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Why do only the “rich guys” get to buy all the good domains?  This is a question that has been asked for time immemorial.  Well, ok, maybe a couple years, but in Internet time that seems like a millennium.  Whether its domains, Real Estate, business interest, or some other juicy “Wish-You-Could-Have” that you KNOW has tremendous growth potential, how do you get your hands on the funds to get into the deal?  How?  No – seriously, I’m asking you.  Surely I jest, here’s several ways. 
The box.  What is this box everyone is in?  We’re taught by academic hacks with many diminutives after their name who, for the most part, have never built, nor bought, a significant business interest.  In fact, let me be the first to state that “PhD” truly stands for “Piled High with Debt”.  The mentality we’re taught is: go to school, work hard, get good grades, go to college, rack up debt, hope to get a job, hope and pray not to get fired, work making the business owner(s) wealthy, die.  Too crude?  Ok, but you get the point.  This is where we learn “the box”. 

Some ideas in The Box are the obvious…

Cash.  Umm, brilliant.
Ask someone ELSE if you can Borrow the money, typically whom?  Mom, Dad, or the rich uncle.  What’s in it for them?  They get to participate in your great hair-brained, half-baked idea to buy icicles.com and have affiliate links for coupons for Slushies at convenience stores.  Unlikely, even if your numbers are GOOD.
Get a loan from a bank.  MWUAAAH HAA HA HA  HAA HAA!… Goodness.  Sorry.  Anyway, go to Bank of America and explain your domain-endeavor to the mid-level loan officer who’s going to ask for personal guarantees, your net worth, your “W2 paying job paychecks”, the works.  Then, go have a soothing beverage after he shoots your idea down as non-conforming to their lending policies.  For that matter, you could try asking for a loan for a more traditional investment.  Ask, for example, for a loan of a mere $10,000 – with the stated intention of “buying Bank of America stock and reaping returns on it”. (insert maniacal laughter again).   Who knows, I could be wrong and you’ll get your 10 year loan at double-digit interest, have at it. 
www.DomainCapital.com. Aha!  Finally! “Domain Capital is the first and only financial services company to offer financing to businesses based on the inherent and recognized value of premium domain names.  Our vision is to innovate exciting new financial products and services designed to enable entrepreneurs to exploit new business models.”  Domain Capital has flexibility and knowledge to accommodate EXACTLY these interests.   Contact Rob Alfano or Vince Harasymiak and tell them DomainGraduate sent you: 201.302.5100.
Private Equity. (Wikipedia) “In finance, private equity is an asset class consisting of equity investments in companies that are not traded on a public stock exchange. Investments typically involve a transformational, value-added, active management strategy.  Private equity firms generally receive a return on their investments through one of three ways: an IPO, a sale or merger of the company they control, or a recapitalization.”  Jude’s Layman definition: Rich guys.  These folks seek alternative investments and care not for  “safe bonds” or 1-7% returns.  They’re looking for 12% to 40% or even more.  They’ll want at least a one-pager Executive overview if not an entire business plan.
Partners.  Bring in someone with mutual trust who knows the risk and reward.  Caution: All the Partner Agreements and disclosures in the world won’t save you from the incendiary feelings of personal betrayal they may have if things go awry.  On the other hand, the closeness and personal relationship may be the best thing to keep you out of the court room.
Credit cards.  Last year, while not working, I bought a two family house, and used a credit card for the closing.  The closing was about $12,000.  My good credit got me the house.  How do you get good credit?  Research “credit card flipping”.  Basically, you take out several credit cards.  Take out $500 on Card One by writing a credit-card “check”.  Put that in the bank.  After 30 days, write a check from Card 2 to pay some of Card 1, leaving just over $100 on Card 1 by paying $899 (otherwise they may not report it to the reporting agencies as that has a cost).  You now have a balance on Card 2 of $899.  Write a Card 3 to pay Down much of the balance on Card 2.  Keep this going, and you’ll pay slight interest (on $100 on a few cards) unless you have a “Limited Time 0% Interest” type card (you know, the ones the academics told us to throw away).  I don’t throw them away any more and now own www.DriftwoodLanding.com (the house, and the domain!). As you build credit, ask the credit companies for increases of at least $10,000 to perhaps even $100,000 (they’ll give you plenty).
Self Directed Retirement Funds. Since 1974 you often don’t have to leave your retirement funds in lame, underperforming paper assets, bonds, mutual funds, annuities and the like.  With a structure that’s been quite perfected, you can re-channel retirement funds to the custody of a qualified custodian and “direct” that custodian to write checks for your benefit to buy, well, almost anything!  It has to be an “arm’s length transaction” and one can’t “touch” or “actively manage” the things they invest in (such as do the roof on a rental property or the keywords for your domain).  However, you, as manager using Other People’s Money can actively manage to your heart’s content. I know stories of people buying race-horses, Alaskan fishing rights, you name it.  So, your peers may not have $100,000, but there’s a GOOD chance one or a combination of them has it in their retirement.  I work with Capital Market Solutions, LLC in Portland, Maine and Boston, MA.
Win the lottery.
Bank Heist?  Though, with modern security, dye-packs, and average net of $2,500, it hardly seems worth it.
Ok – I’m fresh out of ideas, and hope this was at all helpful!

~Yours in domains.

Jude

Source: Jude Augusta, ESQ./MBA is the Contributing Editor for the DomainGraduate Course & Co-Author on DomainNews.com - April 1st, 2008
jude@domaingraduate.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

While perhaps some sort of tagging or RFID system could be more effective in this task, you’re certainly never going to look as badass on the hunt for a flower pot as you will with these Smart Goggles. Being developed by researchers at the University of Tokyo, the video goggles are hooked up to a backpack computer and record whatever you see. The system can be trained to recognize particular items by name, using some fancy image recognition software, and is meant for people with memory problems or just really hard to find plants. You can even ask the system to play back some recent video of the object (”where did you see it last?”) to help jog your memory or just bring back old times. Super-fine white coat not included.

source:engadget.com

A recently unearthed patent filing shows Apple is thinking beyond its current living room video vending machine, the Apple TV. Among a number of new features, the design specifies how DVR information could be sent to a portable remote control similar to Apple’s existing iPod and iPhone, taking integration among its products to a new level.

And it’s not just working together for the sake of some superficial “better together” marketing angle. How many times have you heard friends discussing some great new show that you missed? With the capabilities Apple illustrates, one could perhaps call up the TV listings right from their iPhone and schedule to record the next episode. What’s unknown is how Apple would transfer recorded DVR shows to an iPod or iPhone — would recordings by synced through iTunes? And, if so, would they be tied to an authorized account to discourage internet redistribution?

In fact, while the addition of DVR features might raise questions about Apple retreating from selling TV shows, it would really reflect the reality of these show purchases being opportunistic (as well as perhaps serving as a tactic to bring NBC back to the bargaining table). Besides, DVR integration with the iTunes store could lead to more revenue opportunities. In the aforementioned scenario, the DVR could offer the opportunity to buy the episodes missed so far.
source:engadget.com

MONDAY, Jan. 28 (HealthDay News) — New research suggests the caffeine in those daily cups of java might spell blood sugar trouble for diabetics.
In a small group of 10 diabetics, glucose levels rose by 8 percent when participants took pills filled with the level of caffeine found in four cups of coffee.
“There’s reason to believe that caffeine consumption — and coffee is the most common source of caffeine — may be harmful to people with type 2 diabetes and make it more difficult for them to keep their glucose levels under proper control,” said study author James Lane, a professor of medical psychology at Duke University.
While some research has suggested that the antioxidants in coffee could prevent diabetes in women, laboratory tests have questioned whether caffeine disrupts the body’s ability to process blood sugar. “We want to demonstrate that what we’ve seen in the lab takes place in the real world when people are living their normal lives,” Lane said.
In the new study, researchers inserted a small sensor into the abdomens of 10 patients who had diabetes but didn’t take insulin. The sensor kept track of blood sugar levels for up to 72 hours.
Over several days, the patients — all coffee drinkers — alternated between taking placebos and 500 milligrams of caffeine a day in capsule form. That level of caffeine is equal to four eight-ounce cups of coffee.
The findings appear in the February issue of Diabetes Care.
On days when they consumed the caffeine pills, the blood sugar levels of the patients went up by 8 percent compared to when they took placebos. Glucose also rose after meals, most notably after dinner when blood sugar levels grew by 26 percent.
There are a couple possible explanations, according to Lane. In one, caffeine may interfere with the transfer of glucose from blood into the cells of the body, boosting blood sugar levels. Another possibility, he said, is that caffeine may stimulate the liver to release glucose when it’s not needed.
A researcher who studies coffee said the new study has some limitations. For one, it looks at effects over one day, rather than over the long term, said Rob van Dam, a research scientist at Harvard School of Public Health. For another, “it should be noted that effects of caffeine in capsules cannot be directly translated to effects of caffeinated coffee, as studies have previously found less pronounced effects of caffeinated coffee on blood glucose levels as compared with caffeine in isolation,” he added.
What to do? Keep coffee consumption under control, Lane suggested. “It would be worthwhile for people with diabetes who drink coffee to try quitting for a time and see if their glucose improves,” Lane said. “It’s a simple thing that might make their diabetes better.”
Decaf may also do the trick. Indeed, van Dam said a previous study showed decaffeinated coffee actually reduced spikes in glucose levels after people ate sugary food. “It may thus be useful for persons with diabetes to try switching from caffeinated to decaffeinated coffee and see whether this improves their glycemic control, he said.

source:health.yahoo