Vista Upgrade Flowchart

I always love a good joke at Microsoft’s expense.

If you are thinking about upgrading to Vista, here is a good tool to help make the decision.

Financial Calculators

With Christmas just over and tax time coming up many people are working on their finances.

With that in mind I thought I would share my favorite financial calculator site.

Hugh’s Mortgage and Financial Calculators is a website produced by Hugh Chou that contains many javascript financial and mortgage calculators. An invaluable site when you are trying to figure out how much money to save/borrow/spend.

Before Nacho Libre

Before Jack Black hit it big as Shallow Hal, Nacho Libre or Tenacious D, he was just a kid like the rest of us.

Here’s video of Black trying to make a buck back in 1982.

Alone in the dark

Ever since moving into my home in 2001 I have had a problem with lightbulbs. It seems that the bulbs typically only last a few months at most. I have attempted to research the reason behind this and have come to the conclusion that it’s either because incandescent lightbulbs are worthless, or there is some type of electrical problem in my house (I’ve also read that the problem could be due to screwing the bulbs in too tight, but last time I replaced them I was careful not to overtighten).

While at my local Wal-Mart, buying bulbs I decided to conduct an experiment. I replaced six of the seven bulbs that are burnt out with Compact Flourescent bulbs. These bulbs are supposed to use less power (so I’m saving the planet), and last for five years.

I was a bit skeptical, but the new bulbs put out a pleasing light. The only caveat so far is that they take a second or two to come on, not a problem but a bit of an annoyance. Every time I flip the switch I think they’ve burnt out. I’m sure that will pass.

Now we just need to see how long they last. I’ll be sure to post if/when any of them burn out.

Libertarian response to Bush’s State of the Union

Yesterday, I received in my inbox an email from my friends over at the Libertarian Party discussing the Libertarian response to President Bush’s State of the Union speech.

I am not (yet) a member of the Libertarian party, and cannot endorse their comments without reservation, but I do think the piece made some interesting points, specifically:

…the President’s health care proposal to replace an unlimited employer health care expense deduction with standard deductions for individuals, while not perfect, is a large step in the badly needed direction of breaking the link between employment and health insurance in this nation. It would stop federal tax discrimination against people who are not covered by employer-provided insurance.

I think every self employed person I know would agree with this.

The President touched on another of his unpopular and failing big government solutions: No Child Left Behind. Not so very long ago, the Republican Platform called for the elimination of the federal Department of Education. Today, Republicans and Democrats compete over which big government programs and mandates can be forced on state and local governments. No Child Left Behind should not be reauthorized.

There is nearly universal agreement that the No Child Left Behind program is an underfunded, misguided intrusion by the Federal government on our local schools. It’s mind boggling to me that Bush even brought it up in his speech.

and finally

…the President is attempting to force new fuel economy standards on automobile manufacturers. Additionally, he is tampering with the free market in order to reach the probably unachievable goal of “energy independence.” If we want the lowest possible energy prices and alternative energy sources to develop, we need to get government out of the energy business and let the free market work.

This concept here is one of my ultimate pet peeves. The US government is subsidising the oil industry while forcing better mileage standards. They are spending money on both ends of the problem when a free market would likely balance everything out.

I encourage you to read the whole response. You may not agree, but it definitely makes you think…