Want to know the four habits of successful investors? Then click the link to check out my post from one year ago today.
This past summer I wrote Save Money on Roses (and Flowers of All Sorts for that Matter) detailing how I got started growing roses and how it saves me a bunch of money. I thought I'd give you a final update on just how well I did this growing season.
Before I get to that, let me say that yes, I am enough of a geek to count the number of flowers produced by each bush. I record these on a spreadsheet and compare them to what the bush produced in previous years. I know, I'm strange. It's just the competitor in me -- I want to beat last year's growth!
I have 13 rose bushes in the front of my house (southern sun exposure -- great for growing) and this summer averaged 173 flowers per bush. Yep, over 14 dozen flowers PER BUSH. That's 187 dozen flowers that my bushes produced.
So what would these have cost me, say, if I'd purchased all of them of $20 per dozen? That would be $3,740. Half of them at $20 per dozen? $1,870. Even just a quarter of them at $10 per dozen is still $468. Throw in all the fun, exercise, and sense of accomplishment, not to mention the value they add to our house (they make it look great), and growing roses (or any sort of flowers/vegetables) is a money-related tip I highly recommend.
1. Why would someone not participate in a 401k? At a minimum, you should contribute enough to get the full company match.
2. Again, contributing enough to get the full company match is retirement step #1. It's a no-brainer.
3. As long as you have a long-term time horizon of 10 years or so (which most 401k savers will have), you should be invested primarily in stocks to maximize the growth of your funds. Personally, I prefer index funds.
4. Borrowing from a 401k is the #1 mistake on the list of the 12 biggest money mistakes.
5. Cashing out your 401k is a very, very bad idea.
For more on making the most of your retirement, see Best of Alltribes: Retirement Posts.
I have personally found using a space heater to be a big savings. When you spend an extended time in one room (sleeping at night) you can lower the temperature for the whole house while keeping warm on a per-room basis. This works best for singles or small families.
By the way, the reverse of this tip works in the summer too -- simply install a window air conditioner in the room where you sleep to keep it cool, and let the rest of the house warm up.
Before I get into my review, a bit of background. I grew up as a rough tooth brusher. The harder I scrubbed my teeth, the better (or so I thought.) Turns out that wasn't the right technique and over the years I had brushed so hard that I had receded the gums in a couple spots. As a result, my dentist recommended I buy a since it would do all the scrubbing (and do so at a much lighter level that I was doing it.) So my wife and I headed to Costco, bought two toothbrushes, charged them, and started our conversion to brushing with power.
If you're interested in buying one of these (really interested, not just "kinda thinking about it") then email me and tell me you'd like one. I have five coupons, each good for $10 off a . I'll mail one to each of the first five people who email me.
Alltribes is brought to you by . , take their , get a or check out their .
Also, please visit our friends at -- and tell 'em we sent ya!
I talk a lot here about the power of compounding. Here's a reader comment on this subject titled Comments: Posts of the Week -- October 10; Compounding. It was posted here one year ago today.
Honestly, people will buy for whatever the bank will lend them. When we were mortgage shopping two years ago, we ran some numbers and figured out what we could afford, but lenders were beating down our door trying to give us 150% of the maximum that we could afford. Ultimately we opted not to buy, which is good, because real estate values in this area are beginning to plummet. But seriously, until this practice is stopped, people won't quit buying beyond their means.
Yes, most people borrow as much as the bank will let them borrow. This is unfortunate since you should never let a bank tell you how much to borrow for a home. Why? Because their job is to make as much money off of you as possible -- not to watch out for your financial future/best interests.
For those of you interested in my thoughts on buying a house, check out my formula for buying a house.
In the United States and Canada, professional degrees refer to academic degrees that are specific to a particular vocation or profession. Law school (JD or LLB), medical school (MD and DO), engineering school (BSc. or BASc. in Engineering, BEng., MEng., and DEng.), dental school (DDS and DMD), veterinary school (DVM), business school (MBA), physical therapy school (DPT), pharmacy school (BSc. in Pharmacy and Pharm.D.), schools of social work (MSW), art school (MFA), seminary (M.Div.), and architecture school (MArch) are examples of institutions where professional degrees can be earned.
I've noted several times that your career is your most valuable financial asset, offering you many financial benefits and that you can make the most of it by getting a college degree and managing your career to its full potential. I've also said that doing this well can earn you millions of dollars in extra income throughout your lifetime. It seems like this chart backs up these thoughts.
Which is More Important -- A High Starting Salary or Higher Average Salary Increases?
As noted earlier this week, I've written positively on re-gifting a couple of times (see Is Re-gifting Okay? and Over Half of Americans Re-Gift, Do You?) and have had a fair amount of success with it (success defined as I got rid of a nice gift I didn't want and the recipient got a nice gift they did want.) So when I saw this piece from Money Central detailing their , I knew I had to share/comment on it.
Don't give hand-me-downs as regifts.
Do keep track of who gave it to you first.
Don't EVER regift these items.
Do have the courtesy to clean your regifts.
Don't give partially used gift cards.
Do remember that regifts can be funny.
Don't give something you've owned for a while.
Don't give products from defunct companies.
Do sell your gifts on eBay.
1. Only re-gift new items. I would never give someone something I'd used and try to pass it off as new. Now I might tell them I tried it, liked it, and thought they'd like it too, but I'd be upfront about it.
2. Keep track of who gives you the item. Otherwise, be prepared to be embarrassed.
3. Only give gifts that you know the recipient will like. As such, if you know the person will like a fruitcake, it's ok to give them a fruitcake.
Basically my rule is to give a present that 1) I would like to give (the type of quality I would like) and 2) in a way that I would like to receive it. It's the whole "do unto others" rule. I have found that if you simply do that, you'll be ok no matter what gift you give.
BTW, I don't mind receiving re-gifted gifts either.
We've talked previously about how your career is your most valuable financial asset, offering you many financial benefits. You can make the most of it by getting a college degree and managing your career to its full potential. Doing this well can earn you millions of dollars in extra income throughout your lifetime. Part of managing your career means that you'll need to change jobs from time-to-time -- and to do this, you need a great resume.
Doesn't work: Helped company save money.
Works: Led cost-cutting task force that saved company $475,000 in three months.
Doesn't work: Responsible for good sales growth results.
Works: Spearheaded sales team that achieved 11% annual sales growth for five consecutive years.
Doesn't work: Implemented new marketing program that led to increased consumer response.
Works: Developed innovative marketing initiative that delivered 23% increase in customer retention versus previous program.
You see? The suggestions that "work" have quantifiable accomplishments (not to mention more proactive language.) Each "works" option says the same thing as the "doesn't work" option -- but it gives more detail (and takes more credit) regarding the results. Which person would you rather hire? I think the answer is clear.
The way to sell yourself in a resume is to cite strengths and abilities that companies need from someone in the job you want and support them with your accomplishments.
For each job you've held, tell readers what improvements you made for your employers.
The only thing I would add is this: the more specific you can be, the better off you'll be. Give them facts that show what you can do, and they'll beat a path to your door.
Of course this assumes that you actually do have accomplishments that will blow their socks off. If you don't, you need to get to work in your current position to get some "wins" under your belt so when you do look for a new position, you'll have plenty of examples to draw from as you write a winning resume.
Mr. and Mrs. Median's $46,326 in annual income is 32% higher than their mid-1960s counterparts, when adjusted for inflation, and 13% more than those at the median in the economic boom year of 1985. And thanks to ballooning real-estate values, average household net worth has increased even faster. The typical American household has a net worth of $465,970, up 83% from 1965, 60% from 1985 and 35% from 1995.
The fact is that in real terms, the Medians are doing great. After adjusting for inflation, Mr. Median makes 25% more than his father did 30 years ago. Mrs. Median is a lot more likely to work in the professional ranks than her mother was and to be paid about three times as much doing so. And though she still makes only 77% of what her male counterparts earn, this is up from 33% in 1965. They dote on the same number of children -- two -- but waited longer to have them, until both careers were well under way. They also pay less tax to the federal government and have 8% more purchasing power than they did 20 years ago and 5.7% more than they had just 10 years ago.
So basically, we're a lot better off now than we were then. However, the piece goes on to say that people are less happy now. Why? There's some speculation (not doing as well as they want to, having more choices shows them lots of things they can't afford, etc.) but no one really knows why.
2. I'm surprised that the income/purchasing power is so much higher than previous generations. I would have guessed that it was up only slightly.
3. Decent net worth numbers, though those do have the value of homes in the figures. The issues here are: 1) home values may currently be over-stated and 2) many people (not me) advocate that net worth should be calculated without the value of your primary residence in the numbers.
4. We pay less tax to the federal government? Really? Does that mean we pay less tax overall? I doubt it.
Here's a piece I wrote (almost) one year ago today that suggests you can save money on your car by tracking maintenance. (It's a tip I use myself.) For details, check out Comments: Saving Money on Your Car; Tracking Maintenance.
The Gordons retired a $150,000 mortgage in just five years.
Cards ($154,000 in debt) is on track to own his home free and clear later this year.
Greg Cards of Newark, Del., was saddled with $154,000 in debt after his divorce.
Wilkinson eliminated half of her [$49,000 credit card] debt in a year.
Thompson paid off $8,000 in just nine months.
They looked for creative ways to speed up their debt repayment, and some took extra work.
Interesting set of steps, huh? Very similar to my three steps suggested in the Alltribes Guide to Getting Rich. And if they keep these habits going, these people will certainly become rich themselves -- or at least well-off.
I've said before that getting rich is rather a simple process. It's not easy, though, because it requires discipline. Getting out of debt is the same -- it involves only a few simple steps, but you have to be determined and disciplined to make it work.
Good list! I think the easiest way to accomplish this is simply by doing number 1 and pay yourself first. I know it has almost become a cliche, but it really is true. This is exactly how I am able to scrape together money for investing also.
If you have direct deposit of your paycheck, then there is no excuse for not paying yourself first. All you need to do is set up a separate account at your bank, checking or savings, whatever is free and doesn't have weird minimum or withdrawal limitations. Then change your direct deposit to put a little money into this account as well. Maybe it is $10 per pay, maybe it is $20, or even $100. Whatever you decide to do, make sure that the account isn't linked to your debit/atm card so it is hard to get access to.
Next, just link up your brokerage account to this bank account and you are all set. As you build up the account you can easily make investment purchases from that separate account. You can even go one step further as most mutual funds allow for systematic purchases as low as $25. So you can then setup a systematic buy that coincides with your deposits and then everything is automatic. Not only are you paying yourself first, but you've created an automatic process towards building wealth.
2. I have a set amount that gets transferred to Vanguard automatically each month.
3. The Vanguard money is then automatically invested in a handful of funds according to my investment objectives.
It's simple, easy, and once it's set up, it's all on auto-pilot. I'm saving/investing without even doing anything!
But it's been awhile since I've brought up the topic and I found this piece on , so I thought I'd revisit the subject.
The costs add up: Cigarettes, dry cleaning, insurance -- you can even lose your job. A pack-a-day smoker burns through about $29.40 per week, or more than $1,500 per year. That's a fat house payment or a nice vacation with the family. A 40-year-old who quits smoking and puts the savings into a 401(k) earning 9% a year would have an extra $250,000 by age 70.
The financial consequences of lighting up stretch far beyond the cost of a pack of cigarettes. Smokers pay more for insurance and lose money on the resale value of their cars and homes. They spend extra on dry cleaning and teeth cleaning. Long term, they earn less and receive less in pension and Social Security benefits.
And now, being a smoker can not only mean you don't get hired -- you can get fired, too: Weyco, a medical benefits administrator in Okemos, Mich., after announcing it would no longer employ smokers, fired four employees who refused to submit to a breath test. Recently it began testing the spouses of its employees, too, levying a $180-a-month surcharge on those who don't test clean.
The National Workrights Institute estimates that more than 6,000 companies refuse to hire smokers.
So, now do I have your attention?
The cost of cigarettes themselves.
Lost value on car trade-ins.
Lost value on home sales (or at least costly treatments to get them "clean").
Higher costs on life insurance.
Higher costs on health insurance.
We pulled some online quotes on 20-year term life insurance (a $500,000 policy) for a healthy 44-year-old male through BudgetLife.com. The range for a nonsmoker was $635 to $ 840 in premiums per year; for someone smoking a pack a day, the prices skyrocketed to as much as $4,410 per year.
Smoking really is costing smokers a fortune. Of course, it's their money to spend, but I think few realize how much it does cost. For instance, people can smoke all their lives and then complain they can't afford to retire the way they want to. I suggest they re-read the information above.
Here's just one example of how much it costs. Let's say you earn an average of $40,000 a year for 40 years of your working life. A smoker earns 7.5% (average of 4% and 11% numbers quoted above) less during these years. That costs smokers $3,000 a year. At 9% over 40 years, this equates to over $1 million.
My parents have smoked all their lives and despite my mother having breast cancer, they have been unable to quit. I understand it's addictive, but at some point you have to realize the health and financial benefits of not smoking are so great that you MUST stop.
When my parents moved out of their home of 20 years a few years ago (to a newer home), they removed the pictures from the "white" walls. It was unbelievable to see the color difference between where the pictures had been (still white) and the non-picture areas (brown/yellow) due to all the smoke through the years. It's sickening to me that we all were breathing that polluted air for all those years.
Here's a piece I wrote (almost) one year ago today where a reader told how he got a raise. If you're interested, check out Comments: 5 Steps to Getting that Raise; Inequity.
Your total housing payments should not exceed 28% of your gross income. Total debt payments should come in under 36%.
We've had a lot of discussion here at Alltribes on various topics related to this advice including how much you should borrow when you buy a home, evil house loans, my formula for buying a house and paying off your house early, so I probably don't need to say much more. But I will add, however, that I prefer having debt be as low as possible -- whether that be mortgage, car, credit card (especially!) or other kinds of debt.
Not to be confused with biweekly programs that shorten a mortgage through extra payments, the mortgage-accelerator program is based on an approach common in Australia and the United Kingdom, where borrowers deposit their paychecks into accounts that, every month, apply every unspent dime against the mortgage loan balances.
The premise is that borrowers finance a purchase or refinance existing property using home-equity lines of credit. Borrowers then directly deposit their entire paychecks into the credit accounts. Monthly expenses, other than mortgage payments, are funded by draws against the lines of credit, whether those are through automatic bill payments, checks, cash withdrawals or credit cards. Even if borrowers end up not paying anything extra on the principal during a month, they still capture some interest savings because the average balances are less than they would have been with conventional loans.
As an example, let's say your mortgage payment on a conventional fixed-rate mortgage is $2,000 and your monthly net income is $5,000. With the mortgage accelerator, even if you spend the $3,000 difference, your average mortgage balance for the month is $1,500 less than it was with the conventional mortgage. That's because the entire $5,000 is deposited in the loan account and you made draws of $3,000 for living expenses spread over the month. At a 7.75% loan rate, that saves you about $10 in interest expense that month.
Now, $10 here and $10 there does add up over time, although both loan programs have annual fees of $30 to $60, but the accelerator part of the mortgage lies in having all your net pay going against the mortgage and an assumption that you have a positive monthly cash flow -- meaning you don't spend as much as you make.
Where a mortgage-accelerator loan program gives a homeowner additional flexibility, however, is in having a line of credit available if there is an emergency need for cash. If you make additional payments on a conventional 30-year fixed-rate loan, you can't borrow that money without taking out a home-equity line of credit or a home-equity loan. With the mortgage-accelerator program, you already have the line in place. That gives homeowners confidence that they can be aggressive in paying their mortgages and still have money readily available if a financial emergency crops up.
There are a few "watch -outs" (variable rate interest, etc.) that the piece also details, so if you're interested in more details, click the link above and read the entire article.
1. This is certainly a step in the right direction -- much better than the evil house loans we seem to see so much of.
2. In the end, this loan helps you pay off your house early, a financial move I support.
3. Personally, I don't like the "deposit your entire paycheck, use what you want, and the rest goes towards the mortgage" part of this. Seems like it would be a hassle if you wanted to keep a bit more in your account to save up for something down the road. (Maybe you'd then just transfer the money to a savings account?) I like a bit more freedom, and since I was able to be disciplined and make my own extra mortgage payments, I paid off my house the old-fashioned way. But, as the article says, accelerator loans will help people who aren't disciplined but who do want to pay off their mortgages early.
One important thing to keep in mind is how much your net worth is increasing as a percentage of your income each year. If you save enough early and invest it wisely, you can look forward to the day that I can already see approaching. I'm looking forward to celebrating the year that my net worth increases by more than my salary.
1. It's an interesting thought -- getting your assets to the point where they earn more than your income. At least that's what I think is being suggested here. Of course, some of your net worth increase each year is attributed to your savings during that year, which comes from your salary, so the two aren't always mutually exclusive. Nevertheless, it is a great day when you earn more from your assets than from your job.
2. I track and update my net worth monthly and have done so for years (through Quicken), though I put the most weight on my annual percentage gains.
3. This year, I'm at the point where my net worth increase will be equal to about 60% of my salary. While that includes money I've saved this year from my salary, it's not a bad number at all. Like the reader, I can't wait for the day when my assets give me a higher payback than my salary.
Bring only what you're asked for.
Know your rights as a taxpayer.
Bring only what you're asked for. Stay on point. Don't talk about any subjects they don't bring up. In other words, don't bring up any additional tax-related issues. Why give them a chance to hit you up on something else?
Don't be a jerk! My wife is so friendly that she and the auditor became fast friends in the first 15 minutes of the interview. It worked to our advantage as the auditor then found an area where my wife had under-claimed her deductions. So we ended up getting a tax REFUND (over the amount she had originally claimed) when our audit was over! How often do you think that happens?
Agree to exchange cards instead of gifts with friends.
Have a potluck instead of an elaborate feast that requires you do all the work (and grocery shopping).
Make do with last year's decorations and clothes, or swap with friends.
Persuade your extended family to draw names rather than have everyone buy everyone else a gift.
Boot the adults and give gifts only to the kids.
We've done both of the last two and it has seemed to work. At some point, everyone's just giving gifts because they feel guilty if someone gets them a gift and they don't return a present. But once someone suggests "let's cut back," many people are relieved and happy it was suggested.
Scope out your job perks.
We also often buy in bulk and get a great deal. Recently, there was a sale of a book we wanted to give to several people on our list. The cost was $12.99 for one book, but they had a quantity discount offer. We bought 15 of them, paid $8 each, had them signed by the author (who was in the store), and got a $5 gift certificate from the store for spending over $100 to boot. Not bad!
So, what other money saving ideas are out there? I'm sure you all have a ton of great suggestions. Please share them in the comments below.
I had the same experience -- first it was hard, then God showed Himself faithful. Now it's just a way of life for us.
I look at Tithing much in the same way Charity works.
Within the Judeo-Christian beliefs. God created all, he owns all. We're mere stewards. A tithe, or a 10th, merely acknowledges this Lordship.
From a worldly perspective: those who aren't religious might see the advantage of tithing as a way of more efficiently redistributing your wealth and good fortune to those less fortunate more efficiently; as opposed to raising more taxes as a means of forced donations to causes I may not ever wish to be in any way charitable.
I am not fond of religion at all. I do however give about 15% of my income to charities (non religious). Simply because I feel it is the right thing to do. If our government gave even 5% of the budget to good causes, we would live in a radically different world. The world we live in currently is largely shaped by the fact that 50% of the US budget goes to militarization.
Just an opinion to add to thoughts on tithing.
1. I am not fond of religion myself. I grew up "religious," but it wasn't until I discovered that Christianity is about a relationship, not a bunch of religious rules and doctrines, that my faith became alive.
If you're a regular reader of Alltribes and enjoy the content here, would you do me a favor and tell three friends? I sure would appreciate it!
Here's a piece I wrote (almost) one year ago today that's worth bringing up again (especially at this time of year). It's called Shoppers, Are You Ready? and reminds us all not to go hog wild with our spending this holiday season.
As the adage goes, you shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket.
No investment performs well all the time; when one thing is down, another thing tends to be up.
You may be able to increase your return by diversifying.
Yet another reason I like index funds -- they are diversified among many different stocks.
ATM convenience is essential for hectic shoppers to get quick cash this holiday season. While Americans make more than 11 billion ATM transactions annually, December is always the busiest month for ATM usage, according to CO-OP Financial Services, which operates CO-OP Network, the nation's largest credit union ATM network. In fact, in 2006, CO-OP Network set a record for the largest one-day volume in Network history, with over 3.5 million transactions just on Christmas Eve.
When ATM transactions increase, so do fraud, ID theft and crime at the ATM. With 400,000 ATMs across the United States, these convenient cash machines can be an easy target for thieves looking for a quick buck. While most of these machines are secure, consumers should always take certain precautions, especially during the busy month of December.
Here are some suggestions that help make trips to the ATM merry and safe this holiday season.
2. Stay Aware of Your Surroundings -- Keep a constant watch of the nearby area while standing at the ATM. If you are using an indoor ATM where a card is needed for entry, don't let anybody else in who you don't know. Walk away if you see anything suspicious and if your transaction is in progress, be sure to cancel before leaving.
3. Select an ATM with an Unobstructed View -- Make sure you select a well-lit ATM that is visible to a passerby and not blocked by any barriers, including shrubs, signs or buildings. Do not select an ATM at the corner of a building because it creates a blind spot while you conduct your transaction. If possible, select an ATM that is patrolled by a security guard or is equipped with a transaction surveillance camera. "If you must use an ATM at night, consider taking someone with you," says Hollen.
4. Protect Your PIN -- Keep your PIN a secret -- do not share it with anyone. When entering your PIN at the ATM, stand between the machine and people waiting in line and shield the keypad with your hand or body.
5. Complete Your Transaction and Leave -- After your transaction is finished, make sure you have your card and transaction record. "Avoid counting or displaying large amounts of cash," says Hollen. "If you get cash, put it immediately in your wallet, purse or pocket." When leaving the ATM, make sure you're not being followed. If you think you're being followed, go to an area with a lot of people and call the police.
Blueprint for Financial Prosperity highlights .
Five Cent Nickel offers thoughts on .
InvestorTrip gives thoughts on .
Also be sure to check out the -- lots of great info on how to grow your blog's revenue!
Here's a real-life example of how a reader saves on prescription drugs. It's from Comments: Money Saving Tip: Ask for Free Drugs; Real-Life Example, a piece I posted here one year ago today.
The best credit card is a no-fee rewards card that you pay in full every month. But if you carry a balance, high-interest rates will wipe out the benefits. If you carry a balance, you may pay a variable interest rate as high as 19%. And if you've been late with payments or used up too much of your credit limit, you may be hit with a penalty rate, which can run north of 30%.
I like (and use) this advice.
Of all the reward cards, I prefer a cash-back card so I can spend the rewards I earn however I like (I earned $330 last year.) That said, I have a second card that accumulates pseudo-cash that saves me a ton on my car expenses.
The time value of money works against you if you're the one waiting to collect the money, but it works in your favor if you're the one who has to pay. Success often lies in being able to identify the proper side of the equation. You just need to keep in mind this principle—a dollar you pay or receive today is worth more than a dollar you pay or receive tomorrow.
While they don't say it specifically here, they're talking about the power of time and the power of compounding. If you put these two to work for you in the right way, you're on the road to becoming rich.
3. Add to your retirement savings.
4. Contribute to a flexible-spending account.
5. Add the extra money to your mortgage payments.
6. Use the money to beef up your kids' college fund.
1. Great idea. Doing this can earn you a 20% guaranteed return.
2. If you don't have one, you need to get an emergency fund now.
3. Contribute enough to get the full company match (if you have a 401k that offers this benefit). Doing so can provide you with a 100% return on your money. If you don't have a matching 401k, go with a Roth IRA.
4. Good idea. Not a home-run like the first three, but still a worthy suggestion.
6. College is going to cost you a bundle, so there's no better time to start saving for it than now.
Diversification helps reduce risk by avoiding the "all the eggs in one basket" scenario.
Diversification helps increase your return at the same time.
In order to diversify your portfolio, you want to try and find investments that don't always move in the same direction at the same time. When some of your investments zig, you want other parts of your portfolio to zag. Although diversification can't completely eliminate market risk, it can help to reduce that risk to a level where you feel comfortable enough to sleep well at night.
The book then continues and states that diversifying your investments is rather easy -- it can be done with a handful of funds quite simply.
I know I've gushed on this book quite a lot, but I want to say one more time how valuable I think it is. If you're an investor, you're thinking of becoming an investor, or have a friend, family member, etc. who fits either of these descriptions, is a must read. Even if you don't take all the advice in the book, there still will be plenty in it (like the toll costs and taxes take on your investments) that will benefit any type of investor.
For more thoughts on investing, see Best of Alltribes: Investment Posts.
Another solid year end financial move (for those with a mortgage) is to make your January 07 payment in Dec 06. It will result in added interest that you can deduct on your 06 tax bill. Granted, you will (potentially) have less to deduct next year, but a dollar today is worth more than a dollar a year from now!
Besides, making an early mortgage payment could save you a bit on interest as well! And while you're at it, why not just make an EXTRA payment to help you pay off your house early?
Are Tankless Water Heaters a Good Deal?
How Much Risk Should You Take? Controlling risk means more than being "comfortable" with an investment. Too many investors seem perfectly comfortable with too much risk. The basic thing to remember about risk is that it increases as the potential return increases. Essentially the bigger the risk, the bigger the potential payoff. (Don't forget those last two words; there are no guarantees.) That might sound exciting, but turn it around: the bigger the potential payoff, the bigger the risk of losing.
I'm probably one that takes a bit too much risk, but given my age, it's not that big a deal. I'm highly invested in stocks, but my time horizon is 10 years minimum, so I'm fine. Basically, the closer you are to needing your money, the less risk you can afford to take. That's why many people recommend that your investment in bonds increases as a percentage of the total as you get older.
I personally think most people are better served becoming educated enough so that they can be their own financial advisor. The vast majority of financial advisors appear to be financial product salesmen, first and foremost. Flat fee advisors would be my choice if I decided I needed one, but personally I think I know enough to get by without one. I may decide to hire one at some point, but if I did, I don't think it would be for investment advice, planning how much I need for retirement, or setting savings goals. I can do that pretty easily on my own, and by doing it myself I think I'm much better positioned than relying on someone else who isn't as "invested" (pardon the pun) in my financial success.
If I hired one, it would be for specialized knowledge that I didn't have or didn't have the time or desire to acquire. For that reason, I'd probably be more likely to hire a CPA or tax attorney, because those fields of knowledge pass that test for me.
Here's one of the most boring and dry personal finance books you will ever find -- and one that most Americans need to read. The book: .
is about what you think it would be about -- how to save on health care. But it offers a great deal more than that. I'll get to that in a minute.
The Alltribes rating for (based on my 0 thru 10 rating system) is: 6 Stars.
The best way to improve your credit score is to pay bills on time and to borrow no more than 30% of your available credit. It also helps to pay off debt rather than moving it around because the ratio of your credit card balance to your credit limit is key.
And why would you want to boost your credit score? Well, if you're borrowing money, a good credit score can get you a loan at a preferred rate. But even if you don't need a loan, a good credit score can still save you thousands of dollars.
For a couple other thoughts on how to boost your credit score, see Boost Your Credit Score and Nine Steps to a Great Credit Score -- Save Yourself Thousands of Dollars.
So (buy something if you like) and come back and tell me what you think about it. What's good? What's bad? Are there any products you think are excellent that I should consider adding to the store?
For some thoughts on the value of time, see Comments: What's Your Time Worth?; An Opinion, a piece I posted (almost) one year ago today.
Investment goal-setting is an intensely personal affair that will be guided by your own style and preferences. But if you set generalized goals, such as "financial security" or "a comfortable retirement," you're going to have trouble measuring your progress along the way. You may even struggle to maintain interest in the project. Vaguely defined investment goals can lead to halfhearted efforts to achieve them.
Better to set goals you can grab onto, goals that excite you. Instead of "financial security," why not "$500,000 net worth by age 60?" Instead of "a comfortable retirement," why not "an investment portfolio that will yield $2,000 a month to supplement my pension and social security?" Now those are real goals. You can put a price tag on each and use that as an incentive to keep up your investing discipline.
I think I'm on the same page with them, but their wording is throwing me off. Instead of "set exciting goals," I'd say "set meaningful and realistic goals." Why? Because "having $1 billion" is an exciting goal for many people -- but it's not going to happen for most. Instead, I'd suggest people develop meaningful goals and shoot for them. What's meaningful? Well, finding your retirement number and using that as a goal would be meaningful.
Also, the goal needs to be realistic. If you get your retirement number and there's no way you can reach it, what use is the goal? Instead, decide what's a realistic goal -- one that you can reach (which may mean you need to work longer, rely less on your retirement savings, etc.) Now this does not mean that you should keep from stretching yourself -- from cutting costs now, from saving now, etc. -- but a goal needs to be in the realm of reason to be worthwhile.
For instance, if I set $1 billion as my retirement number, that's not realistic no matter how much I try to increase my income, cut spending, etc. -- it's just not going to happen. But if I want to save $3 million for retirement, I'll still need to save, cut expenses, invest wisely and the like, so it'll still be a challenge to hit it, but it's certainly realistic as long as I'm disciplined.
So go ahead and set goals. I'm a big fan of them. However, don't worry about them being exciting, just make sure they are meaningful and realistic.
How Much do You Need to Save the Month for Retirement?
There are only a few critical financial planning questions you need to be able to answer. Probably the most important is, "How much money do I need to save this month to meet my goals?" Many people don't know the answer to this question and avoid it to the detriment of their long-term financial well-being.
Most Americans spend more time planning their vacation than their retirement. At least with a vacation, most of us pick a date and actually plan to go. Planning for retirement should be every bit as planned and anticipated as your vacation. Assuming you'll work in your seventies and eighties is not a retirement plan. Neither is dying young.
Without an adequate retirement plan, you will outlive your money. If your financial investments are not sufficient to keep pace with inflation, you will eventually lose your lifestyle and your independence.
Imagine you are driving 120 miles from Charlottesville to Williamsburg. For the first 60 miles of the trip you average 30 miles an hour. How fast do you have to drive the second half of the trip in order to average 60 miles an hour for the entire trip? If you quickly answered 90 miles an hour, you got the wrong answer.
You really can't know if you are on track to retire without some complex mathematical projections. It is a difficult projection to eyeball and get right.
If a couple is approaching retirement with only $250,000 saved and a lifestyle of $50,000 per year, it's not hard to tell they are headed for financial hardship. They only have enough savings to last for about five years. Their problem is worse if all of their savings are in tax-deferred retirement plans such as an IRA or a 401(k). That couple's entire savings will be taxed at ordinary income tax rates when it is taken out, and therefore, it will be used at a faster rate.
Similarly, if that same couple living off $50,000 per year has a $1 million portfolio they probably have enough funds to retire. If you think a $1 million dollar portfolio is overkill, you haven't really run the numbers and factored in the erosion of buying power that comes with 50 years of inflation (Thank you, Federal Reserve.).
When my grandmother was first starting a family, five dollars would feed her entire household for a week. She died a couple of years ago at age 99 1/2. If you had told her she would need hundreds of thousands of dollars to have a comfortable retirement, she would have thought you were crazy. Many Baby Boomers are approaching retirement in a similar state of denial.
Going back to our example, the couple with a $1million dollar portfolio probably has only twenty years of spending at $50,000. If their investments don't earn a significant amount over inflation they could retire at 65 years old and be broke at 85. This lack of retirement planning is more likely to hurt the wife's lifestyle and independence since she is more likely to outlive the family's assets.
While young clients need to be able to answer the question "How much money do I need to save this month?" retired families must be able to answer the question, "How much money can I spend this month and still be financially secure for the rest of my life?"
If a family spends too much of their portfolio too early in retirement, they will not be able to recover. On the other hand, living on a shoe-string budget during retirement in fear of running out of money isn't much better. In order to find the right spending balance you need to do regular retirement projections during retirement.
Just as excessive spending early in retirement can jeopardize your retirement, so also failure to save enough early in your career can jeopardize retiring on time.
In our driving example above, driving 30 miles per hour for the first half of the trip makes it impossible to average 60 miles per hour, no matter how fast you drive the last half of the trip. Driving 30 miles per hour means that the first half of the trip takes two hours - the amount of time that the entire trip would have to be completed in order to average 60 miles an hour. You would need to drive 90 miles an hour for 180 miles - three times as far - in order to average 60 miles per hour for the entire trip. Put another way, a family who fails to start their savings quickly enough will also need to save longer to reach their retirement goals as well.
Find out today how much you should be saving and investing this month!


Archives|FREE FOR ALL PRIZE TO CLARK'S PRINCE; Black Eyed Susan Takes Second in Field Dog Trials -- Rumson Farm Scout Third. STARIDGE PIERRE A VICTOR Wianno Ben Is Judged Second and Firenze Jack Third in the Meat Dog Stake.
FREE FOR ALL PRIZE TO CLARK'S PRINCE; Black Eyed Susan Takes Second in Field Dog Trials -- Rumson Farm Scout Third. STARIDGE PIERRE A VICTOR Wianno Ben Is Judged Second and Firenze Jack Third in the Meat Dog Stake.


The Middle East is a region in Western Asia, Northern Africa and Eastern Africa. However, it has no clear boundaries, and so it might include countries from Southern Asia and Central Asia, too.
Cyprus, Pakistan, Western Sahara and some other countries are sometimes included within the Middle East region, too. See the map below for more details.
alex: As the question and discussion comes up regularly, I would like to devote a couple of thoughts to the topic "Hitchhiking as female", even though I can only give limited information regarding this as I am male and the experiences are only second hand and interpretative. I can say that the people that I, and when I was with a female companion, met during my journey (and the four months I stayed in Yemen before that) brought a lot of respect into the encounter we had in Yemen. This is also what was reported from many other female moving solo in bigger cities. Further, I felt that the social pressure towards adequate behaviour in public is very high in the Middle East, meaning that people usually will not behave inappropriately when other people are around and watch or when the attention is brought on a person (thus in awkward situations taking people out of the anonymity helps!). Arguable, males in Arabic societies do have less contact with females (and the other way around) and many prejudices exist (on both sides), about Western women and Arabic societies and men which does not make the issue easier. Nevertheless, the guys I met and talked to are males like in other places and their needs and jokes are not much different. Generally, there are risks in all societies, and I think one cannot argue whether they are higher in the one or in the other (unknown) society. From my experiences and perspective there is no discussion whether females that hitchhike in the West, and came to a understanding and handling of the risks, should or should not hitchhike in the East.
This page was last edited 01:56, 9 February 2016 by Irisn. Based on work by different users of the hitchwiki community.


text:
Government urges us to use common sense when deciding where to go on holiday
todayMay 20, 2021 3
We're being reminded we should only be holidaying in countries on the travel 'green list'
Holidaymakers wanting to visit countries on the Government's amber list have been urged by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps to have "more patience".
Popular summer hotspots such as Spain, France, Italy and Greece are among the countries on the list.
Mr Shapps appealed for people to have "a little more patience as the world catches up with our vaccine programme".
Travellers returning to Britain from an amber location must quarantine at home for 10 days and take a pre-departure test and two post-arrival tests.
"There's a heck of a lot of hassle involved," Mr Shapps told Sky News.
"It's expensive.
"We're not at the stage of saying to people, go to those places on holiday, in fact, please don't."
Asked why holidays were still being sold to countries on the amber list, Mr Shapps said the Government had moved away from a system where things were "banned and illegal" to a situation where people were expected to "apply a bit of common sense".
No mention of avoiding leisure travel to amber list countries was mentioned in the Government's Global Travel Taskforce report on April 9, which set out the rules.
EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren described the communication in relation to amber list travel as "very confusing to say the least".
He said customers are going on holiday to amber tier countries as many people see an overseas break as a "top priority".
The UK is "falling behind" other European countries which are "opening up at large scale", Mr Lundgren warned.
He added: "We urge the Government to look at this data again and make sure that they also are following the rules and the conditions that they set up themselves."
But Mr Shapps insisted that people should only go on foreign holidays to green list countries.
Portugal is currently the only major viable tourist destination on that list.
Asked if he was pushing for the green list to be extended, he told BBC Radio 4's Today: "Of course. The reason for that is we have ended up getting way ahead in terms of our vaccination programme in this country and we are just having to wait for other countries to catch up with us.
"That's going to gradually happen, obviously, you can see it's happening, so that list should expand."
Mr Shapps defended the continued availability of direct flights from countries such as India on the coronavirus red list.
In an interview on Sky News, he said: "You cannot prevent British citizens from returning home, no country can ban its own citizens."
The Cabinet minister told BBC Breakfast that he wanted passengers arriving from amber and red list countries to be segregated in airports "as much as is practically possible".
He added that Heathrow, which is currently only using two of its four terminals, is examining using a "spare terminal to bring in perhaps the red flights separately".
Report on Dianas Panorama interview to conclude Bashir used deceitful methods
An investigation into how the BBC and Martin Bashir landed the Panorama interview with Diana, Princess of Wales will be published today. It's being reported that it will conclude the journalist used deceitful methods obtain the interview. Lord Dyson, the former master of the rolls and head of civil justice, was appointed to look into the circumstances surrounding the explosive 1995 interview, which famously featured Diana saying: "Well, there were […]

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
package net.openhft.chronicle.core.jlbh;

import net.openhft.chronicle.core.Jvm;
import net.openhft.chronicle.core.UnsafeMemory;
import net.openhft.chronicle.jlbh.JLBH;
import net.openhft.chronicle.jlbh.JLBHOptions;
import net.openhft.chronicle.jlbh.JLBHTask;
import net.openhft.chronicle.jlbh.TeamCityHelper;

/**
 * JLBH test for TeamCity graphs. See also the benchmarks module
 */
public class CopyMemoryJLBH implements JLBHTask {
    private final int capacity;
    private final int iterations;
    private JLBH jlbh;
    private long addr1;
    private long addr2;

    private CopyMemoryJLBH(int capacity, int iterations) {
        this.capacity = capacity;
        this.iterations = iterations;
    }

    @Override
    public void init(JLBH jlbh) {
        this.jlbh = jlbh;
        addr1 = UnsafeMemory.MEMORY.allocate(capacity);
        addr2 = UnsafeMemory.MEMORY.allocate(capacity);
    }

    @Override
    public void run(long startTimeNS) {
        UnsafeMemory.copyMemory(addr1, addr2, capacity);
        jlbh.sample(System.nanoTime() - startTimeNS);
    }

    @Override
    public void complete() {
        TeamCityHelper.teamCityStatsLastRun(this.getClass().getSimpleName() + "." + capacity, jlbh, iterations, System.out);
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.setProperty("jvm.resource.tracing", "false");
        Jvm.init();
        final int capacity = Integer.getInteger("capacity", 122);
        final int throughput = Integer.getInteger("throughput", 5_000_000);
        final int iterations = Integer.getInteger("iterations", 50_000_000);
        final int warmup = Integer.getInteger("warmup", 5_000_000);
        final int runs = Integer.getInteger("runs", 4);
        System.out.println("capacity="+capacity);
        JLBHOptions jlbhOptions = new JLBHOptions().
                runs(runs).
                warmUpIterations(warmup).
                throughput(throughput).
                iterations(iterations).
                pauseAfterWarmupMS(100).
                recordOSJitter(false).
                jlbhTask(new CopyMemoryJLBH(capacity, iterations));
        JLBH jlbh = new JLBH(jlbhOptions);
        jlbh.start();
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: How do I use saz-sudo puppet module to deploy my own sudoers file with hiera? I have saz-sudo installed and have created a site_sudo module based (I hope) on it.
Here's what I have in my site_sudo/manifest/init.pp file:
class { 'site_sudo': }
    sudo::conf { 'web':
      source => 'puppet:///files/etc/sudoers',
    }
    sudo::conf { 'syseng':
      priority => 10,
      content  => "%sysadm ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL",
    }

include sudo

No matter what I do, the sudoers file on the target is always overwritten with the sudoers.rhel6 file from saz-sudo module.
I'm using common.yaml too:
classes:
  - site_sudo

A: According to the README, you need to send a parameter to the sudo class:
class { 'sudo':
  config_file_replace => true,
}

instead of plain
include sudo

which clobbers /etc/sudoers as stated.

A: Is that an exact copy from your file?  The class { 'site_sudo': } line would include that class into the config, not define the class as you should be doing in the init.pp for the module.  This will prevent the rest of the config in the file from being applied (since this file is only being evaluated to load that class; the other lines won't be evaluated as they would in an import statement).
Instead, it should look like this:
class site_sudo {
  include sudo
  sudo::conf { 'web':
    source => 'puppet:///files/etc/sudoers',
  }
  sudo::conf { 'syseng':
    priority => 10,
    content  => "%sysadm ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL",
  }
}

A: Check out the README and class sudo::configs.
The used convention is rather strange (IMHO it would be easier to just add a hash parameter to class sudo)... but it seems to work quite well with Hiera.
For your example values:
classes:
  - sudo
  - sudo::configs

sudo::configs:
    'syseng':
        'priority'  : 10
        'content'   : "%sysadm ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL"

A: saz/sudo is designed to use a sudoers.d file and #include that. This is why it overwrites your sudoers file with a clean one, to be sure that it's the correct file. Those sudo::conf declarations will cause a file to show up in /etc/sudoers.d instead of changing /etc/sudoers directly.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Join the fastest growing board-sport craze!
Peninsula wide locations - weather and lesson format dependent. SUP and paddles provided - Wetsuits and life vests available for hire.
Depending on your ability and confidence, we can take you to some great locations. For beginners gentle flat water paddles in Port Phillip Bay from Sorrento to Portsea (or Portsea to Sorrento) staying close to shore we can view the lifestyles of the rich and famous as we gently paddle over amazing kelp beds and sea life.
Peninsula Stand UP (SUP) Tours is a great way to see the Peninsula and get fit and healthy at the same time!


text:
Večelkov (Hongaars: Vecseklő) is een Slowaakse gemeente in de regio Banská Bystrica, en maakt deel uit van het district Rimavská Sobota.
Večelkov telt  inwoners.

Gemeente in Rimavská Sobota

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Holmes knows that 'Rache' is German for revenge. . Sherlock Episodes Descriptions Season 1 Complete with Dvd Rips . The Planet EARTH bluray 720p 1 GB .
Watch Revenge online. Stream episodes and clips of Revenge instantly.. Series & TV Torrents. Browse All Torrents Torrents Age . Vinyl S01e09[Mux - 720p - H264 - Ita Eng Ac3 5.1 - Sub Ita Eng] .. Revenge S3 Episode 19 Allegiance; . Revenge S3 Episode 1 Fear; Season 2.
Revenge Season 1-4 Complete WEB-HD 720p. . it her mission to exact revenge against the people . Mother Season 1-9 COMPLETE WEB-DL 720p August 19, .. Find Awesome Results For Revenge On Dvd!. 19. Will McAfee Invest . TV torrents (total 356228 torrents in 649 Subcategories) Added Size S L . Westworld S01 Season 1 Complete HDTV 720p x265 AAC E-Subs [GWC .
Complete series. 24 (complete series) . Episode 19: 185.1 MB . Report broken link. . Season 3 720p: Episode 1: (416.9 MB). As a child, Masamune Makabe once suffered greatly at the hands of a wealthy and beautiful girl named Aki Adagaki, who nicknamed him Piggy due to his chubby appearance.


text:
Dallas Cowboys 2023 Free Agency
Report: Cowboys Have Interest In Josh McCown For Backup QB
Reports are circulating that the Cowboys have talked to Josh McCown about coming to Dallas.
By Dave Halprin@dave_halprin Feb 27, 2017, 11:00am CST
Share All sharing options for: Report: Cowboys Have Interest In Josh McCown For Backup QB
Scott R. Galvin-USA TODAY Sports
A familiar name is surfacing as a possible backup quarterback for the Cowboys, the same guy who was discussed last season. The Cowboys reached out to the Cleveland Browns about Josh McCown in 2016 when they we playing quarterback shuffle, first after an injury to Kellen Moore, then later when Tony Romo went down. The Browns were asking too much, reportedly either a second-round pick or Ron Leary, so the Cowboys balked and ended up playing some kid named Dak Prescott. That turned out okay.
Dallas eventually singed Mark Sanchez to be Prescott's backup while they waited for Romo to heal. After the disastrous performance by Sanchez in the final game of the season against Philadelphia, it's unlikely he will be back. Kellen Moore is also a free agent, leaving the Cowboys with a big gaping hole behind Prescott. They might be looking at McCown to fill it.
There's mutual interest between #Cowboys and backup QB Josh McCown. But Tony Romo decision must come first. Could be factor in TR timing
— Ed Werder (@Edwerderespn) February 27, 2017
Even though Jerry Jones claims not to have made a decision on Tony Romo's future, he's not fooling anyone. The Cowboys will almost certainly trade or release Romo this offseason, it's 99.9% certain that Romo will not serve as Prescott's backup this year. Kellen Moore is a Scott Linehan favorite, but Dallas may be looking for a little more in case they need a backup quarterback at any point in the 2017 season. McCown certainly has plenty of experience starting games in the NFL. He will be 38 years old when the season starts, but, as Todd Archer explains, the Cowboys have done this before.
If McCown is the Cowboys' top target to be Prescott's backup, it would fall in line with what the Cowboys did early in Romo's tenure as their starter.
In 2007, his first full season as the starter, the Cowboys signed Brad Johnson, who was 39 at the time, but had plenty of starting experience and won a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay. In 2010, the Cowboys traded for Jon Kitna, who was 38 at the time, but had plenty of starting experience.
So BTB, is Josh McCown a good choice to be the Cowboys backup QB in 2017?


text:
Confusion Galore, Heightening Flame Amongst NPP Executives In Sunyani
Confusion Galore, Heightening Flame Amongst NPP Executives In Sunyani.
FIAPRE, near Sunyani, Thursday, May 27, 2021.
Three Executive Members of the Ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Sunyani East Constituency were on Wednesday arraigned before the Fiapre Circuit Court in the Sunyani West Municipality for assaulting the party's communications director.
A heightening continual flame amongst members of the party and very high factions particularly in the Executives of the Sunyani East Constituency is subsequently resulting in assaults, necessitating Legal Actions against themselves.
Messrs Evans Kyere, a Deputy organizer, Mohammed Ibn Ahmed, Youth Organizer and Christian Gyabaah, a research and electoral officer respectively have been accused of assaulting Maxwell Mahama, their Constituency's communications Director who is the Sunyani Municipal manager of the National Health Insurance Scheme.
According to sources, the incident that happened at the constituency office during executive meeting took the intervention of some executives and eye-witness to rescue Maxwell from the grips of the accused persons from further beatings at about 1830 hours on March 6,2021.
Investigations established that the accused persons indeed assaulted the victim and they were arrested on March 8, 2021 and arraigned for Court.
They were charged with assault which was in contrary to Section 84 of the Criminal Offenses Act, 1960 (Act 29).
The Court was Presided over by Miss Rita Amoanywaa Adusa on Wednesday May 26, and adjourned the case for the accused persons to re-apear before the Court on Wednesday, June 23 this year.
According to Inspector Emmanuel Sampson, the prosecutor, Maxwell was beaten at the party's constituency office during a meeting hosting a team of researchers from Accra.
The researchers were on regional fact finding missions to ascertain what caused the NNP to lose many votes in the Bono Region during the 2020 General elections and other constituency matters.
In the course of the meeting, the prosecutor said Kyere and Gyabaah raised concern to the effect that Maxwell Mahama has been suspended by the Bono Regional Secretariat of the Party and therefore can not be part of the meeting.
He said the chairman of the research team told the executives that though Maxwell had been suspended but he could join in the meeting.
After the Chairman's remarks, he said Maxwell requested to clarify the issues regarding his suspension then immediately after addressing, the three executives became offended, pounced on him and subjected him to merciless beatings.
Maxwell then rushed to the Police station with a mark on his stomach reddish right eye and bruises on his face and reported the matter.
Police medical report form was issued to him to attend hospital for treatment and has since returned the medical form fully endorsed by Dr. Justice Owusu-Acheaw, a medical officer at the Sunyani Municipal Hospital which their respective investigations brought the arrest.
Tags: NPP
Ghana's 8th General Elections In The 4th Republic Peacefully Underway
Bono Language Campaigning Board Inaugurated.


Pediatric cardiologist Dr. Peter Vande Kappelle exams Gabriella Davies.
Erin and Rob Davies of Boardman are not doctors, nor trained ultrasound techs, but even they knew something was wrong when the room suddenly went quiet during their baby's 20-week ultrasound.
The mid-pregnancy anatomy scan is the prenatal visit many parents look most forward to, where they can see their baby forming in the womb and often identify their gender for the first time.
But for the Davies, it turned into a life-altering experience.
The ultrasound tech called in the obstetrician, who detected a possible heart defect. He immediately contacted Dr. R. Peter Vande Kappelle, Jr., Akron Children's pediatric cardiologist, and got the Davies in to see him that same day.
"He said, 'Whatever Dr. Vande Kappelle tells you, go with," Rob said.
Dr. Vande Kappelle diagnosed the Davies' baby girl with a heart defect called atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD); a relatively common one among heart defect types, and one that would require surgery to repair in the months following delivery.
Gabriella sits on her mom Erin Davies' lap as Dr. Vande Kappelle examines her.
Dr. Vande Kappelle said 1 in 100 babies are born with some form of heart defect. Not all require surgery, but in the Davies' case, it did.
Although they were alarmed and fearful, doctors were confident Erin would ultimately deliver her baby. Further, they told them there would be a point in the baby's early development when she would show exhaustion and have difficulty gaining weight. That, they said, was the point when surgery would be performed.
Baby Gabriella was born 1 month early and weighed 5 pounds, 11 ounces. Two months and a day later, she reached the point of needing surgery, which was successful; and now 2 1/2 years old, Gabriella is a "typical toddler," her mother says.
"She can do anything that any other child can do; play sports, jump around, whatever," Erin said.
Dr. Vande Kappelle said the Davies' story is one of emphasizing the importance of prenatal screenings.
The Davies, now expecting another child, have been equally diligent in their prenatal care with this pregnancy, and were cleared of any heart defects with this child, a little boy.
Is It Time to Switch to an Adult Doctor?


Red Cherry Shrimps with eggs!!!
Last night I spot one of my RCS carrying some eggs. Can't wait to see the new RCS fry.
Sorry for the bad picture will try to get a better one today.
Re: Red Cherry Shrimps with eggs!!!
Gratz I still have more for sell. I'm starting to cull the less colorful ones so I have some nice stuff for sale .
cull the less colorful to me!!!!


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Active control of epithelial cell-density gradients grown along the channel of an organic electrochemical transistor.
Electronic control of platelet adhesion using conducting polymer microarrays.
Control of neural stem cell adhesion and density by an electronic polymer surface switch.
Electrochemical modulation of epithelia formation using conducting polymers.


Many of the American airports do not have control towers to guide the airplanes on the taxi way, and; therefore, use other remote control towers to do their job. The Gulfport airport, however, is an airport that is equipped with an air traffic control tower as well as a terminal radar approach control tower. The former is used to guide airplanes as they approach and leave the airport for up to 40 miles while the latter guides airplanes as they takeoff or land on the taxi to or from the gate. Its primary effort is to avoid chaos and accidents on the ground.
The accident cannot be regarded as an accident caused by understaffing since besides the local air-traffic controller, there was an on-site training instructor and a developmental controller. Besides, if understaffing was the problem, the airport could have enlisted the help of other airports to guide traffic in that airport, as this would not have been unusual.
It is clear that there was professional misconduct on the part of the air traffic controller as he did not seek the warning of the instructor who told him of the near concurrent takeoff. The local air traffic controller also acted unprofessionally by assuming that the Cessna would take 3-5 minutes to depart. He was also wrong as the assumptions in the aviation industry can be costly. In addition, when the ERJ145 pilot queried about the go-around, he assumed it was a separate no-radio arrival at the airport. These are too many assumptions for one day in such a sensitive industry. The air traffic controller not only failed to log in the incident, which is clearly unethical, but also failed to realize his mistake until there was an investigation by the federal aviation authority. This went on to show that the event could have happened again, and this time resulted in fatalities; both in the air and on the ground. Releasing the two planes for takeoff at such close intervals and runways that intersect could only lead to accidents.
Air traffic controllers may at times break the rules due to the circumstances, but when the rules are broken out of sheer negligence or lack of professionalism, then stiff penalties should be exercised.


A gift voucher that breathes fresh air into the boring old voucher format, and brings a bit of excitement back into shopping on the street.
Unique to Wellington, the Culture Vulture Voucher can be bought and/or redeemed at AroVideo, Unity Books or Slow Boat Records from their comprehensive pickings of cinematic, literary and musical culture. Available in one gift-friendly $25 denomination, and wrapped in a customised envelope, it makes for a fabulous pressie for your fellow Culture Vulture!
Viva la Culture Vulture Voucher!
Wellington's diverse and vibrant retail.
Writers, musicians and film-makers the world over!
The thrill of vast possibility in Books, Films or Music.
A shopping adventure at three iconic Wellington stores.
Face-to-face service (and we ain't just pretty!).
A beautiful object hand-crafted by Wellington wunderkind Stephen Templer.
Vouchers must be redeemed at one of the three retail locations, for items either held in stock or ordered in. Vouchers redeemed at AroVideo can be used for rental items or products (like our in-store 10-Trip card), or a combination of sales and rental items.
If you're not handy to our stores, you can purchase The Culture Vulture Voucher online exclusively from this page (above).
However, note that The Culture Vulture Voucher cannot currently be redeemed online. For a gift voucher suitable for nationwide online use, we suggest the AroVideo Gift Voucher .
Vouchers ordered online can be delivered either to the purchaser or a third party giftee. Simply enter your name or the person you wish to gift in the Delivery Address details at the checkout. Vouchers can be delivered anywhere in New Zealand. A $2 per voucher postage-and-handling fee ensures that your gift is delivered in mint condition.
Vouchers are valid for 1 year from date of purchase only.
Vouchers cannot be exchanged for cash, in whole or part.
Individual vouchers cannot be redeemed at more than one retailer.
Valid vouchers carry an official serial number and must be stamped and dated by the issuing retailer.
Vouchers redeemed in-store become the property of the redeeming retailer.
AroVideo, Unity & Slow Boat reserve the right to decline honouring vouchers where invalid or subject to misuse.


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Gamma-ray Astronomy
Long before experiments could detect gamma-rays emitted by cosmic sources, scientists had known that the Universe should be producing these photons. Work by Feenberg and Primakoff in 1948, Hayakawa and Hutchinson in 1952, and, especially, Morrison in 1958 had led scientists to believe that a number of different processes which were occurring in the Universe would result in gamma-ray emission. These processes included cosmic ray interactions with interstellar gas, supernova explosions, and interactions of energetic electrons with magnetic fields. However, it was not until the 1960s that our ability to actually detect these emissions came to pass.
Gamma-rays coming from space are mostly absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere. So gamma-ray astronomy could not develop until it was possible to get our detectors above all or most of the atmosphere, using balloons or spacecraft. The first gamma-ray telescope carried into orbit, on the Explorer-XI satellite in 1961, picked up fewer than 100 cosmic gamma-ray photons. These appeared to come from all directions in the Universe, implying some sort of uniform "gamma-ray background". Such a background would be expected from the interaction of cosmic rays (very energetic charged particles in space) with gas found between the stars.
Significant gamma-ray emission from our Galaxy was first detected in 1967 by the the gamma-ray detector aboard the OSO-3 satellite. It detected 621 events attributable to cosmic gamma-rays. However, the field of gamma-ray astronomy took great leaps forward with the SAS-2 (1972) and the COS-B (1975-1982) satellites. These two satellites provided an exciting view into the high-energy universe (sometimes called the 'violent' universe, because the kinds of events in space that produce gamma-rays tend to be explosions, high-speed collisions, and such!). They confirmed the earlier findings of the gamma-ray background, produced the first detailed map of the sky at gamma-ray wavelengths, and detected a number of point sources. However, the poor resolution of the instruments made it impossible to identify most of these point sources with individual stars or stellar systems.
Perhaps the most spectacular discovery in gamma-ray astronomy came in the late 1960s and early 1970s from a constellation of defense satellites which were put into orbit for a completely different reason. Detectors on board the Vela satellite series, designed to detect flashes of gamma-rays from nuclear bomb blasts, began to record bursts of gamma-rays -- not from the vicinity of the Earth, but from deep space! Today, these gamma-ray bursts are seen to last for fractions of a second to minutes, popping off like cosmic flashbulbs from unexpected directions, flickering, and then fading after briefly dominating the gamma-ray sky. Studied for over 25 years now with instruments on board a variety of satellites and space probes, including Soviet Venera spacecraft and the Pioneer Venus Orbiter, the sources of these enigmatic high-energy flashes remain a mystery. In one of the most intense debates in modern astrophysics, some scientists claim that the bursts originate in a halo of neutron stars which surround our Galaxy while others argue that their origins are far beyond the Galaxy, at cosmological distances. In either setting, these gamma-ray bursts are among the most powerful events in the Universe.
In 1977, NASA announced plans to build a "great observatory" for gamma-ray astronomy. The Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO) was designed to take advantage of the major advances in detector technology during the 1980s, and was launched in 1991. The satellite carried four major experiments which have greatly improved the spatial and temporal resolution of gamma-ray observations. The CGRO provided large amounts of data which are being used to improve our understanding of the high-energy processes in our Universe. CGRO was de-orbited in June 2000 as a result of the failure of one of its stabilizing gyroscopes.
From http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov Public Domain.
Retrieved from "https://nostalgia.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gamma-ray_Astronomy&oldid=72052"
This page was last edited on 16 October 2001, at 23:17. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details.


This post features outfit inspiration for Valentine's Day evening outfits. A couple of days ago I published my Valentine's Day looks post which featured outfits for a day date/lunch. You can catch up on it here if you misses it, Valentine's Looks.
Here are my looks for a Valentine's Day evening date.
Have you seen any outfits you like?
I think these are all lovely. The Boohoo one has to be my favourite though.
I love the red spotty dress from Oasis. It is gorgeous and just the sort of thing I would go for.
I love wearing red, so love these outfits. love the Oasis red dress!
Oh I LOVE the Oasis leopard print dress! It's gorgeous.


1970 Plymouth GTX. Looks like another Computer Generated Image.
Mopars in a row in Europe.
1970 Cuda "Catch of the Day"
A Fixer-Upper and a Valentine for the 14th?
Wow Ray, you're up late. Were you at the Blue Rodeo concert?
just checking in here, but this is a fantastic photo. love that car, the composition, just perfect.


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GovGuam fiscal 2021 budget discussions continue
Anumita Kaur
The 35th Guam Legislature continued fiscal 2021 budget discussions on Tuesday via Zoom, and attempted to factor in a constantly evolving COVID-19 situation into next year's projections.
"Things have changed since we talked about this last week. It seems to me that business closures should affect corporate income and corporate taxes," said Sen. Therese Terlaje.
Senators were in the midst of the budget session last week, but are in recess due to the shift to PCOR1. Lawmakers reconvened in the Committee on General Government Operations, Appropriations and Housing to continue talks.
Conversation was aimed at reconciling the difference between the budget proposed by the Legislature's Office of Budget and Finance, in Bill 282, and the proposed budget by the Leon Guerrero administration, which is higher.
More:'So many unknowns': Senators continue GovGuam budget debate
According to Lester Carlson, director of the Bureau of Budget Management and Research, the administration doesn't anticipate any revenue projection changes due to the island reverting to a nonessential business shutdown this week.
The bureau is estimating $2 million more in corporate taxes than the Office of Budget and Finance projects.
"We're at $92 million (for corporate tax) as of this year," Carlson said. "I still feel very confident. ...I'm still asking for that ($2 million more), yes."
Steven Guerrero, director of the Office of Budget and Finance, stated that the shutdown may have an effect on collections, but it's not easy to predict to what extent.
"The shutdown is supposed to be for two weeks, and our projection was done over a six month period, if the shutdown goes beyond two weeks, I'm pretty sure there will be an effect on collections for the rest of the fiscal year," Guerrero said. "How much? It would be very difficult to state at this point."
Related: What's open, closed, adjusted hours
More:Office of Finance and Budget projects bleak finances for GovGuam in fiscal 2021
Not enough of the budget conversations are revolving around long term plans for people and businesses in need, said Vice Speaker Telena Nelson.
"It bothers me to see that all of our businesses are shutting down, it bothers me to see that we're not discussing really some revenue generators so we that we can cut some areas in the budget so we can come up some comprehensive plan, " Nelson said. "We're not really discussing what's happening out in our community, people losing their jobs. ...We've just been looking at the numbers. We're not looking forward to see the future impact, so if we can evolve our discussion moving forward, addressing the realities that the people are facing today, I would greatly appreciate that."
Reporter Anumita Kaur covers military, business and tourism on Guam. Follow her on Twitter @anumitakaur. Reach her at akaur@guampdn.com.


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Religion and the rise of capitalism, Tawney, R. H. (English)
349 pages; Friday, January 13, 2023
Commentaries on the Laws of England: Book the Third, Blackstone, William (English)
Star Book No. 225: Aunt Lydia's Rug Yarn Collection, American Thread Company (English)
35 pages; Friday, January 13, 2023
In Monsun und Pori [1922], Richard Wenig (German)
184 pages; Thursday, January 12, 2023
*From Flag to Flag, Ripley, Eliza (English)
The eternal savage, Burroughs, Edgar Rice (English)
The law relating to betting, time-bargains and gaming., 3d ed., Stutfield, George Herbert. (English)
The history of the damnable life and deserved death of Doctor John Faustus., Rose, William (English)
346 pages; Wednesday, January 11, 2023
Star Book No. 189: Fashion Parade: Knit and Crochet for Him and Her, American Thread Company (English)
36 pages; Wednesday, January 11, 2023
Glen's Creek, Holmes, Mary Jane (English)
Report on the lands of the arid region of the United States, Powell, John Wesley (English)
*The Hampstead Mystery, vol. 3 of 3, Marryat, Florence (English)
Chateau d'Or, Norah, and Kitty Craig, Holmes, Mary Jane (English)
The Indian operation of couching for cataract, Elliot, Robert Henry (English)
Essays in medical sociology (vol. 1 of 2), Blackwell, Elizabeth (English)
Madam Constantia, Carter, Jefferson. (English)
Linotype mechanism, Swank, Alvin Garfield; Means, Raymond (English)
153 pages; Tuesday, January 10, 2023
The factory, Lincoln, Jonathan Thayer (English)
Now we are six, Milne, A.A. (English)
Illustrations of Political Economy, vol. 1 of 9, Martineau, Harriet (English)


Welcome to Marian Full of Glam, a Lifestyle and Motherhood Blog. MFOGlam is all about showing you how to navigate this thing we call motherhood with grace … and how to look good doing it, too. I'm eager to share with you all I know about being a new mom and especially to learn from you, too. I don't have all the answers so I'm leaning on you all to help me on this journey. I'm hoping that together, we can support and nurture each other to reach our full potential as mothers.
It's also important that as moms, we take care of ourselves inside and out so style and beauty are also a big part of MFOGlam. I know time is limited on self-care since we have a million things to do but it's important we still feel our best doing them. Don't worry, I'm here to help you get it all together! You decide how much (or how little) you use in your mom life.
Living on the beautiful Emerald Coast in North West Florida I want to share with you all it has to offer. Where to eat (I love food), where you should visit, and why you should vacation here with your families. It really is one of the best-hidden vacation spots in the US and I'm blessed to call it my home.
Oh, by the way, I'm Dawn, one the authors of Motherhood Full of Glam (MFOGlam). I'm a military wife and a brand new mommy to one baby girl, Marian. I love shopping and finding deals, perusing Target, being a foodie, photography, singing (mostly to my baby) and being a homebody! Are you thinking to yourself, hey she looks very familiar? That's most likely because you know me from my other blog, The Divine Life. Why the second blog and not just re-brand my other blog? I'm glad you asked and I'm happy to answer that.
When I created, The Divine Life, it was centered around my infertility journey. I wanted to build a tribe of women who were all going through the same thing I was to support each other. Although I am no longer on the long road of infertility, I still want to support my fellow TTC sisters in any way I possibly can. That's why a re-brand wasn't the right thing to do for The Divine Life.
Being a new mom now, I'm starting a new journey which I felt require a new virtual home since it is a new beginning. Both blogs are my life, just different places in my life.
MFOGlam was inspired by my daughter, Marian. She is a 27-week preemie and if you are curious to see how she came into the world, it can be found on The Divine Life blog. I encourage you to check out The Divine Life and see our crazy story and how it took me 10 years, 2 IVFs and 3 miscarriages to finally have my miracle baby Marian.
I'm so excited you are here and I do hope you join me on this crazy ride called motherhood. I'm really so thrilled to start this new journey.
Now I want to hear from you mommas to learn all about you! Come over to my Instagram and leave me a comment or message, shoot me a tweet, or come over to mfoglams FB Page! See you there!


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Ken Gonzales-Day
Curated by Bruce Yonemoto
Ken Gonzales-Day is an artist and writer living in Los Angeles. He received his MFA from UC Irvine, CA, and his MA in Art History from Hunter College, New York, NY. He was a fellow in the Whitney Museum of American Art's Independent Study Program. Other fellowships include the Rockefeller Foundation Study and Conference Center in Bellagio, Italy and the Smithsonian Institution's American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery where Gonzales-Day was a Senior Fellow in Latino Studies. His writing has appeared in various arts publications and journals including: Art & Text, Artissues, Art Journal, Art Papers, Aztlán, Exposure, Poliester, ArtPress and NYQ. His manuscript Lynching in the West: 1850-1935 will be published by Duke University Press in 2006. His work has been included in: An Image Bank for Everyday Revolutionary Life, REDCAT at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles; Log Cabin, Artists Space, New York, NY; Picarte, Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ; Made in California, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA; Cyborg Manifesto, Laguna Art Museum, CA; Beyond Boundaries: Contemporary Photography in California, Ansel Adams Center for Photography, San Francisco, CA; and Reimaging the West: A New History, SF Camerawork, San Francisco, CA. Gonzales-Day is an Associate Professor of Art and Chair of the Department of Art at Scripps College.
Bruce Yonemoto has developed a body of work which positions itself within the overlapping intersections of art and commerce, of the gallery world and the television screen. His work attempts to manipulate an audience with a simultaneous recognition of the machinations of the manipulation. He believes that the composition of mass media has become a new historical site of the domination of human behavior. During Mr. Yonemoto's twenty-year collaboration with his brother, Norman, he has been honored with numerous awards and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the American Film Institute, The Rockefeller Foundation, and the Maya Deren Award for Experimental Film and Video. Most recently, Mr. Yonemoto's solo installations, photographs and sculptures have been featured in major one person shows at the ICC (Intercommunication Center) in Tokyo; the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in Philadelphia, and the Kemper Museum in Kansas City. He has had solo exhibitions at Blum & Poe and Lemon Sky, Los Angeles; Gray Kapernekas Gallery, New York; Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo and his work was featured in Los Angeles 1955-1985: Birth of an Art Capital at the Centre Pompidou, Paris. Mr. Yonemoto is a professor of Studio Art at the University of California, Irvine.
Drawing its title from a book manuscript of the same name, Lynching in the West: 1850-1935 considers the transracial nature of lynching in California from statehood to the last recorded lynching in 1935. Given the broad number of people touched by this history (Asians, Anglos, Blacks, and American Indians), many will be surprised to learn that Latinos (Mexican, Mexican American, Chilean, and persons of Latin American descent) were statistically more likely to die of lynching than those of African, Asian or European decent. The work included in the CUE Art Foundation exhibition considers, and responds to, this historical erasure though a number of conceptual interventions that interrogate the legacy of lynching and its relationship to photography. Such images once circulated as postcards, view cards, and were collected in albums. Today, many of these images continue to circulate through on-line auctions, antique stores, and archival (and not so archival) copy prints. The works included in the exhibition reflect upon this forgotten past while inviting the viewer to consider how these legacies of oppression and denial have been transformed within a more contemporary landscape. Lynching in the West: 1850-1935 is a John Hope Franklin Center book, forthcoming from Duke University Press, 2006.
Curator's Statement:
by Bruce Yonemoto
On the blank screen, a luminous disk was projected without any images of people or landscapes. The assembly of empty seats attentively followed some magnificent spectacle invisible to me. Furious, I wanted to see from closer up. I climbed towards the screen. I was blinded by the light from the projector lamp and saw in the screen two holes large enough to allow a man to pass through. I put my head through one of them. A panorama of the city was spread out before my eyes. Aragon and Breton had their bellies impaled on two cathedral spires. I understood that they also had wanted to see what was happening behind the screen and the great beauty of their suicide was revealed to me.
-Robert Desnos
Much like a Freudian screen memory the photographs of Ken Gonzales-Day display, mask and translate histories many would rather forget.
Gonzales-Day's pictures act as sophisticated filters which scrutinize information that has long been suppressed. His erasures reconfigure shadowed memories at once beautiful, genuine and scary.
I would like to thank Ken for producing such important work as well as Dr. Juli Carson for her insightful thoughts. I would also like to thank the CUE Art Foundation and its Advisory Council as well as a special friend of Ken, Juli and mine, Mr. Gary Wolf.
YOUNG ART CRITICS: Anna Meliksetian on Ken Gonzales-Day


The process described below applies to freehold homes and condominium units. For information about the warranty process for condominium common elements, click here.
Tarion has an early intervention process that helps new homeowners and builders resolve their differences when complex disputes arise over warranty issues in freehold homes and in the common elements of condominiums. This process is used when there is reason to believe that the relationship between the homeowner and the builder is strained and/or when the issues are so complex they make the warranty process difficult. For more information, click here.
If your builder does not complete repairs or otherwise resolve the items that are covered under the warranty by the end of their initial 120 day repair period, you have 30 days to contact Tarion and request a conciliation. Conciliations can now be scheduled online using MyHome or the MyHome app.
You must provide a deposit of $282.50 ($250 + HST), which will be refunded to you if we determine that one or more items we assess is covered by the warranty.
IMPORTANT: If you do not request a conciliation during this period, Tarion will not be able to assist in resolving the claim items on your warranty form.
Conciliation is a process where Tarion assesses the items on a homeowner's warranty form and decides whether they are covered under the warranty set out in the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act.
What, if any, compensation or repair the owner is entitled to receive from the builder or Tarion.
In most cases, conciliation involves an inspection at the home with the builder's representative in attendance. The inspection is conducted by a Tarion Warranty Services Representative, who is a neutral and impartial decision maker.
This handy infographic takes you through the steps of getting your warranty claim resolved.
During conciliation, you will be required to present your position to the Warranty Services Representative. Once your conciliation is scheduled, you should send Tarion your purchase agreement and any schedules, amendments, attachments or photos that could support your claim.
You are responsible for providing all of the information, arguments, and documents (such as the PDI Form or selection sheet) you want Tarion to consider when assessing your claim. If you do not have a relevant document or piece of information that your builder may have, you can ask Tarion to obtain it for you.
Additionally, as you prepare for the conciliation, please take a moment to read our Video and Audio Recording Policy.
If you and your builder are able to resolve the items on your warranty form before the inspection date, you can cancel it. Tarion will refund your conciliation fee if you cancel your conciliation inspection with at least 24 hours advance notice.
Tarion will contact you prior to your scheduled inspection. If all repairs are not completed, we will conduct the scheduled inspection with you and your builder's representative present.
At the inspection we will assess whether or not a disputed item is covered by the warranty and/or whether a completed repair meets industry standards and/or the Construction Performance Guidelines. We will then provide you and your builder with a Warranty Assessment Report. The report will tell you whether the items we assessed are covered under the warranty and need to be resolved by your builder.
Tarion will contact you 30 days after the date on the report to confirm that all warranted items have been repaired or otherwise resolved. If any items remain outstanding, we will work directly with you to resolve them.
Tarion may determine that a builder is unwilling or unable to repair or resolve claim items covered by the statutory warranty. Tarion's determination may be based on a number of factors, such as the builder's financial position, physical abilities, expressed intentions, or whether the home was built or sold illegally.
If Tarion has determined that a builder is unwilling or unable, then Tarion has the discretion to abridge or extend time periods in the statutory claims process.


Since Jan. Hit it Rich has continued to make it hard to log on once I reach 7 days. I have continually been starting over from day 1. The other games I play I am at 200 plus days and I play all four of them every day. Amazing how you can be playing over 200 days on three games but Hit won't let you get on until you miss a day then starts you over on day 1. This is very frustrating and aggravating.
That's actually a great suggestion! If you plan on other games like wizard of oz and hit it rich, if you can't log into one one because of a bug, it should count for all of them if you log into wizard of oz!


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Separate the masses?: Separating immigrant families is not an appropriate or effective way to prevent illegal immigration.
By Apsara Senaratne
According to the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in 2013, 72,410 deportees had one or more children still living in the United States when they were deported. In other words, hundreds of thousands of children were cruelly separated from their parents in the process of deportation during that year.
This is not the first example of the systematic separation of families by the American government, and it certainly has not been the last.
Today, ever-increasing numbers of immigrants are being separated from their families and held in separate deportation centers. Families are thrust into an unjust and deeply flawed system in which they continue to be unnecessarily and viciously separated, placed into detention centers thousands of miles away from their families, all due to the government's belief that it may dissuade others from entering the country illegally. Even worse, the Trump administration is now considering the formalization and mass implementation of this cruel practice, according to the New York Times.
Families already face terrible conditions upon apprehension at the border; they are held in processing centers, dark warehouses crammed with men, women, and children who were stopped in their attempts to reach better lives, fluorescent lighting illuminating wire fences that separate hundreds of such families. Parents are given two choices: to either be deported with their children, or to be separated from their children and placed in detention centers until they are forcibly deported.
One such parent is Jose Fuentes, a man who fled El Salvador with his one-year-old son, Mateo. Upon presenting himself to immigration officers at the border and seeking asylum, he was brutally separated from his son and held in a detention facility in San Diego, 1000 miles away from the Laredo, Texas children's facility in which his son was being held.
Not only is this practice ruthless and unjust, but the conditions of these centers have also been identified as damaging to children's mental health. The American Academy of Pediatrics advocates that "the U.S. government protect vulnerable children who are fleeing violence and poverty from being traumatized," and recommends that they "never be placed in detention centers."
Additionally, separation from parents or caretakers can result in extensive damage upon children's mental health, often resulting in conditions such as depression, anxiety, stress, and paranoia, according to the Center on Immigration and Child Welfare.
Family separation ultimately defies the laws that constitute our country, depriving individuals of their basic human rights and their right to due process under the U.S. government. Permitting U.S. citizens to be with their relatives is central to our immigration laws.
Denying individuals this right is not only ineffective in ensuring the safety of the American people, but also unacceptable on moral grounds. The government cannot blatantly disregard asylum laws and basic human rights in its attempts to solve the issue of undocumented immigration.
It must instead look towards more humane, righteous forms of treatment towards the undocumented in order to stay true to its ideals and guarantee that all people, regardless of background, are treated justly.
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