4/17    Just a thought.  Say we select a small percentagle of the population
        (e.g. 100000 people) with representations from all walks of life
        (scientists, engineers, doctors, chefs, plumbers, nannies, ...) except
        bad guys, transport them to a distant earth-like planet with abundant
        natural resources, and take away all man-made objects (machines,
        clothes, books, medicines, all tools, ...)  How long will it take for
	...

4/22    Costco is selling "Bluetooth Capable Premium Digital Hearing Aids" for
        $1999.99 a pair.  My Bluetooth cell phone headset is maybe $30 for one
        ear.  Why does hearing aid cost so much?
        \_ Medical insurance?
        \_ Does $2000-your medical deductible = $30?
           \_ How come insurance companies allow such rip-offs?
	...

2/12    An AIDS/HIV cure via a bone-marrow transplant:
        http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,491509,00.html
	...

1/15    Now that Steve Jobs and Patrick Swayze are sick with
        pancreatic cancer, is pancreatic cancer going to become
        a cause celebre and get lots of research funding,
        far beyond what is actually justified by the magnitude
        of the actual problem?
        \_ they have Elton John doing benefits, not Jimmy Buffet.
	...

10/14   I don't understand this whole AIDS walk BS. Instead of saying
        "I'm going to walk X miles, can you donate $1 per mile?" why
        don't they just simplify it and say "Give me whatever $ you got"?
        Why make it so complex? Sheesh
        \_ Because charity events get more people involved in asking for
           money.  Duh.  -tom
	...

4/14    Political correctness over science
        http://csua.org/u/l9y
        \_ I think you have it exactly backwards; the Red Cross' position is
        \_ I think you have it exactly backwards; the FDA's position is
           fear-mongering over science.  -tom
           \_ Oh, classification as high-risk isn't science?
	...

9/2     I'm young, and stupid. Does the IRS want reporting on 401K, IRA,
        Roth 401k/IRA? I am decades from retiring, and no plan to withdraw
        anything. But, I just realized that I haven't reported any of my
        retirement plans to IRS for several years, now wondering if I'm
        in big shit...
        \_ The account custodian (bank/brokerage/mutual fund) reports it to
	...

4/12    My gf did her taxes. She was unemployed most of last year and only
        paid about $500 in federal tax. She is getting a refund of $1300.
        We are both rather annoyed at this. How can you get a refund of
        more than you paid in?! (This is a rhetorical question. I know
        how.) Another acquaintance of mine makes less than half of what I
        do, but her take home is only 20% less. Even though I put money into
	...

11/22   I just checked my 401K and it is 1/2 of what it used to be. When
        is Bush's Economic Stimulous Package (tax return) going to help
        out the economy again?                          -Go George W Bush!
        \_ It's Clinton's fault.
           \_ ^Clinton^Obama
        \_ People who got the tax rebate were probably people who don't have
	...

10/24  If I trade my 401K stock on a quarterly basis (reshuffle/reallocate),
       are the gains considered capital gains?  How much is taxed on 401K gains?
       \_ You don't pay taxes on your 401k until you withdraw it.
          \_ Plus you can re-invest your gains again and again without being
             taxed first.  E.g. if you invest $1000 and gain $100, you can
             re-invest the whole $1100, without being taxed on the $100 first,
	...

2/8     Hey, are Day and Week trader guys still around?  Just curious how it's
        going.  I was also thinking of doing some largely buy-and-hold
        investing, can anyone recommend an online broker?  I was thinking of
        Fidelity because I have a 401k there, but I don't need anything fancy.
        \_ market hasn't been volatile enough. I've made a few thousand
           this year but I really miss the Bush era.
	...

2/19    The Bush Decade was as bad economically as the Great Depression:
        http://tinyurl.com/ar9h67
        \_ It's only bad if you're the middle class or lower. Wonderful
           for corporations and stock holders.
           \_ I'm a stock holder and it hasn't been that great. The NASDAQ
              never recovered and now the DOW is at 1990 levels. Awesome.
	...

1/13    http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/01/13/missing.pilot.profile/index.html
        Financial managers are so awesome. People like this makes me want
        to pull my money out of 401K. You just don't know what kind of
        people are managing your asset.
        \_ No.  This is not a reason to pull your money out of your 401k.
           This is the reason why you don't give your financial advisor/wealth
	...

11/22   Pension gap divides public and private workers:
        http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-02-20-pensions-cover_x.htm
        At what point do we Just Say No? Making more money *after*
        retiring seems like an issue. I say this as someone with family
        who retired from the military who makes more now than when active.
        Ridiculous.
	...