What an interesting past couple of weeks! The FBI shut down online poker in the U.S., angering many poker players and casting doubt on the stability of the game. Their domains were initially seized, with players ending up at a warning page, but were later returned in a deal that U.S. players be prevented from playing.
I was on vacation in beautiful Saint Kitts and Nevis, where the sun shines all day, the weather is warm and balmy, and the scenery is beautiful. The people are friendly, and the animals are friendly, too. I befriended birds, monkeys, cats, what have you, and I stopped in the middle of the road to let goats pass by. Well, most of the animals were friendly: an 8-inch long centipede scared the $*#) out of my girlfriend and her friend while we were walking to a restaurant on the beach!
Is it normal to feel depressed to return to brown and grey after having spent a few days in such paradise? I don’t know. The people over there don’t have as much in the way of material possessions, but from what I can see, they are a happy people in spite of all of their historical hardships. Maybe all you do need is a little bit of sunshine in your life!
Weekend Reading
The Centsible Life and CheckNGo are giving away an iPad 2 in their giveaway contest!
Personal Finance Bloggers
- A Snapshot of China’s Appetite for Global Commodities (Beating The Index)
- 1 Year Blog Anniversary (The Passive Income Earner)
- 10 Unknown Small Cap Stocks With Healthy Yields (The Dividend Pig)
- Are You A Financial Dumb Ass? (Financial Samurai)
- Career Tips Six, Seven and Eight (101 Centavos)
- Giving Credit Where Credit is Due (21st Century Human)
- Here We Go Again: Attorney General to Investigate Rising Oil Prices (The Biz of Life)
- How The future Will Dramatically Change Your Retirement and Everything Else, Part 1 (The Wise Buck)
- Most Bloggers Should Sell Text Link Ads (Blogthority)
- Relationships and Finance: How Polar Opposites Can Ride Out Joint Finances (MomVesting)
- Secure password…. (Subramoney)
- Stop Whining About Gas Prices. Seriously (Darwin’s Money)
- Thank God I’m Homeless in the U.S.! (Life And My Finances)
- When is a Good Time to Consider Refinancing Your Mortgage? (Free From Broke)
News, economics, and other interesting things
- 2000+ Robots in US Ground Forces in Afghanistan (Singularity Hub)
- Apple, Google receive phone users’ locations (KurzweilAI)
- China’s shocking weekend announcement: Proposes to dump the majority of its dollar holdings (The Daily Crux)
- Deflation or Hyperinflation? (FOFOA)
- Doug Casey: Gold is not a bubble (The Daily Crux)
- Dr. Hans-Hermann Hoppe on the Impracticality of One-World Government and the Failure of Western-style Democracy (The Daily Bell)
- Join The Party Party? (Overcoming Bias)
- Levels of Action (lesswrong)
- Meditation may help the brain reduce distractions and focus (KurzweilAI)
- Offense versus harm minimization (lesswrong)
- One Pill To Break Us All (Overcoming Bias)
- Organic Farmers Unite Against Monsanto In Battle For Future of Food (Singularity Hub)
- Robotic Warfare Draws Closer as Robot Jet Fighter Passes Two More Flight Tests (Singularity Hub)
- Signs point to a severe housing correction in Canada (The Globe and Mail)
- Statusful Regulation (Overcoming Bias)
- Trust Govt More? (Overcoming Bias)
- The Bias You Didn’t Expect (lesswrong)
- The Neuroscience of Desire (lesswrong)
- The Freedom to Cross a Border (Mises Economics Blog)
- The Singularity FAQ (Singularity Institute)
- Uncle Sam: Busted (Mises Economics Blog)
- Unhappy Is OK (Overcoming Bias)
Carnivals
- Canadian Finance Carnival #30 (Canadian Finance Blog)
- Canadian Finance Carnival #32 (Canadian Finance Blog)
- Carnival of Financial Planning – Edition #179 – April 8, 2011 (The Skilled Investor)
- Carnival of Wealth #33 – Apr 10 2011 Edition (Personal Dividends)
- Carnival of Wealth #34 – Apr 17 2010 Edition (Personal Dividends)
- Carnival of Wealth #35 – Apr 24 2011 Edition (Personal Dividends)
- Family Finance Carnival April 20th (Living with Clarity)
- Festival Of Frugality – Passover Edition (Wealth Pilgrim)
- Festival of Stocks Aftershocks (Fat Pitch Financials)
- Festival of Stocks, April 25, 2011 (Fat Pitch Financials)
- Financial Planning Carnival #41 (KCLAU)
- Totally Money Carnival: Tax Day Edition (The College Investor)
- Totally Money Blog Carnival #13 (Thousandaire)
- Totally Money Blog Carnival #16 – Easter Edition (Stupid Cents)
- Yakezie Blog Swap Roundup – What is your Financial Motivation? (Narrow Bridge Finance)
- Yakezie Blog Swap: Link Love Wednesdays (Financial Success for Young Adults)
- Yakezie Carnival: Easter Sunday Edition (Little House in the Valley)
- Yakezie Carnival: The Last Minute Tax Filer Edition (retireby40.org)
Video
Kevin,
I live in a place that claims to have the world’s best climate. I’m not sure if it’s true or not, but we do have 300 days of sunshine per year. It’s definitely not overrated. I can’t tell you how many days I have been happy just because the sun is shining.
I’m glad you had such a great vacation, minus the centipede issue.
Bret
I know what you mean; I was happy to wake up early in the morning and walk barefoot on the soft grass under the warm sun. It’s not the same to wake up to dark skies and a cold, windswept landscape (though thankfully slowly warming up).
Thanks for including my post. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by!
Welcome back! And thanks for the mention!
Thanks for the great post with the hilarious commentators. 🙂
Welcome Back! You definitely had some catching up to do!
For sure! I don’t know if catching up will ever be possible with so many sites to follow. 😉
Hi Kevin,
Thank you for the mention. Have a great week.
Mike
Thanks for stopping by, Mike! Looking forward to the next posts in the series.
Welcome back, Kevin, and a good roundup. Some of the econ blogs were new, and now appreciated.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Ah, vacation…I’m dreaming of a trip to Cambodia but the flight is too long, and heat too high, for our toddler to come along. I suppose a trip to a tropical paradise could be a great second alternative.
So sayeth the gal living in the frozen NE. 😉 I’m glad you had a great vacation.
I was in Cambodia and it was a really interesting experience! I do agree on not bringing a toddler along, but maybe when they’re in their early or middle teens that could be a really great cultural experience for them, and show them something of the world.