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Rising oil, commodity prices pull stocks higher
NEW YORK (AP) -- A jump in oil prices sent investors rushing to put money into the stock market in the final days of the second quarter.
How many people work for the U.S. federal government?
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The new administration is talking about cutting the number of federal
government employees.
This raises the question of how many people are employed by the...
52 minutes ago
13 comments:
Summer has arrived. Apologies for the lack of posting. I don't think I've ever used my computer less. I went another 4 days without even checking email.
During the daytime there is the cloudless Seattle sun (always a treat!), tbe seasonal increase in yard work, and the dog sitting for a neighbor. During the evening there is the Playstation 3.
I'll also be out of town for a few days as I head across the state to attend a 4th of July family get together.
Mark,
Have a great holiday! I too am going on summer psoting schedule, though after 13 days of rain here I am finding I have plenty of time to wite.
You may want to be careful about carpal tunnel syndrome from the PS3. Does the PS3 have any jet fighter games? I was alwayd partial to the games where you could be a pilot.
GYSC,
Carpal tunnel isn't a problem, but the eyes generally are. I have to use artificial tears just so my eyes don't dry out and/or get red some nights (the big screen TV I finally broke down and bought has made it MUCH harder on my eyes).
20 years ago I remember playing one game all night on my Atari. The game had a very green theme to it and my eyes never looked away.
When I finished, I turned to look at my white walls. They were purple! I kid you not. I'd overworked my green receptors to the point I was briefly partially colorblind. The effect only lasted a minute or so though.
http://www.yorku.ca/eye/receptor.htm
That game also lured in a roommate. I got up one morning and he was sitting there playing. He wanted to know if I couldn't sleep. I told him that I generally don't sleep when I'm heading off to work! Hahaha!
They say time flies when you are having fun. He found that out the hard way. He too needed to go to work. D'oh!
As a side note, he did not become momentarily partially colorblind though. Apparently he was able to turn away from the game from time to time (but not long enough to actually look at a clock apparently, lol).
"Does the PS3 have any jet fighter games?"
Not very many highly rated ones so far. I tend to mostly like the role playing games and strategy games these days. Here's my favorite so far (which is/was a bit of both).
http://www.amazon.com/Valkyria-Chronicles-Playstation-3/dp/B0016C3260/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1246324421&sr=1-1
This is the one I keep going back to though. It isn't quite as fun but has better replay value.
http://www.amazon.com/Sid-Meiers-Civilization-Revolution-Playstation-3/dp/B000WMEEBC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1246324682&sr=1-2
Mark,
I can only do 2 things all night, play poker and, well, this is a family blog...!
I remember in the days when US players could play online legally I signed in to partypoker at 6pm friday and played until 5pm saturday. I took a 3 hour nap and played from saturday 8pm until sunday at 6pm. tripled my money but I was on sleep debt for a while! Games can be addictive.
Too bad not any jet pilot games for PS3, I really like them. Remember "afterburner" in the arcade??
Take care.
GYSC,
Afterburner was just after my time I think. Missile Command and Robotron were my arcade addictions, among others.
I remeber enjoying "Tanks" on a PDP-8.
dearieme,
Wow! That is serious old school!
My first computer was the TRS-80 Model III, bought in 1982 after convincing my parents I'd be basing a career on it (which I did). Fortunately, my high school got one of those two weeks before I graduated and it reeled me in hook, line, and sinker. I was already an arcade game junkie by that point.
$1000
16k memory
8 bit processor
9" black & white monitor
Cassette tape storage
No hard drive
I'd say the government's hedonic CPI adjustments for quality improvements are more than reasonable, at least in this case. Heck, the typical cell phone is far more powerful now.
I will say this though. It booted instantly and the operating system was extremely reliable. Hedonics really should be adjusting for that too. Seriously! ;)
I remember I used to drop a ton of quarters on "Beserk" which was a pretty dumb game anyways!
My favorite games were "Space Invaders" and "Centipede". Why? That's what they had in the pizza joint where we used to hang out.
In the 1970s, kids could eat and entertain themselves for two hours on $2.
When I was in college, a friend used to play this one absolutely crazy video game - it might have been robotron. Anyway, as he got better and better, he played longer an longer. One day, his brain literally short circuited with all the colors and flashes. He blacked out and hit the floor. There is actually a medical condition/term for this type of sensory overload.
Similarly, I think our eCONomy is overloaded with financial shams. I call it shamflation.
Hey all,
I'll be out of town for close to a week starting today.
Too bad. Today looks to be a news worthy day.
Looks like shamflation is trumping stagflation yet again as oil prices and the markets crash.
TIP, the best way to lose less than the next guy! (It's a decent goal in a bear market.)
TIP is down 0.28% as I write this. The S&P 500 is down 2.48%. That's the kind of 9-1 leverage I can certainly continue to live with.
Mark,
enjoy yourself sir! Thanks for all the great content. Sort of like a fungus the TIPS idea is growing on me.
Mark,
you ok? Been a while. Probably trying to enjoy the summer, wish you well.
GYSC,
Hey!
Just had a hard time getting motivated to post and was semi-enjoying the downtime.
Got back from the other side of the state nearly a week ago and this is the second time I've even turned on my computer.
I'm NOT a morning person and somehow managed to stay up until 11am last night, er, um, well, this morning. Oops!
I managed to sleep a few hours and then spent the rest of the day walking around in a foggy haze, lol. Normally I reserve that state of being for the weather and/or the economy!
One reason it has been especially hard to get motivated is that I usually reconcile my budget at the end of each month in a spreadsheet. However, the past few months are all messed up now. It seems the COBRA I was paying for never actually happened. We filled out the forms and sent of the checks of course. Now a full two months later they say that they sent us the wrong forms and that I was only eligible for three months (as a domestic partner). Still trying to figure out if I even want it now, since it has been nearly three months and I didn't need healthcare (in hindsight).
Either way, I now need to get an individual policy starting August 1st. Probably go with Regence (again).
You know, people complain about the government's efficiency. Every single aspect of my girlfriend's termination was a botched effort though (from the railroading, to the COBRA to the company ignoring the unemployment office's requests, to the amount she is owed as part of her vested retirement account). Behold the power of the private sector!
I'm very down on American corporate competence/ethics. People seem so worried about the government nationalizing banks. These are the banks that were technically already insolvent.
How much worse could the government really do? Make them twice as insolvent?
Those are supposed to be rhetorical questions. Please don't answer them. *cringe*
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