Well Said...

"If you wish to be a success in this life you must first be a good animal."

~ Herbert Spencer

Herbert Spencer (1802-1903)

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The Windy City is Bustling

I flew into Chicago last night -- the "windy city" is alive and well -- bustling as a matter of fact...

Hyatt Regency, Rosemont, Illinois

All Americans Should Answer This Question...

Please share this poll with your friends and colleagues using the link below, thanks...

The Good Life Comes in Moments...

I took this photo of the sky above my home earlier today -- staring at the sky in wonderment reminds me of all good things -- the good life comes in moments...

The clouds above my home earlier today [click to enlarge]

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Advanced Risk Analysis Modeling for Excel

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What is a Deipnosophist?

deipnosophist

n

(Literature / Rhetoric) Rare a person who is a master of dinner-table conversation

[from Greek deipnosophistai, title of a Greek work by Athenaeus (3rd century), describing learned discussions at a banquet, from deipnon meal + sophistai wise men; see sophist]

Source: The Free Dictionary

What is the Foehn?

foehn, also föhn
n.
A warm dry wind coming off the lee slopes of a mountain range, especially off the northern slopes of the Alps.

View from the Zugspitz, Germany [click to expand]

I learned about the foehn while living in the German Alps years ago -- many Europeans believe the foehn brings mystical qualities. According to one source:

In certain regions of the world, the seasonal winds that blow have become legendary, bringing little short of misery and chaos to many of the local inhabitants. In these places it has been known for generations, that the winds bring feelings of anxiety, stress, depression and sleepless nights. Statistical studies show that when these winds appear, more road accidents happen and suicide rates increase. So real is the problem that it has been known for judges to take this into consideration when sentencing and for hospitals to postpone some operations until they cease!

You might ask why am I writing about the foehn. Well, the foehn is blowing through my town in the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania as I type this tonight, and the feeling is eerie...

Sources:

D J Clarke

The Free Dictionary

What is Private Equity?

private equity

Collective term for equities that are not listed on an official or public market.

Source: AP3: Third Swedish National Pension Fund

Silver Comes Into Vogue

The 1964 Kennedy half-dollar has a nominal value of $0.50, however the coin has a market value today of roughly $18.70, given its 90% silver content. Assuming a person had acquired this coin in 1964 at its nominal value, and then sold the coin today at market value, the realized annual rate of return would be approximately 8% (N = 47, PV = -0.50, FV = 18.70).

An 8% annual rate of return is certainly better than current savings rates...

Well Said...

"I have the same goal I've had ever since I was a girl. I want to rule the world."

~ Madonna

Madonna Louise Ciccone (1958- )

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Majority of Americans Support Raising Taxes on Incomes over $250,000

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds that a strong majority (78%) of Amercians oppose cutting Medicare. Moreover, a majority (56%) of Americans polled oppose cutting military spending. Conversely, a significant majority (72%) of Americans apparently support raising taxes on incomes over $250,000.

Medicare and military spending are apparently popular programs amongst Americans, while raising taxes for those earning over $250,000 appears acceptable, at least according to this poll.

Source: Cohen, J & Balz, D (2011, April 20), Poll Shows Americans Oppose Entitlement Cuts to Deal With Debt Problem, Washington Post.

Populist Majority versus True Majority in America

According to Treasury Sec Timothy Geithner, the US would have to implement drastic fiscal cuts should Congress precipitate a Federal default by not increasing the US debt ceiling by July 8, 2011. In Geithner's words:

If Congress failed to increase the debt limit, a broad range of government payments would have to be stopped, limited or delayed, including military salaries and retirement benefits, Social Security and Medicare payments, interest on the debt, unemployment benefits and tax refunds.

Of course, most Americans receive not a penny from any of these government spending programs, which means only a minority of Americans would suffer directly from the cuts Sec Geithner says would be necessary.

Here is my question: Is the populist majority in America, which enjoys the lion's share of government entitlements, heading for a political collision with a true majority of the nation's voters who could care less about government entitlements at this point?

Source: Indiviglio, D (2011, April 22), Will the US Really Default in May if the Debt Ceiling Isn't Raised? Atlantic.

Happy Easter

Here is a quick and easy Excel VBA (Microsoft) user-defined function for determining the calendar date upon which Easter falls during any given year.

Public Function EasterDate(Yr As Integer) As Date
   Dim d As Integer
   d = (((255 - 11 * (Yr Mod 19)) - 21) Mod 30) + 21
   EasterDate = DateSerial(Yr, 3, 1) + d + (d > 48) + 6 - ((Yr + Yr \ 4 + d + (d > 48) + 1) Mod 7)
End Function

To find the date for Good Friday during any specific year, save the above code in your Excel VBA editor and then enter the function in an Excel worksheet. For example, =EasterDate(2011) returns 40657 which converts to 4/24/2011 when the cell is formated for dates. Likewise, =EasterDate(2011)-2 returns the date for Good Friday as 4/22/2011 (as in today).

Happy Easter!

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College Town Perks in the US

Living in a college town has perks! See what various college towns in the US have to offer by following the link below:

[click image for more]

Source: Marcus, J (2011, April 15), 30 Perks of Living in a College Town, Boston Globe.