myinRich.com forums

Does Richmond Need Band PRACTICE SPACES?

2008-08-17T19:32:53Z

Bands - I need your input. My company and I are thinking about building band rehearsal spaces in Richmond, VA, possibly in the Fan. Is there a need for this? Where do full-bands practice?

We would LOVE your INPUT. Please take the poll.

Energy plan

2008-08-11T08:08:59Z

Should Congress authorize increased exploration for and production of oil and natural gas in Alaska and offshore?

the meaning of money

2008-08-08T20:14:51Z

As a therapist who sees a lot of couples in counseling, it is clear to me that money and the decisions we make about how to handle our financial matters, is a very loaded topic for many couples. The inability of individuals to understand the symbolic meaning of money to them and to their partner creates so much conflict that couples are often unable to reach decisions together about how to live there lives with intentionality. Decisions and behaviors related to money become the battleground in which we play out what we learned about money from our respective families growing up, values about money and feelings about facing our vulnerability, and all kinds of other issues in our current relationship around power and control. Until partners can find and sustain the safety in their relationship to respectfully explore these issues with each other, the financial decisions we make will be less likely to be consistent with our life dreams and values and honoring those of our partner as well.

Why do you own, or not own, a gun?

2008-07-01T09:32:05Z

Gun owners and non-gun owners are passionate about their decision whether or not to bring a firearm into their homes. Which side do you take in the debate and why?

Make Smart Choices!

2008-08-04T22:34:05Z

I believe that one of the answers to the question you pose can be found in the very article in which it is raised. In a sidebar, you state that over 50 per cent of young Americans are making only the minimum payment on their credit cards each month. And therein lies the heart of the problem. If you have incurred debt and are only paying the minimum, most of your payment goes toward the interest on your debt, not the debt itself. Solution? Stop buying things you can’t afford! Pay off the balance on your card and then CUT THE CARD UP! You should not be using it if you cannot afford to pay it off every month.
Thirty years ago, my husband and I had to enlist a friend who was a bank officer to secure our first credit card. We could not obtain one without her help, even though we both worked and had never bounced a check in our lives. In contrast, my 22-year-old daughter has been receiving numerous credit card offers since she was 18, even though she has never held a full-time job! Is this a ploy on the part of the credit card companies to make money off poor credit risks like my teen-aged daughter? You bet! Is it their fault if my daughter signs up for their card and racks up massive debt? No way! She, and she alone, is responsible for her purchases--and her debt. Assuming responsibility for your actions is called growing up. For some people, growing up is easy. For others, it’s not. But we all need to grow up eventually.
Twenty-six years ago, my husband and I bought our first house. The first realtor showed us homes well beyond our means, assuming that both of us would continue working. When we pointed out that I was planning to stay at home with our children, she said, “Oh, well, the mortgage company won’t know that! You’ll qualify for a more expensive home if we list both your salaries!” Did she care about what might happen to us if we defaulted on our loan? No. All she cared about was a bigger commission. We got another realtor.
In 1982, the interest rate for mortgages was 17 per cent! 17 per cent, people! Our seller was creative--he loaned us the money himself at 12 per cent, with a balloon payment (the entire amount) due in five years. At the end of that period, we were able to secure a loan for 10 1/2 per cent and thought we were darned lucky to get it. So forgive us if we aren’t so sympathetic when we hear about people who sprang for adjustable rate mortgages at less that 5 per cent and thought the good times would last forever! If you educate yourself about how mortgages work, chances are that you won’t have to worry about foreclosure later.
At the risk of sounding like an old fogey, let me post one more thought. How many things do you and I consider “necessities” today that we could really do without? Monday’s paper provided a good example in a story about several guys living on islands in the James River. They collect disability checks--but they also have cell phones. Have you ever considered how expensive it is to own a cell phone? What about the monthly fees we pay for cable or satellite T.V.? How about rental costs for Netflix, dvd’s, and video games? Yearly trips to the beach, Disney World, or other vacation destinations? And eating out? How often have you tried to get into a median-priced restaurant in the Richmond metro area on the weekend and discovered there was a 30-60 minute wait? Times are tough, but there are plenty of people packing the area’s restaurants!
Sure, people work hard for their money and they deserve a little fun. But would it really be so terrible if we spent time doing a jigsaw puzzle with our kids instead of buying them a new video game? How about a bicycle ride together instead of a visit to an amusement park? And what would they remember more--another pizza and game night at Chuck E. Cheese, or a picnic at Maymont with Mom and Dad?
Yes, times have gotten a little tougher. We might not be able to do everything we want to do. But if we can learn to spend our money, our time and our resources a little more wisely, then it will not be a lesson wasted.

Paris for President?

2008-08-07T08:19:20Z

Watch the video on FunnyorDie.com - Paris Hilton responds to McCain ad

I watched the video and did a mental 180 when Paris proposed her energy plan. Of couse, the script was written by the folks at FunnyOrDie.com - but which president doesn’t have someone writing the script?

Food for thought…

What are you watching? Is everyone watching ‘American Idol?’

2008-05-15T08:06:45Z

I just can’t get on board with “American Idol,” and I’m almost afraid to admit it. Am I the only one?

I like Ugly Betty, but don’t always make it home to watch on Thursday nights. I watch Battlestar Galactica online at SciFi.com (others may watch it on Friday night when it airs).

“Eleventh Hour,” planned for CBS this fall, is about a “super-smart government adviser who is called in to solve the unexplained when all else fails,” according to Media General reporter Walt Belcher. Sounds good. I liked X-Files - sounds like the same thing.

Any suggestions for good shows other than “American Idol?”

Saving Money vs paying off your vehicle

2008-08-04T09:26:05Z

My husband and I are having a mini disagreement. He thinks we should pay off my vehicle because the interest rate is 5.5% instead of saving money. My car payment is nominal, $350, so I argue that we save a bundle for a rainy day and pay the car off in installments like planned.

We both have good jobs and can afford to pay it off in a year but I argue that we can save that chunk instead. (The loan is not even a year old and the payoff is like $16K)

What is the best thing?

Best DVD to iPhone Converter

2008-08-05T05:40:54Z

This DVD to iPhone Converter is a one-click solution to convert DVDs to iPhone movie.It features superb video & audio quality and the fastest conversion techniques availabe in the market.

REALITY CHECK

2008-08-04T22:30:18Z

First off consider how, way back in 1982, the Mother Earth News article: THIN-FILM AMORPHOUS-SILICON PHOTOVOLTAICS inquired:

“But is it really possible that solar cells will sell for $70 per watt in the next few years?”

Who Killed the Electric Car?--why twenty-five years until the Mother Earth News article: New Thin-Film Solar Panels: Fast, Simple & Smart…

Read: Thin Film Solar Power--Cheaper than Coal? (The Oil Drum).

Consider how Al Gore says:

“… the single most important policy change would be to ‘tax what we burn,’ advocating a tax on CO2 pollution.”

...The Cap-and-Trade Emissions Trading Scheme…

Read:

Nuclear Saviors: How Global Warming And Al Gore May Rescue the Nuclear Power Industry (CounterPunch),

Carbon Caps May Give Nuclear Power a Lift (Wall Street Journal (WSJ), 05/19/08):

“As Congress debates whether to limit CO2 emissions, one of the most vocal supporters of such legislation--the nuclear-power industry--is poised to reap a multibillion-dollar windfall if restrictions take effect.”

The Case Against Carbon Trading (Transnational Institute):

“...Citigroups Peter Atherton confessed ... that the EU-ETS (European Union-Emissions Trading Scheme) had ‘done nothing to curb emissions’ ... On whether policy goals were achieved, he admitted: ‘Prices up, emissions up, profits up, ...so, not really. Who wins and loses? All generation-based utilities--winners. Coal and nuclear-based generators--biggest winners. Hedge funds and energy traders--even bigger winners. Losers ...ahem… Consumers!”

Beware emissions trading, airlines stand to make billions (Mother Jones),

The Carbon Folly (Newsweek).

Gore, Obama, and McCain preach Cap-and-Trade to limit CO2, but Bush says no--because developing countries aren’t included.

Read:

Why China Could Blame Its CO2 on West (WSJ):

“If you have emission constraints, it’s become very attractive to relocate dirty production to developing countries ... You import the finished goods, and leave the pollution in China.”

China shifts pollution fight (WSJ),

Invisible Export--A Hidden Cost of China’s Growth: Mercury Migration (WSJ).

Meanwhile, the Colossal Magnetic Levitation Wind Turbine simply utilizes permanent magnets to provide power at $.01 per kilowatt hour. A mere $53 million price tag buys an output equal to a small nuclear power plant. Plus, its low-center-of-gravity = perfect for offshore wind farms = unlimited potential.

Read: Nader opposes nuclear, coal, oil energy, supports wind, solar.

Obama and McCain are huge advocates of COAL!!!

Read:

The Dirty Truth About Clean Coal (BusinessWeek),

King Coal’s Latest Con Job, Clean Coal is Not Clean (CounterPunch).

Hemp is an environmentally safe (potentially...) source for Ethanol; at the same time that 100% Ethanol burns very, very clean, Ethanol easily could replace coal and oil in power plants; however, when Ethanol is mixed with gasoline (E85) for cars, this actually causes more pollution than just gas alone!!!

Read: Ethanol vehicles pose significant risk to health, new study finds (Stanford study, Stanford News Service, 04/18/07).

Though “Toyota Chief Executive Katsuaki Wayanabe confirmed to BusinessWeek that the company would put high-capacity lithium-ion batteries in the third-generation Prius, due toward the end of 2008 or early 2009,” one shouldn’t hold his/her breath here…

Consider how public perception of the lithium-ion battery was smeared by Sony’s massive recall--coming after an inferior manufacturing process resulted in dust contamination!!!

The Tesla Roadster already uses a lithium-ion battery…

According to Wikipedia, Electric Vehicles--the lithium-ion battery charges in minutes instead of hours, and a single charge goes as far as a tank of gas.

...How difficult to design an electric car with a battery-pack that’s easily swapped-out at a service station...??? How about a small emergency battery-pack that a tow truck could provide?

“Exelon’s support for Mr. Obama far exceeds its support for any other presidential candidate.” (Exelon is the USA’s largest nuclear plant operator)

“… residents in Illinois voiced their outrage two years ago upon learning that the Exelon Corporation had not disclosed radioactive leaks at one of its nuclear plants ...”

“… Mr. Obama introduced a bill known as the Nuclear Release Notice Act of 2006. It stated flatly that nuclear plants ‘shall immediately’ notify federal, state and local officials of any accidental release of radioactive material ...”

“...Mr. Obama eventually rewrote it to reflect changes sought by Senate Republicans, Exelon and nuclear regulators. ... turning the whole matter over to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission ... played into the hands of the nuclear power industry ... The rewritten bill also contained the new wording sought by Exelon making it clear that state and local authorities would have no regulatory oversight of nuclear power plants.”

Above from: Nuclear Leaks and Response Tested Obama in Senate (NY Times).

Read: New Wave of Nuclear Plants Faces High Costs (WSJ, 05/12/08):

“A new generation of nuclear power plants is on the drawing boards in the US, but the projected cost is causing some sticker shock ... double to quadruple earlier rough estimates.”

Finally, consider how Pres. Bush never actually won a Presidential Election: See the US Commission on Civil Rights Report on the Irregularities of the 2000 Florida Presidential Election, and the Rolling Stone article: Was the 2004 Election Stolen?

Complaints about our corrupted election process can be addressed to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights: 1503@ohchr.org.