Friday, June 18, 2010

Warm out today

Hi:

It is warm out today. Warm enough to go on my bike in short sleeves.

The picture here is mint field just west of Stayton. There used to be many mint fields around here but this is the only one I see these days. Mint oil used to bring a high price but I think the price must have come down.

I may go dig up a few plants to replant here. I did this years ago, but after one year the mint took over garden area. I may get only one or two plants this time. Just enough for a mint julep for the next Kentucky Derby.

I finished The Big Short. Only a few of people benefited from the meltdown, those who "went short" on the CDOs. Those that did, earned millions and sometimes billion of dollars from the credit default swaps (i.e., insurance against the CDO succeeding). These CDS caused AIG to get $180 billion bailout from our government.

How much did we spend in the bailouts? Almost $2 trillion. Only about $500 million has been paid back. Compute for me how much each American would get if the government gave each of us equal parts of that $2 trillion. How many Americans are there? 320 million or 350 million?

My next book will be The Passage. A bad vampire novel. It is the book for this summer.

I have 12 books waiting for me that library. I wonder which of those I will read and which ones I will just return.

I hope the weather is good this weekend.

Steve

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