Some links about why Bank of America is evil…
September 7, 2008
Filed under PF, money
Tags: avoid at all costs, Bank of America, BofA
I haven’t laughed this hard in a long time…
July 27, 2008 
http://garfieldminusgarfield.net/
The site description:
Who would have guessed that when you remove Garfield from the Garfield comic strips, the result is an even better comic about schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and the empty desperation of modern life? Friends, meet Jon Arbuckle. Let’s laugh and learn with him on a journey deep into the tortured mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness in a quiet American suburb.
Seriously, folks, it’s funny and beautiful and sad. Check it out.
New Technology Release:
July 1, 2008 
Introducing the new Bio-Optic Organized Knowledge (BOOK)
BOOK is a revolutionary breakthrough in technology; no wires, no electric circuits, no batteries, nothing to be connected or switched on. It’s so easy to use even a child can operate it. Compact and portable, it can be used anywhere, even sitting in an armchair by the fire, yet it is powerful enough to hold as much information as a CD-ROM disc.
Here is how it works: BOOK is constructed of sequentially numbered sheets of recyclable paper, each capable of holding thousands of bits of information. The pages are locked together with a custom-fit device called a binder, which keeps the sheets in their correct sequence. Opaque Paper Technology (OPT) allows manufacturers to use both sides of the sheet, doubling the information density and cutting costs. Each sheet is scanned optically, registering information directly into your brain. A flick of your finger takes you to the next sheet. BOOK may be taken up at any time and used merely by simply opening it.
BOOK never crashes or requires rebooting. The browser feature allows you to move instantly to any sheet, and move forward or backward as you wish. Many come with an index feature, which pinpoints the exact location of any selected information for instant retrieval. An optional “BOOKMARK” accessory allows you to open BOOK to the exact place you left it in a previous session, even if the BOOK is closed. BOOKMARKS fit universal design standards; thus, a single BOOKMARK can be used in BOOKS by various manufacturers. Conversely, numerous BOOKMARKS can be used in a single BOOK if the user wants to store numerous views at once. The number is limited by the number of pages in the BOOK.
You can also make personal notes next to BOOK text entries with an optional programming tool, named: “Portable Erasable Nib Cryptic Intercommunication Language Stylus”-or-”PENCILS.”
Portable, durable and affordable, the BOOK is being hailed as the precursor of a huge entertainment wave. BOOK’s appeal seems so certain that thousands of content creators have committed to the platform and investors are reportedly flocking to the new phenomenon. Look for a flood of new titles soon.
Yay for Blingo!
Blingo is a Publisher’s Clearing House-owned site that uses Google search (and now some others, apparently) as it offers chances to win–and of course its own advertising (not really any more intrusive than Google’s). So a while ago, I installed the Blingo search widget in my Firefox browser, using that for the quick incidental searching I often do. Just a little paradigm shift, but today it made me $5! Not a lot, I know, but more than I would have gotten from using Google! Check it out!
Links ahoy!
I have nearly 1200 del.icio.us bookmarks. Shall I share?
I haven’t felt much like writing, so this might be a way for me to be more regular with this blog.
I repeat, closing store cards helped my FICO score
So if you recall, back in February, I closed all my store cards, and by March my FICO score was up 10 points. That post has gotten a lot of comments, most of which I have filtered out because they contain questionable assertions, which I don’t want to be responsible for passing along to people who got to my blog from a search engine query (and obviously need good advice).
I’m happy to report that in April it went up another 10 points, and stayed the same in May. For those of you who thought that something negative came off my credit report at the same time coincidentally and that I was foolish to close all the store cards, I will point out that I’m a very responsible 24-year-old, who has never had a derogatory item. Since I was 16, I’ve had a handful of store cards, and a few bankcards.
Last fall, I was enthralled with the personal finance blogosphere. I read voraciously, looking for tips and tricks from people savvier than I. But now that I’m satiated, I see that online PF sites are no better than their brick & mortar counterparts in the financial sector–everybody wants to sell you something, and/or profit from your dependency on them. Often they retell you the same myths that have been told for years.
All I can offer is my experience: I closed my store cards, continued making on-time payments of slightly-above-minimum, and in two months, my score rose 20 points.
Free Iced Coffee @ Starbucks, every Wednesday until 7/23
So I heard via FatWallet that SBUX had a free iced coffee card. The roomie and I headed out last night, and talked the barista into giving us the cards a day early. I tried to use it today, but was told to return next week. So hie thee hither to a Starbucks near you, and see if you can get your hands on one of these cards!
hmm
Sometimes you have to wonder: what’s really making you angry? Are you really upset with the foolishnesses and frailties of others? Or is it just something within you that you refuse to give voice to? So how do you fix it? How do you release a spring so it falls to the ground instead of blasting away out of control?
I look sometimes at the people at similar stages in life to me and wonder: are you happy? Are you just grinning for the photos because you know that you will show them to your friends? Because I do that too.
1st Gent. Our deeds are fetters that we forge ourselves.
2d Gent. Ay, truly: but I think it is the world
That brings the iron.
–George Eliot,Middlemarch
upd: FatWallet adventures
A user on FatWallet Free Stuff forum keeps posting these religious item “freebies” which all require signing up with the same church. Some threads get deleted, some don’t. I got annoyed with this broad clogging up my RSS with the same thing almost every day, so I finally sent a note to the mod. The response? “I don’t see any link between the site and the user.” Um, what, you thought her church group would have the same name as her username on FatWallet? Does that mean I can post daily with some barely concealed agenda too?
