Curious Souls

Remember, back in January, when we toured O'Dell and New Belgium? No? Here is a reminder. It just so happens that, tonight, on my way home from Ignite Fort Collins , I picked up some beer to restock our fridge. It also just so happened that Mighty Arrow was on sale. Unpacking the beer at home, I was ready to utilize my new knowledge of decoding the New Belgium time stamp to see when these particular brews were born. Wait for it... Yep. The 12 pack I just purchased was bottled exactly 4 hours 20 minutes after the beer that we pulled off the production line on our tour! Ain't life funny sometimes?

We are officially car-free at the moment* so our breakfast plans this morning involved a combo of biking and busing. Who needs a stinkin' car? :) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *The (new in September) radiator in our van broke. Booo! Since it is fairly new, it appears that we can exchange it for a new one but that will take some time as it has to be shipped out and then a new one shipped in. Looks like we'll have plenty of time to get the hang of being car-free!

Since I am on the topic of finance, I have two excellent documentaries to recommend. " Inside Job " 'Inside Job' provides a comprehensive analysis of the global financial crisis of 2008, which at a cost over $20 trillion, caused millions of people to lose their jobs and homes in the worst recession since the Great Depression, and nearly resulted in a global financial collapse. Through exhaustive research and extensive interviews with key financial insiders, politicians, journalists, and academics, the film traces the rise of a rogue industry which has corrupted politics, regulation, and academia. It was made on location in the United States, Iceland, England, France, Singapore, and China. imdb Video " Maxed Out " When Hurricane Katrina ravaged America's Gulf Coast, it laid bare an uncomfortable reality-America is not only far from the world's wealthiest nation; it is crumbling beneath a staggering burden of individual and government debt. Ma

Wherein I reveal the impact of short selling our house on my credit score! February 4, 2010 (just before the short sale hit my credit): Note that this was a scale of 830. I used the same company to get my scores both times ( TrueCredit ) and today they gave me my scores using a scale of 990. Why??? If they thought to confuse me, they FAILED! I know how to do math, yo. February 4, 2010 in percentages: February 6, 2011: February 6, 2011 in percentages: Comparison: So my credit score dropped an average of 12% as a result of short selling our house (with one missed payment at the end of the short sale process). I have no idea if this can be unilaterally applied to other people in the same situation; how they calculate credit scores is something of a mystery and predicting what the effect would be was one of the larger irritations during the process. NOBODY could or would tell me. But hopefully this is a general guide of what to expect for those of you going through (or