I.O.U.S.A.

We're Screwed!!!!!!!!!!!!

Affluenza

If you ever begin to feel complacent in life and need a reason to feel guilty, just pick up Affluenza by John De Graaf*. It's not just a book, as it was a PBS documentary before the first edition was printed. I picked up the second edition guilt-free, since somebody gave it to my wife and I to read. We're just trying to make the authors proud. We may even see if we can share the wealth.

The book is not that guilt inducing, unless you have some serious problems. If you have those problems, you probably aren't likely to pick up the book. Even if that's the case, I think it's worth reading. The authors do a decent job of getting their message of decreasing consumption and unnecessary purchases without being overly preachy. The text was easy to follow, making the book easy to digest. Their facts seemed to be in order, though I do question their use of some of their data. It's not one thing in particular, but I perceive with books like this, it's easy to cherry-pick data to support the author's already established conclusions. While I don't have a specific instance, the tone of the book did fit that bill. It's not unusual, since this is not an academic book. It is worth noting. I think that the general conclusions and ideas in the book are reasonable and worth considering.

I liked that the book spent time referencing two other books I own, Culture Jam by Kalle Lasn and Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin. Both books center around living simply or at least by minimizing the unnecessary distractions of stuff. Both are worth reading as well, though I would chose Your Money or Your Life first as it's the first personal finance book I've read that actually focuses on making real changes to spending habits. Affluenza pulls from these books effectively and provides a fair endorsement of them.

The one thing that bothered me about the book was their little survey to show how bad your affluenza was. And no, I did not score poorly. I landed in the second group of only being mildly infected. While the authors admit the survey was not scientific by any means, it was a little dorky. Some of the items included on the list didn't work for me, like whether you eat meat once a day, or if you've ever experienced road rage, or do you ignore the mpg of your car. Then there was the scoring system. You were scored out of 100, but there were 50 questions and each question counted as two point. Why not just make the scale 50 or score some questions as more if you aren't going to use the 50-point scale.

On the whole, the book is a good read, but I think that it might be worth it to find the documentary it's based on as well. I have not seen it, but a portion of it is shown below.

* The book as three authors: John De Graaf, David Wann, and Thomas H. Naylor. For space and sanity I will refer to De Graaf as the only author.

The Num3rati (Audiobook)

Stephen Bakers' book entitled The Num3rati is fascinating on many levels, and downright frightening on some others. I honestly don't know if I should be excited or petrified of the future. Baker has done to the world of data mining what Malcolm Gladwell did to blinking. The Num3rati, didn't sell near the number of books, I happened on it by accident. It's an interesting book for sure and it's worth the time invested to reap its contents (whether by reading or by listening). It falls into the same genre of Blink, Outliers, Freakonomics, and The Undercover Economist as it looks at some interesting facets of life in search of the hidden messages.

As I stated above, Baker takes on the task of data mining. In statistical terms, data mining is a bad thing. It's where people have a data-set an look for correlations, any correlation they can find. An example would be linking driving habits to the Zodiac.* In the case of The Num3rati, data mining refers to the collection of data by companies and governments to better understand a given population. The data is collected with a purpose and to answer specific questions, but the process is similar to mining for ore in the actual process of data collection.

Data collection is a key enterprise in the American business culture. We should all be familiar with the saying that "knowledge is power".** Companies expend Billions in better understanding their target populations. It's well worth it, especially when the data allows the company to more easily target their audience. Rather than use the shotgun approach on national TV (very expensive), they can use a sniper approach on specific shows and channels frequented by their targets.*** The ultimate goal is to get sellers and buyers together.

The data collection spans other areas as well. Baker spends a chapter dealing with internet dating, primarily Chemistry.com, which was started by love guru and Purdue professor Helen Fisher. To test out the validity of the algorithm, Baker and his wife set up profiles, just to see if they would get matched up with each other. After a few days, nothing happened. Baker then realized he'd set a parameter that excluded his wife's age group. With that correction, happily they showed up on each other's prospective lists.

Collecting data also comes with some very positive uses. The number-crunchers are finding ways to help people with medical problems. Patients with severe medical conditions can be "watched" by their doctors via electronic equipment that monitors their rhythms and patters of behavior. When the patter is broken unexpectedly, then doctors know that something may be amiss and can intervene immediately. It may be where a patient gets up to pee around a certain time each night.

The Num3rati covers many areas of life and showcases good and bad uses of the collected data. The book is certainly not ground-breaking by any stretch of the imagination, however the information is useful and puts many things into perspective when considering the technology of the day. I found the book worthwhile to read, though not necessarily to own. What is contained in the book will be out of date and it doesn't make a mark the way that Freakonomics did, at least not enough for a follow-up called Super-Num3rati. I definitely recommend it, because is is informative, but save the few bucks and pick it up at the library if you can.

* These are items that have no relationship (aside from the fact that Astrology is crap), but people have made claims that there is a real relationship due to identified correlations. Because the data was not collected for that express purpose and people were merely looking for correlations, it's no surprise they found one. The issue is that when you just mine data for correlations, you're bound to find something, but when the data was not collected in a way as to answer a specific question, the correlations have little meaning.

** Knowledge is not power, though knowledge put to use comes somewhat closer to that reality. All the knowledge in the world does little for you, even if you know about David Letterman's affairs.

*** Targets are a very good description after listening to this book. While Baker doesn't use the term himself, the description of the aims is quite clear. It might not be all bad, but it's certainly isn't all good.

The Sky Is Not the Limit

Neil De Grasse Tyson is the face of Astrophysics in America. He's also the author of several books about astronomy and the director on the Hayden Planetarium in New York City. On top of all that, he hosts Nova Science Now. The Sky Is Not the Limit is a memoir where Tyson chronicles his burgeoning interest in all thing astronomy as a kid to his rise to to a very prestigious position at the Hayden Planetarium.

For the most part, the book is pretty interesting and well written. Tyson certainly has a talent for writing and communicating scientific ideas to the lay person. The book is not heavy on science, but the science that is included is easily understood. Most of the book focuses on Tyson's experiences falling in love with science, Astronomy in particular.

The subtitle for the book is: Adventures of and Urban Astrophysicist. It's certainly an applicable title, as Tyson has lived pretty much his entire life in New York City. From that subtitle, I had wrongly assumed that he'd grown up in a poorer neighborhood. Shame on me for the assumption. As it turns out, Tyson grew up in a relatively well off family, not that he was swimming in cash. It was this upbringing that provided him with landmark experiences such as attending an Astronomy camp in New Mexico and joining an Astronomy Cruise while in high school. Tyson even relates some of his experiences with racial prejudice and the assumptions that a black student couldn't pursue Astrophysics.

As I mentioned, the book is interesting and enjoyable, although the first half of chapter one wasn't that exciting. I almost regretted picking out the book and even considered putting it down. It wasn't so much that it was horribly written, but more that the target audience appeared to be for the junior high age. While I still feel the book is appropriate for that age group, I found it to be reasonable for any age group. In fact, I would recommend this book to anybody, even if you're not interested in Astronomy. I think the book is inspiring and can encourage younger folks to pursue their interests and get passionate about something. I think it can even inspire older adults to renew forgotten interests (I still regret not taking that Astronomy class in college).

The coolest story comes from Tyson's experience applying for college. He'd applied to and been accepted to Cornell and Harvard. At that time, Carl Sagan was teaching at Cornell and invited Tyson to come for a campus visit. Sagan even offered to let Tyson stay at his house, in the event he had trouble getting home after the visit. That left and impression on Tyson and though he ultimately chose Harvard, he's endeavored to follow the example that Sagan provided in being personable with fans and students of Astronomy.

The long and short, it's a worthy read. It's the kind of book I'll encourage my kids to read when they hit junior high and they are trying to figure out what they are interested in.

Debt Cures They Don't Want You to Know About

Kevin Trudeau has had quite a TV career. He's sold Mega Memory and Coral Calcium. Both made him a ton of money, though the Coral Calcium got him in trouble with the FDA and the FTC. Surprisingly his Coral Calcium claims turned out to be very exaggerated. The FTC then banned him from selling products on TV. Thanks to the 1st amendment, Trudeau didn't have to go hungry for long. He became an author and began is series of various things "...they don't want you to know about."

Debt Cures They Don't Want You to Know About is the 4th book of the series (#5 is Recession Cures - Get Rich in Tough Times). It is also the first Trudeau book I've endeavored to read. I admit to having low expectations and I was not disappointed. I found several problems with Trudeau's book, though I was somewhat surprised that some of the advice was at least somewhat helpful. Other hints were not necessarily bad, but not really useful either. The key problem is the sales pitch selling the book. Below I will discuss what was bad and the areas that weren't horrible.

The book itself is extremely repetitive, especially the first 3-4 chapters. I felt I was reading the same paragraph over and over, just with different wording (it reminded me of The Secret). The book itself could have been reduced to 150 pages (it rings in at just over 300 pages) without missing anything. That's not saying it needed to be written in the first place. Most of the repetition focused on the credit card companies and the banks screwing the American people and keeping them in a revolving-door of debt. While there's a kernel of truth in that statement, it doesn't need to be repeated over and over and over and over and over and over and over... On top of that, the repetition reinforces Trudeau's attitude with the intent to convince the reader "it's not your fault you are in debt". The following quote demonstrates the gist of the book:

"Most debt and credit books on the market today talk about how to cure debt by curbing

your spending and 'cutting out fat'. They make you think that it is something you did that

created the wild debt problem." - P.218

There's nothing like absolving yourself of all responsibility. Never-mind all the people who seem to be able to manage your money just fine. The quote is fitting as well, because there isn't a single strategy to help you learn to manage your money and really stay out of debt. Why would Trudeau want that? Readers might actually realize purchasing a book by Trudeau is a waste of money.

There is some actually useful advice in parts of the book. Just about all of it is how to get your APR reduced on your credit card. I'm sure a lot of people don't think that can change at all. I'm not confident that the reductions will be as drastic as dropping from say 25% to 5% like he claims, but it can't hurt to at least try. He even discusses the importance of paying off the balance each month. Unfortunately, he spends little time on that. Much of this chapter keeps the focus on how it's not your fault. In the end it's nothing new.

Trudeau spends quite a bit of time on strategies to eliminate debt. Almost none of which are realistic. I can't say for sure that they won't work, but the number of people who will qualify for the options will be miniscule, at the most. To use the strategies your debt will need to be 3+ years old, with no activity in that time; meaning you haven't paid on it in at least three years. The main strategy is to not acknowledge the debt as yours (Trudeau refers to it as alleged debt). You can also provide a statement of income and net-worth showing you have no money so they'll leave you alone. It might work. Trudeau suggest you have an accountant friend help you. (If you have a friend who is an accountant, sue him for letting you be so stupid with your money). Trudeau does provide an example in the appendix, but it's pretty pathetic.

The appendix is the worst I've seen for a finance book, hands down!!! What is in the appendix should have just been included in the text of the book. It's as if the appendix was added to try to drum up some fraction of credibility. It's a total of three pages, two of which are lame letters that are to be sent to your creditors stating you have no money (good luck on that). On the third page are the two financial documents. Both are correct, but pretty useless, even for their intended purpose. I would expect they would be worthless if you sent them to a creditor to show you have no money, again that might work. No where does he show you how to pay down debt from multiple sources.*

Trudeau's discussion of credit scores is half decent. The main problem again is the angle he takes. He explains the credit scores fairly accurately from what I can tell, but how he attributes the motives of the credit card companies is completely off the mark. I'm not saying the credit card companies/rating agencies are saints and that there isn't some trickery involved in what they do. The devious motives are over-stated. Unfortunately, Trudeau is mostly concerned that the credit card companies want folks with low scores because they can keep them in debt with high interest and high fees. He goes so far as to say they almost don't want people with good scores. I don't doubt that there is some truth to that. But, keep in mind that credit card companies are gambling, to a certain degree, on who will pay off their debt. If you are a greater risk, then they'll charge you more to be in debt to them to minimize their risk. They may hedge their bets greatly in their favor (possibly unfairly), so it pays to have good credit. Trudeau is noble enough to point this out. Again, it's nothing new, though the way Trudeau explains it, you'd think he's discovered Cold Fusion. Then again, I wouldn't put it past Trudeau to "discover" Cold Fusion.

At the end of the book there are two chapters about free money. Virtually all of it involves government programs.** Some of the programs may be worth looking into, but like the debt strategies, you might not qualify due to narrow requirements. They may be worth checking out. Just remember there's no such thing as Free Money. That you can take to the bank. In fact the chapter serves as a condensed version of the Matthew Lesko*** book as far as I'm concerned.

All in all, this book certainly does not live up to the hype. Plus, when you call, as is the Trudeau way, you'll be asked if you want to get his monthly newsletter with even more debt cures. The book certainly isn't ground breaking, though the way the infomercial puts it you can't find this stuff anywhere else. If you are in debt, you're better off finding a book that targets the area where you struggle. First, this book is too general to give any credence to anyone area. Plus, Trudeau's reputation also calls into question the validity of many of the strategies he offers. If you are looking for a good general finance book, I recommend something by Andrew Tobias, Ric Edelman, or even Suze Orman.**** When it comes to finance, I think you are better off going with somebody who has an established reputation versus somebody with a reputation for misleading his customers. BUYER BEWARE.

* If you have debt, pay on each item and apply any surplus to the debt with the highest interest rate. As debt gets paid off transfer all that surplus to the remaining debt with the highest interest rate. Repeat the process until all the debt has been paid off.

** This would be the libertarian's favorite section...to burn!!!!!!!!

*** Lesko is the dork with the suit covered in question marks as see here. He's like a deranged version of the riddler. See the video at the bottom of the page.

**** I wouldn't call Orman my favorite, but I think she has sound advice for the most part. One issue is that she sells some of the things she recommends which I find a conflict of interest. She also takes a more emotional view of money, so she'll likely appeal to women more than men.

Joe Wilson and the Rude Crew

With Joe Wilson, Serena Williams, and Kanye West all acting up, it made for an interesting week. I have to say that I found both Williams and West to be idiots for their behavior. Williams was the worst by far. Kanye wasn't too far behind, although his apology with Jay Leno was by far the most sincere celebrity apology I've ever seen. We'll see if it changes his behavior, because in my book he's still one of the most annoying celebrities.

I really want to talk about Mr. Wilson. Although his comment is considered rude by many, I liked it. He may have been incorrect in his assessment. From what I understand, the bill doesn't include provisions for illegal aliens. That would make Wilson incorrect, though I doubt illegal aliens would be turned away. We'll in effect pay for them as we do now. What I like is the spice Wilson added to congress. Can you imagine what it would have been like if Bush had been challenged like that? It reminds me of the british government where the Prime Minister has to answer to the parliament. Our presidents need to be challenged the same way. It's part show and entertainment in Britain, but I'd like to see the Congress and Senate face the president with criticism and cat-calls. I doubt Bush would have been re-elected if he had the face this kind of crowd.

Here's to you Joe Wilson. Just get the rest of your colleagues on board, then we're talking. This may be an area where Kanye is well suited.

Foucault's Pendulum

After several years of planning to read Umberto Eco, I finally picked up Foucault's Pendulum. I've heard it referred to as the thinking man's Da Vinci Code. Since Foucault's Pendulum came first, I'd much rather consider The Da Vinci Code as the idiots Foucault's Pendulum. There is a drastic difference between the two books, that's for sure.

First off, Foucault's Pendulum has much less action than a Dan Brown book. It also takes place over more than a 24 hour period. The most striking difference is the depth of the plot. Rather than be filled with a series of simple codes and and connections that unravel as the book progresses, Eco weaves a complex history and conspiracy that requires the reader to pay full attention.

Eco begins the book with the conspiracy alive and ready to expose itself. We see Causaubon enter a museum in Paris to find is friend Belbo who has informed Causaubon that The Plan is real. Eco quickly pulls the story into flashback and the majority of the book takes place in the past, a past that spans 10-15 years, or more. Causaubon is the main character we follow for the entirety of the book. He is a n expert on the Templar's and is drawn into a publisher to screen books about the templars. Eventually he and his friend Belbo begin to work up their own conspiracy regarding the Templars and other secret societies. In the end the made up conspiracy, known as The Plan, turns out to be a reality. Most of the book deals with the creation of The Plan, with little real action.

Overall I found the book enjoyable. It's not a book that should be read in small snippets, whichh unfortunately is how I read it. I took two months to actually read the whole book. The language is not difficult, but the themes and the history detailed in the book require the reader to pay attention in order to get full enjoyment. In contrast, The Da Vinci Code requires no such attention due to its simple nature. I would recommend this book to anybody who enjoys history for sure. Just make sure you have time to read it in large chunks.