On Christmas day, I went to the movies. I saw The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in HFR 3D. What a glorious way to watch a movie. It's like you're in the same room with the characters.
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Merry Christmas 2012
Even though I've been dropping hints for months, somehow I didn't get the money clip I wanted from Santa. And the one from Kohl's was just not going to cut it. So I went online and bought one for myself from Overstock.com. Amazon, in this case, was actually priced higher!
Monday, December 17, 2012
Pea Soup
I made split pea soup last weekend for maybe the second time in my life, or so I can remember. It was fantastically simple using Hurst's dried split peas. All you have to do is follow the instructions explicitly and add a bit of ham.
F*cking TWC!
Sometimes, all you have to do is call and plead your case to the nice customer service folks at Time Warner Cable to get your monthly bill reduced.
I initially changed to TWC to get cable internet, which is the fastest internet in my neighborhood. That was their only service I had for awhile. Then my DirecTv bill spiked right before I found myself laid off from work, so I turned it off I bought a digital TV receiver. It was O.K. for awhile, but to be honest, just watching local channels plus PBS kinda sucked, but especially after KTLA turned off their music video channel.
So I called TWC to turn on the cable, which I never had since I've lived in the condo. It was an ordeal because the regular guy didn't want to run the drop to my bedroom. He had to call his supervisor to do it. Once the supervisor was here, the installation I wanted was no problem. Later, I decided to dump AT&T in order to get "bundled" service AKA phone, cable TV and internet at a discount.
Well, as of this last bill, all of the discounts finally expired and I was in payment shock. And that's exactly what I told Kendall- customer service professional at TWC. First, I said I was thinking of turning off my cable phone because my highest bill with AT&T was $32. So, Kendall puts me on hold for about 30 seconds, and then comes back on the line to tell me, we don't want to loose your business, so we can give you a deal for $125 a month for the next 12 months. And then I say, well I also called to turn off some of the cable packages because I'm just not watching them (and I just bought a Roku box for Christmas), so if you could do that, too, we've got a deal. So I turned off the HBO and Showtime because honestly, True Blood is the only thing I watch on HBO and that doesn't come back on until June. And I also turned off the Choice Tier, too. So this brought my monthly payment down to $108 or about $100 less than the bill I'm going to pay in December which is GAG-CHOKE, WAY TOO much!
I initially changed to TWC to get cable internet, which is the fastest internet in my neighborhood. That was their only service I had for awhile. Then my DirecTv bill spiked right before I found myself laid off from work, so I turned it off I bought a digital TV receiver. It was O.K. for awhile, but to be honest, just watching local channels plus PBS kinda sucked, but especially after KTLA turned off their music video channel.
So I called TWC to turn on the cable, which I never had since I've lived in the condo. It was an ordeal because the regular guy didn't want to run the drop to my bedroom. He had to call his supervisor to do it. Once the supervisor was here, the installation I wanted was no problem. Later, I decided to dump AT&T in order to get "bundled" service AKA phone, cable TV and internet at a discount.
Well, as of this last bill, all of the discounts finally expired and I was in payment shock. And that's exactly what I told Kendall- customer service professional at TWC. First, I said I was thinking of turning off my cable phone because my highest bill with AT&T was $32. So, Kendall puts me on hold for about 30 seconds, and then comes back on the line to tell me, we don't want to loose your business, so we can give you a deal for $125 a month for the next 12 months. And then I say, well I also called to turn off some of the cable packages because I'm just not watching them (and I just bought a Roku box for Christmas), so if you could do that, too, we've got a deal. So I turned off the HBO and Showtime because honestly, True Blood is the only thing I watch on HBO and that doesn't come back on until June. And I also turned off the Choice Tier, too. So this brought my monthly payment down to $108 or about $100 less than the bill I'm going to pay in December which is GAG-CHOKE, WAY TOO much!
Monday, December 3, 2012
New Music from Bleu - It's Not Over ('Til it's Over And Done)
Bleu - It's Not Over ('Til it's Over And Done)
from his upcoming new album "TO HELL WITH YOU"
pending to be released in Feb.2013
from his upcoming new album "TO HELL WITH YOU"
pending to be released in Feb.2013
Sunday, December 2, 2012
More Financial Links:
http://moneyning.com/mortgage/how-to-recast-your-mortgage/
Recast. Maybe you've heard this rarely used financial term before and didn't know what it was. Well, what a recast basically is is a principle reduction plus a re-amortization of the remaining balance on your loan. The above link which takes you the MoneyNing blog by David Ning explains it all.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-practical-moves-avoid-problem-080054368.html
Good advice on how to gain control over your finances.
Recast. Maybe you've heard this rarely used financial term before and didn't know what it was. Well, what a recast basically is is a principle reduction plus a re-amortization of the remaining balance on your loan. The above link which takes you the MoneyNing blog by David Ning explains it all.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-practical-moves-avoid-problem-080054368.html
Good advice on how to gain control over your finances.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
A Penny Here, A Penny There...
The State of California just approved a quarter of a cent sales tax increase with Proposition 30 for the next 4 years. This mean on January 1, 2013, the state sales tax for everyone is going up to 7.50%. In addition, it also increases the personal income tax for residents who earn over $250,000 for the next 7 years. And , no, I did not vote to increase my state's taxes.
http://www.boe.ca.gov/news/pdf/l337.pdf
http://vig.cdn.sos.ca.gov/2012/general/pdf/30-title-summ-analysis.pdf
Being lower middle class in OC is looking better all the time... as compared to the city of Los Angeles...
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Los-Angeles-City-Council-Gives-Initial-Approval-to-Half-Cent-Sales-Tax-on-March-Ballot-179214271.html
The sales tax there is already 8.75%
http://www.boe.ca.gov/news/pdf/l337.pdf
http://vig.cdn.sos.ca.gov/2012/general/pdf/30-title-summ-analysis.pdf
Being lower middle class in OC is looking better all the time... as compared to the city of Los Angeles...
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Los-Angeles-City-Council-Gives-Initial-Approval-to-Half-Cent-Sales-Tax-on-March-Ballot-179214271.html
The sales tax there is already 8.75%
Thursday, November 8, 2012
The New Business of Old Music
The New Business of Old Music(c) written by JStutz 11/08/2012
1. An old man's indulgence of recording songs he likes that are not his own and calling it an album.
2. A band leader, usually a singer/songwriter, who re-records beloved hits all on his own playing and singing all parts to re-sell and removing any opportunity for royalties going to the musicians on the originally released songs.
3. When songs from your 30-40 year old music catalog get less airplay, you sell your music to the people who make movies and commercials to keep your songs in circulation. And you allow it to be part of other compilations with various artists.
4. The new trend for old music is to re-release it in collectors, special, anniversary, box sets, or vinyl versions. Sometimes re-engineered, sometimes remixed, sometimes not when you don't have the money to do it.
This is the new business of old music.
Initially, I couldn't figure out why Jeff Lynne's new album wasn't getting any attention, but after listening to previews of each song for the first time this morning on iTunes, I figured it out. He perpetrated #1 from the above list. It was released in March in England and in the US on October 9th. It only came to my attention after the promotion of a BBC documentary showing on 11/14 at the Grammy Museum in Downtown Los Angeles. Tickets went on sale 10/31 and now are sold out. I could kick myself.
He also released Mr. Blue Sky - the very best of ELO. On this recording, he perpetrated #2 and #4 from the above list.
I can't say that I've lost respect for the man, but due to his ongoing aggravation from musicians that used to play with him in ELO and of the music business in general, I really can't blame him for his actions.
After all, they are his songs and he is Mr. Blue Sky.
Later, I found the same BBC documentary on Paladia and recorded it. It started out good and then went astray. I wish it was more like this website (in Danish) to a point, then interspersed with parts of ELO videos and concert footage. http://www.10538overture.dk/Member%20page/JEFF%20LYNNE.htm
1. An old man's indulgence of recording songs he likes that are not his own and calling it an album.
2. A band leader, usually a singer/songwriter, who re-records beloved hits all on his own playing and singing all parts to re-sell and removing any opportunity for royalties going to the musicians on the originally released songs.
3. When songs from your 30-40 year old music catalog get less airplay, you sell your music to the people who make movies and commercials to keep your songs in circulation. And you allow it to be part of other compilations with various artists.
4. The new trend for old music is to re-release it in collectors, special, anniversary, box sets, or vinyl versions. Sometimes re-engineered, sometimes remixed, sometimes not when you don't have the money to do it.
This is the new business of old music.
Initially, I couldn't figure out why Jeff Lynne's new album wasn't getting any attention, but after listening to previews of each song for the first time this morning on iTunes, I figured it out. He perpetrated #1 from the above list. It was released in March in England and in the US on October 9th. It only came to my attention after the promotion of a BBC documentary showing on 11/14 at the Grammy Museum in Downtown Los Angeles. Tickets went on sale 10/31 and now are sold out. I could kick myself.
He also released Mr. Blue Sky - the very best of ELO. On this recording, he perpetrated #2 and #4 from the above list.
I can't say that I've lost respect for the man, but due to his ongoing aggravation from musicians that used to play with him in ELO and of the music business in general, I really can't blame him for his actions.
After all, they are his songs and he is Mr. Blue Sky.
Later, I found the same BBC documentary on Paladia and recorded it. It started out good and then went astray. I wish it was more like this website (in Danish) to a point, then interspersed with parts of ELO videos and concert footage. http://www.10538overture.dk/Member%20page/JEFF%20LYNNE.htm
Saturday, November 3, 2012
A Retirement Wake-up Call
I woke up really early this morning, my body anticipating the time change this weekend and to the noise of the TV being on to that Ed Slott infomercial about saving your retirement. I've seen it before. I'm sure I'll watch it again. But something struck me. 2012 went by so fast and I probably have about 20 more working years before I retire.
FACT: The three things you cannot live without are food, shelter and clothing. People will give you clothes and share their food with you as these things are relatively cheap but you have to maintain a roof over your head or eventually you'll die of exposure to the elements.
FACT: The single most expensive financial decision one will ever make is to buy a house.
I went to lunch the other day with my cheapskate lunch date (who is in retail loan sales) and somehow the conversation always turns to money. Previously, I discussed with him my need to refinance my home because I currently have a Hybrid 5 year Fixed/6 month Libor Note that's been adjusting for awhile now. Since LIBOR rates are tied to the European economy and it followed the U.S. economy decline with the credit crunch and the housing market crisis, my Note rate dropped from the initial rate and has stayed low... but the economy is improving. Jobs are coming back to the finance market because even I've had opportunities to interview recently for what I do which is highly specialized and I'm not looking for a new job now. And with an improved economy, interest rates will start to creep up higher. And the interest rate I'm paying today for my home loan is close to market rate and I don't want to put myself into a situation where I have a high interest rate and may not be able to refinance in the future. I also know that my loan is owned by Fannie Mae and HARP Loans, that are easier to qualify for with a high LTV and that require no appraisal, are going away next year.
After getting back to work, he sent me this email:
"Your goal this week or next is to contact HR in order to open a 401(k) because retiring poor sucks. I have to turn down seniors all the time (for cash-out refi home loans) and it makes me sad."
I had a 401(k) before I was laid-off from my mortgage job (the company closed) and because it lost half it's value and I didn't know when I was going to get my next job, I liquidated it the moment I could. Almost right after my severance pay ran out, in February 2008, I was hired as a contractor to Fannie Mae for a year and a half driving 150 miles round trip for work each day to manage the default vault at 1800 Tapo Canyon (if your're in the industry, you know that address holds one of the highest number of mortgage loans on the west coast) of loans moving from Countrywide's safekeeping into my custody. I supervised the vault's growth to hold 325,000 files (who knows how large it is today). The stock market tanked in October. HBO produced an excellent movie called "Too Big to Fail" which is a portrayal of what happened in October 2008. I was sitting in the belly of the beast and the beast was required to be bought by B of A and the behest of the U.S. federal government due to B of A exercising a large repurchase of poor performing loans.
FACT: You only have about 45-50 years to save before you retire.
When you're in your 20's and busy establishing your career, home and family, you're probably not thinking a whole hell of a lot about your retirement. My cheapskate lunch date is actually the same age I am, mid-40's, and as he's also a Realtor, he's put his money to work more than I have in the past so I have to give him some respect for the financial position he's in now as compared to mine own.
My parents, when they retired, didn't really plan for it. Both had to work after retirement because they didn't have homes to sell and live off of the proceeds or even homes that generated a net income from rent. They had no savings accounts, just checking accounts. Both had meager life insurance payouts. I was able to settle my father's estate, but my mothers???
She lived off of credit cards until the day she died. As I cleared out her apartment, I found many newly bought items and at the time, couldn't figure out how she could afford it. That is until I found a brown box in the back of her closet full of unpaid credit card bills which turned into charge offs. She couldn't afford it. She consulted with a family friend, a lawyer, that told her not to pay them after she was 75 and had triple by-pass heart surgery.
I took back to the store those items I could find receipts for and threw the contents of her apartment in storage because it was right before Christmas when she passed. I paid the final utility bills with the cash on hand and that refund money and also ignored those credit card bills. Because of the lack of her financial and retirement planning, I had to pay out of my own pocket for her cremation, her headstone, her funeral and the transfer of her ashes to New York where they were buried with her parents, my grandparent, as she wanted. It took me a year and a half to get rid of that storage unit, finally donating the majority of the contents to Goodwill after giving away some things to friends and I paid for that storage unit, too. I can imagine my story of not being able to settle my mother's estate multiplied by the number new retirees and the debt river that's coming.
So in essence, if the vast majority of people now have the lack of retirement planning, execution and savings like my parents had, you and I will be paying for it all the way through the period the baby boomer generation (born between 1946 and 1964) goes into retirement (2011 to 2029) and subsequently passes away passing their unpaid debt onto the large financial institutions who will pass it on to the consumer in the form of higher fees and interest rates. That consumer is you and me.
Ed Slott says the biggest retirement killer are:
1. taxes
Tax free safety zone (life insurance and annuity)
Payouts from Life Insurance are tax free.
Roth IRA's conversions. You can get an annuity inside your Roth IRA.
2. risk
You cannot rely on the stock market for a secure retirement future. Think about an annuity. It guaranties your retirement income for life.
3. saving money
Sometimes you have to spend money now to save money later. Buy life insurance. Seek out qualified financial planners.
4. uncertainty
No one will ever care about your retirement money more than you.
5. inactivity
Doing nothing will be costly because prices rise and taxes increase. Do something now when you can. If you want a secure financial future, you have to do something about it.
I emailed HR about establishing a new 401(k) blind-copying my friend and then I called and was qualified for a HARP loan all in the same day.
Lets see where I am this time, next year...
FACT: The three things you cannot live without are food, shelter and clothing. People will give you clothes and share their food with you as these things are relatively cheap but you have to maintain a roof over your head or eventually you'll die of exposure to the elements.
FACT: The single most expensive financial decision one will ever make is to buy a house.
I went to lunch the other day with my cheapskate lunch date (who is in retail loan sales) and somehow the conversation always turns to money. Previously, I discussed with him my need to refinance my home because I currently have a Hybrid 5 year Fixed/6 month Libor Note that's been adjusting for awhile now. Since LIBOR rates are tied to the European economy and it followed the U.S. economy decline with the credit crunch and the housing market crisis, my Note rate dropped from the initial rate and has stayed low... but the economy is improving. Jobs are coming back to the finance market because even I've had opportunities to interview recently for what I do which is highly specialized and I'm not looking for a new job now. And with an improved economy, interest rates will start to creep up higher. And the interest rate I'm paying today for my home loan is close to market rate and I don't want to put myself into a situation where I have a high interest rate and may not be able to refinance in the future. I also know that my loan is owned by Fannie Mae and HARP Loans, that are easier to qualify for with a high LTV and that require no appraisal, are going away next year.
After getting back to work, he sent me this email:
"Your goal this week or next is to contact HR in order to open a 401(k) because retiring poor sucks. I have to turn down seniors all the time (for cash-out refi home loans) and it makes me sad."
I had a 401(k) before I was laid-off from my mortgage job (the company closed) and because it lost half it's value and I didn't know when I was going to get my next job, I liquidated it the moment I could. Almost right after my severance pay ran out, in February 2008, I was hired as a contractor to Fannie Mae for a year and a half driving 150 miles round trip for work each day to manage the default vault at 1800 Tapo Canyon (if your're in the industry, you know that address holds one of the highest number of mortgage loans on the west coast) of loans moving from Countrywide's safekeeping into my custody. I supervised the vault's growth to hold 325,000 files (who knows how large it is today). The stock market tanked in October. HBO produced an excellent movie called "Too Big to Fail" which is a portrayal of what happened in October 2008. I was sitting in the belly of the beast and the beast was required to be bought by B of A and the behest of the U.S. federal government due to B of A exercising a large repurchase of poor performing loans.
FACT: You only have about 45-50 years to save before you retire.
When you're in your 20's and busy establishing your career, home and family, you're probably not thinking a whole hell of a lot about your retirement. My cheapskate lunch date is actually the same age I am, mid-40's, and as he's also a Realtor, he's put his money to work more than I have in the past so I have to give him some respect for the financial position he's in now as compared to mine own.
My parents, when they retired, didn't really plan for it. Both had to work after retirement because they didn't have homes to sell and live off of the proceeds or even homes that generated a net income from rent. They had no savings accounts, just checking accounts. Both had meager life insurance payouts. I was able to settle my father's estate, but my mothers???
She lived off of credit cards until the day she died. As I cleared out her apartment, I found many newly bought items and at the time, couldn't figure out how she could afford it. That is until I found a brown box in the back of her closet full of unpaid credit card bills which turned into charge offs. She couldn't afford it. She consulted with a family friend, a lawyer, that told her not to pay them after she was 75 and had triple by-pass heart surgery.
I took back to the store those items I could find receipts for and threw the contents of her apartment in storage because it was right before Christmas when she passed. I paid the final utility bills with the cash on hand and that refund money and also ignored those credit card bills. Because of the lack of her financial and retirement planning, I had to pay out of my own pocket for her cremation, her headstone, her funeral and the transfer of her ashes to New York where they were buried with her parents, my grandparent, as she wanted. It took me a year and a half to get rid of that storage unit, finally donating the majority of the contents to Goodwill after giving away some things to friends and I paid for that storage unit, too. I can imagine my story of not being able to settle my mother's estate multiplied by the number new retirees and the debt river that's coming.
So in essence, if the vast majority of people now have the lack of retirement planning, execution and savings like my parents had, you and I will be paying for it all the way through the period the baby boomer generation (born between 1946 and 1964) goes into retirement (2011 to 2029) and subsequently passes away passing their unpaid debt onto the large financial institutions who will pass it on to the consumer in the form of higher fees and interest rates. That consumer is you and me.
Ed Slott says the biggest retirement killer are:
1. taxes
Tax free safety zone (life insurance and annuity)
Payouts from Life Insurance are tax free.
Roth IRA's conversions. You can get an annuity inside your Roth IRA.
2. risk
You cannot rely on the stock market for a secure retirement future. Think about an annuity. It guaranties your retirement income for life.
3. saving money
Sometimes you have to spend money now to save money later. Buy life insurance. Seek out qualified financial planners.
4. uncertainty
No one will ever care about your retirement money more than you.
5. inactivity
Doing nothing will be costly because prices rise and taxes increase. Do something now when you can. If you want a secure financial future, you have to do something about it.
I emailed HR about establishing a new 401(k) blind-copying my friend and then I called and was qualified for a HARP loan all in the same day.
Lets see where I am this time, next year...
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
This Halloween is not like all the others
My thoughts and prayers go out to all those on the East coast dealing with the effects of Hurricane Sandy.
The greater tri-state area was hit hard. Some places harder than hard. Some people lost everything. The NYC MTA was crippled by the flooding. The stock market was closed for two days.
The greater tri-state area was hit hard. Some places harder than hard. Some people lost everything. The NYC MTA was crippled by the flooding. The stock market was closed for two days.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Sunday, October 14, 2012
At the Movies
I went to the movies on Friday night with my cheapskate lunch date, who bought me a pretzel and Coke at the Arclight. A change in theater numbers left us in the lobby for a bit before the earlier show had ended. We chatted about food, family and work. The concessions stand, I think, is selling breakfast sausages (chicken and mango and jalapeno or apple) like they sell at Costco by Aidells. Fancy. We had to ask for the mustard because there are no condiments in the lobby anymore.
Argo was almost sold out and he didn't like the remaining seats or the later start time, so we saw Looper. It was the second time for me. I caught more of the details this time around and had to explain the story to my friend who viewed it for the first time.
I'm still looking forward to seeing:
Argo
Cloud Atlas, opening 10/26
Killing them Softly, opening 11/30
Argo was almost sold out and he didn't like the remaining seats or the later start time, so we saw Looper. It was the second time for me. I caught more of the details this time around and had to explain the story to my friend who viewed it for the first time.
I'm still looking forward to seeing:
Argo
Cloud Atlas, opening 10/26
Killing them Softly, opening 11/30
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Interview Day
It's rare that I get to interview these days because of the nature of the work I do and the unique skill set I possess. I was intrigued by an ad posted for a position from a certain mortgage company in Foothill Ranch, but I found it odd that they wanted to interview me for a different position.
So I get the call from HR and them they tell me I have to take two tests online before I fill out my application. Initially, I felt kind of insulted that a person with my experience would have to take a test before I could interview. One was a PI test and another was Wonderlic. I did them anyway then filled out the online application. I'll play the game. I'm a good test taker.
I applied for a different position, but was contacted by HR about the Collateral Team Lead. I checked their careers website the night before my interview to find many, many more job postings plus the head of credit, transaction legal and Sr. treasury were gone, so I didn't have a good feeling about the company going in. Even though I have 20 years experience working with collateral, I still had to take yet a third online personality test before my interview. I guess experience is not enough.
Then I met with an operations manager in a sweatshirt, jeans and sneakers who stated she had jumped around the office doing "project clean-up", what I do wasn't her field of expertise and then she divulged more proprietary company information than I needed to be told during an interview which was shocking so I decided to ask questions. Thirty minutes later, she ended the interview and I decided they don't know what they're doing nor do they care about post closing activities. The processes described made me want to scream in fright and run away.
So I get the call from HR and them they tell me I have to take two tests online before I fill out my application. Initially, I felt kind of insulted that a person with my experience would have to take a test before I could interview. One was a PI test and another was Wonderlic. I did them anyway then filled out the online application. I'll play the game. I'm a good test taker.
I applied for a different position, but was contacted by HR about the Collateral Team Lead. I checked their careers website the night before my interview to find many, many more job postings plus the head of credit, transaction legal and Sr. treasury were gone, so I didn't have a good feeling about the company going in. Even though I have 20 years experience working with collateral, I still had to take yet a third online personality test before my interview. I guess experience is not enough.
Then I met with an operations manager in a sweatshirt, jeans and sneakers who stated she had jumped around the office doing "project clean-up", what I do wasn't her field of expertise and then she divulged more proprietary company information than I needed to be told during an interview which was shocking so I decided to ask questions. Thirty minutes later, she ended the interview and I decided they don't know what they're doing nor do they care about post closing activities. The processes described made me want to scream in fright and run away.
Friday, October 5, 2012
Hidden Powers of Your Mouse | Upgrade Your Life - Yahoo! News
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Don't you wish you were a Freddie Mac lawyer this week
From Yahoo News:
Articles involving Freddie Mac-
A cautionary tale about what "as is" can mean in the real estate market:
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/mystery-illness-solved-family-discovers-home-meth-lab-184815233.html
"Bad loans? Phooey. I want my money back" Freddie settles with B of A:
http://news.yahoo.com/freddie-mac-recover-billions-extra-loan-reviews-regulator-040940539--sector.html
USB can be sued:
http://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/ubs-denied-request-suspend-6-4-billion-federal-193955938--sector.html
Shareholder's lawsuit against Freddie dismissed:
http://news.yahoo.com/us-judge-tosses-lawsuit-against-freddie-mac-175918394--finance.html;_ylt=A2KJjb15zmpQmTQAhKbQtDMD
Articles involving Freddie Mac-
A cautionary tale about what "as is" can mean in the real estate market:
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/mystery-illness-solved-family-discovers-home-meth-lab-184815233.html
"Bad loans? Phooey. I want my money back" Freddie settles with B of A:
http://news.yahoo.com/freddie-mac-recover-billions-extra-loan-reviews-regulator-040940539--sector.html
USB can be sued:
http://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/ubs-denied-request-suspend-6-4-billion-federal-193955938--sector.html
Shareholder's lawsuit against Freddie dismissed:
http://news.yahoo.com/us-judge-tosses-lawsuit-against-freddie-mac-175918394--finance.html;_ylt=A2KJjb15zmpQmTQAhKbQtDMD
Saturday, September 15, 2012
In the News
1)
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-13/fed-plans-to-buy-40-billion-in-mortgage-securities-each-month.html
2)
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-14/mortgage-bond-spreads-fall-to-record-low-as-fed-starts-buying.html
3)
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/does-quantitative-easing-mainly-help-154211100.html
4)
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/jailed-banker-helped-crack-swiss-142921849.html
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-13/fed-plans-to-buy-40-billion-in-mortgage-securities-each-month.html
2)
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-14/mortgage-bond-spreads-fall-to-record-low-as-fed-starts-buying.html
3)
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/does-quantitative-easing-mainly-help-154211100.html
4)
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/jailed-banker-helped-crack-swiss-142921849.html
Monday, September 10, 2012
I just saw it on CNN.com: Anonymous member claims responsibility for GoDaddy outage
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sunday, September 9, 2012
It's September already?
Where did the summer go? I'm sitting here writing this blog entry one weekend after Labor Day listening to "Breakfast with The Beatles" after having made lemonade and iced tea.
Mine started with a trip to Chicago and ended with a movie laden three day holiday weekend. I never really liked to do much of anything on Labor Day weekend. Let the others drive to where they planned to go. I'll stay home and BBQ and catch up on TV. It went by so fast, I forgot to paint my toenails this year.
What I've noticed as I'm growing older and more people call me "Ma'am" is that the days are longer and the nights are shorter which is not really a good thing for someone who only sleeps 6-7 hours anyway.
I started to walk more this summer... by design or by... accident, you could say due to the July 4th weekend fender bender I had on a freeway near my home. After the collision center threw away the damaged bumper with the condo's parking sticker on it and not wanting to deal with the idiots on the board, I started to park outside of my complex about a 10 minute walk away. It's helping me in two ways: 1) more exercise and 2) to de-stress after a long drive. When I was on b/c for years, they, the doctors, always tell you you can expect to gain weight because of the monthly hormones fluctuation. Because I don't eat any dairy, I think that helped not gain huge amounts of weight over the years, but I know if I eat tons of sugar and chips, it tends to creep up. And I love chips. If I keep it below 120, that would be good. If it was closer to 110, that would be better. I was 108 when I graduated from high school 28 years ago.
The tomatoes I planted in the spring grew finally. I grew a Japanese heirloom cherry tomato plant from last years seed called Chika and killed the strawberry, the thyme and the rosemary bush due to not watering them. All four tomato plants are on drip irrigation and a timer in which the run off falls into other potted plants below them.
I didn't get to any of the fairs or festivals that go on throughout the summer months in Southern California either.
Mine started with a trip to Chicago and ended with a movie laden three day holiday weekend. I never really liked to do much of anything on Labor Day weekend. Let the others drive to where they planned to go. I'll stay home and BBQ and catch up on TV. It went by so fast, I forgot to paint my toenails this year.
What I've noticed as I'm growing older and more people call me "Ma'am" is that the days are longer and the nights are shorter which is not really a good thing for someone who only sleeps 6-7 hours anyway.
I started to walk more this summer... by design or by... accident, you could say due to the July 4th weekend fender bender I had on a freeway near my home. After the collision center threw away the damaged bumper with the condo's parking sticker on it and not wanting to deal with the idiots on the board, I started to park outside of my complex about a 10 minute walk away. It's helping me in two ways: 1) more exercise and 2) to de-stress after a long drive. When I was on b/c for years, they, the doctors, always tell you you can expect to gain weight because of the monthly hormones fluctuation. Because I don't eat any dairy, I think that helped not gain huge amounts of weight over the years, but I know if I eat tons of sugar and chips, it tends to creep up. And I love chips. If I keep it below 120, that would be good. If it was closer to 110, that would be better. I was 108 when I graduated from high school 28 years ago.
The tomatoes I planted in the spring grew finally. I grew a Japanese heirloom cherry tomato plant from last years seed called Chika and killed the strawberry, the thyme and the rosemary bush due to not watering them. All four tomato plants are on drip irrigation and a timer in which the run off falls into other potted plants below them.
I didn't get to any of the fairs or festivals that go on throughout the summer months in Southern California either.
Monday, August 20, 2012
The Others
Originally, I thought I was going to take care of some HOA business on my PTO day, Monday, but I decided that I have to take care of myself first before I can take care of the others.
After my son got up, we got ready, then I rented a 16 ft. truck from Penske, which happens to be in my neighborhood, and we went and cleaned out the storage unit. But before I could get on my way, I walked to my car and found the rear drivers side tire went flat. My appointment to pick up the truck was at 1PM. We changed the tire, drove to Penske, picked up the truck then drove to the storage unit.
Then drove back to Penske to find out how to use the damn lift again. The lock was not disengaging. Drove back to the storage unit and cleaned it out in time to drive to Goodwill and donate it's contents. They, thankfully, took everything and now I don't have to worry about that damn monthly payment anymore.
And then we drove back to Penske before they closed. After transferring a few thing into my car, we drove downtown to Big O Tire to repair or replace the flat. The guy said it was a sidewall issue and not repairable which lead me to think that maybe someone punctured my tire. But then again, I didn't move my car on Sunday and it was extra hot that day, so maybe the heat just effected a weak spot in the tire. I so hope the latter than the former. And I'm so glad I didn't have a blow-out on the freeway with all of the driving I do with my commute to work and home.
It ended up being a $400 day. Not my idea of a fun time PTO day, but stuff got done that I needed to get done.
After my son got up, we got ready, then I rented a 16 ft. truck from Penske, which happens to be in my neighborhood, and we went and cleaned out the storage unit. But before I could get on my way, I walked to my car and found the rear drivers side tire went flat. My appointment to pick up the truck was at 1PM. We changed the tire, drove to Penske, picked up the truck then drove to the storage unit.
Then drove back to Penske to find out how to use the damn lift again. The lock was not disengaging. Drove back to the storage unit and cleaned it out in time to drive to Goodwill and donate it's contents. They, thankfully, took everything and now I don't have to worry about that damn monthly payment anymore.
And then we drove back to Penske before they closed. After transferring a few thing into my car, we drove downtown to Big O Tire to repair or replace the flat. The guy said it was a sidewall issue and not repairable which lead me to think that maybe someone punctured my tire. But then again, I didn't move my car on Sunday and it was extra hot that day, so maybe the heat just effected a weak spot in the tire. I so hope the latter than the former. And I'm so glad I didn't have a blow-out on the freeway with all of the driving I do with my commute to work and home.
It ended up being a $400 day. Not my idea of a fun time PTO day, but stuff got done that I needed to get done.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Shake it Baby, Shake it
I like summer. I wish I had the time to take it off. Maybe I'll just take a long weekend and go to San Diego... Anyway, with the temperature change this week from moderate to hot-hot-hot (at least in my mind anyway) earthquakes have come to Southern California.
I said this at work: Who needs Yorba Linda anyway? Oh, so the presidential library shifts around a bit and some dust falls off of Nixon's old books. Who cares.
Here's the link for the USGS - happy earthquake tracking peoples:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/shakemap/list.php?x=1&n=sc&y=2012
Three earthquakes just today (so far).
I said this at work: Who needs Yorba Linda anyway? Oh, so the presidential library shifts around a bit and some dust falls off of Nixon's old books. Who cares.
Here's the link for the USGS - happy earthquake tracking peoples:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/shakemap/list.php?x=1&n=sc&y=2012
Three earthquakes just today (so far).
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Fwd: Quick Guide: How To Enjoy eBooks Without A Tablet Or An eReader
Cool
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "MakeUseOf" <news@makeuseof.com>
Date: Aug 7, 2012 7:47 AM
Subject: Quick Guide: How To Enjoy eBooks Without A Tablet Or An eReader
To: <judi.stutz@gmail.com>
MakeUseOf Limited
105 Collingwood Road
Colchester, CO3 9BB
Essex / UK
From: "MakeUseOf" <news@makeuseof.com>
Date: Aug 7, 2012 7:47 AM
Subject: Quick Guide: How To Enjoy eBooks Without A Tablet Or An eReader
To: <judi.stutz@gmail.com>
| ||||||||||||||
![Create Professional Presentations In Minutes with Slidevana for PowerPoint and Keynote [Giveaway]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_s2gfooQaMic67o9ueIyQA-rmqvxKkq5RL6HoUf8-z_wtb8e6uwPUxHrflBeFMUb8pEF_Mma08QdxtxHCWcxG8UVe6K3I8Pxh7Q8tcFwIfv2h__a2UL7xgt3biH-1_i4oQoUnnkq5Vsl38yMMZpCXdzFbVpNxsGeV4l6c1sTUc-gamqlvJFEbfpMI9Dih80Dg=s0-d)
![[HELP WANTED] Recommend Your Favourite iPhone Games, Win 150 Reward Points!](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tHO0Il56qfkmgrXPoIiwhc6U8Vc1MW4JU1J5x5dVRQdK0GL1v0N1T3ryAn7J2NK1sm9X1vcaim54OiRm1XknsfDBtOYM-_I5n6oO6SXw5v2ZlG_M_iqmEM8yOFgezLJxx8vV3P0exhI_GbwaEQWDGMhWUIkKAQjbCEV5wodBj8AmvO2BMNTLMMjmRAZw4=s0-d)
MakeUseOf Limited
105 Collingwood Road
Colchester, CO3 9BB
Essex / UK
| To unsubscribe or change subscriber options visit: http://www.aweber.com/z/r/?7CzszKxstKwMHAzsrKyctEa0jKxMLMzMjOw=  |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
