Where Everybody Knows You're Numb

Psych Lit · Guru

RE: $igns of the Times

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

geeze .. have you thought about applying for a different card? I don't know who your creditor is but I've seen ads for Capital One where a person with average credit can get 0 percent until November 2009 and 12.9% variable after that. I know, that 'variable' comes with a bite, but if you're only using it selectively and paying it down ... might not be to bad.

disclaimer: I in no way meant to imply that your credit is 'average', I was simply repeating the terms offered by Capital One. <-- Nesea

:) PLEASE: no eggshells around me, okay?

I don't dare even LOOK at my credit rating at this point: I don't think my heart could handle it. I know every time my credit line drops, my rating goes right along with it (and so those same creditors who DROPPED my credit rating, are suddenly justified in charging me HIGHER finance charges ... viscious cycle...)

nesea · Senior Member

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Wowzers...

Just got a quiet, sedate little note from one of my credit card companies, who said they'd made a couple of "adjustments" lowering my credit limit from $18,000 to $8,000 "and lowering your cash limit." Didn't say how much they lowered my cash limit, so I just checked online ... they lowered it from $9,000 to...

NOTHING.

I've changed nothing at all, and still pay my AT LEAST $5.00 over minimum amount due, if not more, just like I've been doing the 10-15 years I've had this card. Never late on a payment ... my credit rating hasn't changed at all ...

holy CRAP, Batman!
Now, SEE?? If I HAD a cash advance I'd taken out, my limit would be MORE than nothing, wouldn't it!

Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut neeeeoooooooooooooooo.... I didn't think that was a wise financial move, because the interest rate was so high ...
Oh yeah, and the INTEREST RATE has just leaped up ANOTHER two freakin' points.
This is the ONLY credit card on which I have a balance -- a balance which USED to be WAY under the limit, but isn't any more ... sheesh.

Mom says the same thing happened to her last month.
Anyone else out there?

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 at 18:40, 2009-03-09
UPDATE:

Well? They did it to me adamngin!
Just now went to check (again) my open credit before I paid my 6 month car(s) insurance premium (all was okey dokey just a couple of days ago) and they've lowered my credit limit AGAIN, now leaving me with a WHOPPING $21.61 to play around with ...

This was SO not in the plan ...

geeze .. have you thought about applying for a different card? I don't know who your creditor is but I've seen ads for Capital One where a person with average credit can get 0 percent until November 2009 and 12.9% variable after that. I know, that 'variable' comes with a bite, but if you're only using it selectively and paying it down ... might not be to bad.

disclaimer: I in no way meant to imply that your credit is 'average', I was simply repeating the terms offered by Capital One.

-- Edited by nesea on Saturday 6th of June 2009 06:15:23 PM

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Wowzers...

Just got a quiet, sedate little note from one of my credit card companies, who said they'd made a couple of "adjustments" lowering my credit limit from $18,000 to $8,000 "and lowering your cash limit." Didn't say how much they lowered my cash limit, so I just checked online ... they lowered it from $9,000 to...

NOTHING.

I've changed nothing at all, and still pay my AT LEAST $5.00 over minimum amount due, if not more, just like I've been doing the 10-15 years I've had this card. Never late on a payment ... my credit rating hasn't changed at all ...

holy CRAP, Batman!
Now, SEE?? If I HAD a cash advance I'd taken out, my limit would be MORE than nothing, wouldn't it!

Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut neeeeoooooooooooooooo.... I didn't think that was a wise financial move, because the interest rate was so high ...
Oh yeah, and the INTEREST RATE has just leaped up ANOTHER two freakin' points.
This is the ONLY credit card on which I have a balance -- a balance which USED to be WAY under the limit, but isn't any more ... sheesh.

Mom says the same thing happened to her last month.
Anyone else out there?

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 at 18:40, 2009-03-09

UPDATE:

Well? They did it to me adamngin!
Just now went to check (again) my open credit before I paid my 6 month car(s) insurance premium (all was okey dokey just a couple of days ago) and they've lowered my credit limit AGAIN, now leaving me with a WHOPPING $21.61 to play around with ...

This was SO not in the plan ...

nesea · Senior Member

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Wow. Here's one for the record books ...

The house next door to me has been for rent for a month or longer. The owners of the house have revamped it to pretty pristine condition from top to bottom. A couple of weeks ago, it was broken into (we suspect by the former renter -- they'd not changed the locks yet) and a couple of small things were stolen. Wonder pup here alerted me to it just in time for me to see the pickup truck pulling away, but I was unable to get a license plate or even really see the make or color of the truck.

So just now, I heard glass shattering over there, and went over to investigate, and there were the owners, knocking out what was LEFT of two broken windows.

Someone had again broken in (apparently was SLEEPING there, since a rolled up sleeping bag was found there) but there was nothing left to steal in the house, really, so THIS person poked holes in the CEILING (first, in the living room, and then later, in the bathroom) and made the hole in the bathroom big enough to crawl through.

So the woman owner decided that while she was waiting for the police, she'd go ahead and water the trees in the front yard. They'd stolen the hose she had there, but she was using something else, when her daughter came running out of the house yelling: "Turn off the water! Turn off the water!" APPARENTLY, the hole in the bathroom ceiling was to get up into the attic to STEAL THE COPPER TUBING up there!

So now, of course, they have a flooded attic as well as part of the house, and two broken windows, and two big holes in the ceiling ... all for something the market has all but vanished on. So much work for what had to be only a couple of dollars worth of copper, you know?

Incredible, no?

And all this happened only a few feet away from me ...

I've heard about the copper theft thing at schools and public buildings before (although it was before metal took such a drastic drop in value that our copper mines here have shut down) but THIS!

"Desperate times/desperate measures"

<grateful for the dog, and afraid it's going to get worse before it gets better>

Here's where a few extra dollars would come in handy. I would invest in a motion detector light and try and rig up a barking dog recording to it so when the light comes on the sound of a dog barking can be heard outside your house.

I have motion lights in my backyard now .. and have them set so that anyone walking on the driveway, back by the shed or on my deck will cause lights to come on.

It's not exactly high end security, but I think the bad guys prefer dark when they can get it.

Psych Lit · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

While I suppose I can appreciate the intenisity of the sentiment on some level, the latter part of this DOES seem a bit harsh:
"...Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, suggests that executives with AIG, the insurance giant that's received billions in taxpayer money, ought to consider a Japanese approach to corporate troubles. "Come before the American people and take that deep bow and say, I'm sorry, and then either do one of two things: resign or go commit suicide," he says in a radio interview."

When I was doing that "finish this sentence" thing, and replied "doing something drastic with a gun" it was largely, I suspect, because it seems like every day for a week now, the leading news story I see is about someone killing a bunch of people -- opening fire in a church, or just driving around town, killing people. Seems to be there every day in the news. I'm convinced this is due largely to the economic situation. And too, there have already been some financial institution execs who have committed suicide recently. It's reminiscent of the stories about the crash of '29, and seems to be getting worse with each passing day. Senator Grassley (who voted against requiring background checks on people who buy guns at gun shows) seems to overlook the fact that a lot of times, suicide follows homicide, and that even suggesting people already on the edge kill themselves may not be the best approach to an already bad scenario, and certainly not one which will make anything "better." I wonder how he'd feel if one of those people actually DID kill themselves. Maybe he'd be okay with it. <shrug> I sure wouldn't want it on MY conscience, though.

i saw this today and it made me angry because it was just a stupid opportunistic thing to have said. is he up for reelection soon? same with dodd. these people, these long time representatives, sat in congress and allowed all of this to happen after sticking a pinky in the air to see which way the political wind was blowing. all of this posturing now is just more of the same. lets get rid of them all in the next go round. bah

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Wow. Here's one for the record books ...

The house next door to me has been for rent for a month or longer. The owners of the house have revamped it to pretty pristine condition from top to bottom. A couple of weeks ago, it was broken into (we suspect by the former renter -- they'd not changed the locks yet) and a couple of small things were stolen. Wonder pup here alerted me to it just in time for me to see the pickup truck pulling away, but I was unable to get a license plate or even really see the make or color of the truck.

So just now, I heard glass shattering over there, and went over to investigate, and there were the owners, knocking out what was LEFT of two broken windows.

Someone had again broken in (apparently was SLEEPING there, since a rolled up sleeping bag was found there) but there was nothing left to steal in the house, really, so THIS person poked holes in the CEILING (first, in the living room, and then later, in the bathroom) and made the hole in the bathroom big enough to crawl through.

So the woman owner decided that while she was waiting for the police, she'd go ahead and water the trees in the front yard. They'd stolen the hose she had there, but she was using something else, when her daughter came running out of the house yelling: "Turn off the water! Turn off the water!" APPARENTLY, the hole in the bathroom ceiling was to get up into the attic to STEAL THE COPPER TUBING up there!

So now, of course, they have a flooded attic as well as part of the house, and two broken windows, and two big holes in the ceiling ... all for something the market has all but vanished on. So much work for what had to be only a couple of dollars worth of copper, you know?

Incredible, no?

And all this happened only a few feet away from me ...

I've heard about the copper theft thing at schools and public buildings before (although it was before metal took such a drastic drop in value that our copper mines here have shut down) but THIS!

"Desperate times/desperate measures"

<grateful for the dog, and afraid it's going to get worse before it gets better>

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

While I suppose I can appreciate the intenisity of the sentiment on some level, the latter part of this DOES seem a bit harsh:

"...Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, suggests that executives with AIG, the insurance giant that's received billions in taxpayer money, ought to consider a Japanese approach to corporate troubles. "Come before the American people and take that deep bow and say, I'm sorry, and then either do one of two things: resign or go commit suicide," he says in a radio interview."

When I was doing that "finish this sentence" thing, and replied "doing something drastic with a gun" it was largely, I suspect, because it seems like every day for a week now, the leading news story I see is about someone killing a bunch of people -- opening fire in a church, or just driving around town, killing people. Seems to be there every day in the news. I'm convinced this is due largely to the economic situation. And too, there have already been some financial institution execs who have committed suicide recently. It's reminiscent of the stories about the crash of '29, and seems to be getting worse with each passing day. Senator Grassley (who voted against requiring background checks on people who buy guns at gun shows) seems to overlook the fact that a lot of times, suicide follows homicide, and that even suggesting people already on the edge kill themselves may not be the best approach to an already bad scenario, and certainly not one which will make anything "better." I wonder how he'd feel if one of those people actually DID kill themselves. Maybe he'd be okay with it. <shrug> I sure wouldn't want it on MY conscience, though.

Psych Lit · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

While the fees, frozen accounts and default interest rates resulting from credit-line cuts can sting your finances, they can do some serious long-term damage to your credit score. Your credit utilization ratio -- the total amount of debt you owe in relation to the amount of credit available to you -- accounts for roughly 30% of your score. A credit line cut has the potential to decrease your score by 50 points or more if you don't have much other available credit, says Craig Watts, spokesman for FICO, the company that calculates and issues the credit score that most lenders use.

----------------------------------------------

This is just ... SICK!

yes it is and its so much a picture of what has gone on these past 8 years. of course they are mucking up peoples credit. they are doing it in anticipation of "reforms" if they blow your fico score then they can justify making you pay the higher rates. in a supply and demand world this stuff gets sorted out by the consumer. but the system is fixed and not in the consumers favor. if the system were working and they raised your rates you cculd go online and shop for a lower rate and do a balance transfer but if they put you over your new limit, charge you over the limit fees and muck with your credit scores well then no matter where you go youre screwed. and who are you going to complain to the credit reporting agencies? they are not your friend. not the intermediary that they are supposed to be but instead in the pockets of those very same cc companies. imo stay away from the big guys. use small local banks and credit unions. vote with the feet if you can.

did you see the stewart/ cramer thing yet? did you see the snippet stewart showed where cramer is talking about how he himself manipulated the market to get a particular result when he was working on the street? so he gets the cable gig and doesnt need to do it anymore but admits to doing it. isnt that illegal? why isnt he arrested? why isnt there some inquiry into this sort of thing? the people who are supposed to be acting in legal ways have been screwing people right and left and we wonder why there is no consumer confidence? good god. who wouldnt be leary of placing their life savings in a system run by crooks. if obama wants to restore confidence he ought to start shaking things up and prosecuting some of these people and not just one or two. all of them. i doubt that would happen tho because if they remove all of the crooks who will run the system?

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:
Wowzers...

Just got a quiet, sedate little note from one of my credit card companies, who said they'd made a couple of "adjustments" lowering my credit limit from $18,000 to $8,000 "and lowering your cash limit." Didn't say how much they lowered my cash limit, so I just checked online ... they lowered it from $9,000 to...

NOTHING.

UPDATE:

Guess I should count my blessings! This "Heads Up" deserves to be copied in full! :

How to Blow Your Credit Limit -- Without Spending

by Kelli B. Grant
Thursday, March 12, 2009provided by

If you haven't had the credit limit cut on your credit card recently, count yourself lucky. Risk-averse card issuers are getting slash happy. And while many cardholders gripe that such cuts slice razor-close to their balance amounts, for an unfortunate few the cuts go far deeper: below what they currently owe.

Under different circumstances, David Chaplin-Loebell wouldn't have minded that American Express cut his unlimited credit line to just $5,000. Except that when AmEx reduced his line in October, he had an outstanding balance of $10,000. "I found out by having a business purchase declined," he says. Repeated calls to AmEx failed to yield an answer about why the cut was made. Chaplin-Loebell, who lives in Philadelphia, is now paying the balance under his regular card terms, and presumes the line will free up for new purchases once he's below the limit. "For now, they've essentially frozen the account," he says, leaving him to juggle business expenses on his personal cards. American Express did not respond to requests for comment.

Nasty as it may be, the practice of cutting credit lines below the balance is legal -- at least, for now, says Chi Chi Wu, a staff attorney for the National Consumer Law Center, a consumer advocacy group. Federal Reserve rules requiring lenders to give cardholders 45 days notice before reducing a credit line to the point that it would trigger penalties won't go into effect until July 2010. "[Until] then, there are no federal protections," says Wu.

Congress is also hoping to rein in unscrupulous credit-card practices. In February, Sen. Chris Dodd (D., Conn.), chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, reintroduced the Credit CARD Act, which among other things, offers cardholder protections like the ability to pay under the existing terms if an account is closed and requiring issuers to lower penalty rates within six months once a cardholder gets back on track with payments. Earlier this month, the House Committee on Financial Services chairman Barney Frank, announced a series of four hearings that will include discussions about credit card reform.

SmartMoney.com contacted both committees to see if they were aware of issuers' practice of cutting credit lines below balances, and if they planned to address it in upcoming hearings. Neither responded to requests for comment.

The motivation among issuers to make such deep cuts that they plunge below a cardholder's balance amount isn't very clear. Usually, issuers cut credit lines to reduce outstanding liabilities -- they sometimes may even chase the balance on riskier accounts with further limit cuts as cardholders pay down debts, explains Bill Carcache, an analyst with investment bank Fox-Pitt Kelton. But cutting below the balance doesn't reduce an issuer's liability: The cardholder still owes the outstanding debt.

One possibility is that this is yet another attempt by card issuers to get consumers to close their accounts (while bringing in a little fee income in the short term), says Dennis Moroney, research director and senior analyst for consulting firm Tower Group. "I can't rationalize in my mind what other motivation there would be," he says.

Paul Pensabene of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., received a statement from HSBC on Dec. 8 that said he had a $359.99 balance and remaining available credit of $8,640. But when he went online to pay the bill several days later, his online account showed that same balance put him over his newly-reduced credit line of $300. And that didn't include the $35 over-limit fee. Pensabene grappled with customer service until they agreed to remove the fee, and then paid the balance in full. "All I could think was, 'Good lord, what if this is happening to someone that couldn't pay their balance off in one shot?'" he says. "They'd end up in default with these fees piling up."

HSBC declined to comment on individual cardholder accounts. Spokeswoman Cindy Savio says the issuer has tightened its credit standards based on the economy. "As we have previously stated, in an effort to reduce credit risk and refine strategies for our card business, we have tightened credit standards, reduced or canceled higher risk credit lines, and closed a number of inactive accounts," she says.

While the fees, frozen accounts and default interest rates resulting from credit-line cuts can sting your finances, they can do some serious long-term damage to your credit score. Your credit utilization ratio -- the total amount of debt you owe in relation to the amount of credit available to you -- accounts for roughly 30% of your score. A credit line cut has the potential to decrease your score by 50 points or more if you don't have much other available credit, says Craig Watts, spokesman for FICO, the company that calculates and issues the credit score that most lenders use.

Even cuts that are close to the balance have the potential to devastate if they're not caught quickly. Luckily for Carol Gressett of Decatur, Miss., she noticed the reduction in her Discover-branded Sam's Club card limit just days after it happened. The limit was cut to within $100 of her $3,000 balance. The official letter notifying her of the reduction arrived three weeks later. "We could easily have gone over if I hadn't been paying attention," she says.

(A Discover spokesperson says GE Money issues the cards, and so is responsible for managing credit lines. GE Money did not respond to requests for comment.)

----------------------------------------------

This is just ... SICK! Tantrum Mad Emoticon

Psych Lit · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Here's actually a couple of GOOD tidbits!

1. The markets have closed on a positive note for two days in a row, now -- the first time in months.
i think we are up to 4 days of plus action. gm says they dont need the bailout money this quarter, retail sales not as bad as expected. oil fell another buck today. the uptik rule appears to be on its way back. maybe the bottom has happened?

2.

The other day when I was up there, I noticed across the window a "COMING SOON! ROSS DRESS FOR LESS" banner, and found that ... well, enormously encouraging, really, in light of all the stores (and homes) which were filled a year ago, and are now vacant in my area here.
I'd rather have another office supply store .... :) but hey, just to have that building have ANY kind of business in there is "good news" from my POV.
on a break between jobs today lunch with the kid went off to the grand opening of a new bookstore in the old linens and things building. vacant only a month or two. 75% off all books and most are recent best sellers. picked up the book this is my best short stories and poems by a variety of authors. sat in the, with each day warmer, sun reading a delicious poem by Ai aka florence anthony. the poem having to do with jimmy hoffa sparked my imagination. was that elvis in the mcdonalds parking lot? hoffa? all of the disappeared or reportedly dead. do they walk among us silently chuckling as they realize that even if recognized nobody would believe. fabulous afternoon that is now called to an end by more work.

Psych Lit · Guru

MyCat8it wrote:

This thread could go on forever. All one needs to do, is open AOL.

Burlington Coat Factory: Pulling the wool over our eyes
Jason Cochran
Mar 10th 2009 at 9:00AM
Text SizeAAA
Filed under: Ripoffs and Scams, Shopping, Fraud
A Connecticut TV station has nabbed Burlington Coat Factory for passing off low-priced Wal-Mart coats as premium Perry Ellis and Joseph Abboud garments. It's hard to believe anyone thought they could get away with it. All it took was a customer noticing that his label appeared to be pasted on. He tugged on it, and the whole scam unraveled: Cheaper coats were being passed off as name-brand high fashion.

Burlington Coat Factory has been accused by a Connecticut TV station for selling low-priced Wal-Mart coats labeled as premium Perry Ellis and Joseph Abboud brands.

why am i not surprised? i dont often shop at this store or the other discounted chains like tj max or marshalls or the coat factory. i find their prices to be way high compared to the outlet stores or the sale prices in the regular dept stores. and the dept stores are current season.

nesea · Senior Member

MyCat8it wrote:

This thread could go on forever. All one needs to do, is open AOL.

Burlington Coat Factory: Pulling the wool over our eyes

remember when the slogan used to be .. "buy american". We need to update that to "suspect everyone".

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Here's actually a couple of GOOD tidbits! biggrin

1. The markets have closed on a positive note for two days in a row, now -- the first time in months.

2. There's a little shopping center walking distance from my home. It was built and opened about ... oh, ten years or so ago, I guess. There were, at the time, two big anchor stores: a "Food City" grocery, and a HUGE office supply store.

I can't remember offhand the name of the office supply store, but it was a biggie -- might have been Office Mart, or something like that.

About a month after the grand opening of the shopping center, the office supply store closed (they close ALL their stores in the Phoenix area) and since that time, for years now, that immense store has sat completely vacant.

The other day when I was up there, I noticed across the window a "COMING SOON! ROSS DRESS FOR LESS" banner, and found that ... well, enormously encouraging, really, in light of all the stores (and homes) which were filled a year ago, and are now vacant in my area here.

I'd rather have another office supply store .... :) but hey, just to have that building have ANY kind of business in there is "good news" from my POV.

Date: Wed Mar 11 4:12 AM, 2009

Psych Lit wrote:

i want to know why these companies are monopolies? wouldnt it make more sense to open them up to competition the way phone service was opened up? look what happened there. it enabled a whole boom of economic activity with broadband and dsl and it lowered the cost for everyone. if these companies have an incentive to bring it in cheaper then maybe we will see some real investment in green. and btw gator i like this solar shower thing. do you use it as your regular shower or as a get the beach sand off shower?

A movement is coming where individuals that convert to solar will feed into systems / their electric Co. and, in return, be rebated for the extra power they supply. Whereas now they just have solar reduce consumption or get completely off the grid. If not for those monopolies you mention, the tariff would be greater. I hope soon, some darn good lobby for those who convert to solar gets in place to stand against electric companies because, the model is already in place.
The solar shower started as a black garden hose coiled roof like and, was used mostly for yard grit. Seldom for beach sand but, don't I wish;) It's nicer now and, normal for a garden and, treated as a way to pamper myself but, I am leaning to using it more for everyday. It's getting to be nicer than my indoor one. lol If I ever get the greenhouse of my dreams it will have one in it for year round use:)

From Mother Earth News "The principles used in modern batch heaters are the same as those first applied to solar water heating more than 100 years ago. Robbers Roost, Butch Cassidys 1880s hideout in Utah, reportedly still includes the remains of a passive solar water heater: a large black can filled with water and placed in the sun. The first commercial solar water heater, patented in 1891 by Clarence Kemp, used four cylindrical water tanks housed in a pine box covered with single-pane glass. By 1900, more than 1,600 of these units were in use in the United States. In 1898, Frank Walker, of Pasadena, Calif., applied for a patent on an improved design. Walkers model was recessed into the roof, instead of exposed on top of the roof like Kemps heaters. The Walker unit also incorporated connections to a woodstove with a water-heating tank for backup heating, the direct forerunner of todays most common batch heater application: a solar preheater feeding into a standard water heater in the house.

As successful as these early heaters were, they gradually disappeared as oil, electricity and natural gas became available. These new, seemingly cheap energy sources brought high costs in environmental damage, human health, global warming and habitat damage but these costs were, and still are, ignored."

MyCat8it · Senior Member

This thread could go on forever. All one needs to do, is open AOL.

Burlington Coat Factory: Pulling the wool over our eyes

Jason Cochran
Mar 10th 2009 at 9:00AM

Text SizeAAA

Filed under: Ripoffs and Scams, Shopping, Fraud

A Connecticut TV station has nabbed Burlington Coat Factory for passing off low-priced Wal-Mart coats as premium Perry Ellis and Joseph Abboud garments. It's hard to believe anyone thought they could get away with it. All it took was a customer noticing that his label appeared to be pasted on. He tugged on it, and the whole scam unraveled: Cheaper coats were being passed off as name-brand high fashion.

Latest Scam News

Jeff Zelevansky, Bloomberg News / Landov

247 photos

Burlington Coat Factory has been accused by a Connecticut TV station for selling low-priced Wal-Mart coats labeled as premium Perry Ellis and Joseph Abboud brands.

(Note: Please disable your pop-up blocker)

In Connecticut alone, all but one of the Burlington Coat Factory locations were passing off the faux coats, originally made by George and Amalfi, a private Macy's brand.

A full-price Perry Ellis version would be $200. And Burlington Coat Factory was selling the fake labeled coats for less than $70. Seems a like a good deal, right? Except the original Wal-Mart coat, before that pasted label, cost about $30.

Burlington Coat Factory has backed away from responsibility for this one, blaming instead the Levy Group, a supplier it uses. The Levy Group, which has legitimate rights to Perry Ellis and Joseph Abboud labels and doesn't need to be counterfeiting them tried to distance itself from the dirty play by blaming an employee, whom it claims was acting of his or her own accord. Everyone's saying they knew nothing about it, and the lone-gun culprit they claim to have identified has not been named, nor his motives explained.

Burlington Coat Factory has nonetheless yanked the shipment from its stores nationwide, and as Consumerist reports, if you bought one of the knock-offs, you'll get your money back plus a 20%-off coupon.

Our budgets are slashed, but our taste for the trappings of the high life remains as strong as ever. There are still plenty of people who buy something simply because they see the name on the label and not necessarily because they know or care about the quality of the design itself. If those duped customers thought those those coats looked good, it's too bad they didn't just buy them at Wal-Mart or Macy's when they were $30 and tagged correctly. A fair number of them were doubtless seduced by the fancy name.

Times are tough, and the temptation to pass off schwag is stronger than ever for unscrupulous vendors. We should all be looking more deeply behind the true meaning of our labels.

Psych Lit · Guru

Anonymous wrote:

I have never tried an off peak electric program. It seems too restrictive. BUt, they save a bunch. I do have a governor on my water heater. And, an outdoor solar shower for summer. I run the dishwasher and, do laundry mostly after 10 P.M. I have power / surge bars on all electronics and, turn it off at night. And, the bulbs like BD has saved me a bunch. I can have less heat but, the ac at 69 is a must in summer. Oh some peak programs are after 7 P.M. but, to get the big savings you have to be monitored. Gator

i want to know why these companies are monopolies? wouldnt it make more sense to open them up to competition the way phone service was opened up? look what happened there. it enabled a whole boom of economic activity with broadband and dsl and it lowered the cost for everyone. if these companies have an incentive to bring it in cheaper then maybe we will see some real investment in green. and btw gator i like this solar shower thing. do you use it as your regular shower or as a get the beach sand off shower?

Date: Tue Mar 10 1:32 PM, 2009

BoxDog wrote:

Psych Lit wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

FYI, Buy.com has these on sale right now, for $29.99 -- no tax, free shipping. If you have an extra $30 you could spare, this might be a wise investment ...
thank you! i am going to order this. id love to see how i can cut back on electricity. you plug this into each appliance or item at a time?

Sh*t, after my recent bill? I'm ready to unplug the fridge. It's only got a few bottles of iced tea, a diet Dew, coupla frozen dinners from a year ago and a box of baking soda because you're supposed to. I don't think I even have ice. One meal a day, flatbread sangwich from Subway. I replaced the old tech with the curlyfry shaped lightbulbs, that's about all the trimming I can manage without walking into the dark walls and either freezing like last week or busting a sweat like right this sec. Local power company was okayed for a 25% increase. Once, just one time in my life a 25% raise? Nice...

I have never tried an off peak electric program. It seems too restrictive. BUt, they save a bunch. I do have a governor on my water heater. And, an outdoor solar shower for summer. I run the dishwasher and, do laundry mostly after 10 P.M. I have power / surge bars on all electronics and, turn it off at night. And, the bulbs like BD has saved me a bunch. I can have less heat but, the ac at 69 is a must in summer. Oh some peak programs are after 7 P.M. but, to get the big savings you have to be monitored. Gator

Date: Tue Mar 10 1:06 PM, 2009

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Even more interesting a challenge or dare for Mr Dimon would be to see how many folks show up to challenge and discuss his personal bonus, salary and perks. Arrogant SOB. I'll get the petrol, you drive.

bd

DEAL!
A'course the salary thing was capped for the CEOs a couple of years back at $1million a year, but they compensated that by giving them extra stock.
Well... THAT is sort of satisfying at this point, I guess, HUNH!

Actually, a million dollar salary cap is "do-able" when handed a 17 million dollar upfront sign on bonus for a job you never spend a single minute at. Lehman Brothers, already forgot his name.

Bush Jumper

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Anonymous wrote:
Even more interesting a challenge or dare for Mr Dimon would be to see how many folks show up to challenge and discuss his personal bonus, salary and perks. Arrogant SOB. I'll get the petrol, you drive.

bd

DEAL!

A'course the salary thing was capped for the CEOs a couple of years back at $1million a year, but they compensated that by giving them extra stock.

Well... THAT is sort of satisfying at this point, I guess, HUNH! wink

Date: Tue Mar 10 10:54 AM, 2009

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Live-Blogging the Bankers Showdown on Capitol Hill - DealBook Blog - NYTimes.com
Eight of the nations top bankers went face to face with their critics on the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday to explain how they used their large portion of the governments $700 billion banking bailout and to say whether they will need even more money.

<snip>

12:17 p.m. | Back to credit cards: Representative Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia revisits the credit card issue, asking why card holders who havent missed any payments are seeing an increase in their interest rates. Mr. Pandit responds that Citigroup hadnt raised rates in two years, and states that funding costs went up, so they had to raise rates. Mr. Dimon (NOTE: CEO JPMorgan) tells the congresswoman to send him any customers who think they shouldnt have their rates increased and hell deal with them.
::PERK!::

Now, there's an idea! (But just who deals with whom remains to be seen )

ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAD TRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP!!!
Allllllllllllllllllllll Aboarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrd!!!

Even more interesting a challenge or dare for Mr Dimon would be to see how many folks show up to challenge and discuss his personal bonus, salary and perks. Arrogant SOB. I'll get the petrol, you drive.

bd

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Live-Blogging the Bankers Showdown on Capitol Hill - DealBook Blog - NYTimes.com
Eight of the nations top bankers went face to face with their critics on the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday to explain how they used their large portion of the governments $700 billion banking bailout and to say whether they will need even more money.

<snip>

12:17 p.m. | Back to credit cards: Representative Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia revisits the credit card issue, asking why card holders who havent missed any payments are seeing an increase in their interest rates. Mr. Pandit responds that Citigroup hadnt raised rates in two years, and states that funding costs went up, so they had to raise rates. Mr. Dimon (NOTE: CEO JPMorgan) tells the congresswoman to send him any customers who think they shouldnt have their rates increased and hell deal with them.

::PERK!::

Now, there's an idea! (But just who deals with whom remains to be seen evileye )

ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAD TRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP!!!
Allllllllllllllllllllll Aboarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrd!!!

My Turn · Senior Member

Psych Lit wrote:

i had this happen a couple of months ago. i called the bank and asked why and was told it was due to the economy. my interest rate was raised and the limit lowered and worst of all buried in the fine print was a little ditty about the interest rate and average balance and using a 2 month figure to attain that. so if i went to europe for 3 weeks say and charged a few tho and then came home and paid it in full before the due date id now have to pay interest on it AND id have to pay interest on it the next month even if i wasnt carrying a balance. so nope that wasnt going to happen. i asked them to reconsider and set the terms as they were and was told nope so i told them to cancel the card and went and got a new one from my credit union where i have a nice 5.74 rate tho i get no ff points or other goodies for using it. but in a final kick in the a ss parting gift a closed account for any reason is a derogative on your credit score.

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 at 18:40, 2009-03-09

really? they are now going to use a 2 month average balance to calc the finance charge?? holy smack..that is crazy!

after i got my notice, i decided to not use the card at all anymore, cause i was ticked....i have had this card since like, 1999...glad you put in there that if one closes the card it leaves a negative mark on the credit score. so, i am guessing the best thing is to get a different card, but still leave the target visa one open, just not use it, right??

Psych Lit · Guru

My Turn wrote:

know why they lower my credit either......actually, my credit report should be even better since last sept. if you look at my credit to debt ratio. since last sept, i have paid off my house, paid off my sons motorcycle...i dont carry a balance on the target visa and my balance on my other visa is about $1300....soooooooooooo, no clue either.....
be prepared to see the other one jump up. thats part of the scam too. if one of your creditors raises your rate it effects your credit rating and then the others can raise your rates too. even if youve dont nothing wrong. oh and if you accidently forget to mail something and go over 30 days on anything and it gets reported to the big 3 then all of those other creditors get to pop up their rates for you too. even if youve never been late before and even if it was an oversight. oh and it gets worse. those responsible things that you did, not carrying a balance, paying off the house early usually get yer rates raised not lowered. and if you shop at walmart on the card or put your therapist fees on them or get a six pack on the weekend oops there she goes up again. these are all of those rules that these cc companies and the big 3 credit reporting agencies managed to have changed in the last decade in one of the biggest scams ever to hit american consumers.

Psych Lit · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Wowzers...

Just got a quiet, sedate little note from one of my credit card companies, who said they'd made a couple of "adjustments" lowering my credit limit from $18,000 to $8,000 "and lowering your cash limit." Didn't say how much they lowered my cash limit, so I just checked online ... they lowered it from $9,000 to...

NOTHING.

I've changed nothing at all, and still pay my AT LEAST $5.00 over minimum amount due, if not more, just like I've been doing the 10-15 years I've had this card. Never late on a payment ... my credit rating hasn't changed at all ...

holy CRAP, Batman!
Now, SEE?? If I HAD a cash advance I'd taken out, my limit would be MORE than nothing, wouldn't it!

Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut neeeeoooooooooooooooo.... I didn't think that was a wise financial move, because the interest rate was so high ...
Oh yeah, and the INTEREST RATE has just leaped up ANOTHER two freakin' points.
This is the ONLY credit card on which I have a balance -- a balance which USED to be WAY under the limit, but isn't any more ... sheesh.

Mom says the same thing happened to her last month.
Anyone else out there?

i had this happen a couple of months ago. i called the bank and asked why and was told it was due to the economy. my interest rate was raised and the limit lowered and worst of all buried in the fine print was a little ditty about the interest rate and average balance and using a 2 month figure to attain that. so if i went to europe for 3 weeks say and charged a few tho and then came home and paid it in full before the due date id now have to pay interest on it AND id have to pay interest on it the next month even if i wasnt carrying a balance. so nope that wasnt going to happen. i asked them to reconsider and set the terms as they were and was told nope so i told them to cancel the card and went and got a new one from my credit union where i have a nice 5.74 rate tho i get no ff points or other goodies for using it. but in a final kick in the a ss parting gift a closed account for any reason is a derogative on your credit score. hence my continuing rant about the big 3 credit reporting agencies being in cahoots with the banks to bilk the public. imo there should be no, none, nada, relationship between these agencies and the financial corps that utilize their data. write to your representative, the credit card issue is on the table as we speak.

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 at 18:40, 2009-03-09

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

My Turn wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Anyone else out there?

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 at 18:40, 2009-03-09

yup, yup. just got the letter from my target visa.....lowered my credit from $8K to $4K. same deal here, never been late, never only paid the minimum either. actually this card is one i only use when i want to charge something big and pay it off at the end of the month due to the high interest rate. didnt check the cash advance status...never used cash advance on a credit card due to the high interest rate....dont know why they lower my credit either

That'd be the one, all right ...

My Turn · Senior Member

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Anyone else out there?

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 at 18:40, 2009-03-09

yup, yup. just got the letter from my target visa.....lowered my credit from $8K to $4K. same deal here, never been late, never only paid the minimum either. actually this card is one i only use when i want to charge something big and pay it off at the end of the month due to the high interest rate. didnt check the cash advance status...never used cash advance on a credit card due to the high interest rate....dont know why they lower my credit either......actually, my credit report should be even better since last sept. if you look at my credit to debt ratio. since last sept, i have paid off my house, paid off my sons motorcycle...i dont carry a balance on the target visa and my balance on my other visa is about $1300....soooooooooooo, no clue either.....

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Wowzers...

Just got a quiet, sedate little note from one of my credit card companies, who said they'd made a couple of "adjustments" lowering my credit limit from $18,000 to $8,000 "and lowering your cash limit." Didn't say how much they lowered my cash limit, so I just checked online ... they lowered it from $9,000 to...

NOTHING.

I've changed nothing at all, and still pay my AT LEAST $5.00 over minimum amount due, if not more, just like I've been doing the 10-15 years I've had this card. Never late on a payment ... my credit rating hasn't changed at all ...

holy CRAP, Batman!

Now, SEE?? If I HAD a cash advance I'd taken out, my limit would be MORE than nothing, wouldn't it!

Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut neeeeoooooooooooooooo.... I didn't think that was a wise financial move, because the interest rate was so high ...

Oh yeah, and the INTEREST RATE has just leaped up ANOTHER two freakin' points.

This is the ONLY credit card on which I have a balance -- a balance which USED to be WAY under the limit, but isn't any more ... sheesh.

Mom says the same thing happened to her last month.
Anyone else out there?

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 at 18:40, 2009-03-09

BoxDog · Guru

Psych Lit wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

FYI, Buy.com has these on sale right now, for $29.99 -- no tax, free shipping. If you have an extra $30 you could spare, this might be a wise investment ...
thank you! i am going to order this. id love to see how i can cut back on electricity. you plug this into each appliance or item at a time?

Sh*t, after my recent bill? I'm ready to unplug the fridge. It's only got a few bottles of iced tea, a diet Dew, coupla frozen dinners from a year ago and a box of baking soda because you're supposed to. I don't think I even have ice. One meal a day, flatbread sangwich from Subway. I replaced the old tech with the curlyfry shaped lightbulbs, that's about all the trimming I can manage without walking into the dark walls and either freezing like last week or busting a sweat like right this sec. Local power company was okayed for a 25% increase. Once, just one time in my life a 25% raise? Nice...

Psych Lit · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

FYI, Buy.com has these on sale right now, for $29.99 -- no tax, free shipping. If you have an extra $30 you could spare, this might be a wise investment ...

thank you! i am going to order this. id love to see how i can cut back on electricity. you plug this into each appliance or item at a time?

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

FYI, Buy.com has these on sale right now, for $29.99 -- no tax, free shipping. If you have an extra $30 you could spare, this might be a wise investment ...

P3 International P4460 Kill A Watt EZ Electricity Usage Monitor

Product Summary

Manufacturer: P3

Mfg Part#: P4460

Package Weight: 0.5 lbs

Buy.com Sku: 204392275

UPC: 00751549044603

Now you can cut your energy costs and find out what appliances are actually worth keeping plugged in. Simply connect these appliances to the Kill A Watt EZ, and it will assess how efficient they really are. Large LCD display will count consumption by the Kilowatt-hour, same as your local utility. Calculate your cumulative electrical expenses and forecast by the day, week, month, even an entire year. Also check the quality of your power by monitoring Voltage, Line Frequency, and Power Factor. Now youll know if it is time for a new refrigerator or if that old air conditioner is still saving you money. With the amazing Kill A Watt EZ youll know "Watts" killing you.

Features

Tech Specs

	Brand Name: P3 International
	Model: P4460
	Item Height: 5 inches
	Item Length: 1.5 inches
	Item Width: 2.25 inches
	Item Weight: 1 pounds

Customer Reviews

Value	5
Performance	5
Ease of Use	4.5
Overall Satisfaction	5

Write a Review

5 of 5 Easy to use and has paid fir itself already Monday, December 08, 2008
Mike D from Alpharett. Georgia

Our bad freezer compressor that was stealing over $4 a day plus a few electronic gadgets that were plugged in and were stealing electricity were all detected by the Kill-a Watt. get one!! I learned about this in Sweden were people are super efficient and fanatics about energy conservation. Don't fool yourself; saving energy is cool, and a duty whether you believe in god, the devil, fire, or a tree and even if you listen to Rush the drug addict Limbaugh, coward Hannity, or oil company's water boy, Neal Bortz.

5 of 5 Use less electricty with the P4460 Kill A Watt EZ Friday, December 05, 2008
Justin Wizard from Chloe WV

I like to know how much juice each appliance is using. This unit also tells you in dollars and cents what it would be per day, week and month. I was wanting to cut thepower bill in my greenhouse and each time I did something I could see the results. Now my 12x54 greenhouse stays warm (when it's 18 degrees outside) for about 20c a day. A great product, excellent price. Read how I did it at: www.tryallgreen.com

5 of 5 Exceptional Power Meter at Exceptional Price Monday, December 01, 2008
A Customer from Pleasanton, Ca

What an outstanding value. This product performs tons of functions at a very, very low price. I was amazed at the functionality and ease of use. I highly recommend this product for energy managers at work, or for anyone interested in conserving energy at home. I was curious about the energy consumed by the typical PC at work and was very surprised at how much energy computers and monitors use when on, and when in standby. My 19 inch flat panel, 2 PC's, and laser printer consume about 180 watts continuous, and If I print something that jumps up to about 600 watts.

5 of 5 GREAT!! Friday, November 28, 2008
Jim from Fergus Falls, Mn

it is very accurate and easy to use. the only MINOR complaint is that it is physically large, for outdoor outlets you need to use an extension cord to plug into the outlet.

5 of 5 Best Product of Its Kind Monday, January 07, 2008
A Customer from Naperville, IL

I have to agree with other reviews on the web: This a great product that helps in determining actual (comparitive) costs of similar items - e.g., LED vs CF vs Standard lights. One small nit is that it could use a back light.

Psych Lit · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

----------------------------

Again, I'm astounded at the $ spent on remodeling. I mean ... $35 Grand for a toilet? I guess he's the Goose who laid the Golden Egg in more ways than one, and they're waiting to see if another one pops out, or something. $37K for a coffee table? This dude needs to switch to de-caf.

And all this, in THIS case, would be FINE, because it's private business. But when we start bailing out "private" business with "public" taxpayer money ... then?? We have a right to holler.

nice article. i saw this decorating thing the other day and couldnt believe my eyes. and have we heard yet what these folks did with the first 375 billion gifted to them? apparently it hasnt trickled down yet cause people are not getting loans. its really a mixed message being sent out there. the fed govt is giving a 7500. tax credit for first time homebuyers. most of the cities in this area are matching that so people could receive 15k off of the cost of their first home and yet when they go to buy that foreclosure thats been sitting vacant they are being told they cant and when they go to buy another home not on the foreclosure list they are told the banks have no money for mortgages. same with car loans. people i know who have high credit scores have been turned down by banks for car loans recently. i think weve only begun to scratch the surface of this problem and if eric holder is asked to look at criminal acts committed during the last 8 years id suggest the financial system be the second place he looks.

where did all of the bailout money go?

we have 303 million people in the us and the total of the proposed various bailouts is somewhere in the 3 or 4 trillion area? how much is that per person? i keep thinking and how much money is the bad paper that started this whole thing rolling worth in total? the math doesnt work for me. id really like the govt to do a better job of explaining it so that i can understand it.

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Maureen, speaking, I suspect, for a lot of us:

Wall Street's Socialist Jet-Setters

By MAUREEN DOWD

Published: January 27, 2009

WASHINGTON

Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

Maureen Dowd

As President Obama spreads his New Testament balm over the capital, I'm longing for a bit of Old Testament wrath.

Couldn't he throw down his BlackBerry tablet and smash it in anger over the feckless financiers, the gods of gold and their idols -- in this case not a gilt calf but an $87,000 area rug, a cache of diamond Tiffany and Cartier watches and a French-made luxury corporate jet?

Now that were nationalizing, couldn's we fire any obtuse bankers and auto executives who cling to perks and bonuses even as the economy is following John Thain down his antique commode?

How could Citigroup be so dumb as to go ahead with plans to get a new $50 million corporate jet, the exclusive Dassault Falcon 7X seating 12, after losing $28.5 billion in the past 15 months and receiving $345 billion in government investments and guarantees?

(Now I get why a $400 payment I recently sent to pay off my Citibank Visa was mistakenly applied to my sister-in-laws Citibank Mastercard account.)

The "Citiboobs" -- as The New York Post, which broke the news, calls them --watched as the car chieftains got in trouble for flying their private jets to Washington to ask for bailouts, and the A.I.G. moguls got dragged before Congress for spending their bailout on California spa treatments. But the boobs still didnt get the message.

The former masters of the universe don't seem to fully comprehend that their universe has crumbled and, thanks to them, so has ours. Real people are losing real jobs at Caterpillar, Home Depot and Sprint Nextel; these and other companies announced on Monday that they would cut more than 75,000 jobs in the U.S. and around the world, as consumer confidence and home prices swan-dived.

Prodded by an appalled Senator Carl Levin, Tim Geithner -- even as he was being confirmed as Treasury secretary -- directed Treasury officials to call the Citiboobs and tell them the new jet would not fly.

"They woke up pretty quickly," says a Treasury official, adding that they protested for a bit. "Six months ago, they would have kept the plane and flown it to Washington."

Senator Levin said that the financiers will not be able to change their warped mentality, but will have to be reined in by Geithner's new leashes.

"I have no confidence that they intend or desire to change," Levin told me. "These bankers got away with murder, and its obscene that close to nothing is being asked of financial institutions. I get incensed at the thought that a bank that's getting billions of dollars in taxpayer money is out there buying fancy new airplanes."

New York's attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, always gratifying on the issue of clawing back money from the greedy creeps on Wall Street, on Tuesday subpoenaed Thain, the former Merrill Lynch chief executive, over $4 billion in bonuses he handed out as the failing firm was bought by Bank of America.

In an interview with Maria Bartiromo on CNBC, Thain used the specious, contemptible reasoning that other executives use to rationalize why they're keeping their bonuses as profits are plunging.

"If you dont pay your best people, you will destroy your franchise" and they'll go elsewhere, he said.

Hello? They destroyed the franchise. Let's call their bluff. Let's see what a great job market it is for the geniuses of capitalism who lost $15 billion in three months and helped usher in socialism.

Bartiromo also asked Thain to explain, when jobs and salaries were being cut at his firm, how he could justify spending $1 million to renovate his office. As The Daily Beast and CNBC reported, big-ticket items included curtains for $28,000, a pair of chairs for $87,000, fabric for a "Roman Shade" for $11,000, Regency chairs for $24,000, six wall sconces for $2,700, a $13,000 chandelier in the private dining room and six dining chairs for $37,000, a "custom coffee table" for $16,000, an antique commode "on legs" for $35,000, and a $1,400 "parchment waste can."

Does that mean you can only throw used parchment in it or is it made of parchment? It's psychopathic to spend a million redoing your office when the folks outside it are losing jobs, homes, pensions and savings.

Thain should never rise above the level of stocking the money in A.T.M.'s again. Just think: This guy could well have been Treasury secretary if John McCain had won.

Bartiromo pressed: What was wrong with the office of his predecessor, Stanley ONeal?

"Well -- his office was very different -- than -- the -- the general décor of -- Merrill"s offices," Thain replied. "It really would have been -- very difficult -- for -- me to use it in the form that it was in."

Did it have a desk and a phone?

How are these ruthless, careless ghouls who murdered the economy still walking around (not to mention that sociopathic sadist Bernie Madoff?) -- and not as perps?

Bring on the shackles. Let the show trials begin.

(end of article)
----------------------------

Again, I'm astounded at the $ spent on remodeling. I mean ... $35 Grand for a toilet? I guess he's the Goose who laid the Golden Egg in more ways than one, and they're waiting to see if another one pops out, or something. $37K for a coffee table? This dude needs to switch to de-caf.

And all this, in THIS case, would be FINE, because it's private business. But when we start bailing out "private" business with "public" taxpayer money ... then?? We have a right to holler.

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

So I drifted into the dollar store a few blocks from my home today, as I do quite often (usually for cleaning supplies, but occasionally for a candle, or knick knack.) When in there, I'll quite often pick up some bread -- it's delivered there three times a week, and isn't even "day old" bread -- just surplus from when the delivery guy is finished with his grocery store rounds. The variety is usually quite good -- along with the white and whole wheat breads, hot dog and hamburger buns, there are often bagels, and "healthy" bread -- and it's all fresh, and $1.00 each. I've been getting bread there for years, now, and have always been quite happy with the wide array of offerings available.

I noticed again today, though, that the bread rack was, for the third time in a row, completely barren, and asked the clerk about it. She told me that they'd had a delivery just yesterday, but that people were now buying it faster than they could stock it -- some like ten loaves at a time, and that she alone must have sold thirty loaves of bread yesterday, alone.

Well, and why not? $1.00 vs. four times that, in this economy? I'd figured out the prudence in that years ago, but it seems now, more and more are giving me competition in my "bargain" stores.

Since I really WANTED some bread today, I went a few doors down to the typically packed grocery store -- two clerks only on cash registers, and no one in either line.

It's eerie, it is ...

Psych Lit · Guru

arggghhhh i wrote an entire short story answer here and it was loads of fun and then it disappeared! i am so pissed!

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Psych Lit wrote:

BoxDog wrote:

For eighty bucks, I'm sure hoping that flashlight also makes coffee, and honks when the dog starts chewin' something he shouldn't...

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 at 05:42, 2008-12-12
A flashlight? Is that what you want for Christmas, a flashlight?

LOL. Oh, heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelll no. It just popped up on that "big sale!" page, and I just would like to meet up with the sucker who'd pay $115.00 for a flashlight. Or at least date 'em for awhile.

OK, actually, I WOULDN'T. (either) LOL
I mean ... can you imagine spending that kind of money on a flashlight!?!?! And the bigass sale makes it ONLY $80.00!?!?! I'm thinkin' only the government would be buyin' those.

Now you tell me? Remember, be careful what you wish for...

lol. now dont be hasty this might make a great weapon for those late night dog walks. one good thunk on some badasses head and nancy grace will deputize ya and feature you on the hero portion of her show.

Annnnnnnnnd a heavy rock wouldn't work just as well?? smile

As for the Christmas present ... all I can see/think is that headline from yesterday: "I was expecting an engagement ring and got a stove!" (apparently this was "the worst" Christmas present this person had ever received. Me? I think if someone gave me a Chambers or O'Keefe & Merrit stove, it would probably be counted as the best Christmas present I'd ever been given, but that's just me. Even so, I don't see how you could stick a fork in a hot dog and cook it over an engagement ring...

<remembering my long distant youth...> LOL)

BTW: speaking of shopping, here's an interesting article on $ I ran across just now. Of particular note/interest is the paragraph I've highlighted in red:

Don't shop tomorrow: a better Wal-Mart sale starts Sunday

Tom Barlow
Dec 12th 2008 at 1:00PM

Filed under: Bargains, Shopping

41916187_bd6261981c_m[1].jpg The Bush Bust has resulted in shoppers abandoning mall retailers in favor of Wal-Mart and other deep discounters. The largest company in the world isn't taking this new business for granted, though. It has announced a new sales promotion, Operation Main Street, which it claims will save customers $100 million on purchases between now and Christmas.

The sale begins on Sunday, December 14th, and will focus primarily on the most popular gift items, especially ones in the $10 to $20 range, and holiday celebration supplies. Look particularly in the electronics and television departments, where the company will try to one-up other vendors in perhaps the most hotly contested sector this year. Two sales items mentioned: a 2GB Toshiba laptop and 32-inch Sharp LCD HDTV both priced at $398.

Wal-Mart is also extending its free "Site to Store" service which allows you to buy a product from its web site and have it shipped to the Wal-Mart store of your choice. You can get the latest deals sent to your cell phone via text messages by calling #WMT or sign up online at http://www.walmart.com/mobileinfo.

I'd suggest, before you head out the Wal-Mart, that you look through the newspaper ad for the best prices on the items for which you are shopping, and take those ads along with you. Wal-Mart vows to match competing offers, so this could save you even more.

Another tip: I've used a service called Frucall to save money. When you find an item you want on the shelf at Wal-Mart, you can call Frucall from your cell phone, enter the universal price code (UPC) from the item box, and Frucall will tell you what the same item would cost if purchased from the cheapest online vendor. I used this at Costco last year to confirm the store price was in line with what I would pay elsewhere. The site requires you to join (free) beforehand, though, and some savvy merchants hide the UPC of items on sale.

(end of article)

Psych Lit · Guru

BoxDog wrote:

For eighty bucks, I'm sure hoping that flashlight also makes coffee, and honks when the dog starts chewin' something he shouldn't...

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 at 05:42, 2008-12-12
A flashlight? Is that what you want for Christmas, a flashlight?

LOL. Oh, heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelll no. It just popped up on that "big sale!" page, and I just would like to meet up with the sucker who'd pay $115.00 for a flashlight. Or at least date 'em for awhile.

OK, actually, I WOULDN'T. (either) LOL
I mean ... can you imagine spending that kind of money on a flashlight!?!?! And the bigass sale makes it ONLY $80.00!?!?! I'm thinkin' only the government would be buyin' those.

Now you tell me? Remember, be careful what you wish for...

lol. now dont be hasty this might make a great weapon for those late night dog walks. one good thunk on some badasses head and nancy grace will deputize ya and feature you on the hero portion of her show.

BoxDog · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

BoxDog wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

And btw, it's Friday, go to Amazon for the free stuff. Barenaked Ladies Elfs Lament MP#is free today, song is funny. Don't forget Amazon for the downloads and cheap MP3 downloads.

-------------------------------------------------

Oy! They're mighty proud of their flashlights!

Inova T5-WB 125 Lumen LED Flashlight with Knurled Hard Anodized Aluminum Housing, Black
Inova
List Price: ~~$114.99~~
Our Price: $79.99
You Save: $35.00 (30%)
In Stock

For eighty bucks, I'm sure hoping that flashlight also makes coffee, and honks when the dog starts chewin' something he shouldn't...

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 at 05:42, 2008-12-12
A flashlight? Is that what you want for Christmas, a flashlight?

LOL. Oh, heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelll no. It just popped up on that "big sale!" page, and I just would like to meet up with the sucker who'd pay $115.00 for a flashlight. Or at least date 'em for awhile.

OK, actually, I WOULDN'T. (either) LOL
I mean ... can you imagine spending that kind of money on a flashlight!?!?! And the bigass sale makes it ONLY $80.00!?!?! I'm thinkin' only the government would be buyin' those.

Now you tell me? Remember, be careful what you wish for...

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

BoxDog wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

And btw, it's Friday, go to Amazon for the free stuff. Barenaked Ladies Elfs Lament MP#is free today, song is funny. Don't forget Amazon for the downloads and cheap MP3 downloads.

-------------------------------------------------

Oy! They're mighty proud of their flashlights!

Inova T5-WB 125 Lumen LED Flashlight with Knurled Hard Anodized Aluminum Housing, Black
Inova
List Price: ~~$114.99~~
Our Price: $79.99
You Save: $35.00 (30%)
In Stock

For eighty bucks, I'm sure hoping that flashlight also makes coffee, and honks when the dog starts chewin' something he shouldn't...

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 at 05:42, 2008-12-12
A flashlight? Is that what you want for Christmas, a flashlight?

LOL. Oh, heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelll no. It just popped up on that "big sale!" page, and I just would like to meet up with the sucker who'd pay $115.00 for a flashlight. Or at least date 'em for awhile.

OK, actually, I WOULDN'T. (either) LOL
I mean ... can you imagine spending that kind of money on a flashlight!?!?! And the bigass sale makes it ONLY $80.00!?!?! I'm thinkin' only the government would be buyin' those.

BoxDog · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

And btw, it's Friday, go to Amazon for the free stuff. Barenaked Ladies Elfs Lament MP#is free today, song is funny. Don't forget Amazon for the downloads and cheap MP3 downloads.

-------------------------------------------------

Oy! They're mighty proud of their flashlights!

Inova T5-WB 125 Lumen LED Flashlight with Knurled Hard Anodized Aluminum Housing, Black
Inova
List Price: ~~$114.99~~
Our Price: $79.99
You Save: $35.00 (30%)
In Stock

For eighty bucks, I'm sure hoping that flashlight also makes coffee, and honks when the dog starts chewin' something he shouldn't...

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 at 05:42, 2008-12-12

A flashlight? Is that what you want for Christmas, a flashlight? Amazon has 2,345,632,211 items for sale through it's site and you pick a flashlight?;) The upside is FREE SHIPPING! and apparently it's 30% higher somewhere else.

Hell, kill 2 birds with one stone and go to Target for the flashlight. I do.

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

And btw, it's Friday, go to Amazon for the free stuff. Barenaked Ladies Elfs Lament MP#is free today, song is funny. Don't forget Amazon for the downloads and cheap MP3 downloads.

-------------------------------------------------

Oy! They're mighty proud of their flashlights!

Inova T5-WB 125 Lumen LED Flashlight with Knurled Hard Anodized Aluminum Housing, Black
Inova

List Price: ~~$114.99~~
Our Price: $79.99
You Save: $35.00 (30%)
In Stock

For eighty bucks, I'm sure hoping that flashlight also makes coffee, and honks when the dog starts chewin' something he shouldn't...

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 at 05:42, 2008-12-12

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

BoxDog wrote:

The last thing I had planned to add this year is/was or was/is a nice sized mountable wall tv. I found more than a few 37" hdtv flat panels with dvd units built in for less than 700 shipping included for the online purchase. I only want a Sharp or Samsung. So there are still deals, but for alot of folks, the pesky matter of not having a job to have the item shipped to so it's not sitting out in the open on your doorstep while your neighbors and scurrilous street shoppers lick their chops over that nice unattended package from OfficeDepot.com. It would seem tacky to ask a neighbor to sign for a nice new purchase since they're sitting at home unemployed now anyway...ouch. I have no idea of what's to become of us. Change we can believe in? If there ever was an understatement it's that one.

Oh yeah, there's more. Aside from retailers, airlines and automakers even nursing is in for a huge shock when they realize that, unionized or not, American AND Caribbean born nurses are being replaced by well trained, orderly, reliable Filipinos that are willing to work harder, for less money and have no problem doing it without benefits or an extra 300 bucks to take a shift on the same day as called. There are still hiccups in communication, but after years of trying to figure out what the hell many doctors are saying I think we can figure out it's time for your injection when they're standing in front of us pointing back and forth from their watches to a syringe to our ass.

okay, so while I was typing this my daily dose of Amazon emails come through and here's a 37" Sharp Aquos for 699.00 staring me smack in the face. With free shipping, the cut rate price and NO TAX thats a savings of a couple hundred. And btw, it's Friday, go to Amazon for the free stuff. Barenaked Ladies Elfs Lament MP#is free today, song is funny. Don't forget Amazon for the downloads and cheap MP3 downloads.
55% buy the item featured on this page:
Sharp Aquos LC37D44U 37-Inch 720p LCD HDTV
$699.99

-- Edited by BoxDog at 04:14, 2008-12-12

:) "Ask, and ye shall receive."
Are you gonna get it?

BoxDog · Guru

Psych Lit wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

OK, this is just chilling --flip through the "Recent Bankruptcies" Photo Gallery

Who is going to be left, when this is all over?? The Chicago Tribune, the LA Times, The Cubs?? Is no one exempt from this??

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 at 14:13, 2008-12-11
probably not. remember how the president said the economy was strong a few months ago and then we find out that weve been in a recession for a year? well it seems to me that we are also in a deflationary period as well and that is something that our fearless leader also does not want us to think about. but really, how could it be otherwise?

back when these trade agreements like nafta and all that followed were being worked out and globalization was but a twinkle in bills eye we had the choice to put some things into that agreement like guaranteed health ins for workers in other countries and limits on age and hours worked and vacation times that would have forced those international companies to offer their employees similar perks to what american workers once had. but from what i can see clinton and those who followed banked on american workers productivity and work quality to keep us competitive. free trade isnt necessarily fair trade and imo this is the beginning point of all that we see now.

now its become a race to the bottom as far as wages and prices go. i suppose its better than a recession with inflation but from what i understand deflation is almost as bad as inflation when it comes to a healthy economy.

so when i look at that list i see several things from a business standpoint. i see some places like circuit city, tweeter, linens and things and a couple of the childrens outlets that are probably suffering as a result of walmart and the contracts that walmart hammers out of its suppliers. why would anyone pay 1200 dollars for a flat screen tv when you could buy the same set at wally world for half that price? and its even worse now because of the online biz. they dont even have to stock the items in their stores anymore they can sell straight from their website to the manufacturer to the purchaser.

then too i see some clothing stores in this list and i dont see any lack of shopping going on at the nearby malls here and some stores are doing ok so i wonder what the clothing lines at these places are like? are they pricey? are they overpriced and understyled?

As stores like walmart drive prices down, they are also driving wages down. i was watching rachel maddow tonight and i was shaking my head at what she was saying. shes been on a crusade to get the big 3 bailed out scoffing at remarks that unions are passe and that its to the benefit of the workers to continue to price themselves out of the market. i think this shows a naivete when it comes to economic thinking. in a global world there is nothing to prevent these corporations from sending those high wage jobs to some other place where the wages are not so high and theres not a lot that the unions can do to protect them from that. workers have very little in the way of clout and wont for the long future. its not until wages stabalize globally that once again collective bargaining will have an impact. in the meantime we need leaders who can try to prevent the workplace from being the kind of harsh place it was at the beginning of the last century. capitalism might be about the free market and what the market will bear but its up to congress to make work rules that keep us safe while still keeping us competitive. corporations are all about externalizing their costs. its no longer in their interest to pass these perks to employees. why would they want to pay for health ins when they can pass that cost onto the general public either thru nationalized health care or making employees bear the cost with no, or shrinking employer subsidies. the reason that corporations began to offer those perks like health ins and vacations and all else was to make themselves competitive in hiring the top talent. now, they can take that quest anywhere and those perks arent offered in the rest of the world.

the third group here was a few airlines, mostly newer airlines with pretty specific markets. the luxury airline for instance has configured their aircraft for fold down seats. that really limits the number of seats that one can have in a plane. if they are selling them at competitive biz fares and fuel is going for 20 dollars a barrel they maybe can make a profit but at 150 a barrel they are gonna fold. its a tough industry and its had few profitable years since deregulation. actually its a wonder that we still have any airlines at all or that we havent nationalized them.

we have a lot going for us as a workforce but we also have a lot of problems. we need to be better educated and tooled for the future but we seem mired in yesterday. we are going to have to compete with the wages that are out there in the marketplace and if we dont we will lose even more businesses. but we are not really looking at this whole problem from a holistic view. everyone is trying to hold onto the past and to their own piece of the pie. look at obamas new WPA plan to jumpstart the economy. he wants to rebuild the highways. why isnt he considering some sort of clean mass transit system instead?
we also have to get in front of the energy situation and the technology situation. right at this moment we arent even attracting the best and brightest foriegn students into our schools and some of the best tech programs are in danger of closing. us students either have no interest or they are not qualified because of their lack of math and science skills. but those foriegn students are now going to india and china. we need to have some vision for both the near and far and not just a rehashing of the old depression solutions.

more than anything else we really need some vision now.

A couple of points really concern me. It is worse to be in this deflationary mode. For two reasons, firstly we perpetuate the American gimme mode, job or not, buy, buy, buy. Sound money lessons are still not being taught. Secondly we lose control of just who it is swooping in to buy up our drastically reduced goods and assisting in closing the doors of near century old businesses, in some cases. Some would argue that it doesn't matter who buys, it still "helps" the market that it's happening at all. That's not only naive but dangerous. Look at the housing situation. Unemployment is at record levels. Yet after the number of foreclosures I am hearing that it's a "buyers market". No it isn't, not to what's left of average America. So now banks have "bailout" money, affording opportunity to lend, but how on earth would anyone justify lending to the unemployed or potentially unemployed? That's worse, in my eyes than the sub-prime matter. So what now? Apparently our foreclosures are being gobbled up by the Chinese. NOT chinese-americans, but real life, live in China, Chinese people via telecasts or webcams and real estate parties. We have officially sold our collective soul to foreigners.

From a predators perspective however, if managed properly, online shopping will thrive. With retailers closing their doors online deals will be abundant, with plenty of room for free shipping to be factored in to the bottom line. The last thing I had planned to add this year is/was or was/is a nice sized mountable wall tv. I found more than a few 37" hdtv flat panels with dvd units built in for less than 700 shipping included for the online purchase. I only want a Sharp or Samsung. So there are still deals, but for alot of folks, the pesky matter of not having a job to have the item shipped to so it's not sitting out in the open on your doorstep while your neighbors and scurrilous street shoppers lick their chops over that nice unattended package from OfficeDepot.com. It would seem tacky to ask a neighbor to sign for a nice new purchase since they're sitting at home unemployed now anyway...ouch. I have no idea of what's to become of us. Change we can believe in? If there ever was an understatement it's that one.

Oh yeah, there's more. Aside from retailers, airlines and automakers even nursing is in for a huge shock when they realize that, unionized or not, American AND Caribbean born nurses are being replaced by well trained, orderly, reliable Filipinos that are willing to work harder, for less money and have no problem doing it without benefits or an extra 300 bucks to take a shift on the same day as called. There are still hiccups in communication, but after years of trying to figure out what the hell many doctors are saying I think we can figure out it's time for your injection when they're standing in front of us pointing back and forth from their watches to a syringe to our ass.

okay, so while I was typing this my daily dose of Amazon emails come through and here's a 37" Sharp Aquos for 699.00 staring me smack in the face. With free shipping, the cut rate price and NO TAX thats a savings of a couple hundred. And btw, it's Friday, go to Amazon for the free stuff. Barenaked Ladies Elfs Lament MP#is free today, song is funny. Don't forget Amazon for the downloads and cheap MP3 downloads.

55% buy the item featured on this page:

Sharp Aquos LC37D44U 37-Inch 720p LCD HDTV

$699.99

-- Edited by BoxDog at 04:14, 2008-12-12

Psych Lit · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

OK, this is just chilling --flip through the "Recent Bankruptcies" Photo Gallery

Who is going to be left, when this is all over?? The Chicago Tribune, the LA Times, The Cubs?? Is no one exempt from this??

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 at 14:13, 2008-12-11
probably not. remember how the president said the economy was strong a few months ago and then we find out that weve been in a recession for a year? well it seems to me that we are also in a deflationary period as well and that is something that our fearless leader also does not want us to think about. but really, how could it be otherwise?

back when these trade agreements like nafta and all that followed were being worked out and globalization was but a twinkle in bills eye we had the choice to put some things into that agreement like guaranteed health ins for workers in other countries and limits on age and hours worked and vacation times that would have forced those international companies to offer their employees similar perks to what american workers once had. but from what i can see clinton and those who followed banked on american workers productivity and work quality to keep us competitive. free trade isnt necessarily fair trade and imo this is the beginning point of all that we see now.

now its become a race to the bottom as far as wages and prices go. i suppose its better than a recession with inflation but from what i understand deflation is almost as bad as inflation when it comes to a healthy economy.

so when i look at that list i see several things from a business standpoint. i see some places like circuit city, tweeter, linens and things and a couple of the childrens outlets that are probably suffering as a result of walmart and the contracts that walmart hammers out of its suppliers. why would anyone pay 1200 dollars for a flat screen tv when you could buy the same set at wally world for half that price? and its even worse now because of the online biz. they dont even have to stock the items in their stores anymore they can sell straight from their website to the manufacturer to the purchaser.

then too i see some clothing stores in this list and i dont see any lack of shopping going on at the nearby malls here and some stores are doing ok so i wonder what the clothing lines at these places are like? are they pricey? are they overpriced and understyled?

As stores like walmart drive prices down, they are also driving wages down. i was watching rachel maddow tonight and i was shaking my head at what she was saying. shes been on a crusade to get the big 3 bailed out scoffing at remarks that unions are passe and that its to the benefit of the workers to continue to price themselves out of the market. i think this shows a naivete when it comes to economic thinking. in a global world there is nothing to prevent these corporations from sending those high wage jobs to some other place where the wages are not so high and theres not a lot that the unions can do to protect them from that. workers have very little in the way of clout and wont for the long future. its not until wages stabalize globally that once again collective bargaining will have an impact. in the meantime we need leaders who can try to prevent the workplace from being the kind of harsh place it was at the beginning of the last century. capitalism might be about the free market and what the market will bear but its up to congress to make work rules that keep us safe while still keeping us competitive. corporations are all about externalizing their costs. its no longer in their interest to pass these perks to employees. why would they want to pay for health ins when they can pass that cost onto the general public either thru nationalized health care or making employees bear the cost with no, or shrinking employer subsidies. the reason that corporations began to offer those perks like health ins and vacations and all else was to make themselves competitive in hiring the top talent. now, they can take that quest anywhere and those perks arent offered in the rest of the world.

the third group here was a few airlines, mostly newer airlines with pretty specific markets. the luxury airline for instance has configured their aircraft for fold down seats. that really limits the number of seats that one can have in a plane. if they are selling them at competitive biz fares and fuel is going for 20 dollars a barrel they maybe can make a profit but at 150 a barrel they are gonna fold. its a tough industry and its had few profitable years since deregulation. actually its a wonder that we still have any airlines at all or that we havent nationalized them.

we have a lot going for us as a workforce but we also have a lot of problems. we need to be better educated and tooled for the future but we seem mired in yesterday. we are going to have to compete with the wages that are out there in the marketplace and if we dont we will lose even more businesses. but we are not really looking at this whole problem from a holistic view. everyone is trying to hold onto the past and to their own piece of the pie. look at obamas new WPA plan to jumpstart the economy. he wants to rebuild the highways. why isnt he considering some sort of clean mass transit system instead?
we also have to get in front of the energy situation and the technology situation. right at this moment we arent even attracting the best and brightest foriegn students into our schools and some of the best tech programs are in danger of closing. us students either have no interest or they are not qualified because of their lack of math and science skills. but those foriegn students are now going to india and china. we need to have some vision for both the near and far and not just a rehashing of the old depression solutions.

more than anything else we really need some vision now.

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

OK, this is just chilling --flip through the "Recent Bankruptcies" Photo Gallery

Who is going to be left, when this is all over?? The Chicago Tribune, the LA Times, The Cubs?? Is no one exempt from this??

-- Edited by Nightowlhoot3 at 14:13, 2008-12-11

Psych Lit · Guru

BoxDog wrote:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ah, OK, found it. "Dell Mini" D'oh! The one I found is around $400 to start. I was looking at the available cover designs (none of them really attacted me, and some I thought downright ugly. There was one which was tolerable, but honestly, does this look like a "Muse" to you??

uh...no! lol. i didnt see that one. ive been looking at these a lot in the past week and i wouldnt go with the dell now. not enough zoom for the price. the best ive seen on the shelves has been the HP one. i love their new desk top too. kudos to their r and d dept and it made me wonder if these advances were in the works pre or post the carly dismissal? anyway they used to be the sears of the computer industry as far as desire and design went and now? woo eee! i also like the acer version but the keyboard isnt as sturdy, at least on the model i saw. if youre considering buying make sure you check out the bundled software. some of these minis have a lot while others have trial versions of needed software.

Sooooooooooo "not me."

Totally Peter Max. Not for a computer, maybe a surfboard. Youngest sis has the 9" Acer, loves it. But only as a backup to her full size. Too tiny for my taste, and fingers. Also, about Office Depot! They're downsizing,but not significantly.10 percent or so. Florida looks strong, the northeast is going to feel the brunt of that one. But, if they're out of your market area just officedepot online they usually have plenty of free shipping deals.

BoxDog · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

Psych Lit wrote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Things." If there were really a Santa, I'd ask for a laptop computer with Windows Office 2007 on it, so that I could do my work while I was sitting in my vehicle outside those many doctor's offices, and luncheons, anxiously twiddling my thumbs waiting for Mom to finish so that I can dash back home, finish my work, and meet my deadline.

have you seen those new dell minis? its a 9 in notebook computer that retails for around 300 and it comes with office 07 on it. i was reading the reviews on this earlier today and it reads like a winner. it sounds like it would be perfect for your needs.

Hey, thanks, Psych. Sorry -- I seem to have missed this post before. I'll keep my eye out for one on sale. Do you happen to recall the name of it?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ah, OK, found it. "Dell Mini" D'oh! The one I found is around $400 to start. I was looking at the available cover designs (none of them really attacted me, and some I thought downright ugly. There was one which was tolerable, but honestly, does this look like a "Muse" to you??

Sooooooooooo "not me."

Totally Peter Max. Not for a computer, maybe a surfboard. Youngest sis has the 9" Acer, loves it. But only as a backup to her full size. Too tiny for my taste, and fingers. Also, about Office Depot! They're downsizing,but not significantly.10 percent or so. Florida looks strong, the northeast is going to feel the brunt of that one. But, if they're out of your market area just officedepot online they usually have plenty of free shipping deals.

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:
have you seen those new dell minis? its a 9 in notebook computer that retails for around 300 and it comes with office 07 on it. i was reading the reviews on this earlier today and it reads like a winner. it sounds like it would be perfect for your needs.

Hey, thanks, Psych. Sorry -- I seem to have missed this post before. I'll keep my eye out for one on sale. Do you happen to recall the name of it?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ah, OK, found it. "Dell Mini" D'oh! The one I found is around $400 to start.

--------------------------------------
If I had $400 cash, I'd probably spring for this baby:

Almost New Acer Laptop Fully Loaded and Upgraded To Max

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Psych Lit wrote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Things." If there were really a Santa, I'd ask for a laptop computer with Windows Office 2007 on it, so that I could do my work while I was sitting in my vehicle outside those many doctor's offices, and luncheons, anxiously twiddling my thumbs waiting for Mom to finish so that I can dash back home, finish my work, and meet my deadline.

have you seen those new dell minis? its a 9 in notebook computer that retails for around 300 and it comes with office 07 on it. i was reading the reviews on this earlier today and it reads like a winner. it sounds like it would be perfect for your needs.

Hey, thanks, Psych. Sorry -- I seem to have missed this post before. I'll keep my eye out for one on sale. Do you happen to recall the name of it?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ah, OK, found it. "Dell Mini" D'oh! The one I found is around $400 to start. I was looking at the available cover designs (none of them really attacted me, and some I thought downright ugly. There was one which was tolerable, but honestly, does this look like a "Muse" to you??

Inspiron Mini 9 Muse Purple

Sooooooooooo "not me."

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

Psych Lit wrote:

Nightowlhoot3 wrote:

"Things." If there were really a Santa, I'd ask for a laptop computer with Windows Office 2007 on it, so that I could do my work while I was sitting in my vehicle outside those many doctor's offices, and luncheons, anxiously twiddling my thumbs waiting for Mom to finish so that I can dash back home, finish my work, and meet my deadline.
have you seen those new dell minis? its a 9 in notebook computer that retails for around 300 and it comes with office 07 on it. i was reading the reviews on this earlier today and it reads like a winner. it sounds like it would be perfect for your needs.

Hey, thanks, Psych. Sorry -- I seem to have missed this post before. I'll keep my eye out for one on sale. Do you happen to recall the name of it?

It's a weird thing ... I don't know if this is true for anyone else, or just me, but there are some things, I just do better reading on paper, than a computer screen. Know what I mean? Why is that?

ive been eyeing it myself but if i end up needing a new regular laptop i wouldnt be able to justify the expense but i think your on to something with the use of waiting around time. it would be wonderful to not have to lug a big bulky laptop around to get things accomplished.

Oh, and a car charger for my Sansa MP3 player, since the ones you can buy off the rack for Ipods don't work for the Sansas you apparently have to order them directly from Sansa, and my battery is always going dead. I have two sets of music I play for the dog which I like too, which calm him when he's riding in the car, and when I lose those, he starts thinking it's a good time to scratch the windows and bound over two sets of seats to visit me upclose and personal.
aww bucky has his own folder on your mp3? hes growin on ya, i just know it:)

It's self preservation. :) The music calms him, which allows me to drive without a labrador in my lap.

Actually, though, we've changed the riding-in-the-car experience in the last couple of days. (AFTER he managed to scratch the film on almost all my windows, tyvm) I got this ... "dog seatbelt" thing for him. I still keep the Gentle Leader on him, but now too, he wears this chest harness thing -- front two legs through two spaces for them, and then a strap up his chest. Anyway, you get the dog into the harness, and then into the car, and there is, built into the harness, a "seat belt" looking loop on the back. It's not the seat belt part, though. So you run an actual seat belt through that loop, and viola! You have a buckled up Buck who can now ride in the back seat. It's sort of a pain, but I tried to break him in slowly, with rewards (the biggest reward, was driving VERY SLOWLY around the neighborhood a couple of times, with the window all the way down. When I say very slowly, I mean like 10-15 mph, on side streets. I know dogs can, and often do go blind sticking their heads out car windows, and he won't get to do that at higher speeds, but geez, he did love that ride. He was as far out that window as he could get. LOL. I was a little scared at first ("What if I don't have it hooked up right? What if he wriggles out of it, or it breaks, or something?") which is why I drove so painfully slow. Really, he could have easily outrun the car yesterday. But I think he got the sensation of running really fast, which he's not been able to do, since he's come under my care. Before, he ran around unleashed, or alongside a bicycle on a leash, and that ain't happening with me. Thing is? I feel a lot safer now that I know I can open a car door (or my Mom can) and he won't leap out in pursuit of a cat, or something I've not seen, and he can't jump out the window, either. It will certainly make things like loading up groceries and a wheelchair a lot less stressful for me, just knowing I don't have to keep one eye on him all the time while I'm helping Mom and trying to slip grocery bags in through an only semi-open back seat door. Now, the wheelchair can go back in the way back, where I kept it "before dog" and I can pile groceries in there too. And yeah, he's closer to us now, and I think he likes that -- doesn't feel so excluded from the conversation. The second time I was driving back from the other side of town with him in the back seat he just stetched out on the seat and slept the whole time. I'd put a towel on "his" seat side, but of course, when he lay down, he took up BOTH seats. "D'OH!" So Santa? How about a groovy seat cover for the back seat? I'm hoping when Mom's pal rides along with us, he'll be a good boy and sit up, allowing her room in the other seat... but I'm not counting on it. LOL.

Mostly, though, should the unthinkable happen, it's good to know he won't go sailing through a CLOSED window.

He'd really gotten pretty good about understanding the way back was "his" place, and I hate to undo that, but hopefully this will be the last change. He's acclimated with astounding speed to his Gentle Leader, btw, and now, whenever I get my purse, he runs over and starts tugging on it. It's kinda funny -- I mean, I know he wants me to put it on him, but he gets so excited, he can't hold still long enough for me to do that at first -- oh, except for the one time I was holding it up, trying to get it right, and he just dove into the nose piece. LOL. That was pretty cool, actually. If I could upload photos, I'd show you some pics of him decked out like some 70's gay guy with all the black straps all over him. LOL. Chaps and a leather hat are probably next, I suppose.

NOT!

Oh, and an HDTV would be a groovy thing to have, come February... If there were a Santa, I'd probably bribe him with key lime pie and Southern comfort flavored coffee, and ask him if there was some way he could please make my Visa bill go away.

those flat screen HDTVs are really nice. Im still gonna wait a couple of years to buy. By then they should be really cheap. I saw some 36 in ones advertised for less than 500 in the sunday paper. just a few years ago those were like 3000. the thing about HD tho is that you have to pay more for cable to get the benefits of it. otherwise even if the tv is hd, all ya get is rd.

Well, I need to do something before Feb 17, or I'm gonna get NO D.

i read somewhere that many actors were having "work done" because of the hdtv thing.I guess it shows every flaw. i dunno, my eyesight aint what it used to be, im thinking all of that clarity would be lost on me. however, ive been thinking about getting those CRT lenses so that i can regain my youthful vision. lol. really, this over 40 eye thing bites.

I (frankly) am celebrating it as the glorious window between tampons and diapers.