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Soto’s Chronicles
July 2021
DeDe Soto
Protecting your most valuable asset — your family
FROM THE DESK OF
DeDe Soto
Happy 4th of July and Happy Summer! Hopefully you are in full swing of summer and planning something fun! This month I will be going to Nashville, Tennessee, to experience a bit of country music and a visit to the Grand Ole Opry. The travel is for my business, however some friends and I are mixing some fun in between the meetings. Looking forward to the mini trip. What about you? Where are you planning your next trip? Don’t forget that summer is actually a perfect time to evaluate your estate plan if you already have one in place and need to make changes. Make sure to check and see if the people you have named to step in for your finances and your health care are the correct ones and are still healthy and of sound mind! What about those with minor children — are your guardians still the correct people to care for your children should the unthinkable happen? If you need to make changes or updates, give us a call or have your clients double-check that everything is correct.
A century ago, Americans adapted to a new way of doing business. This resulted from the booming economies in cities. Technology was at the root of this growth, specifically new building technologies that allowed structures to grow larger and taller than ever. Suddenly, more people could live in a single block of space than previously thought possible. As the economy changed, so did the nature of work. If the story of the previous generation had been industrialization with factories, the story of the next generation would be the boom of white-collar workers, especially in Manhattan, which became the blueprint for this new American city. Now, oddly enough, the whole situation is happening in reverse as white-collar workers flee the cities to find cheaper places to live as a result of remote work becoming a daily reality in the wake of COVID-19. The Remote Century Nothing New About the ‘In-Person’ Working Dilemma
Enjoy the summer days.
Until next time — Many Blessings,
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Of course something similar did happen in the past: the “white flight” of the 1940s and ’50s. But what made those people desire to live in the suburbs was created in part by the automobile industry and public projects like Eisenhower’s interstate system, which allowed white-collar workers to live outside of cities and still make the commute to work. But it didn’t jeopardize the office as being integral to American life. After all, where were all of those suburbanites commuting to? No, like the office itself, the suburban phenomenon is only now really in jeopardy, in our post-COVID world.
together . There is some evidence that they’re right since people generally communicate and get along better in person.
On the other hand, many folks argue for embracing new technologies that could prepare us for necessary changes, just as our ancestors did. White-collar workers didn’t exist before office buildings, and that is 100% the result of technological change. Why shouldn’t we change again with new technologies and embrace a new century’s method of doing business? This side is bolstered by studies on happiness and efficiency — both of which seem to go up when employees are allowed to work from home. You might expect me to throw in my lot with one side or the other, but I won’t do that. As a businessperson, I’m a pragmatist first and foremost. I’ll follow the trend that works best for my employees, and we’ll either join with the national movements or fly in their face.
The question is: Does any of this matter?
After a year delay, the Tokyo Olympics are once again gearing up for two weeks of action and excitement. Athletes from around the world are descending on Japan to give it their all and, hopefully, walk away with gold. This year, however, the games will be folding five new sports into the mix. Four of these sports have never been part of the Olympics, while one sport hasn’t been part of the games in over a decade. Here’s what to expect: Surfing Both men’s and women’s competitions will be held on Tsurigasaki Beach in Chiba Prefecture. Officials say due to the nature of the competition (being in open water), they’ll be generous with the scheduling. Depending on weather and waves, the preliminary round heats and head-to-head competitions may shift around as necessary. Skateboarding There are two categories: park and street. The street competition takes place on a linear course featuring “real world” elements like stairs and handrails, benches, planter boxes, and curbs. The park competition takes place within a more structured environment with a variety of slopes, curves, and other obstacles that will test skaters. Sport Climbing This event combines three different disciplines on an artificial climbing wall: bouldering, lead climbing, and speed climbing. In the bouldering competition, climbers will navigate a fixed route to be completed within a specified time. In lead climbing, climbers aim to reach the high point within a specified time. Finally, in I would say yes, it does. We’re seeing an important shift in the way Americans do business and think about work. It dovetails with other discussions surrounding minimum wage and single- payer insurance systems, but both of those topics are hot-button political issues (some might say dog whistles!) By contrast, the remote work debate is happening by and large off the political stage — which is probably for the best. On the one side, we have those who believe that white-collar workers are more efficient working in offices together — that, barring another pandemic, the best way for people to work is
That’s just the nature of business, after all.
One parting thought: I do wonder what will happen to the American city, commonly the place of highest real estate value in the nation and the heart of industry, if white-collar workers leave all of those office buildings behind. Something to ponder, no?
5 New Sports Join the Olympic Roster in Tokyo
speed climbing, two climbers race against one another. Men and women, 20 per gender, will compete against each other, with the top eight advancing to the final round. Karate This martial art was developed in Japan in 1868, so it’s only appropriate to make its debut during the Tokyo Olympics. On top of that, the competitions will be held in Nippon Budokan, the site of the very first World Karate Championships in 1970. The Games will test two disciplines: kata (forms) and kumite (sparring). The sport will also be separated into men’s and women’s categories with three weight classes for each. Baseball and Softball These aren’t new sports to the Olympics, but they were removed from the Games after Beijing in 2008. Baseball is hugely popular in Japan. This year, only six countries will take part in the baseball and softball competitions.
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Get Your Train of Thought Back on Track
Repeat, repeat, repeat yourself. Paraphrasing your last few thoughts out loud can help you remember where you were going. Think of it as retracing your steps: You go back to the last words you remember saying, and more often than not, you’ll find your direction again. Take a short pause. Pausing briefly is a great way to make recovering your train of thought seem natural. This hack works really well if you’re answering a question and you need time to think, and you also don’t want to be bogged down by a chorus of “ums” escaping from your mouth. Write it all down. This hack works well when you know beforehand that you’ll be speaking with someone or in front of people. Even if you never refer to your notes while speaking, simply writing down a road map for your train of thought can help you recover from a detour and speak more confidently. Remember your overall point. The easiest way to drive your train of thought into the weeds is to forget your overall point — or not to have an overriding point at all. Always have a short, overarching point you can use to recenter yourself and get back on track. With these hacks, your brain will have to work a lot harder to make you lose your train of thought! Now you’ll be more prepared to tackle any subject matter, no matter how deep or technical, that comes your way.
Have you ever been in the middle of a conversation, presentation, or debate, stringing together thoughts in a way you hope Recovery Hacks
is coherent and insightful when — poof! — you lose your train of thought? It’s
frustrating. You just want to make yourself understood, but your brain has other plans. What if there were a way to keep your train of thought on track? Well, the good news is that recovering your train of thought is easy with the following hacks in mind. Take a Break!
Plant-Based Blueberry Muffins
Inspired by FeastingAtHome.com
Ingredients • 1 cup soy milk • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar • 2 cups flour • 2 1/2 tsp baking powder • 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt • 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar • 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp canola oil • 1 tsp vanilla extract • Zest of 1 lemon • 2 cups fresh blueberries
Directions 1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease a muffin tin and set aside. 2. In a bowl, combine soy milk and apple cider vinegar. Set aside. 3. In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. 4. In a third bowl, combine sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and lemon zest. Add milk mixture and stir, then add flour mixture. Stir to combine until well-incorporated but not smooth. Fold in the blueberries. 5. Spoon batter into muffin tin, filling each well 3/4 full. Bake 20–25 minutes, cool, and enjoy!
Alien Ballpark Cherry Firecracker
Flag Independence Orchid Paddleboard
Patriotic Sundae Sunscreen Trampoline
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE From the Desk of DeDe PAGE 1 The Remote Century PAGE 1 These New Sports are Coming to the Tokyo Olympics! PAGE 2 Life Hack: How to Recover Your Train of Thought PAGE 3 Take a Break PAGE 3 Plant-Based Blueberry Muffins PAGE 3 How a Joke Became a Multibillion Dollar Currency Market PAGE 4
How a Joke Became a Multibillion Dollar Currency Market
THE ORIGINS OF DOGECOIN
Would you create an actual cryptocurrency to make fun of other cryptocurrencies? That’s exactly what Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus did, and it’s paid off with an over $70 billion currency market. Now, it’s the fourth- largest cryptocurrency in the world. Dogecoin (symbol: Ð) is a cryptocurrency that provides a payment system (like Bitcoin, another digital currency) that is instant, fun, and free from traditional banking fees. Its playful name and Shiba Inu dog mascot caused the currency to start as a meme, but, as people began to actually purchase it, it became worth more and more. Before Dogecoin, Palmer was a product manager at Adobe Inc.’s office in Sydney, Australia. As a “skeptic-analytic”
observer of crypto, he joked on Twitter about creating Dogecoin as a way of satirizing the hype for cryptocurrencies. Surprisingly, people were totally on board. So, he bought the domain name Dogecoin.com. That’s when Markus, a software developer at IBM, contacted Palmer. He wanted to create a digital currency but had trouble promoting his project and decided to jump on the Dogecoin buzz. He asked Palmer’s permission to build the software to create an actual Dogecoin. Most cryptocurrencies are fairly serious and sterile in presentation, but Dogecoin was always different. Palmer and Markus decided to market Dogecoin as the “fun” version of Bitcoin. Since Bitcoin had a
limited supply while Dogecoin had an unlimited supply, Dogecoin was also faster and more consumer-friendly for new crypto investors. In 2015, Palmer made his departure from Dogecoin, citing the currency’s “toxic community” as a main reason why he left. Dogecoin also had its financial struggles during the 2018 cryptocurrency crash, but today, it’s grown stronger than ever. As of early May 2021, Dogecoin’s price is up more than 13,000% for the year. Even though Dogecoin’s origins are humorous, Palmer and Markus’ business decisions were no joke. If you decide to purchase Dogecoin yourself, whether as a joke or for investing, please do your due diligence to understand the risks of cryptocurrency.
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