October 2008 Archives

Every year it just seems to get worse and worse. The negative attacks here in Minnesota are getting ridiculous.

During the work week I'll usually come home for lunch and watch a few minutes of TV while having a sandwich. The commercials between Judge Mathis segments are non-stop attack ads between Norm Coleman and Al Franken. The attack ads literally take up the whole commercial break.

If people can't promote themselves without attacking others, I refuse to vote in elections here. These politicians are the worst in history. I am sick and tired of hearing these ads back and forth, so none will get my vote.

Norm Coleman, Al Franken, Michele Bachman, Ashwin Madia: Shame on you all. None of you are fit for office. Have some respect and dignity.

I know how disheartening it can be when you log into your 401k account and see how much money you have lost in these hard times. One of my accounts has lost almost 40%. I try to console myself with the thought that I'm in it for the long haul, however it still hurts to look at it.

So when times are rough, it's a good time to think of dollar cost averaging to help assuage the negative thoughts of loss. Keep investing in your 401k no matter what. When stocks and funds take a dive, you can essentially buy more shares for your dollar. You'll see a greater payoff in the future because of this.

I actually upped my 401k contribution by 2 percentage points to take advantage of the low cost of investing right now.

Just see, it'll pay off in the future.

Dollar Cost Averaging [wikipedia]

Man, this is a hard-hitting song. My favorite band has always been the Smashing Pumpkins. When I first heard this remix of their classic 'Zero', I was astounded.

It's not simply a cut-up, remixed, and re-arranged song, it's all original sounds aside from Billy Corgan's epic guitar riff. Way to go Le Castle Vania!

Check it out for yourself over at Disco Dust

Download the track here

Le Castle Vania [myspace]

My father has always taught and given me advice when it comes to investing and saving for your retirement. Everyone knows that us millennials will not be able to depend on the government's social security plan when we are ready to retire. We must take matters into our own hands.

First off, I'll always increase my 401k contribution to the point where I can max out what free money my employer will match me.

Second, every time I receive a raise, I'll always increase my contribution by a percentage point or two. This way, I'll never notice the increase being taken out of my paycheck. I'll have more money for the future without too much of a sacrifice now.

I ran across this over at Writing from the Inside Out and thought it was pretty funny. I watched a few minutes of the VP debate the other night, and chart seems to accurately reflect what she was doing.

Here's another greatest hits cd that is perfect for a rainy sunday afternoon. The Psychedelic Furs combine echoing guitar riffs and melodic vocals to create rooms of gorgeous sounds.

You're bound to know most of the songs on here including Pretty In Pink, Love My Way, The Ghost in You, and Heartbreak Beat.

Hard to believe Pretty in Pink came out in 1981. Ahead of their times!

The Psychedelic Furs - Greatest Hits [Amazon]

I ran across this great site the other day that can actually save you some money if you are speeding. It's best to go the speed limits in all situations, however for those that go over, this can come in handy.

People share the locations where they see cops or speed cameras watching people. Most police usually have certain locations that they will sit in, so it's easy to report them to the service. Simply call on your phone or send a text message to the service and it will log it.

The best part is that you can download Points of Interest (POI) files in csv format to import to your GPS unit. Some brands of GPS can even warn you with a pop up when you are coming close to a POI. This can be handy to stop you before you get to the trap.

Best of all, the service is free. The POI Factory charges for their database of red light cameras and speed traps. So load up your GPS!

Trapster

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When in Rome, do as the Romans do and listen to The Promise. Yea, it's an old cd, but you gotta love those 80s reminiscent bass lines, soft soulful beats, and lovely rhythms.

Such classic sounds these guys make on their self-titled cd. Heaven Knows as well as The Promise are my favorite tracks on the cd. It definitely takes you back to inspiring and enjoyable 80s love.

Grab yourself a copy from Amazon - When In Rome

My sister and I took a tour of this sustainable organic spice farm right outside of Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica in November of last year. You'd be really surprised of what they are able to grow and produce there at the plantation with nothing but natural resources and the land surrounding them.

The secret of pollinating the vanilla plant (which is an orchid) remained a mystery to most of the world until the mid 1800's. Pre-columbian mesoamerican's knew how to pollinate vanilla way before the 1500's. Villa Vanilla grows will let you sample the vanilla beans they grow.

The farm offers samples of everything and even a small store that sells real vanilla beans, cinnamon sticks, vanilla extract, and more. The tours are absolutely enlightening, you get to experience everything that is grown hands on and get a great idea of what it is like to work on the farm.

Henry runs the farm, he is a great resource and a wealth of knowledge about everything there. He is an expert in the field and can be relied upon for any information about spices or biodynamic agriculture.

Villa Vanilla