Random Thoughts: Summer Break!

Back to School

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With a struggling U.S. economy it could make for a very interesting presidential campaign in 2012, and it may all come down to jobs and whether enough Americans can find employment in the next few months. In Canada employment is OK, but could use some help, and a strong loonie is not going to help in the private sector (other than the Energy side of things). The markets continue their roller coaster ride with some ups and a lot of downs this week. What does it all mean? Don’t ask me!

With my stay-cation and time off this week had some pretty eclectic topics covered:

• Going a little off topic I discussed whethere you can consider cities as a mathematical model an interesting video from Ted.
• With debt ceilings fun and games (OBG) I summed up the oldies posts I made on Twitter.
• Happy August holiday and job hunting tips confirmed just how lazy I am, simply reposting more of my stuff from Twitter, but you can cut me some slack, it was a holiday.
• More movie discussion with what is your number? I enjoyed Wall Street II for it’s many cliches, but that was a good question as well.
• I did ask who do you tip? This question did evoke some interesting comments from my readers.
• My contention that Staycations ain’t that cheap may not ring true with some folks, but it is certainly more expensive than lying at home in a hammock with a good book.
• Random Thoughts: Get Well Soon Jack is a recap of last week’s best posts.

I enjoy all comments (even the ones that question my sanity), and will try to respond to most comments, so please feel free to comment away. For you spammers who continue to inundate me with your drivel, keep it up as well.

With a global financial apocalypse narrowly dodged (this time), there are still some interesting discussions going on with the financial bloggers that I enjoy reading:

• Gail Vaz-Oxlade must have a subscription to the Dr. Seuss book club because with her post the Lorax she discusses another beloved Seuss book, and it’s commentary on our current lifestyles.
• Michael James is a die-hard math junkie (it’s his real passion in life) thus his review of Math for Grownups naturally points out some of the flaws in the author’s ideas (but still a positive view on things).
• Mike at Money.Smarts shows that with a little imagination and discipline you can figure out how to lower your mortgage intertest rate without paying any penalties, I am not sure this method is for everyone, but it is intriguing.
• Canadian Capitalist rested and back from a vacation told us that David Dreman on Tactical Asset Allocation has a low view on the whole TAA concept, even though in theory it should work.
• Ellen Roseman waxes poetic with Water, water everywhere, causing problems for homeowners which shows that even real writers can get into a writing thematic rut.
• Larry MacDonald asks can pension funds beat the market? The answer is a surprising one, but I guess with size comes a certain level of freedom as well.
• Preet is wondering whether we are missing a golden opportunity? Many folks are asking that question right now, but we will only know in a few years whether we were right or not.
• Boomer of Boomer and Echo, writes about Assiting Elderly Parents a topic near and dear to my heart.

Carnivals this Week

I did make it into a few carnivals this week too:

• Tom over at Canadian Finance Blog hosted the Carnival of Personal Finance #320 – Plutus Awards edition which featured my post Financial Lessons Learned from the Departed.
• Compounding Returns hosted the 30th Edition of the Totally Money Blog Carnival which had my piece computer tinkering at home: fun with technology.

Remember

“All that glisters is not gold;
Often have you heard that told:
Many a man his life hath sold…

Author: Shakespeare