January 2009

LOL! Georgie, we’ll miss ya!

January 13, 2009

Did you hear our soon-to-be-former President’s farewell press conference? I thought the high point came when he remarked that the press had “misunderestimated” him. {snark!} The man just can’t leave bad enough alone. Another excellent moment arrived when he observed that he came into the presidency in a recession and is leaving it in a [...]

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Can’t sell the house? Try swapping

January 13, 2009

One of the local television PlayNooz programs claims that some people have taken to trading houses when they couldn’t sell them—no indication of whether these prospective traders are having any luck at the enterprise, though. It’s an interesting idea. A year and a half ago, CNN reported that some homebuilders were taking old houses in [...]

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Taxes! PeopleSoft! Garrrrhhhhh!

January 12, 2009

Is there a way to express my hatred for my honored government’s tax system? Just ran a Quicken report for my tax lawyer. Haven’t printed it out…I don’t even want to know how many pages it will generate. There’s probably not enough paper in the house to print the damn thing. I’ll have to hire [...]

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Not bankrupt after all?

January 11, 2009

Despite the extreme market volatility and the various grim economic prognoses, so far my December investment statements come bearing news nowhere near as hideous as expected. My big IRA went up by $2,000 last month. The Vanguard funds rose $5,000 in December. TIAA-CREF, in the past highly sensitive to recession, went up $40 over the [...]

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Flummoxed!

January 10, 2009

For quite a long time, I’ve wanted to buy a three-speed or ten-speed bicycle. I have a coaster, but it’s no use for what I want to do: take long rides along the canal. Salt River Project has built a long, narrow park along the Arizona canal, with underpasses running under the main drags so [...]

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Space heater works to save on power bills

January 9, 2009

This winter I decided to heat the room I’m occupying with a space heater, rather than use the central HVAC system (a heat pump) to warm the entire house. At night, I’m turning the heat off altogether. The electric bill just arrived: $90.99. Last January it was $128.14. That’s a $37.15 savings. More, in reality: [...]

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