Tag Archives: money

How to make money from telemarketers (or just annoy them)

My father-in-law is absolutely fed up with telemarketers calling. But rather than just hang up on them, why not try to get some money out of them? So he made a recording, to be played next time he gets a call:

Listen to this recording he made.

Ok, it’s a long shot, but I think it’s hilarious. If it works, he can take himself off the Do Not Call Registry!

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How to track savings bonds in MS Money 2007

I recently upgraded to Microsoft Money 2007, and decided to finally add in some treasury bonds that I have had for years. I couldn’t figure out, how to do it, however, until I came across this FAQ.

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Writing High-Performance.NET Code, 2nd Edition by Ben Watson. Available for pre-order:

Say no to Variable Pricing

ICANN is  hearing a proposal to charge variable prices for domain names. This has to stop before it starts. How are they going to determine a price? What’s the fair market price of something? Does it depend on how many whois queries there are? Someobody will just slam that, driving up the price. Is it arbitrary?

Look at Ken McCarthy’s blog for more info.

Check out my latest book, the essential, in-depth guide to performance for all .NET developers:

Writing High-Performance.NET Code, 2nd Edition by Ben Watson. Available for pre-order:

Raising Taxes versus Lowering Spending

Every few months, our Senators and Congress-men and women debate taxes and whether or not to raise, lower, keep them steady, or blame others for doing so.

The main thing that I notice during this ridiculous political fights is that nobody ever talks about the most basic financial wisdom: Spend Less Than You Earn. Why doesn’t this apply to governments as well as individuals? Most people in Congress are very wealthy and presumably understand basic financial principles of wealth-building quite well. So why can’t they all exercise restraint and simply spend less? Raising taxes to cover budget shortfalls makes me very nervous because there is no amount of money that cannot be overspent! Raising taxes is not a real solution, just as earning more money isn’t a solution to your bad spending habits.

Check out my latest book, the essential, in-depth guide to performance for all .NET developers:

Writing High-Performance.NET Code, 2nd Edition by Ben Watson. Available for pre-order:

A sign that ticket prices are too high

Les Misérables is in town, and I would love to see it. I’ve seen it three times, but it’s one of those shows that I could see a million times and love it more each and every time.

Problem is: the tickets are minimum $200.00. The best seats still available are over $300.00. $300.00 for 3 hours of entertainment? Is it that really worth it?

In London, front row seats are about £40 ($70). A quick search turns up a flight for $419 from Dulles. So… for $300 I could see Les Misérables here, or for $490.00 I could fly all the way to London and see it.

Check out my latest book, the essential, in-depth guide to performance for all .NET developers:

Writing High-Performance.NET Code, 2nd Edition by Ben Watson. Available for pre-order: