Credit Unions Have Successful Year Thanks To Occupy
The Occupy Wall St. movement is about about many things, the haves and the have nots and the disparity between the two. It's also about personal action be it sitting in a park for a few months to tell multi national corporations you won't stand for it any more. Or shutting down the west coast ports of the United States to stop commerce.
Credit Unions
One of the things that Occupy did though was it adopted someones simple idea of a bank transfer day because let's face it occupy doesn't like big banks and they thrive on money so you deprive them of what they thrive on. So the date was set. November 05, 2011 and the Facebook page set up for bank transfer day got over 61,000 likes can you imagine that. So to turn those likes into action though is a tall order. But get action they did. CUNA the organization of Credit Unions reports that over 700,000 new members joined their member credit unions leading up to bank transfer day can you believe that number. So I think credit unions will have a very good year indeed they just have to capitalize on this opportunity that has been given to them by this black swan event. Treat these new customers right and give them good service and they will sing your praises to all of their Friends. If each of these new customers brings you one new customer from another bank you will be set.
So in my perception this is the biggest thing that Occupy Wall St. has accomplished and it seems like it was very simple, what else that's very simple that people could get behind could they accomplish if they set their minds and agenda to it.?
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Monday, December 19, 2011
Bank of America, Wells Fargo Stramline Refinance mortgage rates
Bank of America Wells Fargo Streamline Refinance
I have never seen lower mortgage rates than these. Who knows they may keep going down or they may pop up a little but either way they are still a good deal. If you have a mortgage through Bank of America or Wells Fargo then you should call them to try to do a streamline refinance deal. First before calling other mortgage companies. Why? well, when you go through your current lender in my case Wells Fargo they all ready know you and your accounts, they just sent me the package of paperwork in the mail and I filled it out and had it notarized and mailed it back to them. Total cost to me $10.00 for the Notary. Pretty great deal for a mortgage I couldn't believe it myself. So if you have a current mortgage through Wells Fargo or Bank of America and you are thinking of refinancing call them first and ask about a streamline refinance.
Mortgage Rates
Mortgage rates today are around 3.8% for a 30 year fixed rate loan and about 3.6% for a 15 year fixed rate loan. Those are fabulous rates for anyone out there. The question is should you refinance and can you refinance you home loan? Okay first of all should you? Well if you have a home loan that is more than one percent higher then the rates above then it might be a good idea for you to refinance. This will put more money in your pocket every month. However remember that you will be going back to a 30 year loan if that's what you choose. So if you only have 23 years left on your mortgage that might not be very palatable to you. Unless however you know that you are going to move in say five to seven years or so. Another option for you and this is one I really recommend is going to the 15 year fixed loan. For a couple of reasons. You get a lower interest rate right off the bat. But my main reason is that more of the money I pay in my mortgage goes straight to principal pay down in the 15 year loan than in the 30 year loan.
So for instance if I got a 30 year fixed 4% loan for 200,000 dollars my payment would be $954.83. Not bad, each month of that payment 294.83 of that payment would go to principal. At the end of the year I would have paid down my loan to $196,397.11. However if I would have gotten a 15 year fixed rate mortgage at say 3.8% for the same 200,000 dollars my payment would be $1459.00. That is quite a bit larger of a payment about $400.00 exactly but every month I have this loan I pay $819.41 in principal on my loan, now your thinking that's not such a bad deal right. At the end of the first year I still owe 189,992.18. Quite difference over the 30 year loan.
What if you owe more on your house than it's worth? that is the eternal question nowadays right. Well some people are doing what is called a cash in refinance.
What Is A Cash In Refinance
A cash in refinance is simply where you refinance your loan and remember the old days where people took cash out of their homes at refinancing well a cash in refinance is simply the opposite of that. It's bringing cash to the table when you refinance. So not only are you refinancing but bringing say 10 or 20 thousand dollars to pay down some of your outstanding mortgage. What do you get out of that. Lower payments and a few months closer to a paid off house.
I have never seen lower mortgage rates than these. Who knows they may keep going down or they may pop up a little but either way they are still a good deal. If you have a mortgage through Bank of America or Wells Fargo then you should call them to try to do a streamline refinance deal. First before calling other mortgage companies. Why? well, when you go through your current lender in my case Wells Fargo they all ready know you and your accounts, they just sent me the package of paperwork in the mail and I filled it out and had it notarized and mailed it back to them. Total cost to me $10.00 for the Notary. Pretty great deal for a mortgage I couldn't believe it myself. So if you have a current mortgage through Wells Fargo or Bank of America and you are thinking of refinancing call them first and ask about a streamline refinance.
Mortgage Rates
Mortgage rates today are around 3.8% for a 30 year fixed rate loan and about 3.6% for a 15 year fixed rate loan. Those are fabulous rates for anyone out there. The question is should you refinance and can you refinance you home loan? Okay first of all should you? Well if you have a home loan that is more than one percent higher then the rates above then it might be a good idea for you to refinance. This will put more money in your pocket every month. However remember that you will be going back to a 30 year loan if that's what you choose. So if you only have 23 years left on your mortgage that might not be very palatable to you. Unless however you know that you are going to move in say five to seven years or so. Another option for you and this is one I really recommend is going to the 15 year fixed loan. For a couple of reasons. You get a lower interest rate right off the bat. But my main reason is that more of the money I pay in my mortgage goes straight to principal pay down in the 15 year loan than in the 30 year loan.
So for instance if I got a 30 year fixed 4% loan for 200,000 dollars my payment would be $954.83. Not bad, each month of that payment 294.83 of that payment would go to principal. At the end of the year I would have paid down my loan to $196,397.11. However if I would have gotten a 15 year fixed rate mortgage at say 3.8% for the same 200,000 dollars my payment would be $1459.00. That is quite a bit larger of a payment about $400.00 exactly but every month I have this loan I pay $819.41 in principal on my loan, now your thinking that's not such a bad deal right. At the end of the first year I still owe 189,992.18. Quite difference over the 30 year loan.
What if you owe more on your house than it's worth? that is the eternal question nowadays right. Well some people are doing what is called a cash in refinance.
What Is A Cash In Refinance
A cash in refinance is simply where you refinance your loan and remember the old days where people took cash out of their homes at refinancing well a cash in refinance is simply the opposite of that. It's bringing cash to the table when you refinance. So not only are you refinancing but bringing say 10 or 20 thousand dollars to pay down some of your outstanding mortgage. What do you get out of that. Lower payments and a few months closer to a paid off house.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Veena Malik Scandal
Venna Malik the Indian star who is caught in the scandal involving FHM magazine India and India and Pakistan's governments and social customs has even been disowned by her father. The scandal ensued when Veena posed for FHM Magazine India for what was supposed to be a normal cover photo shoot. However after the fact the India version of FHM magazine has on the cover a photo of Veena nude covering her breasts with her arms. Veena says the picture has been doctored and that that is not the picture she agreed to and she didn't take any nude photos. However she said she would consider doing a nude photo shoot in the future. See the picture to the right. There is another cover shot showing the same picture with Venna wearing green shorts. That was the picture that was supposed to appear on the magazine. Veena is suing FHM magazine for the photo coming out. There is also the letters ISI on her bicep which caused a political stir in Pakistan since ISI is the initials of the Pakistani Intelligence Agency much like our CIA.
If this was an American or any western country actress this almost would be a non story. Since these are the types of things actresses have done for decades to get publicity. However not Indian or Pakistani actresses. The societal rules in their respective countries do not allow for being nude in public and there are punishments that go along with that. A Pakistani High Court rejected a lawyers petition to file charges against for defamation obscene acts and not wearing clothes. The court rejected the charges since it didn't happen in Pakistan. That is how serious this can be for an Indian or Pakistani actress. Not to mention the fact that I'm sure if an American girl did the same thing her father might be disappointed or not but I'm pretty sure he wouldn't disown her for bringing shame on their country.
Women of Pakistan and India have a long way to go and maybe this is the crack that starts it all.
If this was an American or any western country actress this almost would be a non story. Since these are the types of things actresses have done for decades to get publicity. However not Indian or Pakistani actresses. The societal rules in their respective countries do not allow for being nude in public and there are punishments that go along with that. A Pakistani High Court rejected a lawyers petition to file charges against for defamation obscene acts and not wearing clothes. The court rejected the charges since it didn't happen in Pakistan. That is how serious this can be for an Indian or Pakistani actress. Not to mention the fact that I'm sure if an American girl did the same thing her father might be disappointed or not but I'm pretty sure he wouldn't disown her for bringing shame on their country.
Women of Pakistan and India have a long way to go and maybe this is the crack that starts it all.
Scarlett Johansson Hacked
Scarlett Johansson pictures hacked from her cell phone that is the headline of the day. Now it's not exactly big news that a beautifull celebrity will have her phone hacked and some NSFW Photos can be discovered and sent all over the Internet. When you search on www.Google.com for Scarlett Johansson pictures hacked there are 4 million results. I think Miss Johansson took this all pretty well and in stride considering what happened. She told Vanity Faire that the photos were for her then husband. It's not like I was shooting a porno and there is nothing wrong with that either. I think that is a very good way to take it and respond to all these people who are saying oh my god you took these photos of yourself and let them get out on the Internet.
Scarlett Johansson is not the first celebrity to get hacked and will definitely not be the last. In fact I foresee there being many more as technology becomes more and more a part of our lives and we adopt it into every facet of our lives. These tools can be great things to help us and they can also allow people into our homes when we don't want' them to be so those photos or texts that are secret are no longer secret. The main thing you can do to stop this type of thing is keep good informational security meaning different passwords for everything and change them up once in awhile. But none of us do this do we? That being said not many of us will be the target of such an attack the way Miss Johansson was simply because we are not stars however it could be to get to your bank account or something like that though that won't embarrass you but will cost you a lot of money.
Scarlett Johansson is not the first celebrity to get hacked and will definitely not be the last. In fact I foresee there being many more as technology becomes more and more a part of our lives and we adopt it into every facet of our lives. These tools can be great things to help us and they can also allow people into our homes when we don't want' them to be so those photos or texts that are secret are no longer secret. The main thing you can do to stop this type of thing is keep good informational security meaning different passwords for everything and change them up once in awhile. But none of us do this do we? That being said not many of us will be the target of such an attack the way Miss Johansson was simply because we are not stars however it could be to get to your bank account or something like that though that won't embarrass you but will cost you a lot of money.
Amy Winehouse Rehab
Play the video above and really listen to the words she is singing I have never done that before. It is almost foreshadowing what happened to her. Going through the rehab and then suddenly passing away at such a very young age. I can remember hearing on the radio that Amy Winehouse had passed away the day that it happened and then thinking how young she truly was. Her career was only just beginning. Now there are some new songs and a new album that she was working on coming out after her death they are going to be called Amy Winehouse Lioness Hidden Treasures. That's a good name for the new album. Hopefully this new album is a great success for the company that is selling it I just wish that Amy was around to celebrate her successful album. Because it is such a waste to lose a young upcoming star at such a young age.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
What Is An iCloud
How To iCloud that's an interesting subject line but I get a lot of questions about what is the iCloud? The answer to that is simple. The iCloud allows all your Data say songs you purchase videos or pictures you take or projects you are working on to be pushed to all of your Apple devices. Some people describe iCloud as a hard drive in the cloud but it's more than storage. It's about taking a picture with your iPhone and then being able to see it on your Mac book Pro. Or working on a project on your Mac book Pro and picking up your iPad 2 and finishing where you left off without missing a beat. The iCloud pushes all your pictures mail data videos whatever you tell it too to all the different devices that are iCloud compatible. So buying a song then having to load it on your computer done you don't need to do that anymore because you have the iCloud. You know those pictures you took and you want to download them to your computer so you can use them on your blog. That's all ready done as well thanks to the iCloud. Are you starting to get the idea here that the iCloud let's you do all the stuff you normally do but you just have to do a lot less of the minutiae to do it. What do you need to run iCloud? You need Apple IOS 5 and or a Mac running on OS X Lion 10.7.2 then you will be all set up for the iCloud. Then you just go into your phone and select what you want to share with the iCloud and you are set.
I all ready know how this is going to improve my efficiency even with this blog with pictures and video and things like that but how do you think it will help you? If you are already running the iCloud how has it helped you or have you had any problems with it so far? I haven't seen any yet other than some minor set up things but it was an easy fix more operator error on my part. I really think when this gets built out like into the full Apple ecosystem meaning it's the standard not just new users because let's face it right now you have to have some fairly new products to run it, this should be an amazing product. Not to mention the things that will be able to be done with it. Think an Apple TV running video over your iCloud or video of your kids soccer game. That's possible now. Take the soccer video with the iPhone and watch it at home on the iPad 2. The iCloud is a pretty amazing product I think it will be a hit for Apple.
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I all ready know how this is going to improve my efficiency even with this blog with pictures and video and things like that but how do you think it will help you? If you are already running the iCloud how has it helped you or have you had any problems with it so far? I haven't seen any yet other than some minor set up things but it was an easy fix more operator error on my part. I really think when this gets built out like into the full Apple ecosystem meaning it's the standard not just new users because let's face it right now you have to have some fairly new products to run it, this should be an amazing product. Not to mention the things that will be able to be done with it. Think an Apple TV running video over your iCloud or video of your kids soccer game. That's possible now. Take the soccer video with the iPhone and watch it at home on the iPad 2. The iCloud is a pretty amazing product I think it will be a hit for Apple.
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Jailbreaking the iPod Touch what do you think?
The iPod Touch is a another fabulous product put out by Apple Computer. It's basically an iPhone that can't call and it won't use any type of 3G only wifi networks for communications. But, you can get the full Internet and use all the tools in the Apple App store with the iPod Touch that you can with the iPhone. However people have found that they can make thier iPod touch do more things and they are able to have more control and use different apps and such by hacking the phone called Jailbreaking. However with all of that Apple keeps a tight rein on what can and can't be done with the iPhone or the iPod touch. So a cottage industry has built up around Jail breaking your iPhone or iPod touch and it allows your phone or your iPod touch to do more things than it could do than when it came with factory settings. If you Google jailbreak iPod touch you get over 40,000,000 results you read that right forty million results so this has become a pretty big industry. Everything from companies offering you their own jailbreaking services to ebooks to videos etc. All the way down to just directions on a web page on how to do it yourself. It's interesting how Apple has tried to combat this they have tried everything from patches to new OS's all to no avail. Recently when I bought my new iPhone 4S I was even asked to sign one of their electronic documents that basically says hey I won't hack their phone. Now I don't know about the whole their phone thing. I just paid a lot of money for that phone but I personally leave my iPhone stock from the factory. If you go on the different Apple or Mac forums when the new iPhone or iPod Touch comes out it's like a race to see who can be the first hacker to jailbreak it.
So, what do you think? Do you have an Apple phone or iPod that is jail broken? If so what other tools does it allow to have that the stock phone doesn't and are you happy you jailbroke your phone? Like I said earlier I don't like the whole Apple thing about this is our phone after someone just bought it how do you feel about that? Leave your answers in the comments area.
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So, what do you think? Do you have an Apple phone or iPod that is jail broken? If so what other tools does it allow to have that the stock phone doesn't and are you happy you jailbroke your phone? Like I said earlier I don't like the whole Apple thing about this is our phone after someone just bought it how do you feel about that? Leave your answers in the comments area.
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Thursday, December 1, 2011
Tech Innovation and The Game of Cricket
Tech Innovation and The Game of Cricket. I know your thinking what is Adapage thinking what does Tech Innovation have to do with the game of Cricket? Well, we have all probably played cricket a few times right? Raise your hand if you haven't. That's right I thought so most of you raised your hand. Okay so now how many of you have played the game of cricket after having one too many Guinness's or the beer of your choice? Less hands but still quite a few out there. So as most of you know the game of Cricket is a simple dart game
that is played as follows players take turns trying to be the first ones to get three 20's, three 19's, three 18's all the way down to 15's and then 3 bulls eyes. The first one to get three of everything wins if they also have the most points and you score points by hitting anything that your opponent doesn't have three of. Pretty fun game actually and the loser buys the Guinness. Not very smart huh give guys who are drinking sharp objects to throw. But that's the way it's been for eons. So, what does this have to do with tech innovation? Simple a long time ago when I was just a boy my brother taught me a valuable lesson in the game of Cricket "Don't Follow" which means simply this, if your opponent in Cricket just closed his 20's then you need to go to your 19's to get ahead of him to have something to make points on if you can close your 19's ahead of your opponent, then go back and close your 20's when you get a chance. If you simply follow your opponent you will follow them all the way down to bulls eyes and then lose the game.
Tech innovation lately has just been following what I mean by that is look at Apple. They were this company that hadn't really had a hit product in a long time. Then along comes the iPod so what does the rest of the tech world do they simply follow hoping to get a piece of the mp3 pie. They don't want to go out and make their own pie or god forbid aim for those 19's like in cricket.
Then we come to phones the iPhone broke all the rules of what a phone should or could be and the rest of the tech world didn't really innovate it pretty much just said how much of Apples market share can we take if we market lower priced touch screen phones?
The iPhone sold so well and people loved it so much Apple said why don't we make it bigger and the iPad was born and everyone followed. They didn't listen to my brothers advice. Don't follow, they just wanted a piece of that market share so now how many tablet are a no go? How many of your friends own a RIM tablet or a Samsung tablet? I thought so.
But there is someone out there not following. Amazon, they are shooting 19's all day long with the Kindle Fire. Yes it's a tablet and it will take market share but we are not talking a few percent here we are talking an actual competitor for the iPad. Not only did they take Google's operating system and retool it to serve their own products thereby basically not serving Google's services but their own but they are actually competing with the iPad 2 not bad considering that this is a company that sells books, oh yeah and everything else you could ever want. Heck even Apple products.
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