Changes Are Coming: Things We'll Be Saying Goodbye To

Whether these changes are good or bad depends in part on how we adapt to them. But, ready or not, here they come.

1. The Post Office. Get ready to imagine a world without the post office. They are so deeply in financial trouble that there is probably no way to sustain it long term. Email, Fed Ex, and UPS have just about wiped out the minimum revenue needed to keep the post office alive. Most of your mail every day is junk mail and bills.

2. The Check. Britain is already laying the groundwork to do away with checks by 2018. It costs the financial system billions of dollars a year to process checks. Plastic cards and online transactions will lead to the eventual demise of the check. This plays right into the death of the post office. If you never paid your bills by mail and never received them by mail, the post office would absolutely go out of business.

3. The Newspaper. The younger generation simply doesn't read the newspaper. They certainly don't subscribe to a daily delivered print edition. That may go the way of the milkman and the laundry man. As for reading the paper online, get ready to pay for it. The rise in mobile Internet devices and e-readers has caused all the newspaper and magazine publishers to form an alliance. They have met with Apple, Amazon, and the major cell phone companies to develop a model for paid subscription services.

4. The Book. You say you will never give up the physical book that you hold in your hand and turn the literal pages. I said the same thing about downloading music from iTunes. I wanted my hard copy CD. But I quickly changed my mind when I discovered that I could get albums for half the price without ever leaving home to get the latest music. The same thing will happen with books. You can browse a bookstore online and even read a preview chapter before you buy. And the price is less than half that of a real book. And think of the convenience! Once you start flicking your fingers on the screen instead of the book, you find that you are lost in the story, can't wait to see what happens next, and you forget that you're holding a gadget instead of a book.

5. The Land Line Telephone. Unless you have a large family and make a lot of local calls, you don't need it anymore. Most people keep it simply because they've always had it. But you are paying double charges for that extra service. All the cell phone companies will let you call customers using the same cell provider for no charge against your minutes.

6. Music. This is one of the saddest parts of the change story. The music industry is dying a slow death. Not just because of illegal downloading. It's the lack of innovative new music being given a chance to get to the people who would like to hear it. Greed and corruption is the problem. The record labels and the radio conglomerates are simply self-destructing. Over 40% of the music purchased today is "catalog items," meaning traditional music that the public is familiar with. Older established artists. This is also true on the live concert circuit. To explore this fascinating and disturbing topic further, check out the book, "Appetite for Self-Destruction" by Steve Knopper, and the video documentary, "Before the Music Dies."

7. Television. Revenues to the networks are down dramatically. Not just because of the economy. People are watching TV and movies streamed from their computers. And they're playing games and doing lots of other things that take up the time that used to be spent watching TV. Prime time shows have degenerated down to lower than the lowest common denominator. Cable rates are skyrocketing and commercials run about every 4 minutes and 30 seconds. I say good riddance to most of it. It's time for the cable companies to be put out of our misery. Let the people choose what they want to watch online and through Netflix.

8. The "Things" That You Own. Many of the very possessions that we used to own are still in our lives, but we may not actually own them in the future. They may simply reside in "the cloud." Today your computer has a hard drive and you store your pictures, music, movies, and documents. Your software is on a CD or DVD, and you can always re-install it if need be. But all of that is changing. Apple, Microsoft, and Google are all finishing up their latest "cloud services." That means that when you turn on a computer, the Internet will be built into the operating system. So, Windows, Google, and the Mac OS will be tied straight into the Internet. If you click an icon, it will open something in the Internet cloud. If you save something, it will be saved to the cloud. And you may pay a monthly subscription fee to the cloud provider.

In this virtual world, you can access your music or your books, or your whatever from any laptop or handheld device. That's the good news. But, will you actually own any of this "stuff" or will it all be able to disappear at any moment in a big "Poof?" Will most of the things in our lives be disposable and whimsical? It makes you want to run to the closet and pull out that photo album, grab a book from the shelf, or open up a CD case and pull out the insert.

9. Privacy. If there ever was a concept that we can look back on nostalgically, it would be privacy. That's gone. It's been gone for a long time anyway. There are cameras on the street, in most of the buildings, and even built into your computer and cell phone. But you can be sure that 24/7, "They" know who you are and where you are, right down to the GPS coordinates, and the Google Street View. If you buy something, your habit is put into a zillion profiles, and your ads will change to reflect those habits. And "They" will try to get you to buy something else. Again and again. All we will have that can't be changed are memories.

Four Unusual Dates this Year

This year we will experience 4 unusual dates.... 1/1/11, 1/11/11, 11/1/11, 11/11/11 .... Now, if you take the last 2 digits of the year you were born, and add the age you will be this year, it

WILL EQUAL TO 111...

Just think about it. Never before and never again.

CU Times Parent Company Files for Bankruptcy

Summit Business Media, parent company to Credit Union Times, said this morning it filed a pre-packaged bankruptcy with an existing plan with its creditors to restructure its debt.

Summit Business Media has joined the ranks of publishers seeking to reorganize and slash debt through a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The reorganization plan, which received approval from 83 percent of Summit's lenders (less than 100 percent approval forced Summit to go through the courts), will cut outstanding debt obligations by half, or $135 million. Summit expects to emerge from Chapter 11 in the first half of 2011.

If the plan is approved, Summit will use its bank balances (currently more than $10 million in cash) and cash flow from its existing operations to meet working capital needs. The company says any pre-filing advertising, subscription and event contracts will be honored. Lenders have also agreed to offer a debt-in-possession credit facility of $5 million to support the company's additional working capital needs.

At School, Children are Rarely Taught About Finances

Do you value your child's education? Do you want your children to have a financial head start in life? Are you willing to take an active role to make that happen? At school, your children learn many valuable concepts, yet they are rarely taught anything about finances. Imagine if you had been taught about money and, more specifically, about what the rich know about money - that the way to wealth is through cash flowing assets. How would your life be different today if you'd learned these concepts at an early age?

You can give your children the financial head start you missed out on. The Rich Kid Smart Kid website provides games and resources that provide young people with an introduction to the financial concepts that place them on the right financial footing for a secure future.

Here's an excellent web site for children of all ages that teaches them how to handle money. Please check it out and try it for yourself.

http://richkidsmartkid.com/

http://college.richdad.com/

What should you REALLY be afraid of?

Fear, as Franklin Roosevelt noted in 1933, paralyzes those who succumb to it. And much of what we worry about today is based on hype rather than reality. Yes, media headlines are partially to blame. But some things (sharks) are just downright scary. Using the most recent U.S. data available, we hereby present a list of unsettling threats and their far riskier counterparts.

Murders (2008) – 14,180
Suicides (2006) – 33,289

Children Abducted by Strangers (1999) – 115
Children who drown in pools (2006) – 288

Burglaries (2007) – 2.2 million
Identity Thefts (2005) – 8.3 million

Shark Attacks (2009) – 28
Dog Bites (annual averages & estimates) – 4.5 million

Americans Killed by Terrorist Attacks Around the World (2008) – 33
Americans Who Die from the Seasonal Flu – 36,171
(annual averages & estimates)

Deaths by Allergic Reaction to Peanuts – 50-100
(annual averages & estimates)
Deaths by Unintentional Poisoning (2006) – 27,531

Women Who Die From Breast Cancer (2009) – 40,170
Women Who Die From Cardiovascular Disease (2006) – 432,709

Fatal Airline Accidents (2005) – 321
Fatal Car Crashes (2008) – 34,017

American Audited by their IRS (2009) – 1.4 million
U.S. Deaths (2007) – 2.4 million

Volunteer Techies Give Free Support

 Volunteer techies give free advice on common computer problems at http://fixya.com/.  Can't beat the price.

Save on Printer Ink

Save on printer ink by using the Century Gothic font, which a recent study showed consumes about a third less ink than industry-standard Arial. That saves about $20 a year for a home user printing 25 pages a week.

A Simple Swipe on a Phone, and You’re Paid

It’s always thrilling when somebody looks at the Way Things Have Always Been Done, and then asks: Why?

And then goes on to change the world forever.

1967: Why is it necessary to wait in line for a human teller if all you want to do is withdraw cash?

1974: Why shouldn’t your document on the computer screen look the same way it will when it’s printed?

1991: If shampoo always settles to the bottom of the bottle, why is the cap on top?

Recently, a San Francisco company has been asking an equally groundshaking question: Why can’t everyone accept credit cards?

Look, credit cards are great. There’s a paper trail, there’s fraud protection, there’s incredible convenience — just swipe and go. But why is it that only companies accept them?

Why can’t we use them to pay the piano teacher, the baby sitter, the lawn-mowing teenager, even first graders at their lemonade stand? Why aren’t credit cards accepted at garage sales, food carts and PTA bake sales? Heck, when your tipsy buddy wants to borrow $20 for a cab home, why can’t you eliminate the awkwardness and future conflict by just running his Visa card on the spot?

“Well,” you’re surely spluttering, “because — well, just because! That’s just how it is. Only actual companies take credit cards, everyone knows that!”

Yeah, but why?

The company asking that question is called Square. Its chief executive is Jack Dorsey, who co-founded Twitter — heard of it? Square is not only asking why, it’s proposing to change that rule for good.

There are actually some good reasons individuals don’t accept credit cards; the whole system is a nightmare of fees and red tape.

To become a credit card merchant, you have to buy the card-reading equipment, which costs several hundred dollars. You generally pay a setup fee, and you commit to a one- or two-year contract with the processing company. You pay $15 to $25 a month, and minimum transaction fees of $25 a month, even if you had no sales at all.

The Square Up system, on the other hand, eliminates that stuff. All of it. It makes the barrier to entry into the credit card world so low, there’s virtually nothing to stop you, the little guy, from taking the leap.

First, the equipment: you need an iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch or an Android phone. Why buy a fancy authorizing machine, when you already have a computer in your pocket?

Unfortunately, Apple steadfastly refuses to add a card-swiping slot to the iPhone. So Square provides you with a tiny half-inch reader attachment that snaps into, of all things, your phone’s headphone jack. The reader has a slot where you can swipe a credit card.

(The name Square, of course, refers both to the shape of the little reader and to what it does — as in, “are we square?” Cute.)

The Square plug is free. In other words, not only are you spared the contracts, the minimums and the monthly fees, but your equipment cost is zero. For all Square cares, you can keep your reader in a drawer somewhere and use it once a year.

For each transaction, Square charges you 2.75 percent of the total, plus 15 cents. That’s a lot simpler, and usually cheaper, than actual merchant accounts, where you might pay 3 or 4 percent, depending on the kind of card, plus 30 cents a transaction.

So let’s say someone from Craigslist comes over to buy your old junk. You snap the Square reader into your phone or tablet. You tap in the amount of the purchase; it could be $1 for a yo-yo, $25 for a box of old records or $12,000 for a used car (there’s no maximum amount). You type a description if you like, and maybe even take a photo of what you’re selling.

Now you swipe the customer’s card, which may take you a couple of tries. Your happy customer signs the phone’s touch screen with a finger (a coming software revision will make this step optional). If you like, you can tap in the customer’s e-mail address; the receipt is then sent automatically, complete with a little map showing exactly where the transaction took place.

The software is beautiful and dog-simple. To sign your name, you scrawl with your finger where it says “sign here.” Think you can handle this?

What the TSA Scanners Have Found so Far....

New insights - what the TSA scanners have found so far....

Terrorist Plots Discovered 0

Transvestites 133

Hernias 1,485

Hemorrhoid Cases 3,172

Enlarged Prostates 8,249

Breast Implants 59,350

Natural Blondes. 3

A Hilarious Overview of Technology

Definitions: Blackberry: a line of smartphones developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM).

Apple: a corporation that designs and markets the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad.
Dongle: a small hardware device that plugs into the serial or USB port of a computer.
Booting: a self-sustaining process that proceeds without external help.  

 Xbox 360: a video game console produced by Microsoft.

http://www.flixxy.com/my-blackberry-is-not-working.htm

Orange: a mobile network operator and internet service provider in the United Kingdom.

What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?

What Makes 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%? Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been to those meetings where someone wants you to give over 100%. How about achieving 103%? What makes up 100% in life?


Here's a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these questions:

If: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Is represented as:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

Then:

H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

And

K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

But ,

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

And,

B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T
2+21+12+12+19+8+9+20 = 103%

AND, look how far ass kissing will take you.

A-S-S-K-I-S-S-I-N-G
1+19+19+11+9+19+19+9+14+7 = 118%

So, one can conclude with mathematical certainty, that While Hard work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, its the Bullshit and Ass kissing that will put you over the top.