My other half may just start contributing to this blog!

My "other half" has a lot of responsibilities and with that comes a lot of experiences.  I have been trying to get her to contribute to this blog and she just may start doing that in the near future.

I think some of the things she would write about is homeschooling our kids, cooking, crafts, and music.  I am sure there are tons (well maybe many) other things she could write about.

I think we could collaborate on some projects such as her writing about different recipes she has tried while I take pictures of the process and the end result.

Stay tuned...

Photo Blog has been launched!

Just in case any one is interested, I launched a photo blog which can be found here: http://leftyphotoblog.blogspot.com/

It has been around for over a month, but I finally started to upload some pictures.  If you see the first post, I had been mulling over what should be the "first" post to get things started.  In the end, I was just fighting internally with myself and not able to get the project started.

Check them out and hopefully you will find something you enjoy!

Stock markets are trading in a very tight range

Not sure where things are headed at this point.  A very tight range is now appearing which means it typically could break in either direction (hopefully up).

As a side note, I only held my long position for a short time and locked in my profits.  No complaints.

Suze Orman's advice from tonight

I know that a lot of people don't like her, but Suze Orman was on the late night Channel 7 news program.  Here's some of her advice:

• If you carry a balance, opt out for a store credit card or a credit union credit card ONLY if the interest rate is cheaper.  Just remember to try and not carry a balance.
• Avoid promotions.  Make a list and don't buy or spend more than you planned "just because" it was a deal.
• Sometimes you can afford it.
• Define the things around you instead of having the things define you.

You can buy some of her books and other products at: Amazon.com's Suze Orman Products

Looks like the DJIA is setting a base for a 400-point move

Just looking ahead...  It looks like the Dow Jones Industrial Average is setting a base to make a potential move.  Sure it may have a little more consolidation in the next day or so, but if everything continues as it has been, we could be around 10,750 in the next 10 trading days.  Call it an early January effect, a Santa Claus rally or what not.  Maybe it will be part of the $10 trillion sitting on the sidelines that I addressed in this earlier post.

At this point I think the risk and reward is leaning toward accumulating positions and increasing holdings.

Disclaimer:  I have a position where I benefit if the Dow Jones Industrial average increases in value.

Save $10 off a purchase of $25 or more at JCP.com

For a single purchase of $25 or more at JCP.com (JC Penney), you can save $10 by using your MasterCard for the purchase. This is not as nice as the TRIM10 Coupon Code that I posted earlier.

I haven't tried it myself, but received a mailer.  The purchase must be made between December 7, 2009 and December 24, 2009.  The Coupon Code to use at checkout is FROST25.

Free frequent flier miles (or other stuff) ?

Now I guess I missed this opportunity.  The US Mint was lots of 250 $1 coins with free shipping.  The story goes that some people racked up to $800,000 in coins which were all promptly taken to the bank and deposited and then used to pay off the credit card.  This amounts to 800,000 miles.

I would have used it to get $8,000 in rewards of some other sort (like money).

Click here for the story on WSJ.com

Baby Hammocks are recalled by CPSC

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a recall of Baby Hammocks made by Amby Baby based out of Minnesota.

Click here for more details.

Save $10 on a $10 or greater purchase at JCP.com

For a single purchase of $10 or more at JCP.com (JC Penney), you can save $10 by using your MasterCard for the purchase.

I haven't tried it myself, but received a mailer today.  The purchase must be made between December 7, 2009 and December 24, 2009.  The Coupon Code to use at checkout is TRIM10.

Exited my Gold Position

In this previous post, I reported that Gold was overbought and that I had a position where I would benefit from a fall in gold prices.

Here is an update on my risk and reward estimate.  I have exited the position since the price has dropped about $6.50 based on GLD and about $65.00 on the spot price.  My initial target was a support of $108 for GLD or about $1,080 for the spot price.  At this time I am not ready to risk about $6.50 in profit to wait for another $3 or $4 to develop.

I expect prices to fluctuate for the next two weeks in the range of $108 and $113.  I would not be a buyer at this time unless it fell below $108.

New iMac quad-core machines better than current Mac Pro?

Apple posted a link to this article by MacWorld.  In their tests, the new iMac quad-core machines with the i5 or the i7 processors are better than either the current Mac Pro with the entry-level quad-core or the 8-core machines.  The obvious question will be "When will Apple upgrade the Mac Pro entry-level processors?"  That would seem to be the next logical step from a product line perspective.

From a cost vs. benefit and performance vs. space issue, spending this kind of money is an individual decision, but in round numbers, you could get two 27" iMacs for the price of one Mac Pro with a 30" display.  This is based on not paying for any RAID configurations and extra drives on the Mac Pro.    Add those features and you could easily increase the ratio of three iMacs to one Mac Pro (or more than three). The iMac is a lot less cluttering to any work space whether this is your home office or a business.

The 27" iMac display is the same width as the Apple 30" display at 2560 pixels, but a little shorter at 1440 vs. 1600 pixels.

To view the graphic that shows the processor comparison, click here.

For the complete review click here.

Gold appears to be the most overbought in 2 years

For at last the short term, Gold as represented by the SPDR Gold Shares ETF trading symbol GLD appears to be overbought.  Even when you look at the 5 year chart it is just about as overbought as possible. 

There is this report that Billionaire investor John Paulson (known as the "other" Paulson) is taking long positions in mining companies and the metal.  This in addition to recent positions in several large banking stocks.  Click here for the video.  This is the investor who actually started placing investments against the housing market in 2006 and made about $20 billion for his hedge fund.  He personally profited about $6 billion to his benefit.

If there is a short-term correction, I would expect support to be around $108 at the time of this post.

Disclaimer:  I hold a small position where I would benefit from a lower price of Gold.

What I didn't know until I watched "The Card Game"

I previously announced this documentary in this post.

Couple of points I gleaned from watching the Frontline Documentary

• Banks use computer programs to clear the larger checks and debit charges (such as mortgages, car payments, student loan payments, etc) before the smaller charges.  This results in overdraft charges for each of the smaller checks or debits vs. a single large charge.  Sometimes this may result in 7, 8, or 9 overdraft fees in a single day for small amounts. A sample statement showed that each of these may be $35 (up to $280 in one day?).
• "PayDay" loan companies charge up to around 460 percent APR for their 2-week loans.
• Banks are not required to post the APR for overdraft fees because it falls outside of the "truth-in-lending act."
• The government and the financial industry agree that a "cap" cannot be placed on interest rates.  Doing so, would destroy the free-market system to decide how much risk a borrower would be.

Where are you in relation to the "Peak Age of Financial Reason"?

David Laibson and his co-authors have studied whether there is an age at which you peak out with financial reason.  The logic is trying to determine how sophisticated your financial life should and can be.

One strategy for example is to simplify your financial life after you have peaked because you may no longer be able to handle complicated investments and scenarios.

What is this age?  What should you do? 

Click here to read the article.

Documentary on Credit Cards airing 11/24/09 at 9 PM

If anyone is interested in watching this potentially interesting documentary of the Credit Card industry, tune in to their local PBS station or on-line.  Click here for more information.

How much farther can Gold prices go?

I heard a report that the bullish sentiment has been high for a number of days now. I found a report by Mark Hulbert that says the previous four Gold tops at bullish sentiments of around 57 to 65 percent with a subsequent drop in prices of up to 24.8 percent. Currently, the sentiment number is 68 percent (note that it is above the recent highs).

Obviously, any market can remain overbought for extended periods of time, but usually not for very long. Remember that when a lot of people are already bullish, the contrarian view is that there isn't much money on the sidelines left to drive up prices and thus, prices will fall. Looking at gold charts, a short-term correction would take it to just above $1,000 per ounce. This would make it about a 10 percent drop.

Click here for the Mark Hulbert article

Disclaimer: I don't directly control any investments in gold.

How much of $10 trillion will get the market going?

I came across this article in the LA Times by Tom Petruno where he reports that $10 trillion sitting in bank savings accounts, CDs, and money market funds.

Typically these accounts do earn only a paltry amount and if you take into account erosion from inflation and taxes, your return is usually a negative amount. This is actually a reported reason for the run-up in commodities. It isn't worth letting cash sit and lose money and so people are taking the risk in some of the commodities markets (such as oil and gold).

According to the Investment Company Institute, there was $3.339 trillion in money market funds (click here for that report). In reviewing the weekly flows in "long-term" funds, you can see that money is flowing out of equity funds and in to foreign equity funds and bond funds (click here for that chart).

My thought is that even though there has been a run-up in the equity markets and major indices, imagine what will happen if sentiment improves and the money starts to flow from money market funds and in to equity markets? If and when that happens, everybody needs to fasten their seat belts!

I couldn't find the article in the LA Times, but it is listed in an alternate website that you can read by clicking here. The main point of his article is to how to maximize the return of your idle cash.

For more information on the Investment Company Institute, click here.

NG Traveler: How to avoid dying in an airline

I still get National Geographic's Adventure Magazine for free. Of course, the obvious way to avoid dying on an airplane is to just not get on one. But if you must, click the link below and read this Blog's recommendations. The one's that I like are as follows:

• Get out of the plane immediately if it crashes. Don't wait in line.
• Dress for a fire. Don't wear sandals or open-toed shoes. Don't wear synthetic materials. (I add: Don't wear high-heeled shoes)
• If you're concerned get the "Evac-U8 Smoke Hood from DuPont" (not sure if this will get through security)
• Count the rows from your seat to the nearest exit.
• Seat belts are good. Turbulence can hit anytime. He reports a 747 flight that hit turbulence and there were footprints on the ceiling.
• Choose your airline carefully. Consider avoiding those on the European Union's "black list" that can be found at the following site: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/air-ban/list_en.htm

Click here for the full post.

Go change your paycheck withholding if you live in California

Starting this November 2009 (tomorrow), the state of California will be increasing their state tax withholding. The income tax rate doesn't change so for November and December, you will get your money back (assuming you are owed) in April. That isn't so bad...okay, it's bad...but it isn't as bad when compared with an increased withhold in January 2010 that isn't refunded until April 2011?

If you want to keep your paycheck about the same, make sure you change your withhold. I'm not sure if other states are doing this as well.

Click here for the LA Times article.

NG Traveler: How to build a fire

This is from National Geographic's Adventure magazine that I'm currently getting for free. Just in case anyone gets selected for the "Survivor" show and doesn't win the first prize or more likely if you're camping and want to try this skill (without matches or a lighter) or if you get stuck somewhere and need to create fire.

I didn't know about the Vaseline cotton balls or the "fire pistons"...

The fire pistons sound neat.

Click here to read the article.

Presentation Resources

This is for anyone who uses PowerPoint or other presentation software. Here's a list of on-line resources I recently came across:

• Presentation Zen: http://www.presentationzen.com/
• World's Worst PowerPoint: http://www.slideshare.net/jdornberg/worlds-worst-powerpoint
• Ellen Finkelstein's Blog: http://www.ellenfinkelstein.com/powerpoint_tip.html
• PowerPoint Ninja: http://www.powerpointninja.com/

Happy creating....

Environmental Working Group: Radiation levels of wireless phones

The Environmental Working Group has recently released their ratings on radiation emissions for wireless phones. I have previously blogged on them regarding sunscreen here.

The maximum level needs to be less than 1.6 W/kg. It looks like the HTC Touch Diamond may be the lowest emitting model that is still in production at 0.86. The HTC Touch Pro is 0.91. The iPhone 3G S emits up to 1.19.

My Centro model emits up to 1.35.

There's a bunch of models that are not rated. You can view the complete list by clicking here. If you are interested in PDA/Smartphones you can click here.

GPS Coordinates for 3 Ansel Adams pictures

This is from the same September 2009 issue of Outside Magazine.

Here's a link for the GPS coordinates for 3 legendary pictures Ansel Adams shot in the 1930s and 1940s.

• Tetons and the Snake River (Grand Teton National Park)
  
• Clearing Winter Storm (Yosemite)
• Mount McKinley and Wonder Lake (Denali National Park)

Click here for the coordinates.

Photographers: add to your "to do" list

Here's a list of potential events/trips photographers may want to take. It's from Outside Magazine's September 2009 issue (yeah, I get this for free along with a bunch of others).

It includes trips to Mount Everest, Colorado, New Mexico, Antarctica, California, Great Plains, Yellowstone, Maryland/Virginia, and the Great Barrier Reef.

Click here for more details.

It does seem like Mergers and Acquisitions are picking up

Here's a recent LA Times article from September 21, 2009 listing three high-profile deals that were announced. Today on Yahoo! Finance there are two more deals listed by Cisco (click here) and Viasat (click here). Most of these are in the (low) billions.

Another sign that things are eventually turning around (hopefully).

Looking to make more money? Do you have extra time?

Here's an article posted to Yahoo! Finance that lists 3 ways to make more money through the internet. Here hey are:

• An open network. This is where you get paid to contribute and also a share of "clicks" to view your materials.
• On-demand services. This is where you get paid to provide answers.
• Crowd-sourcing. This is where you divide projects into many (possibly 100's) of small human intelligence tasks. Like finding the typo on a Facebook advertisement of "pscychoogist" which should be "psychologist")

Click here to read more details.

Which type of vacuum cleaner is best?

Here's a short article that says that it depends on your needs. This should be obvious.

When I was growing up, we had a canister. I remember that it dual-purposed as a toy. Among my memories included using it as a "wagon" that you could pull someone on and a "car" where one person could push another.

Now we have a Shark for a quick vacuum around the kitchen area and Kenmore canister vacuums for each floor. Yeah, don't remind me. I'm trying to think about the reasons for having two canister vacuums. If I remember, it was "rationalized" because of the inconvenience (and danger?) of lugging one up and down the stairs. Also involved was redundancy and feeling like needing a backup vacuum in case one failed.

The article ends by saying "don't buy more than you need." We may have bought (slightly) more than we needed, but we definitely didn't pay for all the bells and whistles.

Click here to view the article on the Orange County Register website.

Video: What will it be? V, W, L, U, VW, or Square-root?

Wow. So many descriptors to what we're going through from an economic recovery perspective. Now here's a video of someone describing a "Square-root" recovery.

Click here to watch.

What's the value of your football team?

According to Forbes, the most valuable football team is the Dallas Cowboys at $1.65 billion. The least-valued team is not surprisingly the Oakland Raiders at $797 million.

What's interesting is Revenue and Operating Income. While the Cowboys have a reported $9.2 million, the number two team (Valuation), the Washington Redskins valued at $1.55 billion has an operating income of $90.3 million. This is ten times that of Dallas. The number three team, the New England Patriots, has operating income of $70.9 million.

Dallas needs to pump up the revenue and/or decrease its costs. Get the cash flow going.

Click here for the complete rankings and see how your team is doing.

We need more of this. Especially in Southern California.

Well, not the wood pellets, but the grinding up of pine trees killed by the bark beetles.

So many nice and interesting articles in the current issue of Forbes (yes, getting for free).

This one is about a guy, Mark Mathis who went into a Home Depot and found out there was a shortage of wood pellets for his stove. Because of that, he started his own pellet mill. After one year, he's already turning a profit.

The best part, is that he's making the wood pellets with wood from trees that were killed by the bark beetles. The wood is dried in furnaces that are heated by sawdust.

Future plans include turning one ton of wood into 60 gallons of ethanol and 800 pounds of wood pellets.

Click here to read more.

Forbes article on High-Frequency Trading

Wow. 40 racks of servers overseen by traders backed by two separate power substations and 196,000 pounds of batteries and soon, also a 2,000-kilowatt diesel generator.

In this Forbes magazine (yup, still getting it free), this article talks about the equipment, locations and ideas to make money within milliseconds. Some have a direct fiber-optic connection to exchange computers. Why transmit via the internet?

All this equipment is needed to do "high-frequency" trades. To me, it's a bunch of arbitrage. The systems perform 2,000 trades in one second. It tries to catch 0.1 0r 0.01 cent differences, but catches the difference thousands of times each day.

Now the NYSE is exploring renting out space for similar connections directly to its exchange.

Just don't get it wrong 2,000 times in one second.

Click here to read the article.

What? Limited reward with unlimited risk?

I hope I never get caught in something like this. Here's a piece on "accumulator" contracts. Where you have a one-year contract to purchase a stock every day at a discount. In this example they said you buy a $10 stock for $8 (20 percent discount) every trading day for one year. Sounds great, right? It's a purchase at a 20 percent discount, but if you could sell, it's actually a 25 percent gain!

Here the problem. If the stock goes up five percent, the contract gets cancelled. So you bought a bunch at $8.00 and once it hits $10.50, you no longer can buy at the $8.00 price. On the flip side, if the price drops to less than $8.00, you actually need to buy even more. In some cases, double the amount. Talk about a way to try and support the price of a particular stock.

So the maximum reward is $2.50 and any capital appreciation/dividends beyond $10.50, but the "guaranteed" 25 percent return is gone. The risk is (nearly) unlimited.

Beware, and read the fine print.

Click here to read more details.

Do people really routinely spend $575 for a white shirt?

Just came across one of the free magazines I get, the WSJ magazine (www.wsjmagazine.com). There was an article about the "white shirt." It talks a little about the history in men and women and how to wear it.

It lists some six samples that range from $44.50 for the Gap model and up to $575 for the Giorgio Armani.

Not sure if the Armani model is truly worth the difference...or is it? Ask me, and I would say the marginal increase in cost is not.

Click here for the article.

Wow! $8 for an Espresso (book that is)

Things are coming full circle with Google. First it scanned millions of books into its databases. Now it is making two million of the books that are no longer covered by copyright law available to a machine called "The Espresso Book Machine." The machine is capable of printing a 300-page paperback book in less than five minutes.

The machines themselves sell for $100,000 and there are lease options. Of the$8.00, $1.00 goes to On Demand Books (the manufacturer of the machine) and $1.00 goes to Google who promises to donate this to charities. The rest goes to the owner of the machine and to pay for variable costs (paper, electricity, etc).

Click here to read the article on Yahoo! Finance

iPigs for iPods (and also iBoo and iPandas)

I don't have an iPod at this time (don't have a need), but here's a cute product. It's a docking station, but shaped like a Pig, Panda, or a ghost (if that's what they look like).

Here's a picture from this article: http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/hughes/33598/ipig-meets-ipod/
The price is around $100 to $130 depending on the model. Remember to shop on-line through my Upromise link or purchase directly from Amazon using this link: iPigs on Amazon

Click here for Speakal, the manufacturer's website.

Real estate (obviously) popped. What's next?

Here's a list of 10 possibilities as posted on a Yahoo! Finance article:

1. China
2. Green
3. Gold
4. Federal reserve
5. Trash stocks (risky stocks now overvalued)
6. Education
7. Subprime 2.0
8. Life insurance securitization
9. Commercial real estate
10. Emerging markets

Click here for more details

AirPort Express Option (instead of Sonos)

In this previous post, I listed some options in lieu of spending relatively big money on a Sonos system.

Now I found another option.

If you have an Apple AirPort Express you can connect it to your AirPort Extreme Base Station. Now from your computer, you can control each of the AirPort Express devices and which music plays to each of them. Plus, there's an iPhone or iPod touch app (for free of course) that allows you to remotely access your iTunes library and control all AirPort Express devices. You can also simultaneously play the same music file through all speakers.

I think the only downside I see is that your computer needs to be on the entire time. With Sonos, your computer can be off because the files are on a network-attached drive.

At right around $100 each, you can fairly inexpensively "pipe" music into other rooms. There are no built-in speakers and you will need to connect the "Audio out" jack to some sort of amplifier/speaker system.

Just a brief search revealed that some have technical difficulties trying to connect their AirPort Express with non-Apple routers.


Click here to go to Apple's site for more information about AirTunes and this functionality.

Click here to view Apple's video tutorial on how to set this up with either a Mac OS or a Windows computer and also how to use iPod touch or iPhone as the remote.

LATimes.com: Who needs gas if you have old beer?

Shaquille O'Neal is an investor in this concept. You pay $10k for a "Micro-Fueler" which has a 250 gallon storage tank and makes ethanol. You will need an alcohol fuel producer's permit from the United States Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to produce up to 10,000 gallons per year, but here's how it works.

You have the device on your personal property with a pump similar to that found at gas stations. It is most effective with wastes that are high in alcohol (like "liquid waste" from brewing companies), but can also take things like "lawn clippings, dairy products, old chemicals, cardboard, paper, bruised and discarded apples." They are all fermented and turned into fuel "in minutes." If you don't have enough waste to create enough fuel, the company will deliver some raw materials at the rate of $2.00 per gallon. GreenHouse International has contracts to convert 29,000 tons of brewing company waste using these MicroFuelers.

In addition to using it to make ethanol for your car, you can use the ethanol to run a generator that produces 23 kilowatt-hours of electricity per gallon of fuel.

One thing to keep in mind is that your miles-per-gallon rating with ethanol is not the same as with gasoline (it is less), but the carbon dioxide emissions is less with ethanol.

Not sure if it is worth all the hassle (application to the government, maintaining a delivery schedule, slight drop in mileage is difficult to compare actual price and price savings, etc.) but it is an interesting concept.

For more information, read the Los Angeles Times article by clicking here.

20 percent off at OfficeMax (including furniture)

Got one of those grocery bags in the Sunday paper (The Sun) advertising that everything you can fit inside will be 20 percent off. What caught my attention was that furniture is included.

So if anyone has been on the fence about getting some office-type furniture, check out their site and use the coupon code OMX20 when checking out.

Also remember that if you buy on line through this Upromise link, my kids will get 2 percent towards their 529 plans. So use that link and choose OfficeMax.com and then use OMX20 when checking out.

Fly unlimited for $599 on JetBlue from 9/8/09 to 10/8/09

But read the fine print. Here are key points:

• Purchase by 8/21/09 (or while supplies last).
• Book 3 days in advance (before 11:59 PM)
• Pay $100 if you don't show or your "pass" will be suspended.
• If you already have booked a flight during the travel period, you can "upgrade" by paying the difference.
• Does not include Taxes and Fees to International destinations and Puerto Rico.
• $30 for the second bag.

Click here for more details and also make sure you read the "Full terms and conditions"

Nice summary of child car seat rules

Found this on NHTSA's website. I nice flyer that shows the age and weight threshholds for each car seat or booster seat.

Click here for the PDF file.

Click here for their "Child Passenger Safety" site.

What do retirees do all day?

A U.S. News and World Report study breaks down the average day for 65 to 74 year-olds.

Click here to see how the day is broken up. Only 15 minutes per day for mail, email, and telephone calls and 21 minutes for casual computer use. About 46 minutes is spend reading (maybe on the internet?).

CDC Updates H1N1 recommendations for the upcoming school year

The CDC has updated their K-12 recommendations as follows if an outbreak is similar to earlier this year:

• Stay home when sick (at least 24 hours without a fever off of fever-reducing medications)
• Separate ill students and staff
• Hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette
• Routine cleaning (shouldn't they be doing this already?)
• Early treatment of high-risk students and staff
• Consideration of selective school dismissal

For an outbreak of increased severity, the following:

• Active screening
• High-risk students and staff members stay home
• Students with ill household members stay home
• Increase distance between people at school
• Extend the period for ill persons to stay home (up to 7 days)
• School dismissals

Click here for the detailed updated recommendations

$19 a night at the Rancho Bernardo Inn?

Yup. For only $19 per night from August 16 to 31, 2009 they're running a special. Here's the catch.

The regular price starts at $219 per night for accommodations and breakfast for two. It drops as follows:

• To $199 without the breakfast
• To $179 without the honor bar
• To $159 without A/C or heat
• To $139 without pillows
• To $109 without the sheets
• To $89 without lights (bring your own flashlights)
• To $59 without linens (Are these the towels? We already gave up the pillows and sheets above)
• To $39 without toiletries (bring your own toilet paper)
• To $19 without the bed (bring your sleeping bags)

It's called the "Survivor Package" and sounds like camping in the hotel room. At least they don't mention taking away the phone or the TV. Most people have wireless phones and you may not want to watch TV while you are there. Maybe you can use the difference to pay for a spa or golf package.

Click here to go to their home page.

Click here to view their specials (scroll to bottom).

Classic Debt Restructure: This time by Donald Trump

I know Donald Trump is controversial, but he's doing what a lot of people are doing in this downturn. Effectively buying their debt at a discount and reorganizing.

Long ago (college days), I read about this company whose debt was being hammered to around 20 cents on the dollar (can't remember the exact value). This story also happened to be in Forbes magazine. All the ratings agencies and pundits were saying how it was going to go bankrupt. The administrative leadership ended up finding a financial backer and they ended up buying a significant portion of the debt in the open market. By the time the current bondholders realized this, it was too late. In the end, the company effectively reorganized their debt at a discount.

Now Donald Trump, his daughter and a bank have done the same thing with the Trump Entertainment Resorts which operates casinos in Atlantic City. The company has been in bankruptcy for the third time and Donald et al placed the winning bid of $100 million to buy it and take it out of bankruptcy.

It is listed as having $2.06 billion in assets and $1.74 billion in liabilities. Equity equals about $320 million. The deal in the end will shrink the $486 million. They ended up converting their debt for $0.279 on the dollar.

That'll make things easier on the cash flow.

Read more about the story by clicking here.

Gary Strobel: The "Indiana Jones" of Fungus

Gary Strobel from Montana State University was featured in a Forbes article. They don't have it on their website.

He has found a fungus that can create Biodiesel in small amounts. There is still work to be done to see if there are ways to increase the volume of production, but if efficient, it would be another method of creating fuel.

Click here for his profile at Montana State University and links to some NPR features on "myco-diesel".

Leverage is a double-edge blade: Another story on Risk and Reward

This one is from Forbes Magazine. Still getting it for free. This story is about Louis Reijtenbagh, a Dutch cardiologist and investor who (sounds like) borrowed against everything. Sometimes he borrowed twice, using the same collateral.

Leverage (borrowing) is great when things are going great and it is properly used (on investments vs. lifestyle costs), but it also hurts when things go against you. Beware how you use this tool....

I love the paraphrase by Warren Buffet: "when the tide goes out you get to see who is not adequately covered by collateral..."

Click here for the article.

Finally, more margarine spreads without trans fats

Hey, you always learn new things all the time. Before this news story, I thought that Smart Balance and Canola Harvest spreads/margarines were the only ones without trans fats (hydrogenated oils).

Now comes word that Unilever, which makes half of the spreads in the United States will have all their spreads without trans fats by middle of next year. What I didn't know was that currently their Imperial margarine was free of trans fats. Brummel and Brown also is free of trans fats. The brands that will be added to their list of products free of trans fats will include the "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" and "Country Crock" brands.

Click here for the article on USA Today.

Just a reminder that the FDA allows product packaging to say "No Trans Fats" if the serving contains less than 0.5 grams of Trans Fats. The problem is that it becomes a math game in determining the serving size just right to qualify. It's always important to look at the ingredients for "hydrogenated" oils. If it is listed, then it is in the food.

Click here to read more about Trans Fats at the American Heart Association's website.

From Forbes.com: Stupid Debt Tricks

As previously stated, I'm still getting Forbes magazine for free. In the latest issue, there was an "Ideas and Opinions" look at what games states are playing to plug holes in their budgets. I found the same thing on the website. Here's a couple (see below for the link):

• How does California save $1.2 billion by changing the date on their salary checks from June 30 to July 1? It seems like it would be a one-time effect. It would catch up the following year (or so it seems).
• Michigan plans to charge a $250 license fee on strippers. It is important to note that this opinion reports that there are only 83 topless establishments. They may also take in California prisoners (where does that money come from? California?).
• New York will put ads on their garbage trucks and charge an 18 percent tax on sugary drinks.

Click here for more details.

PBS Show: Walking the Great Divide and websites on the CDT

Just finished watching around 2 hours on Channel 58.1 KLCS (http://www.klcs.org/) which is a local PBS station here in Southern California. Today it was from 2 PM to 4 PM. If you missed it, they will be showing it again (not sure which parts, not clear on website or on-line schedules) on Tuesday night, 7/28/09 at 9 PM and 8/1/09 at 2 AM!

It's a fascinating documentary following an approximately 6 month journey from the Mexican border through 3,100 miles of trails and ending at the Canadian border. There's also a "tri-continental" divide where from one point, the water flows to the Arctic, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans.

You can purchase the expanded 2-disc DVD version from Flagler Films (http://www.flaglerfilms.com/).

Not sure if I have the stamina, energy, and time to do it all in one stretch. I might consider doing it in bits and pieces. The people he interviewed (most are fellow CDT hikers) all report the same things, mind over body, pain, etc.

Other sites that may be of interest:

• Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Divide_Trail)
• Continental Divide Trail Alliance (http://www.cdtrail.org/)
• Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (http://www.fs.fed.us/cdt/admin.htm)
  

Ways to help your monthly cash flow

I found this interesting article from Kiplinger and on Yahoo! Finance about 20 ways to waste (or not waste) your money.

I think the big ones for myself are Numbers 1, 5, 10, 12, and 18. We all could do better.

Click here to read the article and see if there are areas you can improve as well.

VW and Porsche saga finally winding down

Here's a nice summary of everything that has happened in the last four years. Click here for the Yahoo! Finance article. Porsche failed in its bid to take over VW (David and Goliath sort of deal) and now is ending up being merged into VW and will likely be one of the VW brands.

With increased Reward comes increased Risk. Market forces will drive them to balance each other out.

Using Variable Ratio/Variable Reward to encourage saving

I just read this interesting piece by Jason Zweig about a bank that is offering prizes (or raffles) just for opening a bank account.

We all know that variable ratio / variable reward is the best way to encourage behaviors. Think of gambling (don't know when you're going to win or how much you're going to win) or even other activities such as golf (don't know when the next good shot will come or how great it will be).

Of course, the rates are a little lower than current market and the differential is how the credit union pays for the "prizes." The article reports the following: "You are sort of betting, but there's no losing."

But in reality, there is losing because of the differential in return and losses to inflation. How you make it up is in the risk/reward ratio. If you contribute the minimum like the reported person who placed only $25 in their CD (Certificate of Deposit) and won $400, the ratio is more justified as compared with someone who opens their CD with $100,000 and wins $400, but misses out in $1,000 for every 1 percent interest rate differential.

60 minutes: Following the Trail of E-Waste

Alright. One of my friends brought reality back. Reminded me of this segment of 60 Minutes which airs on the CBS network. Of note, it's the only show (that I know of) that doesn't have a theme song other than a ticking stopwatch.

They ran a tragic and unfortunate segment following the trail of how e-Waste is supposed to be recycled and what really happens in some cases. You'll have to watch it yourself.

Click here to be taken there.

Update on Color Laser Printer deal from Staples

If you've been keeping up, you read about my purchase of a new Brother Color Laser Printer 4040CN from Staples on this previous post. To summarize, the final price was aroud $175 (plus taxes on the original price).

It arrived last Friday and I installed it today. Here's the predicament:

• The printer came with regular toner cartridges which should be good for 1,500 pages for color and 2,500 for black/white (typical yield). Based on prices on my original post, it would cost me about $293 to replace all 4 cartridges.

So what to do in 1 or 2 years (depending on actual usage), keeping in mind that I use my black and white all-in-one for greater than 98 percent of printing "jobs." Find another deal for a color laser similar to this at $175 for the printer with new cartridges or pay $293 to replace them over time?

If the "new" one is faster and better resolution and it is cheaper overall, the answer will likely be an easy one.

Here is my initial output review after printing three pages. I can tell it is 2400x600 dpi when looked at closely. I took it off of draft print (prints at 600x600 dpi) and put it on "Vivid" output. The baseline, normal settings are a little dull.

I haven't needed to gift or use the free digital camera. If anything comes up, I'll keep you posted.

Update on Porsche / VW Saga: Porsche loses...

I had previously posted about Porsche's Risk/Reward situation. Click here to read that. Now rumors are going around that instead of Porsche ending up controlling or taking over VW, it is going to be the other way around.

In this recent Reuters article on NYTimes.com Porsche's debt has climbed to more than 10 billion Euros. This Time.com article (from May 2009) reports that Porsche's sales were recently only 9.3 billion Euros. Porsche really leveraged themselves this time and are paying for it, especially in this contracting automobile market.

The price for Porsche is 11.28 billion Euros and the outgoing Porsche CEO may get more than 100 million Euros (for getting Porsche into this mess starting back in 2005).

Porsche took the risk for the reward, and this time it's not paying off. VW was 16 times the size or Porsche.

Forbes Editorial/Blog RE: Nuclear Power for Iran, but not the U.S.

In addition to Money Magazine, I'm also getting Forbes magazine for free. Looks like Forbes will be coming to my mailbox until May 2010 (if I read their label correctly).

In this blog entry by Rich Karlgaard (Forbes.com and Forbes magazine), he discusses how Obama supports Iran in its quest for Nuclear Power, but not many in the U.S. want increased nuclear power here. The U.S. gets only 20 percent of its electricity from nuclear power vs. France's 50 percent.

I wonder what the energy "crisis" would look like if we had not stopped making nuclear power plants back in 1980.

Get the Palm Pre?

I briefly explored getting a Palm Pre. It has a lot of technical capabilities. Click here to see the comparison chart that was linked on this previous post comparing iPhone vs. Pre vs. Android.

One thing that needs further exploring is any minimum requirements for monthly service plans. At SprintPCS.com's site, you can view their information about the Palm Pre. There's a link that takes you to the current plans. Click here for that listing.

Right now, I don't think I need the "Simply Everything" plan at around $100 per month. I'd like to see if I could get the Everything Data 450 plan at $70. Add $30 for a second line (with shared minutes) with 1,000 messages per month and $15 for tethering (phone as modem).

If that was available, it would get me one step closer to making the jump.

Most mobile phones synchronize with Google Calendar

In this previous post, I briefly discussed the lack of a need to get an iPhone.

I noted a potential reason to get an iPhone is for the continuous synchronizing (if you subscribe to the MobileMe service). Several phones (including iPhone, but not the Centro...bummer) allows direct synchronizing with Google Calendar (which is currently free for Google accounts).

So for iPhone users, consider using Google Calendar to avoid MobileMe charges.

Click here to go to Google's site on synchronizing with mobile phones.

Another potential Staples deal - Here they go again...

Just yesterday, I wrote here about me ordering a Brother Color Laser Printer from Staples.

Here is this week's Staples "Sneak Peek" at this coming week's circular. I'm not sure if it's just back-to-school, the industry is hurting, or if Staples if trying to get a head start (or all of the above and more).

Here's the potential deal: Buy any Backpack and get 100% back in Staples Rewards. It applies to both in-store and on-line purchases. There are only 23 backpacks listed when searched on their website. I'm not sure how this compares with in-store inventory and selection options.

Example for discussion:

The best overall deal may be one of the Wenger backpacks (such as this one) but the sale price may expire by this Sunday when the next circular kicks in. Even though, buying the highest-priced backpack may get you the best deal from a monetary perspective, don't buy it just because it's a deal. Buy it because you need the item. You will still need to pay taxes on the purchase price.

You could look at ebay to see what the real "market" price for this item. It is actually around $65 (with free shipping).

Here's the theoretical breakdown:

• Buy a backpack for about $90. Pay about $9 in taxes.
• Receive the $90 in Staples Rewards in October.
• Staples Rewards is not a check that can be cashed, but needs to be spent at a Staples store or on-line (sort of like a gift card). You need to still spend $90 on something at Staples. I'm not sure what the markup is for an Office Supply store, but if we use 40 percent as an estimate, Staples would make a gross profit of about $36.

Bottom line, you would spend about $99 to get at least $189 in products, or you could pay $65 on ebay and just get that one item.

If you have kids and "need" a backpack, you may just end up getting one of the $24.99 models.

Oh, and they also have some offers for mechanical pencils, retractable gel pens, and highlighters, all free after rebates (still need to pay taxes).

Ordered my Color Laser Printer for $174.00 plus free camera - Here's how it went

Okay. Here's what I did. On this previous post, the Staples circular listed a color laser printer for $199.

I ordered it online and here the breakdown:

• Instant coupon so it was original price of $349 now down to $199. No rebate needed.
• Used Coupon 7671-3339-3847-2840 (without hyphens) to get an additional $25 off (purchases of $100 or more excluding computers)
• Used Coupon 71236 to get a free 3.1 MP camera
• Got free shipping or pickup at local Staples store
• Had to pay sales taxes on the $89.99 MSRP on the camera and $349 original price of the printer
• Also got 1% of purchase towards kids 529 accounts

Again, you have to "need" or really rationalize the cost:benefit of any purchase. Around $174 is a really good price for the features. I didn't think another $120 was worth Wi-Fi (the next model up).

Staples deal this weekend: $199 Color laser printer

Staples starts their school supply sale this weekend.

In the Staple's "Sneak Peek" at this weekend's circular there's the following deal that I am considering:

This Brother 4040CN laser printer will be only $199 down from regular price of $349. Prints up to 21 ppm in both Color and B&W (read draft mode, the better resolution is slower) and wait time is 17 second to first page printing. The cartridges are still what you really pay for and are listed at $65 to $76 depending on B&W (2,500 pages yield) or Color (1,500 pages yield).

If you prefer HP there's a reasonably priced "All-in-one" color laser with much slower technical specifications for only about $349. It prints only up to 12 ppm B&W and 8 ppm in Color. The cartridges are listed at around $72 for color to $77 for B&W.

Facebook update

Okay. It looks like I opened my Facebook account around end of May (5/24/09). Currently I have 196 friends (215 connections).

There is a learning curve on permissions, uploading pictures, limiting views of games, etc.

Couple of (cheaper) alternatives to Sonos

In an earlier post (click here to read), I discussed the features I would enjoy with the Sonos Multi-Room Music System.

Update: I forgot to mention that Sonos also scans all the free Internet Radio Channels and allows you to listen to them just like any files stored on a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device.

If you are not willing and/or able to acquire a Sonos system, here are a couple of cheaper alternatives. Unfortunately you'll need to weigh the costs, benefits and downsides for these options.

Option #1: One or more MP3 players.

For this example, I will use the iPod classics on Amazon.com. For around $249 retail ($229 on Amazon) and a memory capacity of 160GB, it would easily hold most music collections. There are other manufacturer and storage size options for MP3 players.

Benefits:

• You can take the iPod with you. Sonos stays at home.
• Cost. You can buy four iPods (not counting speakers) for the price of the entry package Sonos system which only gives you rooms.
• 160GB device holds more than 30,000 songs (per Apple's website).
• Can also hold pictures and video.
• Can use for portable storage of files.

Downsides:

• No Internet Radio Stations.
• Limited storage for music collections that aren't compressed and/or are very large.
• Need to purchase one iPod for each room you want to hear music.
• Need to purchase speakers (or equivalent) for each iPod.
• Unable to synchronize playback on all iPods like Sonos. Sonos can play a single MP3 in all rooms. Think of "piping" music throughout the whole house.

Option #2: vtech Wi-Fi Internet Radio
Initially I was very excited to hear about this device until I reviewed the features a little more closely. Click here to check it out. For retail $199 ($138 on Amazon.com), you get a radio that will connect via your wireless Wi-Fi internet connection and allow you to tune in to the free radio stations. It also has RCA and phono input jacks.
Benefits:

• Cost. $199 is cheap for a ton of radio stations (their website lists 11,000 stations). If radio is all you need (or want) then you could get five of these for the price of the Sonos entry-level system.
• Built-in FM tuner.
• Clock with alarm.
• Fairly small at around 6"x12"x3.5"
• Battery operated so that it can be moved around the house or outside. It still needs to be within range of the Wi-Fi connection
• Can plug in an external MP3 player.

Downsides:

• 2x3W speakers plus a 10W subwoofer may not satisfy some who want to pump up the volume.
• Cannot connect to an NAS device.
• Able to connect to files on a PC or Mac. This means that the computer needs to be left on for the files to be played (read: energy use).
• Not portable (beyond Wi-Fi). Sonos isn't either.

Option #3: MP3 player + vtech Internet Radio
This would mean purchasing one MP3 player and one vtech Internet Radio.
Key Benefits (look above too):

• Can take MP3 outside of the house.
• Device can store pictures and video.

Key Downsides (look above too):

• At about $450 or each combination, the cost for two (2) sets is very close to the Sonos entry-level set which also gives you the ability to play in two rooms.
• More electrical plugs and power cables (sometimes they seem to be everywhere!)
• 6W (3Wx2) + 10W subwoofer output is nothing compared to Sonos 110W (55Wx2) output.

Bottom line: it all comes down to weighing needs vs. wants and then costs for certain features.

Competitor to Sonos
Note also that Linksys by Cisco has a system very similar to Sonos called "Wireless Home Audio." You can read more by clicking here: Cisco Linksys Wireless Home Audio Executive Kit--Includes One Director with IR Remote and One Set of Speakers. Sonos had their product out first. Maybe for an upcoming post, I'll do a more direct comparison. The retail pricing is very similar to Sonos at $999 for a two room system.

Disclosure: at the time of this post, I did not directly control shares of Apple or Cisco.

Ongoing saga at carmaker Porsche

Here's another interesting story about risk and reward.

Starting back in 2005, carmaker Porsche started purchasing shares of VW. It currently owns a majority (>50%) of the company directly by shares. They also controlled additional shares with options. Speculators had been betting that the shares of VW would go down. Once the news got out about how much Porsche owned, there was a squeeze because of the following:

• Porsche shares + Porsche controlled via options + Shares short by speculators was greater than outstanding shares of VW.

I can't find the articles, but it was one of the first times where profits exceeded operating revenue (sales from Porsche cars). Comments at that time were that Porsche had turned into a hedge firm. This was all because of the large VW position.

• Click here for the TimesOnline article in March, 2009 reporting Porsche profits.

Now it appears that risk is starting to catch up to Porsche and they are looking for a bailout via either a merger with VW or loan/investment from a Qatar investment company.

• Click here for the Yahoo! Finance article.

Another risk and reward issue. Porsche received a huge reported reward earlier this year, but now may suffer some risk. We'll have to see how the reporting profits go in the next few quarters.

One response to remove "bonuses" from compensation structure

I think most of us could see this one coming (and it makes sense).

Since the government is going to restrict or eliminate bonuses from companies who have received TARP funds, one company (Citibank) has decided to restructure their compensation so that the bonuses are built in to their base pay. Citibank has received $45 billion from the government so far. It appears the govenment does have a final "veto" of compensation structures before it is implemented.

Here are some of the risks and rewards for Citibank to do this.

• Reward: keep "talented" employees and prevent them from going to other firms where bonuses are not scrutinized (TARP funds already paid off).
• Risk: now if cash flow is tight, the choice won't be whether or not to give the bonuses, but whether or not to keep the employees. If it was a base + bonus structure, the company could opt to cancel bonuses. Now if more is shifted to the base salary, the company will need to play accordingly.

Click here for the full report on Yahoo! Finance

What I love about the Sonos "Multi-Room Music System"

Earlier this year, I converted my existing CD collection into MP3s. The huge question in my mind is what do I do with it. It's great that all the music is readily accessible, but how do I get it from my computer(s) to the rest of the house?

I have been keeping an eye on the system that is available by Sonos. The key features Sonos offers are the following:

• Source music typically is a Network Attached Storage device. This means your computer doesn't need to be on in order for this system to work. You do need a wireless router (or network).
• There is virtually no size limitations when ripping music. Since your music is stored on a hard drive, the limits are based on how large the hard drive is and how many CDs you have. You could save your music in lossless formats and not lose quality with compression. There are minimal problems streaming uncompressed file formats. I'm sure there are limits at some point (IE, you probably can't stream 16 different lossless music files simultaneously).
• You can access all Internet Radio stations and also access Rhapsody (requires subscription).
• There are options for amplified and non-amplified Zoneplayers. You can have up to 32 of these in your house! Non-amplified Zoneplayers need to be connected to some sort of audio video device (like an AV receiver with their own speakers) in order to work. Amplified Zoneplayers will need only speakers.
  
• Option to have each Zoneplayer playing different music or all of them playing the same music simultaneously.
• Free iPhone app that can control all of the Zoneplayers. (You would obviously need an iPhone).

Now with the above comes a cost. The starter bundle is just around $1,000 and that includes a controller, an amplified Zoneplayer and an un-amplified Zoneplayer. Additonal amplified Zoneplayers are about $500 each and un-amplified Zoneplayers are about $350 each.

To me, this is a luxury. Sure, it would be cool to be able to "pipe" the same piece throughout the entire house or play one genre of music upstairs and another downstairs, but at what cost?It would also be nice to control the volume of each room's music. But, you could easily fork out about $3,000 to outfit a house with a Zoneplayer in nearly every room. This would get you 6 Zoneplayers (5 amplified and 1 that is not) in total and one controller.

Look for future posts on some possible cheaper options and their limitations as compared to the Sonos system.

If any of you do explore purchasing the Sonos system from BestBuy. Please shop through the following link and type in "Sonos" in the Best Buy "Search for" section:

Buy Online, Pickup in Your Local Best Buy® Store.

60 minutes: Nevada stops outpatient chemotherapy

In an earlier post, I referred to an article about six states that were having significant budget gaps.



Several months ago, the CBS television show "60 minutes" had a segment on cutting Oncology services. Click here to view videos and read information about that loss (to patients) . They stopped outpatient chemotherapy for new patients as of December 31, 2009.

CA, NY, FL, MA, AZ, NV be prepared for tax hikes / loss of services

This article is says that California, New York, Florida, Massachusetts, Arizona, and Nevada will be likely cutting services and increasing taxes.

The estimated deficits are as follows:

• California: about $25 billion


• New York: about $17 billion


• Florida: $6 billion


• Massachusetts and Arizona: about $3 billion


• Nevada: $1.2 billion

Click here for a brief view of the deficits, how large a percentage it is in relation to each respective "general" fund, and how each state may help narrow the gap.

I have posted a brief link to a "60 Minutes" segment regarding cuts in cancer treatment in Nevada. Click here for that post.

Things must be betting better, right?

Seems like a lot of the banks are paying the "TARP" funds/loans back. Goldman Sachs is the most recent announcing that they are prepared to pay the government back.

This means that things are better, right? In order to pay back, they had to prove that they could raise capital in the open market. During the "crisis," liquidity was a concern and no one (read institutions) was loaning to each other. They were holding on to their own capital because of the unknown.

So...either things are truly getting better or maybe institutions are creating loans to each (fabricating?) just to show that they can borrow...just so they can get out from TARP scrutiny...just so they can continue to pay executives and other key staff what they want to pay them.

I think everyone hopes that it's the first.

Click here for the article.

Five reasons to start a business during a recession

According an article that can be found by clicking here, the following are five (5) reasons to start a business during a recession:

• Extra protection from pink slips
• Set your own income
• Start-up costs are lower at this time
• It's easier to find partners/vendors
• It's gratifying

Homes for less than $10,000 on sale in Detroit

Hmmm. Sounds like there's an opportunity and lots of people are taking advantage of this. It reports one person from California has purchased nearly 200 homes.

Click here for the article on CNNMoney.com.

Remember that Real Estate is not a liquid investment. This means, it takes time before you can access or convert it into something that is usable (think sell or borrow against). Compare against a highly liquid asset such as a bank account where you can deposit money into an account and withdraw the same money five (5) minutes later. After you make this purchase, how long will it take for you to "get out" of this investment?

Risk/Reward: Need to weigh the risk of needing liquidity and management issues (dealing with tenants, property management companies, trips to location of property, insurance, tax, liability or legal issues, etc) vs. the reward of potential monthly cash flows from rents and appreciation of the underlying asset.

Uhhh... Honey we need to talk. Couples disagree over retirement plans

Click here for the article.

502 couples were surveyed. 38% make decisions together. 60% don't agree on retirement ages. 44% don't agree whether they'll be working in "retirement." 42% disagree on whether they'll be well-off or scraping by.

Costs associated with getting a "Fender Bender" if you have a microcar

$3,700 to repair a fender bender? Obviously you want to avoid any collisions entirely, but these were based on speeds of 3 to 6 miles per hour.

They save you on gas, but try to avoid crashes and take total (potential) costs into account when making these purchases. Weigh it against some conveniences such as easier to find parking spaces.

Click here for the article.

Chart by BillShrink.com: iPhone 3GS vs. Palm Pre vs. Android G1

Ran into this chart briefly comparing some of the key features of these 3 phones.

Click here for the chart. Click here for the article.

Still dragging my feet to make any jump. I need tethering and my Palm Centro is still working. I know there are hacks to tether, but would rather wait at this point. View my previous discussion of iPhone vs. Centro by clicking here.

Can you ever save too much?

Since our U.S. economy more dependent on our own spending, what's the balance between saving and spending and how fast our economy recovers (or grows)?

Click here for a recent USNews article on Yahoo! Finance.

There are also discussions about whether you can also save too much for retirement. For example, if you maximize your yearly contributions for retirement plans such as 401(k), 403(b), and 457 plans, would you end up with so much money that when you start making mandatory withdrawals, you may end up hitting the top Federal + State income tax brackets?

The other side note is (like I always say) that it's nice to pay taxes, because that means that you earned/made money. The more taxes you pay, the money you earned/made.

Buy a Mac, get an iPod touch

Apple is running a special from May 27, 2009 to September 8, 2009. Buy a Mac via your education discount and get up to $229 back on the purchase of an iPod touch.

Click here to go to the Apple site for more details.

Remember: Don't buy the Mac just because you're getting an iPod touch. Get a Mac because you "need" it and it's great that "oh by the way" you're getting an iPod touch. Just as an FYI, at this time, I haven't felt the need for any mp3 player.

PIMCO launches their first ETF

PIMCO (Pacific Investment Management Co.) is famous for Bill Gross, one of the co-founders and his storied successes. Now they've launched their first ETF, stock symbol TUZ. Additional ETFs planned by them in the future. For the first 2 years, their expenses are 0.09% (current average of other ETFs is 0.16%), then will go up after.

Click here for the ETFguide.com story on Yahoo! Finance.

Remember that for ETFs, it's not necessarily the annual expenses that will erode your return, it will be the commissions. For example, even if you could buy a position using a broker with a $4 commission on a trade, even a $10,000 trade would be about 0.04% hit on return (if held one year) just to get in. There will be another hit when you exit the position.

Remember: The benefits of an ETF trade need to outweigh the risks and costs. Some of the potential benefits are: ability to enter/exit at anytime the market is open (most Mutual Funds are business end), leverage/margin, shorted, and maybe hedged with options (if a market is created). The only issue with options is that some of these option markets for ETFs are not very liquid.

Surprising jobs that make six figures ($100,000) or more

Click here for this Forbes.com article on Yahoo! Finance.

The top 5 surprising jobs were:

Human Resources Manager
Top 10% Minimum Annual Income: $163,220

Astronomer
Top 10% Minimum Annual Income: $156,720

Art Director
Top 10% Minimum Annual Income: $154,840

Pharmacist
Top 10% Minimum Annual Income: $131,440

Film or Video Editor
Top 10% Minimum Annual Income: $112,410

I think I hit break-even with my Boba Tea House T-shirt

I've used my T-shirt at least five times since purchasing it. The average purchase has been between $20 and $30 each.

Click here to see my original purchase explaining how it works.

Click here to view the menu in case you want to see what food and drinks they offer.

PICS: Pictures from our Living Desert trip yesterday

We went to the Living Desert for the second time this year. Even though the butterfly and hummingbird exhibit was closed, I was able to get some great pictures. Here are a few.

Save money with solar panels? Better do the numbers....

I would love to put solar panels on our house. It seems like the right thing to do, especially from an environmental perspective. Click here for a real-life example posted on ThisOldHouse.com.

Summary of money spent and payback is listed at $26,000. They say they now pay $500 per year in electricity a "75 percent" reduction, but at the bottom they save $2,000. It looks like it should actually be an 80 percent reduction (going from $2,500 to $500 vs. $2,000 to $500).

Here's the breakdown (as I see it).

SAVINGS:

Electricity Savings of $2,000 per year ($166.67 per month average). Reported break-even point 13 years ($26k/$2k/yr = 13 yrs)

COSTS:

Cost (paid in cash): $26,000

Cost (8% loan at 13 yrs): $41,901.48 in payments over 13 years ($15,901.48 in interest).

Opportunity Cost (if paid in cash) depends on investment return/debt repayment as follows:

• If carrying a credit card balance with national average of 12 percent rate, your interest savings would be 1 percent per month or $260 per month. Note: you are actually losing $60 per month by putting solar panels on the roof.
• If invested $26,000 with 8 percent return over 13 years, the "Future Value" would be $73,306.20. This is an increase of $47,306.20 or $303.24 per month. Subtract taxes depending on brackets/state rates and you may end up with around $200 per month.
• There are many mix/match combinations of the above. Other scenarios may be contributing to retirement plan with tax savings, changing the terms to more or less than 13 years.

It's okay to decide to put solar panels on your roof (even if you lose cash flow each month). Just acknowledge that as an additional cost for this project when making your final decision.

TAKE HOME POINT

The important thing is to weigh the cost (both direct and opportunity) and savings before taking the plunge.

2009 SmartMoney Broker Comparisons

SmartMoney just released their 2009 Stock Broker Comparisons. Click here for the comparison page where all the meat and potatoes are. Click here for the summary of the best and worse in each major category.

Top 5 rated overall were Etrade, Fidelity, Schwab, TradeKing, and then TDAmeritrade.

Some of these Brokers who are paired with a bank can offer some good deals on equity trades as long as you maintain a minimum combined balance. The only problem is that it applies only to equity trades. So before you consider jumping ship on your current account, look at the other commissions you might end up being charged for mutual funds, options, and bond transactions.

PIC: Calalilly in the backyard

This is one of my recent favorites. This picture was taking in my backyard. No post-production or cropping. Just how I see it. Love the colors and the contrast.

Money Magazine Article: How to get your spouse to stop overspending

I still am getting the paper version of Money Magazine for free (see previous post).

Click here for the online version at cnnmoney.com.

The author, Tyler Cowen's thought is that it is a control issue, so talking about it make your spouse less in control and will make things worse.

For us, it's the same couple of things.  Trying to make sure what we buy is more of a "need" than a "want."  Also, per my wife, she feels that her items are "small but add up" and my items are "few and far between, but much more expensive."

Okay, I opened a Facebook account

We'll call this an experiment. I currently have 6 "friends." My wife predicts I may have hundreds within the first month (or so).

I.O.U.S.A.: The Movie - One Nation. Under Stress. In Debt.

A friend forwarded the link to this 30 minute movie. It puts things in perspective. Click here to go to the website to view.

Keep reminding yourself. Positive monthly cash flow. Needs vs. wants.

SoCal 10 year old with Breast Cancer

This is an amazing story forwarded by my wife about a 10 year-old Fullerton, California girl who was recently diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. Only 0.1 percent (1 in 1,000) of breast cancer cases affects people at this age.

Click here for the FoxNews.com story.

PIC: Small green caterpillar in backyard

My older girls were playing in the backyard and noticed a couple of caterpillars. Here's a shot of one of them. This is actually taken with a Canon S5 on SuperMacro mode.

EverNote provides some of the same features of Mac.com (for free)

Hmm. At the time of this post, I haven't registered for this service.

EverNote.com provides some of the same features as MobileMe (mac.com), but for free. MobileMe costs about $99 and allows about 20GB of storage and the ability to simultaneously sync files and calendars. EverNote allows the synchronization of files, pictures between mobile devices, on-line storage, and desktop/laptop computer.

Key points:

• For iPhone, WindowsMobile, and BlackBerry, you will need to download an application
• For other devices, there is a mobile website
• The free account has a limit to 40MB per month and file types limited to images, audio, ink (?), and PDFs. You'll need to pay $5 per month for the "Premium" service. Click here for the comparison table.

Golfer Phil Mickelson's Wife, Amy now with Breast Cancer

In golf, my wife just loves Phil. She thinks he's a class-act. Unfortunately, his wife, Amy (mother of 3) was recently diagnosed with Breast Cancer. We will keep them in our thoughts.

Click here for the AP story on NPR.

Click here for the Breast Cancer awareness section on the Susan G. Komen Site.

Click here for the American Cancer Society's site on Breast Cancer Awareness.

Click here for the National Cancer Institute's site Breast Cancer Information.

"Mutual Purpose" sought by Barack Obama

In President Obama's recent speech at Notre Dame, he stated the following:

"So let's work together to reduce the number of women seeking abortions by reducing unintended pregnancies, and making adoption more available, and providing care and support for women who do carry their child to term."

(from this AP article on MSNBC)

This is a great example from the Crucial Conversations (link to Barnes and Nobles where you get 3% of purchases if you were enrolled in upromise) toolbox of creating dialoge by defining a mutual purpose that opposing parties can agree.

1% for College at Samsclub.com through upromise

Excellent. Just got an email notifying me that I can get 1% of purchases at SamsClub.com towards upromise.

Click here for my post on reasons to shop at Sam's Club instead of Costco.

This is the same deal as if I were to buy something from Best Buy. Here are the steps:

1. Log on to upromise.com
2. Choose Sam's Club to save 1% (click on the link)
3. Shop at SamsClub.com
4. When selecting items, choose the "Pick Up" option
5. Checkout and go pickup

With Best Buy, you currently get 2%. Sometimes the percent goes higher.

Click here to get started with upromise:

Banks trying to pay back TARP money. It's all about risk and reward...

...and taking advantage of anomalies in the market. Sort of like arbitrage.

Recent articles report that the banks are now trying to arrange money to pay back TARP fund and the warrants. Here's one of them from Yahoo!/New York Times.

From the government's perspective, they were the lender of last resort during the liquidity crisis. This involves higher risk than usual and they should be (as investors) rewarded. Assuming the economy recovers, their warrants (think of them as long-term options) could be worth a lot more. This would be their reward for taking on the additional risk when no one else was investing in the banks. Being such a large investor in the whole financial system, they could enact changes (legislative, monetary policy, etc) that could benefit the banks and ultimately themselves since they are investors. The government may not mind having the banks pay back their TARP funds (including the warrants) as long as they receive some benefit for their short-term investments.

From the banks perspective, they probably see a promising risk and reward profile to pay off the TARP funds now. They probably are forecasting an increase in stock share prices over the next 10 years and would like to basically invest in themselves (or their own shares via the warratns) and effectively initiate a stock re-purchase program. This would decrease the outstanding common stock and eventually make each share worth more since it represents a larger percentage of ownership.

SonicMule (smule) for iPhone

Being a musician and interested in technology, I love this concept. That is, having an "orchestra" or an ensemble of people who play their iPhones together.

IF, I had an iPhone, I would likely pay the $0.99 to get the download. More on what may be keeping me from getting an iPhone on a later post.

Click here to check out their site.

Palm or iPhone?

I don't have an iPhone. Right now I don't feel that I "need" an iPhone. Here are my current thoughts (what I like and dislike):

• Love the screen size and the interface (but my Palm Centro is working fine right now). The whole device is wider (but thinner) than the Centro.
• I know there's a hack to use the phone as a modem when I'm traveling, but the Centro is serving that purpose at around 400kbps.
• It requires a higher monthly rate than I'm paying right now, and I don't need the unlimited minutes. I'm currently paying for unlimited text, internet, phone as modem, premium on-line content for one line and shared minutes and nearly unlimited texting capability for a second line all for about the same price as the one iPhone.
• All my current software will need to be replaced (HandDBase, PowerOneFinance with Solver, etc).

The biggest "rationale" for "needing" an iPhone is to instantly sync my calendar that is on my phone/pda with another resource (IE mac.com) so that my wife can instantly view it OR we both sync to the same resource so that when my iPhone calendar changes, it will show up on her iPhone. That would be cool (but also more than $200 per month or about $2,500 per year for that).

No iPhone at this time...

Possible GM and Chrysler deals in the next couple of weeks

It looks like most of the 789 Chrysler dealership that received notices will be motivated to get rid of their inventory by June 9.  According to this article on Yahoo! Finance, it may still need to be approved by a Bankruptcy judge.

 

Even though it may be a deal, with the economic cycle we are in, it is still important to "need" the car before seriously going to look to acquire one.  

 

Again:  Needs vs. Wants.

Sam's Club or Costco Membership?

Well, I said I was going to discuss this later, but I didn't know it would be so soon.

Ran into this article posted on Yahoo! but originally from SmartMoney.com that compares some of the commonly purchased items at regular grocery stores vs. BJs, Costco, and Sam's Club. Read at your convenience.

Here are the big reasons why our Family goes to Sam's Club.

• Expanded hours for business club members. Starts at 7:00 AM. At this time, they have things such as danishes, muffins, cinnamon rolls, and coffee for those who shop that early. If the kids are with me, they get to eat as well.
• Way less crowds during the above times.
• Costco has "business" hours, but it is the same time as the regular public hours.
• Click 'n pull (or Fax 'n pull). I haven't used this service, but if I ran a restaurant or other retail business, I would be using this all the time. You can place orders beforehand and they'll pull all the items and place them on a cart for you. Talking about a timesaver.
• They take any MasterCard. Compared to Costco where they take American Express (steep annual fee). It's easier for me to place purchases on my MasterCard and pay it off in full at the end of the statement period.
• Sam's Club Gas Stations take MasterCard. Costco requires ATM or American Express.
• Sam's Club is slightly closer to my house and work (not a really good reason), and is also closer to the BestBuy store (not a really good reason either).

Since we're in California, there aren't any BJs around this area.

The only reason why I personally go to Costco is the once a year coupon to save on TurboTax. I think between my family and myself, we go to Costco less than 5 times per year. So this year we actually decided to not renew our Costco Membership. Costco actually sent me another coupon booklet even though we aren't members. I think they were trying to see if we would renew based on the coupon booklet offers. Not right now....

PIC: Red Roses for Mother's Day

Here's a pic of roses we gave to mom for Mother's Day. Around $20 from Sam's Club. I'll need to post why I like Sam's Club much more than Costco later.






Canon 50D, 50mm f/1.4, Canon 580EX II

upromise update

upromise has started sending me updates on how my 529 contributions are doing (not the accounts, but how much I've been able to send to the accounts). We started participating almost 9 years ago after our first daughter was born. According to them, they have placed a little over $2,300 towards our accounts.

Overall this is good and bad. Good in the sense that we try and optimize all our spending to create these contributions. Bad in the sense that there is always an expense or spending of money in order to create these contributions. This is a similar thought process to "saving taxes."

Don't spend money just to get the 529 contributions. Spend money because you "need" something.

Click the following button for more information:

H1N1 Influenza - CDC guidance on public gatherings

I posted some previous guidance here on May 1.

Click here for the most up-to-date CDC guidance for public gatherings. Specifically they recommend the following:

However, given the current information on disease severity and spread, CDC recommends that:

• Persons with influenza-like illness (ILI) (i.e., fever with either cough or sore throat) should be advised to stay home for 7 days after the onset of illness or at least 24 hours after symptoms have resolved, whichever is longer. See additional guidance for persons with ILI.
• Persons who are at high risk of complications from novel influenza A (H1N1) infection (for example, persons with certain chronic medical conditions, children less than 5 years, persons 65 or older, and pregnant women) should consider their risk of exposure to novel influenza if they attend public gatherings in communities where novel influenza A virus is circulating. In communities with several reported cases of novel influenza A (H1N1) virus infection, persons who are at risk of complications from influenza should consider staying away from public gatherings.
• All persons should be reminded to use appropriate respiratory and hand hygiene precautions.
• Based on currently available information, for non-healthcare settings where frequent exposures to persons with novel influenza A (H1N1) are unlikely, masks and respirators are not recommended.