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With all the turmoil in the financial markets - and large financial institutions being bought out or failing - you might wonder about the safety of your money. Luckily, most normal deposits are covered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). But if you are still apprehensive, I found a site that rates the relative financial strength and stability of U.S. commercial banks, savings institutions and credit unions.
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/safesound/ss_home.asp
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
How Safe is Your Bank?
Monday, September 29, 2008
Financial Crisis of 2008: Hardest Hit Communities
The financial problems of 2008 will surely reverberate throughout the entire globe. Some areas will be affected more than others, however. Here is a slide show from Business Week that features the top twenty communities in the U.S. that have the most to lose in a large financial downturn. New York and Connecticut are rather obvious, but there are some in the nation's heartland that may surprise you.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Caramel Apples
As autumn approaches, it is the season for apples. I've noticed quite a selection of varieties at the farmers' market recently. I can't think of a better way to eat an apple than with caramel, so here is a tried and true recipe for you to try. Enjoy, duders!
Taffy Apple Caramel
1 can Eagle Brand Milk
¾ c Light Karo Syrup
2 c Brown Sugar
½ c Butter
Mix and bring to a boil for 20 minutes until it coats an apple.
Yield 5 cups
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Strategies for the Energy Crisis
Here's an interesting interview examining energy policy and greenhouse emissions.
After nearly 30 years at Caltech as a professor of theoretical physics and, eventually, provost, Steven Koonin took a leave of absence in 2004 to become BP's chief scientist. After a year of study, he recommended a strategy for the company that has included investments in unconventional sources of oil as well as renewable energies such as solar.
...
TR: What's the best way to reduce gas consumption?
SK: Raising the price of driving is the simplest way to induce conservation and efficiency. Look at how much response we saw when the price of gasoline went up to $4.50 a gallon. We've seen it work over the last year. But raising gas prices is very difficult politically to do. In fact, you see the candidates going in the opposite direction.
The prices for gas and for carbon need to be high enough to make some difference, so that means there will be some pain. And it needs to be stable enough so that people can make long-term investments for deploying alternative technologies.
...
TR: So the markets aren't going to solve these problems?
SK: Left to its own devices, the market will not price the externality of carbon dioxide, nor will it effectively deal with the security-of-supply problem. I think [that's] because it's longer term, and the markets have a shorter-term focus. I think markets are good for tactical allocation, but it's not obvious to me that they're the right thing for strategic allocation [or] longer-term planning.
Friday, September 26, 2008
DriveSmarterChallenge.org
Here's a website that gives you simple, easy to implement tips that can save you hundreds of dollars per year on fuel costs. There is not much that isn't covered on my first post, at cleanmpg.com, or other Hypermiling venues; but it has a slick interface, and you might learn something new.
http://drivesmarterchallenge.org/
Pam's Summer Art Project
Here is your obligatory Dwight Schrute ASCII rendering. Thoughts on the season premiere? Will we ever know the story behind Meredith's face? Time will tell...
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Just In Case
Just In Case: How to be Self-Sufficient When the Unexpected Happens. Kathy Harrison. Highly Recommended.
I happened upon this book in the 'New Release' section of the library, and it seemed to good to pass up. September is National Preparedness Month, you know.
Many of the self-sufficiency books I have reviewed describe a lifestyle that is not practical for the ordinary citizen in the 21st century. For better or worse, most people are not going to leave the suburbs and set up a 5 acre homestead where they can provide nearly everything they need. Unfortunately, for those of us remaining in the city and 'burbs, unexpected events could disrupt the fragile web of support that we currently enjoy.
Obviously, we can all name big events that have affected large segments of the population: 9-11, Katrina, California's earthquakes & wildfires, etc. Even smaller localized events, like floods, thunderstorms and heavy snow can leave people to survive for several days without power, heat and/or shelter. Would you be ready for a 3 day outage? How about 3 weeks? It would seem that the network of modernity on which we rely is only becoming more fragile; and large natural disasters, terrorism, or pandemics could easily affect large portions of our nation in the future.
As I read the opening chapter, I quickly realized that I was fairly unprepared for any type of outage of basic service. As I read on, however, the author presented information that will help anyone get ready - just in case.
The first section lays out the author's OAR system for staying prepared. Organize, Acquire and Rotate are each integral tenets to ensuring everything is ready in a time of crisis. The book has many tips for maintaining efficiency in each of these categories.
Organize - It hardly matters if you have everything, if you cannot quickly locate it
Acquire - There are most likely several necessary items that you currently are without
Rotate - All food has a limited life, rotate canned goods into normal meals to maintain freshness
Part Two covers Preparedness, which consists of putting the OAR system into practice. Getting yourself, home, kids, pets and car prepared are all examined.
Part Three is titled Dealing With Disaster. Specific scenarios are studied, along with custom tailored advice on how to best prepare and survive. Everything from power loss to the pandemic flu are featured. (According to the author, Michael Jackson-type surgical masks are of little use)
Part Four is a foray into the arts of self-sufficiency. I did not see anything that struck me as novel in this section, except for perhaps recipes that feature "stored" food. The author recommended several other books for more reading, such as the Ball: Blue Book of Food Preservation.
I highly recommend this book for anyone. It provides easy to use advice that can be tailored to your specific situation. No one is immune from disaster, a few easy steps ahead of time could mean the difference between a slight inconvenience or major disruption...and perhaps even life and death.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
The Vegetable Gardener's Bible
The Vegetable Gardener's Bible. Edward C. Smith. Highly Recommended.
I try to only share good books with my readers, and this one is no exception. It is a thick, sturdy hardcover that will be a welcome addition to any gardener's library. For high yields, the author teaches a WORD System: Wide rows, Organic methods, Raised beds, Deep soil. The book is divided into three overarching sections:
Part 1: From Seed to Harvest
The first section is the most detailed. This is where the author lays out the basics for his WORD method. Along with several other sources, this is was the main inspiration for building my framed raised beds. There are several great chapters in this section that describe planning and executing your garden.
Part 2: The Healthy Garden
This section covers the basics of soil, composting and organic pest control. While not as detailed as the books to each of these topics, it gives a good overview.
Part 3: Vegetables & Herbs, A-Z
This section features the obligatory plant profiles that most garden books seem to provide. It truly does have quite an extensive selection of edible plants, with over 100 pages dedicated to this chapter. Each profile has a wide range of data, from planting and harvesting information to the best varieties to use.
All in all, this book is a great resource for both beginning and seasoned gardeners.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Derivatives: Credit Default Swaps
Another financial article for your perusal. I am not an economist or a financial guru, so anyone in the audience with such credentials please feel free to point out any flaws that you may see.
Per wikipedia:
Derivatives are financial instruments whose value changes in response to the changes in underlying variables. The main types of derivatives are futures, forwards, options, and swaps.Credit default swaps (CDS) are insurance-like contracts that are sold as protection against default on loans, but CDS are not ordinary insurance. Insurance companies are regulated by the government, with reserve requirements, statutory limits, and examiners routinely showing up to check the books to make sure the money is there to cover potential claims. CDS are private bets, and the Federal Reserve from the time of Alan Greenspan has insisted that regulators keep hands off.
Hopefully a limited amount of regulation could fix this problem. Yesterday I heard an announcement of a moratorium on short sales to help calm the markets.
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In December 2007, the Bank for International Settlements reported derivative trades tallying in at $681 trillion – ten times the gross domestic product of all the countries in the world combined. Somebody is obviously bluffing about the money being brought to the game, and that realization has made for some very jittery markets.
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CDS thus resemble insurance policies, but there is no requirement to actually hold any asset or suffer any loss, so CDS are widely used just to speculate on market changes. In one blogger's example, a hedge fund wanting to increase its profits could sit back and collect $320,000 a year in premiums just for selling "protection" on a risky BBB junk bond. The premiums are "free" money – free until the bond actually goes into default, when the hedge fund could be on the hook for $100 million in claims. And there's the catch: what if the hedge fund doesn't have the $100 million? The fund's corporate shell or limited partnership is put into bankruptcy, but that hardly helps the "protection buyers" who thought they were covered.
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Now that some highly leveraged banks and hedge funds have had to lay their cards on the table and expose their worthless hands, these avid free marketers are crying out for government intervention to save them from monumental losses, while preserving the monumental gains raked in when their bluff was still good. In response to their pleas, the men behind the curtain have scrambled to devise various bailout schemes; but the schemes have been bandaids at best. To bail out a $681 trillion derivative scheme with taxpayer money is obviously impossible.
I'm not sure what to make of the author's suggestion for a solution. 'The Benjamin Franklin Solution' sounds a lot like a credit union to me. Nationalization of our banking system (or at least large portions of it) may become a reality, whether it is a good solution or not. Once again, anyone with a financial background is encouraged to shed light on this interesting subject.
See more about CDS here...
Friday, September 19, 2008
GAO Report: U.S. Financial Condition and Fiscal Future
With all the news about government bailouts recently, I have been doing some research on U.S. government spending.
I found an interesting presentation on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) website. This was part of former Comptroller General David M. Walker's "Fiscal Wake Up Tour". It remains to be seen if anyone in Washington (or anywhere else in the country) has awakened yet, but the presentation has some interesting nuggets of information.
Some highlights:
- The Fiscal Burden numbers on page 18: $175k per person, $455k per household
- We face large and growing structural deficits largely due to known demographic trends and rising health care costs
- GAO’s simulations show that balancing the budget in 2040 could require actions as large as:
• Cutting total federal spending by 60 percent or
• Raising federal taxes to two times today's level
- Closing the current long-term fiscal gap based on reasonable assumptions would require real average annual economic growth in the double-digit range every year for the next 75 years
- During the 1990s, the economy grew at an average 3.2 percent per year
- As a result, we cannot simply grow our way out of this problem. Tough choices will be required.
Keep in mind this was given in January - well before any of the latest financial obligations (and those that have yet to be promised) were on the books.
The bottom line: current entitlement programs and tax levels are inherently unsustainable.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
FactCheck.org
As the U.S. presidential election hits its final strides, political advertisements will be impossible to avoid; especially for those in 'battle-ground' states. Along with the 24-hr news cycle, the messages from the candidates will be flowing at break neck speed. For those who are undecided, this presents a problem: how much of the message is fact and how much is spin? With so many biased sources, who can one trust for the straight scoop? Any time that I hear a quote or ad that seems a little fishy, I check out www.FactCheck.org. They seem to be a great place to get get an unbiased check of the statements of both McCain and Obama.
From their mission statement:We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit, "consumer advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in
I cannot vouch 100% for their validity, but I highly recommend you consult them before trusting anything straight from the campaigns. It is at least another data point on which to base your decision. Good luck.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
The Great Crash of 2008?
So far, this year has seen quite a lot of troubles in the financial markets. Bank failures, forced mergers, and government takeovers have splashed the headlines. Bear Stearns, IndyMac, FreddieMac/FannieMae, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, and most recently, AIG have all had major issues. What is going on, and where will it stop? This article examines some of the underlying issues for what the author calls "the Great Crash of 2008".An enormous hoax has been perpetrated on global financial markets during the past 10 years. An American economy based on opening containers from China and selling the contents at Wal-Mart, or trading houses back and forth, provides scant profitability. Where the underlying profitability of the American economy was poor, financial engineering managed to transform thin profits into apparently fat ones through the magic of leverage.
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In effect, Americans borrowed a trillion dollars a year against the expectation that the 10% annual rate of increase in home prices would continue, producing a bubble that now has collapsed. It is no different from the real estate bubble that contributed to the Thai baht's devaluation in 1997, except in size and global impact.
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The world kept shipping capital to the United States over the past 10 years, however, because no other market could absorb the savings of Europe and Asia. The financial markets, in turn, found ways to persuade Americans to borrow more and more money. If there weren't enough young Americans to borrow money on a sound basis, the banks arranged for a smaller number of Americans to borrow more money on an unsound basis. That is why subprime, interest-only, no-money-down and other mortgages waxed great in bank portfolios.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Top 5 Premature Sports Celebrations
Here are my top five examples of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory:
4 - 5. DeSean Jackson
Last night on Monday Night Football, Eagles' rookie DeSean Jackson caught a very nice pass for what looked to be an easy touchdown. He must have been very concerned about getting started on his endzone dance, since he rid himself of the ball before crossing the goal line. One might implore to cut the young guy some slack; but as the second clip shows, he is not a quick learner.
3. Usain Bolt
In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Jamaican Usain Bolt was so dominant in the 100m finals, he decided to celebrate...before he crossed the tape. Even though he won gold and recorded a World Record; according to experts, he could have gone at least another tenth faster. In a race where the record is normally lowered in hundredths...this is unbelievable and inexcusable.
2. 2007 Chicago Marathon - Women's
In a race remembered for its unexpected and unseasonable heat, the women's finish was a case of premature celebration and inexperience. The previous year's winner, Ethopia's Berhane Adere; and a rookie, Romania's Adriana Pirtea battled the heat - mile after mile. Around Mile 22, Pirtea made a move, and separated herself by quite a large margin. As she came into the home stretch, she began to celebrate, high-fiving the cheering crowds. At the last moment, she looked over to see Adere -previously shielded from view by male runners - had closed the gap and was sprinting to the finish. By then, it was too late to respond and she had lost the race by three seconds.
1. Leon Lett
In Super Bowl XXVII, Leon Lett picked up a fumble and began to lumber down the field for a sure touchdown. The Bills' Don Beebe did not give up on the play, and thanks to Lett's early celebration, was able to strip the ball before a score. We can probably give Leon a bit of a break, since the Cowboys already had the game well in hand; but on the world stage, his premature celebration is one that all others are measured.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
The Self-Sufficiency Handbook - and a Few "Deep Thoughts"
The Self-Sufficiency Handbook: A Complete Guide to Greener Living. Alan and Gill Bridgewater.
As I have said many times before, I truly doubt the existence of a complete self-sufficiency book. While this text boldly proclaims as such in the title, I have not yet been proved wrong. This handbook has a lot of great information, but it is rather thin...and would serve best as only a light introduction to self-sufficiency. It would not be undesirable in a library, but hardly necessary. For those so inclined, I have two superior recommendations here and here. I would not have even written a review, however the opening paragraph struck me, and I want to share it - and my thoughts - with you.When Gill and I graduated from art school in the 1960s, the whole place was buzzing with a new kind of freedom. Somehow we all felt that we could do it - meaning life - better than previous generations. I remember one evening sitting in a college common room listening to two young, hippy, American lecturers animatedly talking about how very soon we would all be forced by the failure of oil supplies to return to some sort of Amish type self-sufficiency - log cabins maybe, horses rather than cars, communes where groups of like-minded people pulled together to create a better society - and it was very exciting.
The authors continue on, explaining how this shaped their desire to live in a self-sufficient and less ecologically impacting manner. They then spent the next 30-40 years of their lives scrounging around, trying to make ends meet. As I also have stated before, the romanticism of self-sufficiency does not fool me. I don't find it that exciting and I do not think it would be an ideal way to live. Anyway, the introduction instantly struck me in two ways:
As they saw it, and as whole swathes of people saw it, our consumer society was living off the fast shrinking capital resources of the earth. Their thinking was that ever since the start of the industrial revolution we had been taking and dumping: taking the coal and dumping the waste, taking the oil and dumping pollution, taking the goodness from the soil and leaving it barren, cutting down trees, and so on.
1. Maybe there really is no urgent problem
2. Crying wolf...and its ramifications
First off, my gut reaction was, "Man, people really have been screaming, 'The end is nigh!' for a long time." Maybe all the people screaming about it now really are full of it, too. Maybe peak oil and global warming are not that big of a deal...and if they are, maybe they are decades or centuries away from affecting us.
Then, that little seed of doubt creeps back in. Perhaps the hippies back then were right all along, just off in the time frame. My mind continues to file through all the evidence that I have complied during the short amount of time that I have concerned myself with such matters. Yes, peak oil must be real, and the while the time frame is up for debate, the one that I have settled on is definitely within my lifetime, or at least the next generation's.
Global warming is a challenge that I have yet to tackle, and I am not a climatologist. I will have to default to the consensus of current scientific opinion and Al Gore. I fear that it is real, it is man-made, and due to the Tragedy of the Commons, it may be inevitable. The time frame on climate change is very much up for debate as well, due to its extremely complex and variable nature; but if you watch the Discovery Channel, you know it is coming pretty soon - and will not be pretty.
So, the long standing cries from environmentalist and other scientists may have been 'spot on' the entire time. Perhaps it was the relevance time between the earth's geologic clock and the 24-hr news cycle that has caused the disconnect. And ultimately, the fable of the "Boy Who Cried Wolf" seems rather fitting; and rather disturbing, considering the end result.
These are the two extremes I continue to wrestle with. And as I have argued in the past, few things in life are black and white. For my own benefit, (and hopefully yours) I will continue to attempt to search through the gray area. Depending on the source, you can get pretty good (and bad) arguments from both sides. There are folks with full time jobs that research these issues, as well as those that literally devote their entire lives to finding the truth. How can the layman be expected to sort through it all? I suppose all we can do is just continue to plug along; hoping for the best and preparing for some version of the worst.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
It's Not Easy Being Green
My beautiful, loving wife happened upon an episode of an interesting show called "It's Not Easy Being Green", on the Sundance Channel. According to their website, the first season shares a family's quest to become self-sufficient and more environmentally aware. In the second season, they help others with eco-friendly projects.
The first episode I saw was from the new season (Episode 6, I believe), and featured a wide range of projects. One trendy couple installed a new passive solar water heater on their fixer-upper, but ran into problems due to a historic district zoning board. Another group put up a small wind turbine. The guys also built a smoker from a 55 gallon drum and smoked some cheese. I was a bit concerned about what type of chemicals were originally contained in the drum. They burned a rather large fire to decontaminate it, but I would still be leery.
The final project involved setting up a small field for pigs; complete with shelter, water and an electric fence. The pigs provided a dual purpose - obviously they can be used for meat -but they also till and fertilize the land. The former pig pen can make a great garden the following year. And it was rather humorous to see them eating sausages at the end of the show.
I found the show to be rather funny and informative, and I fully recommend searching it out. It has definitely found a place on my DVR; hopefully I can catch up on past installments. I'd be interested to hear from anyone else who is familiar with this. Are there any specific episodes I should look out for?
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