Collect Experiences. Not Things. :')

May 24, 2010

Rethink the Possible - Happy 5th Birthday Again

Oh to be 5 again. Can't imagine it. Maybe add a zero. Okay, then.

U.S. Housing Market: A "Very Sick System"

Federal Housing Commissioner David Stevens at Mortgage Bankers Association Government Housing Conference...
“This is a market purely on life support, sustained by the federal government,” he said at the Mortgage Bankers Association conference. “Having FHA do this much volume is a sign of a very sick system.”
FHA insured more mortgages than Fannie and Freddie combined in the Q1 2010.

Also, MBA reported a record 14.69% of mortgage loans delinquent or in foreclosure in Q1 2010.

May 23, 2010

Gainfully Employed, Once Again

After 23 inquires, 18 phone interviews and 9 face-to-face interviews over a period of 3 months (February to May), I'm once again gainfully employed.

I start June 7th! My hourly refrigerator inspection is probably what I'll miss most.

May 19, 2010

The New Poor

Per the NYT: hordes of older workers that have not learned new skills are being left behind. They are unemployable and becoming the new poor. And I'm guessing many of them are teabaggers (i.e. racist, uneducated, lazy, overweight, etc.). It's sad. These people are bound to become more angry and resentful as opportunities pass them by.
Millions of workers who have already been unemployed for months, if not years, will most likely remain that way even as the overall job market continues to improve, economists say. The occupations they worked in, and the skills they currently possess, are never coming back in style. And the demand for new types of skills moves a lot more quickly than workers — especially older and less mobile workers — are able to retrain and gain those skills.

There is no easy policy solution for helping the people left behind. The usual unemployment measures — like jobless benefits and food stamps — can serve as temporary palliatives, but they cannot make workers’ skills relevant again.

One Moos and One Hums, but They Could Help Power Google

America’s dairy farmers could soon find themselves in the computer business, with the manure from their cows possibly powering the vast data centers of companies like Google and Microsoft. While not immediately intuitive, the idea plays on two trends: the building of computing centers in more rural locales, and dairy farmers’ efforts to deal with cattle waste by turning it into fuel.
Per the NYT.

May 08, 2010

Modern Family


How did I miss this show? I'm addicted. I've watched all of the episodes posted on Hulu. The best part of the show is that it DOESN'T have a laugh track. The jokes are punctuated by the (edit) cut. And Fred Willard guest stars in this episode. What else could one ask for? And unlike "The Office" where the camera lingers on the joke, this show moves along at a brisk pace.

May 07, 2010

More Antarctica Pics

This lady also went to Antarctica on a trip similar to mine, but her trip was sponsored by National Geographic. And her pics are a thousand times better than mine.

I still reflect on my Antarctica trip. The harsh, massive, undulating waves rocking the ship. Plates sliding off the dinner table. People acting superior to nature getting thrown to the floor, some breaking bones. Antarctica was a bit like visiting Africa for the first time in 1985. As I stood on the continent, I could not believe I was actually standing on it. Prior to visiting, all I knew of the two continents, I learned by pictures in books and shows on TV.

May 06, 2010

Teabagger? Halloween?

A Savings Account for the next 12 Years?


The dashed line is the closing price today. The S&P 500 was first at this level in April 1998; over 12 years ago.

Per Calculated Risk

Jesus Soon To Have His TV Show

As part of the network's upfront presentation to advertisers, Comedy Central is set to announce "JC," a half-hour show about Christ wanting to escape the shadow of his "powerful but apathetic father" and live a regular life in New York City.

In the show, God is preoccupied with playing video games while Christ, "the ultimate fish out of water," tries to adjust to life in the big city.

"In general, comedy in purist form always makes some people uncomfortable," said Comedy Central's head of original programming Kent Alterman.
Comedy Central Developing Jesus Christ Cartoon