8/29    Applying for a home loan now. The loan officer keeps asking why
        I wrote large amounts of check, and what they're for, and fax
        her proof to support what I said. She said loan regulations have
        tightened a lot to prevent money laundry. What is the max amount
        of money I can transfer these days without triggering annoying
        audits? I am not a terrorist.
	...

5/13    Does FDIC ever matter? How likely is it that your deposit of
        over $250k going to be screwed over in a major US bank?
        \_ Was Washington Mutual a major bank?
        \_ Was Washington Mutual a major US bank?
        \_ Hahahahahahahahahahaha. Good one.
        \- As with nuclear weapons, this insurance produces much of its value
	...

3/9     In a 15/30 year loan, the amount of payment stays the same but
        the payment on interest decreases while the principal increases.
        Suppose I decide to pay off a huge chunk of principal, will
        the amount of interest I need to pay decrease drastically, or
        do banks still want to take out a huge chunk of interest rate?
        \_ You don't actually have separate "interest" and "principal"; you
	...

11/21   I'm trying to figure out how much I save. Does money I contribute
        to debt (student loans and car loan) considered money I "save"?
        \_ "I'm trying to figure out how healthy I am. I normally
           smoke 2 packs a day but now I've cut it down to just
           1 pack a day. Does the reduction count towards health
           that I hope to 'gain'?"
	...

6/6     Wow, NSA rocks. Who would have thought they had access to major
        data exchangers? I have much more respect for government workers,
        crypto experts, mathematicans now than ever.
        \_ flea to Hong Kong --> best dim-sum in the world
           \_ "flee"
        \_ The dumb ones work for DMV, the smart ones for the NSA. If you
	...

2/5     http://www.csua.org/u/z5u (news.yahoo.com)
        "I hope no one uses the term 'illegal immigrants' here today," said
        Committee Ranking Member John Conyers of Michigan. "Our citizens are
        not illeg -- the people in this country are not illegal. They are out
        of status."
        How did this guy get himself on the House Judiciary Committee?  Is it
	...

11/6    Four more years!
        \_ Yay! I look forward to 4 more years of doing absolutely nothing.
           It's a much better outcome than the alternative, which is 4 years
           of regress.
           \_ Can't argue with that.
        \_ Massachusetts went for Obama even though Mitt Romney was its
	...

12/5    Romney is right after all -- our military does need more horses and
        bayonets!  http://www.csua.org/u/y3j  Romney for 2012!
        \_ I'd never considered Romney's campaign as an ad for Revolution,
           but I guess that makes as much sense anything else.
        \_ The tax cut removal is ill timed.
        \_ holy crap. This is scary. US troops are most vulnerable as it is
	...

7/21    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Cold_War_pilot_defections
        This week's food for thought, brought to you by People's
        Republic of Berkeley: Did you know that many US pilots defected to
        communist Cuba?  South Korea pilots defected to communist
        North Korea? Iran<->Iraq pilots defected to each other?
        W Germany pilots defected to E Germany? Taiwan/ROC pilots
	...

5/16    Can anyone tell me what Greece is hoping for by rejecting austerity?
        From here it seems like the austerity is a pretty generous attempt
        to keep Greece from imploding entirely.   Are they hoping the
        Germans will put them on eternal state welfare, or what?
        Also, why would an outright default mean they must leave the Euro?
        Is it just that they won't be able to pay basic gvmt services
	...

4/12    USA! USA! USA! We ranked #11!
        http://www.businessinsider.com/hackers-the-best-all-come-from-one-country-2012-4
	...

2/26    I have dual citizenship. If I leave US and enter country Z, is
        there a way I can make the immigration booth "stamp" both passports
        (not necessarily stamp, but electronically record) such that both
        countries know that I left US for country Z. Then, when I depart
        country Z and head back to US, only provide the US passport? I'd
        like to do this so country Z thinks that I am permanently residing
	...