Medicare entitlements

This NYT article discusses possible changes within the Medicare program that has some support from both sides of the table.

I don't know how the US will deal with the Medicare issue in the future. Something has to be done and there might not be a 'best plan' that everyone will agree to.

Of course, the longer we (collectively as a nation) wait, the fewer options will be available in the future. Sounds somewhat familiar...

True Dat

Painfully true: Forget Shopping, Friday Is Update Your Parents' Browser Day!

(Shamelessly stolen)

TiO2

Interesting article ("The Future is Gray") about a huge find of Titanium Dioxide, but more importantly, the inflationary cost of the material.

I think that we take a lot of our daily life for granted, and hope that the powers that be (regulators, manufacturers, retailers, re-sellers, sales teams, etc.) are somewhere along the line looking out for us. Do your own research, but some things you have to trust (you hope that there isn't any arsenic in ketchup for example).

Interesting all the same.

Money - the Graphic

Do you want some perspective on how much a dollar is versus a trillion? Go HERE.

Quickly.

It will blow your mind.

I don't know if I could build something like that because there is so much else I would want to add to the picture.

Cool.

Detroit May Run Out of Cash Next Month

That doesn't sound like good news.

Of course mentioned are other cities across this great nation of ours that are also likely in trouble.

I don't know what the solutions are - at least that are going to please both sides of the coin. Public employees are going to feel the pain in any resolutions, and everyone is going to feel the pain in the wallet as taxes have to go up.

Continue to prepare and keep an eye out for the changing landscape.

Up and out...

New Era of Oil and Gas Exploration

On the plus side, this should be good for employment and for the state and local coffers. On the downside, depending on which side of the isle you sit for this, is the fracking etc. and the environmental factors.

Market factors rejoice.

If you have the money...

There was a time when I was obsessed with a Ferrari (308/328) and drooled over the thought of owning one. Well, a wife and two kids later, it's still a dream, but priorities have shifted.

Either way, check out the 458 convertible.

Also, I thought that I would have a Jag XJS to 'commute' so the bad weather wouldn't ruin the 328's interior. Well, looks like I don't even had to do that with the new Jag XKR-S.

That's right, the kids won't fit in the back...

Postal Service reports massive $5 billion loss

And that's not the worst of it. The loss would have been $10.6 billion (!!!) if a bill postponing a $5.5 billion (!!!) payment for retiree health benefits had not been passed.

Trust me, I love the fact that I can pay $0.44 to send a letter to Southern California (or the next town over), but it's unlikely that it actually costs that. I'm guessing that $0.44 doesn't even cover the labor to pick up all the mail in the drop box.

Does this service go away? Does the cost need to reflect reality? Could it ever?

I don't think that I would want to be an employee there as there are some really had decisions that are likely headed their way.

Superhydrophobic Coating

I'm not sure that everyone will be amazed at this as I was, but there are some really smart people out there doing some amazing stuff with science.

I think this bodes well for the future...

The End of the 40-Hour Workweek

I don't know if this article is the anti-Tim Ferriss or just the reality of a marketplace with high unemployment and scared employees and companies. Thoughts?

I know that since I've started working, there hasn't been a check-in / check-out time, a lot of it was work until what needs to get done gets done. This has meant weekends and late nights at times. Work/life balance is somewhat a myth. Now that might be because parts of what I do are in the service industry. Part might be because I am the boss (in some ways), but my clients and customers have expectations that need to be met, and that doesn't always confirm to the 9-to-5.

Just thoughts.

Conditioning Distraction

Keeping our mind still and in one place.

Doesn't sound too difficult does it? Try sitting alone in a room by yourself with nothing else but your thoughts.

Observe those thoughts (non-judgmentally) and recognize just how wandering your thoughts can be.

Why is this important? Well in today's Internet, Facebook, Twitter, Email and RSS Feed world, we have subconsciously conditioned ourselves to be distracted.

By engaging in this ongoing distraction or constant thought interruption we are subconsciously forming habits.

This "distraction habit" has been formed over the course of years and result's in creating difficulty to focus on any given task for any extended period of time which then makes it additionally challenging to be productive.

Wikipedia defines Meditation as any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit.


I may give mediation a try with the desired out come of increased focus (seems like a worthy habit to create)... That is if I can keep my self from being distracted =)

For Karsten

This graphic is 100% for Karsten.

A penny for your thoughts...

Interesting post looking at the value of the coins you carry in your pocket (or most likely, store in a jar on the kitchen counter).

I know it's not 100% possible to go to plastic money (aka credit cards), but wouldn't that just be cheaper?

Guess I need to go look through the kids piggy banks and make a trade...

U-G-L-Y

The graph above is really scary.

Not good.

Income Mobility

Here is a link to the earnings mobility of US households over a seven year period. I thought it was interesting to note that the majority remained in their current quintile over the period recorded, but that there was movement in all directions (up and down). The bell curve is evident, but I would like to know who went from the lowest to the highest (residents in medicine? Recent college grads?) and vice versa (retiring executives?).

Swimming, swimming, keep on swimming...