Randy Pausch, a Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist whose "last lecture" about facing terminal cancer became an international sensation and a best-selling book, died Friday. He was 47 years old.
University spokeswoman Anne Watzman said Mr. Pausch died early Friday at his home in Virginia.
The Last Lecture
In the September 2007 lecture, Mr. Pausch began by showing his CT scans, revealing 10 tumors on his liver. But after that, he talked about living. If anyone expected him to be morose, he said, "I'm sorry to disappoint you." He then dropped to the floor and did one-handed pushups.
On September 18, 2007, computer science professor Randy Pausch stepped in front of an audience of 400 people at Carnegie Mellon University to deliver a last lecture called “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.” With slides of his CT scans beaming out to the audience, Randy told his audience about the cancer that is devouring his pancreas and that will claim his life in a matter of months. On the stage that day, Randy was youthful, energetic, handsome, often cheerfully, darkly funny. He seemed invincible. But this was a brief moment, as he himself acknowledged.
TheLastLecture by Randy Pausch
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Two more Banks Failed and Seized by FDIC
The FDIC took over two more banks. According to The Wall Street Journal, "The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a division of the Treasury Department, revoked the charters of First National Bank of Nevada, based in Reno, Nev., and First Heritage Bank of Newport Beach, Calif. The FDIC was appointed receiver of both banks." The Nevada bank had over $3 billion in deposits.
Current estimates are that less than 100 banks will fail during the current credit crisis, a much smaller number than closed during the saving and loan debacle of the late 1980s.
Federal regulators on Friday declared First National Bank of Nevada and its affiliates insolvent and the FDIC was named receiver. The FDIC Board of Directors approved the assumption of more than $3 billion in deposits by Mutual of Omaha Bank. FDIC will retain most of First National's loan portfolio.
"We would first like to reassure all customers of First National Bank of Nevada and First Heritage Bank that all their deposits are safe and accessible." Schmid said. "Their deposits will automatically transition to Mutual of Omaha Bank and we will be open for business on Monday morning."
First National Bank of Nevada operated 15 branches in Arizona and 10 branches in Nevada. First Heritage Bank, which specializes in commercial banking, operated three locations in the Los Angeles area. As of Monday, all became branches of Mutual of Omaha Bank. The acquisition also includes two First National operations: the Wealth Management Division and Community Association Banc, which serves neighborhood and condominium homeowners associations.
Current estimates are that less than 100 banks will fail during the current credit crisis, a much smaller number than closed during the saving and loan debacle of the late 1980s.
Federal regulators on Friday declared First National Bank of Nevada and its affiliates insolvent and the FDIC was named receiver. The FDIC Board of Directors approved the assumption of more than $3 billion in deposits by Mutual of Omaha Bank. FDIC will retain most of First National's loan portfolio.
"We would first like to reassure all customers of First National Bank of Nevada and First Heritage Bank that all their deposits are safe and accessible." Schmid said. "Their deposits will automatically transition to Mutual of Omaha Bank and we will be open for business on Monday morning."
First National Bank of Nevada operated 15 branches in Arizona and 10 branches in Nevada. First Heritage Bank, which specializes in commercial banking, operated three locations in the Los Angeles area. As of Monday, all became branches of Mutual of Omaha Bank. The acquisition also includes two First National operations: the Wealth Management Division and Community Association Banc, which serves neighborhood and condominium homeowners associations.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Washington Mutual's Report Not So Good
Washington Mutual reported a $3.3 billion quarterly loss Tuesday -- far worse than Wall Street was anticipating -- as it set aside more money for bad loans.
The Seattle-based thrift reported a net loss of $6.58 a share, which included a charge related to a $7 billion capital raise the company announced in April.
Excluding the charge, WaMu reported a loss of $3.34 a share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting the nation's largest savings and loan to report a loss of $1.05 a share on this basis.
The Seattle-based thrift reported a net loss of $6.58 a share, which included a charge related to a $7 billion capital raise the company announced in April.
Excluding the charge, WaMu reported a loss of $3.34 a share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting the nation's largest savings and loan to report a loss of $1.05 a share on this basis.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Easy Access to Credit cards Will Mess Up Students' Credit For Years to Come
Businessweek.com is publishing a series on the impact of easy access to credit by students on our campuses. The following is an excerpt from its published material
"Over the next month, as 17 million college students flood the nation's campuses, they will be greeted by swarms of credit-card marketers. Frisbees, T-shirts, and even iPods will be used as enticements to sign up, and marketing on the Web will reinforce the message. Many kids will go for it. Some 75% of college students have credit cards now, up from 67% in 1998. Just a generation earlier, a credit card on campus was a great rarity."
You can read the rest of the story at its website. I think all students should read this series before leaving their parents' home for college. It should be required reading by all of them. Parents should advise them to read it too.
For many of the students now, the cards they get will simply be an easier way to pay for groceries or books, with no long-term negative consequences. But for Seth Woodworth and a growing number like him, easy access to credit will lead to spending beyond their means and debts that will compromise their futures..."
"Over the next month, as 17 million college students flood the nation's campuses, they will be greeted by swarms of credit-card marketers. Frisbees, T-shirts, and even iPods will be used as enticements to sign up, and marketing on the Web will reinforce the message. Many kids will go for it. Some 75% of college students have credit cards now, up from 67% in 1998. Just a generation earlier, a credit card on campus was a great rarity."
You can read the rest of the story at its website. I think all students should read this series before leaving their parents' home for college. It should be required reading by all of them. Parents should advise them to read it too.
For many of the students now, the cards they get will simply be an easier way to pay for groceries or books, with no long-term negative consequences. But for Seth Woodworth and a growing number like him, easy access to credit will lead to spending beyond their means and debts that will compromise their futures..."
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InGodWeTrustFinancial helps you make the ends meet when the financial times are hard. It helps you pay the bills, find new jobs which you can hold on too. InGodWeTrustFinancial aims at providing you with all the tools you need to live in tough economic time.
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Find help at http://personalfinancemoneymatters.blogspot.com
InGodWeTrustFinancial is all about giving advice to face tough economic times.
Find help at http://personalfinancemoneymatters.blogspot.com
InGodWeTrustFinancial: In God We Trust Financial Basics: Earning Money to Keep, Paying Down Debts, Saving for the Future, Diversifying and Investing
In God We Trust Financial Basics: Earning Money to Keep, Paying Down Debts, Saving for the Future, Diversifying and Investing
How do we, Americans, get into this financial mess?
All this mess over Fannie and Freddie and the housing crisis mask the real problem in this country - that's the fact that wages have not gone up for average Americans in a long, long time. The economy has been fueled by consumers spending their supposed home equity, while incomes have stagnated for all but those on the highest rungs of corporate America or pop culture. The average Americans do not know what it is like to have lots of discretionary income in a long time. They only work and earn enough money to make ends meet or to pay the bills. For sure, most would envy the large contracts offered and signed by a few athletes, rap moguls, musicians, and hip hop artists. That is why shows such as American Idol and America's Got Talent will continue to be popular. Lottery enters the mix too. They are a sure way to reach success in this country. All young kids dream about making it big in sports, music or some sort of entertainment industry. When they can not make it, they go to places such as Las Vegas, Florida and San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles to try to make it in alternative adult industries. By then, they may become disillusioned and deceived. Where is the power of hard work, saving and living within one's limits?
What has the recent real estate exuberance taught us as a nation?
During the real estate boom, people used their homes as piggy banks, tapping into their equity to pay off their car loans and their credit card debt and their student loan debt. With home prices dropping in most places (Riverside, California, Florida and Las Vegas, the home equity has dried up. Credit was easy to get and many people went for it. For sure, debts piled up. Now we are a nation of people in debt. We, Americans, are saddled by debts. We are at the mercy of foreign investors who continue to trust in our systems by lending and investing more money to our institutions. Yes, it is a global economy right now. It becomes more important for our leaders to reassure those foreigners who are seeing Americans snaking in long lines and making a run on their banks. God forbid these foreign investors, also fearing a crash, start to pull their money too! While this is going on at the financial institution level, everything is getting more expensive: food, gas, school supplies, textbooks, basic products, even movies are soaring in price. Unfortunately wages are not keeping up. So if people are struggling just to pay for the basics, what are they going to have left over to pay off their massive debt?
This bleak situation we have just described partly explains the foreclosure epidemic that has ravaged local neighborhoods. The brown grass that was once green and immaculate becomes common fixture in most neighborhoods. Show me a neighborhood, a community even the best and richest one, that has not had to deal with unsold houses whose for sale signs have been up for months and years.
Indeed, it is time to return to the basics. We need to manage our finances, save and diversify our funds. The good old days are long gone. The home equity cash register is long gone. In most cases, easy money led to waste and overspending. Credit card offers led to the indebtedness of the American individual. In most cases, they led to excess and overweight. It was a false sense of tranquility and wealth. The foundation was shaky, to begin with.
Now is the time to rethink our ways and start saving and spending what we have, but not what we do not have.
How do we, Americans, get into this financial mess?
All this mess over Fannie and Freddie and the housing crisis mask the real problem in this country - that's the fact that wages have not gone up for average Americans in a long, long time. The economy has been fueled by consumers spending their supposed home equity, while incomes have stagnated for all but those on the highest rungs of corporate America or pop culture. The average Americans do not know what it is like to have lots of discretionary income in a long time. They only work and earn enough money to make ends meet or to pay the bills. For sure, most would envy the large contracts offered and signed by a few athletes, rap moguls, musicians, and hip hop artists. That is why shows such as American Idol and America's Got Talent will continue to be popular. Lottery enters the mix too. They are a sure way to reach success in this country. All young kids dream about making it big in sports, music or some sort of entertainment industry. When they can not make it, they go to places such as Las Vegas, Florida and San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles to try to make it in alternative adult industries. By then, they may become disillusioned and deceived. Where is the power of hard work, saving and living within one's limits?
What has the recent real estate exuberance taught us as a nation?
During the real estate boom, people used their homes as piggy banks, tapping into their equity to pay off their car loans and their credit card debt and their student loan debt. With home prices dropping in most places (Riverside, California, Florida and Las Vegas, the home equity has dried up. Credit was easy to get and many people went for it. For sure, debts piled up. Now we are a nation of people in debt. We, Americans, are saddled by debts. We are at the mercy of foreign investors who continue to trust in our systems by lending and investing more money to our institutions. Yes, it is a global economy right now. It becomes more important for our leaders to reassure those foreigners who are seeing Americans snaking in long lines and making a run on their banks. God forbid these foreign investors, also fearing a crash, start to pull their money too! While this is going on at the financial institution level, everything is getting more expensive: food, gas, school supplies, textbooks, basic products, even movies are soaring in price. Unfortunately wages are not keeping up. So if people are struggling just to pay for the basics, what are they going to have left over to pay off their massive debt?
This bleak situation we have just described partly explains the foreclosure epidemic that has ravaged local neighborhoods. The brown grass that was once green and immaculate becomes common fixture in most neighborhoods. Show me a neighborhood, a community even the best and richest one, that has not had to deal with unsold houses whose for sale signs have been up for months and years.
Indeed, it is time to return to the basics. We need to manage our finances, save and diversify our funds. The good old days are long gone. The home equity cash register is long gone. In most cases, easy money led to waste and overspending. Credit card offers led to the indebtedness of the American individual. In most cases, they led to excess and overweight. It was a false sense of tranquility and wealth. The foundation was shaky, to begin with.
Now is the time to rethink our ways and start saving and spending what we have, but not what we do not have.
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