Scott Adcox

Grilled Cheese Academy – A real education

Financial Illiteracy Is Killing Us – Seriously, are there any non-profits focused on teaching financial literacy to kids? I will volunteer to help.

Tooth Regeneration Gel Could Replace Painful Fillings – Just ordered up some jelly beans to celebrate this news.

Facebook Places vs. Foursquare – Foursquare has a game/awards (kinda). The question with FB places is “why?”. Then again, you could probably ask that question about 90% of the content there.

Furman’s FIRST Running Program – No. Junk. Miles.

Lifehacker: Our List of the Best Android Apps – Already using most, so I’m linking to this mostly to validate my choices.

“I think the Internet is the most dangerous thing invented since the atomic bomb” –John Mellencamp – Sounds like Johnny Cougar doesn’t like having his cheese moved.

What Should I Do About My Virtual Life After Death? – Adding this to my list. It’s pretty far down, but on there nonetheless.

Real Estate’s Gold Rush Seems Gone for Good – hmph

Moving on – An early shot fired against book publishing. There will be more.

Fake Drink Spills save seats – Genius!

Lottery Ticket Art – Don’t throw away those scratch off tickets…you could still be a big winner!

Class Warfare’s Next Target: 401(k) Savings.

You did the responsible thing. You saved in your IRA or 401(k) to support your retirement, when you could have spent that money on another vacation, or an upscale car, or fancier clothes and jewelry. But now Washington is developing plans for your retirement savings.

Well, they aren’t talking about confiscating your retirement savings. Instead, they want to have you “invest” that money into Treasury bonds. Oh, by the way,  you are free to do that now, if you so choose.

It’s exactly what we’d all be doing that if we believed the rate of return was worth the risk involved in the investment.

My suggestion to anyone who is in favor of this crap is to go ahead and divest all of your retirement savings currently sitting in mutual funds/stocks and buy up Treasury bonds.

Then come talk to me about why this is a good idea. We’ll have that discussion again in 10 years or so and see what you think about it then.

I’ve read two articles in the WSJ this week about the housing market, and now I’m less certain than ever about what’s going to happen in the next year.

Is 2010 the Year of the Short Sale?

If 2009 was the year of the foreclosure (and loan modification), then 2010 may be shaping up as the year of the short sale.

I’d say 2011 is more realistic, unless they are predicting a slew of short sales starting in Q1. Our experience with trying to purchase short sales is that they take a long time. How long? We’re not really sure, because we haven’t made it to the end of the process yet. But five months seems to be a reasonable expectation for a minimum, and that’s just for the bank to get back to you with a yes or no.

I’m interested to see what is going to happen when, by the time the bank responds to an offer with a “yes”, the house is no longer worth the amount that was originally offered. Because, some people think we’re still in a housing bubble:

Rental apartment vacancies are reaching record highs. Many segments of the housing market are still oversupplied. And the core demographic in the country—the baby boomers—are reaching the age where they’re more likely to downsize, buying less house in the years to come.

Throw in the tax credits, artificially low mortgage rates, and the fact that the fed is still buying mortgage backed securities, and it’s hard to make the case that the housing market is not still artificially high.

It seems like the easiest way back to a true(r) market would be for banks to sell off their bad assets as quickly and efficiently as possible through the short sale process. Quick and efficient doesn’t seem to be the order of the day, however.

If Big Stupid Tommy ran the Knoxville News-Sentinel – Big Stupid Tommy is a genius.

You Drive What? – Proud to be among the first to provide them with some link love. This looks very promising.

What Google’s Nexus One means to your organization – I’ve had my Android phone for about two and a half months now. I’d say the model I have isn’t quite on par with the iPhone standards by hardware standards, but the Android platform is. The phones are only going to get better, and they’re available on multiple carriers. Even development is more hassle free. Look out Apple.

Memphis Has Lost A Shining Star – Some sad news coming out of Memphis.

Home sales fall 16% in November – The real estate market may not be finished falling, but I don’t see interest rate opportunities getting any better in the near term. That’s what skeers me the most.

How to say stupid things about social media – Without a doubt, this is the best article on social media I’ve read in a while.

C-SPAN Challenges Congress to Open Health Care Talks to TV Coverage – I know they have the numbers to pass anything they want. But those representing states and districts that oppose this legislation have the OBLIGATION to be as contrary and obstructive in these negotiations as their constituents want them to be. It’s still a representative republic, right?

2009: The Year of the Failed Narratives – I love story time! I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed that none of the stuff they are trying to sell us involves dragons or unicorns. I mean, if we're going to write fiction, let's go all the way with it.

Ghetto Kool-Aid – The word "ghetto" is over-used. The word "Kool-Aid", however, is not.

The New Flight Security Rules, So Far – When you can count on showing up for a flight four hours early, not being allowed to access your carry-ons (the whole purpose for carrying things on when you have children), not being able to hold objects in your lap (try explaining that to a toddler), and not being able to go to the restroom for the last hour of the flight…why on earth would anyone fly anywhere with kids? This will definitely be changing our travel plans in the future.

Is cable worth it? – Not even if they paid you to watch the commercials

Top 10 Bad Things That Are Good For You – I don't set things on fire and put them in my mouth, so weed is out. Can I double down on the beer instead? And I won't need the LSD to counter the extra beer for a few years. I won't knock the maggots until I've tried them.

Obama, Left Behind – What he really needs to fix this is a new web site and a fresh Twitter account. They'll be back in no time.

Mortgage Applications Drop to 2-Month Low – I have to believe this is mostly due to the fact that people are hanging out waiting on short sale approval letters. *hint hint*

Learn to Let Go: How Success Killed Duke Nukem – Shake it baby! This is the first and only shoot 'em game I ever bought, but it was pretty good. I'm not that into video games, so I didn't really keep up with the drama that was the continual delayed release of the sequel.

Stripper For Christmas – Ho Ho Ho! Yeah, that wasn't very original.

8 More PowerPoint Train Wrecks – I went to a great 2 day coaching clinic last weekend. About 10 minutes of the 2 days included the use of PowerPoint. Coincidence?

In Search Of Clark Griswold’s House – You have to check every single light individually.

Carbonhagen Meltdown – LOL! “…riots, madness, styrofoam cups, people eating meat, real fur coats, CFC-laden hairspray cans, it’s crazy.”

STOP! -

45 Free Online Computer Science Courses | – Street Fighting Mathematics? I’m in.

In pictures: Zambia’s leading lady in the ring – My buddy I.B. sent me this. He’s an Indian guy who grew up in Zambia and has a British accent. He also wrote the first code editor I’m aware of that allowed you to highlight and comment a complete block of code.

With U.S. Opportunities Dim, Expats Return Home – That’s a relief. Now we don’t have to worry about them taking our jobs. Oh…wait a minute…

With U.S. Opportunities Dim, Expats Return Home – That's a relief. Now we don't have to worry about them taking our jobs. Oh…wait a minute…

10 Ways Social Media Will Change In 2010 – And how do you plan to adjust your strategies?

You’ve Got Mail, But the Mailman Hid It – In the near future, postmen caught hiding mail will be transferred to the U.S. Department of Medical Services as a punishment.

To comment or not to comment on Facebook – Here's a simple flowchart to help you decide

Option Arms: A poison pill for housing - – Would love to see a heat map showing where these were issued. Anyone? Anyone?

Matt Banahan red carded for stamping – Play as much rugby as possible while you can boys. The game will soon be turned into nothing but a series of free kicks.

Twoddler Lets Toddlers Send Tweets – – Uh….no.

Essential Year-End Money Moves – Solid info.

Women linked to Tiger Woods – At least he has a better eye for talent than Bill Clinton.

Shashi Tharoor: Why nations should pursue "soft" power – If this is true, please explain to me why chicks always dig the guy who can beat up everyone else.

Surf’s up as biggest waves in five years come to Hawaii after North Pacific storm – Sick.

About Those ‘Tax Cuts for the Rich’ – I guess it's time we start paying our fair share after all. And I'm not rich.

More Regulation to Help the "Underserved"? – If a man was smart he would try to figure out where this will create a bubble, invest there, wait for the bubble to inflate, then get out before it bursts. If I man was smart…

Changes hit home for appraiser – Hooray for regulations! Increased cost to the consumer AND reduced income for the service provider! Yay!

America’s Best Bang-For-The-Buck Cities – Cool…we unwittingly moved form the #22 city on the list to #18. Look how smart we is.

Apple’s Lala Acquisition – I have high hopes for what is possible here, but my hopes for an Android app are diminishing.

An iPhone App to Track How Badly AT&T Sucks – But it works right out of the box. And if it stops working, you can pay someone else to fix it.

16 Reasons Why We Might Unfollow You On Twitter – A pretty good list here. I can't say I disagree with any of it.

Sentinels Of Freedom Golf Ball Drop – Great Idea for a great cause!

Obama Ecstasy pills hit the streets – I knew they were on something.

A gay secession manifesto – Careful what you ask for. Your opponents just may support you in this whole heartedly.

Is Facebook Losing its Coveted Demographic? – Duh. Who wants to use the same service as their parents? That doesn't take a genius to figure out.

A slightly unfortunate Twitter billboard – Sad someone got suspended from their job for a week over this. It's just a someone humorous accident…not that big of a deal.

20 Things Worth Knowing About Beer – If given the same opportunity as water, I believe beer could have created an even Grander Canyon.

Stoplight Redesign – I like the idea. Wondering why they didn't build a mount for cameras right in.

The End Of The CrunchPad – Sucks. I was hoping to get one of these instead of the Apple tablet someday. I cain't have nuthin' nice!

Unemployment Growth on a Map – Pretty interesting graphic here that demonstrates how tough the economy is becoming.

Union troubled by Eagle Scout project in Allentown – How dare you do something for free that these guys won't do for less than $15/hour!

Bernanke reassures markets on dollar – Uh-oh. The dreaded "vote of confidence." That means there's a committee already formed to find a new coach.

A phpBB to bbPress database converter « – But first you have to install 0.7, convert, then upgrade to 0.8, then upgrade to 1.02. Ironically, it seems completely worth it.

The 7 Harsh Realities of Social Media Marketing – Some good stuff here

Can the Government Save the Airlines? – What the airlines need are a few more stylin', profilin', limousine riding, jet flying, kiss-stealing, wheelin' n' dealin' sons of guns like Ric Flair!

Training the Mind to Run Right Through the Winter – Looking forward to not having this problem.

BeautifulPeople.com – I see absolutely nothing wrong with this. It's smart.

Happy Holidays: Google Offers Free WiFi At 47 Airports – Cool. I wish this were the norm, and I suspect it will be one day very soon.

Homes: About to get much cheaper? – Hmmm….time to sit in an apartment and wait?

MediaMonkey – Looking for the best way to sync an Android phone for music. Nothing out there like iTunes yet, but this is good.

Remember Why We Have a Department of Energy? – Oh, but it will be different with banking and health care. Right?

The Most Inappropriate Halloween Costumes Possible – Two of my favorite things–inappropriateness and Halloween.

Newscoma Sums UP BarCamp Nashville and Blogging – "Blogging is one of those things that folks either get or they don’t, but it has been a gift to me since the first time I opened up one of these silly things and realized that it was a lot of fun."

Free Trigonometry Tutorials and Problems – You got that? FREE PROBLEMS!!!! One of the many things on my nerd checklist is that I did ALL the problems in the trig book…not just the ones that were assigned. I would do them in all my other classes. I even had a set of colored pencils I used to draw the vectors in different shades. Yeah, you wish YOU'D thought of that.

Clean Your Computer Screen From The Inside – It really works!!!

Paranormal Activity –Don’t Need To See It – I'm a scary-movie-wimp. I hate them. I'd rather just read spoilers (like this one) and know that it would scare me if I saw it.

But wait…Didn’t you..?But weren’t you..?

Bernanke said the best way for the United States to increase savings is to steadily reduce the federal budget deficits. He didn’t suggest ways to do so.

Still, it’s sort of sad to see that the Fed Chairman has turned into a teabagging racist. LOL! HT Michael Silence

Pelosi Open To The VAT – Gasp! Shock! What? She would actually consider a new tax? The hell you say!

Post Rapture Pets – No matter what you do or don't believe, you have to admit this is a smart business model.

There’s No Excuse For This – Windows mobile 6.5 – Just to needle @raowen: "It's an interim product, and a vain attempt to hold onto the thinning ranks people who still choose Windows Mobile despite not being somehow tethered to it until the tardy Windows Mobile 7 comes out, whenever that may be."

Moore proves Libertarians right – And being a libertarian is downright heart breaking: "I'd imagine it's like being a Cubs fan, except there usually isn't much hope for next year."

The iDontFart App – Proceed to AT&T store. There's now a reason to own an iPhone.

UT’s Supercomputer Breaks Petascale – Let loose the Kraken! My sources are telling me that a poor ol' country boy's head just exploded in the UTCC.

Apple Quits Chamber Of Commerce Over Global Warming – Apple isn't stupid. They realize there's too much green to be made in "green" to even begin to question it. This is a marketing and sales decision, not an environment/community decision.

What if Only the Rich Recover? – WSJ – Don't call it a comeback!

This is hilarious!

I think we should also explore running federal vehicles through title pawn services and getting payday advances on quarterly tax filings.

Oh wait, I guess we are kind of doing that already.

HT Mises Economic Blog

Edgelings.com » The Obama Surprise.

Indeed, you can make the case that the sole contribution the Obama administration has made to entrepreneurship in America to date is to force all of those millions of unemployed people to desperately set up their own businesses in order to survive.

This doesn’t even take into account how much entrepreneurship in general is damaged when companies deemed “too big to fail” are bailed out, effectively guaranteeing market share where there has already been market rejection.

But here’s my favorite part…

High tech CEOs are supposed to be the smartest people you’ve ever met. And most of them are. But when it comes to politics and dealing inside the Beltway, experience has taught me that these men and women are fools, dupes and rubes – and too arrogant to realize it. They thought they were electing one of them, and someone pliable enough to help them succeed while at the same time crushing their competition.

It’s kind of ironic. These guys should know better than anyone that catchy slogans don’t cut it…you have to bring the goods.