Tag: economy (Page 2 of 3)

I’m reading– January 12th through January 17th

January 17, 2011 / Scott / 0 Comments

Portraits of Financial Normalcy – Some financial personality categories from @daveramsey.

Eight Crazy Constitutional Scenarios – HT @kleinheider. This reminds me of those crazy scenarios that can turn up in baseball. In baseball, they seem to actually turn up eventually too.

BMI(wife) < BMI(husband) Means a Happier Marriage – Good news for me. Barring an amputation, no danger of this changing any time soon.

Elected Official Constitutional Knowledge: Disgraceful – HT @russm. Maybe they should not only read the Constitution at the beginning of each legislative session, but also explain it as well.

Record Foreclosures in 2011? – The bright side–these properties (at least the ones I've seen) all need a lot of work. When (if) they make their way back to the market, lots of money is going to be spent to get them habitable again. Even stuff like neglected landscaping that needs to be re-done means jobs for somebody.

Hope Is Not A Strategy (Training) – I like Amanda's approach personally. Stick to the schedule, and don't be a slave to the schedule.

The 5 states where housing will recover first – At least we can be warm in Florida while we wait.

Should I work for free? – Heh

I’m reading– January 5th through January 6th

January 6, 2011 / Scott / 0 Comments

How to get Fat as Fast as Possible (losing weight humor) | 3 Boys And A Dog – How to get Fat as Fast as Possible: Woot! I'm batting 1.000 so far this year!

The most reliable (and unreliable) blogging services on the Web – These rank almost exactly as I would have expected. I kinda sorta don't get Tumblr. Is is like the midpoint between a blog and Twitter?

RunKeeper With Heart Rate Monitoring! – This almost makes me glad I need a new HRM. I hate having to buy a new one, but it's very cool that I can get one to work with RunKeeper!

How Bad Movies Get Seen By So Many People – I get accused of being a movie snob sometimes. Whatever. I don't have a lot of time to spend watching movies, and even if I did, it's not what I want to do with a lot of my time. So I'm not that interested in wasting my movie time on a recycled story or bad writing/acting.

Early Infant “Reading“ With Larry Sanger – Web’s – They really do have fun too. Learning doesn't "suck" until it's made to suck.

Global Food-Price Index Hits Record – Of course, there is no inflation. None. In fact, we need to continue to worry about deflation and "stimulate" the economy by printing more money. Got it?

Changing Huckleberry Finn – A Travesty – Anyone who thinks this is a good idea needs to read the book (again). If they still think it's a good idea, their literacy is questionable.

I’m reading– December 29th through January 4th

January 4, 2011 / Scott / 0 Comments

China Up, America Down – If them folks cain't swim, they bound to drizown. Hard to argue with these points, until China starts trying to bully other countries. In 5, 4, 3…

RunKeeper Pro– Free Through January – Normally $10 for the pro version, get it free!

Delicious In Purgatory – I would be SO gone already (I already have a contingency plan in place) if all of my Delicious bookmarks weren't being used to generate permanent blog posts for me. And my notes in Delicious (like this one) work better as comments in a blog than they do in Twitter, or my problem would be solved already.

And just like that, the plugin I use to generate posts from Delicious adds support for Pinboard. Outta here Delicious!

I’m reading– December 22nd through December 29th

December 29, 2010 / Scott / 0 Comments

10 Things We Learned in 2010 – Thanks to Mr. Dave Ramsey, I learned these things in the early 1990s. Almost 20 years ahead of the curve! Matters not…most people will forget this stuff in 5 or 6 years.

Track flight prices and check for airline refunds – Who was I talking to about doing something like this a while back? Oh yeah…emailing this to him immediately.

Will 2011 See App Makers Thinking Android-First? – Now I don't feel like as much of an idiot sitting here at Android 2.1 waiting for a Honeycomb phone to surface.

When the Diagnosis Is ‘Dead Butt Syndrome’ – Wait…so the contrapositive of this argument is that if I don't run I don't have to cross-train either, right? FTW!

How New Entrepreneurs Are Taking Advantage of the Great Reset – In front of and behind the firewall I might add.

Payday Lending Booms as Credit Cards Become Less Available – Two not-so-bold predictions. (1) Politicians will "do something" about this, probably at the state level. (2) As a result, payday lenders will be hurt, and lone-sharking at the street level will become a booming industry.

People always have and always will borrow money with outrageous terms. It's just a matter of whether they are going to lose their car title or the use of their thumbs when they don't pay.

If the market exists…

Some Linkage for Lookage

November 17, 2010 / Scott / 0 Comments

Ironman – The Inner Revolt and Busting Out – I think there’s even more to this. Part of it is convincing yourself that you are as tough as you’ve convinced everyone else you are.

An Even Tougher Deficit Plan – Sounds good to me, except for the VAT

Dr. Drew on Obamacare: ‘You will see a massive flight of physicians from the field’ – But he only plays a doctor on TV, right?

Stay Worried – “One way or another, it was worth having Microsoft Word with the expectation that the zillionaire Bill Gates’ shower is still no hotter than ours, and his private jet goes not much faster than our own cut-rate Southwest Airlines flights. All that seems simple enough — until now.”

The Parallels between Today and the Great Depression – To quote the great Jackie Martin Jr., “You all know the rules, they’re very much like Pyramid, but different.”

Stuff You Should See– August 19th through August 26th

August 26, 2010 / Scott / 0 Comments

Grilled Cheese Academy – A real education

Financial Illiteracy Is Killing Us – Seriously, are there any non-profits focused on teaching financial literacy to kids? I will volunteer to help.

Tooth Regeneration Gel Could Replace Painful Fillings – Just ordered up some jelly beans to celebrate this news.

Facebook Places vs. Foursquare – Foursquare has a game/awards (kinda). The question with FB places is “why?”. Then again, you could probably ask that question about 90% of the content there.

Furman’s FIRST Running Program – No. Junk. Miles.

Lifehacker: Our List of the Best Android Apps – Already using most, so I’m linking to this mostly to validate my choices.

“I think the Internet is the most dangerous thing invented since the atomic bomb” –John Mellencamp – Sounds like Johnny Cougar doesn’t like having his cheese moved.

What Should I Do About My Virtual Life After Death? – Adding this to my list. It’s pretty far down, but on there nonetheless.

Real Estate’s Gold Rush Seems Gone for Good – hmph

Moving on – An early shot fired against book publishing. There will be more.

Fake Drink Spills save seats – Genius!

Lottery Ticket Art – Don’t throw away those scratch off tickets…you could still be a big winner!

Bull Butter!

February 18, 2010 / Scott / 0 Comments

Class Warfare’s Next Target: 401(k) Savings.

You did the responsible thing. You saved in your IRA or 401(k) to support your retirement, when you could have spent that money on another vacation, or an upscale car, or fancier clothes and jewelry. But now Washington is developing plans for your retirement savings.

Well, they aren’t talking about confiscating your retirement savings. Instead, they want to have you “invest” that money into Treasury bonds. Oh, by the way, you are free to do that now, if you so choose.

It’s exactly what we’d all be doing that if we believed the rate of return was worth the risk involved in the investment.

My suggestion to anyone who is in favor of this crap is to go ahead and divest all of your retirement savings currently sitting in mutual funds/stocks and buy up Treasury bonds.

Then come talk to me about why this is a good idea. We’ll have that discussion again in 10 years or so and see what you think about it then.

Tormented by the Wall Street Journal

February 4, 2010 / Scott / 0 Comments

I’ve read two articles in the WSJ this week about the housing market, and now I’m less certain than ever about what’s going to happen in the next year.

Is 2010 the Year of the Short Sale?

If 2009 was the year of the foreclosure (and loan modification), then 2010 may be shaping up as the year of the short sale.

I’d say 2011 is more realistic, unless they are predicting a slew of short sales starting in Q1. Our experience with trying to purchase short sales is that they take a long time. How long? We’re not really sure, because we haven’t made it to the end of the process yet. But five months seems to be a reasonable expectation for a minimum, and that’s just for the bank to get back to you with a yes or no.

I’m interested to see what is going to happen when, by the time the bank responds to an offer with a “yes”, the house is no longer worth the amount that was originally offered. Because, some people think we’re still in a housing bubble:

Rental apartment vacancies are reaching record highs. Many segments of the housing market are still oversupplied. And the core demographic in the country—the baby boomers—are reaching the age where they’re more likely to downsize, buying less house in the years to come.

Throw in the tax credits, artificially low mortgage rates, and the fact that the fed is still buying mortgage backed securities, and it’s hard to make the case that the housing market is not still artificially high.

It seems like the easiest way back to a true(r) market would be for banks to sell off their bad assets as quickly and efficiently as possible through the short sale process. Quick and efficient doesn’t seem to be the order of the day, however.

Stuff You Should See– January 5th through January 7th

January 7, 2010 / Scott / 0 Comments

If Big Stupid Tommy ran the Knoxville News-Sentinel – Big Stupid Tommy is a genius.

You Drive What? – Proud to be among the first to provide them with some link love. This looks very promising.

What Google’s Nexus One means to your organization – I’ve had my Android phone for about two and a half months now. I’d say the model I have isn’t quite on par with the iPhone standards by hardware standards, but the Android platform is. The phones are only going to get better, and they’re available on multiple carriers. Even development is more hassle free. Look out Apple.

Memphis Has Lost A Shining Star – Some sad news coming out of Memphis.

Home sales fall 16% in November – The real estate market may not be finished falling, but I don’t see interest rate opportunities getting any better in the near term. That’s what skeers me the most.

How to say stupid things about social media – Without a doubt, this is the best article on social media I’ve read in a while.

C-SPAN Challenges Congress to Open Health Care Talks to TV Coverage – I know they have the numbers to pass anything they want. But those representing states and districts that oppose this legislation have the OBLIGATION to be as contrary and obstructive in these negotiations as their constituents want them to be. It’s still a representative republic, right?

Delicious Link Dump– December 22nd through December 28th

December 28, 2009 / Scott / 0 Comments

2009: The Year of the Failed Narratives – I love story time! I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed that none of the stuff they are trying to sell us involves dragons or unicorns. I mean, if we're going to write fiction, let's go all the way with it.

Ghetto Kool-Aid – The word "ghetto" is over-used. The word "Kool-Aid", however, is not.

The New Flight Security Rules, So Far – When you can count on showing up for a flight four hours early, not being allowed to access your carry-ons (the whole purpose for carrying things on when you have children), not being able to hold objects in your lap (try explaining that to a toddler), and not being able to go to the restroom for the last hour of the flight…why on earth would anyone fly anywhere with kids? This will definitely be changing our travel plans in the future.

Is cable worth it? – Not even if they paid you to watch the commercials

Top 10 Bad Things That Are Good For You – I don't set things on fire and put them in my mouth, so weed is out. Can I double down on the beer instead? And I won't need the LSD to counter the extra beer for a few years. I won't knock the maggots until I've tried them.

Obama, Left Behind – What he really needs to fix this is a new web site and a fresh Twitter account. They'll be back in no time.

Mortgage Applications Drop to 2-Month Low – I have to believe this is mostly due to the fact that people are hanging out waiting on short sale approval letters. *hint hint*

Learn to Let Go: How Success Killed Duke Nukem – Shake it baby! This is the first and only shoot 'em game I ever bought, but it was pretty good. I'm not that into video games, so I didn't really keep up with the drama that was the continual delayed release of the sequel.

Stripper For Christmas – Ho Ho Ho! Yeah, that wasn't very original.

Delicious Link Dump– December 15th through December 17th

December 17, 2009 / Scott / 0 Comments

8 More PowerPoint Train Wrecks – I went to a great 2 day coaching clinic last weekend. About 10 minutes of the 2 days included the use of PowerPoint. Coincidence?

In Search Of Clark Griswold’s House – You have to check every single light individually.

Carbonhagen Meltdown – LOL! “…riots, madness, styrofoam cups, people eating meat, real fur coats, CFC-laden hairspray cans, it’s crazy.”

STOP! –

45 Free Online Computer Science Courses | – Street Fighting Mathematics? I’m in.

In pictures: Zambia’s leading lady in the ring – My buddy I.B. sent me this. He’s an Indian guy who grew up in Zambia and has a British accent. He also wrote the first code editor I’m aware of that allowed you to highlight and comment a complete block of code.

With U.S. Opportunities Dim, Expats Return Home – That’s a relief. Now we don’t have to worry about them taking our jobs. Oh…wait a minute…

Delicious Link Dump– December 9th through December 15th

December 15, 2009 / Scott / 0 Comments

With U.S. Opportunities Dim, Expats Return Home – That's a relief. Now we don't have to worry about them taking our jobs. Oh…wait a minute…

10 Ways Social Media Will Change In 2010 – And how do you plan to adjust your strategies?

You’ve Got Mail, But the Mailman Hid It – In the near future, postmen caught hiding mail will be transferred to the U.S. Department of Medical Services as a punishment.

To comment or not to comment on Facebook – Here's a simple flowchart to help you decide

Option Arms: A poison pill for housing – – Would love to see a heat map showing where these were issued. Anyone? Anyone?

Matt Banahan red carded for stamping – Play as much rugby as possible while you can boys. The game will soon be turned into nothing but a series of free kicks.

Twoddler Lets Toddlers Send Tweets – – Uh….no.

Essential Year-End Money Moves – Solid info.

Delicious Link Dump– December 6th through December 8th

December 8, 2009 / Scott / 0 Comments

Women linked to Tiger Woods – At least he has a better eye for talent than Bill Clinton.

Shashi Tharoor: Why nations should pursue "soft" power – If this is true, please explain to me why chicks always dig the guy who can beat up everyone else.

Surf’s up as biggest waves in five years come to Hawaii after North Pacific storm – Sick.

About Those ‘Tax Cuts for the Rich’ – I guess it's time we start paying our fair share after all. And I'm not rich.

More Regulation to Help the "Underserved"? – If a man was smart he would try to figure out where this will create a bubble, invest there, wait for the bubble to inflate, then get out before it bursts. If I man was smart…

Changes hit home for appraiser – Hooray for regulations! Increased cost to the consumer AND reduced income for the service provider! Yay!

America’s Best Bang-For-The-Buck Cities – Cool…we unwittingly moved form the #22 city on the list to #18. Look how smart we is.

Apple’s Lala Acquisition – I have high hopes for what is possible here, but my hopes for an Android app are diminishing.

An iPhone App to Track How Badly AT&T Sucks – But it works right out of the box. And if it stops working, you can pay someone else to fix it.

16 Reasons Why We Might Unfollow You On Twitter – A pretty good list here. I can't say I disagree with any of it.

Sentinels Of Freedom Golf Ball Drop – Great Idea for a great cause!

Delicious Link Dump– November 30th through December 3rd

December 3, 2009 / Scott / 0 Comments

Obama Ecstasy pills hit the streets – I knew they were on something.

A gay secession manifesto – Careful what you ask for. Your opponents just may support you in this whole heartedly.

Is Facebook Losing its Coveted Demographic? – Duh. Who wants to use the same service as their parents? That doesn't take a genius to figure out.

A slightly unfortunate Twitter billboard – Sad someone got suspended from their job for a week over this. It's just a someone humorous accident…not that big of a deal.

20 Things Worth Knowing About Beer – If given the same opportunity as water, I believe beer could have created an even Grander Canyon.

Stoplight Redesign – I like the idea. Wondering why they didn't build a mount for cameras right in.

The End Of The CrunchPad – Sucks. I was hoping to get one of these instead of the Apple tablet someday. I cain't have nuthin' nice!

Unemployment Growth on a Map – Pretty interesting graphic here that demonstrates how tough the economy is becoming.

Delicious Link Dump– November 10th through November 17th

November 17, 2009 / Scott / 0 Comments

Union troubled by Eagle Scout project in Allentown – How dare you do something for free that these guys won't do for less than $15/hour!

Bernanke reassures markets on dollar – Uh-oh. The dreaded "vote of confidence." That means there's a committee already formed to find a new coach.

A phpBB to bbPress database converter « – But first you have to install 0.7, convert, then upgrade to 0.8, then upgrade to 1.02. Ironically, it seems completely worth it.

The 7 Harsh Realities of Social Media Marketing – Some good stuff here

Can the Government Save the Airlines? – What the airlines need are a few more stylin', profilin', limousine riding, jet flying, kiss-stealing, wheelin' n' dealin' sons of guns like Ric Flair!

Training the Mind to Run Right Through the Winter – Looking forward to not having this problem.

BeautifulPeople.com – I see absolutely nothing wrong with this. It's smart.

Happy Holidays: Google Offers Free WiFi At 47 Airports – Cool. I wish this were the norm, and I suspect it will be one day very soon.

Gettin’ After It!