| Recession...what recession? |
[21 Apr 2008|06:03pm] |
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You know I keep up somewhat with what is going on and especially in the economy. I have to because I trade stocks. I believe I have become really good at what I do and have learned to understand the economy better. I know what terms mean when I hear them and what people are talking about on the TV and on line and such.
I certainly have not mastered anything by any means.
So we know we have been in tough times since last year. But it has not been widely disseminated to the public until the past few months. I have personally thought that we were already heading into a recession before Christmas and especially early this year. Christmas was a great season for me in my job. I am in retail sales of cameras. The first of this year was to be expected, slow.
However, march seemed to pick up and April is truly blowing me away. I expected it to be dismal. But to my dismay, we are up. And I mean up big! I really expected to be down some or flat but hey what do I know anyway.
So I know this little job I have does not speak at all to the economic status of the country. However, it really makes me wonder how bad things are. It seems banks are getting tough on loans and prices on gas and food are rising. But it seems somewhere along the line people are still finding ways to spend money on non-essentials.
I mean I have even tried to curtail my own spending. I try to eat out less or go to places that costs less. I will even eat less just so I can save a dollar or two for a meal. I am trying to be less frugal with my money and save it or put it into stocks. I have even tried to save gas by limited my speed on the interstate. I usually go between 70-80MPH on the interstate and apparently after 60-65 MPH your gas mileage drops off exponentially. So the speed limit is 70 and I have been driving about 65 MPH a few times in the past week. It is a hard thing to do because I have a lead foot. But I feel over time it could really save myself money, control our necessity for foreign oil and help the environment.
I keep hearing the worst is over and better things are to come. I think these statements are only true for the banks and stocks. They have gone so low now that they will be bought up and go back up. The banks have cut jobs and got rid of risky loans and other bad debt.
However I do not think it is near over for the consumer. Food and gas prices are at incredible highs these days. When I am off work I do not want to travel simply because it cost too much to go anywhere. Almost every food item you find on the shelf has risen significantly in the past 8-12 months. I do not eat at Panera Bread nearly as much as I used to because of the increases in prices there. You can even read a sign that notes they raise prices to offset costs and keep a high grade product.It also specifically notes that wheat prices have doubled over the past year.
I really hope we do not see $4/gallon gas this year. I think consumers can just barely handle the price where it is now. If we hit $4/gallon I think travel will significantly drop off and affect the economy in drastic measures. Food prices would continue to jump as companies would cite higher cost due to fuel prices. Retail outlets would lose business and consumers would turn more to internet sales as they already have.
I see stocks getting a run within the next 3 months along with banks in particular. They will cut jobs, cut dividends; whatever it takes to get back to the profitability they were a year or so ago.
However, consumers have not seen the end of this by far. I am afraid we will see $4 gas and food prices will continue to be high for some time.
This summer is going to be especially expensive to travel and eat. Saving money over the next 8 months or more is going to be nearly impossible.
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| OmegaCon 2008 Afterthoughts... |
[18 Mar 2008|11:14pm] |
Omega Con has come and gone. It was the first major Sci Fi or Comic Book Convention in 10-15 years by my count. It was in the planning for over 2 years. Was it worth it?
I think it went off pretty well myself. There were a lot of confusing moments and problems shuffling people to different rooms overall though. There was a lack of organization. I know for one instance I went for the charity auction. Got told it was in another room at 2. Went to that room, which was the original room it was supposed to be in only to find no one there. Went back to where it was rescheduled for and there did not seem to be too many people there. Anyways, the charity auction proceeded and I got me a few little things. There was a large area for dealers and I think they can make that bigger. But overall it was a good mix of dealers.
I got to meet several stars including Chase Masterson, Richard Hatch, Peter Mahew, and Richard Kiel.
I also had the privilege of seeing the second screening ever of a film called Yesterday Was a Lie. It is a very interesting sci fi/noir film. It combines the films of the 40’s with the Sci Fi of today. It is going through the film festivals and Cons right now and I hope it gets a major release because it is great!
Overall I think that Omega Conwas a success but it needs a lot of work. They can do better, especially with organizing things better. I think the Con did lose some people due to the fact that there were no Maps of the place at all. Yesthey were online, but there were none printed out at the site. The Sheraton was a large place and had events in many different places. If I had not previously seen the map I would have been even more lost than I was. The place was quite a maze and people were having trouble finding things. Also moving events and panels constantly gets old. I can understand when someone does not show or something, but it seemed that a very large portion of events and panels were being moved and rescheduled.
I hope we see Omega Con in 2009 and it is bigger and better! Click the link below to see more pictures from OmegaCon 2008! See more at the following link on Flickr! |
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| mypussy |
[18 Sep 2007|07:23pm] |
This is my pussycat. She is so spoiled. She loves to get rubbed and cuddle with her daddy!
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| Hello Ducky! |
[16 Sep 2007|08:02pm] |
This is my Ducky. I love Ducky. He made a friend the other day.
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| Fav Album |
[02 Aug 2007|02:17am] |
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New favorite .... U2 album is ... War..i know this will creat a backlash....
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| robsimpsonsized |
[01 Aug 2007|11:49pm] |
This is me SIMSPONIZED! Does it look like me or not! What do you think!
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| DSC_0391 |
[01 Aug 2007|11:30pm] |
I miss her so....This is Angela from Canada. We were on top of Whistler Mountain in Canada. Isn't she cute!
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| A "special" number... |
[05 May 2007|11:18pm] |
09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
Any idea what this number does?
Hmm....
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