Archive for October, 2008

Christian Science Monitor ceases print edition

Over the past hundred years they have survived the Great Depression, two World Wars, and multiple economic cycles. But ultimately the venerable Christian Science Monitor couldn’t survive the Internet tsunami that continues to shake the media industry. This spring, just a few scant months after they celebrate the 100th anniversary, the Christian Science […]

Iceland’s central bank is charging credit-card rates

Boy you know the world economic crisis has hit a country hard when the central bank of that country has to raise interest rates to 18%. They’re trying to stabilize the currency, I guess the idea is that a high interest rate attracts investors so that people will want to buy Iceland’s currency. […]

Early voting was crowded

I stopped by the library yesterday afternoon, for early voting. There was a small line, and by the time I made it to the head of the line it had grown quite a bit behind me.
And the line wasn’t because there were only a few voting booths. The room was filled with maybe […]

At least my 401K didn’t lose a half billion dollars

Just when I was feeling a little sorry for myself watching my 401K decline steadily, I saw this story about the losses billionaire Kirk Kerkorian is taking on his investments. He made a huge bet earlier this summer that Ford Motor Company was poised for success with their turnaround plan. So he bought […]

Why I’m still leaning towards Obama

Even for a political junkie like me, the coverage both before and after last night’s final presidential debate was a bit over the top. The part the annoyed me most was just how many pundits and talking heads said that McCain needed a “game-changer” but didn’t achieve it in this debate.
First off, when did […]

Getting a driver’s license vs. getting license plates

I’m really surprised at how different the experience is here in Tennessee between getting a driver’s license and getting new license plates. One was a slow, tedious, and extermely painful process while the other seemed like a snap by comparison.
The painful one was getting the driver’s license. I did that right away when […]

Rex the real-estate-vulture wannabe

I was thinking recently that I might want to buy a small condo out in Knoxville. To use as a landing pad for when I go out to hike the Great Smoky Mountains or visit Dollywood or take in a UT game, stuff like that. So I actually found one that’s really close […]

Working 12-hour days is not for me

I haven’t posted here for a week because this past week I’ve been too tired to do anything outside of work. Six of the last seven days I’ve been in the office, which includes this past Saturday. Saturday was the only one of those six that ended before 12 hours.
We’ve been running through […]

Billy has redeemed himself

I mentioned how disappointed I was with the new trainer. Well yesterday he redeemed himself. He’s still not as creative as Alan was at finding interesting exercises. But yesterday he was much better than before. I don’t think he read my blog but he definitely responded to its criticisms.
There were […]