Inauguration

Lisa and I are figuring out just how many people we might be able to put up here. It will be nutty.

The work was more than worth it!

So Barack Obama is President-elect.

My spirits lift. I smile at the thought. All the canvassing, and phone banking, and driving people to and from polls was well worth it.

I remember my dejection in 2000 (in the U.K.) and 2004 (in the Flying Scotsman bar in DC with Bala and Jane). Part of my energy and determination to do more was born in those days.

So now, as well as building the nation back up here in America, comes hopefully a rebuilding, or better a re-foundation of healthy alternatives to the elected view.

Maybe best of all is the sense that there might be more talking about politics, more figuring out of what people really think is good policy, more debate, more study, more science, more thinking.

Even though I awoke exhausted I feel energized now, and it's not just the joy of a really good cup of tea.

Happy Birthday Lisa Squire Harnett

Best Wishes from us in McLean :)

Dreaming in black and white

I knew it! I once wrote the line "my mother is as young as her black
and white photo", and the poetry professor at UCL gave me some gentle
ribbing for it: "easy now Seamus Heaney", which I absolutely took as a
compliment. Ah les neiges d'antan.
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/10/electric-dreams.html

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Optimizing a 401k for Cost-efficiency

Optimizing a 401k for Cost-efficiency
I promised I would begin writing short screeds on this topic before the current market turmoil but I strongly think the advice holds true. For me this starts with Jack Bogle. He has his own site. Get his books from the local library and read them. I learned that fund picking for returns is impossible (the selection of funds in a 401(k) is out of one's hands) I decided simply to examine what funds might have the lowest costs. This is easy to do with a free membership at www.morningstar.com. Just type in the name of the fund and find and hit the portfolio button. The cost are typically expressed as a percent deducted every year. Once you know the costs of the funds at your disposal rank them by cost. Expect and hope to see funds from the Vanguard corporation. Choose the one with the lowest cost that has the broadest asset allocation. If more than one has very low costs then it begins to be interesting to think about asset allocation in more detail. Remember this is very long term money, invested for at least 20-30 years. So do not pay any attention to market turbulence.
I'll post this today. If I get questions or comments I'll write in more detail on the questions or try to explain some point in more detail.

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Serious about Shaving

Seriously!

Learning more about this topic makes this part of every day better - even enjoyable. And I promised a new friend based in London that I'd write about this.

What I learned:

Watch the videos

Buy a simple cheap classic double-edged (DE) old fashioned Merkur razor.

Buy some simple cheap blades.

Buy some really nice cream and balm (This is a great gift idea)

Read More if you like.

That's it! Life improves.

Marketing is a Tax you Pay for being Unremarkable

Inspiration.

Thank you Bill Taylor and Robert Stephens.