text:
It seems that the subprime "victims" are reacting to their foreclosure situation by vandalizing their own homes. Evidently these folks who are not making payments on their homes are angry with the lenders who want to reclaim their property. These are grown adults, right? How can anyone have sympathy for people like this?
And just to add to the irony, the lenders are offering up to $1000 to these people to leave their homes intact. In other words, the subprime "lendees" are actually getting paid not to smash in the walls and tear out appliances!
Given all of the media coverage, one might think that our neighborhoods are going to be barren before long. So, just how extensive are these credit problems? George Will on ABC's ThisWeek stated that of the 55 million mortgages in the US, only 4 million are in trouble. He seemed exasperated by the whole situation. And I have to agree, it's hard to believe that such a small percentage could rock the entire housing industry, financial industry and stock market the way it has. The media and the politicians have painted this situation to be so dire that reportedly we are now at a five year low for consumer confidence.
If all of this is getting you down then maybe you would like to read this CNNMoney.com article that provides three reasons for optimism in the midst of dropping consumer confidence. I listed those top three reasons below and added some additional rationale as to why we should all be enjoying this recession. ;)
1. Low mortgage rates. This is good news for homeowners who want to refinance into a fixed rate loan.
Yes, right now is a great time to be a buyer. Home prices are dropping some 20% in many areas. This leads to even more good news: since home values are decreasing, then so will property values and eventually property taxes. Woohoo! If you own your home, you've got to be pleased with that and if you are looking to buy, well, you are sitting in the catbird seat.
Don't buy into the media hype and the fear mongering. They want everyone to be worried about the declining value of their home. It is not an issue unless you plan to sell right now. Surely you have planned further ahead than just the next year or so. Besides, moving is way too expensive and disruptive to the kids social lives, anyway. You might as well plan to dig in and stay put for awhile.
2. Consumer incentives. If you're in the market for a car, the time to buy is now until the end of the summer.
Yes, right now is a great time to be a buyer. I know I am repeating myself, but it's true. Now is the time to go out and buy the car you have always wanted. Car dealers are ready to deal, offering cash rebates and low loan rates. Not only are cars a good buy, but other consumer goods, as well will be discounted. It's a great time to have some extra money stashed away.
We have had some good times over the last several years. Given the rising stock prices, increasing salaries, low inflation and low cost of living – surely you have stashed away some of those rewards just for this occasion. We all know good times don't last forever. That's why we save our money during the favorable years to be prepared for the inevitable fall.
3. Buy the recession. When the market plunges, it's tempting to cut your losses and pull your money out of the market. But market declines can provide opportunities for investors looking for investments at bargain prices.
Yes, right now is a great time to be a buyer. This is the moment investors always dream about. It's time to break open the piggybank and buy into this stock market decline. You don't want to miss this great opportunity to buy low. If there is any doubt, just take a look at the greatest investor of all time, Warren Buffet. He has a ton of cash stacked up and he's been on a buying spree.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Do we really want to bail out vandals?
It seems that the subprime "victims" are reacting to their foreclosure situation by vandalizing their own homes. Evidently these folks who are not making payments on their homes are angry with the lenders who want to reclaim their property. These are grown adults, right? How can anyone have sympathy for people like this?
Posted by Kristin at 8:23 PM 0 comments
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Do cell phones make drivers more considerate?
I have not come across any scientific evidence to back this up, but from my own personal experience, it seems something has changed driver behavior.
Years ago on country roads or even busy streets, some motorists acted like they could get away with all kinds of nasty behavior towards cyclists. As of late, for some reason, I have had a lot fewer incidents with motor vehicles. Gee, no one has tried to run me off the road in a couple of years!
I am not sure what to attribute this change in behavior. Maybe it's just luck. I have actually increased my riding mileage, but I have not changed my riding style and my routes are the same. Even though more cars are on those routes, it seems I have had less trouble. One thing that is different is the fact that I carry a cell phone with me and so does nearly everyone else. Since cell phones are ubiquitous these days, I think most people/drivers assume that everyone has one. Even bicyclists. And that means the police are just a phone call away. Does this make people more accountable for their actions?
I take my cell phone on every ride. Not that I have ever needed to call anybody for help. I have been riding for 20+ years and have been able to fix every flat, broken crank arm, and bent spoke, etc. Or at least fix it well enough to limp home. ;)
But, you never know when you might fall, break something, or have an accident with another vehicle. The phone provides just a little added security, which is the primary reason that I have a cell phone. And just maybe it also makes drivers a little more responsible.
Posted by Kristin at 11:18 PM 0 comments
Labels: Health
The Real Cost of Outsourcing Tasks
Sometimes it's just so much easier to pick up the phone and call in someone else to do a job. They have all the right tools, they will get it done faster and you will free up some time to do whatever you would like. Sounds like a winner, right? For those of us with limited resources, in other words, those of us who are not handy or just don't want to learn any skills other than our 8 to 5 jobs, it may be the only way to get something done. I hear and read about a lot of folks, even PF bloggers, who rationalize away such tasks by stating that their time is worth more, etc. That's fine, just be aware of the added cost and the impact to your wealth building dreams.
What most people forget is that by hiring someone else to take care of a task that you could do yourself you are paying a premium for that work. Most of us earn money in pre-tax dollars, but we pay bills in after tax dollars. Therefore, when you pay a $500 landscaper's bill, it really costs you much more depending on your effective tax rate.
If you have completed your taxes for the year, that rate should be fresh in your mind. My rate, for instance, came out around 20%, which means I must make 1.25 to keep one dollar. It also means that I will give up $625 to the landscaper for a job that I could do myself. Think about this a little deeper. If I did the work myself, I would be receiving the equivalent of a $625 raise.
To take this even further, we need to look at the wealth building power of that $625. When it comes to investing, you have probably heard that it takes money to make money. By hanging on to the $625 and investing it, instead of spending it, it will grow into something much more. At a 6% rate, it will double in 12 years.
To demonstrate that I am not just blowing smoke or preaching hot air, I will share a real life example. Not long ago, I needed to replace the faucets in my house. They were cheaply made, contractor selected faucets, that still worked after 15 years, but looked terrible. The plating was cracked and peeling off the plastic parts, some of the drain plugs would not seal and some had leaked/dripped water in the cabinet under the sink.
I had never done much plumbing work, but the cost of hiring a plumber to replace five faucets was daunting. One estimate for labor only was $150 per sink or $750 for the whole job. I decided to give it a try. If I couldn't get the job done, I would bring in a professional. How tough could it be? After all, each faucet comes with instructions for installation and there is a ton of "how to" info on the internet.
The first one was a challenge. I started having my doubts. The cabinets under the sink were cramped and dark and I didn't have the tools (like a crows foot wrench) that fit into small spaces. As with most tasks, there is a learning curve. I eventually figured out what needed to be done first, second and so on and how to make do with the tools that I had. Each night after work, I removed the faucet and drain apparatus from one sink, cleaned the sink surfaces and prepped for installation. The next night, I installed the new hardware, cleaned the area and repainted the cabinet under the sink. By the third sink, I was very comfortable with the tasks at hand and actually enjoyed the work. It provided a sense of accomplishment and was a real confidence builder.
The bottom line is that by developing and growing our own resources and learning new skills, even if they are fairly simple skills, we will be able to do more things for ourselves and hang on to a lot more of our hard earned dollars. And by investing the money that you saved, those dollars in turn will work for you. In the end, developing your resources can help lead you down the path to true wealth.
Posted by Kristin at 11:45 AM 1 comments
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
High Risks and High Costs
It was a couple of weeks ago when I first received the news that a long time friend of mine had been diagnosed with cancer. He is in his mid forties - just a few years older than me. There seems to never be any rhyme or reason to such things. He has always been a healthy individual, strong, outdoorsy and with a positive attitude.
When I spoke with him about his condition, I was reassured by his matter of fact approach. He stated lots of statistics and mentioned both the downfalls and the bright side to the whole situation. I refrained from questioning him, but it is only natural to want to ask how and why these things happen to people. I know that whenever I am confronted with some illness or injury, I want to know the root cause. Sure, I want to treat the symptoms and reduce the pain, but even more so I want to address the source. What went wrong? What can I do to prevent this in the future?
Obviously cancer is more complicated than a torn ligament or a recessed gum line and no one has those kinds of answers. From what is currently known about cancer, it appears that several factors interplay and that genetics have a huge role in the disease along with one's environment and lifestyle.
News of the diagnoses was distressing, but to add even more anxiety to the situation – he told me that he is without health insurance. He is self-employed and for nearly thirty years he and his wife received health insurance through her employer. In all of those years, they were rarely ill, had no children and consequently almost never used the policy. As fate would have it, four months ago she left her job to take over the "books" for his small business. They never got around to signing up for health insurance! Again, I refrained from asking too many questions. I know that money was not the issue, so how could anyone in this day and age allow this to happen? Haven't we all heard the horror stories about people with and without insurance?
So what does one do when faced with expensive treatment costs? One negotiates; one makes deals with the doctors! His doctors have a special plan for people without insurance. It's called the cash discount! If a treatment is expected to cost $1200, the doc will offer it for 50% off or $600 when paid in cash.
Such dealings seem absurd, but it's at times like these that we are reminded health care is just another business; a business that deals in life and death.
In addition, drug companies occasionally offer free samples or donations to prescription-assistance programs for people without insurance. Even with these cost breaks and freebies, his bill over the last few weeks has exceeded $12,000. His future includes several radiation treatments and a couple of surgeries, so this bill will continue to climb, astronomically. Every treatment that is recommended by the doctor must be weighed for cost effectiveness.
Meanwhile, my friend is researching the possibility of getting into a high risk state-assisted insurance pool at $1600/month. If at all possible, this is probably the way to go since other health complications may arise during his treatments.
This experience has categorically brought home for me the importance of health and health insurance. Things can and do change suddenly in life. For many years, I have planned for early retirement, which would mean the cessation of my current health insurance. With that in mind, I have always intended on purchasing a high deductible plan to continue my coverage. Now, I am certain beyond any doubt, that I will have coverage before leaving my current employer.
Posted by Kristin at 10:06 PM 1 comments
Labels: Health
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Behavioral Finance - Bias from over-influence by Authority
Why study human behavior in relation to finances?
Recognizing and understanding why people do the things they do, what drives them, and what are innately human tendencies is the first step in overcoming your own self and making sound decisions! We want to make rational, logical decisions, but emotions and irrational tendencies get in the way.
These behaviors are not all bad, many are good in some way - that is why they survived. In fact, these behaviors served some purpose that helped extend life at some time in the evolutionary process.
10. Bias from over-influence by authority
One of the best and most extreme examples of this human behavior is the famous Milgram experiment. The study was devised by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram to answer this question: "Could it be that Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann and his million accomplices in the Holocaust were just following orders? Could we call them all accomplices?
In the experiments, volunteers were asked to administer a shock to another "subject" (actor) each time the subject got a question wrong. With each incorrect answer, the intensity of the shock increased. A tape recorder integrated with the electro-shock generator played pre-recorded sounds for each shock level. When the volunteer hesitated to administer additional shocks, for example, when the actor was screaming in agony or the gauge indicated that the intensity had reached a lethal level the test administrator simply said, "The experiment requires that you go on," or "It is absolutely essential that you continue."
The results were horrifying: 65 percent (26 of 40) of experiment participants administered the experiment's final, deadly 450-volt shock, though many were very uncomfortable. At some point, every participant paused and questioned the experiment. However, no participant steadfastly refused to administer shocks before the 300-volt level.
It's amazing how ordinary people, simply doing their jobs, and without any particular hostility on their part, can become agents in a terrible destructive process. Even when the destructive effects of their work become clear, and they are asked to carry out actions incompatible with fundamental standards of morality, relatively few people have the resources needed to resist authority.
There are probably very few of us that believe we would do any thing like this. Yet, similar, but less outrageous situations occur all of the time in life. For instance, as investors, we tend to defer to perceived authority figures, including successful investors, investing newsletters, strategies, and market prognosticators. We tend to place too much stock in the opinions of those who seem to know more than us.
I have seen this quite frequently in the workplace. For example, from time to time, a consultant is brought in to work an unusual or persistent problem. That consultant only needs to make one or two credible statements or predictions and he/she is immediately anointed by management. No more questions asked, this consultant is now deemed the authority and we are expected to proceed according to his/her direction. In all fairness, the program manager is primarily interested in getting the problem solved to move on to the next milestone, whereas, the engineer wants a more thorough understanding of the issue and has a lot more questions.
As a final note, it's important not to view the conclusions of such behavior as yet another indication of just how helpless we are to these tendencies, but rather simply recognize it as a handicap that we all have. Once we become aware of these tendencies, perhaps we will be become better able to "catch" ourselves in the act and modify the behavior to our advantage.
Posted by Kristin at 12:44 PM 0 comments
Labels: Behavioral Finance
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Springtime Money $aving Stories
My "big" savings for the week was at Home Depot. A local car dealer mailed a coupon flyer to me that included a $10 Home Depot Gift card with a purchase of $49.95. I took the opportunity to get ready for Spring and stock up on things like lawn fertilizer, garden mulch, seeds, pepper and tomato plants. At the checkout, it wasn't clear how the Gift card was going to work, but no worry, the teen at the register didn't even bother to read the coupon. He just shrugged and gave me $10 bucks off my purchase on the spot.
Perhaps the growing illiteracy problem reported by the local schools is not the concern I thought it was (sarcasm). Today, it appears this has worked to my advantage!
I also brought a sack lunch to work. Whoopee. This doesn't register with me much since I think it's worth $5-6 bucks for lunch to get out of the office for 45 minutes everyday and experience the outdoors, feel the weather, breathe fresh air, or at least see something other than cubicles and conference rooms. Anyway, I brought my lunch not so much to save money, but just so I could work through the lunch break and check out a little earlier to take advantage of the warm, sunny Spring day.
And finally, I washed my own truck. Of course, I always wash my own truck. Just like I always mow my own yard. And I plan to do these things until the day I croak – regardless of how much money I have or don't have.
I don't know what the going rate is for truck washes, but I can't imagine spending $10-15 or more for something that I can do very easily and conveniently in my own driveway. Besides, it's the principle of it all - you don't really own something until you wash it and clean it yourself. That's when the true costs (time and money) become evident, which ultimately serves as a great deterrent from collecting more things that would require maintenance and cleaning. If I paid someone else to do these things, I might be tempted to take on a lot more stuff and that is the last thing that I need or want.
Posted by Kristin at 10:31 AM 0 comments
Thursday, March 20, 2008
I confess – I have a prepaid cell phone
Don't tell anyone, but I have a cheap phone. I'm not sure when it was, but it seems somewhere along the way cell phones became status symbols. And there are consequences for not keeping up with the latest and greatest. For me, a cell phone is a communication tool, not an entertainment device or a fashion accessory. So, of course, I have a prepaid Tracfone.
Maybe it's a frugalmeter? Obviously, the most frugal folks would not entertain a cell phone at all, but for those of us willing to splurge a little, a prepaid cell is the ticket. I figured out real early on that most of my cell calls are for 1 to 2 minutes. And most of the calls are locaters. For instance, "I'm here, where are you?" "Let's meet at the Oasis." etc. I do not have long drawn out conversations on my cell.
This is obviously very different behavior than the rest of the wirelessly connected world. It seems the majority of people just love to be connected all of the time. I have a neighbor who never goes outside or drives anywhere without a cell phone appendage. This obsession appears to be the height of insecurity. She is terrified to be alone with herself.
What may be even more bothersome is those folks who try to carry on two conversations at once. They will be talking on the phone and at the same time standing at a store counter trying to talk to a clerk about buying tires or whatever. I feel sorry for the other people in these conversations. Are these cell phone addicts so inconsiderate that they don't realize they are being impolite?
Then there is the couple out for dinner where one spends the whole meal chatting on the phone while the other sits rather uncomfortably dining alone. Incredible. And finally, how about the annoying business man on a flight who calls his wife every 2 minutes to relay the flight progress. He calls to say things like: "we are on the ground", then a few minutes later: "now, we are at the terminal", "now, we are waiting for the door to open", "now, I am in the tunnel", etc. Ugh.
Anyway, Just like PaidTwice, I love my prepaid phone. It's perfect for my type of usage and the price is right. The only downside that I have experienced is that I can't get a statement with itemized calls for billing. I would have liked this feature to help get reimbursement for work related phone calls, but Tracfone would not give up the data. To avoid that problem, I typically check out a company cell phone when on travel. That's a small inconvenience and certainly not enough to make me part with my no frills, frugal cell phone.
Posted by Kristin at 9:15 PM 3 comments
Labels: Frugality
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Tax Holiday for Appliances
If you have an appliance purchase in your future, you might want to hold off until Memorial Day weekend. From 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, May 24, to 11:59 p.m. on Monday, May 26, certain energy-efficient products will be sold without the state sales tax. This is a Texas tax holiday, but other states may be participating as well.
You could snag a substantial savings on products that qualify under the Energy Star program, which means the product meets strict energy-efficiency guidelines set by the US DOE and EPA.
The products qualifying for the exemption are:
• Air conditioners priced under $6,000 (room and central units)
• Clothes washers (but not clothes dryers)
• Ceiling fans
• Dehumidifiers
• Dishwashers
• Light bulbs and fixtures (compact fluorescent)
• Programmable thermostats
• Refrigerators priced under $2,000
Qualifying products will display the Energy Star logo on the appliance, the packaging or the Energy Guide label. I didn't realize this but, Energy Star does not rate clothes dryers because there is little difference in energy use among all models.
There are no limits on the number of items that may be purchased during this new sales tax holiday, and an exemption certificate is not required.
You can see lists of products that qualify for the tax holiday at http://www.energystar.gov/.
Posted by Kristin at 8:15 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Google Rules Sitemeter Stats
Mostly out of curiosity, I always look forward to checking my sitemeter information. It helps me understand how people find out about my blog, how they get here and what they like to read when they get here. For the non-bloggers out there, a sitemeter is one of many tools that can monitor traffic on websites. It provides a lot of interesting info about where the traffic originates, referral links, language and even browser type.
I don't know about other blogs, but the majority of the traffic that comes by this one is referred by Google search engine. I knew Google lead the market space for search engines, but I had no idea it was so dominant! Occasionally, someone will visit via MSN or Yahoo search, but over 95% are from Google. I guess I should not be too surprised. I use Google nearly exclusively, as well.
As for sitemeter, my favorite area is the location data. Now, don't get upset or worry that I can locate you. The location data is very general. Most of the time a city is given. It may not even be your city; it is usually the city where your ISP server resides. And, I have noticed that my own city location varies from time to time.
Anyway, the geography information is fascinating to me. It's amazing that people from all over the world come together and read the same page! Today, I see folks visiting from over 9600 miles away in Singapore and others from New Zealand, Canada, Russia, UK and on and on. One of the most surprising visits was from the Palestinian Territory. I realize people live there, work there and have computers, but from the images that I see on American TV, I can't imagine surfing in such a volatile area. My ISP has enough trouble keeping my connection up and running in a relatively benign environment. LOL
The other neat thing about a sitemeter is that I get to see what types of things people are searching for. What is on their mind, so to speak. I typically write posts about things that are on my mind, but I still like to know what others are interested in and what they would like to read about. If you check the major portal sites for "most searched items", it's kind of disappointing. Because, the most searched stuff is usually related to celebrities. How far do we have to drill down to find more cerebral searches?
It would be cool if one of the portals would index the searches. In that case, for instance, all searches related to finance could be placed in one bin and all searches for Paris Hilton could be in another bin, far away. Maybe there is such a feature? If it is to be, I am sure Google will lead the way.
For more personal finance stories, please visit the Carnival of Personal Finance. My article "First visit to Broker pays off with Everlasting Impression" was included this week.
Posted by Kristin at 6:59 PM 0 comments
Labels: Blogging
2007 Tax Preparations are complete
The good news first – I will be getting money back from Alabama! I live in Texas, but work out of state quite often and must pay state income tax to AL. The cool part is that my employer pays the tax directly to AL and they pay the maximum possible, or premium amount based on my income earned there. So, if I have any deductions, I get a refund. A refund of a tax that I never paid. Awesome. My HR employee rep kept saying that they were going to pay a "premium" – I didn't get what that meant until Turbo Tax showed me the money.
The bad news – I owe a lot more federal income tax than I expected. Two reasons: (1) The market was rocking last year. So my capital gains and dividend income was much higher and (2) I also worked a lot of overtime, so my income was higher.
I don't think I will have either of those two issues in 2008 because the market is a disaster and work has slowed down. Regardless, I've already adjusted my W-4 withholding allowances to the minimum possible: 0. As the year progresses, I may have to add supplemental payments to make sure that I pay in for 2008 as much as I paid last year in 2007 to avoid a tax penalty.
I learned the hard way about underpaying my taxes. Back in 2000, I sold some over priced dot-com stocks in March for a hefty gain and didn't pay tax on those gains until April 2001. The IRS does not like that. They want their cut of your money upfront, right when you make it. In other words, to have complied with the IRS, I would have had to send them a special payment in March 2000.
Posted by Kristin at 7:21 AM 0 comments
Labels: Taxes
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Hold on to your Gold – it's real and it has trunks
Yes, gold is real and nearly everything else is over priced, fool's gold. The only asset class that is appreciating in this market is Gold, while nearly every other sector is tanking. That's because gold is not backed by paper notes, or paper dollars or lots of hype. Its backed by something real – gold.
Even your house is not real. Sure , it is physically real, but guess what - it's overpriced. The real value is much less. The past 8 years of this easy credit frenzy has boosted the housing market to ridiculous levels. And the banks that financed all of that are overpriced junk! Borrowing from one of Warren Buffet's sayings - they are swimming in a market without trunks. Well the tide is going out and revealing to everyone what a farce these banks have been running.
The problem is that several of the nation's largest banks are basically bankrupt. A large portion of their assets are mortgage securities that can't be sold. They can't be priced and therefore can't be sold. Nonetheless, the banks still have them on their balance sheets listed as Level 3 "assets". Bear Stearns, the nation's 5th largest bank, has $28 billion in Level 3 "assets" on their balance sheet. Evidently, Bear's creditors got nervous and tried to cash out this week; this created a huge panic, a run on the bank. Bear stock lost 47% in one day!
The Fed jumped in to help save the naked swimmer, Bear Stearns. The Fed will do anything to save its banks, yes its banks – they are all in cahoots. The Fed plans to print all the money and give all the loans it can to these lousy bankers.
Why not? What's the problem with that? How about skyrocketing inflation for starts. How about worthless money? Our dollars are shrinking, thanks to the Feds actions. That 1000 dollars you have in the bank is not anywhere close to a 1000 dollars anymore.
So what else can be done? Let the banks fail. Which means the banks would liquidate and call in all of their loans resulting in foreclosures. Housing prices will collapse, money will be hard to come by, loans will be very difficult to get.
But the Fed has already made their choice. Too bad, Bear Stearns is only the tip of this iceberg. The nation' largest bank, Citigroup, has more than 4 times that amount or $133 billion of level 3 bad debt. What happens when Citi's clients get nervous and want to sell? Frankly, I can't believe they have not already tried to sell out of Citigroup. If Citigroup does not get an injection of cash soon, we are going to see that it's just as fat and naked as Bear Stearns out there swimming without trunks.
The Fed bailed out Bear Stearns because it's worried that if one bank collapses the dominos will start falling and we will get a full out run on banks.
So, what's an investor to do? If the Fed continues to bail out these banks, inflation is going up and that means hold on to your gold!
Posted by Kristin at 9:05 PM 2 comments
Labels: Current Events, Gold
Saturday, March 15, 2008
First visit to Broker pays off with Everlasting Impression
This was back before the days of the wonderful internet and so to chart the daily moves of a stock, it meant that I would need to subscribe to a newspaper or visit the library everyday. I was too frugal and broke to sign up to a paper and the library idea was way to time inefficient. Fortunately, another much wealthier student in the class subscribed to the Wall Street Journal. He stacked them in a massive pile in a corner of his dorm room for months and then one day at the end of the semester he waded through each of them to get his prices. He then loaned all the papers to me!
Anyway, to get help with the assignment, another student and I decided to visit a nearby brokerage firm. We had already decided that we wanted to research some engineering companies, but we needed to know what the transaction fees were for buying and selling securities. Now, remember this is also before discount brokers. Trading was expensive!
The broker was very receptive, even though we told him we only had play money. He showed us all around the office and pointed out that they had a direct link on a computer to a stock ticker! That was so impressive watching the ticker symbols roll by. I felt the energy; it was like we were right in the middle of the action. I thought it was amazingly cool to see other paying clients come in, sit down at the computer and check out their stocks. "Someday that will be me", I said to myself.
The broker gave us his schedule of fees. And when he heard our story and realized that we were only 20 years old, the only thing he could talk about was how great it was that we were starting investing so early. He went on and on about how getting in early was so important. He rattled off rates of return over the last 20, 30 and 40 years and something about compounding interest.
He was so caught up in getting started early that we didn't get to talk much about how to research and select stocks! All of his talking and enthusiasm left a very deep impression with me. I was about to graduate with a decent engineering job and would have more money than I needed for basic expenses. I made a note to myself to invest that extra cash as soon as possible.
Would you believe that I never stepped foot into another brokerage firm after that day!? After landing a job, I subscribed to a financial magazine that had advertisements for mutual fund companies. That was the first I had heard about a company named Vanguard. I liked everything I read - low fees, no frills and solid performance. I mailed in my first investment to the S&P 500 fund, VFINX. That was the start of many more investments with Vanguard.
Why didn't I buy stocks? Very simply - the fees. I couldn't get over the high brokerage fees! Eventually, a few years later, discount brokers came on to the scene and I promptly signed up to buy individual stocks at more reasonable costs.
Even though I didn't buy stocks right away, I have to give credit and thanks to that broker for being so persuasive and adamant about investing early because that has proven to be a key to achieving financial independence.
Posted by Kristin at 9:47 PM 0 comments
Friday, March 14, 2008
A tale of Stock Mergers and Schedule D
Capital gains are typically reported to the IRS by your fund manager or broker. So, the IRS knows what you received in the sale of these securities, but they are clueless concerning the purchase price. You must furnish the cost basis, or what you paid to purchase the stock. This is very important information, because it will determine whether you have a gain or a loss and the amount of your tax bill.
Most of the mutual fund companies will track your basis for you. This is a big help, given the multitude of purchases that can occur when one uses dollar cost averaging. As for individual stocks, you are on your own. I record all of my transactions by date, shares, dollar amount and any fees in an Excel spreadsheet. I also keep the statements for the transactions from my broker. If, for some reason, I still can not find the data, I resort to Yahoo! Finance for historical data.
For the most part, completing schedule D is straightforward, but this year, I have been thrown a new twist. Two of the stocks that I have owned for several years, were bought out by other companies. The mergers resulted in new shares, a cash payout and cash in lieu of shares. Hmmm. How do I report all of that on schedule D?
I use tax software, but I still need to calculate the basis for all this stuff. It sure would have been nice if Turbo tax could have asked about the parameters of the sale and then ran the calculations. I was surprised the software did not have the capability, after all stock takeovers and mergers are rather common events.
Instead, I fired up Google and started searching for some help. Based on information that I found here at Fairmark.com, I have worked through one of the stock mergers and it's tax consequences.
Kinross Gold Corp (KGC) acquired Bema Gold (BGO) in the last quarter of 2007.
KGC merges with BGO providing 0.4447 shares of KGC for every share of BGO, as well as $0.01 Cdn (0.00849 US$) in cash for each share. The price of KGC at the time of the merger is $12.01/share.
I have 1000 shares of BGO at a cost basis of $1464.
After the merger, I have 0.4447*1000 = 444.77 shares of KGC @ $12.01/share and $0.00849*1000 cash.
The total deal = 444.77*12.01 + 0.00849*1000 = $5350.18
Now, let's calculate the gain.
Gain = total deal – basis = $5350.18 – $1464 = $3886.18
The IRS requests that I report the lesser of the cash received or the gain. Obviously, the cash received is much less at $8.49.
Now to calculate my new basis.
New Basis = Old Basis + gain reported – cash received = $1464 + $8.49 -$8.49 = $1464
And finally, since companies do not like fractional shares, the 0.77 shares will be given to me in cash. This is referred to as cash in lieu and must be reported to the IRS.
The cash amount is: 0.77 shares * $12.01 = $9.25
Using my old cost basis, I calculate my cost per share.
$1464/ 444.77 = $3.292/ share
My cost for the 0.77 share is $3.292*0.77 = $2.53
And the gain to be reported is $9.25 -$2.53 = $6.72
All of that number crunching to arrive at a total of $15.21 in gains. Fortunately, this isn't going to impact my tax bill much, but what a pain! And I still have one other stock merger to go…
Posted by Kristin at 8:10 PM 5 comments
Labels: Taxes
Thursday, March 13, 2008
How many sodas do you drink a day?
I definitely agree with the Buddha on this one. I appreciate the wisdom, but this is one of those lessons in life that you must learn for yourself – since it seems no one gives it much thought until they have a brush with disaster or just plain get old. Most of us take our health for granted.
Fortunately, I've always had a keen interest in health and exercise and tend to read a lot of health and fitness information, magazines, etc. So, I consider myself fairly informed about health issues. Yet, I have been astounded by some of the factoids that I have come across while reading You: Staying Young: The Owner's Manual for Extending Your Warranty (You) by Roizen and Oz.
One of the most interesting and alarming tips concerns the consumption of fizzy, syrupy drinks. Evidently, drinking these types of beverages increases your chances of pancreatic cancer substantially! I could hardly believe it; so I Googled it and found all kinds of sources that backed up the claim. For instance, this MSNBC article references a Swedish study that makes the statement:
The group of people who said they drank fizzy or syrup-based drinks twice a day or more ran a 90 percent higher risk of getting cancer of the pancreas than those who never drank them.
Twice a day? That's two cokes a day. Now, there is the caveat that this type of cancer is very rare, so increasing your chances by 90% is still a smallish number. But, just knowing that there is a coke to cancer correlation is rather disturbing. I realize just about anything in excess can cause health problems, but two sodas a day? Basically, your doubling your odds by drinking a couple of silly cokes.
Nowadays, I will only occasionally have a soda, but there was a time in my early twenties that I drank two diet cokes a day, like clockwork. I didn't think much of it, because everybody that I knew drank sodas with some drinking 5-6 Dr Peppers a day!
Why isn't this information more available to the public? Isn't that one of the roles of the Surgeon General? To educate the public on possible health issues? A lot of this information is fairly simple and straightforward and it just seems like it ought to be brought to the attention of the citizens. Of course, there may be some who would rather not have this information available to anyone.....
Posted by Kristin at 9:49 PM 3 comments
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
This week's Money $aving Stories
To start the weekend, I stopped into the local take n' bake pizza place with a coupon (mailer) for a free medium pizza. I upgraded to a large size for a dollar. I got four meals out of that one pizza. Not bad! Tasty 25c meals are hard to beat.
Now for the bigger purchase. Tires. Tires can be a major expense. I checked my MS money history and found that it ranks as one of my most costliest one time expenses. Of course, tires usually last a few years, so to be fair the price should be pro-rated.
Anyway, it's a chunk of cash to layout at one time. To start the ball rolling, I did some internet research to find tires with the best tread wear, traction, temperature and good reviews. Then called my local tire store for a price. I mentioned another internet store's price that was slightly lower and asked for a discount. The clerk shaved $14 off each tire and gave me a price of $581.77 to get out the door with my preferred tires. I noted this information and the clerks name on a print-out describing the tire.
I was surprised by the amount of markdown and how readily he offered a discount.
The next day I headed to the tire store. I showed the clerk the print-out of the tire I had chosen. He asked about the $581.77 scribbled on the page. Surprisingly, the tire was not in stock – perhaps it sold out in the past day? I had noticed on their website that it was low in stock.
He suggested an alternative. I pointed out that the ratings were similar but the alternative tire was higher priced. Of course, he countered that it was a better tire. He then offered to order my preferred tires or give me these "better" tires that were already in stock for the $581.77 price - which was quite a discount from the stated price of $690.02.
Evidently, moving stock out of their store is a pretty important factor. He was willing to sell a more expensive set of tires for $108 less than sticker to avoid shipping another set.
Most internet tire sites will provide general information on stock quantities at your selected location. It makes sense that the store would want to move inventory, so once you find out a tire is out of stock or low in stock – ask for that tire to be ordered. The clerk just may offer you a better deal on an in-stock tire!
Below is a summary of some tips to help save money on big ticket items.
- Research the item before going to the store (get a grasp on prices)
- Call or e-mail the store (they will bargain more on the phone to entice you into the store)
- Ask for a discount (don't be shy, they can only say "no")
- Get a price quote and a clerks name (write it down and take it with you)
- Leverage low stock inventories to your advantage (they want to move inventory and don't want you to leave without buying)
Posted by Kristin at 8:11 PM 0 comments
Labels: Money
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
With the Economy Tanking, it's no time to propose increasing Foreign Aid
While perusing the many proposed changes that our presidential candidates have offered during this primary season, I ran across one proposal that really dazed me. Senator Obama is sponsoring a bill to give an additional 845 Billion dollars in foreign aid! Wow! That's a huge number.
The bill would actually span over 13 years and provide 65 billion in aid the first year. That's billion with a B. Those are big numbers and it's hard for any of us to really grasp the magnitude of this bill.
To get this in perspective, I went back to take a look at the proposed 2008 federal budget. Maybe if I have an idea of how much is spent on other items, then this 65 billion would make more sense.
For instance, I found that the US budget has allocated 17.3 billion to NASA and another 5.9 billion to the National Science Foundation. These two groups are dedicated to the exploration and advancement of science and are keys to investing in the US and ultimately improving this world. So, the U.S can only afford to spend 23.2 Billion on science, but give away nearly 3 times that amount to other governments?
For some other comparisons: The Department of Housing and Urban development receives 35 Billion, while the Veterans Administration gets 39 Billion. These are big government programs, yet even these figures are dwarfed by the Billions that this foreign aid bill would ship overseas.
But, the real kicker is that according to some sources foreign aid does more harm than good! A real eye opening article on foreign aid can be found here. This ABC news article asserts that:
In the past 40 years, Western governments have given Africa more than half a trillion dollars. Yet Africa is even poorer than it was before the foreign aid began.
These are your tax dollars. The US will hand this money over to foreign governments to disperse and use on programs within their countries. Unfortunately, the majority of this foreign aid ends up in the hands of corrupt government officials. It's estimated that some 70% of the aid that we currently dole out ends up in the wrong pockets.
I want some respect for my tax dollars. I want some accountability. In times like these, when we are experiencing an economic crisis, record breaking budget deficits, job outsourcing and endless war fighting debts, I expect more responsible actions.
Posted by Kristin at 8:52 PM 0 comments
Labels: Current Events, Taxes
Raiding your retirement to save a house
Cashing out a 401(k) to save a house, is basically doubling down on the house. Putting everything you have into it. You are gambling that things are going to turn around, what if they don't? What if you end up declaring bankruptcy?
As long as your 401(k) money is in a 401(k) account, it's untouchable by the bankruptcy courts. However, if you withdraw your 401(k) money and put it into a house, it will most likely be handed to your creditors.
This situation continues to get ugly, but it is a consequence of living life paycheck to paycheck, with no emergency fund, and buying homes beyond one's price range, etc. That type of financial behavior is reckless, irresponsible and it will eventually catch up to you.
For more PF articles, please visit the Carnival of Taxes courtesy of Texas Journalist, Kay Bell. My article "Knee deep in Turbid Tax" was included this week.
Posted by Kristin at 8:53 AM 0 comments
Labels: 401(k), Current Events
Sunday, March 9, 2008
How much Money does it take for you to FEEL Rich?
Why so little? As 14 year olds, we had no expenses and being in school all day we had very few items available to purchase. If I had ten bucks in my pocket, I felt rich. I could easily buy a lunch at the cafeteria, a snack after school and a soda. What more does one need in life?
From that memory, I surmised that our perception of wealth has a lot to do with a combination of three items:
- Quantity of money in your pocket
- Current Expenses
- Buying opportunities
In the PF blog world we hear a lot about spending less than you earn. But that is only part of the equation. Having limited buying opportunities is another big factor in accumulating wealth.
For instance, if you are always shopping or watching TV you will be bombarded with the latest and greatest gadgets, vehicles, clothing, etc. This stuff is paraded in front of you all of the time. You can't help but want to have some of it. It's only natural. Likewise,
if you are constantly comparing what you have to your co-worker or neighbor, you will always feel like you need more.
Obviously, it's nearly impossible to avoid the onslaught of commercials, advertisements and neighbors. That means we have to take matters into our own hands. And the way to do that is to stop buying and admit that we have enough. We have enough stuff. We do not need to go shopping for anything more than basic necessities. Try it for one week.
Personally, I know a handful of people who have done this. They have jumped out of the rat race. Some have moved to an area with a lower cost of living. And to hear them describe it, they cherish having a simpler life, fewer choices, less items to clean and care for, and of course, more money.
Posted by Kristin at 9:02 PM 2 comments
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Still Time to get Forever Stamps at lower rate
Since the post office is one of those places that I try to avoid at all costs, I filled out a Stamp Purchase Order today to give to my letter carrier. I ordered the Forever Stamps, enclosed a check and placed the orange envelope in my mailbox. How convenient is that?
Posted by Kristin at 9:27 PM 0 comments
Labels: Current Events
Friday, March 7, 2008
You Must File 2007 Tax Return to get Tax Stimulus
I suspect the IRS may have one of the best turnouts ever for 2007 tax filings. And according to this article, filing taxes may help avoid deportation and tip the scales in favor of citizenship for illegal workers. How ironic is that, given the recent hoopla surrounding the Senate's efforts to bar illegal aliens from receiving a stimulus check? It appears illegals may benefit from this stimulus after all.
For more interesting reading, be sure to visit the Carnival of Total Mind and Fitness at Fitbuff. My article "Cycling's silent but potentially ominous threat to your skeleton" was included this week.
Posted by Kristin at 6:51 PM 2 comments
Labels: Taxes
What a day!
Then we strolled over to Southwest Airlines. All flights were good to go! We booked one on the spot, then called into the office. That's when the reaming began -we were informed that the company does not approve of SWA, will not reimburse any travel on SWA and will not insure us for any travel while on SWA.
Wow. Pure hatred of all things SWA. We got the message and cancelled the flights, then headed for the rental car counter. Our company would pay for a rental car to get us home, but not a SWA ticket.
So, after driving 12+ hours, we finally arrived at our home destinations. The most amazing part was that the airport was still shutdown as we drove in, but the "snow" was gone and the streets clear as a whistle.
Posted by Kristin at 4:46 AM 2 comments
Labels: Current Events
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Behavioral Finance – Bias from contrast-caused distortions of sensation, perception and cognition
Why study human behavior in relation to finances?
Recognizing and understanding why people do the things they do, what drives them, and what are innately human tendencies is the first step in overcoming your own self and making sound decisions! We want to make rational, logical decisions, but emotions and irrational tendencies get in the way.
These behaviors are not all bad, many are good in some way - that is why they survived. In fact, these behaviors served some purpose that helped extend life at some time in the evolutionary process.
9. Bias from contrast-caused distortions of sensation, perception and cognition.
This one works every time! A great example is the real estate salesman. These folks know all the tactics – heck most all salesmen study this stuff. And you need to know it as well so that you can be on your guard.
Any time someone new strolls into town, the realtor immediately knows that he/she has a built in advantage. The first thing the realtor does is take the new folks out to tour a couple of the most awful, overpriced houses on the market. This warps the buyers perception. Since they are new in town and they do not know what to expect and being friendly people eager to find a new home they trust this salesman. Then the realtor takes the folks out to some moderately overpriced house and sticks it to them. This last house looks so much better and at a lower price than the others that they actually believe it's a good deal.
Why are we so vulnerable to this ploy? It seems that if information comes to us in small pieces, we're likely to miss. So, if you're going to be a person of good judgment, you have to do something about this warp in your head where it's so misled by mere contrast.
Fortunately, today we have access to a lot more information via the internet. You can check prices on most anything before ever stepping into a store or touring houses in a far away location. It's an awesome tool that helps you become more informed and make better decisions.
Posted by Kristin at 6:56 PM 0 comments
Labels: Behavioral Finance
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Turning a Golden Egg into a Golden Goose
Have you ever dreamed of managing a large sum of money? I am sure many of you would like to give it a try. How tough can it be to manage Paris Hilton's fortune? Bill Gates' billions? Most people trivialize such situations probably because they have never seriously considered themselves in such a position. Dreaming about winning the lottery rarely includes dreaming about the financial management side of the story.
I got a sense of the anxiety that can accompany such responsibility when I first hit a big financial milestone. Even though I had been slowly accumulating this money and watching it grow for quite some time, once the amount hit six figures, I started to feel uneasy over managing a sum of this magnitude. Somehow, when it was a lesser amount say $70,000 or even $95,000 it was not an issue, but once it climbed over $100,000 dollars, the panic switch flipped and all of sudden I realized that I had more money than I had ever had.
My plan was working perfectly as I had accumulated a nice nest egg to provide substantial financial security. That was the main goal.
But this money was destined for more than just security it was to be the seed for growing my future early retirement income. It was very important that I invest it wisely. Of course, I had been doing that all along, but for some reason hitting that amount triggered some hesitation. I began questioning whether I possessed the expertise to invest so much money. Most of the people I knew at the time that had anywhere near that much cash also had financial planners. Did I need one now?
I have never employed a financial professional to manage my funds. I have never hired an accountant or CPA, rather I prefer to calculate my own taxes even though they have grown increasingly more complex. I am definitely a DIY'er. And I wanted to remain that way. I had to find a way to get over this new perceived fear that might cause me to freeze up when making financial decisions.
The first thing I did was to organize my accounts so that it was easier to focus on the percentages and not the dollar amounts.
Then, to get everything into perspective; I determined the potential passive income that this lump sum could generate. After all, that huge lump sum really didn't matter, because it wasn't going anywhere. In fact, I may never spend that money. What does matter is the amount of money generated by the lump, also known as passive income.
That passive income will one day become my primary source of income in retirement. Looking at it that way, I realized that $100,000 really wasn't that much money at all. Invested at a conservative rate such as 6%, it would only produce $6,000 a year before tax. I still had a long ways to go and this first $100,000 was just the beginning in my financial future.
This was an important step. I had transitioned from seeing the money from a viewpoint of what it could buy me right now to what it could generate for me in the future. Some see money as a tool to buy things and never reach this next level where money becomes a different kind of tool. Money can become a tool that keeps on giving. It's no longer the golden egg, but the golden goose.
Posted by Kristin at 9:50 PM 0 comments
Monday, March 3, 2008
Dreaming of a Buyout
Ford is saying all the right things and doing a lot to help in this transition:
"We need to restructure, and it's important to our business to do so," said Joseph R. Hinrichs, Ford's head of global manufacturing. "But we want to do it in the best way for our employees."
As an employee, I especially approve of this statement:
"We always prefer for people to voluntarily leave and that's why we put the energy and effort into this package of buyouts," said Martin J. Mulloy, Ford's vice president for labor affairs.
Back to my own reality, I am faced with a corporation that has taken a completely different route with very different results. In the past, buyouts were offered to encourage those close to retirement to move on. It worked well, as it was a voluntary program. It was not disruptive or threatening to the employees. But, the company complained that the "wrong" people were leaving. In other words, they couldn't choose the people to be dismissed.
So, a new tactic was deployed under the veil of "compensation for performance." We were informed that instead of merit increases being spread across the employee base like peanut butter, the better performers would be rewarded with more money and the lowest rated employees would receive zero raise. Since most of us believe we are above average employees, we all bought it.
Over several years, as times have gotten leaner, this has evolved into not just a zero, but a one way ticket out the door for the lowest rated employees. If this was a perfect world and fair was fair, this scheme would probably work, but unfortunately there is favoritism, old boy syndrome, subjective evaluations and personality conflicts that determine the bottom 10% of the base. It has created animosity, distrust, and suspicious employees. Not to mention all of the lost work time as a result of the numerous watercooler discussions concerning this policy.
So at this time, to my chagrin, buyouts are not on the table and probably will not be for quite awhile. The cycle will turn at some point, when management finally realizes the damage that has been done to morale, but for now I can only dream of having a nice send-off in the form of a cash buyout.
Posted by Kristin at 8:51 PM 2 comments
Labels: Current Events, Metrics, Money
Sunday, March 2, 2008
The only sure thing is the Allure of Gold
Gold currently moonlights as a commodity, as it does have practical uses. It is used to plate electrical contacts, build low loss waveguide, and create jewelry just to name a few. It trades as a commodity in our markets today, but really it is much more. The desire for gold is extremely powerful and has driven the exploration and exploitation of the world. Thousands have died for gold. Over time many items have been considered valuable as a result of supply and demand such as: spices, silk, crude oil, gas, dollars. And when those valuables are gone, gold will still be there. It represents a safe haven and that is why it continues to hold its own in the market.
If you could invest in only one thing from the dark ages to now to the end of time, what would it be? What investment has always been valued, always marketable, always tradable? Gold, of course. That doesn't necessarily make it a good short term investment, but long term, and in times of dire markets and shaky economies, yes.
So when the possibility of Armageddon arises or maybe just a recession, we all rush to be in gold, not paper money. Gold is the standard and we fallback or regress to the standard. No government has to tell us it's valuable. It's not like paper money, because regardless of what country backs it, it's still only paper. US dollars used to be backed by gold, but not anymore. It is now backed by your faith in the market and the government that is printing it. If that faith wavers, as in a recession, or market collapse, then the value of paper dollars will also collapse.
If there was ever one thing that has been a constant through time, since the beginning of mankind, it is the allure of gold. Do you really think that is going to change anytime soon?
Posted by Kristin at 6:48 PM 0 comments
Labels: Gold
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Knee Deep in Turbid Tax
Now that would be a big change. Let's examine this a little more closely. I know taking off the rose colored glasses is no fun, but we really need to look a little deeper at his proposal.
TMI (too much information). There seems to be numerous amounts of personal information that I must tell the government on my tax form. How would Uncle Sam know whether or not I am the head of the household, my tax deductions, gifts to charity, cost basis on shares sold, etc. What if he gets it wrong on my forms? Maybe I am paranoid, but I don't trust the government to get it right. And we all know how hard it is to change something with the government.
No Time Saved. Because the government does not have all that information, it is not going to be able to "help" me with the most time consuming part of my tax return which is filling in all that personal information, schedule D, capital gains, deductions, etc.
Growing Government. Another result of this proposal would be the elimination of a lot of private sector jobs – tax preparers, accountants, CPAs, as well as the jobs and businesses associated with Tax software. Sure we might still need a few of those, but most could go. The government is going to do all the work, now. This would shift a lot of private business to the government and greatly expand the Department of Internal Revenue Service.
Red flags. Say you did need to amend your return, it seems that any changes would require extra scrutiny, that would be out of the norm and there goes the red flag for an audit.
I wonder if the candidates spend much time thinking through some of their grand proposals? It seems to me, once again the politicians are off the mark when it comes to the real problem with taxes. I will spell it out: The IRS tax code is too complex. I don't want help filling out my form, I want a more simple tax code, an easier form! Argh
For more PF information, please visit the Carnival of Taxes. My article "Tax Stimulus is Steroids for the Economy" was included.
Posted by Kristin at 7:33 PM 6 comments
Labels: Current Events, Taxes


text:
TAC-ABET Result
It is now confirmed.
Electronics Engineering Technology program has succeeded in receiving continued accreditation.
Microsoft Scholarship Recipient 2008
Microsoft Scholarship winner from Texas Southern University – Elvino Taylor!
Elvino is a Computer Engineering Technology major and is involved in many student organizations including IEEE, NSBE, NSPE, and SAE. He is also working at Texas Southern University providing administrative support to the Chair of the Engineering Technology Department.
Congratulations to Elvino Taylor!
Drs Kehinde and Zhang join the faculty
Dr. Lawrence O. Kehinde and Dr. Yuhong Zhang join Department of Engineering Technology this semester. Welcome!
ABET Re-accreditation
TAC/ABET Visit of Electronics Engineering Technology program was held on Oct 21-23, 2007.
IAB Meeting
Electronics Engineering Technology program had the 2nd annual Industrial Advisory Board meeting in August 10, 2007.
Pre-college Summer Program
The department has been selected as one of 8 sites nationwide to provide pre-college summer engineering program to 30 high school students annually. Funding is from the Army Research Office (ARO) and it is in the amount of $50,000.00 yearly.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
During the fall and winter, it can get a little harder to choose the perfect vacation destination for you and your family or friends. Of course, there are plenty of amazing beach towns, but they just aren't the same during the off-season. So, to that end, All Island has compiled a list of the best vacation spots that you've never heard of, but are going to want to visit immediately!
Topics: Family, Kids, Vacation, weekend vacation
In the midst of the dreary winter weather, summer seems so far away. However, a getaway to a local destination can be exactly what you need to lift your spirits. Check out some of these spots on your next weekend vacation.
Topics: NYC, Travel, Vacation, weekend vacation
While many people love to travel and see the world, not everyone is able to take off from work for weeks at a time to visit foreign countries. You don't have to sit on an eight hour plane ride for a fulfilling travel experience. A lot of Long Islanders don't realize there are plenty of wonderful weekend getaways not too far from their home!


text:
The B-Cyde
2017 – A New Year with New Fear & A Time to Take New Chances to make New Advances
When you look up scared in the dictionary you will probably see my face sporting my pearly whites all up and through Webster's. That's okay because not so long ago fear stopped my progress. I had no belief in my own gifts and abilities and therefore was stuck in my life. I needed a shift. I got one at the end of 2007 and NOW as we prepare to usher in the year 2017…the fear that used to halt me now catapults me to heights beyond those in my wildest dreams! This New Year can be day one of your success story and what better time than now to bask in that impending glory?
While promoting a fearless leap into 2017 is advantageous, it's unrealistic. We are all going to encounter things that jumpstart our inner fears so since we know this, we can prepare properly. Knowledge is the power to be aware of what's ahead, offering the courage to forge through anyway. Do not let fear stop you from pursuing that degree, taking that cooking class, starting that new business or going for that promotion. It's a time for you to be your loudest cheerleader, if for no other reason than to see how far you can go. Wouldn't it be cool to know? You might get to places beyond what you dreamed of. Tell me what would you do if that fight of your life led you to Your Best Life yet? Why not make a decision to find out this year? One way to make sure your dreams don't come true is to let the new fears of this year win. Don't let fear stop you from taking new Chances to make New Advances for the BEST of YOU! If you do regret is all you're going to have to look forward to.
Thank you for your continued support of the B Cyde Show! Happy New Year to YOU ALL and ALL Yawl! May 2017 bring you PEACE, LOVE, and Plenty of SMOOCHES from your friends from the Back on the B Cyde Radio Show and 7mileradio.com
Tracie Christian
January 1st, 2017
No comments


text:
Event: Pole Vault
Height: 5-10
Weight: 158
PR: 5.81m/19-0.75i (2001)
Born: September 10, 1978 in Lake Charles, La.
Current Residence: Chula Vista, Calif.
High School: Westlake (La.) HS '96
College: Louisiana State University '00
Coach: Ty Sevin
Agent: Tony Manjarrez
Club: Asics
Career Highlights: 2006 USA Outdoor champion; 2000 NCAA Outdoor Champion; 2007 USA Indoor runner-up; 2003 Pan Am Games silver medalist; four-time Southeastern Conference champion
Buller enjoyed a strong season in 2008, highlighted by a fourth-place finish at the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon. After nearly a decade of being considered one of the nation's top ten pole vaulters, he earned the first national championship of his career in 2006, though it did not come easily. Buller and reigning Olympic Games silver medalist Toby Stevenson ended up clearing the identical height of 5.80m/19-0.25, but Buller was declared the victor on fewer misses during the competition. His performance marked his first clearance over the 19-foot barrier since setting his personal best of 5.81m/19-0.75i in 2001. Buller dedicated his victory to his brother who had recently died. A collegiate star at LSU where he majored in Kinesiology, Buller win the NCAA Outdoor title in 2000 and captured four SEC conference titles during his career. The indoor and outdoor High School national pole vault champion in 1996, Buller is the Louisiana prep record holder both indoors (5.03/16-6.25) and outdoors (5.18/17-0). A high school All-American, Buller was a three-time state and district champion in the vault. He also owns Westlake High School's records in the 100 (10.6), 200 (21.7), and part of 4x100m relay (42.6). An all-around athlete, Buller won four letters in both track and field and football, and two in baseball…won Arlin Williams 110% Award in football and was a second team All-District receiver his senior season. As a freshman in 1997, Buller became only the second man ever to surpass the 18-foot mark at the Penn Relays with a winning clearance of 18-0.5.
4th at Olympic Trials (5.6m/18-04.50)...4th at Nike Prefontaine Classic (5.60m/18-4.50)…1st at Natchitoches
(5.61m/18-4.75)...ranked #4 in U.S. by T&FN...best of 5.61mi/18-4.75.
2007: 9th at USA Outdoor Championships (5.50m/18-00.50)…2nd at USA Indoors (5.60m/18-04.75)…2nd at Reebok Boston Indoor Games (5.61m/18-04.75)…2nd at Reebok Grand Prix (5.60m/18-04.50)…2nd at Nike Prefontaine Classic (5.60m/18-04.50)…ranked #4 in U.S. by T&FN…best of 5.73m/18-9.75.
2006: USA Outdoor champion (5.80m/19-0.25)…5th at USA Indoor Champs (5.50m/18-0.5)…ranked #3 in U.S. by T&FN…best of 5.80m/19-0.25.
2005: No-height at USA Indoor Champs…did not compete at USA Outdoors…ranked #10 in U.S. by T&FN…best of 5.75m/18-10.25.
2004: 8th at Olympic Trials (5.70m/18-8.25)…3rd at USA Indoors (5.75m/18-10.25)…ranked #9 in U.S. by T&FN…best of 5.75m/18-10.25i.
2003: 6th at USA Outdoor Champs (5.55m/18-2.5)…4th at USA Indoors (5.70m/18-8.25)…ranked #6 in U.S. by T&FN…best of 5.75m/18-10.25.
2002: Tied for 2nd indoors at Reno (5.60m/18-4.5)...no-height at USA Outdoors...1st at Whittier (5.66m/18-7)...2nd at Stanford (5.60m/18-4.5)...6th at Prefontaine (5.54m/18-2)...best of 5.66m/18-7.
2001: 4th at USA Outdoors (5.65m/18-6.5)...4th at USA Indoors (5.75m/18-10.25)...3rd at Millrose Games (5.50m/18-0.5)...4th at Tyson Invitational (5.70m/18-8.25)...4th at GST Open at Princeton Invitational (5.50m/18-0.5)...ranked #6 in U.S. by T&FN...best of 5.81m/19-0.75 at Mt. SAC.
2000: NCAA Outdoor champ...SEC champ...no-height at Olympic Trials...ranked 7th in U.S. by T&FN...best of 5.71m/18-8.75.
1999: SEC champ...7th in qualifying at USA Outdoors...no-height at NCAA Outdoors...best of 5.79m/19-0.25i.
1998: SEC champ...9th at NCAA Outdoors...best of 5.65m/18-6.5
1997: SEC champ...9th at NCAA Outdoors...no-height at USA Juniors...best of 5.60m/18-4.5.
1996: 1st at Golden West Invitational...best of 5.18m/17-0.
1995: Best of 4.72m/15-6.


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August 2015 Meetup
The August 2015 COCCUG meeting will be on Monday, August 10th from 6pm – 8pm at Improving Enterprises (One Easton Oval, Suite 175, Columbus, OH 43219). This month we welcome Microsoft's Michael Collier to share guidance using Auzre resource groups and Azure Resource Manager.
We're also looking for a few good lightning talks for this meetup, or future meetups. If you want to speak, please contact Michael Collier.
Please RSVP for meetings via www.meetup.com/coccug.
Field Guide to Azure Resource Groups
Abstract:Keeping track of all the various resources used by a solution is a daunting task. Not to mention how to control access or enable a consistent, easily repeatable deployment process. This session will help you understand the benefits using Azure Resource Groups. You will learn how to use Azure Resource Manager to perform desired-state deployment of your applications into Azure. In this session you will learn how to use role-based access control (RBAC) to provide limited access to Azure Active Directory users and groups for administering applications deployed into Azure. You will learn best practices in the use of resource groups based on real-world experience. We will dive deep into creating resources and manipulating the Azure Resource Manager templates. In the end, you will be able to unlock new, powerful ways to manage your Azure resources. The session covers the use of resource groups in both the Azure Preview Portal and Azure PowerShell.
Bio:Michael is currently a Cloud Solution Architect at Microsoft, where he engages deeply with select accounts to help them best utilize Azure's features. Michael is a former five-time Azure MVP and most recently served as a Principal Cloud Architect with Aditi Technologies. Michael has over 13 years of experience with various consulting and technology firms where he was instrumental in leading and developing solutions for a wide range of clients. He has a vast amount of experience in helping companies determine the best strategy for adopting cloud computing, and providing the insight and hands-on experience to ensure they are successful. Michael is also a respected technology community leader, and is often found sharing his Microsoft Azure insights and experiences at regional and national conferences. Michael is also the co-author of a recently published book on Microsoft Azure entitled Microsoft Azure Essentials: Fundamentals of Azure. Follow Michael's experiences with Azure on his blog at http://www.michaelscollier.com and on Twitter at @MichaelCollier.
Please continue to tell your friends about COCCUG! They can find us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/coccug and also at www.meetup.com/coccug.


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As a graduate of Ithaca College, I could not be more pleased to share this article from the New York Times mentioning how the new president of Ithaca College plans on tackling diversity headfirst! Here is an excerpt of the article:
"The discussion groups, where students, and now faculty and staff, come together to talk through challenging issues are among the many changes, big and small, that Shirley M. Collado, the incoming president of Ithaca College, has in mind as she sets out to usher in a new era at the institution."
This is great news and I am very excited to hear more from the new president! to read the rest of the article, click here.


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• Active Ingredients: Octyl Methoxycinnamate (7%), Oxybenzone (3%) • Other Ingredients: Virgin olive oil, beeswax, hemp seed oil, comfrey, calendula, flavor, essential oil of peppermint, coffea arabica extract, tocopherol (natural vitamin E), rosemary extract.
• Benefits: Hemp Seed and Virgin Olive Oils moisturize and condition lips • Allantoins found in Comfrey Extract heal and soothe • Coffee Extract helps guard against the damaging effects of UVA/UVB rays • Vitamin E and Rosemary Extract soothe and protect the skin from environmental damage.
Copyright (C) 2011 Stephka, Inc.
BODYCOFFEE spa treatments BODYCOFFEE cellulite treatment BODYCOFFEE Natural Body Care Products


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Siamese Blossom is a townhouse project on Raminthra Road, a suburb on the north of Bangkok. The scheme aims to create a living space within greenery, conveying a sense of community and to fix the common problems of townhouses.
These include a lack of natural ventilation and a lack of natural light found in a long and narrow plot. The townhouses are arranged to allow the narrow elevations facing East and West to gain minimum heat from the sun.
In contrast the long elevations entail openings facing the North and South to get natural ventilation. They become perpendicular with the main public road in the centre of the development.
Plants walls and fences along the main public road provide security and control before accessing to the townhouses, whilst maintaining a friendly atmosphere. The townhouses are systematically designed to be 12m apart. The space in between becomes a shared garden and a key space for natural cross-ventilation between the two rows.
In this respect the gardens become a community space as they are only accessible by the immediate townhouses. The units are increased the variation and created better identity for each unit by either mirroring units or increasing the 3rd floor height on random units. These taller units are highlighted by the red brick coloured façade leaving all other units coloured grey.
The brick screens are the primary element of the townhouse façade. It is an inexpensive and common material in Thailand. Therefore it has a low carbon footprint and is better suited for the skills of the local construction labour.
The brick screens have various functions such as acting as privacy screens, providing sun shading and covering of air-condensing units and downpipes.
Location: Raminthra Road, Bangkok, Thailand
Architects: Somdoon Architects
Principal Architect: Punpong Wiwatkul, Puiphai Khunawat
Interior Architect: Somdoon Architects
Landscape Architect: Sanitas Studio Co.
Structural Engineer: Ritta Co.
Mechanical & Electrical Engineer: Siamese Asset Co.


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Nimbus - up to 35% off
Including downloads
Until 15th July 2019, we're offering up to 35% off all recordings on the Nimbus label including downloads (please note that the download prices shown are already discounted).
Browse: Nimbus - up to 35% off, Ljuba Welitsch (soprano)
Return to Nimbus - up to 35% off.
Showing 1 - 2 of 2 results
2 CDs
($15.25) $11.50
Strauss, J, II: Die Fledermaus
Julius Patzak, Hilde Güden, Kurt Preger, Sieglinde Wagner, Anton Dermota, Alfred Poell, August Jaresch & Wilma Lipp
The Chorus of The Vienna State Opera & The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Clemens Krauss
2 CDs
($15.25) $11.50


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PaymentsHere are the ways how you can pay for the ordered item.
1) Payment by PayPal/Credit Card
The procedure is very simple, all you need is to select desired goods, proceed to check-out, select PayPal or Credit Card payment method and you will be forwarded to the PayPal web-invoice page, where you will be able to pay securely either with your personal PayPal account or your Credit Card.
2) Wire transfer.
A wire transfer can be made from one bank account to another bank account or through a transfer of cash at a cash office. Please, check whether goods are available on our stocks before transfer. Contact our managers to get a pro forma invoice for payment.
Information for transfer:
Bank: Barclays
Sort code:205304
Bank account number: 93146502
Recipient: Inksystem-UK LTD
Address: Unit 7, Carbery Enterprise Park, 26 White Hart Lane, London N17 8DP
Title transfer: Order No.(please give your order number)
Amount of transfer: 120.55 GBP (specify the amount that you pay)
3) Pay on the spot.
You pay in cash when you receive your goods at our office in London or make payment on delivery in the post office (available for residents of the UK).
4) Payment via Western Union
To pay over WU please contact the respective office directly for your invoice.
* For wholesale purchases, please, contact us separately.
We warrant reliability and stability of INKSYSTEM ™ products.
Products of INKSYSTEM ™ are famous for their reliability and safety, low printingprice,and cost-effective ink-jet printing.
The guarantee applies to the products delivered to Mainland Europe as well as Ireland, Iceland, and Great Britain.
Warrantyfor INKSYSTEM ™products
The maximum warranty period for INKSYSTEM ™ products ranges from 12 to 24 months * from the date of purchase. The warranty period for each item is indicated in the description box on the website.
The warranty repair of INKSYSTEM ™ products is free of charge (for INKSYSTEMcustomers).
The warranty applies to the products
- purchased in INKSYSTEM ™ store chain;
- purchased on the website of the INKSYSTEM ™ online store (www.ink-system.co.uk).
For getting warranty services, the following conditions of INKSYSTEM ™ productsoperation must be observed:
- When receiving products, check that the warranty card isfilledproperly;
- Keep a check / invoice, which must be presented at the acquisition date;
- comply with the conditions written on the label, in the manualwhich comes with the product;
- Avoid mechanical damage during the product operation, such as cracks, dents, scratches, etc.;
- In case of damage or equipment operation errors, pleasecontact INKSYSTEM Service Center as soon as possible. If necessary, send the goods to the address of the service center of INKSYSTEM:
INKSYSTEM-UK LTDServiceCenter
Unit 7, Carbery Enterprise Park,
36 White Hart Lane,
London N17 8DP
Tel.: +44 (020) 33 02 02 55
Skype: sklad.inksystemuk
E-mail: email@example.com
• Damages or defects caused by the consumer;
• Damages caused by natural disasters;
• Defects caused by exposure of heat or foreign objects, fluids, or insects in the inner parts;
• Damages caused by negligence in operating conditions (in contrast to the recommendations contained in the User`s Guide).
Warranty is not valid if:
• The product has mechanical damages such as fragments, parts, cracks, scratches, etc.;
• The identifiers have been removed or it is not possible to determine ownership of INKSYSTEM ™ (absence of additional notes, labels, etc.);
• The article has already been repaired, or inner parts have been replaced;
• The product was incorrectly installed by the user;
• The problem wascaused by natural disasters, accidents, willful negligence of a consumer or a third party;
• The client uses not INKSYSTEM ™ ink;
• Printing limit of 25,000 prints has been exceeded.
Warranty for not INKSYSTEM ™ products
The client can use warranty provided by the manufacturer.
NOTE: Warranty cases are described by the manufacturer.
To make use of the warranty, please contact INKSYSTEM Service Center:
Tel.: +44 (020) 33 02 02 55
Skype: sklad.inksystemuk
E-mail: email@example.com
You can contact INKSYSTEM company management directly via the following e-mail: email@example.com
• warranty period depends on the product type
Loyalty Programme from INKSYSTEM Company is specially designed for our customers – that is, first of all, gratitude for your trust.
INKSYSTEM® Loyalty Programme means granting discounts for regular customers of the company. According to the programme, when making the first purchase in web-shops or in companies, which are certified partners of INKSYSTEM®, you receive a discount card that allows you to make all further purchases with 5% discount. The duration of discount card is not limited and can be applied to all certified points of INKSYSTEM®. Discount card is valid for INKSYSTEM products only.
The company provides customers with plastic discount card INKSYSTEM with id information on it. Each card has its own embossed number. The card carries the city code and serial number of the card owner. This information allows us to personalise the card and give you a discount.
Discount cards are an essential component of INKSYSTEM® loyalty programme and are issued when receiving the order. To get a card, a customer must fill in a questionnaire in the representative office of the company.
When ordering through an online shop, you can request a discount card by filling in a form.
Discount programme from INKSYSTEM Company allows you to receive additional savings when buying our products. We care about provided services to meet all your requirements and you to be always pleased with the quality of our products!
Continuous Ink Supply System (CISS) for Epson Stylus Photo 1410
55.90 £in stock
Continuous Ink Supply System (CISS) for Epson Stylus Photo 1410
Continuous Ink Supply System (CISS) for Epson Stylus Photo 1410
Continuous Ink Supply System (CISS) for Epson Stylus Photo 1410
Continuous Ink Supply System (CISS) for Epson Stylus Photo 1410
Ciss epson photo 1410 is the best innovating device for your printer
If you still spend lots of money for expensive original cartridges, it would be useful for you to learn more about ink system for epson photo 1410. Clearly, you can refill your cartridges several times. But you know that cartridges are not lasting for the life time. Eventually they do fall and you have to buy new expensive ones to continue your printing process. As you can see, it is not reasonable to pay for the thing which can fail you. In contrast to original cartridges, ciss epson photo 1410 will never fail you. This device is lasting as long as your printer.
Epson photo 1410 ciss contains following details:
- Continuous Ink Supply System (CISS);
- Set of air filters, syringe, spare parts;
- Detailed Installation Guide;
- Certificate for free installation;
- Packing box.
Bulk ink system for epson photo 1410 is manufactured in the South Korea according to the highest quality standards. Regardless of the fact that this device has the high level of quality, it is available at a reasonable price. Another efficient and reliable device is CISS for Epson Stylus Office BX305FW which is available for you as well as ciss epson photo 1400.
In contrast to original cartridges, ink tanks of continous ink system epson photo 1410 have higher capacity. They can hold more than 100 ml of ink. Installation of a ciss is a simple process that will take you 20 – 40 minutes. Even if you do not use printer very often, ciss ink system epson photo 1410 will never fail you. Besides, you can also learn more about ciss ink system Epson Stylus SX438W which works the same way and can be excellent for your printer as well. So, you should make the right choice and save your time and money with the innovating profitable and efficient device. For the above mentioned reasons, cis epson photo 1410 is considered to be the best decision for your printer.
Recommended ink:
"INKSYSTEM" Dye based ink (South Korea)
Compatibility with the printer:
100 %
2 years
The product contains:
- Continuous Ink Supply System for Epson 1410
- Set of air-filters, spare parts, syringe
- Certificate for free installation
- Detailed Installation Guide
- Packing Box
- Warranty - 24 months
*note that the ink is not included in the CISS cost; you can order the CISS already filled with ink.
The Continuous Ink Supply System (CISS) is an ideal alternative to original cartridges in ink- jet printing.
How Does It Work?
The CISS consists of three parts: ink tanks with ink of each color, a silicone tube, and cartridges with chips. The ink is constantly being added from ink tanks to the cartridges during the process of printing and then it goes through the printing head to the paper.
Usually the economy of using the CISS is about 95%, so you save $950 from each $1000 you would spend for original cartridges.
The Quality of INKSYSTEM CISS
There are no glued or soldered parts in the device. That means that there is no risk of ink pouring out.
The tube is made of A+ class silicone. Even if you make a straight angle (180 (0)), the tube will still supply the ink into the cartridges with no damaging risk.
The cartridges are made from the same materials as the original ones.
The chips are reset automatically. The original cartridges cannot be reset, but the INKSYSTEM chips can be reset as many times as you need, up to millions of copies.
The advantages of the CISS in comparison with the original cartridges
1. Huge savings ? up to 95%, compared to original cartridges!
You can easily compare the cost of 100 ml high-quality INKSYSTEM ink (South Korea) with the cost of the cartridge (standard ? app. 8 ml, extended volume ? 11 ml). Just compare 1 ml and count up the difference!
2. Quality
The INKSYSTEM CISS are made on modern factories. We have proved its high quality to tens thousands of customers and hundreds of partners in different parts of the world, from Russia, and Ukraine to Egypt, Check Republic, and Latvia. A one-year warranty is provided for all the INKSYSTEM products.
3. Easy installation
The printers construction does not need to go through ANY changes. All you need to do is to remove original cartridges, install the CISS cartridges and set the tube into the printer. Usually this process takes 10 to 20 minutes and can easily be done at home. Otherwise you can use the FREE installation offer in the closest INKSYSTEM office.
4. Easy to use
You do not need to buy cartridges every time the ink ends up, your printer will print 15 times more until the next refilling!
What is the Continuous Ink Supply System used for:
The CISS is ideal for high-quality and inexpensive printing of colored texts and photos. The Continuous Ink Supply System (CISS) can be applied on almost all ink jet printer models that have a built-in printing head because the operating life of the printing heads is almost unlimited. These requirements meet the majority of Epson and Canon ink-jet printer models, and some HP and Brother models.
Where the CISS could be used:
At home: texts, photos printing. With the CISS, even a black-and-white text is cheaper than with the laser printer! The printing of private photographs is cheaper than in a photo studio (the ink costs $0.02 per photo)
At the office: pricelists, booklets, offers, schedules and diagrams printing. A color copy of an A4-format page costs app. $0.01, whereas in the printing centers it costs app. $2-7.
Professional printing: the CISS with high-quality ink and ICC-profiles gives 95-97% quality, compared to original materials. The cost is 20 times less, so there is a chance to save a lot of money on printing!
You have chosen Continuous Ink Supply System (CISS) for Epson Stylus Photo 1410


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Room to Grow
Our flexible office spaces provide a professional atmosphere in which to work and conduct business with a number of amenities geared toward nurturing the spirit of innovation. Some of our amenities include wired, state-of-the-art meeting rooms, comfortable common spaces, and use of McKinstry's manufacturing areas for prototype development, demonstration space and mock-up demonstration platforms for testing.
Best of all, entrepreneurs have full access to the McKinstry campus and all of its services and amenities as well as the opportunity to mix and mingle with our thought-leaders and skilled tradespeople.Innovate with us


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Main Content
11331 Homedale St
Los Angeles, CA 90049
6 Beds 5 Baths 3,300 Sqft. 2017 Year Built 18-307248 MLS #
11331 Homedale St
No expense was spared in this newly re-built 5 bedroom, 5 bath Traditional home located in the prime Brentwood Glen neighborhood. The open floor plan features a gorgeous kitchen with new bright white cabinetry, a huge center island, SS appliances & ample storage. The kitchen opens graciously to the living room which is centered around a cozy fireplace with doors that open to a private yard. Upstairs are 4 generous bedrooms including the stylish master suite with soaring ceilings, a large private. balcony, stone fireplace & luxurious master bath featuring trendy wood walls, a soaker tub, dual sink & more! The highest quality materials throughout, composed with a thoughtful designer's touch - wide plank wood floors, decorative moldings & chic fixtures. The romantic yard offers plenty of space for entertaining, lounging or play! This beautiful Brentwood home is waiting for you to move right in!
Property Features
- Central Air Conditioning
- Courtyard
- Fireplace
- Garage
- Patio


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Don Reynolds, is past Chairman for over $120 Billion dollars in Pension and Trust Funds. Don has a Masters, in Public Administration, is a graduate of the Securities Industry Institute of the Wharton School, and has an Honorary Degree from the University of Moscow.
Don has lived 14 years overseas and visited over 50 countries. He has spoken to over a thousand audiences, in 19 countries including the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, the European Institutional Investor Summit, the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Australian Information Technology Summit and Harvard Medical School.
Don provides a "Global Big Picture." He believes most people are generally optimistic, but are nervous or paranoid about the future. He speaks about what audiences want to hear but also what they need to hear. Don is still active in financial markets, and writes an economic newsletter - The Paranoid Optimist.
"The stock market can remain irrational, longer then the investor can remain solvent."
- Lord Maynard Keynes
"Don you have developed quite a following in Phoenix,
your forecast are so accurate we are inviting you back for a threepeat."
- Don Henniger, Publisher
Phoenix Business Journal
"Mind stretching, you rank with the top motivational speakers"
- Luther Parker, Vice Chairman
American Society of Association Executives
"A unique ability to discuss complex issues with deep insight"
- Liz Uihlein, President Uline Corporation
Thank you for your electric and provocative keynote address. Your dynamic delivery kept us awake and receptive to the startling realities of the 21st Century.
- Helen Mc Bride, Manager Professional Development, American Bankers Association
"A hearty recommendation: Exciting, educational entertaining! Where were you when I was taking Economics 101?"
- Ron Lyons, Program Chairman, Amoco Production Company
Thank you for your electric and provocative keynote address. Your dynamic delivery kept us awake and receptive to the startling realities of the 21st Century.
- Helen Mc Bride, Manager Professional Development, American Bankers Association
We are now looking at transformational change. The corporate mantra for many has been "If we can just hold on, one of these days things will get back to normal." Forget about getting back to normal, this is the new normal. So instead of just trying to hold on, accept things have changed and develop new strategies. What are the key issues driving the global economy? What impact will China and India have on the US Economy? What will be the new reality for the housing market?
We are in recovery the trend is clearly up. There will be no double dip recession, Corporate balance sheets have over $2 Trillion in cash and another $6 Trillion in cash is sitting in money funds and short term deposits. Corporate earnings are strong and US exports are robust. The global economy should show economic growth in excess of 5%. The economy's biggest headwind is uncertainty. We are still plagued by more housing foreclosures, budget deficits and poisonous political partisanship in Washington DC .
In the last twenty years the global economy has produced three billion new capitalists with a voracious appetite for consumer products, while creating a new global labor market. Asia has become the second engine of global economic growth; Europe seeks to define its new global identity; Latin America witnesses the birth of a new middle class; and mineral and agricultural rich Canada is perfectly positioned. Don presents a bold assessment of the current political and economic events and forecasts major trends in the global economy.
Don believes that the velocity of change is accelerating due to Globalization, Demographics, and Technology. When these forces interact, massive changes or tectonic shifts occur, creating a visceral new reality, perceptions change quickly. We will confront new ethical Dilemmas, New Trends in Technology and Bio Research will alter our lives more in the next ten years then in the last thirty.
This appeared in Time Magazine.
"The US economy remains almost comatose. The slump already ranks as the longest period of sustained weakness since the Depression. The economy is staggering under many "structural" burdens, The represent once-in-a-lifetime dislocations that will take years to work out. Among them: the job drought; the debt hangover; the banking collapse; the real estate depression; the health care cost explosion and the runaway federal deficit." It pretty much sums up the situation, however we have been here before! The quote you just read is from Time Magazine, September 1992. In September 1992, the Dow Jones Industrials was below 3400, which was the beginning of an eight year run to 10,940
Secrets of A Billion Dollar Investor:
Don shares he current views on global stock markets and shares some of his most successful trading strategies that can be used by the individual investor. What you will learn:
- Investing is an art not a science.
- Having a disciplined sell strategy.
- How and when to cut your losses - and allowing your winners to run.
- When to fire your investment CEO.
- How to select a good mutual fund.
- What you need to be reading and watching.
Amarillo Slim the legendary professional gambler was asked his secret to success. " Most people go to Vegas and say they will quit when the loose a certain amount, I went to Vegas and quit when I made a certain amount." He believes when everyone knows its a good deal its no longer a good deal. Treat your investments like a profit center and evaluate them at least on a quarterly basis.
Past Clients include
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Bankers Association
American College of Dentists
American Electric Power
American Society of Association Executives
Artic Slope Regional Council
Australian Information Technology Summit
Biodiesel Summit
Electronics Industry Association
Emirates International Forum of Dubai
Ernst & Young
Ford Motor Co.
General Dynamics
International Technology Conference of Morocco
Johns Manville
Land O' Lakes
Lockheed Martin
Master Card International
Meeting Professionals International
Merrill Lynch
National Education Association
National Conference of Public Retirement Systems
National Rural Electric Cooperatives Association
Occidental Petroleum
Pilgrims Pride Corporation
Price Waterhouse/Coopers
Robotics Industry Association
Russian Academy of Sciences
Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority
Smith Barney
State Farm Insurance
US Department of Agriculture
US Department of Commerce
US Department of Defense
US Department of Labor
US Department of Social Security
US Internal Revenue Service
Wells Fargo Bank
- Demographic Rules of 70
- Global Trade & Capitalism
- Velocity of Change
- Disruptive Technologies
- The Dollar & Deficits
- Corporate Responsibility
- Rise of China
- Strategic Alliances
- Financial Markets Financial Markets
- Interest Rates & Energy
- Productivity & Exporting Jobs
- Long Wave Cycle
- Golden Age of Agriculture
- Gen X & Biogenetics
- Two Tiered Markets
- End of Geography
- Industry Specific Forecasts


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At this rate Wayne Rooney and Jack Wilshere are heading for knighthoods and there'll be some sort of BE's for the other England football heroes as they march towards Euro 2016.
If you really want to get excited, there's the little matter of England in the Women's World Cup, mainly on BBC3 and comes on just before something called Family Guy and this week after programmes on David Beckham. Remember him?
As England's men swept aside the might of Slovenia, Master Wilshere showed what he can do when he acts sensibly. Rooney is within a goal of Bobby Charlton's England record and which of the two you would have in your side causes interesting discussion.
This week ITV had no reason to sneer on twitter after 'apologising' for the quality of the game when England drew in Ireland. You wonder if they'll apologise for some of the other dreadful offerings they seem to show regularly.
Football seems to live in its own little world. Many clubs spend a fortune on public relations staff. Yet when Newcastle unveiled Steve McClaren as their new manager, only selected media partners were allowed to interview him, the rest were locked out.
Blackpool appointed Neil McDonald as their new boss and at the Press conference, shut the doors on the man from the local paper.
As a club who were relegated from the Championship with a record low number of points, you would have thought they needed all the friends they could get.
So to sporting Masterchef and last Saturday's rain caused problems for the good ladies who make the cricket teas, after all you can't buy several dozen tea cakes if the game might be off.
The dynamic dining duo at Hanging Heaton, Jo Gilbert and Claire Hunt, solved the problem at the second team game by providing fish finger or sausages, chips and beans with pizza for the fussy veggy types. Suffice to say the players of both sides didn't leave a crumb and some were said to have licked their plates clean.
At one time tea was a cuppa, a small ham or salad tea cake and a bun. Now it's fine dining.
On the injury front his friends will be concerned to hear that Dave Lawrence is still feeling the effects of the hamstring pull he sustained in the Cup tie at Ossett, when he batted bravely after being tempted out of retirement. It's funny, 'retired' cricketers always keep their gear.
Rumour has it that Dave was hurt going for a fourth run - but it's only a rumour.
With Peter Byrne playing regularly, and Mel Wood in the Ossett side, it really was a game for golden oldies.
Tense times for Dewsbury Rams and Batley Bulldogs as one seeks a place in the middle eight play-offs and Batley seek to avoid relegation. The Bulldogs at home to Hunslet on July 19 and at Dewsbury the following week will have a real edge.