29%... that's how much my homeowners insurance increased this year!! There was a  17% increase last year, and something similar the year before that.

Needless to say I'm going to look hard for a more competitive rate!

I got up about half an hour early this morning because Sadie wanted to eat. I discovered an unpleasant surprise in the kitchen. I saw my first ever (at least, as an adult) cockroach (!). It was brown & black and exactly an inch long. I think it was a juvenile American cockroach.

My skin has been crawling all day. It didn't help when I read up on ( Read more... )

I've been without a computer for a few days. I was unable to completely eliminate the trojan/worm/virus/whatever that had infected my computer, so I decided to reformat my hard drive and reinstall windows. That turned out to be quite a chore, but I won't bother you with the details. Anyway, aside from having a problem with my video drivers, my ( Read more... )

Last week my computer became infected with a Trojan, probably from having visited a hacked web site. Despite having been on the internet for years, this is the first time my machine has actually been infected ( Read more... )

I have found Nirvana. And it is called Craigslist ( Read more... )

I finally broke down and subscribed to Netflix. I'm on the $5 plan, which limits me to two dvds per month. That's $2.50 per rental, which is kind of pricey, but it's worth it considering how much time and gas I'll save by not having to go back and forth to Blockbuster. Plus, there are no late fees to worry about ( Read more... )

I've been meaning to dig into the "masters" of science fiction for a while. My library carries a few books written by Robert A. Heinlein, the so-called "dean of science fiction". I read a few of Heinlein's novels in high school, wasn't impressed, but thought I'd give him another chance.

I ended up checking out a couple of his books. One was ( Read more... )

As of Friday morning, my 401k account was down 50% for the year. If the account ends the year with a 50% loss, it will take seven years of 10% gains just to return to where the account was at the beginning of 2008.

I'm stunned. I never anticipated the market would take such a heavy hit. At the start of 2008, there were a few doomsayers out there but ( Read more... )

I've read quite a few books since I traded in my cable box for a library card. I've discovered something surprising: most books, like most movies and TV shows, are mediocre.

It surprises me because I know it's very difficult to get published. With so much competition, you'd think the books that do get published are top notch. Not so. Take the book ( Read more... )

I can't believe the Dow is back at 2003 levels. All the value gained since the end of the last recession has been lost, and much of it has been lost within the last week or so ( Read more... )