BXCellent

We're looking to refinance and are trying to choose between a 30 year fixed or 15 year fixed. Given the economy there are always worries one of us will be laid off, so the 30 year gives lower minimum payments. But a 15 year requires much less interest over the length of the loan. However, if we pay extra on the 30 year we can pay it off earlier.

For example (not our real numbers, they are much higher, we're in CA):

$200k for 15 years at 5% = $1581.59/m

$200k for 30 years at 5% = $1073.64/m

but if we pay an extra $508/m on the 30 year we can pay it off in 15 years.

Are there any issues with this logic assuming the mortgage does not have a prepayment penalty?

A lot of the emails in Palins allegedly hacked email account have the form:

fek9wnr@yahoo.com

Delivered: Re: Staff at the House on Saturday Morning

Sat, 8/2/08 3KB

Read

These look like read receipts. So the question is can Yahoo! mail be configured to ask for, or to send read receipts?

There are details regarding the alleged hack that seem to not fit if this was really a 'leftist' hacker. If he, as is claimed, opened every email, why did he not just post the entire text everywhere on the web? Why didn't he open the "Nizich, Michael A (GOV) FW: CONFIDENTIAL Ethics Matter Thu, 8/7/08 3KB Read" email and post that? Wouldn't every one want to know what's in that one? Will the FBI followup even if it leads to the GOP? Isn't it just too convenient that Palin has now been able to delete questionable emails sent as governor? Knowing Yahoo!, the account might be deleted, but the emails are still around - I hope the emails themselves may become part of the investigation.

In a New York Post article yesterday, a philospher, Nick Bostrom, posited that life has a 20% chance of being a simulation from the future. While this is a rehash of a rehash of an idea, and Ray Kurzweil talks about similar things in his books, it is a good question.

Are we in a simulation? How could we tell if we were? Would it change things? Should Simology be a religion?

The article is here: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/14/science/14tier.h...

And I have more background info here:

http://esylum.blogspot.com/2007/08/simology-new-ne...

As far as I can understand, "Nappy Head" means someone who displays infantile behavior. Ho is a generic disparaging term for a woman. Where is the racist bit?

Nappy head is also a successful childrens clothing line in the UK: http://www.nappyhead.co.uk/

Would the reaction be as bad for skank, slag, slu-t, tart, biatch or any number of other derogatory terms for a woman?

In this photo, I can almost see the forked tonge:

http://news.yahoo.com/photo/060713/ids_photos_wl/r...

Is David Icke (see http://www.davidicke.com/ ) crazy, or are all our worlds leaders reptiles in disguise, working to create the New World Order.

Sometimes I think this is the only way of explaining Bush's behaviour. And that of many current warring nations.

They seem to crop up everywhere in recent history that is an area of conflict today. All quotes from wikipedia.

Israel / Palestine - on Israel's creation from Palestine in 1947:

"On the date of British withdrawal the Jewish provisional government declared the formation of the State of Israel, and the provisional government said that it would grant full civil rights to all within its borders, whether Arab, Jew, Bedouin or Druze"

India / Pakistan - on the creation of these, also in 1947:

"The partition of India refers to the creation in August 1947 of two sovereign states of India and Pakistan when Britain granted independence to the former British Raj including treaty states "

Ghandi said of this:

"My whole soul rebels against the idea that Hinduism and Islam represent two antagonistic cultures and doctrines. To assent to such a doctrine is for me a denial of God."

GB also ran Iraq from 1919-1932, Iran on and off, Sudan (1924-1956) - the list is endless...

Wikipedia defines Terrorism as:

"... a strategy of using violence, or threat of violence to generate fear, cause disruption, and ultimately, to bring about compliance with specific political, religious, ideological, or personal demands".

In this regard, isn't Israel a Terrorist state? Isn't Israel using / threatening violence against Lebanon to bring compliance with its demands?

When is an organization terrorist, when is it separatist, freedom fighters, liberatory, revolutionary, militant, etc? Who decides?

Why can't the UN unambiguously define terrorism and penalize those that embark on it?

Does he really want to become a martyr, or is he hoping that his actions will make such a mockery of the system that he will get life and finally have the lover he has dreamed of for years?

Very recently I've been getting:

Unhandled Exception

Error Number: 0x80040706

Description: Objects reference not set.

Setup will now terminate.

Whenever I try to install anything built with InstallShield. This is very bugging. I have admin rights, and a google search does not find any resolutions. Help is very much appreciated.

There seems to be no way I can check if I was awarded points for questions I have answered that were the only answer of an expired question.

I want to see my full history. I can only see the recent one, but that often moves too fast.

Anyway I can do this, or is this an enhancement request? If so, answer if you'd like to see this as well.

I asked a question earlier about what happens to open expired questions, if there was only one answer. I was told, the lone answerer gets the points.

This does not seem to happen:

See: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Apdrz...

for example.

Is the system broken, or is that not really the rule?

To me this exactly like receiving stolen goods. Just cos you don't know its stolen (although it might be suspiciously cheap) doesn't mean you haven't acted illegally.

If a friend of yours "comes into a lot of money", doesn't say how and is very generous with it, do you accept it? If it turns out he robbed a bank, can you redeem yourself by giving the money away, or have you also been a conspirator? If money was being laundered through you, you should pay the price as well - right?

Should everyone that's received money, even if they've now washed their hands of it because they have been caught, be punished in some way?

If there is only one answer, does the answerer get the points (they should), if there is more than one is the questioner promted to choose? What happens in a tie-break? Are the points split?

Surprising, mine wasn't "Why did the chicken..."

It was, "Why did the Orange stop half way up the hill?"

"Because it ran out of juice."

I think that kind of set my sense of humor in stone from day one.

What was your first joke, heard / told? Did it have an effect on you?

What should be emphasized? His message of love, understanding and forgiveness, or His death to save us from our sins? Are the any symbols for the resurrection?

http://www.kultureshock.co.uk/v3/images/buddy-chri...

Do unions today do more harm than good? Should their powers be reduced? Should strikes (such as the current NY transit strike) be forbidden by law? What about non-unionized industries (such as software) are they safe from unions or is it a matter of time? Is it only "working-class" positions that need a union? Opinions?

If Bush acted "above the law" in authorizing wiretaps (phone / email) on American citizens, is this grounds for impeachment? Who would do this? How would it work? Is this likely in a years time when there are far fewer repuplicans in Congress?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051220/ap_on_go_co/do...

What is the origin of this????

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

...to convince you? Do you think you would need to see a miracle? If so what, in this age of special effects, would convince you?