Calibrating Oven

Believe it or not ovens need to be calibrated periodically. If you don't you may not be setting the oven to the temperature you think you are. For example, if you set the temperature to 350, it may be more like 375 or maybe 325. To calibrate you oven here is what you need to do.

1. Go to someplace like Bed Bath and Beyond or Linens N things and get an oven thermometer.
   
2. Make sure your new thermometer is calibrated and reliable. To check this, boil some water. Water boils at 212 F. Hang the thermometer above the waterline (it is NOT waterproof). The steam will also be 212 F as long as you hang it right above the waterline. The thermometer should read 212 F when the water is boiling. Don't touch the thermometer. It is HOT! Wait for it to cool before trying this.
   
3. Now put the thermometer into the oven and set it to say 350 F (or any temperature you can easily read on the thermometer and oven). Once the oven is heated completely, check your thermometer. It should say the 350 F in this case. If it doesn't it means your oven is out of calibration and might be the reason your cooking times are always off.
   
4. To calibrate your oven varies between ovens so check your manual. Many ovens with the turn knobs can be pulled off (pull straight out), and there is likely an adjustment knob on the back. Each tick may be about 10 degrees. If you have an oven with a digital display, you may need check the owners manual to determine how to calibrate it.
   
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until the oven and the thermometer show the same temperature.

Some helpful facts to help you minimize the impact of rising gasoline costs

These tips were submitted by an employee of a major gas company.

Some helpful facts to help you minimize the impact of rising gasoline costs

Actually these gas types have been around for a long time, so I thought I'd share with you.

Gas Tips (Every penny counts).

Here are some tricks from a person who has worked in the petroleum industry for about 31 years to help you get more of your money's worth for every gallon.

Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening....your gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role. A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.

When you're filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode. If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3) stages: low, middle, and high. In slow mode you should be pumping on low speed, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapor return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you're getting less worth for your money.

One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is HALF FULL or HALF EMPTY . The reason for this is, the more gas you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates faster than you can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated so that every gallon is actually the exact amount.Another reminder. If there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill up--most likely the gasoline is being stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.

How to make a decision

Decision making doesn't have to difficult or traumatic. Just think of it as a process, not a finality. You will not always make decisions that are "optimal," but you move through them, learn (gain knowledge for your next decision process), and move on. Here are some steps to help guide you through the process.

1. Frame & Organize

2. Gather information & develop alternatives

3. Create opinion & conclude

4. Deploy

5. Learn

Law of 72

The Law of 72 says that if you divide 72 by the percent return on investment you expect, then the result is the number of years it will take for your initial amount to double.

For example:

Law 72

If assume 10% rate of return then it will take 7.2 years to double.

So, if you have $1000 today, in 7.2 years invested at 10% you will have $2000 ignoring taxes, cost of investment, etc.

Some other examples:

72/10% = 7.2 years to double

72/7.5% = 9.6 years
72/5% = 14.4 years to double

72/2.5% = 28.8 years

72/1.25% = 57.6 years

Best rate on a hotel

Some hotels in the California area appear to be a little to significantly more expensive during the week when you buy them on portal sites such as nexttag.com, orbitz.com, priceline.com, hotelsale.com, cheaptickets.com, etc. OK, this isn't always true by any means, but it is sometimes. The point is that you really need to shop around. A variety of factors affect the hotel price. Don't assume that weekends are more expensive than weekdays. It really depends on the class of the hotel, the company, events in the area, business travel bookings, etc. Do a little home work and you can learn and save a lot. Sites that I mentioned above generally seem to be the same as what you can get if you book on the portal site or the website of the hotel itself.

Another strange thing I noticed is that hotels on these sites are a little to significantly cheaper if you wait until the last minute (same day even) versus doing it a couple weeks in advance. I think the hotels or resellers get desperate when they have a bunch of rooms still available and want to fill the room so they don't lose the income. Again, this is probably not the norm, but don't assume you have to pay a high price for booking at the last minute.

The more economy style hotels like Best Western, Good Nite Inn, etc tend to keep their prices the same regardless. The Radisson, Holiday Inn, Hilton, etc tend to vary the most depending on when you book. According to the Radisson Hotel, rates are based on demand. The essentially means how many rooms are available. In general it is better to book a head of time to get the best rate. This is not always the case when there may be a special event in the area that is booking many of the rooms. So, it makes sense if you have the flexibility, to check days and weeks around the time you want to go to get the best rates. According to Best Western the rates are the same for the weekend and weekday. Internet rates are discounted versus walking up and asking for a hotel.

For higher end hotels like Radisson, the rates seem to consistently be consistently higher on the weekdays versus the weekends. For example, when booking over a month in the future the rates during the weekday was $135 a night versus $90 a night for the weekend. If you walk in, it is $165. Amazing differences to me. So, shop around.

If you can help it, never just show up at the hotel. Rates are the most expensive that way. Even if you book just before you get there online you will generally get a much better rate.

Unfortunately, I haven't found a sure fire way to get the best price. There are just too many factors to come up with one rule. Here is the best have come up with.

1. If you are flexible with your dates, then try different days around the day you want to be there.
2. If you are not flexible with your dates, then try different hotels in the area. In particular, you may be able to stay in a nice hotel instead of an economy style hotel if you get lucky.
3. Book well in advance like over a month in the future and you are likely to see what the best deals are. Though, you may be able to get a deal last minute as well.
3. Consider different area if all else fails.

Travel Tips for Europe

Trip to Europe in June 2007

Let me start by saying my trip to Europe was a business trip, so I didn't get to see much (with the Exception of Paris, France over the weekend). However, I would like to share what I learned and experienced. Hopefully, it will help others in similar situations.

General Travel Tips

Jet-lag

The first day can be difficult and the next two or three days will be difficult as well, but it gets easier each day. Most people will agree that it is best to as soon as you land (or even in the air) start "living" on the new schedule. For example, I left like 6:45am on Saturday morning, and arrived like 8am or something like (but that was in Hamburg, Germany timezone). I then worked a full day of work (just to stay busy) and then crashed that night in the hotel. It is important to try to sleep in the plane if you can though. The flight(s) from Phoenix, AZ to Europe is long depending on layovers, etc, so you will need your rest if you want to make it through your day of arrival. It is common to travel from Phoenix, AZ to an east coast city like Newark, NJ, and then get on another plane to Europe. In this case, stay awake on the first one. Get a little tired and do not sleep. Then on the second flight sleep every chance you get. I recommend a sleeping pill to help you sleep. Some people can sleep on the plane well and say they just wake up when they get to their destination. I don't seem to be able to do that. I find it especially difficult to sleep with people getting up and down, turbulence, food carts, food, drinks, snacks, announcements, etc. There is no two ways about it, Jet-lag is a pain, but is not so bad if you suffer through the first day. It gets easier after that. Many people also find it helpful to set their watch to the local time as they travel. For instance, I like to keep my Phoenix, AZ time on my watch for at least a few hours, and then I switch it to East coast time so that I feel like I have had a full day. Then I begin to feel tired, and try to sleep. About that time, I change my watch to my final destination time. That way when I wake up it will feel like the next day. I can't really say if it will work better for you, but it seems to work for me. :)

Eating Times

People eat late (usually around 8pm) because it doesn't really get dark until 9 or 10 or even 11pm in the evening. People also tend to start a little later in the morning as well, though that may be true for everywhere (maybe just the tourist areas). Most breakfast are very basic (croissant, bread, juice) if you are catching an early morning flight, etc. Breakfasts in hotels and restaurants (after 7:00 or 7:30 or so) are usually nice. You can get a fully breakfast. The basics described above are usually given, but also other items like eggs, meats, cheese, fruit, and other items that typically require cold storage.

Toilets

Unlike in the US, Toilet is usually a well understood word for bathroom, restroom, etc. They call it what it is. :) You can usually find them for free in restaurants, etc, but expect to pay a small amount (usually between .30 Euros and .5 Euros) for use of the public toilet in places such as train stations, streets, etc. Some public ones are better than others, so take advantage of the free ones in the restaurants as they are usually the nicest.

Sleeping

When on business trips it seems like there is never enough time to sleep. Dinner seems to take hours, and planes, trains, buses, taxis, packing, unpacking, etc all take time out of the day as well that I usually don't have to deal with. So, I recommend sleeping every chance you get. That means if you have a plane ride, or a fairly long train ride, etc then take a nap. True, they are not really getting quality hours of sleep, but it will help get you through the day. I look at it like vitamins or other health supplements: Naps on the go are no substitute for quality sleep at night, but it does help.

Hamburg, Germany

Hamburg, Germany is a very green city. It is pretty large as far as cities go. I didn't really have much time to enjoy Hamburg, but what I did see was lots of people on the street, green everywhere. They seem to have a good public transportation though we did not make use of it. Most everyone speaks English. In fact, the front desk person at the Ibis Hotel at the airport laughed when I asked her if she spoke English (in German of course). She said that everyone knows English in German. It seemed to be true. Very few people didn't know English. We even had a great taxi driver that took us to city center. He gave us a nice tour of the route to the city center. This was not expected, but very much appreciated.

Taxis

The city actually has too many taxis. It only takes 5 to 8 minutes to get a taxi. This seems to be the max. They came as quickly as 3 minutes, and it is common to find them parked along side the road in the city center. Some speak English, but I estimate 50% of them didn't on our trip. In either case, don't worry. Typically all they need is an address and they can find it. Names of well known places are also helpful. Every taxi we were in accepted credit cards on the spot. They all seem to have the same little taxi fare and credit card machine on the dash. Almost every taxi I saw was a Mercedes, and many of them were new models. This is much different than what you get in the US. Also, most taxi drivers dress to match the car. They wear attire I would expect for a business person. For men that means slacks, collared shirt, blazer, and perhaps a tie. For woman, I don't recall, but it was nicely dressed as well. Taxis are a good way to travel in Germany because they are quick and relatively inexpensive. Public transportation is definitely cheaper, but not as convenient when carrying luggage, or on company time.

Weather

I was only there for a couple days (second week in June) so I really can't make any great statements in this area. However, I am told it rains a lot. We were lucky because it was actually not raining really when we were there. It was mid-70's during the day and not much colder at night, so it was really pretty nice.

Tipping

Tipping is a little frustrating in Hamburg for me. I could not get a clear answer on what the expectation was. However, here is my conclusion of what is expected.

Taxis: If you really have an exceptional driver then tip as you like. Otherwise, give no tip or just round up to the next Euro. If you pay with credit card, you will need cash or coin if you want to leave a tip.

Eating Out: If you really have an exceptional waiter then tip as you like. Otherwise, just round up to the next Euro or two. If you pay with credit card, you will need cash or coin if you want to leave a tip. Sometimes, the waiter can add the tip to the credit card, but that only happened once for me. The example that was given to me if the meal cost 33 and some change Euro for two people, then just found up to 34 or 35 Euro. Maybe 36 Euros. Like I said not very exact. It is not like in the US where a certain percent is expected. I think it is actually a tip for appreciation, not out of pressure to do so. Personally, I tried to do 10% if they tried to help us or tried to speak English because I felt like they gave the effort and I appreciate it.

Paris, France

Paris was awesome! I loved it. I would not really want to live there, but it is a great place to visit. The public transportation is great. Most things are close together so you can see a lot in one trip. Public transportation is the best choice in many cases. Taxis can be used as well, but only in the rare cases that public transportation won't do, or you have too much luggage to carry by yourself (maybe consider that when you pack next time :)

Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower was great! I have always wanted to see it, so of course it was great to me. The Eiffel Tower has 4 levels.

Ground level which as a beautiful lush green park-like area, food stands, restaurant, tickets, etc. It is guarded (as are most congested public areas) by the French police that are not what I would think of as police. They look much like what I would call someone in the military.

Level One

Level one is the first level that is not on the ground. It is larger than you think it will be. When you look at it from a far, it looks pretty small. The first floor is several stories up and is the largest and most visited floor (next to the ground floor of course ;). The first floor has gift shops, food, signs (in English) that explain different points in history of the tower. It has great views of the surrounding area. You are well above the buildings so you can see quite a bit. On this floor you can get a postcard, borrow a pen, buy postage, and send the postcard. They also have internet postcards, but that was not working when I was there.

Level Two

Level two is significantly smaller, but also higher. It is probably one quarter the size of the Level 1. I recommend walking up two the second floor. Fewer people visit it, so it is less crowded. I also recommend going to the gift shop on this floor versus the Level 1 gift shop, again due to it not being as busy. You can buy the post cards here to save time, but you will have to buy postage on Level 1. The view is quite a bit higher than Level so the view is greater, but still not too high.

I recommend going to the top if can. It is worth it. The line to go up goes pretty quickly, though it was pretty long even for us. I recommend you wait to buy you ticket to the top when you get to level 2. That way you can decide if you want to stand in line or not.

The Top

The top of the tower is quite small. I estimate 20 or 30 feet across. Though I am just guessing. The real point is it is very small in comparison to the other levels. The top was by far my favorite part of Paris and really the entire trip. I have never experienced anything like it. The view was nice, but that wasn't what was so spectacular to me. There was a storm blowing through when we made it to the top. On one facing of the top the wind was blowing extremely fast. I was like nothing I have ever experienced. There was a fair amount rain with it, but mostly just wind. It was blowing so hard I could hardly walk. I could actually take my weight off of my feet and lean slightly forward. The wind was supporting me. I imagine that is what the wind feels like when sky diving (though I never have). I felt so free. I was truly freeing and exhilarating. Then I turned to walk the back. This time the wind was in my back. With each step it felt like my leg was being flung up into the air. I had to press hard to keep it on the wet metal surface I was walking on. Needless to say, no one was hanging out on this side of the tower. It was so awesome. There is no way I can describe it. I hope I can remember the feeling though.

The Fear

I am mildly afraid of heights so it was a little unnerving to walk up staircases with the wind blowing a lot. I did manage though. After I was on Level 1 for a while it was no big deal. I got used to it. By the time I got up to the Level 2, I was fine with the height. You can always take the elevator if you don't want to walk up the stairs. The stairs are really not that long. I thought it would be difficult, but it wasn't really. After traveling up the long elevator to the top, I was a little nervous about looking out, but when I tried, it really wasn't a big deal for me. It turns out that when I am that high I am not that afraid of heights at all, or perhaps I was immune by then. On the way down, I could not believe how low to the group the other levels seemed, and was not phased by them at all. I guess it is all relative.

The Louvre

I didn't have a lot of time in the Louvre. I had an hour or so outside the night I got there. It is impressive just looking at the grounds. I had about 2 hours to go through everything inside. Let me just say, that you can see some highlights in that time or select areas, but by no means can you get even a fast walk through of the entire museum. The building itself is very impressive. The statues are worth looking at. The Mona Lisa is a bit tricky to find, but just follow the signs and look for the corridor for it; it is not as obvious as you would think. I can't begin to give a proper review of The Louvre because my visit was so short to it. There were just too many things to do, and not enough time. The Louvre closes fairly early like 6pm (5:30 they start closing areas), so plan to go in the morning, that way you will have enough time to do what you want there.

Notre Dame

Not a whole lot to see unless you want to watch Mass or just look at the main part of the cathedral. The architecture is nice. Pictures are not to be taken inside, but people do anyway. There is a way to go up to where the bells are, but I didn't see how, and was headed back to the hotel after a long day.

Speaking French

Hardly anyone speaks English well in France. It is common for people to have at least a few years in school, but not like it is in Germany where nearly everyone had English in school for over 8 years. As far as pronouncing French words, I recommend placing the accent (emphasis) on the first part of the word, and they almost mumble the last part. It sounds like the French have a lot more silent words than they actually do. In reality, they are not silent, but just barely pronounced.

Taxi

Beware of the eager "taxi drivers" at the airport that ask you if you want a taxi when they are still in the airport and not in a taxi. We found out the hard way that these "taxi drivers" are not exactly real taxi drivers. The "taxi" was their own car in the parking lot with no meter, taxi sign on top of the car, etc. They also wait until you are in the car to decide what the fare is. The give-away is he quotes a price of the top of his head (no meter). These type of people are trying to take advantage of people that are first time visitors to Paris and don't know where the taxis are yet. In fact, this driver waited by the elevators between the taxis outside and the inside of the airport. To make it even a more convincing the guy spoke what seemed to be relatively good English in contrast to most people in Paris, France that don't seem to speak hardly any English. Surprisingly, we were able to get a "company" receipt from the driver. I don't know how legitimate it is or he was, but I definitely didn't feel good about the situation. I honestly didn't know if the guy was taking us somewhere to be held for ransom or to our destination. I feel lucky in that we got to our destination safely. I highly recommend do NOT get into any car taxi unless it has a taxi light on top, and a meter inside. If it doesn't you are taking a risk in my opinion. Maybe that isn't a real risk since I don't know that Paris has issues with this sort of thing, but I know other cities have had issues. In general taxis in Paris are ok, but they are not nearly as nice as Germany. If you take a marked legitimate taxi you should be fine. A tip is nice, but not required. Typically 10% is for good service.

Metro

Paris has one of the best Metros (subway, underground train, etc) available anywhere. They run very frequently, especially near rush hour. They are clean and appear to be safe. I recommend them when possible as the cost is very little, little wait time, and they go to most places. One thing to note, sometimes the routes on a large map or even small map of the Metro isn't accurate with relation to other things on the map such as rivers, roads, etc. This is because only so many lines can fit on a map. In particular, there is only a Metro on one side of the bank, not both as the map indicates.

Bus

Buses take a little more planning because they don't run as often, and they tend to wind up and down streets, and turn down others, etc. They don't run in straight lines so check the maps. They are about the same price as the Metro, so between the Metro and the buses you can get just about anywhere. You can buy the tickets on the bus or buy passes elsewhere. I just did the individual ticket since we didn't do too much on the bus. In the end, a pass may have been better. It was close though.

Trains

For longer journeys such as going to another city, you will want to go to the train station (Gare in French). If you are using a credit card from the US or one that does not have a microchip in it you will not be able to use the automated ticket machines (this includes printing out tickets reserved from the internet). In this case you need to go into the train company building and talk to someone. Some of the tellers understand English, but most don't. In either case, it is usually pretty easy to get the teller to understand the situation since they understand some English.

CDG Airport to Saint Lazare Train Station.

I took a taxi (see notes above if you decide to do that so you don't fall into the same trap as I did), but I would recommend a train or maybe the Metro. The point is there is inexpensive public transportation. Depending when you go, the public transportation could be much easier that making your way across town in traffic. The taxi ride was 70 Euro. In my opinion, definitely not worth it. Granted I have no idea what a legitimate taxi fare would be. I think it was about 45 minutes by taxi.

Payment

Paris in general does not accept American Express. Some more high end / expensive places do accept it, but don't count on it. Bring Visa it is accepted everywhere in Paris (and Caen), except where Credit Cards are not accepted. Taxis in France don't accept credit card (cash only).

Walking with luggage

Do yourself a favor, don't try to walk very far with luggage. It takes many times longer and in many times harder when you have luggage being drug behind you. If you are carrying multiple bags and one of them is a typical rolling suitcase, I recommend putting the smaller bag as close to directly above the wheels (when being drug behind you) so that the weight is over the wheels, not on the handle where your hands are. In other words, if you suitcase has an extending handle, don't put your smaller bag there unless your only other choice is over your shoulder or other hand. In that case it will help a little.

Also, be aware that piling on too much weight on your suitcase wheels can break them or wear them out faster. Be careful that you don't put too much weight on the suitcase as the stand on the end of the suitcase is not meant to support a heavy smaller bag. Yes, it may be fine for a while, but eventually, it will wear out due to the accelerated level of stress.

Food

Find a formula or fixed menu. It is usually only available for more expensive restaurants in my experience though I have seen books reference much cheaper fixed menus. It seemed to me that in order to find a fixed menu it was usually 25 Euro. This was usually a very good deal because this includes appetizer, main meal, and dessert. If you don't take the fixed menu (which is usually limited items) it will cost you that much any way, and you won't get nearly as much for the money. In general it seemed that dessert or more was "free" when you get the fixed menu. The downside of a fixed menu is that it usually takes a long time because of the three courses. Plan on about 2 hours for the fixed menu.

If you are in a hurry and / or at a train station, a Baggett (totally wrong spelling, but that is what it sounds like) will most likely be what you will get. They are basically like a sub in the US. The difference is that the bread is quite chewy, and usually has something like chicken (real pieces, not deli meat), and maybe some lettuce, or something. They also have them in tuna, and different meets, or vegetarian (usually).

If you are on a train for a couple hours plan on having the option to buy a triangle sandwich for about 4.50 Euros. They are better than you think they will be, but not as good as you would like them to be. The tuna is the best if you ask me.

Caen, France

Caen is a nice place to visit. It was hard for me to get a feel for how big it really is. It has its own tram (electric two car trolley like thing), buses, etc. The public transportation is pretty good. I used to travel to the city center to eat, etc.

Apartment-style Hotels

Beware of Apartment-style hotels if you are coming in on Sunday or between noon and about 2:30pm or after 7pm or before 8am. The desk was not available except for the morning and early evening. Besides that, you are on your own. I had didn't have a key that worked for my room and it was quite difficult to get help because the only way to contact anyone for help was to use a mobile phone (which I don't have because I am in Europe and my phone only works in Phoenix, AZ). So, that left a pay phone. Pay phones in Caen require a local calling card. Which I didn't have and I would have to go to a tobacco shop in town to get it. In the end we convinced a nice waitress to call the hotel emergency line from the restaurant and leave a message to call the restaurant. They called me back, and all was ok in the end. Beware that the rooms themselves may work just like a pay phone as well.

Food

Basically like Paris. The key to remember in either place is that dinner starts around 7:45pm. If you start too much before that, places will be closed.

Taxis

Taxis are Mercedes type taxis. They come pretty quickly, usually under 15 minutes.

World War Memorial Museum

The World War II Memorial Museum is quite good. In particular I recommend the D-Day movie. It not in any particular language and is still quite understandable. The other exhibits are nice as well. I recommend getting the Guide they sell when you get you ticket since it explains everything in English, and tells quite a bit about what you are looking at. I also recommend you check your hotel for coupons for 3 or 4 Euro off of admission. Expect to pay 17 Euro at the door unless you have a coupon.

The Castle

There is real castle in the city center. I just walked on a very small part of it late one night after dinner, but it looked very neat. I also walked by it on the way to dinner on another night. I understand it is one of the bigger attractions in Caen.

The Cathedral

There is a cathedral next to the castle. When I was there they were restoring it. The part they are cleaning makes it look light like a sand castle. The part tarnished by pollution (pretty much all of it) looks much darker like many cathedrals you see in other European cities.

How hard to exercise

Do you know how to tell if you are exercising too hard? While exercising, check your heart rate and try the "talk-sing test":

1) Just right: You can talk while you exercise
2) Too hard: You can't talk and exercise at the same time.
3) Too light: You can sing while you exercise.

Scott Adams (creator of Dilbert) guide to finances

Unlike Scott Adams cartoon, this advice is serious. It is great if you don't have special circumstances and just want a simple way to to invest.

I would insert before 4 to setup an emergency fund that is at least 3 months of living expenses in case you lose your job, car breaks, a/c goes out, family death that require travel, etc. I would also say that if you don't have a 401 (k) available then get an IRA or Roth IRA, or do automatic investment into a mutual fund.

Regardless the list below is good advice.

Do in the order below:

1. Make a will.
2. Pay off your credit cards.
3. Get term life insurance if you have a family to support.
4. Fund your 401(k) to the maximum. Fund your IRA to the maximum. Buy a house if you want to live in a house and you can afford it.
5. Put six months' expenses in a money market fund.
6. Take whatever money is left over and invest 70% in a stock index fund and 30% in a bond fund through any discount broker and never touch it until retirement.
7. If any of this confuses you, or you have something special going on (retirement, college planning, tax issues), hire a fee-based financial planner, not one who charges a percentage of your portfolio.

Understanding Volatility

Most people judge the risk of an investment by its volatility—how sharply its value may rise or fall over time. The amount of volatility you may feel comfortable with depends on your investment goals, time horizon and tolerance for risk. For mutual fund investors, risk is often measured by two statistics that use volatility of returns in their determination: standard deviation and beta.

STANDARD DEVIATION
Standard deviation measures a fund's volatility relative to its own past performance. If a fund's annual returns vary widely from year to year, the fund will have a relatively high standard deviation of returns. If a fund's annual returns are fairly consistent from year to year, the fund will likely have a lower standard deviation of returns.

BETA
Beta compares a fund's volatility to an appropriate benchmark, often the S&P 500 Index for broad U.S. stock funds. A beta of 1.00 means that a fund's total returns have shown the same degree of volatility as the S&P 500 Index. A beta greater than 1.00 indicates more historical volatility than the index, while a beta less than 1.00 indicates less volatility.

HISTORY LESSON
Investors concerned about volatility may want to look for funds with a lower standard deviation or a beta that is equal to or less than the broader market. Looking at standard deviation and beta together is one way to get a good picture of a fund's historical volatility. .


-- Taken from SmartMoney THE WALL STREET JOURNAL MAGAZINE

Get Sky High Heating Bills Down to Earth

The cost of home heating continues to hit the homeowner harder each year. But sometimes you can end up spending even more than necessary by overlooking energy wasters in your home that, in many cases, are easy to remedy.
A home energy audit can help by pinpointing these areas and identifying ways to cut energy costs. In fact, you can conduct a simple audit on your own by following a few recommendations from the Department of Energy. To take stock of your home energy use:
• Check insulation levels in your attic, exterior and basement walls,ceilings, floors, and crawl spaces.
• Check for holes or cracks around your walls, ceilings, windows, doors, light and plumbing fixtures, switches, and electrical outlets.
• Check for open fireplace dampers.
• Check caulking and weather stripping, and repair if necessary.
• Schedule an annual tune-up for your heat pump, furnace or boiler.
• Seal and insulate leaky ducts to ensure that the airflow distribution system serving your heating equipment is operating at peak efficiency.
• Clean warm-air registers, baseboard heaters, and radiators as needed; make sure they're not blocked by furniture, carpeting, or drapes.
• Seal holes around plumbing and heating pipes.

As Winter sets in, make an effort to set your thermostat as low as is comfortable. Or consider having us install a programmable thermostat that will automatically lower temperatures at night or during the day when the home is unoccupied. When you call us for a tune-up, ask for an estimate of how much you can save with a new energy-efficient system.

-- Taken from airfactor cooling and heating, inc newsletter

What are sector funds?

Investors hoping to pursue specific growth opportunities may want to talk to their financial advisor about sector funds. A sector fund focuses exclusively on a well-defined segment of the economy such as technology, financials or health care. If your portfolio is underweighted in a specific sector, a sector fund can help you diversify and pursue specific growth opportunities that you believe may exist in the marketplace. However, with additional opportunity comes additional risk. Sector funds are typically more volatile than broad market funds, so you should carefully review your investment goals and tolerance for risk before considering whether or not a sector fund may be right for you.

Drunk Irishman Joke

An Irishman had been drinking at a pub all night.

The bartender finally said that the bar is Closing. So the Irishman stood up to leave and fell flat on his face. He tried to stand one more time; same result. He figured he'll crawl outside and get some fresh air and maybe that will sober him up.

Once outside, he stood up and fell on his face again. So he decided to crawl the four blocks home. When he arrived at the door he stood up and once again fell flat on his face. He crawled through the door and into his bedroom.

When he reached his bed he tried one more time to stand up. This time he managed to pull himself upright, but he quickly fell right into the bed and was sound asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

He was awakened the next morning to his wife standing over him, shouting,
"SO YOU'VE BEEN DRINKING AGA1N"

Putting on an innocent look, and intent on bluffing it out he said, "What makes you say that?'

'The pub just called; you left your wheelchair there again."

Max pain reliever per day

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), more than 56,000 people visit the emergency room each year due to an overdose of acetaminophen, the active ingredient in popular pain relief drugs like Tylenol. The major reason for an acetaminophen overdose is because people do not pay close attention to their daily dose of the drug. So, the FDA recommends you take no more than 8 extra-strength pills (4,000 milligrams) per day.

MLS listing codes

Every wonder what all those letters mean when you look at the MLS listings. Wonder no more.

F - Family room
B - Both evaporative cooler and a/c
D - Formal dining room
X - Fireplace
P - Pool
S - Spa
Q - Quest house
1G - 1 car garage
1C - 1 car carport
1S - 1 car slab
2G - 2 car garage
2C - 2 car carport
2S - 2 car slab

My first real computer (1996)

I was going to ASU in 1996 and I decided that I needed to get a computer so that I could do my work from home instead of driving across town to stand in line for a computer in the over crowded computer labs. Prior to this I had used Mac IIx, Mac LC, and even a Powerbook Duo 280c. The 280c was very cool, but it was nothing in comparison to the new PowerMac desktop machines. This is where the power was, so I went out and bought a brand new PowerMac 7200/90 (MHz, not Ghz) with 8MB RAM (yes 8 MB) and a 500 MB drive (yes MB, not GB).
I bought it from the ASU Computer store on 5/14/1996 for $1215.07 including tax. This was several hundred dollars less than I could buy in a retail store then. I was so proud of this computer. It was so fast and powerful. Wow, how things have changed.

All I can say is wow, how impatient with computers we are today. To put this in perspective, I have a several old PC now that emulates a faster version of that same computer. I actually transferred 100% of what was on my old Mac hard drive and put it in a virtual partition on my PC. It now runs about the same speed as it did then, only now it is emulated. Amazing. Simply amazing how computer technology changes in just over 10 years.

I soon upgraded the RAM since even back then 8MB was not enough to run everything I thought I needed to run. So, I added 16MB DIMM so that I now had 24MB total. I thought that was good. Then I started programming. In order to do what I needed then I got more than I thought I would ever need. I got 64MB for $264.00 with tax. I thought to myself, I'll never need more than this. I can't even think of enough programs to open to use all that. Little did I know then, that now on program can take more than that especially if you count virtual memory.


Amazing how things change. I'm sure, things will change just as much if now more in the next 10 years.

Boiling an Egg

Many of you would laugh, but I couldn't remember how exactly to boil an egg today. So I searched the internet on how. Here is what I found. It seems to be a very good method.

The Classic
Hard Boiled Egg

The simple, classic Boiled Egg, is indeed one of the finest and easiest edible delights known on earth, with just 70 calories, and full of nature s most perfect form of protein.

While there are many ways of preparing Boiled Eggs, we suggest below the directions for making eggs which are the easiest to peel and which will not have the dark green discolored coating on the yolk (see step 2 for tips to help avoid the green discoloration).

Extremely fresh eggs will not peel easily. In fact, an egg that is just a day or two old is almost impossible to peel. As eggs age, the shells will peel more easily. It is advisable that eggs used for hard cooking (including Easter Eggs) be at least 2 weeks old before cooking for easiest peeling. Hard cooked eggs that are cooked slowly over low heat (and not  boiled ) will be more difficult to peel.

Directions for Large Eggs:
1. Place eggs in a saucepan with enough COLD tap water to cover completely by 1 inch. Bring to a ROLLING boil over HIGH heat. Once the water is brought to a rolling boil, PROMPTLY reduce heat to a lower medium boil and cook an additional 10 minutes for a "hard boiled" egg. For a "soft boiled" egg reduce the time by a few minutes.

2. Remove from heat and IMMEDIATELY place eggs under ice cold water or in a bowl of ICED water to chill promptly to help yolks stay bright yellow. Chill for a few minutes in the cold water until the egg is completely cooled. This is an extremely important step which prevents the greenish "ring" from forming on the surface of the yolk over time. If the egg is not chilled immediately after cooking an unsightly dark greenish ring will eventually appear on the outside of the yolk.

3. To peel...crack on all sides, roll egg between hands to loosen shell,and remove shell. Enjoy while still warm, with a light sprinkling of salt if desired.

To serve in egg cup, place egg in cup small end down, slice off large end of egg with knife or egg scissors and eat from shell with spoon.

Refrigeration is necessary for hard boiled eggs if they eggs are not to be consumed within a few hours.


Refrigerated boiled eggs, kept in the shell, can be kept for up to 1 week.