Patrick

Cool. Yeah, some people do prefer vinyl, I know. Music's a personal thing. As long as you like it, that's what matters. That's the kind of stuff I listened to as a kid, because I liked Michael Jackson (I think my Mom did, too) and my parents liked Def Leppard.

Professionally, I manage a network of websites (including this one). That's pretty much what I see myself doing for the forseeable future. Personally, I'm going to be getting my driver's license probably in the next 4-5 months at the latest and I'll be moving out on my own within the next 23 months or so.

Welcome.

Welcome.

Do you have satelite or cable TV (or none)? We have DirecTV.

Rest in peace.

Thanks. Brian, I use a program called UltraMon. http://www.realtimesoft.com/ultramon It allows you to do a bunch of different things with multiple monitors, including different wallpapers. Another neat feature is the bar at the bottom of the screen. I really, really like that feature and it really helps to enhance the multiple monitor setup. Basically, if you look at the screenshot I posted, you'll notice the bars on the left and right. One has an eBay page minized, the other has my e-mail inbox minimized. Those programs are actually on that screen, so they are shown on that screens bar and not the middle one. That's a nice picture.

Yeah, that might be cool. Or, you could even put them on CD for her.

Wow, Kerry, that's terrible. But, yeah, call the police and persue it. Hopefully there wasn't much in there to steal that can't be replaced and, as a plus, you'll come away from the situation with some new knowledge about the people/person who stole from you. At least, when they decided to show their true colors, they just took your wallet, rather than taking or doing something more serious.

On the left one, I have Dr. House. In the center, I have Diddy. On the right, I have Jack Bauer. I took a screenshot a couple days ago, actually. http://www.ifroggy.com/temp/desktop121006.jpg

Anyone still messing around with vinyl records? Over the last year, I went from having 0 to having probably 100ish (mostly from eBay) because there is a lot of music that you just can't get on CD or online. I bought myself a turntable that hooks into your computer so that I can rip the audio and put it on a CD and/or listen to it whenever I want. It wasn't that expensive. I've also been buying them because I plan to hang them on my wall. With the enlarged cover art, it will be pretty neat, I think.

Thank you for the submission.

Kerry said that it didn't even get scanned (not on the receipt). I'm sorry to hear about your wallet.

Yes, I remember those. We actually drank Crystal Pepsi a bit. Never really had Pepsi Blue.

Welcome aboard.

Well, thank you.

Yeah, sure. Why not.

No problem, Brian.

Thanks for the replies and well wishes.

Not, not really for a long time. I log into my account once in a while if I can remember to help make sure they don't delete it on me.

What's your favorite online store? I'd have to go with Amazon.com. I'm a Prime subscriber and I'm always buying stuff there. Great prices, great service.

I probably would have looked at my receipt (it's possible that the coat was cheaper than what it was marked as - it happens) and if she did, in fact, forget to scan to coat completely, I would have mentioned it. At the end of the day, you probably want to treat people as you'd like to be treated. So, in this case, if you made a mistake, you probably wouldn't want someone taking advantage of it. You could always go back to the store (whenever you are around there next) with the receipt and the coat and mention that you noticed that you weren't charged.

I usually visit KF around 8 - 9 AM and around 5 PM. Besides listening to music and glancing at e-mail, it's probably what I'm focused on. I might have the TV on, though.

I don't usually have any set time frame in mind. You can, though, and some people do. It probably depends on your goals and situations. Sometimes I have, but I don't really have a reason to do so most of the time. But I buy when I think it's a good time to get in and sell when I think it's time to sell. Pretty general. My thinking is that if you invest in good companies, their prices will go up... and up and up over time, if they are truly good companies. You should watch to see if anything sours, but you don't want to be too impulsive. There will be peaks and valleys, but the progression and trend will hopefully be up. To that end, I could keep a stock until I retire or longer, if I don't need the money. I'm not saying it's gonna happen, but I wouldn't be shocked if I have some of the stock I have now when I'm 60, which is 38 years from now. Consider that if you bought 100 shares of Wal-Mart 38 years ago ... well, scratch that... they only IPOed 31 years ago, so let's go with that... it would have been an investment of $1,400. You'd now have 51,200 shares of Wal-Mart. That's $2,355,200 at the current price of 46. And that's not even counting 31 years worth of dividends. This year, for example, Wal-Mart has declared dividends of around $0.15 in each of the 4 quarters. A dividend of $0.15 x 51,200 = $7,680. Over a year, $30,720 in dividends alone - per year. Most people could live off of that alone. If you had sold in the 90s, you would have been a millionaire and no one would have blamed you. But, if you held on, you doubled that and the dividends just keep accumulating. Of course, Wal-Mart is certainly a special example (and one that is used pretty regularly, I think) as one of the most successful companies ever. But, there are a lot of successful companies out there. The point is, if you believed Wal-Mart was a good company and you bought 100 shares and held onto it... you're all set now. I don't think it's crazy to have that sort of mindset. Maybe you won't make millions, but hundreds of thousands of dollars. In any case, it all adds up. At the same time, you do want to have money and enjoy life when you're young, so that's a factor, of course. You can't put a price on happiness. Generally, though, I work for my present and invest for my future.