Hulver's site || Age old question?

Age old question?

Toe - MAY -toe	5 votes - 50 %
Toe - MAH - toe	3 votes - 30 %
Other - speech impediment option	2 votes - 20 %

10 Total Votes

Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care? | 35 comments (35 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback

It's too late. by greyrat (2.00 / 0) #1 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 10:49:41 AM EST

And no, I don't care.

Or: It's twenty five or six to four. by greyrat (2.00 / 0) #2 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 10:50:22 AM EST

[ Parent ]

: It just dawned on me by Bob Abooey (4.00 / 1) #27 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 06:57:34 PM EST

How cool would it had been if you had actually posted that at 25 or 6 to 4?
Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob
How's my blogging: Call me at 209.867.5309 to complain.
[ Parent ]

Missing Poll Option: by greyrat (2.00 / 0) #3 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 10:53:03 AM EST

tom - AY - toe

: No sir by Bob Abooey (2.00 / 0) #6 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 11:01:07 AM EST

I believe that falls under the third option.
Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob
How's my blogging: Call me at 209.867.5309 to complain.
[ Parent ]

The Hole entries get deleted after a few weeks by georgeha (2.00 / 0) #4 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 10:55:16 AM EST

both are supposed to be inaccessible without an account.

Ah so by Bob Abooey (2.00 / 0) #5 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 11:00:27 AM EST

The Whine Cellar doesn't get deleted and isn't google-indexed?

Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob

How's my blogging: Call me at 209.867.5309 to complain.
[ Parent ]

: Correct. by greyrat (2.00 / 0) #8 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 11:20:24 AM EST

[ Parent ]

credit score by StackyMcRacky (2.00 / 0) #7 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 11:04:32 AM EST

closing an account can affect your credit score under certain conditions.

how long has it been since you used the card(s) in question? if you haven't touched them in more than 6 months, they don't affect your credit score anyway.

also, closing them would only affect your credit score in the short-term.

how much of your available credit is on these cards? if $50k of the $60k is on these cards, I would think twice about closing them.

it's all kind of voodoo.

anyway, if you haven't used the cards in 6+ months, and you're not buying a house in the next 4 months and they don't make up most of your available credit, you should just go ahead and close them.

Aye by Bob Abooey (2.00 / 0) #10 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 11:41:07 AM EST

The one he would keep has a $12,000 limit on it which seems plenty big enough for any emergency it would ever be used for.

So the credit score takes into account the percentage of available credit you have - which means it's better to have large amounts of unused credit with a small balance?

Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob

How's my blogging: Call me at 209.867.5309 to complain.
[ Parent ]

It used to by ucblockhead (2.00 / 0) #12 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 11:57:13 AM EST

From what I gather, they no longer dock you for having lots of available credit like they did years ago. It used to be that if your available credit was a certain percentage of your income they started denying loans. They stopped doing that ten years or so ago I gather. Now they figure that if you have lots of available credit and never use it, you must be responsible.

In general, it's best to keep the card you've had longest, as the length you've had an account in good standing positively effects your score.

We keep two cards. One is a rewards card so we get back stuff on purchases. We use that for almost everything. The other is the account my wife opened right out of college. It's twenty years old and we keep it mostly for the track record. Neither have fees, of course.

Another thing you can do to boost your credit score is to take advantage of those "90 day same as cash" things. If you are careful to pay them off on time (and are aware that the companies often "forget" to remind you) they are a great way to get loan records on your credit report without actually paying any interest.

However, as I said elsewhere, if you are the sort of person who pays everything on time, you probably don't even need to bother worrying about it.
----
_{ウセーバラケダ}
[ Parent ]

: I'm Cpt. Anal - probably OCD too by Bob Abooey (2.00 / 0) #14 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 12:33:50 PM EST

I mean - I've never even had an over-due library book for Allah's sake, let alone made a late payment on a bill.
I actually closed my oldest card out a few years ago - the one I got in college that had a 95% interest rate. I would have kept it open and just not used it had I known the age of the account was relevant.
I haven't had any debt at all for since I paid my car off about 6 years ago - maybe a 90 days same as cash deal would be a good thing to do, but damn, that would mean buying another new guitar. Crap, well, I guess if I have to do it then I will.
Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob
How's my blogging: Call me at 209.867.5309 to complain.
[ Parent ]
: I thought by garlic (2.00 / 0) #22 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 03:19:53 PM EST

they only kept about 7 years worth of credit history on your cards, so if you've owned them longer than that, it wouldn't matter. when I checked my credit records recently, they listed 81 months of status on each credit account.

[ Parent ]

In truth by ucblockhead (2.00 / 0) #11 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 11:48:49 AM EST

If you use your cards, pay them to zero every month, get mortgages and car loans, and pay them off in time, your credit score will be high enough to do whatever you want. The only people who need to scramble for every point are those with fucked up credit.
----
_{ウセーバラケダ}
[ Parent ]

WIPO by joh3n (4.00 / 3) #9 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 11:30:57 AM EST

Let's call the whole thing off

----
I just ate about 7 pounds of meat
-theantix

I got a weird letter yesterday by ad hoc (2.00 / 0) #13 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 12:20:40 PM EST

My VISA has been changed to "no preset spending limit". I mean, what does that mean? Is that like "pre-ordering" something? If I buy something big it becomes a set spending limit? I mean, what the hell? I used that for all of the renovations that could be charged (and paid them off), and the increased my limit in the middle of that up to $18,000 from $12,000. And now it's unlimited? I dunna unnerstan.
--
The three things that make a diamond also make a waffle.

Sounds like Amex by Bob Abooey (2.00 / 0) #15 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 12:36:20 PM EST

They offer those cards with NO LIMIT!

It's sick the way they set those cards up so it's easy to charge more than you can really afford but hey - that's the Americian way. Capitalism at it's finest.

Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob

How's my blogging: Call me at 209.867.5309 to complain.
[ Parent ]

: It's not "no limit" by ad hoc (2.00 / 0) #33 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 10:30:42 PM EST

It's "no preset limit."
I have no idea what that means.
--
The three things that make a diamond also make a waffle.
[ Parent ]

Ing by ObviousTroll (2.00 / 0) #16 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 01:02:32 PM EST

I just recently opened an account with them - they seem pretty slick. The only problem is the way everything has to be funnelled through my family checking account, which limits my ability to launder my income from offshore open-source software projects.

--
Has anybody seen my clue? I know I had it when I came in here.

Indeed by Bob Abooey (2.00 / 0) #17 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 01:05:48 PM EST

Nothing to stop a fella from opening a new offshore account with the specific purpose of linking it to an ingDirect account though, no?

Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob

How's my blogging: Call me at 209.867.5309 to complain.
[ Parent ]

: Too easy to trace by sasquatchan (2.00 / 0) #24 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 03:59:46 PM EST

I mean, c'mon bob, we all know it's your Recipe Blaster ~~2000~~ xp ~~2003~~ 2008 that's the source of your funds for buying a house, but don't you think the tax man might get mighty suspicious about where some schlub working for OMM found the cash for a house ? Even if it is Cleveburgh ? You gotta carefully launder those funds..

[ Parent ]

How to improve your credit score by Linus Trollvalds (2.00 / 0) #18 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 01:32:23 PM EST

#1 Never cancel credit cards, if creditors see that you cancel accounts they will be less likely to extend you credit or offer you lower rates or more credit later. Sometimes you get lucky and $BigBank buys out $LittleBank and they allow you to merge the credit cards into one account and give you the sum of the credit on both cards to one card. Some times $BigBank allows you to split your credit up into two different credit cards, and one gets you low rates on balance transfers, and the other is a rewards card that you can charge purchases on and get money or rewards back and they allow you to transfer from the rewards card to the lower rate transfer card.

#2 Always make your bill payments on time, if you are unable to make a payment call before the due date and ask nicely if they can give you one more week or more for the deadline so when your check comes in you will have money to pay your bill.

#3 Even if you have low credit, and a $500 limit, you can buy socks and underwear and other small items on the low credit card and you can pay them off before the 28 or 30 days cycle where they charge you interest if it is a low amount. If you choose to make minimal payments, it can improve your score because creditors will see you as someone who can pay interest rates instead of the full balance. Don't overcharge, but keep up small payments over a few years and it can increase your credit rating. It doesn't matter how much you pay, as long as you make payments on time and pay interest rates, even if you have a 20% card, in five to seven years your credit will be recalculated and you might get those lower rates like 10% or lower.

#4 If you are a credit risk, you can order magazines and get department store credit cards (20% to 25% APR limit of usually $500) and if you pay them off it will help your credit. Also get phones/cell phones, utilities, etc in your name and make payments on those. Sometimes if you have bad credit you can get a prepaid cell phone or prepaid land based phone from the competitors to the main phone company, as they buy service from Big Bell and then get a discount and offer services to low and bad credit score people.

#5 If you file for bankruptcy, the laws have changed and you cannot write a lot off anymore. But what is left you might have to refinance into one big monthly payment through a credit repair agency. My brother did that before the current bankruptcy laws because his wife maxed out his credit cards before the divorce was over, but two years later he got a mortgage (at a high interest rate) but they figured that he couldn't file for bankruptcy again for another five years. It takes seven years to start all over with your credit profile as by law every seven years they use record retention rules to throw out old accounts. So even if you did file bankruptcy or have low or bad credit, if you make your bills on time and never miss payments and pay interest rates, in seven years you should have recovered your credit to a normal if not better than normal rate.

Thanks Linus by Bob Abooey (2.00 / 0) #19 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 02:02:27 PM EST

I think I've decided to not cancel any of the cards - I'm still not clear how it hurts me but it's best not to take the chance.

Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob

How's my blogging: Call me at 209.867.5309 to complain.
[ Parent ]

You are welcome Bob by Linus Trollvalds (2.00 / 0) #20 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 03:14:20 PM EST

and make sure that you stick to a budget that allows you to live within your salary, so you will have the money to pay your bills on time.

One way to do that is only buy the things you need to live, and avoid buying things that you don't really need to work or feed and clothe yourself but make sure that you do spend some money on entertainment from time to time so you won't get bored.

For example you can visit a library and check out books and DVDs and music CDs instead of buying your own books, DVDs and music CDs. As long as you return them on time, or ask to renew the checkout time, you won't pay anything for renting them.

Most people don't watch their budget and end up spending too much on mostly things they don't really need anyway, and materialism can hurt people that way and lead up to huge credit card debt. I used to be one of those people, until I smartened up and learned to live within a budget.

Besides materialism only makes the rich richer, but not the people buying all the materials they don't need. I decided to stop making others rich, and find a way to save on costs and live within a budget that my salary allows. I suspect you might already be living on a budget and know what I am talking about because you appear to be smart to me on things like that anyway.

[ Parent ]

: Sorry typo by Linus Trollvalds (2.00 / 0) #21 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 03:17:18 PM EST

"One way to do that is only buy the things you need to live, and avoid buying things that you don't really need, and only buy the things that you need to work or feed and clothe yourself but make sure that you do spend some money on entertainment from time to time so you won't get bored."
I forgot that important part, only buy the things you need to do your job, feed and clothe yourself, and for entertainment from time to time. It is called sane spending, and the insane spending method is to keep up with the Joneses and overspend on things we don't really need to work or live. But from time to time you can see a movie, or buy something to make you feel good. I guess I should have said spend in moderation, that makes more sense.

[ Parent ]

what happened to your english? by garlic (2.00 / 0) #23 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 03:22:41 PM EST

it got amazingly better recently. good job.

[ Parent ]

: I took a crash course by Linus Trollvalds (2.00 / 0) #25 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 05:27:26 PM EST

and changed schools from the Jackie Chan School of how to speak English really really good to the Evelyn Woods School of Speed Reading and Writing English Properly, which offered me advanced learning abilities.

[ Parent ]

Here's a question for you: by Corky Sherwood (2.00 / 0) #31 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 07:45:29 PM EST

how do you choose a good credit repair agency? there are so many out there; how do i know the best one?

also, how do they work? can you give me insight on that?

[ Parent ]

: Well credit agencies can vary by Linus Trollvalds (2.00 / 0) #35 Thu Nov 15, 2007 at 01:35:25 PM EST

first pick one approved by the BBB or some other organization that monitors them to make sure they give you a fail deal. Most will have a BBB sticker on their window or something.
Then ask them if the method they use will ruin your credit rating, and that you would like to use an option that will not ruin your rating, but allow you to pay off your bills. Some of the agencies will get you a loan through some bank, and then you pay the agency and they pay the bank back after collecting their fee from you. The one that will hurt your rating is the one where they close out all your credit cards and consolidate your debt into one payment. You need a plan that will not cancel your credit cards, but pay them off and then consolidate your debt into one big loan. Then hide your credit cards so you won't be tempted to use them anymore, and just pay off that one lump sum each month.
If you own a house, you can take out a second mortgage to pay off all your debts if you make that deal with your bank, and avoid a credit agency. Then hide your credit cards in a safe deposit box or maybe a safe or box in your house that you can hide them in. Only use credit cards in an emergency like if you need your car repaired, ect.
Another option is to get some sort of accounting program like GNUCash for Linux, Mac OSX, Windows, or *BSD Unix or perhaps MS-Money or Quicken for Windows and keep track of your bills yourself and pay each one off on time and avoid credit agencies and banks because you are using a financial tool to keep track of your expenses and sticking to a budget.

[ Parent ]

Time by dmg (2.00 / 0) #26 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 05:31:41 PM EST

Is not what it appears to be.

There are lots of tasty Sun bargains to be had on ebay. I'm so tempted.
--
Hard work is morally wrong.

That'll solve your VST issues by Bob Abooey (4.00 / 1) #28 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 06:59:18 PM EST

It would be overkill for me as I don't really need more than two procs to play nethack.

Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob

How's my blogging: Call me at 209.867.5309 to complain.
[ Parent ]

: If only it would... by dmg (2.00 / 0) #30 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 07:34:29 PM EST

I'd be on it in a flash. It amuses me that something I used to think was so cool can now be had for what is essentially, beer money.

--
Hard work is morally wrong.
[ Parent ]

Reply redux by Bob Abooey (4.00 / 1) #29 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 07:09:25 PM EST

Did you actually read the specs on that beast? It requires 4 power cords. Four. The bastard would probably heat my apartment during the Winter months.

I'm making a mental note to get one of those in 10 years when they go for about 100 US dollars.

Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob

How's my blogging: Call me at 209.867.5309 to complain.
[ Parent ]

Credit Score by jimgon (4.00 / 1) #32 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 07:46:28 PM EST

All that potential debt drives down credit score. When someone is about to lend you money, say for a house, one thing they look at is your potential to go into further debt. In addition to say the $200k that a mortgage might generate in debt they see the $60k and assume that you will use it. That logic is factored into the credit score. Credit score is a mix of actual debt, debt usage, and potential debt. And the accounts showing you had $60k in excess debt capacity will show for six months after you close the accounts. The credit score bump up will happen after that.

ING tip by ad hoc (2.00 / 0) #34 Wed Nov 14, 2007 at 10:33:26 PM EST

you have to make a transaction at least once every two years.

I put a bunch of money in mine a few years ago and just let it sit. Then I needed to get it out to pay for some of the renovations but couldn't do it because it had been longer than 2 years. You have to call someone at "customer service" (which, though it has longish hours, is not open 24 hours). It was easy to do, but had I known, I'd have transferred a dollar or two every now and then.
--
The three things that make a diamond also make a waffle.

Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care? | 35 comments (35 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback


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