Marketing Tips for 2010

This offseason saw a large number of free agents sign with new teams. Some teams were trying to fill holes while others were trying to take their team to the next level.

Whatever the reason, a lot of quality players found new homes. This is a recap of the signings with the most interesting fantasy implications.

Just like last year, there were three big players who everyone wanted, but few could afford. Last year, the Yankees gobbled up Mark Teixeira , A.J. Burnett , and C.C. Sabathia , but this year the Bronx Bombers were conspicuously quiet when it came to the free agent market.

The Yankees decided to make trades for players other teams couldn’t afford rather than dry up the free agent pool with their bottomless pockets.

The three big-time free agents this year went to three different teams, all considered to be rivals of the Yankees. Jason Bay signed with the Mets, Matt Holliday re-signed with St. Louis, and John Lackey went to Boston.

Prime Time Players

Jason Bay found his way to New York, but it was to the cross-town rival Mets. He is a good but not great hitter whose fantasy value will be determined by whether he can pull home runs down the left field line or hit long fly outs to the CitiField power alleys.

Both Bay and the Mets should have done better than joining forces, but they kind of needed each other despite the fact that this marriage will likely end up poorly.

Bay is not worth the high draft pick he will command, so stay away unless he drops a few rounds in your draft.

Matt Holliday plays for the second winningest franchise in MLB history (as measured by World Series titles), but he has never won one himself. He is hoping that a long-term pairing with Albert Pujols will lead to an over-sized ring.

Holliday hit very well last season after his trade to the Cardinals, but don’t expect that level of hitting prowess to continue. The Cardinals lineup looks thin after the two big boys, so temper your expectations.

John Lackey was the best pitcher on the free agent market and found himself signing with the Boston Red Sox. He goes from being the best pitcher for the Angels to the No. 3 starter in Boston. The offense in Boston is very strong and Lackey will benefit. Bid confidently, but don’t overpay for him.

Leaving New York was Hideki Matsui as he headed for Los Angeles. Godzilla’s not fit for playing the outfield any longer, but his bat is still strong. He’ll be the Angels DH and is worth a roster spot on your squad.

Matsui replaces Vladimir Guerrero as the Angels DH and Vlad moves on to Texas to fill the same role. His legs are shot, but the power should remain, especially in the hot Texas sun. He’s good for your team, just don’t expect the Guerrero of old.

Chone Figgins also left the Angels. Figgins headed for Seattle and will occupy the Mariners hot corner. Look for a lot of the same from Figgins, who will use Seattle’s big field to turn doubles into triples.

The best thing about Octavio Dotel ’s contract with the Pirates is that it is only for one year. That means he is auditioning for his next employer right now and will have some save opportunities along the way.

He won’t get a lot pitching in Pittsburgh, but it he will make a nice cheap source of a couple dozen saves if he slides in your draft.

Orlando Cabrera is very solid. You get pretty much the same thing from him every year, regardless of his team. If you want a slightly above average guy, O-Cab is your guy. If you strive for something better than that, look elsewhere.

 

Risk-Reward Picks

Texas also added Rich Harden . Harden is the ultimate high-risk, high-reward guy. When he’s healthy, he’s a dominant pitcher.

But he’s often not healthy and can’t be counted on and will usually spend some time on the disabled list most every season.

Ben Sheets is a lot like Harden in that he’s great when healthy, he just isn’t healthy all season. The Athletics most likely signed him so they can trade him to a contender at the trade deadline, so Sheets will be auditioning all the first half of the season for the team he will go to for a playoff race.

Since he is on a one-year deal, he’s also auditioning for a big contract after the season. He should give you good ratios in the first half playing in Oakland’s cavernous stadium and then pick up wins playing for a contender in the second half. You should get great stats from Sheets, assuming he stays healthy.

The Padres brought Jon Garland in to become trade bait at the trade deadline, too. He’ll thrive in San Diegos’ huge stadium, but won’t get many wins with a horrible offense backing him up. You’d be buying him for the second half of the season, not the first.

Atlanta signed Billy Wagner to be their closer and Troy Glaus to play first base. Wagner’s coming back from elbow surgery and he turns 40 next season, so a lot of things can go wrong.

He is in the perfect situation for saves: good pitching rotation, mediocre offense. The Braves will present their closer with opportunities, the only question is will Wags stay healthy enough to be that guy?

Glaus is returning from shoulder surgery and picking up a new position. The Braves are wondering if he can find the big numbers he posted from 2000-2006 when he averaged 32 homers and 88 RBI a season.

Washington added two starters to help their young and troubling rotation. Jason Marquis and Chien-Ming Wang will occupy rotation slots, giving the Nationals depth and a veteran presence.

Wang will miss half the season with a foot injury, but both should be productive this season, though they might not get much run support from the Nats’ anemic offense.

Mark DeRosa signed with the Giants to play a variety of positions. He’ll likely spend most of his time in left field, but will be below average at the position.

In addition, DeRosa underwent wrist surgery, which will likely have an adverse affect on his hitting, especially his power.

Aubrey Huff is the Giants new first baseman. He has had some real good seasons mixed in with some duds, so you really don’t know what you’ll get.

San Francisco’s home park is tough on lefties, so the power likely won’t spike, but the RBI opportunities should be there if he can put the ball into play.

The Houston Astros gave Brett Myers a contract and a rotation slot. This guy has a history of injuries and is a head case. If he can stay healthy, he could return to his magical form of a few years ago, but that is a big if.

The Reds surprisingly signed Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman to a lucrative free agent contract. This kid has a lot of talent, it is just very unclear how ready he is to contribute in the majors this season.

Watch him closely during spring training to evaluate his progress. He’s keeper quality, but no one knows if he’ll be very useful this season.

The Brewers added a couple of fossils to fill out their rotation. They welcome Doug Davis back to Milwaukee while bringing Randy Wolf in for the first time.

Both lefties are grizzled veterans, but how much gas do they still have in the tank? Davis is the safer bet, but Wolf may be a good value pick if he slides in your draft.

Marlon Byrd was brought in to be the Cubs everyday centerfielder. The only problem is that he’s not the kind of guy you want to see up at the plate 550 times in a season.

He’s best utilized as a teams’ fourth outfielder, where he usually takes advantage of matchups. Don’t spend a lot on this one or else you will be greatly disappointed.

Adam LaRoche and Kelly Johnson both moved from Atlanta to Arizona. They both had a troublesome first half followed by an improved second half.

LaRoche was better than his typically good second half, but couldn’t parlay it into a long-term deal, so he’s playing for one this season.

Johnson lost his starting job after an injury and is trying to reestablish himself. LaRoche is more likely to have success than Johnson, but bet on the second half as LaRoche is always better in the summer heat than in the beginning of the season.

Bench (or Waiver Wire) Material

Boston also added Marco Scutaro and Mike Cameron to their offense. Scutaro is coming off a career season and isn’t likely to come anywhere close to his 2009 numbers, even in a powerful offense like Boston’s.

Mike Cameron will be consistent and will provide solid numbers, but he’s getting long in the tooth and you should be wary of a decline in skills.

Toronto signed Kevin Gregg to be their closer. His ERA was awful last year; don’t expect it to get any better playing in the A.L. East.

He’s got a history of blown saves and he’s likely to keep that trend going. Gregg is not an answer to saves unless you are truly desperate.

The Orioles added new pieces to play their infield corners. Miguel Tejada and Garrett Atkins both have put up big seasons in the past but both seem to be on the backside of their careers.

The good news is that both of these guys will quickly have multiple position eligibility. The bad news is that both are moving away from hitters havens and will likely suffer in Baltimore.

Stay away from both unless they are the kind of bench player you can roster.

The Phillies filled their third base hole with one of the best defensive second basemen in baseball, Placido Polanco .

Unfortunately, his bat will be mediocre at best for his new position. Philadelphia is looking for good defense here and you should look elsewhere for your offense.

A few more Nationals’ signings filled slots at catcher and second base. Ivan Rodriguez was the best fantasy catcher in the early 2000’s, but those days are long gone.

Adam Kennedy was never considered anywhere close to the best in his professional career and since he is also getting a little too old, neither should be considered for anything more than a bench spot.

Orlando Hudson signed with Minnesota. The Twins are already spending money they expect to make from their new stadium and Hudson’s defense is an upgrade.

Unfortunately, defense isn’t a category used by most leagues in fantasy baseball. He is getting slower with age and his offense was never his strength. He’ll be a great backup, but you don’t want O-Dog as your starter, unless you are in the deepest of leagues.

The Kansas City Royals added three veterans to fill out their offense. Rick Ankiel , Scott Podsednik and Jason Kendall have all had successes in their careers.

But this is not the time or place for those successes to repeat. None of the three are worth a starting role on your team, but could be useful backups.

Rick Milleman is the head fantasy baseball contributor at DraftBuddy.com . Check his annual player projections included in the Cheatsheet Compiler & Draft Buddy to help draft your championship team.

“Essentially it's a partnership,” Crystal Dynamics studio head Darrell Gallagher says about working with new owner Square Enix. “We're working really together with our parent company to make sure we're achieving our collective goals.” Gallagher told Gamasutra that the new ownership leads to opportunities for sharing of history and technology.

What is the new Square Enix-helmed Crystal doing now? It has the staff for two projects, including an in-house brand manager and public relations staff. Neither of those two potential projects are named, though Tomb Raider — the franchise that the developer specifically focused its studio structure on last year — did come up in the discussion. “What I can say is Tomb Raider, as a franchise, is absolutely part of the Crystal fabric,” Gallagher said. “It's a key franchise and awesome to be part of… we're excited about what we've been exploring, and we're excited to share it with the fans at some point.”

This offseason saw a large number of free agents sign with new teams. Some teams were trying to fill holes while others were trying to take their team to the next level.

Whatever the reason, a lot of quality players found new homes. This is a recap of the signings with the most interesting fantasy implications.

Just like last year, there were three big players who everyone wanted, but few could afford. Last year, the Yankees gobbled up Mark Teixeira , A.J. Burnett , and C.C. Sabathia , but this year the Bronx Bombers were conspicuously quiet when it came to the free agent market.

The Yankees decided to make trades for players other teams couldn’t afford rather than dry up the free agent pool with their bottomless pockets.

The three big-time free agents this year went to three different teams, all considered to be rivals of the Yankees. Jason Bay signed with the Mets, Matt Holliday re-signed with St. Louis, and John Lackey went to Boston.

Prime Time Players

Jason Bay found his way to New York, but it was to the cross-town rival Mets. He is a good but not great hitter whose fantasy value will be determined by whether he can pull home runs down the left field line or hit long fly outs to the CitiField power alleys.

Both Bay and the Mets should have done better than joining forces, but they kind of needed each other despite the fact that this marriage will likely end up poorly.

Bay is not worth the high draft pick he will command, so stay away unless he drops a few rounds in your draft.

Matt Holliday plays for the second winningest franchise in MLB history (as measured by World Series titles), but he has never won one himself. He is hoping that a long-term pairing with Albert Pujols will lead to an over-sized ring.

Holliday hit very well last season after his trade to the Cardinals, but don’t expect that level of hitting prowess to continue. The Cardinals lineup looks thin after the two big boys, so temper your expectations.

John Lackey was the best pitcher on the free agent market and found himself signing with the Boston Red Sox. He goes from being the best pitcher for the Angels to the No. 3 starter in Boston. The offense in Boston is very strong and Lackey will benefit. Bid confidently, but don’t overpay for him.

Leaving New York was Hideki Matsui as he headed for Los Angeles. Godzilla’s not fit for playing the outfield any longer, but his bat is still strong. He’ll be the Angels DH and is worth a roster spot on your squad.

Matsui replaces Vladimir Guerrero as the Angels DH and Vlad moves on to Texas to fill the same role. His legs are shot, but the power should remain, especially in the hot Texas sun. He’s good for your team, just don’t expect the Guerrero of old.

Chone Figgins also left the Angels. Figgins headed for Seattle and will occupy the Mariners hot corner. Look for a lot of the same from Figgins, who will use Seattle’s big field to turn doubles into triples.

The best thing about Octavio Dotel ’s contract with the Pirates is that it is only for one year. That means he is auditioning for his next employer right now and will have some save opportunities along the way.

He won’t get a lot pitching in Pittsburgh, but it he will make a nice cheap source of a couple dozen saves if he slides in your draft.

Orlando Cabrera is very solid. You get pretty much the same thing from him every year, regardless of his team. If you want a slightly above average guy, O-Cab is your guy. If you strive for something better than that, look elsewhere.

 

Risk-Reward Picks

Texas also added Rich Harden . Harden is the ultimate high-risk, high-reward guy. When he’s healthy, he’s a dominant pitcher.

But he’s often not healthy and can’t be counted on and will usually spend some time on the disabled list most every season.

Ben Sheets is a lot like Harden in that he’s great when healthy, he just isn’t healthy all season. The Athletics most likely signed him so they can trade him to a contender at the trade deadline, so Sheets will be auditioning all the first half of the season for the team he will go to for a playoff race.

Since he is on a one-year deal, he’s also auditioning for a big contract after the season. He should give you good ratios in the first half playing in Oakland’s cavernous stadium and then pick up wins playing for a contender in the second half. You should get great stats from Sheets, assuming he stays healthy.

The Padres brought Jon Garland in to become trade bait at the trade deadline, too. He’ll thrive in San Diegos’ huge stadium, but won’t get many wins with a horrible offense backing him up. You’d be buying him for the second half of the season, not the first.

Atlanta signed Billy Wagner to be their closer and Troy Glaus to play first base. Wagner’s coming back from elbow surgery and he turns 40 next season, so a lot of things can go wrong.

He is in the perfect situation for saves: good pitching rotation, mediocre offense. The Braves will present their closer with opportunities, the only question is will Wags stay healthy enough to be that guy?

Glaus is returning from shoulder surgery and picking up a new position. The Braves are wondering if he can find the big numbers he posted from 2000-2006 when he averaged 32 homers and 88 RBI a season.

Washington added two starters to help their young and troubling rotation. Jason Marquis and Chien-Ming Wang will occupy rotation slots, giving the Nationals depth and a veteran presence.

Wang will miss half the season with a foot injury, but both should be productive this season, though they might not get much run support from the Nats’ anemic offense.

Mark DeRosa signed with the Giants to play a variety of positions. He’ll likely spend most of his time in left field, but will be below average at the position.

In addition, DeRosa underwent wrist surgery, which will likely have an adverse affect on his hitting, especially his power.

Aubrey Huff is the Giants new first baseman. He has had some real good seasons mixed in with some duds, so you really don’t know what you’ll get.

San Francisco’s home park is tough on lefties, so the power likely won’t spike, but the RBI opportunities should be there if he can put the ball into play.

The Houston Astros gave Brett Myers a contract and a rotation slot. This guy has a history of injuries and is a head case. If he can stay healthy, he could return to his magical form of a few years ago, but that is a big if.

The Reds surprisingly signed Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman to a lucrative free agent contract. This kid has a lot of talent, it is just very unclear how ready he is to contribute in the majors this season.

Watch him closely during spring training to evaluate his progress. He’s keeper quality, but no one knows if he’ll be very useful this season.

The Brewers added a couple of fossils to fill out their rotation. They welcome Doug Davis back to Milwaukee while bringing Randy Wolf in for the first time.

Both lefties are grizzled veterans, but how much gas do they still have in the tank? Davis is the safer bet, but Wolf may be a good value pick if he slides in your draft.

Marlon Byrd was brought in to be the Cubs everyday centerfielder. The only problem is that he’s not the kind of guy you want to see up at the plate 550 times in a season.

He’s best utilized as a teams’ fourth outfielder, where he usually takes advantage of matchups. Don’t spend a lot on this one or else you will be greatly disappointed.

Adam LaRoche and Kelly Johnson both moved from Atlanta to Arizona. They both had a troublesome first half followed by an improved second half.

LaRoche was better than his typically good second half, but couldn’t parlay it into a long-term deal, so he’s playing for one this season.

Johnson lost his starting job after an injury and is trying to reestablish himself. LaRoche is more likely to have success than Johnson, but bet on the second half as LaRoche is always better in the summer heat than in the beginning of the season.

Bench (or Waiver Wire) Material

Boston also added Marco Scutaro and Mike Cameron to their offense. Scutaro is coming off a career season and isn’t likely to come anywhere close to his 2009 numbers, even in a powerful offense like Boston’s.

Mike Cameron will be consistent and will provide solid numbers, but he’s getting long in the tooth and you should be wary of a decline in skills.

Toronto signed Kevin Gregg to be their closer. His ERA was awful last year; don’t expect it to get any better playing in the A.L. East.

He’s got a history of blown saves and he’s likely to keep that trend going. Gregg is not an answer to saves unless you are truly desperate.

The Orioles added new pieces to play their infield corners. Miguel Tejada and Garrett Atkins both have put up big seasons in the past but both seem to be on the backside of their careers.

The good news is that both of these guys will quickly have multiple position eligibility. The bad news is that both are moving away from hitters havens and will likely suffer in Baltimore.

Stay away from both unless they are the kind of bench player you can roster.

The Phillies filled their third base hole with one of the best defensive second basemen in baseball, Placido Polanco .

Unfortunately, his bat will be mediocre at best for his new position. Philadelphia is looking for good defense here and you should look elsewhere for your offense.

A few more Nationals’ signings filled slots at catcher and second base. Ivan Rodriguez was the best fantasy catcher in the early 2000’s, but those days are long gone.

Adam Kennedy was never considered anywhere close to the best in his professional career and since he is also getting a little too old, neither should be considered for anything more than a bench spot.

Orlando Hudson signed with Minnesota. The Twins are already spending money they expect to make from their new stadium and Hudson’s defense is an upgrade.

Unfortunately, defense isn’t a category used by most leagues in fantasy baseball. He is getting slower with age and his offense was never his strength. He’ll be a great backup, but you don’t want O-Dog as your starter, unless you are in the deepest of leagues.

The Kansas City Royals added three veterans to fill out their offense. Rick Ankiel , Scott Podsednik and Jason Kendall have all had successes in their careers.

But this is not the time or place for those successes to repeat. None of the three are worth a starting role on your team, but could be useful backups.

Rick Milleman is the head fantasy baseball contributor at DraftBuddy.com . Check his annual player projections included in the Cheatsheet Compiler & Draft Buddy to help draft your championship team.

“Essentially it's a partnership,” Crystal Dynamics studio head Darrell Gallagher says about working with new owner Square Enix. “We're working really together with our parent company to make sure we're achieving our collective goals.” Gallagher told Gamasutra that the new ownership leads to opportunities for sharing of history and technology.

What is the new Square Enix-helmed Crystal doing now? It has the staff for two projects, including an in-house brand manager and public relations staff. Neither of those two potential projects are named, though Tomb Raider — the franchise that the developer specifically focused its studio structure on last year — did come up in the discussion. “What I can say is Tomb Raider, as a franchise, is absolutely part of the Crystal fabric,” Gallagher said. “It's a key franchise and awesome to be part of… we're excited about what we've been exploring, and we're excited to share it with the fans at some point.”

existing franchises for sale , franchises for sale

Exclusive: Unknown DOJ Lawyers Identified « Liveshots

An extensive review of court documents and media reports by Fox <b>News</b> suggests many of the seven lawyers in question played only minor or short-lived roles in advocating for detainees. However, it's unclear what roles, if any, …

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: Exposing the lies of Orrin Hatch and his fellow <b>…</b>

<b>News</b> and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

Hoyer knew of Massa allegations - John Bresnahan and Josh <b>…</b>

Hoyer said <b>news</b> of the sexual harassment allegation — coming on the same day Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) gave up his gavel on the Ways and Means Committee — shouldn't give Republicans a leg up in November. …

There are several ways to look at the next presidential election in 2012, especially since the current and new president, Barack Obama, appears unuusually vulnerable to being limited to one term.

This early vulnerability, after only about one year in office, could, following the 2010 mid-term elections this year, provoke an intraparty challenge to the president, as happened in 1980 when then-Senator Ted Kennedy took on incumbent President Jimmy Carter. Kennedy ultimately failed in that effort, but a politically wounded Carter went on to defeat by Ronald Reagan in the November election that followed.

Although it would take a huge wave reversal this year in the congressional elections, the Republicans might take control of one or both houses of Congress as early as this year.

All of this remains speculative, at this point, since so many events and conditions can intervene in an eight-month and thirty-two month interval. Political fortunes rarely go very long in a straight line either up or down.

But if all this predictive caution isn’t enough, I suggest that an even much longer period of time may be in order for political and policy planning for candidates and their political parties if they are not only to win the next political cycles, but govern successfully as well.

Barack Obama has been a political phenomenon. In 2008, the odds-on favorite to win the Democratic nomination was Hillary Clinton, then a U.S. senator from New York.

But it was the novice US.senator from Illinois, Mr. Obama, who survived a long, closely fought battle up to the Democratic convention, and then went on to defeat Republican nominee John McCain in November. Although the latter was in the end a decisive victory for the first black U.S. president, it should not be forgotten that following their own convention and just before the mortgage banking crisis, the McCain-Palin ticket had pulled ahead in the race. The financial meltdown effectively ended the presidential race, but without it, it is not dispositively clear who wins.

In any event, Barack Obama did win, and did have a reasonably good idea for some time before election day that he would become the next president. While there is some evidence that Mr. Obama and his advisers, and certainly Democratic congressional leaders, had some idea of “what” they wanted to do if they won, there is now little evidence that any of them, especially in the executive branch, had thought out “how” they would accomplish their goals.

The “what” of the Obama-Pelosi-Reid political team has turned out to be a radical series of public policies which are mostly quite unpopular with U.S. voters. Even with huge majorities in both houses of Congress, they have been unable to pass very much legislation. In an historically brief time, in fact, they have squandered their decisive 2006 and 2008 victories, and appear he…

Comment / Read More >

Perhaps the most standout feature of this revamp is the improved categorization that takes a ton of work off the plate of the user. The guys at Quicken have developed a learning algorithm for Quicken Online that allows users to self-tag, with the Quicken Online software remembering those tags and then applying them to other people's data. The more people who use it, the smarter the tagging gets. In my tests, the automatic categorizing/tagging works exceedingly well. Though Quicken Essentials takes a lot of cues from Mint.com, it's method of categorization is different (and superior). Mint obtains its categorization by performing a relatively simple Yellow Pages look-up. Later in the year Intuit will be combining the two approaches and hopes to achieve 95% categorization accuracy (Intuit bought Mint in 2009).

Out of the box, Quicken Essentials supports 12,000 US and Canadian banks. That will grow to 16,000 banks in the next 2-3 months. That's full coverage of every credit union and bank in the US. Transferring and converting your data from Quicken for Windows to Quicken Essentials worked pretty well in my tests. I just saved a copy of my Quicken for Windows file, moved it to my Mac, and double-clicked on it. All my data was easily imported without any errors. Keep in mind that I was only working with two years of Quicken data though. Quicken Essentials allows for conversion from previous Mac programs, Quicken for Windows 2007+, and the now defunct Microsoft Money.

If you're like me and just want a simple program to view all your financial accounts, see where your money is going, and keep track of balances and upcoming bills, I highly recommend Quicken Essentials. If, however, you're a Quicken power user who needs investing and planning tools, investment buy and sell tracking, TurboTax integration, or in-app bill pay, then QEM is not for you. Think of this edition of Quicken Essentials as iPhoto for your finances. It presents a snapshot of your finances and transactions in a simple to use interface. If you need more than that, it's best to look at iBank or Quicken Premier for Windows running under VMWare Fusion or Parallels.

Quicken Essentials for the Mac goes on sale today for $69 and requires Mac OS X 10.5 or 10.6, an Intel-based Mac, and 1GB of hard disk space.

http://removeripoffreports.net

I may have the reputation of being the resident “minor league scout” around here – but even I don’t normally go all the way down to the County level. However, I will make an exception for David Williams in his campaign for County Commissioner in El Paso County, Colorado (which encompasses the Colorado Springs Metro Area) . I do this partly because Dave is an old friend and a close political associate of mine – but mostly because he’s represents a story that needs to be told and a voice that needs to be heard.

At age 22, one would think that David Williams is “inexperienced” when it comes to politics – and as far as municipal government that might be true. However, over the last few years, David has been run through the political wringer in ways that most of us can only imagine. Generally, the office of “student body president” at a university hardly qualifies as solid preparation for actual political  involvement, but most student body  presidents don’t have to deal with a local media circus, a hostile university  administration, and constant impeachment and recall threats by the campus left. David Williams dealt with all of that and more – and he not only emerged stonger, he came out a hero to local Republicans and a nominee for a prestigous national youth leadership award.

So – what happened? Well let’s start at the beginning:

I got to know David in 2007, when I served as his campaign manager in a failed bid to win the student body presidencyat the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs  (his running mate Josh Green was my closest friend in College Republicans). I was was extremely impressed by his plans to morph student government from a largely meaningless resume builder into a forceful voice for current students against university administrators who were increasingly out of touch. For instance, the university (a commuter school) continually raised parking fees while purposefully reducing the number of spaces to encourage the student body to become more traditional and dorm oriented – David wanted a Student Parking Advisory Board to remind them that most of their current students were local commuters, many of whom had families and jobs off campus and didn’t appreciate being written out of the university’s future plans.   

After losing badly and being massively outspent, we regrouped and spent the next year planning a well-funded campaign that could actually win. One year and a lot of work, our steamrolling 2008 campaign succeeded in installing Dave and his new running mate Andy Adair as the heads of Student Govenrment. I graduated a happy man just a few months later – but for the madness was just beginning for President-elect Williams.

 

Just a few months into his term – David ran afoul of the left by withholding his signature from a funding request by Spectrum – the campus LGBT club - to finance their annual “Coming Out Day.” He purposefully didn’t veto it, citing their right to free speech and access to funds, so they got the money automatically after five days – he just didn’t feel comfortable approving the event. Now – before you label Dave a bigot, you need to understand that this was about more than just his religious opposition to a lifestyle. Yes, David did cite his personal values as the reason for exercising a pocket approval rather than an actual  signing – but Dave and I had a long talk about the issue when I was his campaign manger. At the time, he told me it just about his personal opposition, but also about his view that the Spectrum was discriminatory. He had voted against funding before as a Student Senator, becasue he saw Spectrum’s specific interpretation of “Coming Out Day” as both genuinely heterophobic and disrespectful of the right of individuals to remain closeted if they so chose - which would put them in violation of all sorts of non-discrimination clauses in the bylaws.   

Anyway, Spectrum threw a fit  – and even though Williams specifically ensured they got every dime they requested - launched an effort to have him impeached or recalled. The student judicial body ruled that he was withing his rights, but an appeal the Chancellor overruled them  and said that he was required to lend his signature and approval to Coming Out Day. This caused a circus in the local media – who were rather flabbergasted that the university would force an elected student official to support and advocate an event that he believed to be a poor use of student funds (regardless of whether they agreed with him). His cause was taken up by several conservative and Christian legal groups - who appealed to the Board of Regents. The Regents sent the case back to the Chancellor with instructions to seek a legal opinion before ruling – and this time the Chancellor ruled that David had done nothing wrong.

 He was allowed to finish his term, although all of his original plans (which originally enjoyed broad support) were shot down out of pure spite by the legislature.  And, perhaps proving David’s worry that they were heterophobes, Spectrum responded by purposefully running (and electing) an all-gay slate of candidates for the student body’s executive branch the next year (I would note that such a petty move actually undermines the notion of a “gay-straight alliance” – which is what they called themselves).

Now, you can agree or disagree with the decision not to sign the original bill, but it’s hard to argue with David’s courageous stand for free speech (remember that he was targeted not for a veto, but for disagreeing with a funding request that he ALLOWED TO PASS).  That fight took a lot of guts and a lot of work,  and I’m very proud that he was willing to go through it for the sake of free speech.

He also proved that he has the gumption and the fire in the belly to move on to “real” political office. He is already a member of the local Republican executive committee and a bit of a folk hero to some local conservatives, so this is not entirely a Don Quixote candidacy. Furthermore, from my past experience, I know that David is just as passionate (actually more passionate) about fiscal conservatism and responsive government as he is about his personal values.   

So, while I’m likely to take some heat for this, I am proud to throw my support behind my old friend in his run for County Commissioner. Furthermore, I have every intention of continuing to spread the word about a man I consider to be a dynamic conservative leader and a potential future candidate for state-level office in Colorado.  

At the moment, Dave is a bit of an underdog in a primary against State Board of Education member Peggy Littleton. However, I am confident that he can beat Littleton if he can get his name and personal story in the media. After all, how often is it that a 22 year old  can mount a legitimate campaign for office in a city of a half-million people?

Ken and Daria Dolan, America's first family of personal finance, answer your questions every Friday.

Click here to ask Ken and Daria your question.

Seventy-eight million American workers are not offered a retirement plan — such as a 401(k) or pension plan — at work. While having an employer sponsored plan is certainly a nice benefit, you have plenty of other options for saving for retirement. Today Ken and Daria walk you through your retirement plan options.

Dear Ken and Daria,

I have no retirement plan right now. The company I work for doesn't offer any kind of 401(k) or retirement plan. What are my options for a retirement plan and how do I get started? Thank you for your help!

– Linda

For more retirement planning help, including how much you really need to save and retirement mistakes to avoid, visit Dolans.com.

http://removeripoffreports.net

I choose for my role on the site not to really involve posting news articles. It's not really my bag and quite frankly I find re-posting stories broken by other sites to be tedious and boring. But I do like to surf the net and occasionally I stumble upon tidbits of information that I find interesting.

Today is the first day of principal photography on the latest Saw film. I'm a big fan of the franchise, seeking the films out at every midnight opening and despite the fact that they focus on sadistic torture, I feel they are more character oriented than people realize. But the series has got progressively stale and with each new film you get the feeling the studio is robbing us blind and wants to run this franchise forever. Back in late November, Matt Horn and David Murphy of U.K. Radio station 107.5 Demon FM conducted an exclusive interview with Saw co-writer Patrick Melton. Melton and his writing partner Marcus Dunstan got their big break in the third season of Project Greenlight when their screenplay was turned into the horror film Feast. Two sequels were subsequently produced, but the pair also took over the reins of the Saw franchise when they were hired as the writers of the fourth, fifth and sixth films.

Horn and Murphy had previously spoken with Dunstan before the release of Saw VI, but this latest interview takes place sometime after its lukewarm reception at the box-office. As much as I hated Oren Peli's Paranormal Activity, we may have to thank that film for besting Saw at the box-office because it looks like the idea to conclude the series with two more films has been scrapped. According to Melton, the powers that be want the seventh outing to be the last.

Melton seems like a really fun and engaging guy and though he doesn't spill specific details, he talks a lot about Saw VII more than he probably should. Will all our questions be answered in this final installment? Is shooting in 3-D the way to go or is the post 3-D process (currently being employed for Clash of the Titans) just as good? Will we learn the fate of Dr. Gordon (Cary Elwes)? Where are all those skin jigsaw puzzle pieces and what exactly is Saw: Endgame? Melton answers many of these questions in Demon FM's exclusive interview. You can click on the photo to hear the audio version which runs about an hour, but since Horn's Saw questions don't begin until about three minutes in, you can also read my truncated transcript below. Be advised of spoilers from the previous Saw films and even Saw VII.

Matt Horn: Well I'm going to be going over the same generic questions I asked with Marcus. The one everyone seems to be asking is when is Saw going to end?

Patrick Melton: I mean, I think it's going to end with Saw VII. I have a very strong feeling its going to end with Saw VII. That's something we're debating now. You saw in previous interviews or discussions where we thought Saw VIII would be the last one where we had the first trilogy and the second trilogy and then sort of a grand finale wrapped up in two films. But frankly because Saw VI hasn't performed as well as we anticipated, the idea is well why make two movies when we can make one really excellent movie that wraps up as best we can? And it's going to be in 3-D which sort of adds to the spectacle. So if you had to ask me, I don't own the franchise, nor do I run the studio, but I have a feeling, a strong feeling that it's going to be Saw VII which will be also known as Endgame. And nothing's official yet, but that's where we're hoping things will go.

MH: Well we heard from David Hackl that it might be Saw IX.

PM: (Laughs) Uh, I don't think so. No. And you know, a lot of it comes down to, ya know, the performance at the box-office. Had we opened at the traditional numbers, I think they would have gone with business as usual, but business was down to half that not only saw fatigue that comes with a franchise that opens, that plays every year, but also the desire of fans to have a bit more resolution and I thought we had it to a certain extent in VI, but there is of course a bit of a cliffhanger. Unsolved business, er unresolved business. And so if we're going to do it again, I think everyone wants these films to be events and they don't just want them to be, ya know, these sort of small little movies that don't have as much gravitas as the previous film. But this one, discussions around camp lately have been this to be officially the last one.

MH: Okay. It's a shame really, actually. There's also talk of a reboot as well.

PM: I've never heard that. Like redo the first one?

MH: Yeah

PM: I don't think so, no. Ya know maybe, ha, maybe ten years from now. Ah, but I don't think so. At this point everyone is very focused on making Saw VII and seeing if we can make this sort of the grand finale.

 

David Murphy: Even if Saw VII is going to be in 3-D, what about the idea of releasing the series in 3-D again. Does anyone fancy that?

PM. Oh. Oh the whole thing? You mean all, every movie? Well, um when the discussions were had, the talk about 3-D started around Saw V. People started talking about it and so tests were done not only with…see like during VI David Hackl was shooting sets with the 3-D camera just seeing how they looked and felt to see if it could work…but at the same time a company had put the first Saw into 3-D using the other technique of, ya know they do it in the computer and they pull out different parts of the movie, those scenes in 3-D, it's not authentic 3-D. But I think that that was a thought, it's very expensive, but some people, I think Lionsgate, they were discussing maybe putting them all in 3-D so they could have the same experience, but I've heard it's not, it doesn't look as good as actually shooting in 3-D. But that's a possibility that they would do this in 3-D and maybe do the first one in 3-D with the computer program.

MH: I also asked Marcus since you said Saw VII might be the last Saw, does that mean we'll ever find out whatever happened to Dr. Gordon?

PM: I can't say anything official yet, but I think the thought around the camp is that let's solve all questions by the end. Including that question. We wanted to resolve that because it is the 700 pound gorilla in the room…with a vague end in sight as most people have had, its sort of been been pushed off with us being able to often put…we read the scripts we had, we've always put in certain clues from each movie what happened to him, but a lot of that has been taken out of the films, but it seems that though right now the thought is to answer that question and wrap everything up in a wonderful nice package.

MH: Does that mean that sort of his…is his fate, is it going to be something like “oh he just died of blood loss” or there's going to be some sort of Eric Mathews type trap?

PM: Well I can't, of course I can't really say anything yet, but it will be resolved and it's not going to be anti-climatic, I will guarantee that.

Dave: So it's not going to be like “Oh my God!”

PM: Ha, ha. I can't say.

MH:Oh, oh dear. You can never get anything out of writers can you Dave?

PM: I mean cause a lot of it…the exact nature of how it plays out is still undecided at this moment , but the question will be answered, it's just a matter of how exactly.

DM: Well especially, a lot of the ideas they're ever changing to the point of production as well so even if you said right now, they could change…

PM: True, I don't want to say something that doesn't pan out.

MH: Well from what you were saying with Saw VII, a lot of the fans have been saying “Are they just doing this for the money?” The money aspect of it or are you doing it for the storytelling? What would you say to the fans who believe that?

PM: Oh, I think anytime something is very successful, in films especially, there's the automatic thought: “make another.” So I think the more money something makes the more likely there's going to be a sequel. However, no one wants to see the Saw franchise beat down into the ground and opening at five million dollars and no one really caring. That's why a decision is close to being made and an announcement is probably close to being made that this is the grand finale. I think certain powers that be will always be hesitant to say that so distinctly, but that's where our marching orders are leaning towards. We're not putting “Saw VII” at the top of our script books, we're putting “Saw: Endgame”. So that's how we feel about it. I think that people sometimes get bummed out when they see major cliffhangers at the end of the movie and they're like “Oh, c'mon! Now, you've answered five questions but you just brought up six more.” So I understand it, I feel that and as a fan of the first three movies we had those same feelings sometimes. But the filmmakers on this movie, the producers and the studio too, respect the franchise quite a bit and no one wants this to be something that becomes less than its always been. There is a reaction from the last movie not opening as big as it did in that we think that perhaps if we were going to do two movies, let's do one movie that's big, bad that sort of wraps things up as it should on our own terms.

MH: That kinda means that you're going to have to add a bit more running time to the film then? Really, surely?

PM: Probably. Probably It'll probably be a little bit longer. I don't think anyone wants to make a long boring movie. If we're promising to answer all questions it will likely result in a movie that's a little bit longer. Most of them have come in around ninety minutes or so. The third one was the longest although I might be mistaken on that. It'll probably have a bit larger, bulkier running time, but hopefully that will just be because there's so much great stuff going on. Hopefully, that won't affect the pacing…it will just be a bigger, bigger event.

MH: Will we revisit any of the survivors (of Saw V) like Pamela, Brit or Mallick?

PM:Yes, actually we will. One thing that's tricky with the Saw movies, because they are serialized which is good in some ways, but its difficult in other ways because it's hard to bring back certain actors because of a scheduling conflict or they want a ton of money. It often isn't feasible to bring them back but there is a huge centerpiece in VII that involves people that survived Jigsaw's traps. Two who would arguably have survived, Brit (Julie Benz) and Mallick (Greg Bryk), would be a part of that. And so, I don't know if they will specifically be in the movie, but they will be there spirit.

MH: Is the house fire that “The Fatal Five” were involved in the Saw II or the Saw I house?

PM: Yeah, its funny, the house that was in Saw II is the same house that Agent Strahm (Scott Patterson) entered in Saw V. We made a much bigger deal about it in the script and we intended it to be a much bigger deal in the movie, but when it was filmed, it didn't really register with people for some reason. The house that was used in II was never found and the basement of the house is “the bathroom” and all that is the same place where Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) lured Agent Strahm and killed him there. Which is why he would never be found. Or he wouldn't be found until Hoffman decided to give up the house which would in turn give up “the bathroom” and all the locations. But those are the same, that's the same house which uh, might be a big deal in Saw VII. We'll see.

Dave: You know that sort of fire alarm that you hear in Saw I? Is that the house fire?

PM: Yes, that was supposed to be the house fire that Mallick set that was part of the five person game in Saw V. And you know we had a lot of these little details which more tied together and often when we make the films it gets lost or it doesn't work so they have to be cut or they feel like too much put into the shot for people. And so that was supposed to be connected to the alarm that goes off in the first movie…

Dave: Detective Tapp (Danny Glover)…

PM: Yeah that he finds out. And then throughout Saw V we had this thing where Brit was trying to find out “what's the connection, what's the connection between us?” And initially think “Oh it's the fire”, but then at the end of the movie, when Agent Erickson (Mark Rolston) comes in and finds her dying she looks up and she recognizes him, essentially saying “I know you. You and the other guy are the agents that were investigating the fire that tried to arrest all of us.” So once that connection was made Erickson would realize that Strahm is the connection to her, the connection between all of them, which would sort of tie up the A story and B story. It was shot, but didn't really work and so the filmmakers were hoping people would be able to make that connection, but they didn't. And so that's why the A and B stories felt like they were standalones when in fact they were supposed to be totally married and come together in that moment.

MH: Are the whereabouts of the jigsaw pieces ever gonna get explained? Is there a big wall of jigsaw pieces of skin somewhere?

PM: Yeah, yeah. We wanted to get to that, um I hope we do. We've been planning on it, but we'll see. That is very astute though. We would like to answer that cause there does seem to be a great deal of skin jigsaw puzzle pieces hidden. Where are they? We would like to answer that.

DM: I have a question about the way the plot of Saw VI is related to the other Saw films, namely Saw III, because we came full circle. Saw VII for example is it inside the circle or outside the circle? Will it relate to a particular film or the whole series if its going to be the endgame?

PM: VII is going to incorporate all six films and wrap things up, that is the intent, that is the plan as of now, how we can do that as effectively as possible. Because if we're saying this is the end it should appropriately be the end and reach back to as far back in history as the films have gone.

DM: What about the video game, would that go into it at all?

PM: Well the video game, we've had to keep those separate, but I really enjoyed them. I thought the video game was a lot of fun.

MH: You know Daniel Matthews and people like Mrs. Gordon and her child and Jeff's child and Vick's wife? All those characters that sort of, I wouldn't say left the series, but haven't really been like “Oh my wife or my husband's disappeared” or anything like that. Will that be answered in VII?

PM: I don't know if those specific actors will be in it, but they will be addressed. Especially Dr. Gordon and family.

MH: In Saw II in the bit with the eye, you see someone limping. Is it the Dr. G?

PM: I can never say anything definite upon that, but we'll certainly find out sooner than later.

 

Is this Dr. Gordon implanting the key behind Michael's eyeball in Saw II? Hmm…

 

Aw, and in time for Valentine’s Day. The connect in question is Abdullah Saleh al-Eidan, and some takifirisphere posts indicate that he had about 300 important phone numbers on him. (This is what’s called “pocket litter” in the intelligence business — telling bits of data obtained in an arrest that gives you leads even without interrogation; and can be leveraged in an interrogation for even more information.)

I’d also suggest that if Hosenkoff’s sources are correct, there’s another intelligence piece looking at us in plain sight: the sheer fact that al-Eidan is making the trek to pass messages between ASQL & ASAP. Dude was headed to Yemen from Pakistan. I don’t know whether that was a return trip or what (his name suggests it probably is), but this post-Abdulmutallab moment is quite the odd time for the franchise to be communicating with the Corporate Office. Without further intelligence it’s probably not a good idea to speculate as to what exactly that indicates, so I’ll pass on that for now.

Tags: looooooooong war

When the company that eventually became Coracle Incorporated began, it was intended to automate my job, which was 'Internet Manager' of a large automotive group. It was simply an idea to do my job better and to make it possible for car buyers to find me, Israel Rothman, in a sea of car salesmen and women.

When my boss could not understand what I was trying to do and to provide to him for free, I quit, and started my own company.
The target market was the industry I was in: automotive. Unfortunately no one yet understood the term 'organic first page search engine recognition'; all they knew was how to buy expensive print, TV, and PPC (pay per click) search engine advertising. Also, I was afraid to fairly price the product I had invented so I kept the price low, believing that the decision makers would take me seriously if I kept it really inexpensive. Well, so much for those ideas!

There are other markets besides automotive, and I turned to those. I found a more ready audience: we have sold millions of dollars of the service to realtors and other businesses (and a few auto-related businesses), and we have become the number one provider of search engine placement for the real estate industry: see: Real Estate Magazine articles about Coracle, and also: Coracle online marketing

Now that we have had success in ther fields, we are turning back to my original target market: the Automotive business. Because our business is strong and growing, we are announcing the launch of our new auto-related BETA project Coracle Super ISS®, at Livermoreautogroup.com,
Livermore Auto Group are Ford, Chrysler and Jeep and Lincoln-Mercury franchises in Livermore, California. They are in a highly competitive market where every buyer is important and they decided to take an aggressive push at being first on every relevant search result for their products on all eight major search engines.

Now, like our real estate and other clients, livermoreautogroup.com has superior and exclusive first page placement for their chosen searches in their market (IE: almost every 'make, model, city, state' search they desire). To see this for yourself, just go to any search engine and enter Chrysler Service Livermore California-number one on every major search engine! Everyone looking for service on the Internet for their Chrysler in Livermore will be brought to Livermore Auto Group!

This is accomplished by a combination of proprietary methods whereby a symbiotic relationship exists between:

1. Our proprietary technologies;
2. Our subscribers;
3. The search engines

With Coracle everybody wins: the search engines want the data: whether it is auto inventory or real estate listings, without having to find it; and we feed it and maintain it to them in just the formats they like. In return, we can place THREE and THREE ONLY franchises on top in any City.

Imagine an auto dealership with first page search engine recognition for virtually every year make and model of everything they have ever sold when added to their city, state searches within their area. How much do you think that would that cost on just one search engine, much less all of them, by any other method?

Well, Coracle Super ISS® costs less for an entire year that you spend on your Sunday advertising, most likely!

Ask yourself these questions:
1. “When was the last time any one I know responded to a full page ad in the newspaper trying to sell an auto?”
2. “How much do those ads cost?”
3. “What is happening to the circulation of newspapers?”
4. “Where is my budget best spent these days?”

If you are not spending more on Internet marketing to bring more sales to your franchise, you're missing the the profits and gravy that the Internet can bring to you.

Contact me and I will put YOUR franchises on top of all eight major search engines - -GUARANTEED or your money back!

Israel Rothman, Chief of Product Development for Coracle Incorporated can be reached at irothman@CoracleInc.com or at 925 913-0024.

I choose for my role on the site not to really involve posting news articles. It's not really my bag and quite frankly I find re-posting stories broken by other sites to be tedious and boring. But I do like to surf the net and occasionally I stumble upon tidbits of information that I find interesting.

Today is the first day of principal photography on the latest Saw film. I'm a big fan of the franchise, seeking the films out at every midnight opening and despite the fact that they focus on sadistic torture, I feel they are more character oriented than people realize. But the series has got progressively stale and with each new film you get the feeling the studio is robbing us blind and wants to run this franchise forever. Back in late November, Matt Horn and David Murphy of U.K. Radio station 107.5 Demon FM conducted an exclusive interview with Saw co-writer Patrick Melton. Melton and his writing partner Marcus Dunstan got their big break in the third season of Project Greenlight when their screenplay was turned into the horror film Feast. Two sequels were subsequently produced, but the pair also took over the reins of the Saw franchise when they were hired as the writers of the fourth, fifth and sixth films.

Horn and Murphy had previously spoken with Dunstan before the release of Saw VI, but this latest interview takes place sometime after its lukewarm reception at the box-office. As much as I hated Oren Peli's Paranormal Activity, we may have to thank that film for besting Saw at the box-office because it looks like the idea to conclude the series with two more films has been scrapped. According to Melton, the powers that be want the seventh outing to be the last.

Melton seems like a really fun and engaging guy and though he doesn't spill specific details, he talks a lot about Saw VII more than he probably should. Will all our questions be answered in this final installment? Is shooting in 3-D the way to go or is the post 3-D process (currently being employed for Clash of the Titans) just as good? Will we learn the fate of Dr. Gordon (Cary Elwes)? Where are all those skin jigsaw puzzle pieces and what exactly is Saw: Endgame? Melton answers many of these questions in Demon FM's exclusive interview. You can click on the photo to hear the audio version which runs about an hour, but since Horn's Saw questions don't begin until about three minutes in, you can also read my truncated transcript below. Be advised of spoilers from the previous Saw films and even Saw VII.

Matt Horn: Well I'm going to be going over the same generic questions I asked with Marcus. The one everyone seems to be asking is when is Saw going to end?

Patrick Melton: I mean, I think it's going to end with Saw VII. I have a very strong feeling its going to end with Saw VII. That's something we're debating now. You saw in previous interviews or discussions where we thought Saw VIII would be the last one where we had the first trilogy and the second trilogy and then sort of a grand finale wrapped up in two films. But frankly because Saw VI hasn't performed as well as we anticipated, the idea is well why make two movies when we can make one really excellent movie that wraps up as best we can? And it's going to be in 3-D which sort of adds to the spectacle. So if you had to ask me, I don't own the franchise, nor do I run the studio, but I have a feeling, a strong feeling that it's going to be Saw VII which will be also known as Endgame. And nothing's official yet, but that's where we're hoping things will go.

MH: Well we heard from David Hackl that it might be Saw IX.

PM: (Laughs) Uh, I don't think so. No. And you know, a lot of it comes down to, ya know, the performance at the box-office. Had we opened at the traditional numbers, I think they would have gone with business as usual, but business was down to half that not only saw fatigue that comes with a franchise that opens, that plays every year, but also the desire of fans to have a bit more resolution and I thought we had it to a certain extent in VI, but there is of course a bit of a cliffhanger. Unsolved business, er unresolved business. And so if we're going to do it again, I think everyone wants these films to be events and they don't just want them to be, ya know, these sort of small little movies that don't have as much gravitas as the previous film. But this one, discussions around camp lately have been this to be officially the last one.

MH: Okay. It's a shame really, actually. There's also talk of a reboot as well.

PM: I've never heard that. Like redo the first one?

MH: Yeah

PM: I don't think so, no. Ya know maybe, ha, maybe ten years from now. Ah, but I don't think so. At this point everyone is very focused on making Saw VII and seeing if we can make this sort of the grand finale.

 

David Murphy: Even if Saw VII is going to be in 3-D, what about the idea of releasing the series in 3-D again. Does anyone fancy that?

PM. Oh. Oh the whole thing? You mean all, every movie? Well, um when the discussions were had, the talk about 3-D started around Saw V. People started talking about it and so tests were done not only with…see like during VI David Hackl was shooting sets with the 3-D camera just seeing how they looked and felt to see if it could work…but at the same time a company had put the first Saw into 3-D using the other technique of, ya know they do it in the computer and they pull out different parts of the movie, those scenes in 3-D, it's not authentic 3-D. But I think that that was a thought, it's very expensive, but some people, I think Lionsgate, they were discussing maybe putting them all in 3-D so they could have the same experience, but I've heard it's not, it doesn't look as good as actually shooting in 3-D. But that's a possibility that they would do this in 3-D and maybe do the first one in 3-D with the computer program.

MH: I also asked Marcus since you said Saw VII might be the last Saw, does that mean we'll ever find out whatever happened to Dr. Gordon?

PM: I can't say anything official yet, but I think the thought around the camp is that let's solve all questions by the end. Including that question. We wanted to resolve that because it is the 700 pound gorilla in the room…with a vague end in sight as most people have had, its sort of been been pushed off with us being able to often put…we read the scripts we had, we've always put in certain clues from each movie what happened to him, but a lot of that has been taken out of the films, but it seems that though right now the thought is to answer that question and wrap everything up in a wonderful nice package.

MH: Does that mean that sort of his…is his fate, is it going to be something like “oh he just died of blood loss” or there's going to be some sort of Eric Mathews type trap?

PM: Well I can't, of course I can't really say anything yet, but it will be resolved and it's not going to be anti-climatic, I will guarantee that.

Dave: So it's not going to be like “Oh my God!”

PM: Ha, ha. I can't say.

MH:Oh, oh dear. You can never get anything out of writers can you Dave?

PM: I mean cause a lot of it…the exact nature of how it plays out is still undecided at this moment , but the question will be answered, it's just a matter of how exactly.

DM: Well especially, a lot of the ideas they're ever changing to the point of production as well so even if you said right now, they could change…

PM: True, I don't want to say something that doesn't pan out.

MH: Well from what you were saying with Saw VII, a lot of the fans have been saying “Are they just doing this for the money?” The money aspect of it or are you doing it for the storytelling? What would you say to the fans who believe that?

PM: Oh, I think anytime something is very successful, in films especially, there's the automatic thought: “make another.” So I think the more money something makes the more likely there's going to be a sequel. However, no one wants to see the Saw franchise beat down into the ground and opening at five million dollars and no one really caring. That's why a decision is close to being made and an announcement is probably close to being made that this is the grand finale. I think certain powers that be will always be hesitant to say that so distinctly, but that's where our marching orders are leaning towards. We're not putting “Saw VII” at the top of our script books, we're putting “Saw: Endgame”. So that's how we feel about it. I think that people sometimes get bummed out when they see major cliffhangers at the end of the movie and they're like “Oh, c'mon! Now, you've answered five questions but you just brought up six more.” So I understand it, I feel that and as a fan of the first three movies we had those same feelings sometimes. But the filmmakers on this movie, the producers and the studio too, respect the franchise quite a bit and no one wants this to be something that becomes less than its always been. There is a reaction from the last movie not opening as big as it did in that we think that perhaps if we were going to do two movies, let's do one movie that's big, bad that sort of wraps things up as it should on our own terms.

MH: That kinda means that you're going to have to add a bit more running time to the film then? Really, surely?

PM: Probably. Probably It'll probably be a little bit longer. I don't think anyone wants to make a long boring movie. If we're promising to answer all questions it will likely result in a movie that's a little bit longer. Most of them have come in around ninety minutes or so. The third one was the longest although I might be mistaken on that. It'll probably have a bit larger, bulkier running time, but hopefully that will just be because there's so much great stuff going on. Hopefully, that won't affect the pacing…it will just be a bigger, bigger event.

MH: Will we revisit any of the survivors (of Saw V) like Pamela, Brit or Mallick?

PM:Yes, actually we will. One thing that's tricky with the Saw movies, because they are serialized which is good in some ways, but its difficult in other ways because it's hard to bring back certain actors because of a scheduling conflict or they want a ton of money. It often isn't feasible to bring them back but there is a huge centerpiece in VII that involves people that survived Jigsaw's traps. Two who would arguably have survived, Brit (Julie Benz) and Mallick (Greg Bryk), would be a part of that. And so, I don't know if they will specifically be in the movie, but they will be there spirit.

MH: Is the house fire that “The Fatal Five” were involved in the Saw II or the Saw I house?

PM: Yeah, its funny, the house that was in Saw II is the same house that Agent Strahm (Scott Patterson) entered in Saw V. We made a much bigger deal about it in the script and we intended it to be a much bigger deal in the movie, but when it was filmed, it didn't really register with people for some reason. The house that was used in II was never found and the basement of the house is “the bathroom” and all that is the same place where Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) lured Agent Strahm and killed him there. Which is why he would never be found. Or he wouldn't be found until Hoffman decided to give up the house which would in turn give up “the bathroom” and all the locations. But those are the same, that's the same house which uh, might be a big deal in Saw VII. We'll see.

Dave: You know that sort of fire alarm that you hear in Saw I? Is that the house fire?

PM: Yes, that was supposed to be the house fire that Mallick set that was part of the five person game in Saw V. And you know we had a lot of these little details which more tied together and often when we make the films it gets lost or it doesn't work so they have to be cut or they feel like too much put into the shot for people. And so that was supposed to be connected to the alarm that goes off in the first movie…

Dave: Detective Tapp (Danny Glover)…

PM: Yeah that he finds out. And then throughout Saw V we had this thing where Brit was trying to find out “what's the connection, what's the connection between us?” And initially think “Oh it's the fire”, but then at the end of the movie, when Agent Erickson (Mark Rolston) comes in and finds her dying she looks up and she recognizes him, essentially saying “I know you. You and the other guy are the agents that were investigating the fire that tried to arrest all of us.” So once that connection was made Erickson would realize that Strahm is the connection to her, the connection between all of them, which would sort of tie up the A story and B story. It was shot, but didn't really work and so the filmmakers were hoping people would be able to make that connection, but they didn't. And so that's why the A and B stories felt like they were standalones when in fact they were supposed to be totally married and come together in that moment.

MH: Are the whereabouts of the jigsaw pieces ever gonna get explained? Is there a big wall of jigsaw pieces of skin somewhere?

PM: Yeah, yeah. We wanted to get to that, um I hope we do. We've been planning on it, but we'll see. That is very astute though. We would like to answer that cause there does seem to be a great deal of skin jigsaw puzzle pieces hidden. Where are they? We would like to answer that.

DM: I have a question about the way the plot of Saw VI is related to the other Saw films, namely Saw III, because we came full circle. Saw VII for example is it inside the circle or outside the circle? Will it relate to a particular film or the whole series if its going to be the endgame?

PM: VII is going to incorporate all six films and wrap things up, that is the intent, that is the plan as of now, how we can do that as effectively as possible. Because if we're saying this is the end it should appropriately be the end and reach back to as far back in history as the films have gone.

DM: What about the video game, would that go into it at all?

PM: Well the video game, we've had to keep those separate, but I really enjoyed them. I thought the video game was a lot of fun.

MH: You know Daniel Matthews and people like Mrs. Gordon and her child and Jeff's child and Vick's wife? All those characters that sort of, I wouldn't say left the series, but haven't really been like “Oh my wife or my husband's disappeared” or anything like that. Will that be answered in VII?

PM: I don't know if those specific actors will be in it, but they will be addressed. Especially Dr. Gordon and family.

MH: In Saw II in the bit with the eye, you see someone limping. Is it the Dr. G?

PM: I can never say anything definite upon that, but we'll certainly find out sooner than later.

 

Is this Dr. Gordon implanting the key behind Michael's eyeball in Saw II? Hmm…

 

Aw, and in time for Valentine’s Day. The connect in question is Abdullah Saleh al-Eidan, and some takifirisphere posts indicate that he had about 300 important phone numbers on him. (This is what’s called “pocket litter” in the intelligence business — telling bits of data obtained in an arrest that gives you leads even without interrogation; and can be leveraged in an interrogation for even more information.)

I’d also suggest that if Hosenkoff’s sources are correct, there’s another intelligence piece looking at us in plain sight: the sheer fact that al-Eidan is making the trek to pass messages between ASQL & ASAP. Dude was headed to Yemen from Pakistan. I don’t know whether that was a return trip or what (his name suggests it probably is), but this post-Abdulmutallab moment is quite the odd time for the franchise to be communicating with the Corporate Office. Without further intelligence it’s probably not a good idea to speculate as to what exactly that indicates, so I’ll pass on that for now.

Tags: looooooooong war

bill bartmann on making mortgage audit established franchises for sale, existing franchises for sale, low cost franchises sale franchises for sale online stock trading

Comments

Subscribe to comments for this post OR Subscribe to comments for all ReadWriteWeb posts

1. You should also check out http://www.FiLife.com. FiLife is a personal finance question and answer platform that is now the #4 personal finance site on the web according to Comscore (December 2009). Users can come to the site and ask questions and get expert answers in a few hours.

   Posted by: EK |
   January 14, 2010 5:45 AM

2. I second that FiLife nomination. I've asked several questions there on a variety of topics and my questions usually get answered by somebody right away. Plus, tax season is coming up, and it's going to be good to have a place to ask those pesky tax questions!

   Posted by: Barclay |
   January 14, 2010 7:26 AM

3. Its still early days for these services yet, and whilst options like Xero might be good for professional type businesses, for anyone who carries / needs to account for stock they are not yet suitable. But as they build an eco-system of integrations around them then will become suitable for a wider range of businesses.

   Core accounting doesn't really change, (tax rates etc change but the basics stay the same), so we've been able to use the same desktop accounting software, bought for around £300, for the past 5 years. Which make the SAAS providers very expensive by comparison. As they build more features and more data integrations then that cost may become justified.

   Posted by: Robert |
   January 14, 2010 9:24 AM

4. Small business accounting doesn't have to be complex…or scary. And that's what the web (internet DNA) can bring to small businesses…'De-scarey' accounting into simple, easy to understand workflows.

   Surprised that with all the mentioned of Intuit, there isn't one of QuickBooks Online? For small businesses who want that anywhere/anytime access (and majority will in a short time!) QuickBooks Online is a big player.

   We're bringing that Internet DNA (and the decades of trusted accounting knowledge) to how small businesses think about and run their books. Pretty exciting stuff there.

   Kristen
   QuickBooks Online Product Manager

   Posted by: Kristen Berman |
   January 14, 2010 9:45 AM

5. Doesn't First Round Capital have an interesting portfolio company that competes directly with Xero? Might be worth a mention… I forget the name.

   Posted by: Andrew Parker |
   January 14, 2010 9:59 AM

6. For personal finances, I use Mint.com - very useful feedback via emails in terms of where my money is going, and where I stand at the end of every month.

   Posted by: Ceyda |
   January 14, 2010 12:23 PM

7. I would love to try Mint but they weren't operating in the UK the last time I checked.

   I've used Wesabe for a while, but the whole download/upload approach was too much for my low frustration tolerance. I blame being spoilt by API's for this

   Posted by: Ray Scott |
   January 14, 2010 12:25 PM

8. I use Quickbooks (for Windows) for business. While a solution like Xero would be an ideal, most SMB focused Accounting firms still recommend and rely on Quickbooks. I think I will be introducing my accountant to Xero.

   On the personal side, Mint is great, but lacks certain features that are necessary for some people. I use Quicken (for Windows) in order to track checks and attach images. Once Mint/QOE introduces a feature set similar to the desktop version, the switch will be a no-brainer.

    Posted by: Bryan Radtke |
   January 14, 2010 12:36 PM

9. I use FreeAgent (http://www.freeagentcentral.com) for my small business. For UK based companies it's particularly fantastic as it “knows” about UK tax and VAT rules but for pretty much anyone it is beautifully designed and works a treat. First thing I signed up for when starting the business, don't regret it for a second.

    Posted by: Ed Moore |
   January 14, 2010 12:38 PM

10. Xero is missing Payroll functionality for the UK, although integration is available with two external providers at additional cost.

    FreeAgent Central has it's own payroll functionality included within the Limited Company service plan (£25 per month plus VAT).

    Neither FreeAgent or Xero can manage stock which is a major limitation currently.

    Posted by: James |
    January 14, 2010 6:19 PM

11. I'm not clear about why nobody's created a 3rd party service that can actually perform transactions. Mint.com, etc. make it easy to watch what's happening with your money and set budget goals, etc. but don't actually help you allocate your money. I've long wanted an online method to automatically manage balances across multiple accounts (e.g. different accounts intended for different spending categories, or just automating savings better). Banks have their own tools for doing recurring transactions but as far as I've seen they are all limited to a fixed-amount transaction and are restricted to single-future-date or fixed-interval-recurring scheduling. Why not allow a percentage of each paycheck to be transferred to savings whenever it clears? Or set up rules like pay down credit card balances before transferring to savings.

    Is there some technical (doubtful) or legal reason why this type of account management isn't available?

    Posted by: Brandon |
    January 17, 2010 9:15 PM

12. Saasu.com is interesting too, it is richer than xero (e.g salary processing, inventory) so a hybrid online ERP and accounting.

    Blippy.com is new and also unusual, used for sharing credit card transactions on twitter, only a matter of time before some accounting software integrates that feed from all employees with hash tags for expense categories

    Cheers, Pete.

     Posted by: Peter J Cooper |
    January 18, 2010 2:44 PM

13. For SME accounting, there is also an interesting development for taking book-keeping and making the numbers useful through benchmarking. By capturing the data within book-keeping, animalizing it, analyzing and producing reports - benchmarking allows SMEs to see how their business ticks and how competitive they are in their market sector.

    FreshBooks is offering it, and there are specialists such as MyCake.org which is a front end API linked to online software such as KashFlow.

    Hannah
    MyCake.org

    Posted by: Hannah Knowles |
    January 29, 2010 2:31 AM

14. Quickbooks is what I use but have been following Mint and realized that a lot of persons how it in high esteem.

    Posted by: FinanciallySmart |
    January 30, 2010 8:43 AM

15. One thing that's worth considering is that remote desktop and remote application technology is bringing traditional desktop applications to the web. This means that Sage and Quickbooks, the market leaders here in the UK can be accessed anywhere with the speed and familiarity of desktop software.
    The costs are higher but the benefits are significant and it can be a difficult and often unsuccessful process moving from sage to a web based system, data migration, user training etc. In my experience a remote desktop solution is often the best route for an extablished business.
    Having said this if I were starting a business up I'd certainly use a web-based app, QuickBooks online if or when it's available in the UK.

    Posted by: Dan Hancock |
    January 31, 2010 1:09 AM

…  the more doors Hello Music promises to open. For example, Zalon said, the top 10% of Hello Music's clients will be featured in a special section of Pump Audio's licensing service, which supplies music for movies, TV shows, advertisements and corporate use. Top artists also will be integrated into a new artist channel at Yahoo Music and added to the library at MediaNet, which powers the online music services offered by Microsoft and MOG, among others. "We really are looking for opportunities for unsigned artists that they couldn't get for themselves," Zalon said.

The company's site, which is still in a trial phase, is free to use. Artists create profiles on the site and upload recordings, along with detailed descriptions of their work. Hello Music's team of screeners, which
includes musicians, former label A&R executives and music fans,
then reviews each song, providing its own description, notes and ratings. This process determines which partners the company will match the artist with. Not every band will be plugged into a potentially revenue-generating slot such as Pump Audio, Zalon said. Some will instead be offered discounts for services that partners offer for a fee. Still, he said, "no matter what [the song] is, we're going to listen to it, and we're going to find opportunities."

And under Hello Music's business model, the company won't succeed unless the artists who use it make money. That's because it doesn't charge upfront for its service; instead, it collects a percentage of the revenue that it helps artists generate.

The arrival of a company like Hello Music is a sign of the maturation of the Net's self-help tools as an alternative to record labels. There's an online substitute for just about every service that labels and managers have done to promote and generate revenue for bands. What's missing, though, is something to hold those pieces together. Zalon contends that it can become that connective tissue by providing something needed by bands and services alike: a talent arbiter. The former are struggling to stand out in the musical crowd, and the latter need help culling the wheat from the chaff.

"What we look for is to have fresh material, material that other outlets don't have," said Ryan Born, chief executive of AudioMicro, a Hello Music partner that licenses songs to online advertisers. Hello Music can sort through songs and aggregate the best ones for him, Born said, leaving him free to line up customers.

Jonathan Sasse, a senior vice president at Slacker, said Hello Music can help his company in two ways. It puts its clients' songs into context for Slacker's music programmers, making it easy for them to place the tracks into the right playlists and artist groupings. And it suggests which artists are hot. "If they deliver us a great breaking artist … that's insight we otherwise wouldn't have," Sasse said.

Its ability to deliver what AudioMicro, Slacker and other partners need will hinge on the judgment of its team of screeners. Zalon and co-founder Brendon Cassidy also bring extensive music backgrounds to the table, having worked at Farmclub.com and Virgin Digital before creating Wilshire Media Group, a digital media design and development firm, in 2006. Still, there's no science to identifying which artists will be successful; if there were, the record companies wouldn't pick nine flops for every one that hits it big.

Thanks to a $4-million investment from KVG Partners, the company will have some time to refine its approach and build its network of partners, which will be a key factor in drawing musicians to the site. Zalon contends that there is a tremendous number of talented artists that are unsigned, and "a lot of very willing ears for new music." In addition, there are a growing number of ways for artists to generate revenue from their work, as music becomes available from more sources and in more ways. "Being a successful artist in the future doesn't look like being a successful artist in the past," Zalon said.

That doesn't mean artists will abandon record labels. On the contrary, Zalon said, the major labels will still have unrivaled power to market and promote acts. But Hello Music hopes to assemble a viable alternative. "We're creating a different kind of A&R machine," he said. "If you're not going to get signed, you should still have opportunities."

Corrected at 10 a.m.: The Midem conference is in Cannes, not Paris as the original version of this post stated (thanks, Mike!). I also removed a reference to MusicNet, which is now known as MediaNet.

– Jon Healey

Healey writes editorials for The Times' Opinion Manufacturing Division. Follow him on Twitter: @jcahealey

online stock trading, robert shumake, robert shumake, loss mitigation training

As a young adult, I wished for my own credit cards. Sure, I had the use of my parents' but I was not held responsible for the bills or my use. I realize now as a forty Five year old married woman in a “community debt” state (translation: I am as responsible for my husband's debt as he is mine), I should have been taught how dangerous credit cards are in inexperienced hands.

Unfortunately, I am married to someone who knows better but has no self control either. It's too easy to “charge it” with no regard to how the bill will be paid when it comes in.

Today, credit cards are almost a necessity to purchase items online, shopping channels and the like. Unfortunately for young people today almost every fast food chain accepts the evil plastic.

Our Parents almost 30 years ago were either unable or unwilling to teach us proper use of credit cards. Now, we are paying the pipers, better known as Chase, Bank of America and AT&T universal card.

If we had children they would be taught responsible credit card use, to try and save them from our mistakes.

As much as it pays me to say this, Personal Finance, especially credit cards should be part of every high school's curriculum. I say High school because in many cases, College would be too late. These classes should be required, mandatory not elective.

Years ago, girls were expected to take home economics or other home making classes. With today's financial climate, we are failing the next generation by not giving them tools to avoid massive credit card debt.

There are information for parents to help their children learn about money. http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/money/hlpngyrchild/hlpngyrchild.htm has information on teaching about money, saving and budgets, etc. The quarterly Consumer Information Center Catalog lists more than 200 helpful federal publications. Obtain a free copy by calling 888-8-PUEBLO; on the Internet at www.pueblo.gsa.gov or by writing: Consumer Information Catalog, Pueblo, CO 81009.

Adults can also get help by visiting mymoney.gov. But bad habits are very hard to unlearn, especially a lifetime off them.

We teach our children to give strangers a wide berth, how to drive safely and skills to hold a job. Why not financial responsibility?

Andy Borowitz: Fox <b>News</b> Gives Palin's Hand Job

"We were very impressed with the job her hand did at the Tea Party Convention," Fox <b>News</b> chief Roger Ailes said. "And we said to ourselves, let's give Sarah Palin's hand a job."

Stabroek <b>News</b> - Workers protest planned Air Jamaica sale to T&amp;T

Daily <b>News</b>, Sports, Business, Entertainment and more from Guyana.

Nikon releases 24mm f/1.4 G ED fast wideangle lens: Digital <b>…</b>

Nikon releases 24mm f/1.4 G ED fast wideangle lens: Nikon has released the AF-S Nikkor 24mm F/1.4G ED wide aperture prime lens for full-frame DSLRs. It features an anti-reflective Nano Crystal coating and both ED and …

online stock trading tips, online stock trading tips, online stock trading tips, online stock trading tips, franchise opportunities, franchise opportunities, franchise opportunities, franchise opportunities, franchise opportunities, franchise opportunities, franchise opportunities, franchise opportunities, robert shumake, robert shumake, robert shumake, robert shumake, surface encounters granite counters, surface encounters granite counters, surface encounters granite counters, surface encounters granite counters, surface encounters granite counters, surface encounters granite counters, surface encounters granite counters, bill bartmann's plan, bill bartmann's plan, bill bartmann's plan, theleaseoptionking atlanta real estate agent

Andy Borowitz: Fox <b>News</b> Gives Palin's Hand Job

"We were very impressed with the job her hand did at the Tea Party Convention," Fox <b>News</b> chief Roger Ailes said. "And we said to ourselves, let's give Sarah Palin's hand a job."

Stabroek <b>News</b> - Workers protest planned Air Jamaica sale to T&amp;T

Daily <b>News</b>, Sports, Business, Entertainment and more from Guyana.

Nikon releases 24mm f/1.4 G ED fast wideangle lens: Digital <b>…</b>

Nikon releases 24mm f/1.4 G ED fast wideangle lens: Nikon has released the AF-S Nikkor 24mm F/1.4G ED wide aperture prime lens for full-frame DSLRs. It features an anti-reflective Nano Crystal coating and both ED and …

Andy Borowitz: Fox <b>News</b> Gives Palin's Hand Job

"We were very impressed with the job her hand did at the Tea Party Convention," Fox <b>News</b> chief Roger Ailes said. "And we said to ourselves, let's give Sarah Palin's hand a job."

Stabroek <b>News</b> - Workers protest planned Air Jamaica sale to T&amp;T

Daily <b>News</b>, Sports, Business, Entertainment and more from Guyana.

Nikon releases 24mm f/1.4 G ED fast wideangle lens: Digital <b>…</b>

Nikon releases 24mm f/1.4 G ED fast wideangle lens: Nikon has released the AF-S Nikkor 24mm F/1.4G ED wide aperture prime lens for full-frame DSLRs. It features an anti-reflective Nano Crystal coating and both ED and …

I did it!

I finally finished the manuscript for Your Money: The Missing Manual; I e-mailed the last chapter to my editor at 9:10 this morning.

This book was a lot of work. I started writing it on 23 September 2009 at 12:27 p.m. Over the next 115 days, I gained fifteen pounds. (I actually gained eighteen, but I’ve lost three since the start of the year.) The final manuscript contains 125,244 words and 269 pages in Microsoft Word, which would be about 400 printed pages. That’s too long, so we’ll spend the next month whittling it down to something more manageable.

During the past few months, I’ve been a virtual hermit, cloistered in my office (”deep in the word mines”, as I like to say), working 8-10 hours every day — and sometimes many more. Now that the book is nearly finished (aside from editing and printing), I calculate that my hourly wage for this project is…drumroll please…less than minimum wage!

Still, I’m not doing this for the money. I’m doing it because I want to help people turn their financial lives around. I’m doing it because I wish I’d had a book like this twenty years ago. If Your Money: The Missing Manual sells enough copies to earn back its advance, that’s great. But if it helps even a handful of people get out of debt and start saving for the future, I’ve done my job.

Chock full of goodness
What’s in the book? Plenty of the stuff you see at Get Rich Slowly — but also lots of new topics, too. Here’s a chapter-by-chapter breakdown:

• Introduction — I give a brief summary of my background and share the fourteen tenets of Get Rich Slowly. (2304 words, 5 pages, completed 09 January 2010)
• Chapter 1: Happiness — I survey current happiness research. I explain how money is important but it isn’t everything. I also discuss the notion of lifestyle inflation (though we’re calling it “the hedonic treadmill” for the book). (6800 words, 15 pages, completed 05 October 2009)
• Chapter 2: Goals — I discuss the importance of setting goals. Without goals, you have no reason to save. (6090 words, 13 pages, completed 12 October 2009)
• Chapter 3: Budgeting — If goals are your destination, then a budget’s your map. But as most of you know, I’m not a fan of detailed budgets. Instead, I focus on looking at the Big Picture (including my favorite, the balanced money formula), suggesting readers can add detail as needed. (6975 words, 15 pages, completed 19 October 2009)
• Chapter 4: Debt — I lived with debt for fifteen years. This chapter shares a bit about how I overcame my own debt, and then shares some of my favorite resources. My goal is to give readers the tools they need to kick debt to the curb. (7163 words, 16 pages, completed 16 October 2009)
• Chapter 5: Frugality — This chapter got out of control! How can you compress this topic into just 25 pages? You can’t. I know some folks think frugality is pointless, but I’m not one of them. I sing its praises here. (11676 words, 26 pages, completed 04 November 2009)
• Chapter 6: Income — The most overlooked topic in personal finance: how to make more money. You guys know I’m a passionate believer in boosting your income in whatever way you can. This chapter suggests some ways to do it. (11081 words, 24 pages, 10 November 2009)
• Chapter 7: Banking — Banking’s not a very sexy topic, but there’s still some important stuff to cover, like how to find the best checking and savings accounts. (7836 words, 18 pages, completed 17 November 2009)
• Chapter 8: Credit — Credit can be dangerous…but it doesn’t have to be. Here I go over credit scores and credit reports and offer some tips for using credit cards responsibly. (6350 words, 14 pages, completed 25 November 2009)
• Chapter 9: Big Stuff — As great as it is to save money through frugality, it’s even more important to save on big things, such as cars, furniture, and vacations. This chapter tells you how. (13085 words, 26 pages, completed 03 December 2009)
• Chapter 10: Housing — Yikes, this chapter was tough to write. I’m not sure why, but it got away from me. I had so much I wanted to say! In the end, I had to cut the info on “cost of living”, and I may have even had to cut the stuff on selling a house. There’s still plenty of meat here, though. (9906 words, 20 pages, completed 22 December 2009)
• Chapter 11: Death and Taxes — When I started writing, I told my editor this chapter would suck. I didn’t feel confident about the subject. In the end, it was fun to write — and it turned out well. It’s tough to make taxes, insurance, and estate planning interesting, but I did my best. (10000 words, 21 pages, completed 16 December 2009)
• Chapter 12: Investing — I outline the basics of investing, including some of the psychological pitfalls investors face. I encourage readers to look at index funds, but point them to good resources for other strategies if they simply must try to beat the market. (10684 words, 24 pages, 05 January 2010)
• Chapter 13: Retirement — The chapter I completed this morning! I talk about the power of compounding and the importance of saving early. I also go on a rant about how much I hate retirement planning based around “replacement income”. (It’s so stupid!) (7872 words, 17 pages, completed 15 January 2010)
• Chapter 14: Relationships — I close the book with a look at how money affects our relationships with family and friends. (The book is dedicated to my friend Sparky, who died a year ago today.) I also spend a little time exploring the notion of social capital, which is something I haven’t written about much here, but that I think is very very important. (7422 words, 15 pages, completed 11 January 2010)

Shara Says:

January 12th, 2010 at 9:04 am

For those of you who want to know what extra payments on your loan will do go to bankrate.com. Go to their calculator section (at the top above the tabs) and look for ‘amortization calculator’. It is great to see what theoretical loans would cost, but if you know how to use it you can apply it to any existing loan as well. If you want to know how to input an existing loan just ask and I’ll walk you through it. You need the balance, interest rate, and payment or remaining time on the loan.

@Max

We DO have a program to help poor people buy homes. It’s called the FHA (Federal Housing Administration). It is administered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are two quasi-government agencies. And recent events have shown us why they don’t work.

First let me explain, FHA loans are typically set at a price a little bit above the going rate for “great credit” people. But they are, sometimes significantly, lower than those for which most people qualify. They have significantly lower down payment and up front cost requirements and can bend some rules (such as allowing sellers to pay for closing costs, or using a third party’s money for down payment). This is a problem for two reasons: Without requiring a down payment the risk of a house being worth less than is owed is a significant risk, and people who can’t manage enough financial discipline to scrape together a down payment often don’t have the financial discipline to faithfully make their house payments.

In an ideal world people who are upside down on their mortgages would suck it up and keep paying as long as they could afford it. The reality is that many people would rather walk away, hand over the keys, and take the hit to their credit that bankruptcy will cause. The problem with a poor person as a credit risk is the same reason you want to help them: they have nothing to take away. Therefore you have no leverage to sue them and make them pay you what they owe you. I am a landlord and one thing I have learned is that people really want to do the right thing, but they have an infinite number of ways of justifying to themselves that something dishonest is okay. I had one lady argue that I shouldn’t have evicted her because her HUSBAND was the one who wasn’t paying the rent. I used to think that kind of convoluted logic was crazy, but I have found most people are more than capable of twisting ‘right’ to magically be whatever they want at the time.

Second, I know more than a handful of poor people. Most of the people I know who are perpetually poor are so because they make really bad choices. Sad to say, many of them do drugs that precludes them from being successful. The middle class (both upper and lower) people I know who are scraping by and have no money to buy a house are doing so because they can’t manage money. These are the people who break a leg and have to take a week off without pay and suddenly can’t make their bills. Not because they don’t make enough, but because there is nothing there left at the end of the month in case of emergency. If it’s there it’s spent.

I don’t want any of these people as homeowners. You can’t know until you own a house what a big responsibility it is. Everyone I know who has bought a house has had a learning curve much like a new parent, of “This is MY responsibility?!” and “I had no idea how much this would cost!” Even if you plan for it, you don’t understand until the bill’s in front of you.

As far as poor people having housing, there are a number of housing assistance programs available, the most prominent being section 8. Section 8 is a program that pays a percentage of the rent for a poor person, depending on the size of the family and how poor they are. I have talked to tenants that were 50% covered, a neighbor of mine was 100% covered, and I know people on the waiting list. The waiting list in typically quite long because there are a lot of people who want help paying their bills.

And this brings us to the crux of the matter, which is how much assistance to offer. The reason many of us are anti-socialist is because while it is great to want everyone to be happy, healthy, well fed, educated, and have a nice house, these things cost money. It costs me nothing to allow you free speech, but if you want food someone has to produce it and that person must be compensated. And if the compensation is coming from me instead of you what is your motivation to produce anything for yourself? You know the saying about giving a man a fish versus teaching a man to fish?

I am with Kevin that there are things that our government is designed to do: national defense, freeways, international treaties. And things that our federal government is NOT designed to do. Housing assistance is one of them. But that doesn’t mean I think no one should get an assistance, I just don’t think it is the job of the federal government, because a bureaucracy of that size has a really hard time administering such benefits, programs of that size are just asking to be cesspools of waste, fraud, and abuse, and as the concerns lately about INFLATION (remember that word? ;)) show, the federal government can print their own money if they get in trouble.

I think there are people who deserve housing assistance: The severely mentally retarded, people with mental illness, people with severe physical limitations, etc. But if you can’t BUY a house on your own then you shouldn’t be doing it. You either don’t make enough to survive the ups and downs of the market, or you aren’t mature enough to own a house. In this case there is a GREAT alternative: renting.

buy mutual funds, buy mutual funds, buy mutual funds, buy mutual funds, internet marketing, yahoo, google, Online advertising, http://www.prlog.org/10512637-franchisesforsalecom-launch-heralds-the-next-wave-in-franchisee-lead-generation.html, http://www.prlog.org/10512639-restaurant-franchise-opportunities-providing-new-job-opportunities.html, http://www.emailwire.com/release/30658-New-Lead-Site-FranchisesforsaleCom-Goes-Live.html, http://www.emailwire.com/release/31568-New-Franchise-Opportunities-for-2010-Online-Tools-and-Resources-for-Buying-a-Franchise.html, http://www.ideamarketers.com/?New_Franchise_Opportunities_for_2010_%E2%80%93_Online_Tools_and_Resources_for_Buying_a_&articleid=883071, http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/new-franchise-opportunities-for-2010,1100822.shtml, http://www.newsalbum.com/Read/473435-New-Franchise-Opportunities-with-Successful-Franchise-Companies-Putting-People-Back-to-Work/, http://www.transworldnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=164465&cat=9, http://www.zimbio.com/Housing+Bubble+News/articles/7/Dr+Robert+S+Shumake, http://mortgagefraudreportmichigan.blogspot.com/2009/12/robert-shumake-fraud-report-tax.html, http://personals.szczecin.pl/index.php?topic=2.0, http://tweetmeme.com/story/339636355/surface-encounters-in-wixom-going-green-with-marble-granite-countertop-production, http://finance.bnet.com/bnet/?GUID=11076222&Page=MediaViewer&ChannelID=6526, http://www.ideamarketers.com/?Surface_Encounters_Ohio,_LLC_Celebrates_100_Years_of_Experience_with_Columbus_S&articleid=880865, http://viralvideochart.unrulymedia.com/youtube/surface_encounters_macomb_mi__counter_tops?id=VGJx3FcNE50, http://www.veoh.com/browse/morelike/v19614992esMzfMCZ#, http://deals.yahoo.com/local-store-coupons/mer-surface-encounters–dept-home-garden, http://www.bignews.biz/?id=835928&keys=Shopping-counter-surface-Granite, http://www.businessweek.com/bios/Bill_Bartmann.htm, http://www.businessweek.com/archives/1998/b3603113.arc.htm, http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/apr2009/sb20090421_494148.htm?chan=smallbiz_smallbiz%20index%20page_top%20small%20business%20stories atlanta real estate agent

MetsBlog.com – <b>News</b>: Mookie and Melvin join Mets

<b>News</b>: Mookie and Melvin join Mets. February 8, 2010 at 15:40 pm · 24 comments. by Matthew Cerrone. The Mets have named Mookie Wilson as the team's minor league outfield and base running coordinator. Wilson had been the team's first base …

The Big Dig…Fox <b>News</b> Shovels out its Live Shot position… « Row 2 <b>…</b>

Take a look and see how the Fox <b>News</b> White House team shoveled its way out to set up their Live Shot position. It took 5 of us 40 minutes to move over 2 feet of snow in and around our equipment. …

Brad Pitt Angelina Jolie Suing <b>News</b> Of The World Over Split Rumors

Hollywood power couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have filed suit against a British tabloid that published a report claiming the pair recently called it.