Wow, I'm a bit surprised. With all this talk of the Fed "slashing" rates, why are these supposed rates not tangible in the consumer arena? I just asked about refinancing my 6.5% APR auto-loan (which was on a used car, too), and all I got was a bunch of laughs. Nobody can come even _near_ that as a refinancing option. The lowest I saw was almost 9%. I guess with near-double-digit rates, all this talk of the Fed "slashing" rates is just further proof that our government is in denial about the economy going into a recession. *sarcastic, yet depressed, laugh*
~hhh.cubed ^_^
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Darn!
Darn! I missed posting yesterday! I ended up falling asleep on the couch until it was bedtime, then just went to bed. Yet I'm still tired somehow, hmmm... Well, to make it up to y'all here's an early post on Thursday. ;)
Well after three glorious days of gains, it looks like this short run is over. I've historically always been early and jumped the gun on things, but it looks like this time I missed my chance to sell. So what now? With the dollar at new lows, the market pulling a u-turn, investors need to keep reminding themselves, "how much worse will things get?" There's a chance the dollar has hit rock-bottom, yet there's also a chance things will get much, much worse. We're supposed to be in a recession, aren't we? Do I go into full-bear mode and invest in long-term fixed income? Or do I gamble a bit and buy my way down?
Well, let me put things into perspective: no matter what your long-term strategic approach is, as long as you bet on known players, such as IBM, AAPL, INTC, NOK -- who happen to look very attractive in terms of cost (P/E), or have a bright future ahead of them in regards to potential marketshare gains (AAPL), you're eventually going to win. As opposed to someone who's lost 75% of their portfolio's assets due to incredibly high-risk, unproven companies that eventually went bankrupt. Yes that kind of thing does happen. So you can definitely play it safe, yet win big in the long run.
On a side note, I am now starting to realize the whole "bidding" system driving Prosper.com. I'm getting my bids rejected left and right, or being outbid by other lenders...! The contention on all of the AA-class borrowers is incredibly high, not to mention the very small playing field to begin with. I will definitely have to start being more aggressive with my bids. It's starting to look a lot more borrower-friendly than I ever imagined...
~hhh.cubed ^_^
Well after three glorious days of gains, it looks like this short run is over. I've historically always been early and jumped the gun on things, but it looks like this time I missed my chance to sell. So what now? With the dollar at new lows, the market pulling a u-turn, investors need to keep reminding themselves, "how much worse will things get?" There's a chance the dollar has hit rock-bottom, yet there's also a chance things will get much, much worse. We're supposed to be in a recession, aren't we? Do I go into full-bear mode and invest in long-term fixed income? Or do I gamble a bit and buy my way down?
Well, let me put things into perspective: no matter what your long-term strategic approach is, as long as you bet on known players, such as IBM, AAPL, INTC, NOK -- who happen to look very attractive in terms of cost (P/E), or have a bright future ahead of them in regards to potential marketshare gains (AAPL), you're eventually going to win. As opposed to someone who's lost 75% of their portfolio's assets due to incredibly high-risk, unproven companies that eventually went bankrupt. Yes that kind of thing does happen. So you can definitely play it safe, yet win big in the long run.
On a side note, I am now starting to realize the whole "bidding" system driving Prosper.com. I'm getting my bids rejected left and right, or being outbid by other lenders...! The contention on all of the AA-class borrowers is incredibly high, not to mention the very small playing field to begin with. I will definitely have to start being more aggressive with my bids. It's starting to look a lot more borrower-friendly than I ever imagined...
~hhh.cubed ^_^
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
<3 Tuesdays
Ahh... I love Tuesdays. Hear that? That's the sound of Apple announcing new products! And today they finally announced the product I've been waiting for: refresh to the MacBook Pro line! 17" MBP here I come, complete with 2.6 GHz 64-bit Intel Penryn Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB 667 MHz PC2-5300 memory, 250GB 5400RPM HD, 17" high-resolution matte LED-backlit screen, and 8x Dual-Layer SuperDrive. It's pure sex.
I threw in an extra battery and extra power cable, as well as a neoprene sleeve, and Logitech MX Revolution wireless mouse. I would've also ordered an Intuos3 6x8 graphics tablet, Canon CanoScan LiDE 600F scanner, and Logitech NuLOOQ jog dial had my credit limit been higher. I think this is the first time I've applied for a credit card where I got a significantly lower credit limit than all my other cards (which average at $10k limits). Ah well, you can't complain about 0% APR for 12 billing cycles!!
If you're wondering where to go to check out the latest and greatest credit card deals, look no further than App O Rama, whose mantra is "Profiting from Credit". Granted I'm not profiting per-se, but I'm sure saving a heck of a lot of money, thanks to the promo rate, as well as the 1% cash back.
Speaking of credit card cash reward programs, I'm getting more than $500 this year, wowza! I love this Costco Cash Rewards American Express credit / membership card!
Anyways, sorry for the late post. I'm about to crash so I'll post first-thing tomorrow on my latest Prosper.com experiences... stay tuned, folks!
~hhh.cubed ^_^
I threw in an extra battery and extra power cable, as well as a neoprene sleeve, and Logitech MX Revolution wireless mouse. I would've also ordered an Intuos3 6x8 graphics tablet, Canon CanoScan LiDE 600F scanner, and Logitech NuLOOQ jog dial had my credit limit been higher. I think this is the first time I've applied for a credit card where I got a significantly lower credit limit than all my other cards (which average at $10k limits). Ah well, you can't complain about 0% APR for 12 billing cycles!!
If you're wondering where to go to check out the latest and greatest credit card deals, look no further than App O Rama, whose mantra is "Profiting from Credit". Granted I'm not profiting per-se, but I'm sure saving a heck of a lot of money, thanks to the promo rate, as well as the 1% cash back.
Speaking of credit card cash reward programs, I'm getting more than $500 this year, wowza! I love this Costco Cash Rewards American Express credit / membership card!
Anyways, sorry for the late post. I'm about to crash so I'll post first-thing tomorrow on my latest Prosper.com experiences... stay tuned, folks!
~hhh.cubed ^_^
Monday, February 25, 2008
friendhelp
Well, my money finally fully transferred into Prosper.com today and all $500 is vested currently. Let the formal test phase begin! Assuming everyone pays me back, it's a theoretical 14.40% interest rate, of which I'm thinking is realistically closer to 10% (that might prove to be overly optimistic). Overall it's a great idea and I'm hoping it will prove fruitful. I will keep y'all up to date!
BTW, I went ahead and created a group on Prosper.com called 'friendhelp' (still pending review, but I'm confident it will be approved). The goal of the group is that it will be a circle of tight-knit friends that keep promoting to their trustworthy friends (and so-on and so-forth) so eventually you have a big network of people who can trust one another and everybody wins, both lenders and borrowers! It should be win-win for everybody, with low overhead/hassle and preferrably no delinquencies. ;)
Check it out (once it gets approved) and let me know if you're interested in joining (it's set to invite-only).
~hhh.cubed ^_^
BTW, I went ahead and created a group on Prosper.com called 'friendhelp' (still pending review, but I'm confident it will be approved). The goal of the group is that it will be a circle of tight-knit friends that keep promoting to their trustworthy friends (and so-on and so-forth) so eventually you have a big network of people who can trust one another and everybody wins, both lenders and borrowers! It should be win-win for everybody, with low overhead/hassle and preferrably no delinquencies. ;)
Check it out (once it gets approved) and let me know if you're interested in joining (it's set to invite-only).
~hhh.cubed ^_^
Talk about memory running cool
Wow, this is a cool (and scary) read:
Stealing Encrypted Data
Check it out! My "secure" server with its 26-character AES-256 password no longer feels so secure...
~hhh.cubed ^_^
Stealing Encrypted Data
Check it out! My "secure" server with its 26-character AES-256 password no longer feels so secure...
~hhh.cubed ^_^
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Houston
Ahhh... back in muggy ol' Houston. I'm sad to think that it might be my home one day, considering it's so damn flat. The thing I love about Austin is the hill country back rounds... tearing around the countryside in a convertible roadster is one of the funnest things in the world, and I'd definitely miss it whenever I have to move.
I guess let's focus on the perks:
1. Huge financial district (and career opportunities)
2. Sugarland is a great place to raise kids
3. LOTS of good food in Chinatown
4. Houston Rockets
5. Cheap(er) housing
6. Lots of good malls
Well, I guess I'll try to enjoy myself while I'm out here. Happy Birthday dad.
~hhh.cubed ^_^
I guess let's focus on the perks:
1. Huge financial district (and career opportunities)
2. Sugarland is a great place to raise kids
3. LOTS of good food in Chinatown
4. Houston Rockets
5. Cheap(er) housing
6. Lots of good malls
Well, I guess I'll try to enjoy myself while I'm out here. Happy Birthday dad.
~hhh.cubed ^_^
Friday, February 22, 2008
SXSW 2008 on BitTorrent
w00t! Some enterprising blogger has created a torrent to grab all the music from the artist showcase for SXSW 2008 (which is here in my hometown of austin, yay). These are legitimate downloads that he simply made easier to download (SWSX releases torrents themselves but haven't quite gotten around to doing it yet for the 2008 showcase). Enjoy!
SXSW 2008 Artist Showcase torrent, courtesy of the artists, SXSW, torrentfreak, and Grew Hewgill
~hhh.cubed ^_^
SXSW 2008 Artist Showcase torrent, courtesy of the artists, SXSW, torrentfreak, and Grew Hewgill
~hhh.cubed ^_^
Swamped
Oops, looks like I missed my Thursday post by a few hours... damn. I was really hoping to keep up with the post-a-day level of blogging, but it looks like I've failed within the first week, haha.
That being said, the reason I didn't get a chance to do it is because I've been crazy busy lately, with both work and just trying to keep up with life. The fact that I work at a startup, as rewarding as it is, means I don't really have too much time for much else. If I'm not spending time with my girlfriend (or rarely, friends), then I'm working. Juggling just those two alone takes up 110% of my time. Then throw in family, more work, friends, even more work, and tracking my finances (including investments and research) and you can see why I always look like I have bags under my eyes. (it's because i do) Starbucks decaf grande skinny vanilla latte FTW! ;)
Slight digression... we had a guy come in for a second-round interview today that we unfortunately had to reject for employment. It's always sad to see someone with a great personality and almost-child-like enthusiasm get turned down because they weren't the perfect fit. I kind of wish everyone was qualified and you could simply pick the nicest and friendliest people to join your team. Too bad life doesn't work that way, and usually only the smartest (and often meanest) or most cutthroat people make the grade. There's got to be a better way...
~hhh.cubed ^_^
P.S. I wish I had a forum on this site...
P.S.S. I think cruising in my S2000 tomorrow will cheer me up a bit, or at least I hope...
That being said, the reason I didn't get a chance to do it is because I've been crazy busy lately, with both work and just trying to keep up with life. The fact that I work at a startup, as rewarding as it is, means I don't really have too much time for much else. If I'm not spending time with my girlfriend (or rarely, friends), then I'm working. Juggling just those two alone takes up 110% of my time. Then throw in family, more work, friends, even more work, and tracking my finances (including investments and research) and you can see why I always look like I have bags under my eyes. (it's because i do) Starbucks decaf grande skinny vanilla latte FTW! ;)
Slight digression... we had a guy come in for a second-round interview today that we unfortunately had to reject for employment. It's always sad to see someone with a great personality and almost-child-like enthusiasm get turned down because they weren't the perfect fit. I kind of wish everyone was qualified and you could simply pick the nicest and friendliest people to join your team. Too bad life doesn't work that way, and usually only the smartest (and often meanest) or most cutthroat people make the grade. There's got to be a better way...
~hhh.cubed ^_^
P.S. I wish I had a forum on this site...
P.S.S. I think cruising in my S2000 tomorrow will cheer me up a bit, or at least I hope...
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
I Hate Cats
...well, no, not really, but sometimes my frustration levels go through the roof. My roommate's cat peed (...how does one spell 'peed'? is it even a real word? obviously i'm not entirely familiar with it because it's not something i use daily in my vocabulary ;) now back on with our regularly, scheduled program...) on the carpet again, plus she also puked at the foot of the stairs. ARGH.
My friend sent me this comic while I was ranting and raving so I thought I'd share it with all of y'all. Props go to "The Perry Bible Fellowship" (whatever that site is).
Enjoy!
~hhh.cubed ^_^
My friend sent me this comic while I was ranting and raving so I thought I'd share it with all of y'all. Props go to "The Perry Bible Fellowship" (whatever that site is).
Enjoy!
~hhh.cubed ^_^
AdSense
W00t! I made a whopping $0.97 yesterday, hahaha. I think there is potential for this, although my lack of ability as a writer will probably be the highest impedance towards making any dinero. It will be pathetic when I get an end-of-year tax statement from Google saying "Your total earnings for 2008 were: $0.97"... h4w
On a related note, I finally got a fund transfer _initiated_ in Prosper.com just now. It will take up to MONDAY to start being able to use it, ugh. I see now why people have been complaining that fund transfers take a while, so you definitely want to have money queued up and ready to go. Also, in the last few days I've been playing with it and Prosper.com seems like it definitely takes some time to find worthy candidates. I've primarily been sticking with low DTI, AA-rated people with housing and verified bank accounts (i.e. people with means who are just trying to get in the black and want a slightly better rate), but the number of people like that are loooooooow, so I may have to diversify into the whole "prime-select" category (i.e. < 40% DTI, AA-rated, 0 delinquencies on accounts). And there's nooooo way in hell I'm going to use 'standing orders' (auto-bidding based on your custom-defined rule-set). I find looking at actual profiles helps in a big way. Also, from what I've heard, avoid borrowers looking for help with medical expenses and entrepreneurs. Despite even an AA rating, there's a lot more inherent risk (for obvious reasons).
I think probably the BIGGEST advantage to Prosper.com is helping out someone you personally know (that you can trust!) who has means to help themselves get out of debt. I have a friend who has means and is slowly climbing out of debt, but he could do it a lot faster with both Propser.com and my help, and I can trust him -- it's a win-win situation in this case, and Propser.com makes it easy for me to help him since they handle all the hard/dirty work. I can even comment on his profile and give recommendations to entice others to help out and give him a better rate -- not bad!
I'll have more updates about Propser.com come Monday, once I actually start being able to use it. Be sure to check back before then!
~hhh.cubed ^_^
On a related note, I finally got a fund transfer _initiated_ in Prosper.com just now. It will take up to MONDAY to start being able to use it, ugh. I see now why people have been complaining that fund transfers take a while, so you definitely want to have money queued up and ready to go. Also, in the last few days I've been playing with it and Prosper.com seems like it definitely takes some time to find worthy candidates. I've primarily been sticking with low DTI, AA-rated people with housing and verified bank accounts (i.e. people with means who are just trying to get in the black and want a slightly better rate), but the number of people like that are loooooooow, so I may have to diversify into the whole "prime-select" category (i.e. < 40% DTI, AA-rated, 0 delinquencies on accounts). And there's nooooo way in hell I'm going to use 'standing orders' (auto-bidding based on your custom-defined rule-set). I find looking at actual profiles helps in a big way. Also, from what I've heard, avoid borrowers looking for help with medical expenses and entrepreneurs. Despite even an AA rating, there's a lot more inherent risk (for obvious reasons).
I think probably the BIGGEST advantage to Prosper.com is helping out someone you personally know (that you can trust!) who has means to help themselves get out of debt. I have a friend who has means and is slowly climbing out of debt, but he could do it a lot faster with both Propser.com and my help, and I can trust him -- it's a win-win situation in this case, and Propser.com makes it easy for me to help him since they handle all the hard/dirty work. I can even comment on his profile and give recommendations to entice others to help out and give him a better rate -- not bad!
I'll have more updates about Propser.com come Monday, once I actually start being able to use it. Be sure to check back before then!
~hhh.cubed ^_^
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Oops!
Wow, I accidentally killed my blog when I posted code from AdSense into a HTML/Javascript Blogger box (okay, I'm a whore). I've since fixed it, although I now have no idea whether or not everything is working (i.e. whether or not I'm getting PAIIIIIIID), so we'll see. I did find it funny that one of my ads was "Asian American Blog" based on the very limited context of what's on this site already, haha.
Also, I've started looking for people on Prosper.com and it seems like a pretty sweet system. Granted, the amount of people with AA ratings and a verified bank account and are home owners is like < 10, but I'm hopeful... We'll see how well it works once I get the bank account link actually working, grrr... (could be faster but there's no WAY I'm giving them login access to my bank account, haha)
~hhh.cubed ^_^
Also, I've started looking for people on Prosper.com and it seems like a pretty sweet system. Granted, the amount of people with AA ratings and a verified bank account and are home owners is like < 10, but I'm hopeful... We'll see how well it works once I get the bank account link actually working, grrr... (could be faster but there's no WAY I'm giving them login access to my bank account, haha)
~hhh.cubed ^_^
Monday, February 18, 2008
Back from the dead...
Well, I decided it was time to revive this blog, even though I am probably going to start hosting my own soon (<3 Apple iWeb). The more links the better! Plus, I decided to add a link to a cool blog I just found (Tired but happy) which discusses some of the pros and cons of Prosper.com, which I'm thinking of trying out. 10% returns (albeit at a significantly higher risk factor) sounds too deliciously tempting right now with the market as it is to keep ignoring social, community lending sites (there's also Zopa). What can I say, I'm a sucker for watching my net worth grow year-by-year. ;)
~hhh.cubed ^_^
~hhh.cubed ^_^
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)