Money
« Previous EntriesOnline finance for home and business?
Wednesday, April 16th, 2008While going paperless, I thought it’d be nice to consolidate everything online. I’ve already pretty much eliminated Microsoft Office by using Google Docs - why not move my finances from Quicken and QuickBooks to an online solution?
Well there is no “Home and Business” edition of Quicken online, and the online version of QuickBooks only works […]
Creative Gift Ideas, a how-to guide
Thursday, November 29th, 2007I have hated holiday shopping for years for one simple reason: Pretty much everyone, myself included, already has what they want (e.g. an iPod) or they want something too expensive (e.g. a big screen TV).
My mother, on the other hand, loves holiday shopping; probably because she is so good at it. Since I can […]
Buy Canadian Money
Thursday, September 20th, 2007Unbelievable. Today, one US dollar is equal to one Canadian dollar.
I wonder just how well the resulting inflation can be kept in check when the dollar is worth less and less… and less.
Prosper(ing) So Far
Monday, September 17th, 2007I made my first Prosper loan back in February. I contributed $100 at 8.4% to a $4,000 loan to a couple of grad students looking to max-out their IRA. Though the loan term is three years, they finished paying me (and the other 47 contributors) back this month.
After making my first three loans and seeing […]
Image and Photo Editng Software for Free
Thursday, August 30th, 2007Recently I’ve had the need to do some image and photo editing, but Microsoft Paint isn’t really up to the job and I don’t want to spend money on something I don’t plan on being good at.
I started of searching Google and found The GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program). The GIMP is a lot like […]
Feed the War Machine
Monday, July 30th, 2007Not feeling so great about income taxes today, I researched a bit of history and found this video:
There, now I feel better. Wait… no I don’t.
Scams
Tuesday, July 10th, 2007In response to my fraud warning, a friend of mine recently asked “if the thief took your data, how am I at risk?”
One scam I am aware of is this: The thief calls you, pretending to be a doctor or nurse at a hospital. He tells you that I have been hurt in an accident […]
What I did when my data was stolen
Monday, June 11th, 2007Over the weekend, my laptop was stolen. Though I had security measures in place to prevent data theft, it’s best to assume that these safeguards have been compromised. Being a computer guy, I know how easy it can be to crack a password and defeat most forms of encryption.
Step 1: Freeze your Accounts
As I was […]
Fraud Warning
Friday, June 8th, 2007My laptop has been stolen. That means that if I had your contact information, now some asshole thief has it too.
If you get any strange calls mentioning me, don’t tell them anything about yourself or me. If someone comes to your door asking about me, don’t tell them anything about yourself or me.
Remember that they […]
How People Are Finding Me
Saturday, February 17th, 2007I’ve been running Google Analytics on JamesTharpe.com for a while now and have learned a few interesting things from it, such as:
Most newcomers find the site through Google, by searching for some variant of my name. Variants include: James Tharpe, Jim Tharpe, and Jamie Tharpe. This accounts for just over five visits per week.
Others have […]