Naomi went to the Tucson ZOO

Naomi went along with a friend to the ZOO in Tucson, which is a city 100 miles South of Maricopa. LINK

A brand new school year, a brand new computer...

I have always constructed our desktop pc's, but now prices have dropped so much it is cheaper to buy the entire comp through HP or DELL. All you need is patience, I used a -$400 off $999 coupon, free printer rebate coupon, 5% cashback.

Bought this HP desktop pc:(will be replacing ASUS 1.5 centrino, 512 MB laptop):

Pavilion Elite m9300t PC with TV/PVR

Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)

Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Quad processor Q6600 (2.4GHz)

4GB DDR2 800MHz dual channel SDRAM (4x1024)

256MB NVIDIA GeForce 9300, DVI-I, VGA adapter, HDMI

320GB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive

Blu-ray / HD DVD player & Lightscribe SuperMulti DVD burner

15-in-1 memory card reader, 2 USB, 1394, video, audio

ATSC-NTSC TV tuner with PVR, FM tuner, remote

Integrated 7.1 channel sound w/front audio ports

Norton Internet Security(TM) 2008 15 month

Microsoft(R) Works 9.0

HP keyboard and HP optical mouse

HP Deskjet D1455 Printer

HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

$599 + $50 (tax) + $70 printer - $70 rebate printer -($30 cashback through live.com)

TOTAL: $619

Even without the Blu-ray player that is a good deal...

the first iPhone 3G in Belgium

Price iPhone 3G 8 GB: 525 euro (=$800)

Price iPhone 3G 8 GB: 615 euro (=$940)

That same iPhone, unlocked, costs here $599 (8 GB) and $699 (16 GB).

Mind you, that is an unlocked phone, without any subscription.

However it can be cheaper:

Since AT&T's unlocked iPhone 3Gs will cost you $599 (8GB) or $699 (16GB), you are better off signing a contract and canceling it than buying an unlocked iPhone. In fact, it's even cheaper to buy a 16GB iPhone using this method than to buy and unlock an 8GB version.

$299 - 16GB iPhone w/contract

$36 - Activation

$175 - Early Termination Fee

$70 - One month of service
Total Price Using The Shady Method: $580

8GB iPhone Canceled: $480

16GB iPhone Canceled: $580

8 GB iPhone Unlocked from AT&T: $599

16GB iPhone Unlocked from AT&T: $699

I am ready to take offers for an export/import company trading iPhones!

Home pics update

Quote of the day

"Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment"

Jim Horning

Misc Pics

Even when the cat is away from home, the mice clean up.

Naomi does math problems each day (math tables). 83/83, Perfect

"Drive-thru" bank...

Sandwich "Supersize-me" style

Belgian Waffles !!!

Naomi and friends.Watching the newest Hannah Montana movie.

Building a LEGO Indian Jones set.

Darnet pickles, where are those pieces...

Our School under Construction

Real Estate Agent Shot Dead After Home Declines In Value

At least in the early 30's the stockbrokers had the decency to commit suicide ...

LINK

Pay for UFC fighters

I was always interested to see what those "modern gladiators" are earning. I am very disappointed they earn these ridicously low figures. It is a real disgrace, some of those professional fighters earn less than 25000. And that is on a main event of the UFC.
Remember that unless you beat someone TKO, KO or submission first round that you will always have some damage: bruises, torn muscles, torn ligaments, broken arms/fingers, headaches lol... Those professional fighters also have a full team of coaches to help them in the different disciplines of the sport: wrestling, jui jitsu, boxing and kick-boxing. Those coaches have to be paid too. Nothing if any is left if you can only fight 3 times a year for less than 25k.
Oh well, in Rome they would have died so they are better of now ... but their slave status remains...
A brief description of the numbers:
The following figures are based on the fighter salary information that promoters are required by law to submit to the state athletic commissions, including the winners’ bonuses.
Although mixed martial arts fighters do not have collective bargaining or a union, the fighters’ salaries are still public record, just as with every other major sport in the United States. Any undisclosed bonuses that a promoter also pays its fighters, but does not disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically, pay-per-view bonuses, fight of the night bonuses, etc.), are not included in the figures below.
In the listings below, “Main Event Fighters” are defined as fighters who compete in the main event of a show. “Main Card Fighters” are defined as fighters whose fights appear on the main card, but not in the main event. “Preliminary Card Fighters” are defined as fighters whose matches take place before the live broadcast goes on the air, regardless of whether or not those matches end up airing on the TV or Internet broadcast.

MAIN EVENT FIGHTERS

– Forrest Griffin ($250,000/win bonus was $150,000) def. Quinton Jackson ($225,000)

MAIN CARD FIGHTERS

– Patrick Cote ($32,000/win bonus was $16,000) def. Ricardo Almeida ($23,000)

– Joe Stevenson ($60,000/win bonus was $30,000) def. Gleison Tibau ($11,000)

– Josh Koscheck ($70,000/win bonus was $35,000) def. Chris Lytle ($14,000)

– Tyson Griffin ($40,000/win bonus was $20,000) def. Marcus Aurelio ($40,000)

PRELIMINARY CARD FIGHTERS

– Gabriel Gonzaga ($100,000/win bonus was $50,000) def. Justin McCully ($5,000)

– Cole Miller ($20,000/win bonus was $10,000) def. Jorge Gurgel ($10,000)

– Melvin Guillard ($20,000/win bonus was $10,000) def. Dennis Siver ($7,000)

– Justin Buchholz ($8,000/win bonus was $4,000) def. Corey Hill ($8,000)

UFC 86 DISCLOSED FIGHTER PAYROLL: $943,000

UFC 86 AWARD BONUSES

(as disclosed by UFC president Dana White)

Each fighter received a $60,000 bonus for the following awards.

Fight of the Night:

– Forrest Griffin and Quinton Jackson

Knockout of the Night:

– Melvin Guillard

Submission of the Night:

– Cole Miller

! Hallelujah !

Iraq insists on withdrawal timetable

The biggest Bond investor in the World Bill Gross, writes an open letter to the new president of the United States

And mind you, he is a republican

"You have inherited a mess. Your predecessor, fixated on emulating a former Republican icon from a far different economic era, chose to emphasize tax cuts for the rich and excessive consumption for all Americans. He promoted deregulation and free markets when, in fact, the markets and their institutions needed tough love. Over eight years, he failed to put forth a coherent energy policy. He needlessly invaded Iraq and lowered worldwide esteem for this nation as a symbol of freedom and benevolence."

"But enough about W’s spilt milk. I’ve already ticked off so many readers that they’re questioning my Republican Party voter registration. What do I think you should do as the new President to rectify this mess? All I know is that any solution will come with a high price tag. Although your campaign slogan says “Yes we can,” I have my doubts. Granted, you’re going to raise tax rates on the rich, give a break to the lower/middle class and rebalance the scales of economic justice somewhat. I myself won’t enjoy paying that near 50 percent marginal tax rate after you remove the current cap on the payroll tax, but my wealthy neighbors and I in Newport Beach should just look at it this way: we’ve had an eight-year lease extension on the “high life.” "

Full article here

What's on Idol?

Bad weather for the Maricopa area

The only time you can really leave your home is after 7 pm to take a swim. The rest of the day is so incredibly hot. You have to be here, to believe it.

2nd Wedding anniversary 08/07/06

Congratulations to Lisa for keeping up with me and giving me a joyful life.

Lyrics

This sums it up

Lyrics

Important events of the Great Depression

1929

-Backlog of business inventories grows three times larger than the year before. Public consumption markedly down.

-More than half of all Americans are living below a minimum subsistence level.

-Freight carloads and manufacturing fall.

-Automobile sales decline by a third in the nine months before the crash.

-Recession begins in August, two months before the stock market crash. During this two month period, production will decline at an annual rate of 20 percent, wholesale prices at 7.5 percent, and personal income at 5 percent.

-Stock market crash begins October 24. Investors call October 29 "Black Tuesday." Losses for the month will total $16 billion, an astronomical sum in those days.

1930

-The GNP falls 9.4 percent from the year before. The unemployment rate climbs from 3.2 to 8.7 percent.

-By February, the Federal Reserve has cut the prime interest rate from 6 to 4 percent. Expands the money supply with a major purchase of U.S. securities. However, for the next year and a half, the Fed will add very little money to the shrinking economy. (At no time will it actually pull money out of the system.) Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon announces that the Fed will stand by as the market works itself out: "Liquidate labor, liquidate stocks, liquidate real estate… values will be adjusted, and enterprising people will pick up the wreck from less-competent people."

-The first bank panic occurs later this year; a public run on banks results in a wave of bankruptcies. Bank failures and deposit losses are responsible for the contracting money supply.

1931

-No major legislation is passed addressing the Depression.

-A second banking panic occurs in the spring.

-The GNP falls another 8.5 percent; unemployment rises to 15.9 percent.

1932

-This and the next year are the worst years of the Great Depression. For 1932, GNP falls a record 13.4 percent; unemployment rises to 23.6 percent.

-10,000 banks have failed since 1929, or 40 percent of the 1929 total.

-Top tax rate is raised from 25 to 63 percent.

1933

-A third banking panic occurs in March. Roosevelt declares a Bank Holiday; closes financial institutions to stop a run on banks.

-Alarmed by Roosevelt's plan to redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor, a group of millionaire businessmen, led by the Du Pont and J.P. Morgan empires, plans to overthrow Roosevelt with a military coup and install a fascist government. The businessmen try to recruit General Smedley Butler, promising him an army of 500,000, unlimited financial backing and generous media spin control. The plot is foiled when Butler reports it to Congress.

-U.S. goes off the gold standard.

-The free fall of the GNP is significantly slowed; it dips only 2.1 percent this year. Unemployment rises slightly, to 24.9 percent.

Sound familiar?

Banking can be an extremely profitable business

If it's done correctly...

It's been 79 years since the last bank run in the USA.

A bank run (also known as a run on the bank) is a type of financial crisis. It is a panic which occurs when a large number of customers of a bank withdraw their deposits because they fear it is, or might become, insolvent. This action can destabilize the bank to the point where it becomes insolvent.

Banks retain only a fraction of their deposits as cash (see fractional-reserve banking): the remainder is invested in securities and loans. No bank has enough reserves on hand to cope with more than the fraction of deposits being taken out at once. As a result, the bank faces bankruptcy, and will 'call in' the loans it has offered. This can cause the bank's debtors to face bankruptcy themselves, if the loan is invested in a plant or other items that cannot easily be sold.A banking panic or bank panic occurs if many banks suffer runs at the same time. The resulting chain of bankruptcies can cause a long economic recession.As a bank run progresses, it generates its own momentum, in a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. As more people withdraw their deposits, the likelihood of default increases, so other individuals have more incentive to withdraw their own deposits.

Is your money safe?

Washington Mutual 1 year chart

Citigroup 1 year chart

Bank of America 1 year chart

Most solvent banks/brokers in the US are Wells Fargo, Us Bancorp, Schwab and Goldman Sachs.

I know of only a few REAL solvent banks in Europe: ING and KBC.

Supply Demand in full effect

A brand new Toyota Prius would set you back for about $22 000. (excl tax and title)
Due to high gas prices and the shortage of hybrid vehicles (only 180 000 Prius' produced this year, 1 000 000 next year) something extra ordinary has happend on the market place.
That same Toyota Prius is now selling for$28000 and that is a second hand car with about 25000 miles. (carmax) There is no Toyota dealer where you can find a Prius at that $22 000, they have all marked up the cars by more than $6000.

Until the supply has caught up with the demand, it is definitely NOT a good time to buy a hybrid right now.

Nissan Skyline on steroids

1000 horse power

One of the best acts I have ever seen

Fires in California

Home alone

Internet Phone

To reduce our cellphone bills I decided to buy this gadget from Linksys CIT400.
It's a Wi-Fi internet skype phone. With this unit you can make calls without turning on your computer. You just add the unit to the wireless Wi-Fi you already have (like it was another computer) and the integrated skype software get's you started right away. Instead of turning on our computere we can just use this phone as a normal handheld (without the costs).

This unit costs $96 and the skype 1 year service (free calls to landlines and cellphones in the US) was $30.

She landed safely.

3 more hours to go

She will be arriving between 9:50-10:00 AM.

Overseas flight departed on time

At this time, it appears she will arrive 40 minutes early in Brussels.

She called me from Philadelphia and she slept most of the PHX-PHIL flight.

The eagle has landed for the first time

The eagle is in the air

Lisa departed to Philadelphia as scheduled. She will have a 2.5 hour break there before she takes flight 750 to Brussels, she arrives Thursday morning. In the meantime she is enjoying this.