SunLakes of AZ Blog

Using Open Source for work and play

March 2010

The Market’s Wild Ride

by Karl Schroeder for Finance

These last weeks have been brutal for investors. The wild market swings from day to day, from hour to hour, have been extremely difficult for all of us. Invested alongside of you in the very same investments I certainly feel your pain.  Even more so, I feel the pain in my professional life as I watch these markets test the resolve and financial plans of my clients.

As I write this article the decline in the stock market has been significant. As measured by the S&P 500 (a widely followed index for the US stock market) stocks were down just under 41% from their high on October 9, 2007. Amazingly, the bulk of this decline (22%) happened in the first two weeks of October, since September 30th, 2008, in the panic selling before the passage of the “rescue” package.
Read the rest of this entry »

No Comments
Add Your Thoughts

Online Identity Theft - Don’t Get Scammed

by admin for Features

Social engineering is the tactic used to take the con game to the masses.  Today, con artists operate on a large scale using email and other mass communication tactics to dupe unsuspecting people into their traps and out of their money.  Mass communications make it easy to play the numbers.

I am a former computer security officer my training helps keep me out of some trouble.  However, you don’t need to be a professional background to protect your identity.  You just need some common sense to avoid a lot of trouble.

If you have email, sooner or later you will receive correspondence from someone who wants to do you harm.  They may offer you an opportunity to make money or may trick you into believing they have a business relationship with you.  Because this tactic is effective, the con artist continues to use it.

Here is how it works:
Read the rest of this entry »

1 response
Add Your Thoughts

Rocky Point (Mexico)

by Art Sloan for Travel

Rocky Point beach.

Rocky Point beach.

With gas costing as much as it does an inexpensive three day tour to Rocky Point, Mexico for charity should help everyone. The next two tours are scheduled for Jan 12-14 and Feb 23-25. The tours are limited to 55 persons. Each tour includes luxury bus, three days and two nights in the only American owned hotel in Rocky Point, two full breakfasts, one cocktail party with entertainment, a seafood Mexican dinner and three tours. The first stop is at Organ Pipe National Monument in Arizona. The second is to the CEDO Institute, the only Oceanographic Institute between Texas and California. The third includes shopping in an area in Rocky Point that is very unusual. A optional excursion is clamming with lunch in Cholla Bay. The bay has the second lowest tide in North America.  An evening cruise on the Sea of Cortez with drinks and nachos. Fishing trips and golfing may be arranged. All tours are conducted by Art Sloane, an Arizona tour guide who relates the history and geography of the area passed through.  Deposits are now being taken for future trips which will benefit three veterans charities, the Carl T. Hayden VA Hospital, Arizona Veterans Home and two homeless veterans facilities  The order reservations are received is the order persons board the bus.  Cost of the tour is $265 based on double occupancy. Information Art or Viv Sloane (480) 802-6810, www.artsrockypoint.com click on gallery to see the trip.

Arthur G. Sloane (480) 802-6810 artgbeard@aol.com

No Comments
Add Your Thoughts

Helping Homeless Veterans can be painless

by Art Sloan for Features

Helping Homeless Veterans can be painless if you pay Arizona State taxes. In addition to the school credit that many take you may also take a tax credit up to $400 for a couple or $200 for a single by donating to the homeless or working poor. This amount comes straight off the top of your Arizona State taxes and can then be taken as a tax deduction on your federal taxes. You can contact me for a full explanation at 480-802-6810 or e-mail me at artgbeard@aol.com for the forms. This Tax credit is sponsored by the JWV Dept of the Southwest and all funds are used by the posts involved in helping the homeless regardless of religion or race. The post in Sun Lakes works with homeless veterans at Victory Place, Crossroads and other homeless veterans facilities in Phoenix. This tax credit must be finished and paid by the end of the year and not April 15.
Read the rest of this entry »

No Comments
Add Your Thoughts

How not to kill your Citrus and Palms

by admin for Home and Garden

If you are like many of the residents at Sun Lakes, you’re not a native of Arizona and may not have a green thumb either. However, you probably have some Citrus and Palms on your property. I do and I probably should have cactus or plastic plants to care for. In the northeast, Mother Nature does a good job in taking care of much of the landscapes’ requirements. Arizona is very different and replacing trees is going to be expensive.

I thought I would share some of my lessons on how not to kill your Citrus and Palms.
Read the rest of this entry »

1 response
Add Your Thoughts

What is Urinary Incontinence?

by Matthew E. Karlovsky, M.D. for Health

Urinary incontinence (UI) is the involuntary loss of urine. The problem afflicts an estimated 13 million adults in the United States, 85% of them being women. Because of the embarrassment of UI, only a 1/3 to ½ of people that have UI seek treatment, yet UI can be improved in approximately 8 out of 10 cases. Often, women with UI are reported to be depressed and/or embarrassed about their appearance and odor. Consequently, social interaction with friends and sexual activity may be avoided. In a survey of American women from 2002, 26% reported experiencing UI over the last year, and 37% over the past thirty days. UI begins to be reported by women in their thirties, but even women active into their eighties experience it.
Read the rest of this entry »

1 response
Add Your Thoughts
  •  

    November 2008
    M T W T F S S
    « Oct   Dec »
     12
    3456789
    10111213141516
    17181920212223
    24252627282930

main navigation