I have been looking into moving to Brazil for about a month, and I have about 15 possibilities for employment that each sound OK, but each possibility also has at least one significant, real barrier. I have spoken with friends and gotten a range of answers that sound like, “That is great, but…” everything from, “I hope you like suffering,” to “you could teach English, but you would work 12 hours per day for almost no money.”
Those answers are daunting, but there has to be a way.
The visa is probably the biggest question. There are two requirements:
The residence permit issued by …who? Who issues this?
The work visa is administered by the Ministry of Labor and Work. An investment visa would also work.
After reading the rules, it appears that what the government is promoting is for foreigners to start a business that creates jobs for Brazilians. It is nearly impossible for a foreigner to get a work permit, but an investment visa is much easier. I prefer to ‘swim with the current,’ so I am leaning toward the investment visa option. For an investment visa, I have to start a business in Brazil.
The best way to learn how to start a business in Brazil, fortunately, is to do something that I want to do anyway: get an MBA.
Therefore, my top questions right now are:
What is the best source of information about work, investment, and student visas?
What is the best source of information about residence permits?
What are the best MBA programs in Brazil?
Where are the Americans in Brazil? Where are the foreigners in Brazil? Do I have to hire a lawyer? What information can I find while I am here in the states?
My top lead so far is that the University of Pittsburgh Katz School of Business runs an MBA program in São Paulo.
I have said before that we should call this concept we are all familiar with Global Carbon Transfer. That is what it is and always has been.
Global Carbon Transfer is directly measurable.
The term “Global Carbon Transfer” is completely accurate to what we are actually doing. We know that we are transferring carbon.
The name “Global Carbon Transfer” allows for consideration of other unknown effects that we have yet to identify that nobody even talks about.
We are transferring a lot of carbon from the ground to the atmosphere. This is an indisputable fact.
Simple Man’s Evidence for Global Warming
I personally believe that global carbon transfer is causing significant man-made global warming. Here is a list of the evidence that shapes my concept of the world, my personal observations that lead to my belief:
I learned in Physics class in high school in ~2001 that carbon dioxide reflects infrared light / heat more than the other more highly-abundant components of the atmosphere. This makes sense to me. It would be difficult to fake this, easy to confirm or refute. I put this under the heading of scientific fact.
We learned what the greenhouse effect is, and I have personally been inside both a hot car in the sun, and an actual greenhouse. Fact.
I have personally seen an equilibrium exhibit a large change based on a small increase in a catalyst. For example:
Milk goes sour if you drink from the carton.
I saw chemicals abruptly change color in chemistry class after just drops of liquid entering.
If I had drunk two beers this morning instead of two cups of coffee, my blood would have changed by less than one percent, but I would absolutely not have written this post.
Small change can yield big change.
Catalysts exist.
I have seen man affect the environment, both for good and bad. Some of these I didn’t personally see of course, but they happened:
Water quality in Columbus, Ohio versus Rio de Janeiro.
Personal accounts of the reduction in litter in the United States following anti-litter campaigns in the 1970s.
Chernobyl of course, but that’s nuclear not chemical, a whole ‘nother level.
Urban sewage management, cities now versus 200 years ago.
Forests versus fields.
I see carbon entering the atmosphere that used to be in the ground from sources that are less than a century old. Sound ridiculous? It’s everywhere. Everywhere. Try not seeing it! We could not transfer more carbon if we started a campaign to transfer more. Everything we do contributes to carbon transfer, and is mostly new!
The earth is really really old. There has been a lot of time for plants live, absorb carbon dioxide, respire oxygen, die, and be buried in the ground. Let me repeat, really really old, and a lot a lot a lot a lot of time. A lot. There has been so much time in fact that I no longer view the air I breath as coming from “the earth in general,” but as being the breathed out breath of plants. Call me a tree-hugger, but it is an accurate concept, much more accurate than the “general earth air” idea that comes easy. The atmosphere is and always has been a product of life and vice versa. It is a two-way street.
Bill Nye (of “The Science Guy” fame) recently sold out and went on John Oliver’s late night show:
Notes
Full bias disclosure: while I believe that John Oliver and for example, Donald Trump, are near equals in the damage that they do by being entertaining idiots / bullies in the media (both are both, if you can’t see that, then you are stuck firmly on one side), when they face off, I personally would enjoy watching Trump name-call John Oliver instead of the reverse. This is probably very simply because Oliver seems like a little weeny to me.
The subject of this post, whose name I am finished using so that you and I can successfully forget it as soon as possible, does not himself warrant a post. However, he so acutely represents a form of the cancer that is the mainstream media that his name gets to appear in my title here on Rage and Frenzy Politics, the most prestigious place it will probably ever be written.
I am going to use the stupid media term “global warming” here, rather than the more accurate and effective term, “global carbon transfer,” because we are talking about media bias, not the actual phenomenon.
The Perceived Problem
The perceived problem, judging by Bill Nye’s calling somebody “you f***ing idiots” (we don’t swear here at NathanRuffing.com, but in this case, it is a direct quote), is that global warming is caused, or at least allowed to continue, by some portion of the population who isn’t smart enough to understand global warming. I assume the idea is that this idiot portion of the population is voting for selfish policies that exacerbate the problem, and also probably spreading conspiracy theories that discredit the basic science behind global warming. I personally believe that these things have some truth to them, but what follows is the actual problem.
The Actual Problem
The actual problem is that we – and I do mean we human beings, all of us, especially those of us living in industrialized nations – are logistically supported by the energy that comes largely from transferring carbon from the ground into the atmosphere. Keep in mind, I did not say that we are the problem, I am saying that our source of energy can cause problems that we did not foresee when we started using it.
The current population of the world is 7 billion +. That is seven times the population of just 200 years ago, and ~25x the population of about 1,000 years ago. That is a significant increase. On top of that, we use a lot more energy per person now than we did 1,000 years ago. This is great, and I am happy to be a beneficiary of this energy wealth, but we should recognize that we should conserve the resources that produce it.
The Mainstream Media
What does the mainstream media say?
One side of the media says that global warming is not happening at all. This side actually will go so far as to say that it is impossible to the point of ridiculous to even suggest that mankind could affect the entire atmosphere and the climate. The main evidence that I have heard cited for this idea is that some scientists faked data, and that there are large global climate cycles. Both are almost certainly true, neither is evidence one way or the other.
The other side says that global warming is definitely happening, and does things like have a “Science Guy” put safety glasses on, string swear words together, and take a torch to a globe while a laugh-track rolls. Very constructive, subject of this post, you little weeny. I agree with your science, but you are the ring leader of a half-political laugh-track circus whose carbon footprint is the size of most third-world countries. Your team of writers puts its energy toward corrupting Bill Nye The Science Guy into insulting half the country because it is more entertaining to call somebody stupid than to say something smart. Are you even the leader? I find it hard to believe. Who writes your teleprompter? Who tells that person what to write and not to write? Who pays that person?
My Opinion
I think I editorialized this post enough that you know my opinion.
The Solution
The solution is for us to identify things that we do that use a lot of energy, especially energy that transfers carbon into the atmosphere, and stop doing those things. The first thing that comes to my mind is the military-industrial complex. If you don’t know what the military industrial complex is, you should. Click the link for the Wikipedia article.
The military industrial complex is not a new concept. One of the greatest warfighters in our history recognized the military industrial complex and preached about it in 1935. Click for the PDF: War is a Racket, by Major General Smedley Butler, USMC
Stopping doing many things that transfer carbon into the atmosphere will be difficult. For example, if we fight fewer wars, trade routes will close, and prices may go up. This may include the price we pay for gas at the pump. This would be difficult. We would have to coordinate with each other and carpool to work for example. We might even have to live closer to work and bike there.
After three years of experience in this type of investment, I made a list of criteria to use. Venture capital is must be flexible by nature, so the criteria are broad, but there are some components that must be present:
Simplicity: Straightforward, valuable product.
Consistent Action: People are doing hard work necessary to make the product with consistency and discipline.
Frugality: Money is utilized exclusively toward value creation.
Moral: Does overall good for the world. Not morally opposed to the product / company.
Communication and Reporting = teamwork, team building. A business is its systems and people working together effectively. Communication is critical to developing a business.
Common stock only. One and only one type of stock means everybody is on the same team. Companies are complex enough without having multiple types of equity. One type of stock streamlines the decision-making process. If “preferred shares” are introduced, there should be a good reason and the terms need to be understood by all stockholders.
Investor must use money he can afford to lose.
As investor, should meet the other investors, and at least one of them should be a successful institutional investor that has significant clout.
What is the end-game? How are you going to get paid one day?
Still renovating, landlording, and taking notes about it for an operating manual. My favorite part is actually selecting the items to install and doing the work.
Here are the pictures from the most recent renovation, apartment B2:
I’m about to finish another renovation, apartment B4, within the next few days and I expect it to rent quickly. It is pretty much standard.
The next apartment, apartment A2, is more exciting. It will be the “Skunk Works” apartment with several major top-secret design overhauls that take some of my materials selection strategies to the extreme. It is unique, and minimalist but functional with high-quality materials. Should be done by the close of April. Stand by for photos next quarter.
Landlord’s Operating Manual
This is a double-down on the apartments. The manual describes my system in detail. I am looking to make it available to other landlords and aspiring investors.
PI Time
Piano
Kineomen
I remain the Secretary at Kineomen and record a monthly summary for the company.
They are five years out of the military, and this project has several years of momentum now. Paveway is about business development, and they just put up the website complete with a few blog posts. Read, comment, interact!
Below this point did not make the cut!
“Stop Doing List”
and lessons learned from four years of trying to do everything.
Real Estate Agent
(Maintaining the license!)
I am supporting my current clients, and maintaining the license, but not taking any new clients. I really appreciate all those who took a chance on me as a new agent and I feel fortunate that my clients are happy with their transactions. Real estate really is a lot of work, but it is fun too. Thanks everybody!
This was the most difficult to say ‘no’ to because I was just starting to gain some momentum and the money is great.
Don’t worry, I’m a part-timer for life! Any questions, let me know. Free advice, free guy with MLS access!
Meet Cbus TV
I would love to make this happen, but I simply do not have time. This is not a side-job. This would be full-time. Producing videos is time-consuming. Once you are reasonably good at it, figure an hour per minute of video, and that is if you already know what the content will be.
Clean video requires an hour per minute, PLUS thinking up and planning the content.
Nate TV
I still have the structure, the video equipment, and the editing software. I still have many videos that I really want to make! Down, but never out!
Park City Holdings
This ended some time ago, but I wanted to list it because I learned so much looking into the note business. It really helped me understand lenders’ motivations and value quality lenders as a real estate agent.
This arose from my desire to do real estate close to home, and I hoped to help other agents do so as well, around the country! However, making money by referring is really hard to do. You are like the broker to the middleman and it is too many steps removed from the value creation.
Nate the Columbus Commuter Biker
Maybe with all these projects off my plate I can actually ride my bike again sometimes!
Art Gallery
I’ve dabbled in the idea of transporting art from Brazil for sale in friends’ establishments here in Columbus, but it’s another thing that just takes time time time. I will still write about it!
Uber Driver
People, my car is just too old and I’m not buying a car just to make $12 / hour!
The Stock Market
Every time I hear somebody talk about the stock market, whether up or down, I am so glad that I have reclaimed the time and energy by not paying attention to that pie in the sky to which I’m always an outsider.
