It has been absolutely beautiful weather with cooler than normal temperatures and sunny days. I’m shocked to be cutting grass that is still green and impressed how nice it looks for August. By this time of year the front lawn is usually a yellow brown and the stripes of our leech bed pretty obvious … not so this year.
Speaking of “houses” … Katelyn informed me that our houseguest rodent rabbit has a new hutch ready for him in Columbus. It looks like he is getting ready to move. I’m not sure I’m going to miss his chewing on everything, but I will miss my normal routine of feeding him each day.
Sealegs has been developing a their boat without need for a trailer idea for a while now … still a great idea if you’ve got a spare $159,000 to $179,000 sitting around. (LINK)
… what about employees and retirees of private companies – those who still have a pension plan?
Almost everyone realizes that public pensions are going to remain a major problem for our country, but not as many realize just how underfunded pensions are for most large corporations. A report published by S&P Dow Jones shows that large corporations have “growing” liabilities for their retirees and that low interest rates are impacting on how their employees retirement pensions are performing.
According to the report recently released, “S&P 500 companies set aside $1.60 trillion in 2012, covering $2.29 trillion in obligation with the resulting underfunding equating to $687 billion.” The point being made by Howard Silverblatt, Senior Index Analyst, is that “companies have only 77 cent for each dollar they owe in pensions and only 22 cents for each dollar of OPED obligations.”
The S&P Dow Jones Indices report also shows that estimated pension return rates declined for the 12th consecutive year, dropping to an estimated 7.31% in 2012 versus 7.60% in 2011 and 7.73% in 2010. Discount rates declined for the fourth year in a row, falling 78 basis points to 3.93% from 4.71% in 2011 and from 5.31% in 2010, significantly increasing projected obligations.
The report also reviewed the status of Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB). Within the S&P 500, 286 companies offered OPEBs in 2012. With $302.3 billion in OPEB obligations, only $67.4 billion was funded, leaving OPEB funding at 22.3%. OPEB’s funding status continues to pale in comparison to that of pensions (77.3%).
“The American dream of a golden retirement for baby boomers has dissipated for most,” adds Silverblatt. “Plans have been reduced and the burden shifted with future retirees needing to save more for their retirement. For baby-boomers it may already be too late to safely build-up assets, outside of working longer or living more frugally in retirement. For younger workers, they need to start to save early, permitting time to compound their returns for their retirement. Corporations have shifted the responsibility to them, and if they don’t step up now, they won’t have anything for retirement.”
Brenda and her mom enjoying a near perfect day in Cincinnati (West Chester) having a Nathan’s hotdog. EDIT: The original image was tinted so red from under the umbrella that I opted to go black and white for a change.
It has been a few years since the automatic update from WordPress.org failed on my server … and only after the fact did I regret not doing a full backup prior to attempting the update (really, I’m posting just to see that all is working after the upgrade). After downloading the new install files and upgrading manually, all is now fine. Having to rebuild a few things also gave me the opportunity to root around and clean up some files, optimize the database (and do a full back up) as well as cleaning out some lessor used plugins. ALL was overdue since I’ve been neglecting this basic blog housekeeping.
It is interesting to see what is being search for while within the blog from the new to meRelevanssi Search plugin after recently switching from using Google within MyDesultoryBlog.com:
This odometer mileage isn’t that impressive for a Mercedes diesel, but anytime a 30-plus year old car is still cruising the highway at 200,000, it’s something to crow about.
Disappointing to say the least. The latest device available from Freedompop(low cost/ free wireless hotspot) is the Sierra Wireless Overdrive Pro utilizing the Sprint 3G/4G WiMaxx network which I thought might be similar to their previous 4G only devices – Photon. Unfortunately the refurbished Overdrive Pros are all that impressive from the moment one opens the box and sees the “sticker” stuck to the mobile hotspot device.
The disappointment didn’t end there as the standard micro USB charging cable was a 110volt only model AND would not initially charge the device. I attempted to plug in another USB from my computer which was do-able but very slow. I tried another USB 110v (one from my JamBox) and it fully charged the puck overnight.
In the morning turn the Overdrive Pro on and found that my signal quality was low on both the 3G and 4G connections. Both my Sprint base iPhone and Photon 4G Freedompop devices worked just fine in precisely the same spots. I was able to finally connect by placing the new Overdrive device on a window ledge … but obviously an external antenna will have to be used (unless this puck is faulty?)
Speedtests proved disappointing as well using both the 3G and 4G Wimaxx connections
Once connected I updated the admin features and renamed the hotspot device as well as the password. I was able to connect with both my notebook and my iPad and after updating the Overdrive Pro’s firmware (a 50MB download) and I ran a couple speedtests at my home location. (3G registered 60% signal strength and 4G only 20% according to the admin web interface) The speeds were not all that different from my old tethered Palm Pre when it came to 3G, but were way behind the Photon device in the same location. The device also disconnects the WiFi regularly and frustratingly will not continue to charge when it is being used and plugged in. I receive the message “charging paused” from the control panel. Another glitch is that twice now the device has discharged to 45% battery power and completely turned off. This second time I have been unable to recharge and turn back on … it is now a “brick” … albeit a small brick.
I’ve put a service ticket call into Freedompop but who knows how quickly they will respond or even if they will be able to help. At this point I’m expect they will ship a new device … (update pending)
Your request (#11xxx11) has been received and is being reviewed by your Personal FreedomPop Support Agent. You can expect an answer within the next 1-2 business days. Please reply to this email if you have any additional questions/concerns, as submitting a new ticket will increase the time it takes to respond.
Last year I animadverted about the inserts in my boat shoes and recently noticed that my August 2012 post was a recent MyDesultoryBlog’s top five … according to Google Analytics. Considering it is a top 5, it might be time for a boat shoe update?
Boat shoes are a go to shoe in our house especially in the summertime … as well as when on the boat. I’ve worn several different brands since high school (yes we had boat shoes way back then!) and I have always been particularly fond of Sperry for their consistent quality and decent construction. To be fair, I’m not overly hard on shoes in comparison to others, like my son for example … who’s sweaty feet can ruin even a good pair of shoes in short order. Him aside, Brenda and I can stretch our shoe into years of service, but we also spend a little more time caring for our leather shoes … something my dad expected me to do every Saturday night. Nowadays I’m slipping when it comes to polishing and caring for shoes, but for leather boat shoes I do use a lanolin based Kiwi product, albeit once a year, besides I always dry my shoes shortly after getting them soaked (adds to the leather’s life). Still, the weak link is the insole, hence last year’s quandary.
After that post, I ended up tossing the attempted epoxy repaired Topsider insoles after failing to revitalize them. Instead I found SofSole insoles at a local Finishline. They were a bit thicker than the originals, but because the older shoes had stretched, they fit nicely. Now after almost of year of wearing them I can highly highly recommend SofSole insoles for shore use … I’m not sure how well they work after getting wet on deck?
Shop around though, because SofSole inserts aren’t the cheapest way to stretch the life out of a pair of boat shoes, although they are comfortable! They locally retail for $25(saw them for $20 online) compared new purchasing new Topsiders which I found for $60 (the darker brown shoes in the photo above). Let me know if there are better options.
My son Taylor shared a bunch of eighth grade exam questions and wondered if I thought today’s high school graduates could even pass this test. Not only were we shocked with what students from 1912 were expected to learn, we were doubly impressed that the test was from a county school in Kentucky (no offense to Kentucky residents).
see http://www.bullittcountyhistory.com/bchistory/schoolexam1912.html
It has been absolutely beautiful weather with cooler than normal temperatures and sunny days. I’m shocked to be cutting grass that is still green and impressed how nice it looks for August. By this time of year the front lawn is usually a yellow brown and the stripes of our leech bed pretty obvious … not so this year.
