MsGuy

1 gram = tire track 1 ounce = Depends big difference

No doubt at least one will be alive, RA1, unless you've got a kink for physicians from Haiti.

Just PM me any time you want to ask an awkward question, lookin, and I'll do it for you. I've long since lost any sense of shame over displaying stupidity. ---- Lucky, I'll have you know I was back in 3 hours, 4 hours tops.

Many thanks, Twinklover. I never would have figured it out on my own.

Indiana Governor Mitchell Daniels ® has been making speeches pushing both these ideas to various consevative gatherings, Lucky, in an effort to draw attention to a possible run at the Republican nomination in 2012. In all honesty, it's a subject that will have to be seriously discussed in the not too distant future. Basically, one can spend an arbitrarily large sum of money propping up old folks in the last few months of life. For myself, I have repeatedly warned my next of kin that I will definitely come back and haunt him if he lets them put me on a ventilator for my last few weeks.

Sounds interesting but I have not the slightest idea of how to access "Twink Time" or any other channel. Care to share any hints?

For the life of me I can not understand why many gays are so dissatisfied with Obama. He is well into the process of cramming acceptance of open gay military service down the throats of the Army brass and he did it by Congressional repeal of DODT, a much stronger and more durable route than an executive order. WTF, he bought my vote with that alone. Not saying there aren't a lot of grounds that have nothing to do with sexual orientation one might oppose BO on but, as far as gay issues go, he's done just fine.

hahahahahahaha... that explains everything!

1) You're owed $1,000, no interest or inflation protection accrues unless there's a clear agreement otherwise. Sorry. 2) You're right you have a statute of limitations problem. 3) Depending on how Cali treats claims against an estate, you probably also have a Statute of Frauds problem. 4) Maybe you should have taken it out in trade at the time. And, finally: Damn, man, you've got a loooong memory. Remind me never to get on your bad side!

Ok, for a long while, the site would allow me to sign in by just typing in the first letter of my nic, whereupon it would auto post the rest of the nic and my password (provided I entered from the forum). All I had to do then was click ok or enter or somesuch. Then in late December I had some kind of virus try to take over my poor machine and I had to install a new antivirus. Problem solved except that MER no longer auto recognized me. I'm guessing that I set security parameters too tight to allow your cookies in. Oh, well, better the nuisance of logging on than open the door even an inch for another damn virus. But now tonight I've been on and off the board a dozen times and MER keeps me logged on no matter where I go & no matter how long I'm gone. Did I finally do something right? If so what the hell did I do? Or is it just one more mystery of the net? More importantly, is there anything I can do to keep MER's gate guardian from reverting to form and making me do a retinal scan again every time I come here? Any advice much appreciated.

Hahahaha, I once gave a guest lecture on consumer finance at Antioch College (the one in Ohio). About half way through the craziness that is the rule of 78s, I had to segue into a quick Q&A session to finish the lecture. I had not only confused the kids, I had managed to thoroughly confuse myself. ---- Thanks for your post, TY. It reminded me of this lecture and that in turn reminded me of a very close friend of mine who attended Antioch. Tom died 30 odd years ago of MS and I haven't thought of him in a long time. He was one of the smartest, kindest guys I have ever had the honor to call a friend. ---- And for any masochists hanging about, here is an explanation of the Rule of 78s. And if you still don't understand why it's such a racket, well, the friendly guy who finances your next car is gonna love to see you coming though his door.

Well, it serves its purpose. Unless, of course, someone starts dropping random posts into the "Lucky in Thailand" thread. Did I say that?? The Devil made me do it.

LOL, lookin, I didn't even venture into the wilderness of the rule of 78 or the magical world of prepaid interest.

$1.000.00 @ 7% compound interest, compounded annually at end of interest period = $9,325.34 in 33 full years. Accruing compound interest is a real beast. In a real world transaction an anticipated rate of inflation is already discounted into the stated interest rate. 7% is actually a pretty stiff rate of interest for an inflation protected debt. However, to adjust for inflation, one would simply add in the inflation rate to the stated interest rate. To achieve a reasonably accurate net payoff number, one could google up the CPI (or other desired indicator of inflation) for each year, perform the calculation on this calculator and repeat for 33 iterations. That's a bit more work than my old brain is up to, so ball parking an approximate inflation rate of 2.5% since 1978 (and using the above assumptions), I come up with a total payoff (@ 9.5%) of $19,983.24. Adjusting for inflation on top of the stated interest makes a hugh difference. That's why those special inflation protected US bonds carry a much lower rate than the regular US bonds. ---- The above calculations act to inflation protect the accuring unpaid interest as well as the principal ($1,000). Another approach would be to adjust the principal for inflation (which would require adding $2,377.65 (per Lurker's calculator) to the $9,325.34 for a total of $11,702.99. ---- And, of course, at 7% simple annual interest (uncompounded), one would have $3,377.65 plus $2,310 ($70/yr. x 33 yrs.) or $5,687.65. In calculating interest, the devil is in the details. There are actually cuniform records of bankers playing these kinds of games with interest to get around Babylonian restrictions on usury.

For those of you who crave the the cutting edge of foody trendiness: Breast Milk Ice Cream Any of our London correspondents willing to take one for the team and give us a first hand review?

hahahahaha, I had a thread like that once. Damn thing just hung there for week after week.

A representative inflation rate can be googled up but you will have to specify an interest rate, Lucky.

Back in the 60's the government began reporting the deficit on a consolidated budget basis, meaning the SS revenues were treated as tax receipts the same as income taxes, excise taxes, etc. This reflects the fiscal reality. The problem with your take on the trust fund is that the government has no means to meet its obligations to SS other than current SS tax receipts, the general taxing power and borrowing. When SS tax receipts fall short of SS expenditures, the government must either increase taxes, increase borrowing (or cut SS payouts ) or reduce expenditures for other purposes. Another way of saying the same thing: every dollar paid out of the "trust fund" reduces the amount of government funds available for other purposes by an equal amount. If the fact that the trust fund counts for absolutely nothing sounds wrong, ask yourself this: if the trust fund had never been created, would the 2011 cost to the government of SS (net of taxes) have been one dollar more or one dollar less? The trust made no difference in 2011, not will it in 2012 or 2045. The reason US bonds in the Trust Fund make no difference in the government's ability to meet its SS obligations is that both represent a claim on exactly the same source of funds: the taxing power of the US. ---- One good argument for running a surplus is that we need to shore up the government's borrowing power now against the day that we will need it to cover the massive claims we baby boomers are about to make on the treasury. ---- I think your points on medical care reform are well taken. ---- Soap box under arm, I will now take my leave.

And Lincecum is either back on the good stuff or has lost his mind. Here he is doing his John Waters schtick:

You mean this Grady Sizemore? "Grady Sizemore", now that's a great name. Something about it just is a perfect fit for a baseball player.

Maybe my brain is just more addled than usual but I seem to remember a serious effort some years back by Midwestern and Northeastern schools to force a shortened baseball season on the SEC and other warm weather conferences. If I recall right, they were bitching that their shorter seasons put them at a disadvantage in recruiting top HS prospects. I have no clear memory of how that was worked out by the NCAA. You're right, RA1, CWS champs north of Stanford are few and far between.

It does seem a bit early to be thinking baseball, doesn't it. On the other hand, think of all the extra games we get to watch this fall if the NFL owners follow through on their threat to break the Players Association.

That is NOT where I'd want to park a gun. The kid needs to study up on what Plaxico Burress learned the hard way.

Proof positive that not all gay guys have a sense of fashion. Jeez!

Marc, gotta love your knack for putting things in their proper perspective!