Random Musings

The day has come

It's going to be a wonderful week.A week filled with excitement cause for the first time in the history of Anoris the theory of time time travel has come to life.It's a dark room in a cold chamber far away from the mega city Jantis.The temparature in the chamber has beeen dropped to -2F.This is the temperature desired to successfully effect de-ionization of humans in order to us use the proven scatter-gather pattern for converting human mass into energy and vice-versa.The machine has now been calibrated to full throttle and the year has beenset.

The machine has been calibrated  using the Cranin-Myner equation.The equation which brings time travel to life.Two beings fromm Anoris have been selected to visit our very own planet which is a trillion light years away fromAnoris.Life was detected on this fabulous planet which we call our own about 500 years ago when a space shuttle from Anoris successfully beamed images of Earth back to Anoris.It's been a long time now that the beings of Anoris have waited for this day when they could actually visit the wonderful planet which they have seen only in images. The two lucky beings who get to visit this planet are Calin and Tyra.They have been selected after a long search and after numerous scientific tests to make sure they are the right beings for this wonderful experiment of time travel which is a first of its kind.

A World Far away

It's been a long wait.Waiting for the time to come when there will be absolute brightness.
This is a world which is far away at the edge of the universe .A world no one has
ever seen and no one has ever heard of.This world awaits to tell itself to the universe of
its existence.One day at a time.A day ,in this world is three hundred years by Earth standards.
It's a matter of time till everyone experiences the pleasure of time travel.Scientists are
on the cutting edge of making this a reality .The world ,Anoris, is  way ahead of our time . A million years ahead.

They have survived all the phases of earthly extinctions of dinosaurs and other pre-historic beings.
Technology has progressed to such an extent where things like intuitive telepathy and controlling objects through gestures have become routine.Life as it exists in this world can be prolonged for its beings to live for a thousand years.It's going to be one of the most exciting times in the history of this world which hasn't been discovered by anybody so far.Research has been done on time travel for the past 120 years.Finally,it has come to fruition.Everyone awaits anxiously.

Snow and the economy in 2009

Let it snow!Let it snow!...and it is snowing this wonderful time of the year.There is a winter storm
in the Northern Virginia/DC area. It's the weekend and what better time to enjoy the snow falling
outside and sipping a warm cup of green tea and listening to Christmas carols.Hopefully,we will be
ploughed out by tomorrow evening and things should be back to normal.And we can go get our milk which is running low.Yesterday evening we were at the local super market to stock up and it was quite an episode with everyone trying to do their best to stock up and the shelves were out of the 2% stock of milk and  going low on bread.It's nice that we are only expecting snow for a couple of days or else I could just imagine what the scene might have been.It's also that time of the season when a little snow is welcome but not a lot since it dulls the holiday shoppers and the malls will mostly be deserted this weekend.
     And in this economy that is definitely not a good thing for the businesses.Allright..that's my
piece  of mind for this snowy weekend on the weather and the good and bad that comes out of it.One more thing on my mind right now is the person of the year selected by TIME  magazine and rightfully so..
Mr. Bernanke himself. We would have been in a deeper recession if it was not for the wise decision
making by the 'cure doctor' of economics .He was quite right about throwing more moolah into a sliding
economy to slow down the slide and being a period of weak recovery which will probably go on well into
the next year.I'll take that any day instead of digging ourselves out of a deep depression.Well,all in
all it looks like 2009 wasn't that great a year for the economy ..but hey it's not the end.It's just
that we have to go through the law of averages at some point in time or another and it's that time right now.So,I would like to end on that note with a positive outlook for the next year and lots of good things to come.
    Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays .As I look out ,the snow seems to be getting heavier now...
Enjoy the snow while it's at its best and get cozy with that warm cuppa.

An evening at the gas station

It so happened one night around 7 pm in the evening.We were just waiting in line seated in our car for our turn to fill it up.So, I turned off  the ignition as it was a really long line and hey,who wants to waste gas particularly in these tough economic times.So after a couple of times moving ahead and turning off the gas I finally find myself not able to start the engine back up and then it dawned on me that it was nothing but a dead battery.Phew...now what do we do?So, there's this gas station attendant who comes up to the window and says that we were the third car within the hour to wind up with a dead battery.Now what?Just I was thinking as to the course of action,the attendant says not to worry and he will help out,.so he pushes us ahead till we come up to the gas pump.After filling it up, again the attendant notices that the guy who had a dead battery right before us,is jump starting with a jump start kit.So, he signals that I put the car into neutral and he would push it along till we are in the parking lot close to the guy jump starting his car.So, we end up next to that guy.He's not having luck so far with starting his car. So, we try to help him out.Finally with no luck, the attendant suggests that we try the starer kit on my car.We try that and low behold,the car starts up in a jiffy.I heave a sigh of relief.After that we return to his car and try again ,this time making sure the metal connectors are properly in contact.And vroom,the engine roars to life. We are all happy.It's been an eventful evening but all's well that ends well.I then thank the attendant for all his help.And he cheerfully replies saying he was more than happy to help.Well, I definitely wish there are more people like him in this world and the world will definitely be better place.

Winter is here!!

Well, finally it is Wednesday and just the middle of the week as yet.
Need something to cheer me up ...so why not write down my thoughts.
That's definitely one way to feel better. Just let it all out. This week
is as hectic as it gets..not had such a work week in a while now.One more
release...yeah..that's what they say..just one more..till the next one comes along.Getting to leave work at 7.45pm today,I felt lucky.At least I could come home in time for dinner with my wife.Just the past Sunday, we set the clock back by an hour and that really helps.So, these days although I wake up at the usual time ,I have an extra hour ..hmm..feels good to have more time on your hands.Gives me a chance to tidy up the home and complete any left over chores like loading the dish washer.Also, it means I can have a more healthy (and sometimes heavy) breakfast.Nothing like having time to boil an egg at the crack of dawn.Feels good!!It's getting chilly and today there was a cold wave blowing through Northern Virginia and I must say that winter is here (and now!!).Gets dark before 6 pm and before you know it it's night fall.Well...can't wait till it gets colder and then out come all my winter woolens.Alright,enough said on  a cold wintry night.I must sign off now to get some well deserved rest and recuperate for yet another day tomorrow.For once, I wish this week will be over soon.Adios, till my next blog entry. Stay warm!!

A weekend in Fall

Wow ..one more weekend and it's raining cats and dogs .Did I say rain yet again?...Yes!Yes!.Don't know what's up with the weather these days.Guess it's more reflecting the proverbial rainy day in a bad economy.What with more than 100 bank failures in the US already and more to come .Just going with the current news it seems there would be in the range of about 1100 bank failures by 2011 which would wipe out roughly about 13% per of all banking assets in the US.Now, does this call for a different banking structure in the future?Or is it just more checks and balances in the US financial system that are needed?That's anybody's guess.With the times being what they are it looks like the 'Cash for Gold' programs are really going strong. Gold is at an all time high and yes..there are people who will buy your gold to give you the money you need on a rainy day like today !.There's mixed views in the media about where we are headed?Is the recession really over?Or is there still economic gloom out there like the finanacial sooth sayers are predicting?Well, the stocks have certainly inched their way upwards slowly but surely since last March and that is definitely the sign of an improving economy.So, maybe now is as good a time as any to buy .Hopefully ,things will only get better really if they can't get any worse.The housing sector is a totally different ball game.It seems to be recovering slowly with almost a 10% increase in existing home sales which is a record high since the past two years.Wow..that is definitely a sign of an improving economy...Well,that's just my two cents on yet another rainy weekend.Have fun and stay dry!

Rain, Rain and Stocks...

It's a nice rainy weekend and what better than a rainy weekend to warm the cockles of your heart.It's been drizzling continuously for the past two days now. Nothing like having a hot cup of tea with idli/dosa and watching the drizzle outside .It's almost fall in this part of the world and leaves on the trees are starting to turn yellow,red and gold.It really inspires in you a feeling of positivity and you start to look forward to shedding all that has happened and begin anew.I must say it's been a bit hectic of late with work and all the craziness about swine flu,etc.Finally got a flu shot.That too, this is the first time I am getting it after living for more than 9 years in the US. On a different note,it's kind of the right time to get into investing now that all share prices are poised for a come back.Just need to analyze the right stock or mutual fund to get into.Of course it's going to be a while before any returns can be realized but I'm thinking long term.
The economic data definitely points to the fact that we are almost out of the recession and things will be much better.Still holding off on buying the house at least until next year till things really stabilize.The home prices are not going anywhere anytime soon.All right,then...to a nice weekend filled with research on stocks and a little bit of vacuuming:-).

Recession proof your life style.

It's a tough life ...they say and these days it's it definitely is.I am sure there
are enough articles out there analyzing how we got into all this mess.I do not want
to say anything more on that topic.I think we all need to acknowledge how tough these times are and every dollar counts.Try to stock up on your pennies and they will take
you a long way.You can do so in small ways.
If you do not live far away from work ..you could consider biking it down.That will
also get you some exercise.And you could save that extra  hour in the evening to watch your favorite program.If you have to drive,try to find a buddy and car pool it.If your work place allows you to remote, try to telecommute a couple of days.Try to club those weekday trips to the food store into one weekend shopping trip if possible.That should buy you some extra gas.Switch out all the energy hogging light bulbs in your home to those energy saving fluorescent
bulbs which you get these days for cheap.You can buy a 6 pack one at Walmart .A
non-branded one is as good as a  branded one...they are both Made in China!It should cut your energy bills by as much as 60 to 70 percent ,if not more.Well these are some tips which should be useful...also I came across some interesting articles on how to make that dollar go further in these tough economic times.Check them out...

http://www.squidoo.com/how-to-make-money-in-a-recession

http://www.ehow.com/how_2184568_money-during-recession.html

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/MutualFunds/RecessionProofWaysToMakeMoney.aspx

http://ezinearticles.com/?Learn-How-to-Make-Money-in-a-Recession&id=1563786

Fannie,Freddie and cheap gas!!

It's been a while since I blogged ...so here I am writing on this Saturday afternoon.Just a few thoughts and feelings on things I have come across and feel strongly about over the past few weeks.First of all,everyone has seen turmoil in the financial markets with the uncertain future of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.It will be quite sad to see these two giants fail since they are about helping people live the American dream and own a piece of land which they can call their very own.Wall St. has been brought to its knees with the  second largest banking failure in US history with the FDIC take over of IndyMac BanCorp.Everyone wonders what has caused this turmoil in the financial markets of a nation arguably ruling the financial world.Did Wall St get it all wrong?Could they have averted this disaster if regulations were in place to check loans and credit approvals being made were justified?Were the loans made after checking credit worthiness or was it just to boost business?These are the basic fundamental questions that are left unanswered?What is now needed is a strong credit and mortgage policy with a well oiled machinery to keep check on the mortgage/credit lending framework.
For the first time in weeks,we have seen gas prices take a dip.Does that mean they will continue to dip?No one knows for sure?What is it that controls these prices?Is it the speculative trading on the market?Could be.Some analysts say that oil will fall below $100 a barrel before the end of the year!Well,What better way that to start the year than with cheap gas?And if that happens I will definitely be motivated to live up to my resolutions as well:)

Selling on eBay

This can be fun and a nice way to make a few quick bucks.It might even get you to a point where you can quit your day job and just go for it.But first there are some eBay etiquettes to follow.There are roughly more than 600,000
Americans who make a living selling stuff on eBay.Anything that's lying
around the house for quite a while and not being used at all fits the bill.Of course,you will
have to create an eBay account and preferably a PayPal account to make things easier so you
can collect that beer income with ease.You have to be careful with the listing fees though...
if you don't list your item correctly you can end up losing more than a couple of those
extra bucks you could have made to eBay .So ,make sure you visit the eBay listing fees first
before you list your item.You should be able to find this quite easily by doing a search on Google.eBay charges fees ranging from the initial listing ,'buy it now' fees, reserve price fees
and final value fees.In addition if you want your item to show up with colors and jazz you have to pay extra.But that's not always required.If you have priced your item as an auction and the right description to go with it,you should be able to sell it off.There's always someone who
needs what you don't.The 'Buy it Now' feature is a killer as if you have priced the item correctly ,the buyer will just scoop it up as he may not have the time to wait till your auction ends if he's in need of it right this minute.Make sure you use the 'Reserve Price' feature only for highly priced items so you don't give it away for a song.Also, once you sell make sure you leave a comment for the buyer...for example if the payment is prompt...you can say so in the comment!It will also help you to get back positive feedback from the buyer.Always make sure you ship your item if possible on the evening it is sold or at least by the next day!Prompt shipping always counts and will help you to get some real nice feedback and help you as you're on your way to making those big bucks on eBay.Make sure you pack the stuff neatly and also include a packing slip inside the box.You can easily print the packing slip off your paypal account once you click the transaction.Also ,if you're selling something fragile or delicate make sure you print some label to that effect and stick it on to the box.Last but not the least,always communicate promptly with your buyer if he sends you a query.Good impressions always count in the business of selling and will help you rope in that positive feedback!!Well..then..I'm off to list my next item...Happy Selling!!!