Sunlight Deprived People - REJOICE!!

I am so impatient.  I get by in the cabin-fever times of February by looking forward to the days getting longer so there is more "evening" time with sunlight.  

I am joyful that Sunday, March 8, 2009, a mere three weeks from now, we will adjust our clocks one hour forward for Daylight Savings Time (except in Arizona* and Hawaii).  And less than two weeks later is the first day of Spring - Friday, March 20, 2009.

Here's a pretty cool website on Daylight Savings Time with more information than you probably even thought existed on the subject!

Yippee!!  (btw - we switch backto Standard Time on Sunday, November 1, 2009.)

*The Navajo Nation does recognize DST.  I have experienced the weirdness of this.  I stayed in a Holiday Inn in AZ on standard time but across the street the McDonald's was on DST as it was run by the Navajo Nation.  Somewhat surreal.   Residents told me they were simply used to it, that most things there are posted in both times.

A little Op Ed rabble-rousing

Reading and listening to the big "8" banks try to explain what they've done with the first installment of TARP funds has me thinking - these guys STILL don't get it.  

If a company is doing business in a way I don't like, or gets themselves in a "negative" situation, I simply stop doing business with them, and consequently move on to a company that has proven successful and responsible.  I think alot of you think the same way.

So, what would happen if people that have checking, savings, and/or money market accounts with these big guys (BofA, Wells Fargo, Citi, Chase, etc.) just closed those accounts and moved them to a locally-owned/managed bank or credit union that has been proven stable?  It seems like those big boys would become much smaller, more manageable, and - gasp - humble even maybe, and I'm thinking that would be a good thing.  

Who you entrust to hold your money is your choice.  Why not reward the guys who have acted responsibly by opening accounts with them?  Yeah, it's a bit of a hassle.  It might take you some time to accomplish, or it might mean you re-do your online bill-paying, have to go a little further for an ATM, but I think the effort would be worthwhile and send a huge message. 

And here's the thing -- as long as you have accounts in the big guy's institutions that continue to suck up our taxes to pay their overblown salaries, you don't have much room to complain about how they act.

Power to the consumer.

Canaries in the coal mine

Back in December 2008 this question was posed to James Poterba, Chair of MIT Dept. of Economics, and  president and CEO of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), a private group of leading economists that dates the start and the end of economic downturns, and the group that says this current recession started in December 2007.

Q. What, if any, early signs should we be watching for to indicate that the worst has passed and the economy is rebounding?

A. I would look at the housing market. The financial crisis began with weakness in the housing market and a corresponding drop in the value of mortgages held by banks and many other financial institutions. The U.S. has been through a period of excessive leverage in which borrowing supported a wide range of investments, ranging from homes to exotic financial securities to consumer durables, and we are now witnessing a "deleveraging" in many markets. Because housing markets are very visible and construction employment is a major, but volatile, component of the aggregate employment, falling levels of housing inventory and stabilizing house prices may be "canaries in the coal mine" for stronger economic times.

For an interesting take on what that phrase - "canaries in the coal mine" - means --  Check out wiseGEEK or Wikipedia.

See if this gets your blood boiling

Seriously.  Read this story, first released yesterday, 2/9/09, and has over 1,000 comments, almost all in favor of Mr. Barnett who, at his own considerable expense and peril, has turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol over 12,000 illegal immigrants caught trespassing on his property to sneak into our country in the last 10 years.

As far as I'm concerned, the attorneys are the ones who should be punished.   Some of the comments are enlightening.

Editor's Note:  I got some great responses to this post by email with additional valid viewpoints that are very important to read concerning a past case involving Mr. Barnett, exactly how much of that land is his, and several legal points to consider especially involving "civilian" groups patrolling the borders.   

Blood boiling and thought-provoking; the balance between civil rights and vigilantes.