India TV, one of India’s major Hindi channels with national outreach, invited Sanal Edamaruku for a discussion on “Tantrik power versus Science”. Pandit Surinder Sharma, who claims to be the tantrik of top politicians and is well known from his TV shows, represented the other side. During the discussion, the tantrik showed a small human shape of wheat flour dough, laid a thread around it like a noose and tightened it. He claimed that he was able to kill any person he wanted within three minutes by using black magic. Sanal challenged him to try and kill him.Read the whole thing. I giggled through all of it, and then thought back to when I was in high school and read tarot cards ... and blushed.
The tantrik tried. He chanted his mantras (magic words): “Om lingalingalinalinga, kilikili….” But his efforts did not show any impact on Sanal – not after three minutes, and not after five. The time was extended and extended again. The original discussion program should have ended here, but the “breaking news” of the ongoing great tantra challenge was overrunning all program schedules.
Monday, March 24, 2008
I've Got a Black Magic Shaman...
This is totally freaking awesome!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
How to Own Your Home YEARS sooner!
One of the local news stations here does this segment called "Saving You Money" periodically and shows different tips on, well, you guessed it...saving you money! Last summer, I saw a story about a valet parker here in Vegas who his paying off his 30 year mortgage in 9 years! It's called the mortgage elimination system explained in a book by Harj Gill called "How to Own Your Home Years Sooner Without Making Extra Interest Payments" (long-ass title!) The anchorman, Jim Snyder, raved that there were other people in the studio testing out the system, and they loved it. He then had the author, Harj, as a guest, to explain the system. The news spread like wildfire and tons of people wanted more info and inundated the station with calls and emails. Needless to say, banks, mortgage brokers, etc. were not at all pleased with what this guy was teaching people...how to pay off their homes! A "cease and desist" order was put on Harj to try and make him shutup! The news station wasn't even allowed to talk about the program anymore!
Fortunately, I was able to get the email address of Harj and put myself on one of his mailing lists. About a month later he did a free seminar and taught people how his system worked, and I have to say...it's incredible! I can't possibly do the system justice by explaining it via blogging, but I'll try...
Basically, it's like this. You know how they say if you make one extra house payment a year you knock off five, six, maybe seven years off the back end of your mortgage? This is similar in that you're making extra principal payments. What you do is get a home equity line of credit (must be revolving, NOT a loan). Then, you borrow from the HELOC (I picked $5000 injections, you choose your own) and inject that in the principal of your mortgage. Then, every payday, you deposit your paychecks directly into your HELOC to eat up the interest. When your bills are due, you write checks of off your HELOC. (I use ONE credit card **that earns points!** for all my purchases and bills and thus only have to write one check a month). The extra money that usually sits in your checking account and doesn't earn any interest is now sitting in your HELOC eating up the interest! Now imagine if there are TWO of you depositing your paychecks into that HELOC every payday...that HELOC gets wiped away FAST and then you start the process over again.
I know this is hard to grasp by blog, so I highly recommend buying the book. You can find it on Amazon.com for $17.39 plus s&h. Also, Harj has a website: www.speedequity.com Check it out! I've taught a couple of friends from work how to do the system and they all agree, it works! What's even more interesting is when I'm talking about it to friends at work, some passerby inevitably hears me and says, "Oh yeah...I'm doing that, too!"
I just want to mention that there are software programs out there promising to teach you how to do a similar program for $3500! A friend of mine actually bought it and thinks it was worth every penny. No way! You don't need it! The book will teach you everything! On the speedequity website you can purchase membership with access to a software program that's pretty nifty for $199...but read the book first! (I have a membership to the website only because when Harj gave his seminar he promised all KVBC viewers free membership for one year).
I've knocked 13 months off my mortgage already (my loan matures August 2018...as of now, July 2017). If I continue to follow the program, I'll have my condo paid off within 3 years! If I chose to not do the program anymore, I just pay off the HELOC and quit borrowing from it. It's that simple.
Buy the book! If ya'll have any questions, I'm here to help!
Fortunately, I was able to get the email address of Harj and put myself on one of his mailing lists. About a month later he did a free seminar and taught people how his system worked, and I have to say...it's incredible! I can't possibly do the system justice by explaining it via blogging, but I'll try...
Basically, it's like this. You know how they say if you make one extra house payment a year you knock off five, six, maybe seven years off the back end of your mortgage? This is similar in that you're making extra principal payments. What you do is get a home equity line of credit (must be revolving, NOT a loan). Then, you borrow from the HELOC (I picked $5000 injections, you choose your own) and inject that in the principal of your mortgage. Then, every payday, you deposit your paychecks directly into your HELOC to eat up the interest. When your bills are due, you write checks of off your HELOC. (I use ONE credit card **that earns points!** for all my purchases and bills and thus only have to write one check a month). The extra money that usually sits in your checking account and doesn't earn any interest is now sitting in your HELOC eating up the interest! Now imagine if there are TWO of you depositing your paychecks into that HELOC every payday...that HELOC gets wiped away FAST and then you start the process over again.
I know this is hard to grasp by blog, so I highly recommend buying the book. You can find it on Amazon.com for $17.39 plus s&h. Also, Harj has a website: www.speedequity.com Check it out! I've taught a couple of friends from work how to do the system and they all agree, it works! What's even more interesting is when I'm talking about it to friends at work, some passerby inevitably hears me and says, "Oh yeah...I'm doing that, too!"
I just want to mention that there are software programs out there promising to teach you how to do a similar program for $3500! A friend of mine actually bought it and thinks it was worth every penny. No way! You don't need it! The book will teach you everything! On the speedequity website you can purchase membership with access to a software program that's pretty nifty for $199...but read the book first! (I have a membership to the website only because when Harj gave his seminar he promised all KVBC viewers free membership for one year).
I've knocked 13 months off my mortgage already (my loan matures August 2018...as of now, July 2017). If I continue to follow the program, I'll have my condo paid off within 3 years! If I chose to not do the program anymore, I just pay off the HELOC and quit borrowing from it. It's that simple.
Buy the book! If ya'll have any questions, I'm here to help!
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Book Report - Scratch Beginnings
So... the internet was abuzz for a few days because some white college grad decided to set off on his own with nothing more than a sleeping bag and 25 bucks in his pocket and 'pull himself up by his bootstraps'. The experiment was to see if, within a year, he could improve his situation to the point where he had: a furnished place to live, a car, and 2500 dollars in the bank. Before the year in his experiment was up, he had a duplex with a roommate, a working truck, and over 5000 dollars saved up. To some folks, Adam Shepard is an inspiration - proof that the American dream isn't dead, and that "Nickel and Dimed" got it wrong. To others... well, here were some of the major criticisms I read about the book (apparently by people who hadn't read it):
1. Ooooh, a college graduate can make it off the streets? That's a revelation how?
He didn't use his college degree when applying for jobs, and the job that he took wasn't one that required even a high school diploma - being a college grad isn't gonna help you as a furniture mover or a day laborer.
2. The experiment isn't valid because: he's white. Of course he had no problem finding a job.
See the jobs he took again - none of them are what one would call reserved for whites-only.
3. The experiment isn't valid because: he didn't have any medical problems. See how an injury throws a kink in his plans and then come back to me!
Actually, he was laid up for a week from work after he broke his toe. The cost of medical help and lost wages threw a major kink in his plans, and he repeatedly stressed how grateful he was that it was only a toe, and acknowledged that had it been something more serious, he would have really been up shit creek.
4. The experiment isn't valid because: he ended it early! He only did it for 10 months and then when he heard there was an illness in his family, he gave up and went home! Let's see how well he would have made it if he'd had to support his sick family member!
This one is definitely by people who hadn't read the book. Aside from the fact that he'd already exceeded his goals when he ended the experiment, in reality, his struggle was just beginning for real. His mother came down with really aggressive cancer, and had nothing but a small disability check to support her. He and his brother took an apartment and moved her in with them to help support her. Oh, and the job he was helping support her with? He got a job at another moving company. The experiment ended up being practice for what his real life threw at him.
It's a quick read, at less than 250 pages. Every once in a while, he slips into white liberal anthropologist mode where he starts talking about how "authentic" and how "real" the people on the streets are, as if anyone living in a middle-class neighborhood is somehow a cardboard cutout. Other than that one criticism, though, I found the book truly inspiring. It wasn't a screed about how lazy poor people are, and the only thing stopping them from not being poor is a willingness to work. It was an ode to hard work and delayed gratification. It emphasized that teaching these concepts is critical to getting people off the streets. He doesn't say that anyone can do it on their own, and doesn't try to say that he did either - he openly acknowledges the help he received from Crisis Ministries, advice from other residents at the homeless shelter where he started out, advice and inspiration from his coworkers who were making it at the moving company. I enjoyed it, if only because it inspired me to keep on track - keep saving, keep paying down debt and keep to my goals. If Shepard can achieve his goals, starting from just 25 bucks and a year to work at it, I can surely achieve my own with a good job, and good house, and a supportive family.
1. Ooooh, a college graduate can make it off the streets? That's a revelation how?
He didn't use his college degree when applying for jobs, and the job that he took wasn't one that required even a high school diploma - being a college grad isn't gonna help you as a furniture mover or a day laborer.
2. The experiment isn't valid because: he's white. Of course he had no problem finding a job.
See the jobs he took again - none of them are what one would call reserved for whites-only.
3. The experiment isn't valid because: he didn't have any medical problems. See how an injury throws a kink in his plans and then come back to me!
Actually, he was laid up for a week from work after he broke his toe. The cost of medical help and lost wages threw a major kink in his plans, and he repeatedly stressed how grateful he was that it was only a toe, and acknowledged that had it been something more serious, he would have really been up shit creek.
4. The experiment isn't valid because: he ended it early! He only did it for 10 months and then when he heard there was an illness in his family, he gave up and went home! Let's see how well he would have made it if he'd had to support his sick family member!
This one is definitely by people who hadn't read the book. Aside from the fact that he'd already exceeded his goals when he ended the experiment, in reality, his struggle was just beginning for real. His mother came down with really aggressive cancer, and had nothing but a small disability check to support her. He and his brother took an apartment and moved her in with them to help support her. Oh, and the job he was helping support her with? He got a job at another moving company. The experiment ended up being practice for what his real life threw at him.
It's a quick read, at less than 250 pages. Every once in a while, he slips into white liberal anthropologist mode where he starts talking about how "authentic" and how "real" the people on the streets are, as if anyone living in a middle-class neighborhood is somehow a cardboard cutout. Other than that one criticism, though, I found the book truly inspiring. It wasn't a screed about how lazy poor people are, and the only thing stopping them from not being poor is a willingness to work. It was an ode to hard work and delayed gratification. It emphasized that teaching these concepts is critical to getting people off the streets. He doesn't say that anyone can do it on their own, and doesn't try to say that he did either - he openly acknowledges the help he received from Crisis Ministries, advice from other residents at the homeless shelter where he started out, advice and inspiration from his coworkers who were making it at the moving company. I enjoyed it, if only because it inspired me to keep on track - keep saving, keep paying down debt and keep to my goals. If Shepard can achieve his goals, starting from just 25 bucks and a year to work at it, I can surely achieve my own with a good job, and good house, and a supportive family.
Friday, March 14, 2008
La maison de Livvy et Nick
Bonjour peeps! Me and Nick have been on the house hunt since mid-February, and it's been really annoying. Who knew buying a house was so time consuming? It seemed to me that when Awrissa and Pesto did it, it went by super smooth and quick. But not for me and Nick--or at least I don't think it was a breeze. We found one house and put an offer on it. It was a townhouse. Super nice :). But, it took the bank about a week to get back to us and tell us that he wasn't accepting any offers that weren't for the listing price. We were like "screw you bank." If you don't want to even consider our offer--the guy wouldn't even look at it--then we don't want to do business with you. So we started looking again. (It's funny, but they didn't get any other offers on the place. Ours was the only one. And they called us back about a week ago. We sent in a letter to withdrawal our offer. Hahahahah.)
We found another house, that was on a quarter acre. It was two stories, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and was perfect for us :). We loved it. It was listed for 254,900. It was a foreclosure and it's assessed value (for tax purposes this year) was 344,900 or something. The year previous it was like 414,000 or something. So a really nice property, that we were already getting for pretty cheap, but that was a good investment too because the value will most likely go up since it was up in previous years. Anywho, we had the second best offer because someone else came in and offered well into the 300k's. We were like "what the hell? Who does that? The appeal of this place was because it was CHEAP, so why offer so much more for it?" Whatever. So we started looking again!!! I am super down at this point and beginning to think that we'll never find a house. Especially since Nick LOVED that one sooooo much and kept saying things like "in our price range, that's probably the best we can do." So mean of him seriously :).
So, the weekend before last we go out again. We're looking at everything--strictly single family homes though because Nick really wanted one, and they are better and more private--and not being picky. Within three houses, we find another one that we both really really really like. It's a rambler, so just one level, but it's pretty big for just 2 people; 1830 sq. ft. It's got 3 bedrooms (one of them used to be two bedrooms, but a previous owner took out the dividing wall, so now it's a huge bedroom with a sitting area), 3 full bathrooms, a GORGEOUS and completely updated kitchen--granite counters, brand new cabinets, tile flooring--a seperate laundry room, a small formal living room/dining room combo, a family room with a huge stone hearth and fire place/woodburning stove, that's also set up for surround sound, and a lovely stone patio. It's sitting on a quarter acre of land and has two storage sheds in the back yard, with a stone path lined with rose bushes leading out to one of the sheds. It also has a vegetable garden, but we don't know if we'll keep that. Anywho, it's all ours :). We got it.
We're paying 278,000 and the seller is paying all the closing costs. But, it's assessed at 356,000 for this year, and last year it was 404,00, and the 2 years before that it was 465,00 or something obscene like that. So, it's a really good investment property that we'll already have equity in after purchase, and it's also just a really nice house. We are both soooooo excited! We can't wait to move in :).
So, anyone who lives in a state other than VA should come visit and bring your puppies. There's a fence in the backyard :)!
Wish us luck. I probably got ahead of myself with this post, but all that's left is to settle, so hopefully nothing goes wrong between now and then!! Keep your fingers crossed for us :).
Toodles,
Livvy
We found another house, that was on a quarter acre. It was two stories, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and was perfect for us :). We loved it. It was listed for 254,900. It was a foreclosure and it's assessed value (for tax purposes this year) was 344,900 or something. The year previous it was like 414,000 or something. So a really nice property, that we were already getting for pretty cheap, but that was a good investment too because the value will most likely go up since it was up in previous years. Anywho, we had the second best offer because someone else came in and offered well into the 300k's. We were like "what the hell? Who does that? The appeal of this place was because it was CHEAP, so why offer so much more for it?" Whatever. So we started looking again!!! I am super down at this point and beginning to think that we'll never find a house. Especially since Nick LOVED that one sooooo much and kept saying things like "in our price range, that's probably the best we can do." So mean of him seriously :).
So, the weekend before last we go out again. We're looking at everything--strictly single family homes though because Nick really wanted one, and they are better and more private--and not being picky. Within three houses, we find another one that we both really really really like. It's a rambler, so just one level, but it's pretty big for just 2 people; 1830 sq. ft. It's got 3 bedrooms (one of them used to be two bedrooms, but a previous owner took out the dividing wall, so now it's a huge bedroom with a sitting area), 3 full bathrooms, a GORGEOUS and completely updated kitchen--granite counters, brand new cabinets, tile flooring--a seperate laundry room, a small formal living room/dining room combo, a family room with a huge stone hearth and fire place/woodburning stove, that's also set up for surround sound, and a lovely stone patio. It's sitting on a quarter acre of land and has two storage sheds in the back yard, with a stone path lined with rose bushes leading out to one of the sheds. It also has a vegetable garden, but we don't know if we'll keep that. Anywho, it's all ours :). We got it.
We're paying 278,000 and the seller is paying all the closing costs. But, it's assessed at 356,000 for this year, and last year it was 404,00, and the 2 years before that it was 465,00 or something obscene like that. So, it's a really good investment property that we'll already have equity in after purchase, and it's also just a really nice house. We are both soooooo excited! We can't wait to move in :).
So, anyone who lives in a state other than VA should come visit and bring your puppies. There's a fence in the backyard :)!
Wish us luck. I probably got ahead of myself with this post, but all that's left is to settle, so hopefully nothing goes wrong between now and then!! Keep your fingers crossed for us :).
Toodles,
Livvy
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