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Turns Out, I Hardly Use My iPhone

March 25, 2010 By Leave a Comment
iPhone

Last month, I only used my iPhone for 14 minutes. That's not a typo. I have 4,283 rollover minutes that have built up (and if they hadn't been expiring over time, it would be in the tens of thousands of rollover minutes). That is how little I use the phone, other than the direct line that goes into my investing office through the computer and people use to speak to me as I read or whatever (that is several hours a month). That means I'm spending almost $1,000 per year on a device I hardly … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Computers & Technology Tagged With: , , ,

Some Changes in the Portfolio

March 25, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Aaron and I are wrapping up all of the tax documents for fiscal 2009 before shipping them off to the accountants, listening to the new Goldfrapp album, and tweaking the investment portfolio a bit. I liquidated a respectable portion of the LEAP stock options we bought on General Electric during the crash now that it is approaching $19 per share, or at least was during today's trading session.  The time premium was no longer adequately reflecting the risk, in my opinion, especially relative to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: My Businesses Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

PPL Corporation Stock Risk Analysis

March 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment
XLU components

This is a risk analysis of PPL Corporation stock for a friend of mine that was hired by the company.  Those of you who want to know how I think about risk management are perfectly welcome to read it but it is specifically targeted so I'm not sure how useful you'll find it. I've worked my way through a few hundred pages of the PPL 10K report and I already reached several conclusions. Here are my thoughts. Take them for what they are worth. They are most certainly not recommendations, just … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Case Studies & Profiles Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

New Goldfrapp Album Released

March 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Yes!  Goldfrapp's new album was released and they are one of the few bands that I will buy on total and complete faith.  "Clowns", for example, is approaching 3,000 plays on my PowerMac system alone (and almost as many on the MacBook and other systems). Dear Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory, I love and adore you both.  Thank you for adding even more beauty to the world!  The orchestration is absolutely magnificent (I'm sure most people don't notice or appreciate it but touches like the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Music Tagged With: ,

Breakfast of Tycoons by Carl Barks

March 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Breakfast of Tycoons - Carl Barks Scrooge McDuck Art

We added Breakfast of Tycoons to the official Carl Barks collection at Mount Olympus Awards.  We've been selectively acquiring more and more of his stuff when the price is attractive and it just fits with all of the framed stock certificates and financial artwork. I've identified a few other pieces we are interesting in actively acquiring but only on our terms.  Most of the time, we have them reworked in far nicer frames, matting, etc.  I'll try and update a future post with what they look … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Art, Collectibles Tagged With: , , , , ,

My Verdict on the Truefitt and Hill Shaving Sets and Shaving Product Line

March 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Grafton Cologne from Truefitt and Hill

We are expanding our shaving section at Kennon Home Accessories and one of the things I've been testing is the Truefitt & Hill line of shaving creams, shaving lotions, aftershave, colognes, and other products. It is toward the higher end of the price point when it comes to luxury shaving sets for men (a bottle of aftershave, shaving cream, cologne, and shaving oil would retail for $202.00) but after using it, I don't think I could ever go back to the products I used for most of my … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Shaving Sets Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

95 Out of 100 Families Pay Lower Taxes Under Obama Than at Any Time Since Ronald Reagan

March 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

One of my favorite tax analysis resources is The Tax Foundation.  They prepare magnificent reports that let you compare the effective tax rate of living in certain states or locations versus others and much, much more.  I spend a lot of time every year going through their data. What I find fascinating on a purely sociological level is that more than 95 out of 100 households in the United States pay lower taxes than at any time since Ronald Reagan under the Obama administration and yet they … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Politics, Religion & Culture Tagged With: , , , ,

Health Care Reform Taxes Will Hit Top 1% of Households

March 23, 2010 By 5 Comments
Rich Uncle Penny Bags, aka the Monopoly Man, now has to pay Medicare taxes on dividends, interest, and real estate rental income.

I don't think there is any reasonable chance health care will be overturned as unconstitutional because it is written in such a way that you aren't technically required to buy health insurance, you will just be subject to a special excise tax if you don't. A lot of very, very expensive lawyers made sure the language would stand up to a challenge.  That may seem like a small distinction but it has the effect of requiring everyone to do it through an incentive system and doesn't actually … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Politics, Religion & Culture, Taxes Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Virgin Money Social Lending – a New Revolution in the Debt Markets

March 23, 2010 By 3 Comments
Virgin Money Social Lending

First, I would never loan money to friends or family (with only a handful of exceptions*, one of which is my parents) under any circumstances. To me, money isn't important - I just want to build and create like a little kid with a Lego set or a real-life version of Sim City. Other people, it seems, have this really big emotional investment in it. If I lend money, it takes away the chips I can use to build my playground. I'm going to want it back, even if I don't need it, because it becomes … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Social Lending Tagged With: , , , , ,

I Beat Final Fantasy XIII Tonight

March 22, 2010 By 1 Comment
Barthandelus Final Fantasy XIII

Don't worry - I'm not going to give away any spoilers (or the images of the final bosses other than the one everyone has already seen), but suffice it to say, I owned Final Fantasy XIII tonight.  I took a break from going over the insurance policy renewals for the businesses, which are due soon, and reviewing some of our year-end dividend tax reports from the brokerage firms before sending them to our (amazing) accounting firm.  I kept saying, "I'm only going to play for a few more … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Video Games Tagged With: , ,
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