tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1883485269316818112012-01-28T05:09:20.719-06:00eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.comBlogger1501100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-69255737864065879282011-10-08T14:49:00.000-05:002011-10-08T14:49:17.014-05:00

While driving the other day, I noticed several people doing mildly discourteous things to their fellow drivers, or at least not optimally courteous. So, I figured I'd help educate a few people on how to make the road a nicer, safer, and more efficient place. Prefer the leftmost lane when stopping at a red light. In general, only occupy the right lane when the left is two or more cars longer.

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-59734816855614641802011-08-24T15:06:00.000-05:002011-08-24T15:06:13.412-05:00

I refinanced my mortgage back in May of 2009, and it's apparently time to do so again. I'm going about things a bit differently, this time. I'm using the same mortgage broker as last time, though he's with a different company now: First Trust Mortgage. I guess I'm just listening to his advice more now. Currently, I pay $1400/month, which includes a decent pre-payment amount, and I would

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-36879188255235053092011-05-26T18:57:00.000-05:002011-05-26T18:57:07.741-05:00

The full document can be read here: http://www.majorityleader.gov/Jobs/HRP_JOBS.pdf. I will abbreviate this initially as the "Republican Jobs Plan," and when I get tired of typing that out, "RJP." Overall, the plan was vague to the point of uselessness, misleading in a number of areas, and economically dubious. For the past four years, Democrats in Washington have enacted policies that

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-76826668569989947082011-05-25T23:00:00.000-05:002011-05-25T23:00:56.742-05:00

Going over my Mint.com trends for the past couple years, I noticed a few things I thought were somewhat cool. In no particular order: ul#Mint-insight-list li { margin-top:0.25em; } 75% of my out-of-pocket expenses are for housing and communications - mortgage, property taxes, insurance, and all utilities including TV, Internet, and phone. I spend more for Verizon Wireless than I spend at

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-83722578164325479432011-04-20T13:21:00.000-05:002011-04-20T13:21:47.453-05:00

A few months ago, a friend made me grilled cheese sandwiches in a way that changed my own cooking method. She simply cooked it with a lid over the pan, but this made the cheese melt thoroughly and greatly improved the quality of the sandwich - more than I would have expected. I feel like I should pay that tip forward and provide my own tips for making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Like

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-43422651744225219042011-04-03T23:59:00.000-05:002011-04-03T23:59:16.116-05:00

You may recall that I talked of getting a new lawn mower about six months ago. Or that I talked about it a year and a half before that, or nine months before that. Yes, I do sometimes agonize over fairly minor decisions. Well, I finally got a new one! No, it wasn't the 36V cordless from my most recent lawn mower post. I went with this 20" corded Homelite mower instead. I had originally

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-33869688928238338152011-03-03T11:29:00.000-06:002011-03-03T11:29:29.578-06:00

My friend Brian called to cancel DirecTV a long while ago and was given an awesome deal for some basic HD package for roughly $25/month. I called to cancel my service and was offered a basic non-HD package for $35/month. I declined that offer, but not before the customer service representative tried to compare DirecTV with what I said I would be using. Netflix only offers older movies,

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-60966746936062140802011-01-20T19:30:00.000-06:002011-01-20T19:30:17.495-06:00

The other day, I was reading about the fall of man in Genesis 3. There I noticed something for the first time. 22 And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-89675003403214817802010-12-17T21:08:00.000-06:002010-12-17T21:08:32.627-06:00

I recently made the mistake of commenting on a post over at NewsBusters. I asked for someone to provide evidence for a statement they made and provided links to PolitiFact.com and FactCheck.org articles indicating that their statement was false. It turned out that they were making a more general comment than I was refuting with my links, but the initial reaction of the individual was to call me

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-5204290214622507892010-10-29T10:00:00.002-05:002010-10-29T10:00:08.312-05:00

I didn't think I would have time for a blog post today, but just before I went to bed last night, Bo Burnham posted a song from his Words Words Words special.  This song really grabbed my attention when I heard it in the show, and I'm glad he posted it online so I can share it. art is dead. (NSFW)

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-29787588902038237882010-10-27T10:00:00.002-05:002010-10-27T10:00:06.848-05:00

I got that new camera I was thinking about getting awhile back. I also used it exactly how I planned. I have tons of new cat photos! My current plan is to post a sampling of cat pictures whenever I don't have a better idea for a post. So, if you don't want this to become another cat blog, leave a comment telling me what you'd like me to write about! What big eyes Apple has! Mac was

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-37279782228787983432010-10-25T10:00:00.024-05:002010-10-25T10:00:08.875-05:00

25 While they were in high spirits, they shouted, "Bring out Samson to entertain us." So they called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them. When they stood him among the pillars, 26 Samson said to the servant who held his hand, "Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I may lean against them." 27 Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-8392370461805684162010-10-22T10:00:00.063-05:002010-10-22T10:02:26.036-05:00

There's been a lot of talk over the years about the trade deficit as concerns imports and exports. I understand that concept - we buy more than we sell, so money is leaving the country. I also understand, roughly, that that's a bad thing. Well, I used to understand that. Looking at a section of the previous link, there seem to be a lot of smart people that think trade deficits could be a good

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-66272829034306302072010-10-20T10:00:00.003-05:002010-10-20T10:00:06.986-05:00

I was talking with a friend the other day and mentioned videos of bugs flying around porch lights and the like. Because I like the videos, but mostly because I found a lot more information than I was planning to for today's scheduled blog post, I'll share the videos I had in mind while talking with my friend. They're both from the same person - Katers17 on youtube. There may be better ones out

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-73225489993785528472010-10-18T10:00:00.020-05:002010-10-18T10:00:08.471-05:00

I'm making the transition from nerd to jock. It doesn't surprise me that you don't believe me, which is why I'm presenting evidence! A couple of years ago, I went to Microsoft Tech-Ed and got 14 t-shirts! A couple were medium-sized and so I gave them away, but I'm pretty sure I kept the rest. And added them to my collection of IBM t-shirts. That is to say, virtually all my t-shirts were

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-31672424470810547782010-10-15T10:00:00.058-05:002010-10-15T10:00:00.445-05:00

As I'm sure you know, quantum tunneling involves a particle not impacting a barrier. One would expect that a particle hitting a barrier would bounce off, just like a baseball off a wall [I wanted to link that to a clip of The Great Escape with Hilts in his cell, but due to copyright enforcement the closest I can get is the final scene - SPOILER ALERT]. A curious thing can happen with individual

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-58699018251098389212010-10-13T10:00:00.019-05:002010-10-13T10:00:31.499-05:00

In my last entry, I went over the negative sides of the implication that the White House was incorrect in calling Fox News dangerous while praising Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow as invaluable was false. I looked at a sample of NewsBusters articles on Rachel Maddow, and listed the arguments Media Matters made for Fox News being dangerous. The Fox News part stands on its own. Unfortunately,

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-52775711256645481792010-10-11T10:00:00.034-05:002010-10-11T10:00:23.243-05:00

As I mentioned in my post on looking for conservative facts, I've been reading the NewsBusters blog. They've taken issue with Barack Obama calling Fox News dangerous while White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton called Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow invaluable. I decided to investigate a bit. First, let's look at what each side has to say about the other. I'll start with NewsBusters

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-63175721543125569942010-10-08T10:00:00.028-05:002010-10-08T10:00:01.061-05:00

I realize I'm a bit late to this party, but while researching for another blog post, I read this article accusing Maddow of lying about abortion funding over at NewsBusters. Count me as a fan of the cite-the-page-numbers trick as well. I'm especially enamored of what's in the section of the Senate health bill immediately preceding the one cited by Maddow (follow this link for the bill; see page

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-73192366136402009812010-10-06T10:00:00.032-05:002010-10-06T10:00:07.996-05:00

I'm currently working on a couple posts that require some research (maybe a few posts, depending on how much research I do). Consequently, this post is pretty much just filler. A couple of months ago, I found Freddie Wong's youtube channel. I've really enjoyed his videos. They tend to involve video game jokes, which are always fun. To get a bit more nerdy, check out his second channel where

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-5505305439259458912010-10-04T10:00:00.033-05:002010-10-04T10:00:01.488-05:00

I've decided to not watch TV shows until they enter their second or third season, at least. There will be exceptions to this, I'm sure, but I'm tired of becoming interested in a story and getting attached to the characters only to have the show canceled. I know I'm not the only one that is tired of this happening. As more people give up, the problem is likely to get worse, too. Just compare

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-75065804278426421502010-10-01T10:00:00.096-05:002010-10-01T10:00:04.184-05:00

It's time to report one of my few failures. The last time was a few years ago when I failed as a homeowner. This time, I failed at being a man. Or at being manly. Or at being a stereotypical man. Whatever your view of being a man and/or manly is. The block I grew up on, where my parents still live, threw a block party a couple weeks ago. As the families trickled in, there was the usual

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-61813728713625238662010-09-29T10:00:00.018-05:002010-09-29T10:00:04.118-05:00

Tuesday night is the evening before trash day, and hence the time when I take out the garbage. I also like to weed my lawn around this time - technically it's usually around 12-1am on Wednesday morning. When you weed the lawn when the trash can is already at the curb, you can avoid the decomposing yard waste stinking up your garage. It would be better to use those paper yard waste bags, I

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-51980411898321330212010-09-27T10:00:00.032-05:002010-09-27T10:00:03.831-05:00

After my friend Brian's post about trimming expenses, I've been thinking about my own complete lack of doing so. It's a bit of a problem, potentially. I've been eating out a lot more than usual, lately. I've been driving more than usual, too, partially as a result of eating out more. I'll need to make repairs to my car pretty soon, and I'm not sure how much those will be yet. Speaking of

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-67321312045035317262010-09-24T10:00:00.027-05:002010-09-24T10:00:05.599-05:00

I have talked before of my love for macaroni and cheese. If my love for macaroni didn't come across in that post, rest assured that I love macaroni. I have also alluded to my worship of Parmesan cheese. Imagine my joy, then, when inspiration struck to combine these two items into THE ULTIMATE CULINARY CREATION. I went about my usual macaroni and cheese process and wound up with a wonderful

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-82611087016328085252010-09-22T10:00:00.136-05:002010-09-22T10:00:02.127-05:00

I like reading most of the articles on Media Matters for America. They have a nice format where they will outline the claim(s) of some conservative, then detail some facts in rebuttal. In addition to factual errors, they'll discuss biased reporting, misleading on-screen graphics, or anything else they take issue with. There is apparently enough misinformation out there for them to write

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-86249347132165409792010-09-20T10:00:00.076-05:002010-09-20T10:00:08.834-05:00

A few months ago, I was doing my regular shopping at Walmart. Among other things, I bought two cans of Parmesan cheese. I wasn't entirely sure I bought them at the time, though. I wasn't paying all that much attention, but it looked like the kind lady at the register had put one of the cans in the bag without scanning it. I consider myself a pretty moral and honest person, but I didn't

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-83970249250099497732010-09-17T10:00:00.127-05:002010-09-22T10:02:03.708-05:00

It's hard for me to call my writing inspired, but this post was inspired by the wonderful writing of the always lovely Paige Worthy. The stories she tells have a way of making me feel like my life is lacking something, though. For example, compare a recent meal of hers with a recent eating experience of mine: For the fourth meal in a row, I prepare to make a box of Great Value macaroni and

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-83924643382653472452010-09-15T10:00:00.004-05:002010-09-15T10:00:01.222-05:00

Zero! The answer is zero! Wow, that was a quick blog post. Want more? If so, let me know what you want me to talk about! It can be about anything. Just because most of my recent posts have been financial in nature doesn't mean that's all I will discuss. So, give me some ideas!

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-33824348350224629132010-09-13T10:00:00.034-05:002010-09-13T10:00:02.723-05:00

Following last week's post on the ROI of rental properties, another interesting question is whether you should buy a small one-bedroom condo (for example) to keep expenses low, or a three- or four-bedroom house to gain some rental income. There are two main considerations: ROI and overall financial safety. As far as ROI is concerned, I think it's very similar to last week's calculations. There

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-77992524880567094052010-09-10T10:00:00.106-05:002010-09-22T09:59:57.771-05:00

When evaluating the return on investment of a rental property, you have a few different options on which numbers to use. The numbers depend on what exactly you consider income, and/or what exactly you consider an expense, and what exactly you consider your initial investment. On the income and expense side, you have the following: (+) Rent. (-) Principal and interest payment. (-) Property

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-56946596869354105312010-09-08T10:00:00.021-05:002010-09-08T10:00:05.199-05:00

When I was a GTA at The University of Kansas, I once taught a proof for a number being divisible by nine if and only if the sum of its digits is divisible by nine. I stumbled across the proof the other day and thought I'd go ahead and share it. It's one of my favorites, though I've since learned that it is by no means the simplest. The pdf linked to at the bottom includes multiple proofs

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-86903201698964011002010-09-06T10:00:00.103-05:002010-09-06T10:00:01.717-05:00

This is actually quite a complicated question. For one, things can change rapidly. For example, the interest rate penalties for high loan to value (LTV) ratios used to be higher. I believe they have been reduced in many cases as part of the effort to improve the housing market. On the other hand, a lot of loan regulations have gotten stricter to avoid bad loans entering the market again.

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-59439378892303549442010-09-03T10:00:00.234-05:002010-09-03T13:46:32.594-05:00

Whether or not to pay down extra principal each month is a complicated question, and one that doesn't have a universal answer by any means. For the purposes of this discussion, we'll assume that an extra payment fits in your budget. Otherwise, the question is a bit moot. Paying down principal has two primary effects. First, it takes money out of your pocket. Second, it increases your equity.

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-5557773650831581932010-09-01T10:00:00.115-05:002010-09-01T13:29:14.710-05:00

When you sign and initial the hundred or so times required to purchase a home, chances are good that you wind up with a mortgage to go along with the property. That mortgage has an associated interest rate that is used to calculate how much you're charged each month, but it isn't always an accurate measure of how much you pay, in the end. (The mortgage also has an advertised APR that includes

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-31103856530066994582010-08-30T10:00:00.079-05:002010-08-30T10:00:04.207-05:00

As I mentioned in my analysis of brain speeds post, I spent about 72 hours reading and researching various articles and topics. In my quest for facts on the physiology of the brain related to a few specific statistics, I stumbled upon some other very interesting (to me) facts. I thought I should go ahead and share them if for no other reason than to help justify that 72 hours a bit more. Single

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-83816072030622957232010-08-27T10:00:00.085-05:002010-08-27T10:00:01.844-05:00

The other day, someone said that they were thinking a million miles an hour. Naturally, this got me thinking about how fast they were really thinking, given all the various pulses traveling between all the various neurons. First, Google tells us that a million miles per hour is 670.616629 times slower than the speed of light. That's still pretty speedy. It's fast enough to take you around the

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-32802860745626199372010-08-25T10:00:00.007-05:002010-08-25T10:00:06.081-05:00

As you may know, I plan on living forever. Dying just seems so wasteful, so I think I'll skip that part of life. Living forever requires some planning, though. It'd be rather annoying to retire and then be forced back into the workforce at age 2718 because I ran out of money. Every retirement calculator I've ever found requires you to choose how long you will be retired. The

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-33196693382633429932010-08-23T10:00:00.014-05:002010-08-23T10:00:00.869-05:00

I talked before about the annualized inflation rate since 1913, and how this is a good number to use in modeling the future. This time, I'll be looking at the annualized return of the stock market as a representative of investments in general. Once again, my efforts started by trying to find everything I needed online. I came much closer this time around than before. I found an

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-53670982374729308902010-08-20T10:25:00.001-05:002010-08-20T10:26:08.232-05:00

Knowing the current inflation rate is helpful in making short term decisions. Seeing a table of historical inflation rates is only slightly productive. For long term planning, what we're really interested in is the annualized inflation over a period of time. Sure, some years inflation may skyrocket to 20%, but other years it's flat or even negative. Taken together, they should be

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-23802717737408409642010-07-26T16:29:00.000-05:002010-07-26T16:29:26.816-05:00

Weaver's Auto Center is where I've taken my car for it's oil change the last couple of times. The first time I also had a lot of brake work done. While waiting for my car's oil leak to be diagnosed today, I witnessed something remarkable. If nothing else, it goes against the stereotype of car repair places. A woman was waiting on her car, too, and from what I could tell, her door handles

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-55802396037404151742010-06-16T00:37:00.000-05:002010-06-16T00:37:53.161-05:00

This week, I was shown an example of how some companies refusing to join the 21st century can impact other companies. WaterOne and the City of Olathe each handle a part of my water, sewer, and trash bills. As part of my plan to close my Merrill Lynch brokerage and checking accounts, I have been transferring my various bill payments to my credit card or my Bank of America checking account,

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-32810892120199105742010-05-17T10:38:00.000-05:002010-05-17T10:38:57.576-05:00

In The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis, specifically in letter XVIII, Screwtape describes how they have undermined the institution of marriage: We have done this through the poets and novelists by persuading the humans that a curious, and usually short-lived, experience which they call "being in love" is the only respectable ground for marriage; that marriage can, and ought to, render this

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-84142367957878554772010-05-10T22:38:00.000-05:002010-05-10T22:38:20.127-05:00

I don't think I need to feel bad about gaming the system, or anything like that, when I bought a gift card for bonus rewards. So far, I've used my gift card twice and still have $30.64 left. I'm assuming that gift cards are accounted for in-house, so my small purchases with the gift card will save Home Depot a bit of money on the credit card transaction fees. There was the initial transaction

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-86224205304862061412010-05-05T16:32:00.000-05:002010-05-05T16:32:39.776-05:00

Thanks to an email from Chase advertising their Rewards Plus program, coupled with several recent trips to Home Depot making their logo catch my eye, I clicked through and looked at the extra rewards for HomeDepot.com. At the time, they were offering 10% bonus rewards! It has since dropped to 5%, but that's still better than nothing, for sure. What makes this special is that their offer

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-64973915977169725862010-01-27T23:40:00.000-06:002010-01-27T23:40:03.866-06:00

I am somewhat known for my quest to find the best Reuben sandwich. A Reuben includes corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Thousand Island dressing on rye bread. A friend recently decided what I was going to eat for lunch (a practice I am perfectly happy with - it keeps me trying new things and makes for a good few seconds of conversation about why people choose a particular item for me).

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-6747585163124548282010-01-27T20:11:00.016-06:002010-01-27T21:28:43.950-06:00

I am typing this with a cat on my lap, somewhat restricting typing. I apologize in advance for any large delays or missed items. Though, to be fair to myself, I don't have any plans to provide 100% coverage or anything. Obama is starting with a little bit of inspiration, or perhaps more of a lowering of expectations. This is another crisis similar to so many other problems we've overcome, and

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-61157368437881472152009-12-04T10:00:00.007-06:002009-12-04T10:00:01.057-06:00

Now that we've made a decision on where to put our money, generally speaking (and it's okay if your decision is different than mine), it's time to decide on when to put it there. First, we'll look at which accounts get priority when allocating contributions. Then, we'll look at the timing of those contributions throughout the year.WhereThe highest priority for your money is definitely 401(k)

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-19182999357217793512009-12-03T10:00:00.017-06:002009-12-03T10:00:03.690-06:00

The different tax structures of the various account types - traditional, Roth, and regular taxed brokerage accounts - should be taken into consideration when planning your investment strategies. How do we take advantage of these different account types, all while maintaining a balanced portfolio? The answer is to break up your asset classes into each type of account, rather than trying to make

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-80718926719722745262009-12-02T10:00:00.005-06:002009-12-02T10:00:04.543-06:00

I was recently asked a few interesting (to me) financial questions about 401(k)s, IRAs, and contribution strategies. I've decided to answer those questions in a few Q&A blog posts so everyone can benefit (or get screwed if my strategies aren't sound).The primary difference of concern between Roth and traditional IRAs and 401(k)s is taxes. Traditional contributions are pre-tax (they are tax

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-45275220818377952262009-11-18T23:35:00.001-06:002009-11-18T23:37:10.936-06:00

I haven't had much of anything to say recently. I've been struggling to come up with topics, much less something interesting. Today, I've been pleasantly stuck in my own world, and this is the theme song: Fiona Apple - Across the Universe. It's been on repeat in my head. I apologize if it gets stuck in your head, too, but I think there are worse things that can happen. Fiona Apple!

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-79314328170242688552009-11-06T16:36:00.000-06:002009-11-06T16:36:00.956-06:00

I look forward to the beginning of the month. It's a very special time for me. My mortgage payment goes out at the beginning of the month. This prompts me to... wait for it... update my spreadsheet!My budget spreadsheet is the first I created with multiple worksheets. It has nine (one of which goes unused, and the other just has information used in calculations on other sheets)! I've always

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-89446889941367974892009-10-30T22:13:00.004-05:002009-10-30T22:14:46.312-05:00

Disclaimer: links to web hosts are referral links. Signing up through them is appreciated, but I don't expect anyone to. =)For the past few days, I have been searching for a quality web host - preferably for ridiculously cheap. These two criteria (quality and inexpensiveness) are often at odds, but not always. I got a few recommendations, including DreamHost, Host Gator, and LunarPages.

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-40468123882550060412009-10-28T21:58:00.000-05:002009-10-28T22:22:59.186-05:00

I have discussed a story from my childhood and how it reflects my personality. I think this old assignment from college also reflects my personality, so I thought I would share that, too.I found an old Technical Writing assignment after I fixed my file server. The assignment was to write a technical manual on an item in the kitchen. Almost everyone chose a toaster, a blender, an oven, or some

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-21199431805493126172009-10-28T13:31:00.006-05:002009-10-28T16:07:58.903-05:00

I fixed my file server a couple of weeks ago. I now have my 3.5TB of storage space available again! If you'll recall, I've fixed my file server a few times before...I started trying to fix my file server a couple of months ago by reinstalling Ubuntu. Unfortunately, this would hang at about 5% on the formatting/partitioning step. I suspected a faulty system hard drive, but didn't get around to

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-88265056850371359362009-10-25T20:28:00.002-05:002009-10-26T23:03:42.583-05:00

A couple of days ago, my friend and I were talking about many things. One of these things included a comment about one-time expenses and how there seems to be one every month. I decided to analyze my one-time expenses over the past year and see what I can learn about my budget (as informal as it is). So:December: Living room TV: ~$800, second 24" monitor: ~$300.January: Video games: ~$100.

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-41012786873567671712009-10-09T15:50:00.000-05:002009-10-09T15:50:00.833-05:00

As I discussed awhile back, here, I have a primary E*TRADE Complete Savings account, and a reserve E*TRADE Complete Savings account. I set up a $200/month automatic transfer from my Complete Savings account to my Reserve Cash account quite awhile ago. This was in addition to a sizable initial funding.So far, this has worked very well at keeping me from investing this cash in (riskier) stocks.

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-52943278754648323252009-10-08T11:43:00.002-05:002009-10-08T11:43:00.132-05:00

My old camera is a PowerShot A610 5.0 MP camera. It still works, but it requires a lot of batteries. I bought some rechargeable batteries, but they only keep the thing running for about 15 pictures. They also lose their charge after sitting in the camera for a day or two, and they don't stay charged if I leave them in the charger, either. Basically, the (name brand) rechargeable batteries I

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-60386077741946737492009-09-28T23:40:00.001-05:002009-09-28T23:42:51.802-05:00

My grandma told me a story that my older brother, Brian, recently told her about our childhood. I think it says a lot about who I was and still am.Brian and I were working in her backyard by picking up acorns. I don't know what the context was - perhaps we were just picking up acorns to make barefoot walking more comfortable, or perhaps we were prepping the yard for being covered with sand,

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-88662798268918198202009-08-22T02:13:00.008-05:002009-08-22T10:19:27.836-05:00

A few days ago, I was driving home on the highway and may car starting making a noise somewhere between a screech and a whine. It was a constant sort of noise, but once I got off the highway, I found that it varied depending on the speed of the wheel - I assume it was once per revolution. It also sounded worse when I applied the brake. I pulled into the gas station, but did not see anything

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-81412901495931427082009-07-29T00:25:00.001-05:002009-07-29T00:39:59.463-05:00

On Friday, July 10, my dad and I embarked on a trip to Iowa. It was advertised as a tour of a research lab. I feel like I just bought a Snuggie (I've never owned a Snuggie or similar product, so I apologize to the makers of Snuggie or Snuggie owners if they are actually worth purchasing - they just look stupid to me).The research lab turned out to be a cluttered garage. The owner, Hans, turned

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-28016046398666116052009-07-13T14:52:00.003-05:002009-07-13T14:52:00.329-05:00

Recently, I watched a few minutes of America's Next Top Model, or Make Me a Supermodel, or one of those shows. It was extremely depressing. Here's a show that finds the most beautiful people it can, and then makes them compete. That's fine on its own, but I am saddened when I see what it does to these people.The example I saw was a girl winning a photoshoot contest. She picked another girl to

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-58510368814185226372009-07-13T02:27:00.001-05:002009-07-13T02:27:00.350-05:00

July 10th marked my three-year anniversary at IBM. I happened to take the day off, but that was just a coincidence. I have to say, I don't feel a whole lot different. While I purchased a home, got cats, and gained other adult responsibilities/experiences, I can't point to any real personal growth. I guess that gives me a goal for the next three years.

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-19964687866087793502009-05-29T11:25:00.002-05:002009-05-29T11:25:00.262-05:00

On Wednesday, May 20, 2009, I completed my first mortgage refinance using United Home Loans. I stayed with a 30-year fixed mortgage, but was able to reduce my interest rate down to 4.625% and save $176.51/month on my monthly payment. The process will have increased my principal by ~$5000, but a lot of that is the interest for the month of May that I rolled into the new loan, a quarter point for

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-83969323526815383422009-05-29T00:28:00.000-05:002009-05-29T00:28:00.775-05:00

Friday marked the first time my 401(k) account was worth more than my Merrill Lynch investment account. Before the recession, this was a milestone I wasn't expecting to happen for another couple of years yet. Since my Merrill account has been halved by the economic downturn, though, my regular 401(k) contributions have a larger relative effect. Of course my 401(k) was halved, too - I don't

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-46918962795230725162009-05-07T09:50:00.003-05:002009-05-07T09:50:00.170-05:00

At work, I was faced with a problem of a .NET program looking at the wrong registry values, and picking up the wrong machine.config. You see, a 32-bit application running on 64-bit Windows is supposed to be presented with its own 32-bit view of the machine, from registry entries to system DLLs. This is all pretty spectacular, which is why they call it WOW. For more information on WOW64,

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-50213504845248682542009-03-12T23:06:00.005-05:002009-04-21T22:50:30.914-05:00

This post is analogous to last year's tax post.Taxes for 2008 turned out to be much simpler than last year for the following reasons:I only lived in one state, and so did not need to split my income.I closed one of my accounts to pay for the down payment on my house in 2007, so I no longer have to worry about all those forms and trades. That account had tons of trading activity.I was familiar

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-8485378758352938132009-03-06T00:10:00.001-06:002009-03-06T00:10:00.734-06:00

This is a follow-up post to Things I Want To Buy.I didn't end up buying a restringing machine, and gave up the idea after my uncle said it was definitely more trouble than it was worth. I got a new primary computer, but have had some problems with it. Mainly, it runs hotter than my friend's similarly spec'd one. Rather aggravating.Anyway, an updated list!I still need my deck repainted/stained.

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-17244109199425912592009-03-05T21:55:00.000-06:002009-03-05T21:55:00.928-06:00

During my last raid crash, I couldn't seem to get the damn thing to resync. I tried multiple times, but it would always lock up. I almost took the drastic step of borrowing a raid array to back things up as much as possible and then rebuild from scratch! However, in my many hours of research into potential solutions, I found that most people prevented the problem using a little thing called

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-59515982837990499972008-12-21T23:57:00.007-06:002008-12-23T12:17:09.631-06:00

I'm actually pretty proud of the utility of this calculator. I hope you find it as helpful as I have in finding the interest rate needed to make refinancing make sense.table#financing_table th { border: 1px solid black; padding: 0px 3px; } table#financing_table td { border: 1px solid #666666; padding: 1px 2px; } input { margin: 1px 0px; } function money(num) { return Math.round(num*100.0)/100.0;

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-80462496995296715292008-12-06T11:41:00.000-06:002008-12-06T11:41:20.692-06:00

I submitted my info to LendingTree.com a couple days ago and have been talking with mortgage people all yesterday. At the moment, the best rate I can get is 5.125% with 0 points. My current rate of 5.75% is already a decent rate, but refinancing would lower my minimum monthly payment by about $100, while increasing the amount of principal I pay each month. I would recoup my refinancing costs

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-72717095805494722852008-12-05T00:30:00.000-06:002008-12-05T00:30:35.598-06:00

My Chase Freedom credit card gives me an extra $50 bonus if I save up my rewards until I get $200. I'm quite close, and after this month, I may just hit the $200 mark. I've been putting tons of stuff on my credit card, including buying gifts online on behalf of my parents as a method of paying them back the money I borrowed earlier. I also purchased a new TV for the living room; a Sharp Aquos

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-25589045393907954042008-11-09T23:57:00.001-06:002008-11-09T23:57:56.467-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, I was forced to buy a new furnace. As it turned out, the warm weather in the following week and a half meant I probably could have postponed the purchase by a week or so, at least. But, as that turned out, the check I wrote that Wednesday was not cashed until just this past Friday - over two weeks. Generally speaking, checks are deposited very quickly by companies. They

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-37599643236985866392008-11-09T23:38:00.000-06:002008-11-09T23:39:05.443-06:00

I've known for a long time that my cell phone is old and out of date. I've taken pride in my ability to talk to people on such an ancient device. I've even learned to text on it! I still don't think a phone needs a built-in digital camera, mp3 player, or whatever else is available on cell phones these days - all I do is talk (and now a bit of text) on it!However, the other day I was fiddling

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-86301017360074044442008-11-04T23:12:00.004-06:002008-11-04T23:18:27.923-06:00

Holy fuck; he is inspiring.Edit @11:16PM: I completely forgot about Biden during that speech, and was surprised to see him walking out on stage.

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-88727377886728625872008-09-08T01:39:00.000-05:002008-09-08T01:40:06.852-05:00

Today, I wore one of my Tech-Ed shirts. It has the word "LOST" printed on the front in the style of the TV show, but it's actually talking about "OnPath For SharePoint" being "Never lost." I had wondered a couple points during the day as to what people thought about me based on a first glance at my shirt.When I went to Wal-Mart tonight for my regular grocery shopping, I found out. As I was

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-21001997518473635012008-08-21T13:39:00.001-05:002008-08-21T13:40:23.816-05:00

So, a couple weeks ago, my failure as a homeowner became official. The neighbor across the street came over and rang the doorbell one Sunday morning while I was asleep. Carrie answered the door, and the neighbor gave her some local church material, then asked if she (Carrie) would mind if she (the neighbor) weeded the front landscaping. Of course Carrie didn't mind, so I woke up to a weeded

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-90999176183509114582008-07-13T01:59:00.003-05:002008-07-21T23:04:04.842-05:00

I've begun purchasing components for my new computer! I'm getting very excited. It will end up very similar to this one: Ultima. I've purchased the ram and power supply in order to take advantage of mail-in rebates that expire on the 15th or so. I will purchase the rest in my next credit card billing cycle, most likely.Qty. Image Product Description Unit Price Savings Total

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-74980604063656092342008-06-18T10:22:00.000-05:002008-06-18T10:22:49.879-05:00

I still haven't fully recovered from that string of expenses, and I still haven't gotten my Kansas tax refund, but once I have the money, there are a number of things I want to buy. I really do want to do everything I can to help the economy.First, I think I want to get this stringing machine: Gamma Progression II 602 Stringing Machine. The sooner I buy it, the sooner I'll be able to save ~$20

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-59838131969241318192008-06-16T01:32:00.008-05:002008-06-18T10:24:07.833-05:00

Before I left for San Diego, my fileserver's northbridge fan and heatsink became separated. It's really worse than a divorce, in many ways, because things are all fucked up, but there's still hope, which means uncertainty, lots of work, and very careful handling of electronics. OK, so I don't know much about divorces.The lack of heat transfer away from the chip kept my fileserver from booting.

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-23507837515272906772008-06-16T01:06:00.000-05:002008-06-16T01:06:00.515-05:00

My last day at Tech-Ed was fairly uneventful. The morning started out well with the final Data Dude session, which included the full demo of the DB2 support that was announced. Only about ten people showed up to that presentation, but that's pretty much expected for early Friday morning. Still, it was nice to have my software displayed in it's full functionality. The keynote presentation

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-27139504595893586832008-06-06T15:26:00.001-05:002008-06-06T15:27:17.583-05:00

Once again, we'll start with what's important. Breakfast today had nice crisp bacon, good sausage, eggs, biscuits and gravy, and bagels. I overate slightly, but that's not too much of a problem.My early morning session involved adding indexes to objects queried through LINQ, and would be interesting and useful if I had to do that for actual applications. It's just not something that can be

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-25982356110578959122008-06-04T23:53:00.001-05:002008-06-05T11:57:24.076-05:00

This morning, the bus line was extremely long - one of the cons of being the second hotel on the route. Breakfast's bacon was much better today, though, so I was quite happy with the morning.My morning talk was on managed to native interop best practices, which turned out to be a slight waste of time. C++/CLI and COM interop don't really apply to my current programming tasks, so I plan on

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-67246552765617485212008-06-03T22:49:00.003-05:002008-06-05T11:53:44.914-05:00

The keynote presentation was fairly enjoyable. Bill Gates had a "last full day at Microsoft" video which had some funny appearances from multiple celebrities. The demonstrations were interesting enough, too. IBM made an appearance in one, and that can be read about on an MSDN blog: DataDude goes multi-platform. It was nice to see some of my work make an appearance in front of thousands of

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-19655035759183777412008-06-02T18:30:00.002-05:002008-06-02T18:32:16.378-05:00

I woke up at 4am in order to get cleaned, packed, and off to Orlando by 7am. I arrived at the gate as they called for final boarding - just in time! 2.5 hours later, I was in Orlando with a stiff neck. Despite the stiff neck, I still think Midwest might be my favorite airline to fly. Although...I'm not sure if I slept through the fresh-baked cookies, or if they don't serve them on early

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-825661702453964692008-06-02T18:05:00.001-05:002008-06-02T18:31:04.347-05:00

I've also never been a huge fan of fishing. Unlike my day at the beach, my day fishing didn't really change that. We got up and were on the road by 4am. We arrived at the check-in building at 4:45, left dock at 5:30, left the bait barge by 6, and were on our way. It was cold. I was cold. But the sun was coming up, and by the time we started fishing at about 7, I wasn't too cold anymore.

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-45562004584934376872008-06-02T18:03:00.000-05:002008-06-02T18:03:00.893-05:00

I've never been a huge fan of the beach. It's sandy, hot, the water is salty and cold, and there's sharp things to cut your feet. Wednesday's trip to the beach, however, was thoroughly enjoyable. We hiked from our car up some trails and then back down to the beach, where we made our way back to the car. The sand was very fine, the sharp things were easily avoidable, the water wasn't too cold,

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-89106464706613740522008-06-02T18:00:00.000-05:002008-06-02T18:00:04.300-05:00

Tuesday morning, my little brother, Jake, and I went to an hour-long golf lesson on the full swing. I got to touch a 3-iron, but no golf balls, and no full swings were taken. It was just a guy talking about golf grips and hip movement. Not very exciting.To liven up the day, Jake and I decided to climb the mountain behind our resort. I didn't have a whole lot to wear with me, so I chose shorts

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-78973953313080078032008-05-26T21:48:00.002-05:002009-12-09T09:43:35.775-06:00

It's my third day in San Diego, and so far the trip has been pretty fun. I'm glad I have my work laptop here - I don't think I could relax as much if I weren't able to keep up with work a bit. Internet wasn't included in the package, so I'm going to try and expense the $40 connection charge for the week. It really is a legitimate expense, though, since I wouldn't have gotten it except for

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-86379515953112426062008-05-24T07:30:00.000-05:002008-05-24T07:30:44.923-05:00

So, I've been contemplating submitting some youtube videos for a year or two. Now, I don't have a video camera with which to create said videos. If I did have one, I still don't think I could subject the world to that kind of horrible content, even if it is optional viewing.I guess I like the idea of being loved and adored by thens of thousands of people like some of the vloggers out there. But

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-2165229038430343792008-05-24T07:29:00.000-05:002008-05-24T07:30:23.006-05:00

I've been in my house for a full year now. I officially bought my house on April 30, 2007. The anniversary went by only vaguely recognized until today. I don't have any deep thoughts regarding homeownership, but I figured I might as well recap what I've learned about it in roughly 366 days (leap year!).Maintenance expenses can be higher that you think. There is insurance, lawn care, pest

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-80042070894836940482008-05-24T07:28:00.000-05:002008-05-24T07:28:16.910-05:00

I'm leaving for San Diego on a week-long family vacation. After that, I'm headed to Orlando for most of a week for Microsoft's TechEd. You can blame TechEd for my recent lack of posting. I've been crazy-busy at work getting ready for that. But, if I have internet access in San Diego, I will do my best to do a couple posts from the road, if for no other reason than to say I've blogged from San

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-26443905363109331012008-04-17T15:55:00.000-05:002008-04-17T15:54:38.851-05:00

So, I know I posted a couple entries ago about how I already completed my taxes. Well, that's the first thing I learned.Always wait until the last day to file your taxes because you never know when your dad will call you up saying that he found one of your tax forms that got delivered to your old permanent address.Thankfully, I had waited a long time and hadn't actually sent anything off yet.

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-26124201821466746512008-04-05T17:48:00.001-05:002008-04-05T17:48:01.009-05:00

My mortgage is a standard 30-year fixed. I have the option to pay extra against the principal at any time, and I do so every month. I don't prepay a lot, but I do round my mortgage payment up to the nearest hundred. One of my favorite things is seeing my loan period drop by an extra month. That is, while I have 29 years and 1 month left in the 30-year period, I will have fully paid for my

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-29962755131057842362008-04-05T17:39:00.000-05:002008-04-05T17:37:33.637-05:00

I'm pretty much officially done with taxes, now. It's quite the good feeling.What's even better is that taxes were much simpler this year than last. TurboTax got their shit together and improved the importing feature to make it actually useful. I had to manually enter in all my options trades from E*TRADE, though, because those aren't required to be reported to the IRS (by E*TRADE), so it's up

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-90672753721791503432008-03-27T21:23:00.001-05:002008-03-27T21:24:03.249-05:00

A couple posts ago, I commented on my spending discipline. I just took a step to help me maintain that discipline. I opened up a separate bank account just for emergency funds.I used to have a E*TRADE Bank Complete Savings account. It has solid features and a high yield - beating Bank of America CDs, for example. The interest rate applies to every dollar in the account - it's not tiered. Now

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-80513426953747523942008-03-25T11:46:00.002-05:002008-03-25T11:41:31.961-05:00

On Sunday, March 16, I left for Seattle on business. It was a thoroughly enjoyable trip. You want to hear more? Oh, OK.Flight outI was a bit nervous about the flight out because my dad made a comment over the phone about having the option of crashing the plane and collecting on my insurance if my brother were to get in financial trouble. I figured the NSA flagged the conversation and would

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-2976671717938711882008-03-06T01:32:00.000-06:002008-03-06T01:29:29.423-06:00

I grew up thinking that debt was a bad thing. Why buy a car when you can't afford it outright? I understood that houses required mortgages, but why put things on credit cards when you can pay cash? Managed properly, debt, even in credit card form, can be a good thing.SpendingA lot of proper debt management depends on a realistic assessment of your spending habits. I, for example, don't tend

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-70278769450175907122008-03-05T23:34:00.000-06:002008-03-05T23:31:32.462-06:00

It's been an exciting few days here in Geekland. I successfully installed my two new hard drives. That involved routing cables in an ugly manner, but was otherwise uneventful. I was not able to replace my north bridge fan, though - the wiring for the current one goes under the heatsink, but to remove that I think I need to remove the motherboard from the case. Anyway, at that point, I was all

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188348526931681811.post-67944447845075510872008-02-29T14:25:00.001-06:002008-02-29T14:23:14.248-06:00

My brother (babaBrian and Internet Video of the Day) told me to add Google Analytics to this here blog and I'm glad he did. It's a lot of fun to see what brings people in. I don't particularly care how long they stay or what pages they visited, but the Google search information presented is fascinating.For instance, since I've added Google Analytics, there have been 9 Google search referrals.

eis271828http://www.blogger.com/profile/05969745201742805587noreply@blogger.com1