Bogleheads.org

ResNullius wrote:When you guys find the answer, please post it here so the rest of us will know what to do.

I'd suggest broad global diversification across asset classes. I'd reject "set and forget" 100% TIPS, 100% U.S., or 100% anything.-----Jim

In today's Washington Post Bill Gross expresses concern about U.S. Treasuries. In addition, Michael Burry (co-star of Michael Lewis's The Big Short ) states: "Strictly looking at the monthly Treasury statement of receipts and outlays, as an 'investor,' you see a company you might want to short....

FrugalInvestor wrote:Rokid,

How is the trip planning proceeding?

Unfortunately, I'm getting a hip replacement this year. Therefore, the Alaskan trip will have to wait until 2011.

However, thanks for all of the great information.-----Jim

Can anyone explain why Paulson's activity, secretly shorting a CDO, is good for the economy/society? Why should we continue to allow these secret side bets that can jeopardize the entire financial system?----Jim

Effective rate: 18%

Marginal Rate: 28%

----Jim

This should be interesting: 1. Someone is going to make their career prosecuting GS. 2. Mr. Tourre will not take the fall all by himself. He'll implicate as many people as possible to cut a deal. 3. It will be difficult for any politician to slow roll or block the prosecution in the current politica...

VictoriaF wrote:I read somewhere that watching TV is the second worst waste of time after commute to work.

Victoria

I disagree. Staff meetings are the worst waste of time.

Vermont Castings. An excellent grill. I bought mine at Home Depot.-----Jim

This will find bad hard drive sectors and move the information to a safe place. It's a treatment, not a cure. For a couple of my PCs, it has been the cure. You mentioned your hard disk is filled. Have you tried "disk cleanup"? If not, go to Windows Explorer, and right click on the "L...

Bridgewater estimated an average return for the period (1970-1998) of 9.5% and a standard deviation of 4.1%. For the same period, Chen and Terrien estimated an average return of 8.84% and a standard deviation of 9.16%.---Jim

Paul,

Thanks for the post. I'll compare the Bridgewater data to my partial Ibbotson S-TIPS data. ---Jim

Now, should it fall on the shoulders of the 56 homeowners to pay roughly $1.4 million for the part of the project that cannot be covered by the association's savings fund, we're looking at a cost of around $24,000 per homeowner. Sounds expensive to me. They're quoting approximately $30K per unit. S...

Any recommendations for specific houses or rental companies? Recently, we've had good luck renting from Twiddy. http://www.twiddy.com/ Try to get a Friday to Friday rental. There's only one two lane road to Corolla, Hwy 12, and it's quite congested on Saturday when most of the rentals start. Incide...

southerndoc wrote:Can I deduct the surcharge from my 2010 taxes?

It appears that you may be able to to deduct the surcharge depending on your circumstances. See the last paragraph of the page.-----Jim

https://www.payusatax.com/personalincometaxes.aspx

Taking the family (10 and 16 yr olds) to NYC and DC in late Jun. Want to do the typical tourist sights (Statue of Liberty, DC Mall etc). Plan on 2-3 full days in each location. Any recommendations for Hotels and other activities? Will have a rental, but don't want to do much driving in the cities. ...

Well, I just filled out my Census form and put it in the mailbox. I hope the information helps our government (federal, state, and local) and the private sector build a better America.------Jim

I am scared to call the GSA and tell them this because I would prefer the GSA job to the FBI one and don't want to offend them. Do you still think I should contact GSA regardless? I'd take the FBI job. If GSA offers you a better job and the loan repayment, take it. What can the FBI do? Just tell th...

Hence, if that is the case, the tool needs a lot more refinement and I would ignore for now.RM Per the Vanguard site, the 1 year return difference between VFINX and the S&P 500 index was only .01%, not 3.49%. Therefore, without knowing how Wolfram defines returns, or anything else, I also can't...

Interesting tool. I was surprised that over the last 15 years the Vanguard 500 index (VFINX) has trailed the S&P 500 index by 1.74% annually. The Fidelity 500 index (FUSEX) has trailed the S&P 500 index by 1.87% annually. In both cases the tracking error dwarfs the advertised expense ratio. ...

We pay $5K a year in property taxes on a similar sized colonial located on a 1/2 acre lot in Northern Virginia. ----Jim

cyclysm wrote:Is there any research out there proving that sending a heads up notice 1-2 weeks in advance of the "action required" mailing increases the response/completion rate on the action item?

Probably.-------Jim

I got one too!-----Jim

sage1166 wrote:The only online math resource you'll ever need: http://www.khanacademy.org/

sage1166,

Thanks for the reference! That's quite a resource. ---Jim

Here are my returns (IRR) for the last 6 years

2004: +18.11%
2005: +8.03%
2006: +15.27%
2007: +6.50%
2008: -29.97%
2009: +29.00%

A passive, broadly diversified portfolio with an equity emphasis.

-----Jim

I think its terrible. I'm not getting scanned if I can help it- don't need the extra radiation thanks! It appears that the radiation is very low level - equivalent to two minutes on an airplane. http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2010/03/06/logan_airport_adds_new_full_body_scanners/...

We bought the Eureka Boss Smartvac recommended by Consumer Reports several years ago. It has been great. Does the job and has been very reliable. Our only complaint is that it's heavy, i.e. it's no fun doing the stairs in our colonial. However, if your apartment is on one floor, that's not a problem...

I've been satisfied with Emigrant Direct. Their rate is 1.1%.-----Jim

Does a decades long bear market also imply decades of stagnant wages? If so, you might to want to wish for a vibrant economy and save more. -----Jim

..Banks didn’t cause the credit crisis.. Note that this study was commissioned by Barclay's and Credit Suisse. How interesting that it exonerates banks. Brad Actually, the Financial Times article discusses two different studies. The Credit Suisse study, which was done by Dimson, Marsh and Staunton ...

SecretAsianMan wrote:I can't believe the NHL is even considering not letting NHL players play in future Olympics. It is by far the best way to get some great exposure and to attract new fans in the U.S.

SAM

Unfortunately, Gary Bettman is not exactly a brainiac. ----Jim

My first patient, an 80 year old oil field worker from west Texas named "Red" had liver cancer and lived for 3 months. I brought him Texas style cornbread when I visited because he claimed he couldn't find any locally that wasn't too sweet. He missed his ranch near Odessa and told stories...

The article is right on. People have lots more carry on luggage. The overhead bins are full, as are, the planes. I used to always check my bags. Now, I never check bags.

The next flying innovation will be standing room only - like on the subway. 8) ----Jim

Maybe the media has unfairly focussed the spotlight on Toyota, but, alas, it seems that Toyota deserves it. They've been sowing the wind for a while and now they are reaping the whirlwind. It's not over yet. I scheduled my 2006 Avalon for the pedal fix. However, the dealer stated they didn't have t...

Rochester Big and Tall on Connecticut Avenue in DC. They carry Allen Edmonds shoes.------Jim

http://www.rochesterclothing.com/store/en_US/index.jsp

At the very least, could they add a slice of Tips to the Total Bond Index fund? Per Morningstar, VBMFX holds: TIPS .16% Foreign Corporate 4.66% Foreign Government 1.43% Does anyone understand the purpose of the small allocations to TIPS and Foreign? Are they part of the index?-----Jim

Down here.------Jim

Does anyone else in the group think the guy was bumping up the bill? Seems like a lot of angst for a buck and change. I would have given $20 and suggested any extra go to the waitress.-----Jim

newgrange is really neat if you can get a tour out there Newgrange is neat. A megalithic tomb that's almost 5,000 years old. If you're not claustrophobic, you can go (squeeze) inside. Towards the end of the tour, the guide turns off all of the lights. Then, the guide turns on a single beam from the...

I agree that you should see Trinity College and the Book of Kells. If you go to Trinity, take one of the student led tours of the college. It's only 1 Euro more than the Book of Kells admission fee (10 Euro for the book of Kells and 11 Euro for the Book of Kells and the tour). I enjoyed the tour mu...

In the First Circle by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. This is the just released, uncensored version of The First Circle which was published in the Soviet Union in 1968. Solzhenitsyn self-censored the book so that it could be published. The new version is 20% longer than the original. I've found Solzhenits...

The only thing I can figure is that there has been a substantial increase in Medicaid recipients, and the low reimbursement rates of the government plan is forcing doctors and hospitals to charge private insurers a lot more money for the same care. Per the BLS, the unadjusted increase for Dec 2008-...

My Federal BC/BS went up 12.5%. Compared to everyone else, OPM must be doing a fairly good job of negotiating price.

I searched "construction", "Michigan" on USAJOBS and got 101 hits. You might want to check it out. -----Jim

http://www.usajobs.gov/

Per the LA Times, Toyota has yet to fully confront the uncontrolled rapid acceleration problem. According to the article, reports of uncontrolled rapid acceleration in Toyotas date back to 1999. CTS started manufacturing the pedal for Toyota in 2005. Incidentally, my wife experienced rapid accelerat...

From this morning's Washington Post: "How will it stand up to other tablets if I pour a test tube full of blue water on it?" "iPad's biggest problem: You can't use one while swimming." There's also a 2007 "MADtv" iPad parody (Google it). Apparently, Steve Jobs doesn't w...

Remember the 1986 Audi uncontrolled acceleration problem? 60 Minutes and some anecdotal sob stories convinced everyone it was a problem with the car - but it was all bunk. "Audi modified the accelerator and brake pedals, installed systems that prevent shifting from park unless the brake is pre...

Can we now safely assume that floor mats never had anything to do with this problem? Yes. I've already received "it's the floor mat/accelerator pedal" recall on my 2006 Avalon. Since my 2006 is also part of the new recall, it is clear to me that Toyota is lurching towards a solution, i.e....

I wish to comment on your statement "for those who still believe in MPT". It is not clear to me why you pose that question, but if it is because of the issue of correlations, I wish to make a point. mpt follower, Actually, my statement was in support of MPT. Under MPT, the investor with t...

You are right in all your comments. The point here is that currently there is opposition to invest in foreign bonds in this forum, not unlike, I suppose there was opposition to invest in foreign stocks not very long ago. Or, prior to 2008, "I take my risk with equities..." to argue agains...

Last Spring my 2006 Avalon's rubber (?duh!) oil line burst on the highway. Fortunately, my engine wasn't ruined. It cost me $400+ for the towing and the repair. I contacted Toyota and they acted like I was the first person to ever experience the problem. Of course, the Internet was full of complaint...