The week ahead looks to be nice with the weather turning warmer, the birds out doing birdie things and the bees have returned after the 'killer bee' scare of a few years back. I don't suppose we will see any oil globs on the Pacific Coast, at least not yet and hopefully never. However, as some interesting articles from the past few days point out, we simply cannot trust the oil companies (nor the government) in sane drilling efforts.
The links this week include:
Let's bet again on Vegas
Oil Companies Leave when Scrutiny Rears Its Head
Freedom to Choose
Who Blew The War on Drugs?
The Whale and the Pussy
Steve Jobs -Dyslexic and all that!
Salma Goes Bizarre!
Thoughts on Recent Readings
Las Vegas may be down, but not out. One of the most high visibility Let's bet again on Vegas investors (read: made megabucks betting against sub-prime mortgages) is putting lots of money in this city devastated by the real estate bubble collapse.
With all that we worry about in the Gulf, now it turns out that oil companies are pulling up stakes and 'leaving Dodge', and who will hold the bag do you think? If they stayed, perhaps they could pick up after the BP bankruptcy! (Ooops! Did I say that? Well, how else will British get out of this mess to err again?!)
John Stossel, longtime contrarian and pundit for Libertarian efforts, reviews a thought Milton Friedman said over thirty years ago regarding our miraculous prosperity. He said, "This miracle hasn't been achieved by government action — by someone sitting in one of those tall buildings and telling people what to do. It's been achieved by allowing the market to work."
I often wondered how the Japanese were able to get landlocked countries to vote in favor of continued whaling. If plundering the sea hasn't been enough, it seems the Japanese have been using bribery.
Here is some good stuff on Steve Jobs, the man who has defied Microsoft and now owns a company larger then he ever thought possible. Personal quirks revealed!
And finally, Salma Hayek is so scared of snakes she did a human pole dance!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Lots of interesting and dismaying 'stuff' to comment upon this week. Of course, the Memorial Day long weekend took people away from the rift, and glad to know you are back!
Some updates:
Fox News' Fox & Friends had a couple of 'experts' on real estate addressing the current flood of 'strategic defaults', that is when a homeowner elects to not pay on their mortgage and instead use the funds to pay down consumer debt. Indeed, as any wizened credit counselor will tell you, keeping your consumer debt low and current has a huge positive impact on your FICO score. Enough, in fact, to offset much of the damage of a foreclosure or bankruptcy.
The FHA underwriting guidelines tell more of the truth, and as mentioned here on numerous occasions this past year or so, the credit scoring agencies are helping by skillfully altering the algorithms of their score generating software so that people with a bankruptcy can get a loan after two years, and with a foreclosure after just three.
And as for the oil gusher in the Gulf dragging down the economy further, many people want BP to pay through the nose for their failure and mismanagement. But, stop and think! Who is REALLY going to pay?
It will be (drum roll)us the American public that pays the price! And as so often is the case it we will pay more than once as we pay through the government's efforts, both present and future, as well to the oil companies for higher drilling costs, read this from oil industry news.
On a lighter note, having problems organizing all your many 'friends' in the Social Media sphere? Here is a good tip from Mashable.
It seems that the Internet, venerable culprit of society, is at it again. Here is a story relating the decline (or actually the increase) of first time driver age which is moving up from 16 to 18 or even 19.
Finally, today is my daughter's 14th birthday, so Happy Birthday, Sydney! Put the attitude aside and be nice to your brother, kind to your parents, and loving to your kitty cats! And why do you consider getting your license when you are 21!
Some updates:
Fox News' Fox & Friends had a couple of 'experts' on real estate addressing the current flood of 'strategic defaults', that is when a homeowner elects to not pay on their mortgage and instead use the funds to pay down consumer debt. Indeed, as any wizened credit counselor will tell you, keeping your consumer debt low and current has a huge positive impact on your FICO score. Enough, in fact, to offset much of the damage of a foreclosure or bankruptcy.
The FHA underwriting guidelines tell more of the truth, and as mentioned here on numerous occasions this past year or so, the credit scoring agencies are helping by skillfully altering the algorithms of their score generating software so that people with a bankruptcy can get a loan after two years, and with a foreclosure after just three.
And as for the oil gusher in the Gulf dragging down the economy further, many people want BP to pay through the nose for their failure and mismanagement. But, stop and think! Who is REALLY going to pay?
It will be (drum roll)us the American public that pays the price! And as so often is the case it we will pay more than once as we pay through the government's efforts, both present and future, as well to the oil companies for higher drilling costs, read this from oil industry news.
On a lighter note, having problems organizing all your many 'friends' in the Social Media sphere? Here is a good tip from Mashable.
It seems that the Internet, venerable culprit of society, is at it again. Here is a story relating the decline (or actually the increase) of first time driver age which is moving up from 16 to 18 or even 19.
Finally, today is my daughter's 14th birthday, so Happy Birthday, Sydney! Put the attitude aside and be nice to your brother, kind to your parents, and loving to your kitty cats! And why do you consider getting your license when you are 21!
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