But this is an iPhone, that happens to be carried by ATT. That’s how Apple wanted it to be.

Verizon made a mistake by leaning too hard and too long on its huge wireless network and install base. That’s why they are putting smartphones out like mad right now. But I still think that Apple’s crazy plans on how things should be priced and how the revenues should work out forced a lot of hands.

As for the separating, I guess they trusted that anyone who would drive to the recycling center would be conscientious enough to separate it properly.

So far, the drive up was beautiful. Fog rolled in but it is Oregon

Have a great time! I had planned to drive up through the Willamette Valley when I drove out west, but we had to change our plans so we only got up the California coast before we had to turn east again. It’s a great time of year for berries and Oregon is a great place to get them.

Some interesting bits here. First, to quote:

“The Fed says it expects the economy will shrink between 1.3% and 2% this year. It had earlier said the economy could contract between 0.5% and 1.3%.”

So that’s…good news? That we will contract m…

http://www.jhenryfair.com/aerial/exhibit.html

Debbie has a very good advice–cutting back on activities. You will get your social life back!

My advice: you MUST force yourself to keep on track and DON’T STOP. Keep the goal in mind and you WILL get done and you WILL be happy you did it!

Drop any extra activities you can, take some sick or personal days to study or recoup if you must, and push through. Oh, and plan something super fantastic to do when you are done! My husband and I planned a one month trip to Europe for the summer I finished (he had the fall semester to complete yet). It was his first trip abroad and we had a blast!

Just hang in there – and keep us posted!

I don’t know of a cure. I know my mom has had sleep apnea for years (not sure when she actually was diagnosed with this). All I can do is say prayers for you that you are cured of this. A good night’s sleep is important. I pray that you get at least 4 hours tonight!

ttyl,

Awdang

1. Consumption ISN’T bad in an of itself, when those consuming have the means to do so. Your friend is so very right, though. But fter 9/11, when savings rates were already dangerously low, Bush told everyone to go spend, spend, spend to keep us out of a recession. I was shocked, dismayed, and convinced he was wrong. We upped our saving in the midst of everyone else’s spending sprees. I believe Bush’s admonition – and people’s willingness to follow his irresponsible directive – set us up quite nicely for this deeper recession/possible depression.

2. Yes, more spending theoretically means more taxes. And you will hear arguments from big business that the US already has more taxes than most developed countries. But big business usually fails to mention that the US also has the most loopholes of any developed country, so businesses end up paying FEWER taxes than almost anywhere else in the world. I just read today that there is a difference of over $300 billion between what is taxed and what is actually owed when the hoops are jumped through. It sure makes it convenient for both parties, who only tell the side of the story that most resonates with their constituents.

4.0! Nice. I’m at 3.8 and far enough that no matter how I score from now on I have too many units in to really pull that up…:-(

Just being a bit optimistic. These days that’s not so bad.

So…you’re not an under-achiever at all. You just don’t need the tag to make you feel good about who you are and what you’re doing. Bravo.

I have my own opinions on how class environments should or at least could be managed to improve engagement. But that is not a great tactic when working with faculty, truth be told. And I agree that educating the professors might be the most important aspect that needs to be addressed.

And the issue here is that you’re saying universities don’t need to take on debt. Well, they need money. Debt is one way to get money.

You make it sound so simple

My wife actually has a degree in Photography, so she enjoys it as well. To be honest, she has a much more creative eye for composition than I do – sometimes too creative, to the point where the shot is actually impossible

I’m a believer that there is a photo around wherever one is located. Sometimes it’s one that might not appeal to everyone (street photography, for instance), but it’s there somewhere. Thanks for looking

Personally, I wonder whether people will ever realize how badly overstretched they are. At least beyond the next bubble. As soon as the next boom comes around they will forget.

Obama has created as close to a team of rivals as we’ve seen in modern history, but it would be impossible for him to pick someone of the opposite party for any of the very top roles simply because “the party” won’t let him.

Political parties in this country have strength, power, and reach unparalleled in history. The party structure provides the structure, the money, the legal network, and the clout for a rising, charismatic leader like Barack Obama to reach the upper echelons of power in this country. Unfortunately, no one gets to “the top” in American politics without the involvement and backing of one of the two major political parties.

It’s a stale, but effective and very entrenched system. And it’s influence is largely why I had not voted for a main party political candidate for president in 16 years – before Obama.

I hope that Obama, despite being unequivocally part of “the system,” can continue to rise above it enough to effect real, true, and permanent change in Washington, D.C.

My acute sense of living in history was developed from many incidents through which I have lived, incidents that I knew, immediately and without doubt, would be in future history books. The campaign and election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 when I was 11 years old was the first I remember vividly. It was the first election to which I paid attention, and we had many school assignments to help us understand the process and formulate our own opinions on the issues. The Challenger shuttle explosion in 1986 when I was a junior in High School is another “instantly historical” moment for which I have very personal memories. My visit to the Berlin Wall in March of 1989 didn’t feel like history at the time, but I was there the week after the man who would end up being the last shot trying to cross to the West was shot. I knew immediately and emotionally in November of 1989 when the wall came down that I was living in history – and I could NOT understand why so many of my fellow college classmates were not as glued to the television as was I. And of course, I remember 9/11/01.

Perhaps my sense of living in history also comes from my belief that every life is a story to tell. As a memory preservation coach who helps people organize and celebrate their memories, I am continually amazed at the rich significance of every person’s stories and memories.

We are history. We make history. We live history. What’s your story?

We humans perpetually demonstrate our inability to grasp the complex balances of nature. Now the question is: what problems will removal of the rabbits have on the system’s balance?

It’s nice that you and your wife can go out together. Does she enjoy photography as much as you do?

I did take a few in a portrait format. However, I really wanted to have the horse’s back trailing off towards the side of the frame and yes, I wanted to accentuate the eyes. I don’t think I would have rejected the option of a slightly wider lens, though.

re: ARMS – average person? Probably not. This was an economist talking . But over the last 30 years, rates have apparently dropped from 14% to even 6% or a bit more, right? So technically they would have worked out in the long run no matter what.

4%? I hadn’t heard that number as a goal. And I agree, rates are NOT going to get that low (and if they do – heck if they get to 4.75% – I’ll be looking into a re-fi myself!).

You also wrote: “Banks are scared of people with FICO scores of 800, since that just represents past credit stability. What if that person loses his job tomorrow because of the economy? Well, that would make that 800 pretty meaningless.”

Nope – gotta disagree here. FICO is a measure of more than stability. It measures available credit versus used credit and repayment history, among other (somewhat) mysterious criteria. So someone with a FICO of 800 (I’m not there, but darn close!) has a HISTORY of responsible payments, reasonable use of credit, and sound financial judgment that most likely transcends any one particular financial setback. These are the people to whom banks most WANT to lend because the relative risk is so low with that kind of proven track record.

And you wrote about ARMs: “The funny thing about people going with adjustable rate mortgages is that mortgage rates in the..80s? or so were around 14%. So if you took an ARM back then, and gambled that rates would go down at all, then you’d win out. It’s funny how that is.”

But ARMs readjust frequently, often every 5 years depending on the terms. So yes, mortgage rates might have been 14% in the 1980’s, but did they really drop drastically enough over that short time span for the average person to profit significantly from the adjustment? Not only that, but that person needs to know when to get OUT of the ARM into a fixed rate, or their short-term gains get quickly eaten by long-term losses.

I still think ARMs are like trying to make money by timing the stock market or winning in Vegas: you might get lucky, but you’re much more likely to lose your shirt (or house), even if you do know what you’re doing.

i’m good for drama when you need it, as long as i don’t sound like an ogre. ; )

We don’t have much debt – just a reasonable mortgage we can afford and a past LOC balance that we converted to a fixed loan so we could get rid of it (no credit car debt ever here), but we still put the “windfall” of stimulus money earlier this year toward that loan principal. Of course, we did buy a new fridge and new stove this fall, but we had been saving for those items for a year! If there is another stimulus payout, it, too, will go toward the loan principle. A stimulus payout is essentially a gift, and should come with no strings attached.