FREEMAN-SPICER FINANCIAL SERVICES

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316 South Eddy Street South Bend, IN 46617 / 574.234.0069 (V) • 574.234.6414 (F) • surekey@aol.com

Vol. 29, No. 1 • January, 2011 / www.Freeman-Spicer.com

[Remembering Eli Spicer]

Cyber-Shop Safety . . . . . . As the online buying season seems to be slowing down, keep your sense of security up front. Scammers are still out there in force to take your ID and financial information.

Be Leery: Don’t open attachments or click on links if they seem at all suspicious. Doing so could let spyware or viruses in. “If you have a shred of doubt about the legitimacy of an attachment, delete it and call the friend who sent it.”

Invest In Protection: Buy a full suite of security software ($30 to $80 a year; top brands include Symantec, McAfee, and Webroot), including antivirus and anti-spyware software. That should help keep out programs that log your key-strokes to steal passwords and financial info.

Stay Up To Date: Your web browser and operating system are also vital to protecting your information. Make sure both are configured to get updates from the manufacturer automatically. With a PC, look for a box to check in your preferences or control settings.

Go Direct: To steer clear of websites that look like Amazon.com, or BestBuy.com but are actually fakes set up to steal your data, don’t click on links to get to those e-commerce sites. Type the URL directly into your browser instead.

Scan For Security: Once you’re checking out, be sure that you’re on a secure page. The address should begin with “https,” not “http.” The “s” indicates an encrypted connection, so even if your financial information is intercepted, it can’t be read. A gold lock on the bottom of the page signals the same thing.

Never Shop In Public: Your computer is more vulnerable on a public wireless network - you don’t know what security is in place. Some don’t think doing credit card transactions over a cellphone or bluetooth is a good idea either. (Money Magazine)

Comparison Shopping . . . . Retailers are making comparison shopping easier for consumers. Really! That’s an about-face from their earlier stance, which saw such shopping as leading to lost sales more often than not. But more and more merchants realize that many customers who compare prices or products on a smart phone or laptop stay and buy where they are, saving themselves the hassle of going elsewhere. A customer who has to leave a store to compare prices may never return. So . . . .many retailers are even installing free Wi-Fi to facilitate comparisons with others. (The Kiplinger Letter)

Puns For The Educated Mind . . . . .

•          A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: “Keep off the Grass.”

•          Atheism is a non-prophet organization.

•          I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.

•          No matter how much you push the envelope, it’ll still be stationary.

•          Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.

•          There was the person who sent ten puns to friends, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh. No pun in ten did. (Founier)

Six Top-Selling Floorings: What you get, what you pay . . . . . .

1.         Solid Wood / Bamboo: Best for - natural warmth in a kitchen; can be sanded and refinished several times. But - poor choice for baths and other damp places. Wood can discolor and wear quickly and tends to dent. Hard to install. Cost: $5 to $12 per sq ft.

2.         Vinyl: Best for baths and budget kitchens. Easy installation. Resists wear, moisture, stains, and sun damage. Some look more like stone. But - even the best still looks like vinyl up close. Cost: $1 to $7 per sq. ft.

3.         Engineered Wood: Best for - easy installation. Veneer over substrate; most can be nailed, stapled, glued, or floated. May be refinished. But - poor choice for baths; can be damaged by spills. Wears quickly and dents easily. Cost: $5 to $10 per sq. ft.

4.         Linoleum: Best for - those who want a natural, resilient material. Fine for baths; tends to resist moisture, dents, and sunlight. But - wear and scratch resistance varied. Vinyl still offers more choices for less. Cost: $4 to $9 per sq. ft.

5.         Plastic Laminate: Best for - toughness, choice, easy installation; can be floated. The best have better finish wear than some wood. But - poor choice for baths; can be damaged by big spills. Can’t be refinished. Cost: $4 to $8 per sq. ft.

6.         Ceramic Tile: Best for baths or kitchens with a bigger budget. Tends to resist wear, most damage. But - hard surface can break dropped items. Difficult to install. Tile can crack, and grout can stain. Cost: $8 to $15 per sq. ft. (Consumer Reports)

Girlfriends . . . . . A group of 15 year old girlfriends discussed where they should meet for dinner. Finally, it was agreed upon they should meet at the Dairy Queen next to the Ocean View restaurant because they only had $6.00 between them and Jimmy Johnson, that cute boy in Social Studies, lives on that street and they might see him and they can ride their bikes there.

            10 years later, the group of 25 year old girlfriends discussed where they should meet for dinner. Finally, it was agreed upon that they should meet at the Ocean View Restaurant because the beer was cheap, they have free snacks, the band was good, there was no cover and there were lots of cute guys.

            10 years later, at 35 years of age, the group once again discussed where they should meet for dinner. Finally, it was agreed upon that they should meet at the Ocean View Restaurant because the cosmos were good, it was right near the gym and if they go late enough, there wouldn’t be too many whiny little kids.

            10 years later, at 45 years of age, the group once again discussed where they should meet for dinner. Finally, it was agreed upon that they should meet at the Ocean View Restaurant because the martinis were big, and the waiters there have tight pants and nice buns.

            10 years later, at 55 years of age, the group once again discussed where they should meet for dinner. Finally it was agreed that they should meet at the Ocean View Restaurant because the food there was reasonable, the wine list was good, they had windows that open in case of a hot flash, and fish is good for your cholesterol.

            10 years later, at 65 years of age, the group once again discussed where they should meet for dinner. Finally it was agreed that they should meet at the Ocean View Restaurant because lighting was good and they have an early bird special.

            10 years later, at 75 years of age, the group once again discussed where they should meet for dinner. Finally it was agreed that they should meet at the Ocean View Restaurant because food was not too spicy, the restaurant was handicap accessible and they even had an elevator!

            10 years later, at 85 years of age, the group once again discussed where they should meet for dinner. Finally it was agreed that they should meet at the Ocean View Restaurant because they have never been there before. (LaFree)

How Dangerous Are Body Scans? . . . . . . While some of the new airport body scanners do expose travelers to X-ray radiation, the dose is only a tiny fraction of what we absorb during dat-to-day life and from diagnostic tests. (Newsweek)

            0.01 MREM - Backscatter whole-body scan at airport

            0.5 MREM - Dental X-ray

            24 MREM / Yr. - Cosmic radiation at sea level

            28 MREM / Yr. Terrestrial Radioactivity

            40 MREM - Mammogram

            50 MREM - Cosmic radiation in Denver

            200 MREM / Yr. - Radon in Average Home

            1,500 MREM - CT Scan of abdomen and pelvis

            100,000 MREM - Exposure required to get radiation sickness

Use Of Cash In The Future . . . . . . . . By 2020, use of cash is likely to be a rarity. It won’t disappear entirely. Individuals and businesses will still prefer to use bills for some transactions, if only in the underground economy . . . for illicit activities or to escape paying sales, income or other taxes. But . . . . electronic transfers will rule commerce. Imagine buying a coffee using your fingerprint or paying for groceries by scanning your own bar code. Already, only a fourth of retail transactions are cash. In 2007, businesses paid 74% of their bills by check. This last year, only 57% did, and the number keeps falling. (The Kiplinger Letter)

Google Maps . . . . . . . Ever used Google Maps to find directions from place to place. Follow these directions - You’re in for a real trip . . . :

1.         Go to Google.com

2.         Go to Google Maps

3.         Go to - Get Directions

4.         Enter Japan as the starting location

5.         Enter China as the ending location

6.         Look at the instruction #42 - #43 (Egan)

Why Athletes Can’t Find Regular Jobs . . . . . .

●          Chicago Cub outfielder Andre Dawson on being a role model: “I want all dem kids to do what I do, to look up to me. I wan’ all kids to copulate me.”

●          Football commentator and former player Joe Theismann: “Nobody in football should be called a genius. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein.”

●          Bill Peterson, a Florida State football coach: “You guys line up alphabetically by height....and, you guys pair up in groups of three, and then line up in a circle.”

●          Frank Layden, Utah Jazz president, on a former player: “I asked him, Son, what is it with you? Is it ignorance or apathy?” He said, “Coach, I don’t know and I don’t care!”

●          In the works of NC State great Charles Shackelford: “I can go to my left or right, I am amphibious.”                                 

●          Shelby Metcalf, basketball coach at Texas A&M, recounting what he told a player who received four F’s and one D: “Son, looks to me like you’re spending too much time on one subject.” (B. Levy)                                               

Sincerely,

Edward C. Levy

President