Archive for March, 2010
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
My Mortgage ARM Adjusted!
I got a letter today that my annually adjusting ARM would be adjusting in June from 4% to 3.125%! Yeah baby! This is why it’s so hard to pay off this mortgage, the rate keeps vacillating between 3% to 4.5% over the past few years. Even if this ARM ballooned to 6% or 7% the […]
1 Comment » - Posted in Money Management by RichSlick
Wednesday, March 24th, 2010
Obama+Bernanke+2014=HyperInflation
So I’m having lunch with a co-worker and we start talking about this Obama health care deal. The one thing I can’t wrap my head around is why the thing doesn’t start until 2014. Seriously, why wait nearly 4 years to get started but then my co-worker mentions that the taxation goes into effect immediately […]
Comments Off on Obama+Bernanke+2014=HyperInflation - Posted in Observations,The Fed by RichSlick
Wednesday, March 24th, 2010
How Amazon Reviews Impact My Purchase Decisions
It’s amazing what the web has done to retail sales but more amazing is how my buying decisions are impacted by reviews I read on Amazon. I’ve been in the market for so many new gadgets and gizmos that I’ve often gone online to read reviews and do some research. Often, after reading a few […]
Comments Off on How Amazon Reviews Impact My Purchase Decisions - Posted in Observations,Philosophy by RichSlick
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
MBA School = Drone School
I’m halfway through my second semester at MBA school and one thing is becoming fairly apparent. MBA programs seem to be entirely geared to creating worker drones than independent thinkers. The course work I’ve had so far has not been challenging but rather tedious. From calculating statistical ratios to creating common size statements and analyzing […]
2 Comments » - Posted in Observations,Philosophy by RichSlick
Sunday, March 21st, 2010
Uh-Oh, The Economy Is In Trouble Again!
So while I read many reports on a variety of items from currency, economic activity, energy analysis, and so on, perhaps the most informative economic indicator for me is simple observation. For the past few months, whenever I went to the mall the parking lot was nearly full and restaurants have been full but after […]
2 Comments » - Posted in Observations by RichSlick
Saturday, March 20th, 2010
Paying for Luggage Sucks!
We just got back from a spring break skiing trip and I had the unfortunate circumstance of having to fly Delta on the trip. On the way up there, Delta’s flight was overbooked and nearly half my party got bumped off the flight. What really sucked though is getting hit for $25 “baggage” fee at […]
Comments Off on Paying for Luggage Sucks! - Posted in Rants by RichSlick
Thursday, March 11th, 2010
Lowe’s Brain Dead Employees Vs. Costco’s Genius Employees
So during my lunch break I head over to Lowe’s to buy some gardening tools and I’m now wondering if Lowe’s is hiring people for the Post Office because of the horrible service. I have about $60 worth of tools and am at the quick self check out nearly completing my transaction when the attendant […]
5 Comments » - Posted in Rants,Raves by RichSlick
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
Anectodal Evidence The Economy Is Improving
In my last couple of jobs I’ve had the corner office in the high rise and this time is no different and I usually get to oversee the traffic on a major freeway or interstate and as I’ve sat on my desk the last six months and checked the traffic I’ve seen a considerable uptick […]
1 Comment » - Posted in Observations by RichSlick
Monday, March 8th, 2010
God, I’m Either Getting Really Old or The Movie Industry Is In Real Trouble!
So my wife and I are watching the Oscars and we couldn’t help but make three key observations: 1. We have seen maybe 10% of the movies that are up for Oscars and there was a time when I watched almost every movie that came out of Hollywood. Of course, we were much younger back […]
Comments Off on God, I’m Either Getting Really Old or The Movie Industry Is In Real Trouble! - Posted in Observations by RichSlick
Friday, March 5th, 2010
My Kids Are Bored!
I grew up with one television in the house that got three channels: ABC, NBC, CBS and on occasion PBS. I say on occasion because we were too far from the station to get clear signal. At one point, we bought an outdoor antenna and picked up PBS in full clarity but that took a […]