12/15   I am considering a January trip to some quiet/smallish beach community
        (not mega resort) on the Pacific Coast of Mexico [Jalisco, Michoacan,
        Guerrero or Oaxaca] ... does anybody have a recommendation of where to
        go for a week or so?
        \_ Why no cities in Baja which are overall cleaner and safer?
           Acapulco was a destination city years ago, but I hear it is
           kind of scummy now.
           \_ Because I have been to Baja, and I am meeting somebody in
              Mexico City. I'm not worried about safety issues. BTW,
              supposedly Northern Baja is now considered somewhat unsafe,
              although it is not clear to me that isnt internet amplification
              of a couple of stories rather than a real change in conditions
              on the ground.
        \_ I am a little unclear on what you want to do there. Just beachcomb?
           Fish? Go to some nightclubs? I have only been to this region a
           couple of times, so I am not really an expert, but I can ask
           my brother, as he goes fishing down there all the time.
          \- i want to sit in a nice looking place which is a reasonable
              temperature and eat unhealthy cheap tacos, steak and fresh
              seafood. i'm not interested in seeing cultural patrimony,
              paragliding, getting wasted etc. if snorkling is an option,
              might do that, but not that important. but i dont want to
              be in a one restaurant, one hotel, one bar town. puerto escondido
              was recommended. thanks.
                      \_ from my brother, sorry for the formatting:
        What type of experience are you looking for?  Are you looking
        for a small mexican beach town or more of a secluded resort?
        They have both north of Puerto Vallarta.  I loved Mar Y Sol
        Hotel at Jacarandas 8 Rincon De Guayabitos, it is a small
        mexican beach town, a few Candians but few americans.
        Resonable prices and decent hotels right on the beach. A think
        we got a one bedroom suite for around $100 a night.  Good
        fishing, a great restraunt on the bluff top, warm water and
        many of the touristy things just small and more oriented to
        mexicans.  They had a great beach, shrimp kabob salesmen,
        simple...about an hour and half north of Puerto Vallarta.
        -----------------------------------------------------------------
        For a more seculded expereince there is a great small resort
        near San Francisco, Nayrit, Mexico.  The one I was very
        impressed with seemed to cater more to the surfers but there
        were several quality, small resorts there.  For luxury you
        can't beat the Four Season's in Punta Mita, Nayrit, Mexico.
        -----------------------------------------------------------------
        I love them all including Puerto Vallarta,I found a small,
        adults only resort that I liked very well there called Villa
        Premiere.  Great beach, decent pool and you can walk down to
        the Malceon at night.  There are all kinds of great
        performers, musician and other curio.
        -----------------------------------------------------------------
        I also Love, Love, Love, Playa de Carmen an hour or so south
        of Cancun.  That place is full of small resorts right in town.
        The town is incredibly charming and has a europen fell.  There
        are small places to eat right on the beach, awesome, neat
        little shops.  Touristy but small and personable.
        \- detailed feedback appreciated. i'll research those.
           BTW, one question: what vintage is your brother's info?
           last 2-3 yrs? >5yrs ago? the first time i heard of "nayarit"
           was like a month ago. i thought it was a place in say thailand.
           \_ Pretty recent, he goes fishing down there like half a dozen
              times a year.
        \_ Seconded Playa del Carmen, but that's not on the Pacific, which
           was the original request.
        \_ Was disappointed w/ Playa Del Carmen, but I didn't stay there.
           Seemed like it was nice a few years ago and then got over-developed
           and is now becoming ane extension of Cancun. This is from May.
           Several years ago I went to Oaxaca City (very inland) and then
           spent a few days coastal (Puerto Escondido / Huatulco). PE is a
           sleepy surfer town and Huatulco is a nice, quiet, resort town. I
           went in the low season (June) and all the tourists were local
           Mexicans. If you like food, in Mexico City/DF I highly recommend
           Fonda el Refugio in Zona Rosa. It's the bomb (San Angel Inn is
           nice but way out of town, and too Euro-influenced).

12/16   So UYG has hit $6 even sooner than I expected. That is a 10% gain
        in 3 days even if you came late to the party and didn't buy in
        until after we had a day of debate. It's almost 25% for me and
        anyone who bought at market open on Friday. Because I was
        criticized for not being specific last time, I am going to now
        sell 40% of my position and wait for $7, which will come within
        a year and probably much sooner, but not before a little seesaw.
        Truth be told, I am anticipating $8 before February, but I am an
        optimist. I will add to my positon if it falls below $5 and again
        if it falls below $4, but will consider selling out completely if it
        breaks the 52 week low.
        \_ There are a bunch of traders and I have no idea WHO you are.
           What is your alias? Can you designate your alias, like
           superawesomedaytrader or something?          -chicken trader
        \_ that's great.  but next time, *please* be more specific on exit
           points, and give us 24 hours to digest the tip.  yeah, I know it's
           free advice, but you don't get as much credit.
           \_ The above is the Reader's Digest version. There are other
              scenarios I would buy/sell in like on a steep pullback (buy)
              or quick gain (sell). The market moves fast, so 24
              hours notice is a little much unless you are wanting to
              buy-and-hold in which case my advice is to buy almost
              anything now and hold it for 10 years. Things to consider:
              1. Energy will be a great play once energy stocks digest
              recent (lowered) earnings and energy bulls realize oil is
              not below $100 for just a few months but for a year or even
              more. Energy stocks are still trading above 52 week lows
              even as oil has plummeted. Wait for them to break those lows.
              2.  All of this money will devalue the dollar and cause
              inflation. There will be currency plays and inflation plays
              (like TIPS) and (eventually, not yet) commodities plays.
              \_ all right, I'll take 8 or 12 hours notice.  I'm looking for
                 an entry and exit on any symbol, doesn't have to be UYG -pp
        \_ You have lost all your gains on UYG. Just pointing that out.
           \_ No I didn't.
              1. I sold 40% of it above 6. (see above)
              2. Even today it is trading 10% above where I bought it.
              I'm doing just fine, thanks. I'm now trying to figure out what
              to sell (and when) to pay for all these big gains I will have to
              pay taxes on in April.

12/15   I have a few 100G and 200G drives that I want to dump. Do people
        actually buy used legacy HD on eBay?
        \_ Yup they do -- researchers doing articles on the lack of safety
           of data on computers often go to eBay, buy used hard drives,
           and mine all sorts of goodies from the not, or poorly, wiped
           drives.

12/15   Etiquette question: Mother's boyfriend claims to have a ccw permit.
        Mother and boyfriend came over to visit family, boyfriend brought his
        9mm into the house concealed in a fanny pack without asking or informing
        anyone that he is armed.  His actual ability with the gun is completely
        unknown - he may actually even have a ccw permit.  House has a new baby
        in it and baby's mother (my gf) is strongly opposed to random guns in
        the house (though she supports 2nd amendment and comes from a gun
        owning family) due to her nearly dying as a child due to a gun
        accident.
        The question is, should I have called boyfriend out for this?  I
        accidentally discovered gun while putting his stuff in the closet,
        decided not to say anything until they left, at which point gf flipped
        out.  He's a bit of a jackass in general so I mostly avoid confrontation
        with him.
        \_ You need to confront your mother, not the boyfriend. The bf
           hardly knows you, and typical gun owners treat their guns
           as babies so you're not going to get any mileage by talking
           down on his babies. I would refuse to invite your mother,
           period.
           \_ Bullshit.  Any responsible gun owner will respect someone's
              wishes not to bring a gun into their house.  If the BF can't
              handle that he can wait in the car.
              \_ Seconded.
              \_ Not all gun owners are responsible. CCW does not imply
                 you're a mature grown up.
                 \_ If you aren't a mature grown up she probably doubly
                    doesn't want a dude with a gun in her house.
        \_ As a CCW holder, I think you should have called him on it.  My
           personal rule is that I don't bring a gun into a home without
           permission.  Furthermore, I would never let it off my body.  And my
           carry weapon has a safety on the slide and an external hammer, so it
           is impossible to go off without some effort.  A CCW holder is
           required to carry his permit if he's got his weapon, so you could
           just ask to see it.
        \_ Why even tell your baby's mama about this? Seems like it would
           just rile her up for no reason. I would talk to this guy later,
           one on one and just ask him to not bring guns into my house. If
           you want to, you can wimp out and say "my baby's momma doesn't
           like them."

12/16   Has it always been this cold in December?
        \_ feels warm to me
        \_ oh noes, poor cali boy, fwaid of a widdle weather?
           \_ http://edis.oes.ca.gov
              FREEZE WARNING IN EFFECT
              Yes. Yes, I am. And I grew up on the East Coast. --erikred, !op
              \_ Is there a formal term for this? Like "de-acclimation"?
                 \_ It's called "getting soft".
                    \_ I prefer "wising up." --erikred
        \_ global cooling
        \_ It's the Gore effect
           \_ The plANet has a fevah!
              \_ Have some more cowbell.
        \_ My understanding is that this is a cold snap associated with this
           storm that has blown down from the north.
           \_ My understanding is that this is all because someone is trying
              to throw some jewelry into a pit, and if it gets too cold the
              people have to walk closer to some tower.
              \_ His arm has grown long.
           \_ The weather is as cold as Sarah Palin's heart.
        \_ It was even colder in the few days after Christmas in either 1989
           or 1990 (I forgot which one).

12/16   Cramer says
        - Buy real estate (Fed/Treasury backing 4.5% rates)
        - Take out a HELOC
        - Bernanke saved us
        w00t?
        \_ Cause Cramer is SO good at his predictions.
        \_ Google "liquidity trap."
        \_ Hey look it's socialized housing.