They are hiding under newspapers and in the newspapers. They are lurking in back alleys and under the stairs, under the sink and on the shelves in the garage. Some are in far-away lands and can easily slip by undetected by the average investor. Some are so obvious you do not give them a second thought. Sometimes they are screaming at you from the radio and television but you tune them out.

Great companies and great stocks can be found everyday and everywhere you look. However, sometimes we look but we do not see. How can that be? Well, just follow me, and I will bring a brighter light to illuminate my picks for 2007 and beyond. Listed here in alphabetical order are my seven for 2007, with links to longer, deeper analyses:

Disclosure: I own shares in DUK, HNP, PTR, and TWX. I do not own DOW, HD, or VLO as of this writing, but I am considering them all right now, as you may be.

The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW): Dow has been trending downward for over two years from its high of $56 per share. Last night it closed at $40.14 -- roughly the same share price as three years ago.Its 52-week low was $33, which I do not believe we will see again, but anywhere between $33 and $40 should be a steal. Consider adding DOW to your watch list and buying it at an even greater discount. I think the company will pay handsomely now and in the long-term.

Ninety days have passed since I posted Scary market -- any safe stocks? and Still scary market -- more SAFE HAVENS.

When I wrote these original posts the market was on shaky ground with higher fuel prices, interest rate uncertainty, housing market questions, common summer market doldrums, and concerns about upcoming earnings reports, consumer spending, and inflation. Well, we made it through this valley of worry with fuel prices declining, interest rates stabilizing, employment and consumer confidence robust, and reported earnings primarily to the upside. The stock market has been riding this wave upward with the DJIA hitting news highs.

I revisited the stock suggestions I made in these posts after thirty days and decided to continue to track them. I believe in some level of accountability if one is blabbing (or blogging) about a subject, and especially since I have been writing for the Blogging Stocks site. All of the stocks have moved up in the last sixty days, but since my original posts in July, the share prices of six have moved up and two have gone down. I have not changed my mind about any of these companies or their stocks during this period.

We considered buying some more United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) and did not; we added to our position in the Southern Company (NYSE:SO) instead, which has done well, and Huaneng Power International, Inc. (NYSE:HNP) which has done even better; see: GOOG is OK but HNP could be better!

They are listed in the order I mentioned them in my earlier posts.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B) closed Tuesday at $3,560 up from $2,995.

Washington Mutual, Inc. (NYSE:WM) closed Tuesday at $43.00 down from $45.50.

Google, Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is up about 20% in the last six weeks, closing Wednesday at $467.50, which is wonderful for the faithful believers who seem to be in the majority. It has gone beyond any projection I could support having passed my top side 12-month value target of $440.00 after only four months. Seems it has gotten ahead of itself again by my reckoning, so I will have to let this one go.

All the excitement created by Google's very positive earnings report followed by numerous upgrades including James Cramer projecting a 12-month target of $560.00 per share still seems too volatile. This is not the next big thing, it is THE CURRENT THING.

While this GOOG euphoria has captured the imaginations and headlines, it is not the only success story. My last stock buy has also gone up just as much without all the fanfare over the same six week period.

Contrarian (noun), pronounced con.trar.i.an. : A person who takes a contrary position or attitude; specifically : an investor who buys shares of stock when most others are selling and sells when others are buying.

Turning things inside out, and upside down is basic to contrarian and value investing. In this article I will share my WOW Principal of investing.

WOW Principal origin: Observing how my wife manages our family I have been in awe. It's true: "a mother's work is never done." To express my amazement, I have exclaimed WOW often. MOM upside down spells WOW! There are many times that Mom's world is upside down, juggling three kids and an ever increasing number of commitments with spectacular efficiency. She is also an architect and my partner in our architecture practice. In my bio, I referred to my relationship with my wife as my best investment, and since we met many years ago, I have been collecting dividends.

So, it is with my wife in mind that the WOW Principal of investing came to be. It is a perfect fit with my investing style. Simply stated: If, after thorough analysis of an investment, you are not in awe of your findings (company data, news, trends and surprises) and you do cannot exclaim WOW! (double WOW is even better!), then it is not a worthy investment.

If however, the investment does reach WOW status, you are in business. I do not invest unless I think there is an amazing opportunity and any risk is understandable and acceptable. Good is not good enough, it must be a great opportunity, and the case must be very convincing.

When things are upside down or people's perspective is jaded, there may be a deep value opportunity and my interest is peaked. At the point of discovery is a moment that begins when I say "hmm," and stroke my beard. Then I spend time with my investigation and analysis. But I do not fork over any cash until I find the WOW factor(s). If you find yourself scratching your head and saying huh? instead of "Wow," move on!