PCC students share money-saving tips

You can wash it, pull it, yank it and maybe even try to grow it but you aren’t likely to stretch that dollar any further. Poor college students need to know every opportunity available to save and manage their precious few funds while avoiding the dread of debt.

Quick tips and some helpful suggestions from fellow Pima Community College students will have you on your way to a balanced budget and steering clear of sneaky and unnecessary costs.

Food and drinks can add up tremendously over the month.

Small day-to-day expenses can lead to thousands of dollars down the drain every year. A daily trip to the coffee shop for your $3 latte will total nearly $1,100 by year’s ends.

To save money on food, PCC student Andy Bulkley will “eat off the dollar menu” while Carlos Barragan tries “not to eat out at fast food restaurants.”

Have you been to an art opening recently? If so, you might have seen Samantha Angiulo, who takes the opportunity to go “to art openings because they always have free food” that can serve as her dinner.

Housing costs can be a large chunk of your budget.

PCC doesn’t have dorms, so students must find other options for housing.
“I live with my parents, so that helps,” Christine Woodrich said.

Daniel Epp saves by living “with a lot of roommates to keep costs down.”

Transportation costs are up, thanks to high gas prices.

Consider alternative options to driving a car.
“I take the bus,” Miko Gastelum said.

If the bus isn’t best for you and a bicycle is out of the picture, you can adopt driving habits that save money.

Consider following Dana Burns’ example. “I don’t floor it around town,” she said.
If you are looking to buy a vehicle, get a history report on that used car before your purchase and save future costs by avoiding a lemon.

The report will inform you about the vehicle’s title, registration, odometer, major damage and recall history.

Several online sources are available and dealers often provide this service for free, according to www.azag.gov.

Save money on clothes.

Used clothing stores often sell name-brand fashions at greatly reduced prices. Trade in your old or unwanted clothes in exchange for a new wardrobe.

In addition to national outlets like Salvation Army and Goodwill, Tucson is home to stores such as Buffalo Exchange and Plato’s Closet that buy and sell gently used clothing. You can find store details on the Web.

Avoid payday loans.

Lenders often charge hefty annual percentage rates that can equal 390 percent, according to www.azag.gov. It is easier to just flush your money down the toilet and save the trip.

Don’t use your credit card unless you can pay it off at the end of the month.
It takes many years and thousands of dollars to pay off credit-card debt. Everyone knows this but many will learn the hard way.

Use alternate sources to get college textbooks.

Many online sources offer discounted new and used college textbooks. Popular outlets include Amazon.com and eBay.
PCC student Narcisa Palma said she saves more than 60 percent with her method of “renting” textbooks online.
* * * *
You now have tools to budget your funds and shave expenses. Following these suggestions can add up to big savings. Your future worry may be how to manage all that extra money as you continue your costly education.

http://aztecpress.blogspot.com/2008/10/pcc-students-share-money-saving-tips.html

Explaining Our U.S. Tax System with Beer

I found this fairly simple explanation of how our tax system works, and why so many people 'feel' they are getting 'less' than the 'rich'

I hope this helps at least a few people understand our current situation.

Bravo to David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D. Professor of Economics University of Georgia
for posting this excellent break down with simple numbers

I highly suggest that everyone read this one so you can attempt to educate people who 'don't get it'

"Explaining Our U.S. Tax System with Beer

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that’s what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. ‘Since you are all such good customers,’ he said, ‘I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beers by $20. Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.’

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his ‘fair share?’

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so: The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before and the first four continued to drink for free, but once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings. “I only got a dollar out of the $20,” declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, “but he got $10!” “Yeah, that’s right,”exclaimed the fifth man. “I only saved a dollar, too. It’s unfair that he got TEN times more than I!” “That’s true!!” shouted the seventh man. “Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!” “Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in unison. “We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!” The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something very important….they didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier. [Click on the title above, or date stamp below, to see the full post.]

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D. Professor of Economics University of Georgia"

http://robertbluey.com/blog/2008/10/25/redistribution-of-wealth-experiment-3/#comment-1822

Academic vs coaching salaries

Academic vs coaching salaries

"Piled Higher and Deeper" (PhD) Comics is one of the best online comic strips and a favorite of mine. This one from a couple days ago was picked up by the New York Times economy blogger and is stirring up wider responses than the comic normally gets.

Given the budget turmoil at UA and elsewhere, it hits home.

http://arizonageology.blogspot.com/2008/10/academic-vs-coaching-salaries.html

Save money by turning off office electronics

Heard a quick story on the radio this morning, and did a little research on the internet. Did you know 3/4 of the power used by home and office electronics are used when the devices are turned off? Here is some information we collected from Wikipedia and the U.S. Department of Energy website

Heard a quick story on the radio this morning, and did a little research on the internet. Did you know 3/4 of the power used by home and office electronics are used when the devices are turned off? Here is some information we collected from Wikipedia and the U.S. Department of Energy website

In the U.S., nearly 4.2 million people worked from home in 2000, up from 3.4 million in 1990. Working from home saves energy and time by cutting out the commute, but it may increase your home energy bills a lot unless you use energy-saving office equipment

Many appliances continue to draw a small amount of power when they are switched off. These "phantom" loads occur in most appliances that use electricity, such as VCRs, televisions, stereos, computers, and kitchen appliances. In the average home, 75% of the electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off. This can be avoided by unplugging the appliance or using a power strip and using the switch on the power strip to cut all power to the appliance.

There are a few simple methods to reduce standby power. The easiest way to do that is to simply unplug the unused devices. Replacing battery powered devices, such as cordless phones or rechargeable razors with corded alternatives not only cuts down on the standby power required to charge the battery, but also reduces energy lost in battery charging and discharging inefficiencies.To switch off several devices that are often used together such as a PC, a monitor and a printer it is advisable to use a switchable power bar or surge protector with multiple sockets.Timers can be used to turn off standby power to devices that are unused on a regular automated schedule.

Unplug battery chargers when the batteries are fully charged or the chargers are not in use.

There is a common misconception that screen savers reduce energy use by monitors; they do not. Automatic switching to sleep mode or manually turning monitors off is always the better energy-saving strategy.

Common misconceptions sometimes account for the failure to turn off equipment. Many people believe that equipment lasts longer if it is never turned off. This incorrect perception carries over from the days of older mainframe computers.

Consider buying a laptop for your next computer upgrade; they use much less energy than desktop computers.

http://www.free-pc-help.com/Articles.php?action=detail&g=content1224678566

Democratic Trick or Treating

Storing solar energy in rock and sand

Storing solar energy in rock and sand

The US Dept. of Energy awarded $4.35 million to Arizona Public Service and Tucson-based US Solar to develop thermal storage systems for solar energy. One of the test sites, the Saguaro Solar Power Plant [right, credit APS], near Red Rock, north of Tucson, will store the energy in oil in a tank filled with rock. The other site is in Georgia and will use sand to absorb the heat for use later.

http://arizonageology.blogspot.com/2008/10/storing-solar-energy-in-rock-and-sand.html

SOLON inaugurates new production facility in Tucson, Arizona

October 17, 2008. SOLON AG's state-of-the-art production facility for solar modules came on stream today in Tucson, Arizona (USA). In its first phase, the production site will have an annual capacity of 60 MWp. It will produce crystalline and thin-film solar modules as well as photovoltaic systems for the North American market. SOLON currently employs around 100 people at its site in Tucson.

SOLON's local presence provides a good basis for breaking into the US solar market. "The solar market in the US is growing rapidly", according to Olaf Koester, president and CEO of SOLON Corporation. "The recent legislation on tax breaks for the construction of solar power systems creates a secure framework for the further expansion of renewable energies in the US and will accelerate their growth. We intend to benefit from this trend, and our new facility will put us in an excellent position to do so."
"We are excited to have SOLON's new state-of-the-art factory in Tucson as well as the associated high skill jobs", Tucson Regional Economic Organization President & CEO Joe Snell said. "We expect SOLON to be a cornerstone of very large solar economic development in Southern Arizona."

About the SOLON Corporation:
SOLON Corporation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SOLON AG and was established at the beginning of 2007. It manufactures solar modules and turnkey photovoltaic systems for the North American market and has already installed more than 9 MWp of integrated photovoltaic power systems and solar power stations in the US. The aim of SOLON Corp. is to promote the large-scale use of solar power in the USA.

About SOLON AG:
SOLON AG is one of the largest solar module manufacturers in Europe and a leading supplier of photovoltaic systems for large-scale solar power plants. The SOLON Group has subsidiaries in Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, and the U.S. and employs more than 850 people worldwide. The SOLON Group's core business is the manufacture of solar modules in various performance categories and of complete photovoltaic systems for the construction of solar power plants as well as the construction of turn-key solar power plants worldwide.

http://www.solon.com/cw/en/press/detail.html?ID=280

FAQ - Watermarks on images used on the internet

Q: Firstly, how do you add a watermark?

Secondly, [and I sound naive here], but what are the disadvantages with people stealing the images ? I'm thinking it's even more publicity and compliments the photo.

A: Well how to add one is a good question, because there are lots of ways, I add a line of text, with a URL, when I crop my images
If you crop them too, this is when I would add it by hand simply because you can put it where you want to on the image

There are programs to add watermarks for you (I use Photoshop for this sometimes) but the disadvantage that way is they add the text in one area and that sometimes covers an important part of an image

You just add text, type something out you want to say, like a URL. If possible and you like the effect, you can apply transparency to

The reason I started to do it was because I host my own pics and people would steal one of my pics as a 'hot link' so I would be hosting my stolen image for them at my cost (So I was paying to be ripped off)
That was mostly on free sites, but as soon as I noticed stores and for-profit sites using my images I started adding a watermark all the time.

Mostly it stops for-profit sites from just using your images as their own without any effort
(it can still happen with a watermark, but they need to steal it first, photoshop it then host it themselves, which is more work than they want to do)

Does your pup have it's own website?
If you don't have a business, consider making a free site for the dog, if nothing else it is a place to post your photos, but you could list accomplishments, training schedules, etc.. add a few google ads and you might make a few bucks too

at that point if people steal your pics (with a watermark) it's like free advertising

Arms sales are boon for contractors in Arizona

by Max Jarman - Oct. 10, 2008
The Arizona Republic

A proposed $6.4 billion U.S. arms sale to Taiwan could be a windfall for Boeing's Mesa helicopter plant and Raytheon's missile factory in Tucson.

The deal also provides job security for the 12,000 employees at Raytheon and the 4,500 workers at Boeing and could result in some new hires.

Such contracts could become increasingly important for Arizona defense contractors due to an expected drop in U.S. defense spending.

The deal, which has drawn strong protests from China, includes 30 next-generation Apache Longbow helicopters for $2.5 billion and $47 million worth of Raytheon's Javelin missiles.

It's the latest in a string of foreign military sales that have included $30 billion worth of announced deals in the past 30 days.

They included the sale of 12 Apaches to Saudi Arabia for $600 million and a $90 million deal with Israel for anti-armor weapons made in Mesa by Nammo Talley, formerly Talley Defense Systems.

As a result of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and unprecedented military budgets, the defense industry in Arizona has boomed while other segments of the economy have lagged. But the growth could slow.

Paul Kinsinger, a global business professor at Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, said U.S. defense contractors will be relying more on international sales, given inevitable U.S. defense cutbacks.

"The buildup cycle of the Bush years is coming to an end, and there will be a likely downturn in U.S. weapons procurement no matter who becomes president," he said. "The winning strategy now is to focus in international markets."

Defense spending for next year is slated at $612 billion, comprising the largest segment of the federal budget.

That, combined with the $700 billion aid for the ailing financial industry, has prompted various analysts to predict cutbacks in defense spending.

For many companies, international sales already are a big part of their business. Others will have to cultivate those markets, Kinsinger said.

"Foreign military sales already make up a big part of our portfolio," said John Patterson, a spokesman for Tucson missile- builder Raytheon. "It's a segment of our business that we see increasing in the years ahead."

Indeed, in the past month, there have been nine separate foreign deals for Raytheon's Tucson-made missiles valued at more that $2 billion. That includes a $737 million order from the United Arab Emirates shared with Boeing Aerospace in Huntsville, Ala.

Foreign military sales have risen sharply in the past year as the U.S. moves to fortify friendly governments in the Middle East in advance of troop withdrawals from Iraq.

The Department of Defense proposed more than $70 billion in foreign military sales during the government's fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. That compares with $22 billion in the prior year.

Many of those deals involve countries in the Middle East, such as Jordan, Kuwait, Turkey, Egypt and Israel, as well s Greece.

The deals are put together through the Defense Department and administered by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. The agency notifies Congress about a proposed sale, and lawmakers have 30 days to block a deal. But such action is rare.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/2008/10/10/20081010biz-boeing1010.html

New geothermal assessment of U.S.

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

The U.S. Geological Survey released the first national geothermal resource estimate in more than 30 years.

The results of this assessment show that the United States has an estimated 9,057 Megawatts-electric (MWe) of power generation potential from domestic, conventional, identified geothermal systems, 30,033 MWe of power generation potential from conventional, undiscovered geothermal resources, and 517,800 MWe of power generation potential from unconventional (high temperature, low permeability) Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) resources.

Arizona is shown as having only 0.29% of the currently identified geothermal assessments, 3.47% of the unknown resources, and 10.56% of the enhanced geothermal resource potential identified.

http://arizonageology.blogspot.com/2008/10/new-geothermal-assessment-of-us.html

Project 10 to the 100th

Submission Deadline:
October 20th, 2008

Project 10¹⁰⁰

How it works

Project 10¹⁰⁰ (pronounced "Project 10 to the 100th") is a call for ideas to change the world by helping as many people as possible. Here's how to join in.

1. Send us your idea by October 20th.
Simply fill out the submission form giving us the gist of your idea. You can supplement your proposal with a 30-second video.

2. Voting on ideas begins on January 27th.
We'll post a selection of one hundred ideas and ask you, the public, to choose twenty semi-finalists. Then an advisory board will select up to five final ideas. Send me a reminder to vote.

3. We'll help bring these ideas to life.
We're committing $10 million to implement these projects, and our goal is to help as many people as possible. So remember, money may provide a jumpstart, but the idea is the thing.

Good luck, and may those who help the most win.

Arizona gets $1M grant for Phoenix-Tucson rail study

Arizona was awarded a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to conduct a planning study on the environmental impacts of passenger rail service between Phoenix and Tucson.

The grant would complete the environmental analysis necessary for project development, according to a written statement from the federal agency.

The proposed rail plan would operate trains at speeds up to 125 miles per hour with up to 15 rail stations between the two Arizona cities. Currently there is no daily service between Phoenix and Tucson. It’s estimated that daily rail service would attract 1.2 million passengers annually.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, the former director of the Arizona Department of Transportation, released data Tuesday showing that Americans drove 9.6 billion fewer miles in July 2008 compared with July 2007. At the same time, transit ridership increased 11 percent. Amtrak had its busiest month ever in July.

The $1 million grant Arizona received is a matching grant and is part of a $30 million grant program that will be shared with several other states, including California, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

Phoenix Business Journal - by Jan Buchholz

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2008/09/29/daily26.html?ana=from_rss