[Grumpasaurus.com] Have I mentioned McCain is dirty?

'Have I mentioned McCain is dirty?'

Because he is

Alice Rocchio is an office manager at the New York headquarters of the Hess Corp., drives a 1993 Chevy Cavalier and lives in an apartment in Queens, N.Y., with her husband, Pasquale, an Amtrak foreman.

Despite what appears to be a middle-class lifestyle, the couple has written $61,600 in checks to John McCain’s presidential campaign and the Republican National Committee, most of it within days of McCain’s decision to endorse offshore oil drilling.

At a June fundraiser, the Rocchios joined top executives at Hess Corp. — Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Hess, his wife, Susan, his mother, Norma Hess, and six other officials in giving a total of $313,500 to a joint McCain-RNC fundraising committee, Federal Election Commission records show.

Vote McCain! It’s like doubling down on Bush. You get 10% more narcissism, bloodlust, and sock puppetry for big oil and/or the evangelicals all for the same low price!

http://grumpasaurus.com/2008/08/06/have-i-mentioned-mccain-is-dirty/

[Grumpasaurus.com] Correlation, meet causation

'Correlation, meet causation'

McSame edition, number 5012

Ten senior Hess Corporation executives and/or members of the Hess family each gave $28,500 to the joint RNC-McCain fundraising committee, just days after McCain reversed himself to favor offshore drilling, according to Federal Election Commission reports.

Nine of these contributions, seven from Hess executives and two from members of the Hess family, came on the same day, June 24th, the records show. The total collected in the wake of McCain’s reversal for the fund, called McCain Victory 2008, from Hess execs and family is $285,000.

http://grumpasaurus.com/2008/08/04/correlation-meet-causation/

[Grumpasaurus.com] A good way to get your hate on

'A good way to get your hate on'

Wow. Real hard times for some former subprime lending institution execs.

Mysti was one of the last people out the door at New Century Financial, once the nation’s No. 2 subprime lender. She had been in charge of e-commerce customer service with dozens of employees reporting to her. It was at New Century where the Copes met in 2000.

Kent worked for several of the firms that helped give birth to the industry, which specializes in making loans to people with less-than-perfect credit, in the 1990s. He has been out of work since August when he was laid off by Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group (FBR) unit First NLC Financial Services.

Yeah, tough times. I feel for you guy-
Despite their financial problems, the Copes have worked hard to protect their credit rating, staying current on bills. And they’ve made cutbacks: trading in Kent’s Corvette for a Suburban and getting rid of the gardener, for example. But the couple also has learned that it didn’t need everything it used to spend money on.

Nevermind.

http://grumpasaurus.com/2008/04/03/a-good-way-to-get-your-hate-on/

[Grumpasaurus.com] A New Role for the Fed

'A New Role for the Fed'

The Fed, a secretive, unelected, group in the best of times has two goals to meet via their implementation of fiscal policy: one, keep unemployment low; and two, keep inflation under control. Where there’s ever been a conflict between 1 & 2, they’ve always, always picked inflation control over job growth.

Well, after this morning’s emergency session, and we have confirmation of a new third role for the Fed - they’re also Wall Street’s Bitch.

The Federal Open Market Committee has decided to lower its target for the federal funds rate 75 basis points to 3-1/2 percent.

The Committee took this action in view of a weakening of the economic outlook and increasing downside risks to growth. While strains in short-term funding markets have eased somewhat, broader financial market conditions have continued to deteriorate and credit has tightened further for some businesses and households. Moreover, incoming information indicates a deepening of the housing contraction as well as some softening in labor markets.

Oh, there had been hints before about the Fed pulling out the patent leather and gags any time their daddy fund managers came a’knockin, but today’s out-of-the-blue rate drop ices that cake. Or creams that banana. Or rims that job. Wev.

Now, given my current employment and market positioning, this is all good news for me, but I’m worried about what it means for the country. Because now we have a (quasi, but for all intents and purposes) governmental body making policy based on the whims of a tiny numbers of private corporations and individuals.

Then again, this is the third Gilded Age and a similar (though inverse) relationship has existed before, so maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised.

http://grumpasaurus.com/2008/01/22/a-new-role-for-the-fed/

[Grumpasaurus.com] Warrior for the Cause

'Warrior for the Cause'

Mark Deli Siljander, a former Republican congressperson from Michigan was indicted today as part of a conspiracy to funnel money terrorists who have threatened US troops in Afghanistan.

A former congressman and delegate to the United Nations was indicted Wednesday as part of a terrorist fundraising ring that allegedly sent more than $130,000 to an al-Qaida and Taliban supporter who has threatened U.S. and international troops in Afghanistan.

The former Republican congressman from Michigan, Mark Deli Siljander, was charged with money laundering, conspiracy and obstructing justice for allegedly lying about lobbying senators on behalf of an Islamic charity that authorities said was secretly sending funds to terrorists.

Siljander is a true warrior for the true GOP cause - money. It’s not about nationalism, jingoism, saving the troops, saving the unborn, saving christmas… it’s all about the benjamins. With regards to his true orthodoxy, Siljander is surely going to spend eternity with his 72 bags of glittery gold. Or the gold may be from the fronts of his soon-to-be cellmate smiling down at Siljander as Siljander performs his patented 72-lick salad toss. Hard to tell on these things. It’s heaven for one of them!

I give it approximately 30 10 minutes before Faux news “inadvertently” labels the GOP Republican GOP Republican GOP Republican GOP Republican GOP Siljander as “(D-MI)”. Oopsies! How’d that D get in there?

Read the indictment in my newly-opened “unfinished” legal bits section.

http://grumpasaurus.com/2008/01/16/warrior-for-the-cause/

[Grumpasaurus.com] Proud to be an Amurrikan!

'Proud to be an Amurrikan!'

where at least I know my GDPeeeeeeeee

For the first time in more than 100 years, British living standards have risen above those of Americans, a report has declared.

Increasing incomes, longer holidays and “free” healthcare have all contributed to making Britons better off than our friends across the Atlantic, according to the respected Oxford Economics consultancy.

Can we have that talk about socialized medicine v. free market health care discussion again now? How about that “Republicans are good for the economy” one?

http://grumpasaurus.com/2008/01/06/proud-to-be-an-amurrikan/

Just in time for mother's day

a new affiliate relationship! I always use FTD.com when ordering for deliveries anyway, so I figure… why not be an affiliate? Same selection and prices to you… and maybe I can pay for hosting.

Here’s the deal, 10% off for Mother’s Day:

Enjoy

Hey, ever wanted a cool domain name?

Now you can get not one, but TWO of ‘em: aceking.info and kingace.info

(this is my first time selling something on eBay. I figured… what the heck. Great business model they have, by the way - they charge you a fee to list your stuff via an entry in their database for which you do all the work. Sweet.)

Bid early, bid often!

How to keep your home's appreciation in the family

Though the bubble has burst, our homes are still almost always going to be our single greatest asset. And when we sell those assets, our eyes get as big as saucers when looking at all the apprecation our lovely four walls have accumulated. However, there are some things that can significantly reduce the amount you will realize from that appreciation. Taxes aside, real estate agent fees are the biggest chunk. With a little extra work and/or creativity on your part, the agent fees can largely be avoided.

A typical home sale incurs agency fees of 6-7%, with half going to the selling agent and half to the buying agent. Selling and buying a home involves a lot a paperwork and is a total pain in the ass… but 7% is a steep tax to pay (on a $500,000 home sale, you’ll be paying $30,000 in agent fees). How can you avoid paying it?

To avoid the buyer agent fees, you could sell only to unrepresented buyers. That will limit your pool of available buyers, but it can save you some money. Essentially, though, I think paying the buyer agent fees is nigh unavoidable, which leaves the selling agent.

Traditionally, there’s the for sale by owner route. There are a number of websites that will let you list your house FSBO for a flat fee (as little as $399).

I think a great middle ground (and fast-rising option) is Redfin. They have a flat $2,000 fee like the FSBO sites, but also have experienced sales agents who will show your home and take care of all that onerous paperwork. That $30,000 in agent fees for your $500,000 home just became $17,000 ($15,000 for buyer agent + $2,000 for Redfin). You could potentially save yourself $28,000 if you find a buyer not using an agent.

And that, as my mom would say, is better than a kick in the pants.

I have no association or relationship with Redfin… but I’ll be using them when I put my house up for sale in the near future.

Interesting idea

Interesting… and a bad investment

Stocks, bonds or Steen? That’s a question that 19-year-old Ron Steen of Anaheim Hills,Calif., hopes investors will wrestle with.

In August, Steen put himself on eBay (Charts) to pay for his college education, offering 2 percent of all future earnings to the highest bidder, with a minimum $100,000 bid.

What with Steen having to average 1.5M/year until age 65 to match a 6% investment, I’m thinking he’s not going to have any takers. Bonus points for audacity, though.

Vino

Here’s a new idea (for me) for gift giving this year - wine! Now, I’m no oenophile or even a connoisseur, but in the under-$20 reds category, I’ve got some decent experience. Interestingly enough, wine.com has a category just for that (though they include whites too. Apparently, some people like it sweet), which makes my choices a lot easier.

We’re generally a shiraz/syrah house, but I’ve heard good things about the Folie à Deux Ménage à Trois Red ($9) and the Cantena Malbec ($18, 90 rating). Of shiraz’ I know and like, they have the Fat Bastard Shiraz for $11, though I can’t seem to find my favorite cheap deal find of the year, the Lindeman Padthaway shiraz 2003 (they don’t appear to carry Lindeman at all. Oh well) and that screwtop Pinot Noir $11 thing that was awesome but who’s name escapes me at the moment. Sigh.

Wine.com also offers glassware, of course, and they have their own most popular gift suggestion ideas as well.

Coming from what is essentially a teetotaler family, the idea of gifting alcohol on the holidays is new ground to me, yet appealing. This year, at least. And remember - a glass of red a day keeps the heart healthy!

Deals? Buy used and after market

I’m a huge believer in buying used things, particularly in areas where immediacy is not an issue and quality does not decline much, if at all.

Yeah, I’m looking at you, books. Textbooks, novels, hardcover, softcover, whatever. Used books markets are the greatest invention in the history of ever. The one I use? Half.com.

This is the least obnoxious banner they have offered (the others are all those lovely animated gifs. Woo.):

I think I saved over $300 last semester on ghostfinger’s textbooks by using half.com for most of the purchases (this was before I knew about Valore., so I’ll definitely comparison shop next semster). Anyway, half.com totally rocks and it’ll save you a bundle of money.

I’m a big believer in giving books away too of course, but iffen I’m going to be buying, the first place I looke is half.com. You can get CDs and DVDs on half.com as well, though I’ve been less successful for those products compared to its competitors (like Amazon marketplace) in terms of savings.

Comparison shopping

There are some things that the internet has made vastly easier, such as access to free porn, finding old classmates, and comparing prices for the goods you want to buy across multiple vendors.

One are where there is a market from the consumer perspective but not much from the advertiser/business perspective is automated comparison shopping. As a result, there are not a lot of valuable sites that perform this function and they are all almost entirely automated. Froogle is one example and Savings.com is another.




Savings.com particularly shines when it comes to finding coupons for items you were going to buy anyway. It's like finding free money.

They are branching out into mortgage refinancings as well. To the latter, I can't attest as to their service, but their rates look highly competitive. If you're in the market, give them a try.

Update: OK, apparently all of those (aff) links go to the debt consolidation or refinancing pages. Boo. Stupid affiliate links. Here's a direct Savings.com link.

One way to make money

Invest in pr0n

Wall Street is largely a boys club, a place packed with hypercompetitive tough guys proud to wear their machismo on their sleeves. Yet there’s still one investment the Street is generally wary of: porn.

That’s why Francis Koenig, a onetime Wall Street hedge fund executive now based in Los Angeles, believes there are riches to be made by matching investors with “adult entertainment” companies. He believes that plenty of people would back the industry if there were vehicles commonly available to do so.

Think of Koenig as a porn launderer. He makes it acceptable for the DAR to get a piece of some of that $12 billion-per-year smut money.

Originally posted at: http://cmoore.com/2006/11/10/one-way-to-make-money/

Music available on the interweb thing

No, really. And there's this place that is the leading music shop on the whole of the truck-filled tubular net doohickey, called eye-music. Now, I don't know why they call it that, since you listen with your ears, but that's what they call it so that's what I'm calling it.



iTunes has a better catalogue than its competitors, doesn't support reactionary social policies like W*l M*rt, and is American unlike that Russian pay-to-download site. Buy American! Buy iTunes!

Amazing fact! Music available on the interweb thing

No, really. And there’s this place that is the leading music shop on the whole of the truck-filled tubular net doohickey, called eye-music. Now, I don’t know why they call it that, since you listen with your ears, but that’s what they call it so that’s what I’m calling it.

Sure, Mondegreen is available for free download … but it’s also on the eye-music even without any videos! Isn’t that cool?

I gave it a look and it’s $1/song and $10/album (roughly). The best part is - you won’t get sued by the RIAA! Sweet!

Originally posted at: http://cmoore.com/2006/11/08/amazing-fact-music-available-on-the-interweb-thing/

Addicted... to Politics

While trying to figure out how I could monetize my “$100 million and climbing” HSX brilliance, I found Intrade. Holy cow is this awesome. Actual money on politics and news events. Of course, given my recent successful predictions (and GOP shenanigans), this is could just be an even easier way to lose money than Lotto.

Here’s a snapshot of some of the things you can trade in (I don’t know precisely what will come up; it’s a dynamically generated frame):

And their banner advertisement looks something like this:

Yet another thing that’s probably more Chartoo’s forte than mine, but I’m kind of excited about day trading in the presidential aspirations of Saint Rudy. I know. I need to get out more.

The biggest problem I had so far was actually getting money into the system - their security is quite a bit more comprehensive than the one-click universe we’ve been inhabiting. This is good in that I’m pretty confident any phishers aren’t going to be going there to take your money, but it can also be a drawback if you spot a sweet market opportunity for the avian flu’s arrival date in the U.S.

If you click the banner ad above, theoretically I get $50 if you both put some money in and do a bunch of trading over the next 90 days. If you just want to go to intrade.com and skip the lurve-giving to me part, I’m totally OK with that. I’ll just give you the puppy dog eyes and maybe sigh a little bit.

Originally posted at: http://cmoore.com/2006/11/06/addicted-to-politics/

Another easy way to save money? Ditch the phone line

For those of us who haven't switched to an entirely cell phone household, the traditional Baby Bell phone lines can get mightily expensive. Where I live, the minimum household line costs for a basic line add up to about $43/month with taxes, and that's with no long distance charges!

Assuming you have a broadband connection, the solution is obvious: VOIP (voice over IP). Using VOIP, you get to keep your current phone and phone number, lose no voice quality, and pay a lot less. VOIP offerings range from about $15/month for limited minutes (Vonage) to a high in the mid $30s/month for old monopoly offerings like those from Comcast. Skype, a European favorite, offers per-call pricing that is competitive with the best phone cards. You can also do voice-voice connections at no charge, of course, but for dial-in services (i.e. a number people using phones can reach you at), you'll have to pay. The best part is that your number is portable - just take your router with you anywhere you've got a broadband connection, and you've got a home-location phone while on vacation 3000 miles away (or, you can use a software phone and not bother with the router; their availability depends on the provider you choose).

Vonage is the best known of the VOIP companies due to their ubiquitous marketing. Packet8 (below) generally gets better user reviews and has equivalent service for a cheaper price.



Packet8's $20/month unlimited plan will save you at least $250/year over you basic land line fees. If you've got a broadband connection and don't otherwise need a physical land line, I can't recommend them highly enough.

Domain registrations, pt. 1

Since I'm on an internet/domain related kick, here's a good registrar for you: Register.com



They're not the cheapest registrar, but they offer a host of value ad services like marketing and analysis. Privacy protection is $9/year.

Another one of my favorite things

Netflix! Unless you’re a sports or talk show junkie, once you subscribe to Netflix, you no longer need to pay for cable. If you cancel your cable and keep a 3-disc Netflix setup, that will save you anywhere from $30 to $85 per month ($360 to $1020/year).

(if you join Netflix, enter m friends network so I can send you Kstrike>inappropriate movies that you’ll hate suggestions that you’ll love and vice versa)

Originally posted at: http://cmoore.com/2006/11/05/another-one-of-my-favorite-things/