Personal $ | Identity Theft Bites LifeLock Chief | Yahoo

Remember the guy who pitches LifeLock and publishes his own SSN? Guess what ... multiple ID theft attempts and one success to-date. Bottom line, guard your info. Monitor your credit reports. You can do it for free.

Humor | Engineer's Guide to Cats | YouTube

This video is too true! I was LOL the whole time. If you know about ... or want to know about ... cats and engineers you will definitely enjoy this video.

Personal $ | Find Cheapest Gas | WSJ/Yahoo

From websites to cell phone widgets ... here's some tech tools to find the cheapest gas near you.

Travel | Perils of Flying | WSJ

You may never use the seat back pocket again after reading this article. At least not without checking first. And, if you do, be prepared for what you may find.

PC Security | Avoiding ID Theft Cons | Mossberg

Good advice column from Walt Mossberg. Social engineering is the most sophisticated of the approaches - and the toughest to intercept.

Computers | Backup via Cloud Computing | LA Daily News

I'm going to give this a try soon. Cloud computing is a new wave and seems like a promising approach for backing-up one's PC. Check-out this summary article.

Memory | How to Remember Everything | Wired

A rock-solid way to remember everything you'll ever learn. One hitch, though. You must live your life by this algorithm. See the article.

This says it all ...

Personal $ | Do-It-Yourself Tax Cut | WSJ/MarketWatch

When you get your economic stimulus check, save it. And then check-out this article for more ideas about how to get your personal finances into better shape.

This nation and its citizens can't borrow, consume and spend itself silly forever, now can it? FY2007 Interest on the national debt was $430B or about $3800 per household per year. That's just the interest on money the feds spent that they didn't have. Just for scale, the national debt is $9.3Trillion. The TOTAL subprime mortgage debt in the nation is about $1Trillion. So, subprime mortgage debt is a piker compared to our national debt.

To see how the national debt has changed over time, check-out this graphic (from this website). Unsettling. Who was watching the shop when those administrations racked-up all that debt? Have you told your kids/grandkids how lucky they are to have to pay-off our debts? They may not be thrilled.

Largest Exporters | Economist

I was surprised by these rankings. Amazing that we don't manage to export more than Germany. Not surprised in US being largest importer @ $2Trn of merchandise per yr.

Generic Drugs | The Same? Yes & No | WSJ.com

I always figured generic prescription drugs were close enough to the brand name ones. Apparently, that applies to the active ingredients. Inactive ingredients, which can affect absorption rate, do vary. This can cause significant differences in effectivity. An important article on your prescription meds.

FICO Credit Score | How To Fix | WSJ/Yahoo! Finance

Be sure to check-out the end of this article for tips on how to improve your credit score (and what things you should not do). An especially helpful article if you're about to shop for credit - see the section about moving fast to secure a loan once you start shopping around for rates.

Green Acres II | Lawn to Farm | WSJ.com

From bluegrass to butterbeans. Is this the transformation of the American lawn? With high food prices and looming peak water, this may make sense. Beware of the HOA enforcers, though. They may insist on the bluegrass. See the article.

Money for Nothing | Search Benefits Charities | WSJ

The article itself isn't available on public search but this site has posted it verbatim. Another opportunity to benefit charities @ no cost.

Jonathan Clements | Personal Finance - After 1,008 Columns | WSJ.com

I've enjoyed this WSJ writer for many years ... here is his last article.

Pew Social & Demographic Trends | Inside the Middle Class | Bad Times Hit the Good Life

An insightful if not uplifting report from the Pew Research Center. The American Middle Class has been on the ropes for awhile and this poll highlights many of the issues.

Trip to Oregon

Enjoyed a great road trip to Oregon with stops in Eugene and Portland. Here's Mt. Shasta from I-5 northbound north of Redding CA
Area around Eugene is truly the Emerald Valley - spectacular. Below is a covered bridge along the McKenzie River east of Eugene.
Check-out the moss on the trees along US 20 east of Sweet HomeThe Willamette Valley is lush ... we were a bit early for the tulip festival.
More than one way to get around in Portland - the tram to OHSU.
Nearly the only sunbreak we had in Portland ...
From Old Town towards the Steel Bridge ...
A great trip ... enjoyed Portland and Eugene both ...

Financials | $$ Hard to Sell in Amsterdam | Reuters

I'm glad we're vacationing in Oregon this year and not in Europe. Not a fun time to be traveling abroad with dollars. Article.

Investing | The Cost of Active Investing | Dartmouth

Active or passive investing? Check this research study on the costs of being an active investor.

Hungry? | Sandwiches & Stands in LA | Eye Spy

I'm hungry just reading about these places ... enjoy the blog

Economics | Mortgage Market Meltdown | Brandeis

Detailed research paper on the current mortgage market meltdown. Must reading for full understanding. Research paper.

Education | In L.A., his own wall of China | LA Times

Counterpoint to the below posting on education in Finland. The challenges to education in LA are sobering. Article

Education | What Makes Finnish Kids So Smart? | WSJ.com

Finland's teenagers score among the highest in the world. Guess what - they have iPods and pink hair and watch TV; there's neither school uniforms nor standardized testing. Finland spends less per student than the US (on average). Why do they do so well? The answers are both simple to state and complicated to implement. Article

Obama | The Power of Words | WSJ.com

A compelling discussion of the power of words in leadership - and a, to me, startling comparison. Article.

Kedrosky Recommends | Frontline: secret history of the credit card | PBS

A Visa IPO could be the biggest in US history. For more about the credit card industry, check-out this show.

Need Higher Social Security? | Reapply! | Burns/AssetBuilder

Many folks applied for early Social Security and regret taking the much-reduced benefit. There's a way out - with a catch. See the article.

Two Interesting Articles | Wired

Anti-terrorist Mom. Record-breaking cross-country drive.

Telecommuters | Unintended Consequences | WSJ

interesting and somewhat different take on unintended consequences from high % telecommuters in an org ... a quick read ...

Face value | The accidental innovator | Economist.com

a fascinating read about a different way of thinking by this silicon valley entrepreneur

Suburbs | The Next Slum? | Atlantic

A compelling discussion of a sea change that may be approaching in American residential real estate. Rejecting the isolated suburban neighborhood cul-de-sac model. Embracing the walkable neighborhood where homes are diffused into a mix of retail and business. That gallon of milk purchase would no longer need a drive to the store. Article