9 months ago
by Scott deVries
June Update - My First Loss (-7.3%)
Well, it was bound to happen sometime. My shares took a loss.
Why? Well, I shouldn't have sold, but I saw a deal happening. This could be huge - or it could be a learning experience. There's a company called Sino Forest, which buys and sells tracts of forest in China. They were hit hard with a report with allegation last week of faking their holdings, and essentially funneling cash out of the company.
The firm that released the report was shorting the Sino Forest stock, and they were a brand new firm. But it spread virally and the stock crashed big time, losing 70% in two days.
I'm betting based on my research that the allegations are unfounded. As of right now.... I've lost 50%. But I'm holding. Here's to my pride and investing skills.
11 months ago
by Scott deVries
Stereotaxis Stock Update
Just a quick update today. A couple days ago I bought a position into a US company called Stereotaxis. After announcing their quarterly earnings, the stock plummeted, even though the report was good. I invested in 320 shares at $3.50, using up most of my buying power. This feels like my most risky investment so far, but it feels like the market has hit a bit of a lull, so I'm taking a chance. One thing that could favour me is that the Canadian dollar is high, and so if that retreats, it will allow me to do a bit of currency trading by default.
Once I sell my position, I'll let you know how things went.
11 months ago
by Scott deVries
Mid-April Update (+18.2%)
I decided to make a sell-off of my Ivernia shares Mid-April. True to my predictions, once the news of the mine shutdown left the news, the stock rebounded upwards. On a large upswing day, the stock traded heavily, and so I felt it was time to move my position out, due to my rule of withdrawing when the stock is hot.
For this transaction, I gained about an 18% return over 2 weeks, making it my best trade so far. Now that I have a little more capital to work with, it should be a little easier to gain more (and lose more). At least the $10 per trade fee becomes less of an issue.
So far, it looks like the rule of investing where others are fleeing seems to be the right way to go. We'll see if that holds up long-term.
I'll update again when I invest into a new stock.
1 year ago
by Scott deVries
A Thousand Dollars - April 2011 (+2.4%)
I'm trying a little experiment this year - taking $1000 dollars and investing it into the stock market. I've limited my input to that amount, because I don't want to get caught up in a stock market mentality right now.
I know that perhaps now is the wrong time to invest, as we've just experienced a year of solid gains. However, I believe there are bargains to be found at any time of the spectrum, and we will see if this holds to be true. Who knows - I may end up with quite a bit less than I started with.
A couple of little rules for myself:
- I'm going to be all or nothing. I'll be bidding on one stock at a time. No room for diversification, especially since I'll be paying about $5-10 per trade.
- I will invest where others are running away from. Where there's fear, I'll wait until the worst is over, and buy up.
- I will not invest in companies I haven't done research on. It's important to know if a company really is tanking because of internal issues, or if public perception is undervaluing the stock.
- I'll be updating my blog every trade, even if I gain or lose. This is primarily a research experiment.
For this month, I'm investing in Ivernia. Their stock price plummeted 50% over the last week due to a safety incident in a mine in Australia. I believe that the stock is undervalued due to public and media pressure, and once the mine reopens, the stock will return upwards. I'll give an update on where this goes in the next month.
1 year ago
by Scott deVries
Popular culture tends to be shallow by nature -- not because people are shallow, but because people are alike in their shallow, base tastes and dissimilar in their deeper, more refined tastes.
1 year ago
by Scott deVries
Would you eat these?
Mmm. Trying out my product photography.
Sometimes product photography is more about the frills.
Peanuts.
Everything seems to appeal more with fruit.
1 year ago
by Scott deVries
Quilting, Quilting, Quilting
Would you have the patience to make this?
I can't claim responsibility for the intricacy or the handiwork. Totally mom's department.
1 year ago
by Scott deVries
The Wedding Logo
So.... which one would you choose? I'm at an impasse with these choices, but I think I like them all.
On an aside, it's really quite fun to work on a style that you aren't familiar with. This logo, for example, is not something I would just make in a million years for myself. It took someone to push me out of my comfort zone, and I'm rather pleased with the result.
1 year ago
by Scott deVries
Joshua
Not in a band. Yet.
This boy plays a mean ukelele.
Uncle Sam wants you! Or something.
1 year ago
by Scott deVries
Fast Week
Nothing says delicious more than a massive cup of tea. One of my favourite Christmas presents ever!
The cup label is a bit of a misnomer, but the experience of drinking out of it is lovely.
1 year ago
by Scott deVries
Family Fondue
The ever-growing deVries family.
Veggies, meat, cheese, shrimp, bread - you name it!
One of the newcomers looks happy.
The inevitable "lost it off the fork" moment.
Brother-in-laws. Looking suspicious.
1 year ago
by Scott deVries
A New Year
So it's 2011, and lots of big changes are afoot.
Getting engaged over the holidays, starting off a new year, learning how to be more productive with my business, and growing my company. Lots to do this year.
I've never really been one to make a list of resolutions or visions for a new year, but with so much change and opportunity, it's probably time to focus and set a goals and a vision.
First off, I'm going to dust off the camera and get back into it. Winter has a way of hiding great pictures, but I've been a bit lazy in pulling it out. After trying out my sister's new DSLR, I've got a bit of the passion back. Here's to a more colourful blog in 2011. The return of magnificent photos has arrived! (I'll tone down the rhetoric, sorry).
Second, I've got to build my business. Here's to having the extremely scary thought of having an employee.. and do I want to go there yet? Not sure. The last year was good, though. I earned more money than ever before, made valuable connections, but generally played it safe. Projects fell into my lap, and the level of trust required was quite little.
So this year, I have some ideas and plans. Definitely not going to take on the world this year, because anything valuable in life takes time. But here's to the new connections, contracts, and relationships my business is going to bring in 2011.
More to come! This blog might take on a bit of a different format this year. I'll keep you posted.
1 year ago
by Scott deVries
2011: Get up earlier, grow relationships that really matter. Trust more, worry less. Give more, want fewer things. Thank more, ignore less. Learn more, judge less. Encourage more, criticize less. Expect more, stress less. Open my home and my heart, close the door to regret. Love more, laugh more, hope more, believe more.
1 year ago
by Scott deVries
Christmas in Concert 2010
Just as a heads-up: if you are around the Kitchener Waterloo area on the 10-12th of December, check out this performance!
1 year ago
by Scott deVries
Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.
1 year ago
by Scott deVries
Maybe We Should Think a Little More
Pets are among the most popular designs that customers select for their credit cards these days. At Discover (DFS), the orange tabby cat card is a top seller, according to its PR department. While card designs like this one may be appealing, it’s a troubling trend, says Robert Manning, author of Credit Card Nation. “People are picking out a card because they can have a picture of a cat on it rather than looking at the terms,” he says.
via The Big Money
1 year ago
by Scott deVries
Doing the best with what you have is the prerequisite to do the best with whatever you want.
2 years ago
by Scott deVries
More than the Average
Over the last while, I've heard many creatives remark that they are looking for something more than the average. Many have been telling their clients that they are wanting interesting projects, or will only be actively seeking projects that expand them.
What drives us to seek out interesting projects? Aren't all projects equal in merit, when you really look at it? What defines a project as "interesting?" Certainly, it's beyond just the work itself, but I wonder if it's an innate desire to do something that affects people in a positive way, not just to check things off a product spec sheet.
I guess it's about time we (I?) realized that work isn't about the money, or about the work itself.
2 years ago
by Scott deVries
If you keep the people around you small, you consign yourself to living in a smaller world.
2 years ago
by Scott deVries
If you look upon ham and eggs and lust, you have already committed breakfast in your heart.
2 years ago
by Scott deVries
It's always harder than it looks. Never desire to succeed like others until you know what they gave up to get there.
2 years ago
by Scott deVries
Ward Family Portraits
The Ward Family - complete with autumn colours.
2 years ago
by Scott deVries
Wisdom is like a dad who is tall enough to guide his little kid out of a corn maize. He can see the big picture.
2 years ago
by Scott deVries
The more I learn about design, the less it becomes about making things and the more it becomes about understanding human behaviour.
2 years ago
by Scott deVries
No man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.
2 years ago
by Scott deVries
Allowing yourself to volunteer for areas in your field usually feels like getting free schooling. Free is good, but creating actual value is even better.
2 years ago
by Scott deVries
Algonquin
Morning mist off the water.
Dave and Jeff looking for fishing spots.
A couple people fishing on Booth Lake
2 years ago
by Scott deVries
The chief product of an automated society is a widespread and deepening sense of boredom.
2 years ago
by Scott deVries
To put time into design, you need to create a narrative.
To put time into design, you need to create a narrative. Something needs to be captured either right before it happens, or right after. In either case, it requires an active involvement of the viewer to connect those dots.
What would happen if we started making more 4D graphic design?
2 years ago
by Scott deVries
Kincardine Pier
People enjoying the last days of summer on the pier.
2 years ago
by Scott deVries
Diving at Kincardine
Simultaneous diving off the pier.
Nathan prepares for takeoff.
2 years ago
by Scott deVries
Ever found yourself in a situation where you said "If it was up to me, I'd..." and then you realize it is up to you?
2 years ago
by Scott deVries
By my definition, most art has nothing to do with oil paint or marble. Art is what we're doing when we do our best work.
2 years ago
by Scott deVries
That’s the true value of estimates. That it sets up conversational constraints that can be used as boundaries for trading concessions. Not that they’re nails for your own self-erected cross.
2 years ago
by Scott deVries
Thoughts on the iPad
The only reason that the iPad will become a breakthrough device is because we let it be. Most products that have hit the mainstream are self-fulfilling - they are successful because they are successful.
The genius of a company like Apple is that it generates enough hype and fervor that the very act of mass consumer ownership changes the way we perceive these technological products. Sure, the iPad itself is a great device that appeals to a specific market, but it's not of itself a breakthrough.
Think back to a similar situation: Microsoft Windows became ubiquitous with standard computing not due to its mind-bending capabilities, but because it became the standard and accepted way of computing. We're entering another stage like that, and Apple wants to grab the market share available while it can.
2 years ago
by Scott deVries
Building a Brand
When you think of brands, what images and thoughts come to mind? Chances are that you thought of a logo or a business name that has stuck out to you in the past, or perhaps a company that had made a large impact. Why do some companies stick out to you, while others are forgotten?
A brand is more than an image or slogan. Your company’s logo is merely a representation of your company’s culture, values and character.
Instead of focusing energy on external factors such as your company’s logo or marketing materials, what if you spent the time to develop a unique culture and a set of values that really reflected your vision, and then took the time to help your staff discover how those values apply to them?
I recently came across a presentation by Netflix, a company that specializes in mailing and streaming videos on demand to its customers. In the presentation, the executive staff focused on the values and directives of the business, but also articulated the culture and, incidentally, the brand of their company. By making it public to its employees, they have been able to successfully translate their culture from the management to the whole staff.
2 years ago
by Scott deVries
Super Saturday
Getting it done.
Jane sweeps off a sidewalk.off a s
2 years ago
by Scott deVries
Sales and marketing functions exist to encourage earthlings to find out about your software and evaluate it. These functions will have no effect on sales if your quality is extremely low. But as the quality gets higher, the value of sales and marketing goes up, commensurately. Double the quality, and the same sales effort yields double the revenue.
2 years ago
by Scott deVries
Facebook Fiasco
Fascinating. ReadWriteWeb has a weblog post that ranks highly in Google’s search results for “Facebook login”. The comments on the post are filled with complaints from confused people who think that this is the new Facebook login page.
It’s funny, yes, but it’s a fascinating glimpse at just how confused many people are about how web sites and browsers work. They don’t use bookmarks, they don’t type “facebook.com” in the location field. They just Google for whatever they’re looking for and assume the first result is correct. All this argument over whether the iPad is too simple — if anything it’s probably still too complex.
This makes me either want to quit what I'm doing out of frustration, or take up the cause of all these people. Maybe we've been blind and computing is too complex. We're just used to it.
via Daring Fireball - Facebook Login
2 years ago
by Scott deVries
New York Times Redesign
In June of this year, The New York Times unveiled a major redesign of their Sunday magazine, the first in almost a decade, and one of only a handful ever in its more than 100 years. Under the leadership of Design Director Arem Duplessis, a more lithe version of the magazine (smaller by about 9% in trim size) has been greeted with much appreciation around the design community for its subtle transitions of typography and color palette that exude new energy while staying true to the NYT Magazine everyone knows and loves (and obsesses about). Almost six months later, with enough issues printed to have some room to look back, we asked Rem to talk with SPD about the redesign process and the modern magazine business at the Times these days. His generous, detailed, honest reporting after the jump...
Behind The New York Times Magazine's Redesign with DD Arem Duplessis
3 years ago
by Scott deVries
About Me
I’m Scott, and you’ve found my site. Good work.
I’m a bit of a graphics and design nut - I love to take things that aren’t quite usable, and turn them into something functional and beautiful.I also do some photography, as you will be able to tell if you read my blog. I sometimes detail my day-to-day pursuits over there as well.
I’ve been doing web-related design for over 8 years. I’ve worked with many organizations, both in a freelance position and with my previous employer, Insight Studios.
When I’m not busy doing client or photography work, you’ll find me buried in family stuff, playing some boardgames to relax, making music, or volunteering at my local church.
Hey, if you want to know more about me, why not send me a quick message? I’d love to connect with you.
