Philip's Blog Home

PHP Scripts With Cron

2010-08-08T15:27:00.001-07:00

You will need to find out the answer to the following question, “Is my PHP installed as CGI or as an Apache module?”. To find out do the following: Create a new file, name it info.php (just an example), and put in the following code:

< ? phpinfo(); ? >

Upload to your webserver and go to it with your browser.

Now check for Server API (4th item from the top), if it says “CGI”, you have PHP compiled as CGI, if it reads “Apache”, you have it running as an Apache module.

Compiled CGI

If the answer to the question above is “CGI” then you need to add a line to your PHP script. It has to be the first line of your script and must contain your server’s PHP executable location:

#!/usr/local/bin/php -q

That looks a lot like PERL now, doesn’t it? After that let’s add the necessary command to our crontab. Edit /etc/crontab and add the following line:

* * * * * php /path/to/your/cron.php

Execute the following from the command line:

Shell> crontab crontab

Be sure your “script.php” has the necessary permissions to be executable (“chmod 755 script.php”).

Now you are all set!

Apache module

If your PHP is installed using the Apache module, the approach is a little different. First, you need access to Lynx (Lynx Browser for more information). Lynx is a small web browser, generally available on Unix and Linux.

Running your PHP script will not require you to add any additional lines. You simply have to edit your /etc/crontab file and add the following line:

* * * * * lynx -dump http://www.somedomain.com/cron.php

(or if email notification is not needed:

*/15 * * * * lynx -dump http://www.somedomain.com/cron.php >/dev/null 2>&1 )

Please note that in general, you have to specify the entire URL (with “http://” and so on). But depending on your Lynx’s configuration, the URL might be relative; I suggest always using the absolute reference as in my example above – it always works.

Again execute the following from the command line:

Shell> crontab crontab

Behavioral Interviewing

2010-06-28T17:36:00.000-07:00

The following is a description of what behavioral interviewing is all about:

http://www.brockport.edu/career/behave.htm

Long-Term Jobless Face Tough Odds

2010-06-05T18:02:00.000-07:00

According to Yahoo/AP News, one who is jobless should scramble to find a new job as soon as possible because it is becoming increasingly difficult for someone who is out of a job for more than six months to find a new job:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Growing-ranks-of-longterm-apf-1793753012.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode=

The Super-Awesome-Mega-Optimal Guide to Links - Website Magazine - Website Magazine

2010-04-15T23:19:00.001-07:00

THE SUPER-AWESOME-MEGA-OPTIMAL GUIDE to Links - Website Magazine - Website Magazine

Posted using ShareThis

Top 50: Resources for Design Inspiration - Website Magazine - Website Magazine

2010-04-15T23:18:00.001-07:00

Top 50: Resources for Design Inspiration - Website Magazine - Website Magazine

Posted using ShareThis

Circuit City Closing All Stores

2009-01-17T18:35:00.000-08:00

Here are the Bay Area Circuit City Stores to be closed:

Circuit City - Sunnyvale - 111 East El Camino Real, Sunnyvale, CA - (408) 720-1043
Circuit City - San Jose - 4080 Stevens Creek Boulevard, San Jose, CA - (408) 296-5522
Circuit City - 1731 E Bayshore Rd, Palo Alto, CA - (650) 321-2920
Circuit City - 1825 Hillsdale Ave, San Jose, CA - (408) 723-2753
Circuit City - San Jose - 5353 Almaden Expressway, San Jose, CA - (408) 266-1215
Circuit City - Fremont - 43706 Christy Street, Fremont, CA - (510) 661-0267
Circuit City - San Jose - 2217 Quimby Road, San Jose, CA - (408) 223-1390
Circuit City - Hayward - 2480 Whipple Road, Hayward, CA - (510) 477-0643
Circuit City - San Mateo - 1880 South Grant Street, San Mateo, CA - (650) 578-1400
Circuit City - Santa Cruz - 1664 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz, CA - (831) 464-0119
Circuit City - Dublin - 7153 Amador Plaza Road, Dublin, CA - (925) 833-2525
Circuit City - 1007 Cochrane Rd, Morgan Hill, CA - (408) 779-1246
Circuit City - 400 Longfellow St, Livermore, CA - (925) 454-5331
Circuit City - Daly City - 303 Gellert Boulevard, Daly City, CA - (650) 755-0101
Circuit City - 1200 Van Ness Ave # 1, San Francisco, CA - (415) 441-1033

Stopping Junk Mail Spam

2009-01-11T17:40:00.001-08:00

DMAChoice - it'll get you on no-send lists and stops catalog spam.
StopJunkMail - it'll get you on no-send lists and stops catalog spam.
ProQuo - it'll get you on no-send lists and stops catalog spam.
Catalog Choice - it'll get you on no-send lists and stops catalog spam.
DirectMail.com - free, quick way to get your name off commercial mailing lists.
OptOutPrescreen.com - opt out of pre-approved credit card and insurance offers online or by phone: 1-888-5-OPTOUT.
EcoLogical Mail Coalition - helps businesses stop mail addressed to former employees.
Native Forest Network's Guide - five easy steps to stop junk mail.

College Admissions: Application Essays and SAT

2008-11-17T01:04:00.000-08:00

Dangerous Holidays For Drivers

2008-11-17T00:30:00.000-08:00

Forbes magazine recently published the most dangerous holidays for drivers:

http://www.forbes.com/2008/11/06/dangerous-driving-holidays-forbeslife-cx_jd_1106travel_slide.html?thisSpeed=15000

Rounding out the top five are:

No. 1 Thanksgiving Average Vehicular Deaths: 573
No. 2 Independence Day Average Vehicular Deaths: 505
No. 3 Memorial Day Weekend Average Vehicular Deaths: 493
No. 4 Labor Day Weekend Average Vehicular Deaths: 488
No. 5 New Year's Eve/Day Average Vehicular Deaths: 421

Math Tutorials

2008-11-16T22:43:00.000-08:00

Here are some math/calculus related tutorial links:

Math:

http://listverse.com/science/10-easy-arithmetic-tricks/
http://www.thebeehive.org/Templates/School/Level3.aspx?PageId=1.527.12058.12063
http://hotmath.com/
http://www.sosmath.com/
http://mathforum.org/dr.math/
http://mathforum.org/library/
http://www.purplemath.com/
http://www.analyzemath.com/
http://www.intmath.com/
http://home.alltel.net/okrebs/
http://www.cut-the-knot.org/

http://www.mathopenref.com/index.html

http://mathmistakes.info/

http://interactmath.com/Default.aspx

http://www.ies.co.jp/math/java/

http://orion.math.iastate.edu/trig/sp/xs08/applets/applets.html

http://www.wtamu.edu/academic/anns/mps/math/mathlab/thea/index.htm

http://www.huntington.edu/math/Accuplacer/index.htm

http://www.wsc.ma.edu/math/accuplacer/accuplacer.asp

http://academics.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=25191

http://webs.anokaramsey.edu/schewe/math/math_practice_tests.pdf

http://www.nv3.commnet.edu/bcaserta/mathreview/

http://www.studyit.org.nz/subjects/maths/

http://www.testprepreview.com/

http://www.regentsprep.org/Regents/mathb/mathb.cfm
http://www.regentsprep.org/Regents/math/algtrig/math-algtrig.htm

http://www.proprofs.com/sat/
http://www.satprep.ca/sat_math.asp

http://www.statemaster.com/encyclopedia/Princeton-Review#SAT_Math
http://www.my-sat.com/WinnersGuideToSATMath.html
http://www.my-sat.com/WinnersGuideToSATMath1.html http://www.800score.com/guidetc.html

http://www.onlinemathlearning.com/index.html

http://math.usask.ca/emr/menu.html

http://www.math1012.webs.com/

http://oben.powertolearn.com/obhs/borrelli.html

http://sbhs.sbschools.net/users/johlson/

http://www.sci.ccny.cuny.edu/~chemwksp/newsletter.html

http://edhelper.com/

http://www.algebrahelp.com/

Number Theory:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~rcampbel/NumbThy/Class/BasicNumbThy.html
http://www.mathsisfun.com/divisibility-rules.html

Geometry:

http://www.ehow.com/video_4975014_helpful-ways-teach-geometry.html
http://www.ehow.com/video_4755234_solve-geometry-proofs.html
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090514043435AA7S9oG
http://tulyn.com/geometry/geometric-proofs
http://www.math.montana.edu/mathed/distance/capstone/hammond/FinalReportPDF.pdf

Trigonometry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_trigonometric_identities
http://www.trans4mind.com/personal_development/mathematics/trigonometry/sumProductCosSin.htm
http://math-homework-questions.blogspot.com/2008/07/cosine-simplification.html

http://jwilson.coe.uga.edu/emt668/emt668.folders.f97/anderson/writeup11/writeup11.html
http://www.analyzemath.com/polarcoordinates/polarcoordinates.html

http://www.sosmath.com/trig/Trig5/trig5/trig5.html

Factoring:

http://www.wikihow.com/Factor-Second-Degree-Polynomials-%28Quadratic-Equations%29

Zeroes:

http://www.wtamu.edu/academic/anns/mps/math/mathlab/col_algebra/col_alg_tut38_zero1.htm

Linear Equations:

http://www.mathwarehouse.com/algebra/linear_equation/systems-of-equation/#algebra
http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/sets/select/dm_solve_equation.html
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/MathCISolvingEquationsUsingGraphingCalculator812.htm
http://www.algebra.com/algebra/homework/coordinate/

Scientific Notation:

http://library.thinkquest.org/20991/alg/sci_not.html

Permutations/Combinations:

http://www.mathsisfun.com/combinatorics/combinations-permutations.html

http://www.algebra.com/algebra/homework/Probability-and-statistics/Probability-and-statistics.faq.question.171110.html

http://www.my-sat.com/WinnersGuideToSATMath1.html

0. r n-1Pr-1 + n-1Pr = nPr
1. nCr = nCn–r
2. nCo = nCn = 1
3. n+1Cr = nCr + nCr – 1
4. n+1Cr+1 = nCr+1 + n–1Cr + n–1Cr-1
5. nPr = r! nCr
6. The total no. of combinations of ‘n’ things taken some or all at a time nc = nC1 + nC2 + …… nCn = 2^n – 1

Complex numbers:

http://www.clarku.edu/~djoyce/complex/
http://www.regentsprep.org/Regents/mathb/3C4/multlesson.htm

Logarithm:

http://www.netcomp.monash.edu.au/fit3030/resource/DrMathsLog.html

http://www.equationsheet.com/eqninfo/Equation-43.html

Matrix:

http://www.math.nyu.edu/~neylon/linalgfall04/project1/jme/index.htm
http://www.mathwords.com/i/inverse_of_a_matrix.htm

PreCalculus:

http://occawlonline.pearsoned.com/bookbind/pubbooks/demana_awl/
http://wps.aw.com/aw_demana_precalculus_7/

Calculus:

http://www.wtv-zone.com/Angelaruth49/Calculus2.html#links
http://www.hsd.k12.or.us/glencoe/staff/abel/homework/hwresource.html
http://www.calculus.org/
http://www.karlscalculus.org/calculus.html
http://archives.math.utk.edu/visual.calculus/index.html
http://www.math.ucdavis.edu/~kouba/CalcOneDIRECTORY/
http://web.mit.edu/wwmath/main.html
http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/Classes/CalcI/CalcI.aspx
http://www.ugrad.math.ubc.ca/coursedoc/math100/
http://www.geocities.com/pkving4math2tor2/2_the_der/2_05_impl_diffn.htm
http://library.thinkquest.org/C0110248/index.htm
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/topics/Calculus.html
http://functions.wolfram.com/ComplexComponents/Abs/21/
http://www.bagatrix.com/calculus.htm?gclid=CISUwZi7ypYCFQykagodZj8Fyg
http://math.dartmouth.edu/~klbooksite/toc.htm
http://ltcconline.net/greenl/courses/105/105.HTM
http://www.math.utah.edu/~johnson/
http://www.stewartcalculus.com/media/3_home.php
http://www.math.temple.edu/~wds/hmwk8.ans
http://vps.arachnoid.com/calculus/index.html

Calculators:

http://xrjunque.nom.es/
http://www.webmath.com/polymult.html
http://www.solvemymath.com/online_math_calculator/algebra_combinatorics/polynomial_calculator/index.php http://www.ajdesigner.com/phpquadraticequation/quadraticequation.php
http://www.ajdesigner.com/phptriangle/equilateral_triangle_perimeter_p.php
http://www.easycalculation.com/area/polygon.php http://www.easycalculation.com/statistics/permutation-combination.php
http://www.numberempire.com/
http://www.educypedia.be/education/calculatorsalgebra.htm
http://www.hsu.edu/default.aspx?id=3617
http://www.math.umbc.edu/~campbell/Calculators/TI8x/numbthy.html

Cheatsheets:

http://math-blog.com/2008/09/20/13-useful-math-cheat-sheets/

Puzzles:

http://www.scarsdaleschools.k12.ny.us/mathlovers/
http://www.puzzles.com/projects/LogicProblemsArchive.html

http://classroom.jc-schools.net/basic/math-algebra.html

Contests:

http://www.cs.cornell.edu/~asdas/imo/imo.html
http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/Wiki/index.php/IMO_Problems_and_Solutions
http://www.imo-official.org/problems.aspx

Worksheets:

http://www.math-drills.com/integers.shtml
http://www.kutasoftware.com/free.html
http://www.squidoo.com/math-worksheets

Lesson Plans:

http://www.cloudnet.com/~edrbsass/edmath.htm

History:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_mathematics
http://www.math.tamu.edu/~dallen/history/m629_97a.html
http://www.math.tamu.edu/~dallen/masters/index.htm

Matlab Tutorials

2008-11-16T22:33:00.000-08:00

Here are some MATLAB tutorials:

http://www.math.ohiou.edu/courses/matlab/ (homeworks)
http://math.rice.edu/~polking/odesoft/ (differential equations)
http://www.ent.ohiou.edu/~urieli/odes/odes.html (differential equations)
http://www.mathworks.com/support/tech-notes/1500/1510.html#MLeqnts (Mathworks)
http://www.mathworks.com/downloads/web_downloads/userfiles (Mathworks)

Physics Tutorials

2008-11-16T22:16:00.000-08:00

Here are some helpful physics related tutorial links:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081013113237AAkgRIG (problems)
http://tutor4physics.com/ (homeworks)
http://boomeria.org/physicslectures/menu.html (lectures)
http://www.scriblnotes.com/class/physics (notes)
http://www.walter-fendt.de/ph11e/ (calculators)

Holt Physics Book:
http://www.amazon.com/Holt-Physics-Serway/dp/0030565448
http://go.hrw.com/hrw.nd/gohrw_rls1/pKeywordResults?keyword=HF2%20HOME
http://webassign.net/textbooks/holtphys06/details.html
http://www.ecampus.com/book/0030735483

Chemistry Tutorials

2008-11-16T20:11:00.000-08:00

Here are some helpful chemistry related tutorial links:

http://www.glencove.k12.ny.us/highschool/ChemRev/ChemRev.html (Regents review)
http://www.chemtutor.com/mols.htm#road (stoichiometry roadmap)
http://www.chemtutor.com/struct.htm (atomic structure)
http://www.meta-synthesis.com/webbook/34_qn/qn_to_pt.html (quantum numbers)
http://www.geocities.com/crazytwo2000/mchome.html (chemistry AP sample questions)
http://books.google.com/books?id=rGM39e3HqvYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=chemistry+stp+298+or+273&hl=en (chemistry AP preparation)
http://www.vessella.it/english/chem000.htm (ACS HS Scholarship)
http://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PP_SUPERARTICLE&node_id=1508&use_sec=false&sec_url_var=region1&__uuid=d2cb3823-3c79-4057-b3f9-4f5824b41ce5 (ACS HS Olympiad)
http://www.chem.wwu.edu/pavia/acsexam.html (ACS)
http://www.karentimberlake.com/quizzes.htm (chemistry quizzes)
http://dbhs.wvusd.k12.ca.us/webdocs/ChemTeamIndex.html (chemistry tutorials)
http://www.chemmybear.com/ (chemmybear)
http://jchemed.chem.wisc.edu/HS/WWW/WWWhscr.html (chemistry resources)
http://www.anachem.umu.se/cgi-bin/pointer.exe?Curriculum (chemistry teaching resources)
http://boomeria.org/chemlectures/menu.html (chemistry notes/lectures)
http://www.cem.msu.edu/~reusch/VirtualText/biomol.htm (organic chemistry)http://www.cofc.edu/~deavorj/102/tests/jpd102fx.html (organic chemistry exam)

http://www.sparknotes.com/chemistry/stoichiometry/stoichiometriccalculations/section2.rhtml (stoichiometry)
http://www.sparknotes.com/chemistry/bonding/molecularorbital/section1.html (molecular orbitals)
http://www.sparknotes.com/chemistry/fundamentals/atomicstructure/section2.rhtml (atomic structure: orbitals)
http://www.sparknotes.com/chemistry/fundamentals/atomicstructure/section3.rhtml (atomic structure: configurations)
http://www.sparknotes.com/chemistry/fundamentals/periodictable/section2.rhtml (periodic table)
http://www.sparknotes.com/testprep/books/sat2/chemistry/chapter6section3.rhtml (net ionic equations)

http://www.scriblnotes.com/notes/4952652/Chemistry%20H%20Chapter%2010%20Important%20Formulas
http://www.scriblnotes.com/notes/6774602/Chemistry%20H%20-%20Chapter%206%20Study%20Guide
http://www.scriblnotes.com/notes/3850098/Chemistry%20H%20-%20Ch%206:%20Chemical%20Bonding%20+%20Practice%20Qu
http://www.scriblnotes.com/notes/5500221/Structure%20of%20Atoms%20-%20Chem%20H%20Chapter%203

http://chemistry.about.com/od/periodictableelements/a/periodictrends.htm (periodic table trends)
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Lab/4097/chem/chap4/periodictrends.html (periodic table trends)
http://dl.clackamas.cc.or.us/ch104-06/periodic.htm (periodic table trends)
http://environmentalchemistry.com/yogi/periodic/ (elements)
http://www.infoplease.com/periodictable.php (elements)
http://www.cameron.edu/~keithv/gen1/gen1.html (general chemistry)
http://www.cameron.edu/~keithv/blb09.html (molecular bonding)
http://www.ndt-ed.org/EducationResources/CommunityCollege/MagParticle/Physics/MagneticMatls.htm (magnetic)
http://www.chem.vt.edu/RVGS/ACT/notes/net_ionic_rxns/net_ionic_rxns.html (net ionic equations practice)
http://heybryan.org/~bbishop/search/AP_Chemistry/net%20ionic%20equations.html (chemistry AP net ionic equations links)
http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/solutions/faq/common-ion-effect.shtml (precipitation)
http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/chem30_05/4_solutions/solution3_4.htm (solutions) http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/chem30_05/4_solutions/sol_table.htm (solubility table)
http://www.science.uwaterloo.ca/~cchieh/cact/c123/wkacids.html (weak acids/bases)
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090317085636AAgazkP (weal acids/bases)
http://www.science.uwaterloo.ca/~cchieh/cact/c123/exactrea.html (exact pH/acid/base equilibria)
http://www.chemtutor.com/acid.htm#pkabx (pKa box)
http://memorizable.com/Acids_And_Bases (acids/bases flashcards)
http://www.mikeblaber.org/oldwine/chm1046/notes/AddAqEq/Buffers/Buffers.htm (buffers)
http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=97238 (half-reactions)

http://www.webqc.org/balance.php (balance chemical equations)
http://richardbowles.tripod.com/chemistry/balance.htm (balance chemical equations)
http://www.chemistry.co.nz/chemequa.htm (balance chemical equations)
http://www.creative-chemistry.org.uk/gcse/revision/equations/10.htm (balance chemical equations)
http://funbasedlearning.com/chemistry/chemBalancer/default.htm (chembalancer game)

http://www.geocities.com/junebug_sophia/stoichiometry.htm (stoichiometry calculator)
http://www.geocities.com/junebug_sophia/equBal.htm (chemical equation balancer)
http://chemagic.com/calculator/ (stoichiometry calculator)
http://sciencesoft.at/equation/index;jsessionid=kcfpr2vm30?lang=en (stoichiometry calculator)
http://www.trimen.pl/witek/calculators/calculators.html (physiochemical calculator)
http://www.trimen.pl/witek/calculators/wspolczynniki.html (chemical equations calculator)
http://www.educypedia.be/education/calculatorschem.htm (chemical calculators)
http://www.chembuddy.com/?left=chemical_calculators (chemical calculators)
http://winter.group.shef.ac.uk/chemputer/ (chemputer)
http://environmentalchemistry.com/yogi/reference/molar.html (molar mass calculator)
http://www.ilpi.com/msds/ref/pressureunits.html (pressure unit conversions)

http://bcs.wiley.com/he-bcs/Books?action=resource&bcsId=4273&itemId=0470120940&resourceId=12977 (chemistry interactive learning ware)

Free Online Backup/Storage: 2.5G Limited Time Offer

2008-11-11T05:51:00.001-08:00

From now till November 30, 2008, Mozy will give you a free 2.5G account (as opposed to the normal 2G) if you use referral links--such as this one:

http://mozy.com/?ref=2QJV56

(After clicking on the link, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on where it says MozyHome FREE: the "Sign Up" button at the top of the page is for the paid unlimited service. Alternatively, you can sign up without going through the link and put in the erferral code 2QJV56 when prompted.)

Mozy is owned by EMC (the storage company)--which means their services are reputable (your data are encrypted and protected). You can selectively choose what to backup (certain files/folders) if you have concern about privacy issues. You can selectively restore/download your backuped files via several means (including via the web). The response time of the service is reasonably fast. Check it out when you have a chance.

DHL Closing US Services

2008-11-11T05:46:00.000-08:00

A sign of our battered economy: DHL said today it will significantly reduce its air and ground operations in the U.S. and cut 9,500 jobs within the country--

Source: The Huffington Post

Circuit City Closing: Deals to Come?

2008-11-11T05:38:00.000-08:00

Circuit City Stores, Inc. is closing 155 of its stores: looks like there will be close-out sales coming up-- just in time for the holidays.

In the San Francisco/San Jose area in CA, there are 9 stores total at the following locations:

Concord, Dublin, Fairfield, Fremont, Morgan Hill, Palo Alto, Pittsburg, Richmond and San Rafael.

The complete list is here.

Gamestop Coupons

2008-03-25T23:09:00.001-07:00

GameStop - $20 Trade-in Credit (requires Madden 2008) toward reservation of NCAA 2009 or Madden 2009 using coupon code EBC3005113 (Posted on 3/22/08 and Expires on 3/27/08)
GameStop - Free Value Shipping ($2.99 value) w/ any Purchase (excludes consoles/console bundles) using coupon code SAVER (Posted on 3/20/08 and Expires on 12/31/08)
GameStop - 25% off Used Games using coupon code AFF25 (Posted on 3/19/08 and Expires on 12/31/08)
GameStop - 15% off Used Games using coupon code PPLAY15 (Posted on 11/21/06 and Expires on 12/31/09)

Surprise: Debtors Are Better Savers

2008-03-21T09:25:00.000-07:00

According to Bankrate.com, people who take on smart debts are actually better savers than people who do not take on any debt.

Need Cash? What Are the Options?

2008-03-18T23:55:00.000-07:00

According to Bankrate.com, if you need cash, there are several ways--each one has its pros and cons:

Option

Pros

Cons

Tip

Balance transfers

Lower interest rate

Often involve fees; may need to apply for new credit. Watch out for bait-and switch tactics.

If you're in debt already, use transfers to pay down existing debt, not to fund new purchases.

Home equity

Convenient; lower interest rate; interest may be tax deductible

Increases the amount owed on the house; many borrowers run debt up again; puts house at risk when used as collateral

Only borrow what you absolutely need and only if you have a lot of equity.

Borrow from family or friends

Lower or no interest; flexible terms

Risks an important relationship

Use a contract; find one online or at the office supply store to use as a template, or set up official loan arrangements through a firm such as Virgin Money.

Peer-to-peer lending

Interest rate may be lower

Make sure to apply the funds to your existing debt; otherwise, you're just racking up more debt.

Several online social networking sites act as middlemen between lenders and borrowers. Be sure to understand how they work as well as loan terms and fees before signing up.

Borrow from Your 401(k)

Good interest rate

May be required to pay taxes and penalties on amount borrowed if the loan isn't repaid within five years; may be required to pay back the loan in full if you lose job; less money will be compounding for retirement

Avoid this at all costs since it puts your retirement plans in peril. An exception might be if you're way ahead of your retirement savings goal and you find yourself in dire straits.

As for taking money out of your IRA, a more in-depth discussion can be found here.

Want to Earn 6+% on Your Checking/Saving Accounts? Check Out Your Local Banks

2008-03-18T11:25:00.000-07:00

The Fed cut interest rates again today, adding fresh hardship to the quest for decent interest on your bank balance. But not to worry -- there is a way to return to high yields (see here or here).

The trick is local banks that offer special rewards accounts for their customers--for example, New Frontier Bank in Colorado offers 6.26% according to Money-Rates.com (note that special rules apply--be sure to read the fine prints).

Track and Find Out Whether Your Email Has Been Opened and Read by Your Recipients

2008-03-17T23:33:00.000-07:00

The following services (some free, some are not free) lets you track whether your email has been opened and read (some will even let you expire and recall sent email messages):

MessageTag: now into version 2. Lets you know when and whether emails are opened. Works with Gmail, multiple recipients, and lets you be notified vis SMS.
DidTheyReadIt? : know when your email was opened, how long it remained opened, where geographically, it was viewed.
ReadNotify : tells you when email you sent gets read /re-opened /forwarded and a lot more.
SpyPig : a free email tracking system that is designed to let you know when your friends have read your email, and continues to send an email every time your message is opened by the recipient (up to 5 times). In addition to telling you that your email has been read, SpyPig also tells you the IP address of the recipient.
BigString : a free 2 GB email service that includes rich secure and certified mail services and lets you password-protect, track, expire or edit sent messages.

Death of a Bear: Prelude to Collapses for Other Investment Banks?

2008-03-16T23:01:00.000-07:00

JP Morgan/Chase announced today that they will buy out Bear Stearns (an 85 year old investment bank that is one of the cores (and core holdings of several mutual funds) in the financial sector) for $2 a share--along with the Federal Reserve/Central Bank extending loans to help out (see here).

Bear Stearns--worth $150+ per share or $20 billion not too long ago--is now worth only $236.2 million--or 1% of what it was worth before.

Bear Stearns--like many other investment banks--were over-leveraged (with leverage ratio as high as 30+ to 1). Given the firm's lack of diversity in business lines (along with their heavy tie to subprime mortgage related CDOs), panic withdraws from clients (hedge funds and others) easily triggered an irreversible and devastating liquidity crisis that literally crippled Bear Stearns overnight.

The sad part (and irony) of all of this is that amidst all the open rumors, Bear's President and CEO--Alan Schwartz--kept saying everything was fine and maintained the firm's supposed $80 book value--even during the conference call last Friday when he finally acknowledged the liquidity problem. A credibility issue thus arises: who can we trust?

Bear Stearns' troubles could very well be a prelude to troubles for other similar investment banks (such as Lehman Brothers: although Lehman has a bit more liquidity especially after the Fed's injection of newly available funds). Who will be next? With several investment banks reporting next week and investors' confidence (and trust) fast eroding--only time will tell...

Favorite Recipes

2008-03-12T19:28:00.000-07:00

Pasta with Peas, Cream, Parsley and Mint

(Menu can be found here. More menus here and here.)

Prep: 20 minutes; Total: 20 minutes
Servings: Makes 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients
1 16-ounce package large shell pasta or elbow pasta1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream1 16-ounce package frozen petite peas (do not thaw)2 1/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for serving1/4 cup chopped fresh mint1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley, divided

Preparation
Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid. Return pasta to pot.
Meanwhile, bring cream to simmer in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add peas and simmer just until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 2 1/4 cups cheese and stir until melted and sauce thickens slightly, about 1 minute. Stir in mint and 1/4 cup parsley. Pour sauce over pasta and toss to coat, adding pasta cooking liquid by tablespoonfuls if dry. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl. Sprinkle with remaining parsley. Serve, passing additional Parmesan alongside.

Penne with Shrimp and Morel Mushrooms

Servings: 8

Ingredients
4 half-ounce packages dried motel mushrooms
2 1/2 cups very hot water
1/2 cup olive oil, divided
2 pounds uncooked large shrimp (shelled/deveined)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary, divided
1 1/2 pounds crimini (baby bella) mushrooms, thickly sliced
5 garlic cloves (peeled/pressed into small bowm)
1/2 cup dried white wine
1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 pounds penne
1/2 cup chopped parsley

Preparation
Place dried morels in medium bowl: add 2 1/2 cups hot water. Soak until tender (~35 in). Lift out morels, squeezing liquid back into bowl; reserve liquid.
Heat 1/4 cup oil in large skillet over high heat. Add shrimp; sprinkle with salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon rosemary. Saute until just opaque in center (~3 min). Transfer shrimp to bowl. Add 1/4 cup oil to same skillet; reduce heat to medium-high. Add morels, crimini mushrooms, garlic and 1 tablespoon rosemary. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute until mushrooms are browned (~8min). Add wine. Cook 1 min, scraping up browned bits. Add cream and 1 cup mushroom soaking liquid, leaving any sediment in bowl. Boil until sauce thickens enough to coat spoon (~10min).
Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain and return to same pot.
Add mushroom sauce, parsley, and shrimp to pasta in pot. Toss over medium-high heat until warmed through, adding more mushroom soaking liquid if pasta is dry. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to large bowl to serve.

Drink
2005 Goats Do Roam "In Villages" Red ($15) from S. Africa (or Rhone-style Red)

How Long to Keep Document for Tax Records

2008-03-12T19:21:00.000-07:00

Auto records - while active
Insurance policies - while active
Warranties/contracts - while active
Paid bills - while active
Paycheck stubs - 1 year
Quarterly investment records - 1 year
Credit card/bank statements - 7 years
Tax deductible receipts - indefinitely
Tax returns - indefinitely
House-related records - indefinitely
IRA contributions - indefinitely
Annual investment records - indefinitely

Martha Stewart Living Magazine April 2008 Recipes

2008-03-12T15:13:00.000-07:00

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe-finder?rsc=leftnav_food_food

Muffins

Flatbreads

Dandelion Salad

Dandelion Jelly

Dandelion Cordial

Simple Soft-Cooked Egg with Toast

Skillet Matzo Brei with Cinnamon, Apple, and Raisins

Southern Fried Eggs over Buttermilk Biscuits with Sausage Gravy

Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits

Sausage Gravy

Steamy Bowl of Noodles with Poached Duck Egg, Scallions, and Mushrooms

Miniature Grapefruit Souffles with Ginger

Classic Egg Custard Pie with Lots of Nugmeg

Sweet Pastry Dough

Coddled Eggs with Wild Mushrooms and Creme Fraiche

Tax Rebates

2008-03-11T18:39:00.000-07:00

According to Forbes, the economic stimulus package President George W. Bush signed today requires the U.S. Treasury Department to send "tax rebates" of $300, $600, $1,200 (or more, if the recipient has kids) to 128 million American households. However, getting the rebate is not as simple as it sounds...

The rebate is technically a credit against your 2008 tax bill that is being paid (in most cases) as what we'll call a "prebate." This prebate is based on your 2007 income tax return. The actual credit is based on your 2008 tax return. Whichever year produces the bigger check for your family is the year that counts.

To complicate matters further, there are not just two tax years, but three different types of credits involved. Plus, all three credits are denied to folks who earn too much--with the benefit starting to phase out at $75,000 adjusted gross income for an individual and $150,000 for a couple. The $75,000 threshold also applies to single parents filing as heads of household.

Mercifully, the credits are allowed against the alternative minimum tax. But the credit phase-out can interact with other phase-outs in the tax code to produce some nasty results.
For example, Mel Schwarz, director of tax legislative affairs for Grant Thornton, calculates a one-income couple who is paying AMT and has been making tax-deductible contributions to a "spousal IRA" will pay an effective 48% tax on the next $5,000 of adjusted gross income, after their AGI hits $156,000. Pretty shocking, considering the top federal marginal rate is 35% and the stated AMT rate is just 26% or 28%.

Given such complications, it's not surprising that tax advisers have been brainstorming how families can get the greatest possible stimulus benefits by managing their 2008 (or even, in some cases, 2007) taxable incomes. (Example: If the earner in Schwarz's hypothetical family is self-employed, he may still be able to boost his own 2007 contribution to a pretax retirement account to avoid that punitive 48% tax rate and snag a full stimulus credit.)

Why do we say there are three different types of credits? First, there's the basic $300 per adult "refundable" rebate, that goes to any adult who doesn't earn too much, and in 2007 or 2008, receives at least $3,000 of earned income and/or Social Security benefits, veterans disability, disabled veterans' survivors payments or railroad retirement income. So-called SSI payments don't count.

Mark A. Luscombe, principal analyst at CCH Tax, a Wolters Kluwer business, points out another, less discussed wrinkle: Any taxpayer who owes at least $1 in tax and has gross income of at least $8,750 for a single or $17,500 for a couple is also eligible for the refundable adult credit. That provision is particularly important for newly self-employed and newly retired folks who aren't yet receiving Social Security--taxpayers who may be living off savings and are able to manage the realization of income to make sure they qualify.

By the way, "refundable" in tax-speak means that you get this check regardless of whether you actually paid any income taxes---in other words, exactly the opposite of what a sensible person might think of as a "refund." Importantly, to get a prebate of this or any of the other credits, you must file a 2007 tax return, the IRS says, even if you wouldn't otherwise have to.

The second of the three credits is also refundable--it's a $300 per child tax credit, which goes to parents who qualify for the $300 refundable adult check. Note that the child must be younger than 17 for all of the year. But for which year? The IRS says it doesn't know yet. But tax lawyers say it will probably be for 2007, if you're getting a prebate.

Finally, there's an extra $300 per adult nonrefundable credit, which can only be used to reduce taxes you actually owe for 2007 or 2008. In other words, to get the full $600 per adult break--the $300 refundable credit plus the $300 nonrefundable credit--you must owe at least $600 per adult in taxes.

But that $600 per adult is before the child credit. So a young couple with two toddlers who owed exactly $1,200 in income taxes in 2007 will be getting a check from Uncle Sam for $1,800---that's $600 per adult, plus $300 per child.

If the couple owed $900 in 2007 tax, they'd get $450 per adult, or a total of $1,500--$900 for the adults and $600 for the kids.

If that same couple owed no income taxes for 2007, but had at least $3,000 in earnings from Social Security or veteran's disability, they'd get a check for $1,200 in May or June---$300 per adult plus $300 per child. Then, if they had higher earnings in 2008, and ended up owing at least $1,200 in tax for 2008, they'd get an additional tax credit of $600 on their 2008 return.
The math works like this: They'd be eligible for the full $1,800 credit in 2008 ($1,200 for adults, $600 for kids). But they've already collected $1,200 of that as a prebate. Most of the dollars will be doled out up front; Congress' Joint Tax Committee estimates the credit will cost the Treasury $107 billion this year and $10 billion next year.

OK, but what if the couple got the full $1,800 prebate based on 2007 taxes, then ended up owing no taxes for 2008 and so only qualified for a 2008 tax credit of $1,200? They get to keep the extra $600. Again, you get the higher amount you qualify for, based on either your 2007 or 2008 tax return.

AMT And How to Avoid It

2008-03-11T18:16:00.000-07:00

According to Forbes/Investopedia, your chances of paying AMT tax increases, if you:

--Have a large family;

--Live in an area with high real estate taxes and/or high state and local income taxes;

--Claim significant miscellaneous itemized deductions, including investment expenses or un-reimbursed employee business expenses;

--Exercise and hold incentive stock options; and

--Realize significant long-term capital gains

For 2007, the exemption amounts increased to the following:

--Single: $44,350

-- Married filing jointly or qualifying widow: $66,250

-- Head of household: $44,350

-- Married filing separately: $33,125

For 2008, the exemption amounts are:

--Single: $33,750

--Married filing jointly or qualifying widow: $45,000

--Head of household: $33,750

--Married filing separately: $22,500

As a result, you may have to pay the AMT if your regular taxes, combined with certain adjustments and tax preference items, are more than these amounts.

One way to minimize the AMT is to reduce your adjusted gross income (AGI). If you participate in a 401(k), 403(b), SARSEP, 457(b) plan or SIMPLE IRA, consider making the maximum allowable salary deferral contributions to your account to reduce your taxable income for both taxes.

If your employer offers a cafeteria plan, look into whether you could reduce your taxable income even further by paying for medical insurance, dental insurance, life and disability insurance, and even dependent care expenses through the plan.

If you are self-employed, claiming your business expenses directly against your self-employment income on the Schedule C instead of as a miscellaneous itemized deduction on the Schedule A reduces your AGI and also ensures that you won't lose any of these deductions to the AMT. Plus, contributing to a SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA, Solo 401(k) or other qualified plan also helps minimize the impact of this tax.

Self-employed individuals who claim a home office deduction can also reduce the AMT they end up paying. The home office deduction offsets your net self-employment earnings, which reduces your AGI. And while real estate taxes reported as an itemized deduction aren't allowable when calculating the AMT, claiming the home office deduction moves a portion of those taxes against your self-employment income to where they are unaffected by the AMT.

Do you have a sizable investment portfolio outside of your tax-deferred accounts? If so, consider switching to tax-efficient mutual funds and tax-exempt bonds or bond funds as a way to decrease your AGI.

Don't forget that with the AMT, timing is everything. Try to pay your real estate taxes and your state and local income taxes in years that your income might fall outside the AMT range.

To determine whether you are subject to the AMT, you will need to complete Form 6251. Before working through the numbers, visit the IRS's Web site, where you can download the current year's Form 6251 along with instructions. While you're there, test drive the IRS' new AMT Assistant tool, which will help you determine whether you need to file Form 6251 in the first place.

Calculating your AMT, or even determining whether you are in fact subject to it, is a complicated process so it may be in your best interest to have your tax return prepared, or at least reviewed, by an expert tax professional, who will be able to determine whether you owe the AMT, are eligible for exemptions and are eligible to claim AMT credits for any year--including previous years.

Upcoming Tax Changes

2008-03-11T15:18:00.000-07:00

According to Forbes, here's what to expect through 2011:

.	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
Capital Gains Rate
Tax Bracket Above 15%	15%	15%	15%	15%	20%
Tax Bracket 15% or Below	5%	0%	0%	0%	10%
Qualified Dividends Rate
Tax Bracket Above 15%	15%	15%	15%	15%	N/A*
Tax Bracket 15% or Below	5%	0%	0%	0%	N/A*
Marginal Income Tax Rates
Top Bracket	35%	35%	35%	35%	39.60%
Fifth Bracket	33%	33%	33%	33%	36%
Fourth Bracket	28%	28%	28%	28%	31%
Third Bracket	25%	25%	25%	25%	28%
Second Bracket	15%	15%	15%	15%	15%
First Bracket	10%	10%	10%	10%	N/A
Child Tax Credit	$1,000	$1,000	$1,000	$1,000	$500
Marriage Penalty Relief
Standard Deduction (% of S.D. for singles)	200%	200%	200%	200%	N/A
15% Tax Bracket (% of bracket for singles)	200%	200%	200%	200%	N/A
Repeal (%) of Personal Exemptions Phase-outs	33.30%	66.60%	66.60%	100%	N/A
Repeal (%) of Limitation on Itemized Deductions	33.30%	66.60%	66.60%	100%	N/A
AMT Exemption
Single	$33,750*	$33,750	$33,750	$33,750	$33,750
Married Filing Joint	$45,000*	$45,000	$45,000	$45,000	$45,000
Head of Household	$33,750*	$33,750	$33,750	$33,750	$33,750
Estate Tax
Exclusion	$2 million	$2 million	$3.5 million	Tax repealed	$1 million
Maximum Rate	45%	45%	45%	0%	55%

Airborne Consumer Lawsuit Settlement

2008-03-08T17:34:00.000-08:00

Customers who bought Airborne can get a refund settlement for products purchased:

http://www.airbornehealthsettlement.com/index.htm

Note that one can still file a claim without a receipt.

Record-Keeping for Tax Deductions

2008-03-08T15:13:00.000-08:00

A recent bankrate.com article details record-keeping requirements for certain tax deductions:

Certain red-flag deductions require that "adequate records" be kept, which includes two components: a daybook, ledger, trip sheet or journal in which each expense is noted "at or near the time" it was incurred, and corroborating receipts for all lodging and items costing more than $75. Your daybook may be tallied on a weekly basis and still fall within what the IRS considers timely.

According to IRS Section 274, your business log or daybook entry for a claimed expenditure must include the following to satisfy claimed expenditure requirements:

•For T&E: date, time, place, amount and business purpose of the expenditure. In the case of business entertainment, you also need to note your business relationship to those who accompanied you.
•For business gifts: date, time, amount, description, business purpose and your business relationship to the recipient of the gift.
•Listed property: date, time, amount and business purpose of the purchase.

Documentary substantiation for these expenses (receipts, statements, etc.) are considered adequate if they contain the date, place, amount and character of the expenditure.

Philips DVP5982/37B DVD/DivX Player Region-Free Hack

2008-03-08T15:02:00.000-08:00

The Philips DVP5982/37B DVD/DivX player (often on sale as refurbished on http://www.outlet.philips.com/) can be hacked to be region-free as follows:

Hold the Stop key on the remote to Open the DVD tray.
Press Setup.
Select Preference (tray MUST be open in order for the Preferences menu to show).
Press 1,3,8,9,3,15--then press the up/down key to select 0--the player will now be region-free.

What Is Arbitrage?

2008-03-08T14:54:00.000-08:00

This TheStreet.com article has a very good definition of arbitrage and how it is use as a hedging strategy:

http://www.thestreet.com/story/10403559/1/five-arbitrage-techniques-every-investor-needs-to-know.html

Arbitrage is the simultaneous purchase and sale of securities, commodities or assets in order to profit from price discrepancies, with as little risk as possible.

Please note that:

1. An arbitrage requires more than one transaction or "leg."

2. The price discrepancy does not necessarily ensure a profit.

3. The risk may be quantified as being low, but it does exist and can lead to significant losses.

Now let's look at some very popular forms of arbitrage.

1. Risk Arbitrage

The theory: When one company seeks to acquire another company there is a discrepancy between the deal price offered by the acquirer and the market price of the target company

The strategy: In the event of a stock-for-stock deal, the arbitrageur will buy shares of the target company and sell shares of the acquiring company a ratio to equal that of the proposed transaction. In the event of a cash-for-stock deal, the arbitrageur will buy shares of the target company and borrow money to finance the transaction. As a result, when a new M&A (merger and acquisition) deal is announced, the target company shares will rise as the acquirer's share will tend to fall.

The risk: The acquirer walks away from the deal. This can occur because of "material adverse changes," such as what happened when the Harman International (HAR) acquisition (by a consortium of buyers) fell apart, or because of the loss of financing as occurred with Blackstone (BX) in its attempt to acquire PHH (PHH).

Sometimes the deal falls apart for other business reasons, such as what happened with the Tellabs (TLAB) acquisition of Ciena (CIEN) about a decade ago. That broken deal cost Long-Term Capital Management (the failed hedge fund ) a bundle.

As you can see, if a deal falls apart, it can result in significant losses for the arbitrageur. To give you a little perspective on the magnitude of the risk/reward tradeoff, typically the arbitrageur will gain (the reward) 3% to 5% on the transaction, but if the deal falls apart, the arbitrageur can stand to lose (the risk) 20% or at times, more.

2. Index Arbitrage

The theory: One can buy all the stocks in an index (like the S&P 500) relative to the value that is implied in the market price of the futures contracts underlying that index (see "Five Things Every Investor Should Know About Index Futures").

The strategy: The arbitrageur will buy all of the stocks underlying the index and sell the futures for the index. In the process, the investor will borrow money to buy the stocks, pay interest on the loan and earn dividends on the stocks. As such, the perceived profit is equal to:

Cost of stocks plus dividends on stocks minus interest costs minus futures value

Please note that the arbitrage can be reversed, whereby one shorts the stocks in the index and buys the futures contract.

The risk: In this example I provided, if interest rates increase or dividends decline from their anticipated rates, then the perceived profit will erode or potentially turn to a loss.

3. Carry Trade

The theory: Put simply, you borrow money at a lower interest rate and reinvest it at a higher interest rate, earning the differential in interest rates along the way.

The strategy: This can be done in the foreign currency (forex ) markets or may also be performed in the bond markets.

In the forex markets, the investor would buy a high-interest currency and finance that with the selling of low-interest rate currencies., As an example in the bond markets, one would sell the 2-year Japanese Government Bonds (JGB) at a yield to maturity of 9/16% (or 0.5625%), convert the Japanese Yen Proceeds (JPY) into US Dollars (USD) and then buy an equivalent amount of 2-Year U.S. Treasury Notes (2UST) with a yield to maturity of 2.00%. In doing so, the investor would be able to earn 1 7/16%, (or 1.4375%, less than the costs for a "repo" or reverse "repo" financing).

When the bonds mature, the proceeds of the 2UST is converted back to JPY and used to refund the JB maturity.

The risk: The USD/JPY exchange rate changes such that the investor has to purchase more expensive JPY when the transaction unwinds. To combat this, one might be inclined to buy a forward forex contract to eliminate that exchange rate risk. However, doing so might eliminate the entire perceived profit.

4. International Arbitrage

The theory: When foreign-based companies issue stock in their country, these are referred to as ordinary shares (ORDs). In order to allow investors in other markets, such as in the United States, to have ownership in one of these companies, the company will issue American Depository Receipts (ADRs) or Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) (see "A Guide to International Investing"). As a result, from time to time, a "spread " or differential in pricing will occur. This spread allows investors to earn arbitrage profits.

The strategy: The arbitrageur will buy the ORDs shares and short-sell the ADRs or vice versa, depending on their relative valuations . In order to determine which is rich and which is cheap, you need to recall the pricing formula for ADRs:

ADR theoretical share price equals ORD share price multiplied by the conversion ratio of ORD share price to ADR shares multiplied by the foreign currency exchange rate

For example, shares of BHP Billion ORD (BHP.AX) shares closed at AUD 36.91 on Tuesday, Feb. 12 in trading on the Sydney exchange . The forex rate was 1 AUD = 0.9035 USD. There are two ORD shares for every BHO Billiton ADR (BHP - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr). So the theoretical value of the ADRs, going into the U.S. trading day, was $66.70 per share. BHP closed at $65.84 the day before. Thus, if you owned BHP.AX shares then you would seek to short-sell BHP in the U.S., if the shares rose above $66.70.

The risk: Once again, there is inherent risk in forex rates. Since you have to execute different legs of the strategy in two geographically different markets, which might not be open simultaneously, then you have face market risks that result from the time differential. Furthermore, since there are operational costs for converting ADRs to ORDs, sometimes ADRs will trade at a normal discount to the ORDs and the perceived profit is actually a permanent discount.

Finally, a successful short-sale may be difficult to achieve. Either the local markets severely restrict the shorting of ORDs or the availability of ORDs (or ADRs) for stock-borrowing may be limited or so costly as to further impact the perceived profit.

5. Convertible Arbitrage

The theory: From time to time, corporations will issue debt that is convertible into shares of the issuing company. By doing so, the company will pay an interest rate that is lower than that which would be paid on non-convertible or "straight" debt. Convertible debt is a hybrid security that is comprised of a straight debt instrument plus an embedded call option .

Convertible arbitrage seeks to exploit the pricing anomalies that are associated with the embedded option in the convertible bond.

The strategy: The usual convertible arbitrage is comprised of the investor purchasing the convertible security and then selling a series of hedges .

The primary hedges are intended to extract pricing imperfections in the embedded option and are typically achieved by selling call options and/or common stock . Secondarily, the arbitrageur may elect to deconstruct the fixed income elements of the convertible bonds and hedge those risks with fixed income derivatives , including swaps , options and futures. All of these techniques are quite complex and to execute properly, they require a more in-depth knowledge of options and other derivatives.

The risk: The are many moving parts to the convertible arbitrage that not only create opportunities, but can also create risks. Losses can be generated by unexpected changes in the underlying stock price, interest rates or credit rating of the issuer. Furthermore, default on the part of the issuer would be devastating.

Tainted Chineses Toothpaste

2008-03-08T11:34:00.000-08:00

A recent article mentioned some individuals in Los Angeles were arrested in connection with distributing Chinese made toothpastes that contain DEG (diglycol or diglycol stearate--a toxic chemical). As it turns out, this incident is not new--a while back there was a similar case (see here).

Brands mentioned include Cooldent, Clean Rite, Oralmax, DentaPro and DentaKleen. Everfresh, Superdent, Oral Bright, Bright Max and ShiR Fresh.

Chinese Hacker Xiao Chen Says No Site Is Safe

2008-03-07T23:20:00.001-08:00

A recent article on CNN has sparked interested in this Chinese hacker named Xiao Chen, who claimed he has hacked into the Pentagon--see article here:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/03/07/china.hackers/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

Also here:

http://www.thedarkvisitor.com/?p=393

And here:

http://www.dwnews.com/gb/MainNews/Forums/BackStage/2008_3_8_2_20_3_683.html

The articles withheld the specifics (such as name and location/address) of Xiao Chen's website, but a search on Google shows that it might be one of these BBS sites:

http://bbs.hackerxfiles.net/space-uid-168189.html
http://bbs.hackerxfiles.net/thread-96652-1-1.html
http://bbs.hackerxfiles.net/
http://bbs.hack4.com/

(Note that the term "hacker" sounds like "dark visitor" in Chinese--that is why the term dark visitor is used to designate a hacker in Chinese (also the term "hack" sounds like dark/black(out) in Chinese--thus the corresponding slang.)

$5 Gift Certificate for Pre-Ordering New Harry Potter Book by July 20, 2007

2007-06-24T00:44:00.000-07:00

Amazon is running a special deal whereby if you pre-order Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows(for only $17.99: with a pre-order lowest price guarantee in case the price drops) by 07/20/2007 you will also receive a $5 off $20 Amazon gift certificate as well. Please check out this new Harry Potter book!

How to Drive a Manual Transmission

2007-05-22T16:05:00.000-07:00

Learning to drive a stick shift isn’t easy for most people, but with time and practice it becomes second nature. These pointers will get you started in the right direction.

Look at the floorboard; you’ll see three pedals. From left to right, they are: clutch, brake, and gas.
Study the simple diagram on the top of the gearshift, which will show you where the gears are. In most new cars, this will look like a three-legged H. First, third and fifth gears are at the tops of the legs; second, fourth and reverse gears are at the bottoms. The crossbar of the H is neutral.
Make sure the parking brake is engaged and the car is on a flat surface in an area where you have plenty of room.
Press down on the clutch pedal and then move the gearshift into the neutral position.
Start the car.
Keeping the clutch pedal down, put the car into first gear by moving the gearshift to the top-left position.
Apply the foot brake and release the parking brake.
Release the foot brake when you’re ready to start moving.
Begin to release the clutch pedal slowly; when you hear or feel the engine begin to slow down, slowly press down on the gas pedal as you continue to release the clutch. The car will start to move forward.
Accelerate until the car has reached about 3,000 rpm, then take your foot off the gas, press down on the clutch pedal, and pull the gearshift directly down through neutral to second gear. Be sure to pull the gearshift down until it can’t go any farther.
Release the clutch pedal gently, simultaneously pressing down gently on the gas pedal.
Repeat the shifting process each time you hit 3,000 rpm until you’re driving at the appropriate speed. (Third gear is up and to the right; fourth gear is all the way down from there; fifth gear is up to neutral, right and then up again.)
Downshift by releasing the gas pedal when you want to decrease your speed. Press down on the clutch and move the gearshift through neutral into the next-lower gear (move down only 1 gear at a time). Once you’re in the lower gear, release the clutch slowly and brake as you do so.
Stop the car by downshifting to second gear and applying the brakes. Apply the clutch just before the car stops. Don’t downshift into first.
Drive in reverse by following the same steps you would for starting in first gear. The reverse gear engages more quickly than first gear, however, so be sure to release the clutch slowly and begin to press the gas pedal as soon as the car begins to move.

Avoid coasting with the clutch all the way down (called “riding the clutch”), as this will cause needless wear and tear on the clutch. When stopped at a traffic light, put the gearshift into the neutral position and release the clutch rather than sitting with the clutch engaged. You’ll know you’re in the right gear for your speed if the engine is running smoothly. If it’s coughing and sputtering, shift to a lower gear. If the engine noise pitch is too high, shift to a higher gear.

Do you have a question that you want answered? So do we! But we’re at a loss for the answer to our question. So why don’t you just ask us your question at How Do I? and see if either we can or one of our many viewers can answer it? Maybe…

Changing Cell Color with VBA in Excel

2007-05-13T00:17:00.000-07:00

By Guy Lecky-Thompson:

Introduction

This article covers ways to change cells and cell properties in Excel, using Visual Basic for Applications, or VBA. VBA is the built-in macro programming langauge used by all Microsoft Office applications, and allows the programmer to change the properties according to the document model provided by the underlying application.

Sometimes it is useful to change the appearance of a cell based on it’s contents. For example:

Teacher’s spreadsheets - low grades in red;

Web site statistics - climbers in green, losers in red;

Names in different colors, etc. etc.

In order to do this we need to isolate those cells that we wish to hilight, the criteria upon which we wish to make the decision, and the actual hilighting feature we wish to employ. In Excel, VBA provides a way to change many properties, including:

Font (Text) Color;

Font (Text) Size;

Cell background color (shading);

Cell borders, etc. etc.

For the purpose of this discussion, we shall assume that we have a spreadsheet, with a column titled ’Average’, and that we want anything less than 50.0 to be hilighted by a red background. The sheet shall be called ’Totals’.

(There is addition information in the article Getting Started with VBA for MS Excel that covers how to enter code, and prepare macros and Visual Basic programs, for the uniniated...)

Referencing the Cells

Excel works with cells in ranges. A range can be one or more cells. These cells are contained in rows and columns in a sheet. Each sheet has a property, ’Cells’, which allows us to reference such a range.

At it’s smallest granularity, we might use this propery to reference a single cell:

Worksheets("Totals").Cells(1,1)

The above refers to a single cell, at Row 1, Column 1 - it is the equivalent to A1 on a spreadsheet. Row 1, Column 2, (1,2) would be cell B1. Row 2, Column 3 would be cell C2, and so on.

We can also refer to an entire column:

Worksheets("Totals").Columns(1)

The above refers to all of Column A. So, we have enough information to prepare the code that determines which column we are interested in; this was the first step we isolated in the Introduction.

We need to look at all the column headers, and note down which column has the word ’Average’ in it. This can be done as follows:

Function FindColumn(szName) As Integer
nFoundColumn = 0
For nColumn = 1 To Worksheets("Totals").Columns.Count
If StrComp(Worksheets("Totals").Cells(1, nColumn), szName) = 0 Then
nFoundColumn = nColumn
End If
Next nColumn
FindColumn = nFoundColumn
End Function

In this snippet, the For loop (code between the For... and Next... statements) allows us to move through the columns, nColumn by nColumn. We use StrComp to evaluate the contents against the szName parameter fed into the Function.

The function returns (using the line FindColumn = nFoundColumn) the index of the column containing the value szName.

Scrolling Through the Dataset

Once we have found the column, we can proceed to loop through the rows (starting at row 2, row 1 containing the heading), evaluating the contents of each cell. To look up the column, we use the following call to our FindColumn function:

nCol = FindColumn("Average")

If this call returns 0, we know that the column does not exist, and we need go no further. From our previous For code snippet above, we can construct a similar loop for the rows:

For nRow = 0 To Worksheets("Totals").Columns(nCol).Rows.Count
Rem Do Work Here
Next nRow

At each iteration of the loop, we need to evaluate the cell, and decide whether it is lower than the threshold (in this case, 50). However, given that the Count might include cells that are empty (rather than set to 0), we might not want to include them. This is especially true since Excel will run through all 65,000 rows, and evaluate each one. If we do not either:

Tell Excel to stop at the last Row;

Ignore empty cells.

There are therefore two possibilities - test for a known ’stop’ value in a cell, or ignore empty cells. The advantage of having a stop value is that empty cells will be chosen, and hilighted, otherwise they need to be set to 0 in order to be chosen.

For the sake of simplicity, we will just ignore empty cells:

For nRow = 0 To Worksheets("Totals").Columns(nCol).Rows.Count
If Not IsEmpty(Worksheets("Totals").Cells(nRow, nCol)) Then
If Worksheets("Totals").Cells(nRow, nCol) 50.0 Then
Rem Hilight cell
End If
End If
Next nRow

The above uses the IsEmpty function to ascertain whether the cell contains any data. The double If (nested If) statement is used for clarity, a Boolean operator could have been used to combine the two statements.

Hilighting the Cell

Finally, we need to hilight the chosen cell:

Worksheets("Totals").Cells(nRow, nCol).Interior.ColorIndex = 3

The Interior property references the color and style of the shading. It uses an index, rather than a real color, and a collection of constants to set the shading style. These are out of scope for this article, but can be found in the Visual Basic for Excel online help files.

Summary

The above is just one way to achieve the goal, and is presented here for education, and not as the most elegant solution. In particular, the bounds checking for the data set, and hilighting code could be changed to allow for more flexibility / user friendliness. Fee free to post your contribution at the end of this page.

Changing Cell Color w/VBA in Excel: How to conditionally change cell properties based on contents.

(via Free Microsoft Office Training and Tutorial Resources)

The Famous Hacked HD-DVD/Blu-Ray Processing Key

2007-05-02T01:15:00.000-07:00

There appears to be a storm emerging on the internet regarding the famous HD-DVD/Blu-Ray processing key:

0x09,0xF9,0x11,0x02,0x9D,0x74,0xE3,0x5B,
0xD8,0x41,0x56,0xC5,0x63,0x56,0x88,0xC0

This key originated from one of the Wired blogs:

The New HD-DVD/Blu-Ray Hack: What It Might Mean For Us

That's the so-called "Processing Key" that unlocks the heart of every HD-DVD disk to date. Happy Valentine's day, AACS.

AACS, a DRM scheme used to encrypt data on HD-DVD and Blu-Ray disks, would appear to be cracked wide open by that short string of hexadecimal codes, as previously, only disk-specific Volume Keys were compromised. The new hack is the work of Arnezami, a hacker posting at the doom9 forums, fast becoming the front line in the war on DRM.

"The AACS is investigating the claims right regarding of the hack," said AACS spokesporson Jacqueline Price. "It is going to take a appropriate action if it can be verified."

Price said she could not disclose what their investigation might entail, or what "appropriate action" might be.

“We’ve just learned of this claim today and are checking into it,” said Andy Parsons, chair of the Blu-ray Disc Association and senior V.P. of product development at Pioneer Electronics, in an email.

The new crack follows that from earlier this year, when a hacker by the name of muslix64 broke the AACS system as it applied to each movie. While the earlier hack led to 100 HD-DVD titles and a small number of Blu-Ray movies being decrypted one-by-one, the so-called "processing keys" covers everything so far made.:

"Most of the time I spend studying the AACS papers," Arnezami said in his forum post revealing the successful assault on the next-gen DRM system. "... what I wanted to do is "record" all changes in this part of memory during startup of the movie. Hopefully I would catch something insteresting. ... I now had the feeling I had something. And I did. ... Nothing was hacked, cracked or even reverse engineered btw: I only had to watch the "show" in my own memory. No debugger was used, no binaries changed."

It's not yet clear what it means for the consumer's ability to copy movies, or, for that matter, that of mass-market piracy operations. The short form is that the user still needs a disk's volume ID to deploy the processing key and break the AACS encryption — but getting the ID is surprisingly easy.

Arnezami found that they are not even random, but often obvious to the point of foolishness: one movie's Volume ID turns out to be it's own name and the date it was released. There isn't yet an automatic system, however, that will copy any disk, in the manner of DeCSS-based DVD copying systems.

Even so, the new method completely compromises HD-DVD in principle, as it relies on AACS alone to encrypt data, even if there are other parts of the puzzle that are yet to fit together. Blu-Ray has two more levels of protection: ROM-MARK (a per factory watermark, which might revoke mass production rights from a factory but not, it seems individuals) and BD+, another encyption system, which hasn't actually been used yet on sold disks (but which soon will be), meaning that its own status seems less obviously compromised.

How might the companies respond? The processing key can now be changed for future disks. However, the flaws inherent in the system make it appear easy to discover the replacement: the method of attack itself will be hard to offset without causing knock-on effects. For example, revoking player keys (in advance of obfuscating the keys in memory in future revisions of the system) would render current players unable to view future movies. Revoking the volume and processing keys that have been hacked would mean that all movies to date would not run on new players.

Publishers could randomly generate Volume IDs in future releases (as they are still needed for the current hack to work), which would make them harder to brute-force. That said, it's claimed that the "specific structure" of the Volume ID in memory makes it feasible to brute-force randomized ones anyway.

Following are links to the current discussion at the doom9 forums, in which Arnezami and other provide regular updates on their progress. We don't offer any warantee that the software implementations so far produced won't blow up your computer or get you thrown in jail and whipped with wet towels by MPAA lawyers:

Proof of concept code for the process key hack is here:
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=953484#post953484

Implementation for Windows:
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=953496#post953496

Implementation for OSX:
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=953516#post953516

Here is the sample code:

// Processing Key
static unsigned char processing_key[16] = {0x09,0xF9,0x11,0x02,0x9D,0x74,0xE3,0x5B,0xD8,
0x41,0x56,0xC5,0x63,0x56,0x88,0xC0};

// Encrypted C Value
static unsigned char encrypted_c_value[16] = {0x6D,0x02,0xCA,0xC6,0x7B,0x1A,0x7E,0x95,0xC2,
0x16,0xEF,0xD4,0xC9,0x28,0x09,0xCF};

//Decrypted C Value
static unsigned char decrypted_c_value[16];
static unsigned char uv[4] = {0x00,0x00,0x00,0x01};

// Media Key
static unsigned char media_key[16];

//Encrypted Verification Data (King Kong)
static unsigned char encrypted_verification_data[16] = {0x87,0xB8,0xA2,0xB7,0xC1,0x0B,0x9F,0xAD,0xF8,0xC4,0x36,
0x1E,0x23,0x86,0x59,0xE5};

//Decrypted Verification Data Should Be
static unsigned char decrypted_verification_data_should_be[8] = {0x01,0x23,0x45,0x67,0x89,0xAB,0xCD,0xEF};

//Decrypted Verification Data
static unsigned char decrypted_verification_data[16];

// Volume ID
static unsigned char volume_id[16] = {0x40,0x00,0x09,0x18,0x20,0x06,0x08,0x41,0x00,0x20,
0x20,0x20,0x20,0x20,0x00,0x00};

//Decrypted Volume ID
static unsigned char decrypted_volumeid[16];

//Volume Unique Key
static unsigned char volume_unqiue_key[16];

// First decrypt the C-value with the processing key
oRijndael.MakeKey((char *)processing_key, CRijndael::sm_chain0, 16, 16);
oRijndael.DecryptBlock((char *)encrypted_c_value,
(char *)decrypted_c_value);

// Then XOR it with with the uv (of the corresponding C-value)
for (j = 0; j <>
{
if (j <>
{
media_key[j] = decrypted_c_value[j];
}
else
{
media_key[j] = decrypted_c_value[j]^uv[j-12];
}
}

// Then check if the resulting media key is correct using the verify media key
oRijndael.MakeKey((char *)media_key, CRijndael::sm_chain0, 16, 16);
oRijndael.DecryptBlock((char *)encrypted_verification_data,
(char *)decrypted_verification_data);

if (!memcmp(decrypted_verification_data_should_be, decrypted_verification_data, 8))
{
for (j = 0; j <>
{
printf("%02X ", decrypted_verification_data[j]);
}
}
printf("\n");

// Then do a AES-G (basicly a decrypt and an XOR) on the media key + volumeID
oRijndael.MakeKey((char *)media_key, CRijndael::sm_chain0, 16, 16);
oRijndael.DecryptBlock((char *)volume_id, (char *)decrypted_volumeid);
for (j = 0; j <>
{
volume_unqiue_key[j] = volume_id[j]^decrypted_volumeid[j];
}
printf("\n");

// This results in the Volume Unique Key
for (j = 0; j <>
{
printf("%02X ", volume_unqiue_key[j]);
}
printf("\n");

Also, rumor has it that DVD copying software (such as Slysoft's AnyDVD) already has the ability to copy HD-DVD /Blu-Ray.

Bigger Cars Are Still Safer

2007-04-24T00:02:00.000-07:00

According to recent crash statistics, bigger cars are still safer. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:

The vehicles with the lowest death rates were the General Motors', Fortune 500) Chevrolet Astro van, the Infiniti G35 sedan, the BMW 7-series sedan and the Audi A4/S4 Quattro. The Astro, a full-sized van, had a death rate of 7 per million. The Audi A4/S4 had 14 deaths per million registered cars.

The vehicles with the highest fatality rates were 2-door, 2-wheel-drive versions of the Chevrolet Blazer small SUV, the Acura RSX small car, the Nissan 350Z sports car, the Kia Spectra compact car, the Pontiac Sunfire compact car and the Kia Rio subcompact car. Death rates for those cars ranged from 232 per million for the Blazer to 175 for the Rio.

Sources:

http://finance.yahoo.com/insurance/article/102881/car-crash-death-rates:-size-still-matters
http://www.cnn.com/2007/AUTOS/04/18/auto_death_rates/index.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/usnews/070419/070418_18carfeatures.html?.v=1&.pf=loans

Tax Software Does Not Calculate Tax Liability Correctly For 409A/Code Z Income

2007-04-08T15:27:00.000-07:00

It appears that H&R Block TaxCut 2006 does not take into account the 20% additional tax liability as required by federal and state for 409A deferred compensation reported as code z in box 12 of the W-2 (even though there is a code z listed for box 12 in the software): the final tax liability calculated is the same whether you have code z income or not. I called H&R Block and they confirmed this is not updated in the software yet.

Therefore it seems like we have to manually override the program ourselves and enter the additional tax liabilities into the worksheets (which can be accessed directly or interactively through the "other taxes" questionaire) for both federal and state (I heard for the federal part TaxCut actually flags an error for code z during the final check and it will take you to the corresponding worksheet, but you still have to enter the extra tax penalty amount manually. For the state part there is no final check however--since the tax laws governing the tax laws are different for each state). I am not a tax accountant, but it appears that we have to manually add the extra taxes as follows:

20% of the reported as code z in box 12 of the W-2 (plus interest penalties if any) for federal tax. Enter this amount interactively or manually as "NQDC" on the dotted line left of line 63 on 1040.
20% of the reported as code z in box 12 of the W-2 (plus interest penalties if any) for state tax. Enter this amount interactively or manually as "NQDC" on the dotted line left of the corresponding line on the state tax form (for CA 540 it is line 33).

I am not sure whether the same problem exist for Intuit's TurboTax, but according to one of my colleagues it appears to have the same problem.

Traditional to Roth IRA Conversions: No Income Restrictions Starting 2010

2007-04-08T15:25:00.000-07:00

Congress passed a new law which allows the conversion of traditional IRAs into Roth IRAs without income restrictions starting in 2010. This presents golden opportunities for people who makes more than the current Roth's modified AGI (MAGI) limits (for singles it is $95000 phasing out at $110000; and for married couples it is $150000 phasing out at $160000): note that AGI is gross income - pre-taxed contributions such as 401k). Although taxes (but not penalties) will be levied on any converted amount, Roth IRAs are better than traditional IRAs in several ways:

No tax on gains (whereas gains in traditional IRAs/401ks are subjected to INCOME taxes: this is even worse than long term capital gain/dividend taxes!).
Penalty withdrawal of principal after 5 years (whereas withdrawls from traditional IRAs are subjected to various rules and taxes are always calculated using a "proportional" ratio of non-contribution/total)
No minimum distribution required at age 70 1/2 (as a matter of fact, you can still contribute then--provided you are still working).

If you cannot contribute to Roth IRAs right now (due to MAGI limitations), then it makes sense now to contribution the maximum to traditional IRAs now and convert them to Roth IRAs in 2010.

Welcome to Philip's Blog Home!

2007-04-08T15:24:00.000-07:00

This blog is dedicated to my personal info and expression as well as reviews, opinions, and discussions on various subjects/topics. Most of the time the focus will be on living and finances (such as taxes, investing, trusts, insurance, credit scores/debts/loans/mortgages, real estate, college savings/financial aids, etc.). However, occasionally topics geared toward personal tastes will also be posted. I hope what I posted here will be of help to others.