation does not enjoy is the formality of institutions. What I mean by that is simple – if Ben and I want to meet, or anyone of my generation frankly, we’d rather go to a coffee shop. In fact, more metings and lounging takes place around places like Starbucks than the Country Club mess rooms.

Doubtful that Country Clubs are going to die out anyrime soon, but it was an interesting observation to make about generation Y. Maybe that’ll change once we are in our 50s with kids and talks of grand kids…..we shall see……

If this blog is around I’ll comment on it then.

Ilya Bodner

 

Its about their time, not your time Revisited

http://wp.me/pD56O-4g I wrote this post over a year ago. Boy…. I really could use my own advice and figure out a way to go with the flow. Being busy is a good thing, having a full day can be a great thing. The key is staying flexible.

Ilya Bodner
Columbus Ohio