morning news.....

As I had mentioned in prior posts, I was thinking about canceling my newspaper subscription, thus ending about 40 years of getting a newspaper delivered every morning wherever I have lived. Well, after reading that the local paper was shrinking even more and losing columnists, I did call and cancel. I have kept the Sunday paper for now, and to be honest, the only reason is to keep getting the coupons that accompany it, as they would "pay" for the subscription.

It has been "funny" not picking a paper up from the driveway, but hopefully that will change when we get back to NC and I start getting the News & Observer again. Though, if they go through many more staff cuts, I won't even bother with them.

Morgan is now blogging through her station's website. You can find her posts here and down the right side of this page under the links section. Because it is not a "regular" blog site, it can not go where I have the "other blogs of note". So, you will just have to check it daily, or maybe I will make sure to put in a mention when updated.

Our real estate broker in NC received an e-mail from the broker representing the homeowners who refused to release our deposit. They will not be appealing the court decision, and will be signing the release in the next day or so. Four months of angst for no good reason.

Tonight is the second Presidential Debate, and it will be held "town hall" style. Meaning that Senators Obama and McCain will be speaking directly with the people asking the questions. Senator McCain has been asking for these to occur once a week, since the campaign started, but after initially indicating he would, Senator Obama backed away from them. I wish he had not, as I think the electorate would have learned much more about these two, then just standard "stump" speeches.

In USA Today, I see some people have been writing in questions that they would ask. Quite a few want to know what the candidates will do to help them as their 401Ks are plummeting. The answer is "nothing". The same way government keeps their hands away when you are making profits (basically the last 20 years or so), they are to keep their hands away now as your values go down.

You were not guaranteed a profit when you chose where to place your retirement investments. This all comes back to understanding what you are doing and personal responsibility. When you join your company's retirement plan, you are given many options where to put your money. Each one gives you an idea what the risks are, so you need to choose wisely, and understand what you are choosing. In that listing of investment, are "fixed rate" investments. They are usually money market type accounts. They usually return about 3% or so, and most people stay away from them. Why? Because nobody want to make "only" 3%. Does not look so bad now.

There will be another post following this one about the bailout. Casey asked me to explain it in plain English, and I will do so in a separate entry.

- I am looking forward to Little Big Planet.
- Think Cassie would have liked to have been invited.
- More Hurricane injuries. This time Scotty Walker.

Until the next time.....