The Finance Buff recommended While America Aged: How Pension Debts Ruined General Motors, Stopped the NYC Subways, Bankrupted San Diego, and Loom as the Next Financial Crisis , and because I have a pension, I thought I'd check it out and get educated. Right away the book made me feel guilty. "New York's public servants now stand a fair chance of collecting a pension for longer than they worked...

House approves $2B more for 'cash for clunkers' The bill was approved on a vote of 316-109. House members acted within hours of learning from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood that the program was...now sleep soundly knowing that people can trade their "clunker" cars for cash without fear. I mean, there really isn't anything else we could have done with that $2,000,000,000 chump change anyways

There is a whole variety of colloquial pronouns that can be used when referring to a co-worker.  What, then, is the source for the impulse of the American male, corporate, polo-wearing, douch-tool to...for rednecks because for them, "buddy" is actually used as a genuine term of endearment. In other news, another brick is loosed from the facade of Goldman Sachs' ever-crumbling public image .  

So, things have been slip-sliding around here lately. There've been unexpected turns, generally when the projected plan of battle is first exposed to the opposing side. (Sun Tzu represent, Far East side...ways as possible, no? Finances are okay as they currently stand. Some desired projects are taking a step or two back in line, but it will all work out well based on current plans. So, how's by you

To suggest that the federal bailout packages have no political ramifications or intentions is juvenile.  However, to simultaneously suggest that the bailouts have no innate economic value is equally uninformed...way, with the government following like a dog on a chain.  It's time for the government to stand up, take the collar off, and slap it on these tax-dodging gangsters and lead them around for a while.

Vegeta, what does the scanner say about the Dow? ... it's over 9000!

Wonderful - if very lengthy - piece from, of all places, Rolling Stone about the systematic and methodical dismantling of checks and regulations on the American financial sector, sponsored by financial...shows. They have the ear of the president if they want it." Futher recommended viewing: Overstock's Patrick Byrne on the corruption within Wall Street . 80min long presentation, but it's worth it

I got my highest utility bill ever (for me) today. And I did it with: * a high-efficiency central air conditioner * a nice three-month AC air filter that I replace monthly * turning the AC off all day...flow shower head It was kind of boiling hot every single day, as if it were August, and we did water a million tomato plants, and I'm still working on re-growing those fallen shade trees, but still

I don’t take my Kindle everywhere, but it has gotten a lot of use, especially when i know I’m going to have to sit and wait somewhere.    (Like at the hospital.)    Susan and Meredith have used it a little...in and deleted the copies of 1984 and Animal Farm remotely . Doubleplus Ungood . I’m not sure how I shift the books or subscriptions over to the DX, but I have a little time to figure it out.

LiveJournal's default posting mode for me is now "Rich text" instead of "HTML." That's annoying. ** My gas company increased their "customer charge," a constant monthly charge, 25% this month. But they... What reduced the delivery costs? What increased the fixed costs ("bill processing, meter reading, meter equipment, service line maintenance and customer service personnel")? There is no explanation