Zariah: 2009

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

On New Years, Resolve to ...

The year 2009 is coming to a close and it is time to put all your bad habits to bed. With 2010 comes a time for new beginnings. You can take this fresh decade as a chance to start living a better life. On New Year’s Eve, make a resolution you will stick to.

Top Searched New Year’s Resolutions:
1. Lose weight
2. Volunteer
3. Stop smoking
4. Find a job
5. Get out of debt
6. Get organized
7. Save money
8. Reduce stress
9. Get fit
10. Quit drinking

Before the stroke of midnight, reflect on what you could do to improve yourself and say ‘In this new year, I resolve to _________.’ Need help filling in that blank? Check out our list of the top searched New Year’s resolutions (above).

It helps to make a plan of action in order to accomplish your goal. By laying out a time line and organizing a strategy, you are more likely to stick to your resolution.

Don’t be afraid to call in the professionals. If last year’s resolution to diet and exercise was out the door by February, look in to hiring a personal trainer who will help you stick to a routine and reach your goal more efficiently. For those who didn’t have much luck in the job market in 2009, try visiting an employment service who will help you refine your resume and locate a job that utilizes your talents.

To stick to your resolution, lean on your peers for support and motivation. Yo! u could join a group with similar interests or find a friend with the same goal and work through it together. Working towards the same goal as others will help you stay accountable for your actions. For the many who are promising to volunteer this year, most volunteer organizations are always looking for help, such as Volunteers of America.

Find the right tools that will help you accomplish your resolution. When you are trying to stay organized, invest in a closet organizer, desk organizer or a custom organizer that will fit your needs. If 2010 is your year to quit smoking but you haven’t had luck in the past, it may be time to look into medication or nicotine patches.

What is your resol! ution this year? How do you plan to stick to it? Find more New Year’s resolutions and the tools you need to accomplish them on AOL Search.

Looking for a way to ring in the New Year? Find a New Year’s Eve celebration in your area on When.com.

More Offers: quitting smoking, electronic organizers, Jenny Craig

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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

The United States's secret war in Yemen

Captured Yemeni rebels. Image by AFP/Getty Images via Daylife

Journalists everywhere were given a rude break from their vacations when Umar Farouk Abdulmatallab attempted his Christmas Day airplane bombing. Al-Qaeda in Arabia is claiming responsibility for the bombing, and mounting evidence shows that he made contact with them in Yemen. This site has writen extensively about why Yemen would likely cause severe problems for the United States in the coming years, and it's a damn shame to be right on that count.

In the week before Abdulmatallab's airplane bombing, the United States quietly made

Monday, December 28, 2009

Colts face great debate over pulling starters

Colts coach Jim Caldwell believes he made the right call Sunday, even if everyone from NFL purists to Indianapolis fans disagree. When the Colts pulled their starters in the third quarter against the New York Jets, they essentially pulled the plug on the possibility of a perfect season. Since then, Indy radio shows have been flooded with callers and faxes from angry fans.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Woman knocks down pope at Christmas Eve Mass (AP)

AP - A woman jumped the barriers in St. Peter’s Basilica and knocked down Pope Benedict XVI at the start of Christmas Eve Mass, but the 82-year-old pontiff got up unhurt and proceeded as planned with Thursday’s service.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

'Normal' autopsy for Brittany Murphy, her will leaves estate to her mother

Brittany Murphy in Cannes, France in May 2005 (Evan Agostini/Getty)

Following on her death via cardiac arrest on Sunday morning, TMZ is reporting that there are no signs of 'foul play' in the autopsy of actress Brittany Murphy, the actress famous in roles ranging from Clueless to 8 Mile to recent film Deadline. The LA County Coroner announced the finding. Of course, a toxicology test is pending, results of which won't be available for at least 4-6 weeks. And according to RadarOnline, the Los Angeles Police Department are still looking into whether or the leading lady was a victim of an overdo

Friday, December 18, 2009

Gatorade drops Tiger

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

Tiger Woods is a perfect example of poor decisions really hurting your life and career. Apparently Gatorade drops Tiger Focus drink. This is probably a sign of things to come. Apparently Gatorade doesn't want someone who is making bad decisions promoted. They must be trying to keep people drinking their drink.

Image is everything to a company. If a company feels that someone they are sponsoring are now not worth their money then they must drop that person immediately. Tiger Woods has shown that bad decisions really do affect everything in your life. He has lost his wife and now his contract with Gatorade. Hopefully he doesn't lose too much more or he'll end up on the streets with everyone else.

Obama, other leaders meet again at climate summit (AP)

AP - President Barack Obama and world leaders are holding another impromptu meeting in search of a climate deal.

Venezuela's Chavez sees US threat in Dutch islands (AP)

AP - Hugo Chavez accused the Netherlands on Thursday of allowing the United States to use Dutch islands off Venezuela’s Caribbean coast to prepare a possible military attack against his country.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

GOP: Obama can't act on climate without Congress

Republican lawmakers are telling President Obama that he needs Congress to deliver on any commitments he makes to reduce global …

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Exclusive: 7-Year-Old's Mother Speaks On Cut Braid

Sometimes, when she sits in class, seven-year-old Lamya Cammon twirls the colorful beads that adorn her braids. Her mother, Helen Cummingham, says that she does it “maybe out of nervousness or distraction.” On November 28th, the girl’s first grade teacher…

Monday, December 14, 2009

Citigroup, Wells Fargo To Repay Bailout Money

Repaying the loans given them under the Troubled Asset Relief Program will free them from close regulatory scrutiny. The announcements marked the latest step toward recovery for the U.S. financial system.

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Berlusconi attack prompts Italian soul-searching (Reuters)

Reuters - Italians asked on Monday if an ugly assault on Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was prompted by a “climate of hatred” splitting their nation and commentators said a wave of sympathy looked set to boost his political fortunes.

Dubai's $10B bailout by Abu Dhabi calms fears (AP)

Oil-rich Abu Dhabi pumped $10 billion into its indebted neighbor Monday, sending stocks soaring and sparing Dubai and the rest of the Emirates federation the humiliation of an imminent default by one of the struggling Arab boomtown’s star companies.

Gogo Inflight Free WiFi Coupon Codes

With the holiday flying season underway and me flying out today as well, and wanted to see if I could try out some internet at 30,000 feet. Gogo Inflight Internet is now offering WiFi internet on select Air Canada, Airtran, American, Delta, United, and Virgin America flights. See here for participating aircraft.

Here are some promotional codes that will provide you with one free session of GoGo. They are good once per account. However, supposedly you can sign up with any name and any e-mail address with no confirmation system (no credit card needed either with the code), it seems like they are pretty much offering unlimited free internet until these expire. I hope I can get it to work! Via FlyerTalk.

Expire 12/31/2009
DELTATRYGOGO
AIRTRANTRYGOGO
AATRYGOGO

Expire 1/7/2010
2287548427snk
2472564126dvu
2285632980tlk

Saturday, December 12, 2009

NYPD tracks gun in deadly Times Square shooting (AP)

AP - A machine pistol used by a street hustler and aspiring rapper shot dead in a Times Square gunfight was purchased from a Virginia gun shop by a woman who reported it stolen 10 days after she bought it, authorities said.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

MTV's "Jersey Shore" gains protesters, loses ads (Reuters)

Reuters - The ruckus over MTV’s “Jersey Shore” is getting as intense as the hot-headed dramatics on the show.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Bryant Gumbel says he's had cancer surgery (AP)

AP - Bryant Gumbel shocked a television audience with the news that he’s recovering from cancer surgery and treatment. The former “Today” show anchor, 61, said a malignant tumor and part of his lung were removed two months ago. He revealed his condition to Kelly Ripa while subbing for Regis Philbin on Tuesday’s edition of “Live With Regis and Kelly.” (Philbin recently had hip replacement surgery.)

Sheriff's office: 911 call came from Woods' house (AP)

AP - Fire department medics responded early Tuesday to a 911 call at Tiger Woods’ Orlando-area home and took an adult to the hospital.

Fistgate: Barack Obama’s Safe Schools Czar’s 2000 Conference Promoted ‘Fisting’ to 14 Year-Olds

Barack Obama's Safe Schools Czar Kevin Jennings founded the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) in 1990. In 2007 Kevin Jennings was paid $273,573.96 as the executive director of GLSEN. Recently he was appointed by the Obama administration to run the Office of Safe and Drug Free S…

Monday, December 7, 2009

Obama eyes 'selective' use of bailout dollars (AP)

President Barack Obama said Monday the massive federal bailout program for financial insititutions has turned out to be much less costly than expected and there may be ways to redirect some of the money toward creating new jobs.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Climate drama climax looks elusive in Copenhagen (AP)

AP - For 20 years, as this crowded planet grew warmer, nations have gathered annually to try to do something about it. History now brings them to this chilly northern capital, and to a crossroads.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Wrestler Eki “Umaga” Fatu dies

By Yahoo! Sports Staff 23 minutes ago Eki "Eddie" Fatu died in Houston on Friday after a massive heart attack, adding to a long list of professional wrestlers who died by the age of 40.

Knox convicted, sentenced to 26 years in Italy (AP)

AP - American college student Amanda Knox was found guilty of murdering her British roommate and sentenced to 26 years in prison early Saturday after a year-long trial that gripped Italy and drew intense media attention.

Friday, December 4, 2009

US to open against England at World Cup

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — The United States will play England, Slovenia and Algeria in the first round of next year’s World Cup in what appears to be a relatively easy group.

There are many colors in the world

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/josefstuefer/

Everything that we see is color. The basic colors are red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet. Red is the color of blood or if you don’t like blood you can say cherry or a tomato. Orange is the same color as an orange.

Funny how the name of the color is the same name of the fruit. Yellow is the color that you see on a banana peel. Green is the color of the grass (which feels so good between your toes.) Blue is the color of the sky (which is really weird because when we look up aren’t we actually looking at space?)

Violet is pretty much the same color as purple which you could say is the same color as a Plum. Now you have all these basic colors and your probably wondering (What about all the other colors out there?)

Well mixing these 6 different colors in many different combinations will give hundreds of new colors. Find all these colors out though is going to be for you to find out.

Custer’s Revenge

Custer's revenge has been considered one of the worst video games ever. It is highly inappropriate for any age. It is a pornographic video game that was released by a company that produced many adult video games.

It was released in 1982 and has been heavily criticized ever since. The main character in the game is depicted naked. His goal is to get to the other side of the screen while dodging arrows in order to have intercourse with a Native American woman.

It is an extremely inappropriate game. There have been some variations of the game that have been not quite as crude as the original version, but they all are very inappropriate for people to be playing.

The Unemployment Game Show: Are You Really Unemployed?

The government is telling us that the economic stimulus is working and the recession is over. But you wouldn’t know it from looking at the unemployment numbers. While we may have dodged another great depression, unemployment is at its worst since then, having fallen to 10 percent by the Fed’s own reckoning. And, while we don’t like to be the bearers of bad news, we do stand for transparency in reporting statistics. So we’ve produced an animated infographic explaining who gets to call themselves ‘officially’ unemployed, and why the government leaves out millions of jobless Americans in their often cited and repeated unemployment rate statistic. So while the economy may be recovering, it might be awhile before many Americans feel it in their wallets.

Embed the above image on your site
<a href="http://www.mint.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/UnemploymentGameShow.jpg"><img src="http://www.mint.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/UnemploymentGameShow.jpg" alt="UnemploymentGameShow" width="1000" height="1298" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-7377" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.mint.com/">Free budget sofware</a> – Mint.com

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Wacthing golf on the TV

I remember growing up how my Dad would watch golf every time the TV was on. I can't watch golf. I think it is so boring. I can't believe for hours on end, men (and women, too) hit a ball then walk for miles to hit it again. Then they hit it into sand and into water and still keep hitting it.

Finally they reach their goal, a little tiny hole, and they hit the ball in. Then, they pick it up and do it again. 18 times. They spend a whole afternoon- four or five hours, doing this. I admit, it's fun to golf, but to watch it on TV. It's the most boring thing I've ever seen.

I have always wanted to learn how to snowboard

Ever since I was twelve every winter my father would take my mom, my siblings, and I and any aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends who could pay their own way out on a ski trip. For the first few years I would have to take lessons so I could learn how to ski properly but then after our lessons he would take everyone out on a few courses that he thought we could all accomplish together.

We would always ski until my older brothers were older and wanted to snowboard. I’ve always wanted to take snowboarding lessons but I had a good time teaming up with my dad against my brothers and racing them. My dad always won of course but it always was unforgettable watching my brothers wipe out a dozen or more times.

Some days it would take us hours to get down one course because we would fall over laughing so hard and were not able to get up for quite some time. I’ll never forget those trips and I hope when my own children are older we’ll do ski trips of our own every winter.

Global warming controversy reaches NASA climate data

The fight over climate science is about to cross the Atlantic with a U.S. researcher poised to sue NASA, demanding the release of the same kind of information that landed a leading British center in hot water over charges that it skewed its data. Christopher C. Horner, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said NASA has refused for two years to provide information under the Freedom of Information Act that would show how the agency has shaped its climate data and explain why the agency has repeatedly had to correct its data dating as far back as the …

I love writing

I could spend hours every day writing about all of my thoughts and opinions. Of course, I wouldn't do that to people. They probably wouldn't enjoy hearing everything that I have to say. Sometimes it's fun just to write short stories that are entertaining.

When I was in college, I loved taking all of the English classes. It gave me the chance to write a lot of stuff all the time. Of course I wasn't always a fan of writing rather than going out and partying with all of my friends. That may have been the downside to the whole thing. I still loved to go out and write a whole bunch all of the time.

I love road trips

In the next few months I will be making a few road trips to see a bunch of family. I can't wait to get to see everybody. Driving on the road by myself or even with people who are sleeping in the car always makes me feel really good.

I get a chance to finally think to myself about stuff. Sometimes I don't have that luxury. It seems like life gets so busy that sometimes we forget that we need to take time off also. I really like just sitting and thinking about things without the interruption of little voices around me. I can't wait for my road trips.

Transgressions

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/keithallison/

Tiger Woods’ affair, or affairs, should add an exclamation point to the question of why we elevate celebrities to the status of heroes and convey onto them the responsibility of being role models. Shouldn’t it!?

If someone with the reserved nature of Tiger Woods, someone who seems to shun the spotlight except when called upon by his professional responsibilities, can succumb to such poor behavior, then no celebrity is immune.

What big name in sports or entertainment hasn’t been guilty of some serious moral transgressions? The names are few and far between. And possibly those few were just lucky enough to escape serious scrutiny.

The fall from grace of so many names happens so regularly that it should not even be considered news any more.

The rise to celebrity status typically happens quickly as does the immense amount of money that often comes with such celebrity. No one coaches a fledgling star on how to cope with the new-found status and in fact the surrounding entourage is usually composed of people consciously or unconsciously enabling poor behavior. Given this, it should not be unexpected that celebrities are going to find trouble sooner or later.

Maybe, when a celebrity has retired, and has a lengthy and proven track record of having acted with good grace, has given back to the various communities that have supported him or her throughout their career, has humbly accepted the accolades bestowed, maybe then they can deservedly wear the mantle of role model and hero.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Turkey soup

Thanksgiving was great; and a great way to keep the holiday feeling going is to make this amazing left-over turkey soup. All you would have to do is just use left over's! You can use the leftover turkey and also you can use the leftover turkey soup. Also you can use the turkey in another kind of way. This morning my friend actually had a roll with turkey in the middle for breakfast. That is very good also.

Leftover food from thanksgiving is the best. You can't top that, for some reason thanksgiving leftovers taste so much better than any other kind of leftovers. I am sure so many people love how much food is there on thanksgiving, have you ever wondered why we celebrate thanksgiving with food? I asked my friend and they said we celebrate it with food because the pilgrims and the Indians came together. I must say I am so glad those two group's came together so once a year I can eat so much food I will be full for two days straight.

I love the happy feeling of thanksgiving, everyone is thankful and now we can finally start listening to Christmas movie and watch Christmas movies. It's the time that you can be with your whole family and just enjoy your holiday with most of your parents off work and enjoy each others companies.

Friday, November 27, 2009

'L.A. Times' Travel Editor Snared By Wedding Scam

In May 2008, a bride and groom were scammed out of thousands of dollars paid toward a fake wedding venue. The bride happened to be the travel editor for the Los Angeles Times who’d advised her readers on how not to get hoodwinked on the Internet. The editor, Catharine Hamm tells the story to NPR’s Melissa Block.

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Dubai debt fears stalk world markets (AP)

AP - European stock markets rebounded Friday after Wall Street didn’t fall as much as feared on the news that Dubai is having trouble handling its debt.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

New Macy's Parade route means no cutting corners (AP)

AP - It won’t be just the balloons, marching bands and floats on display in the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The laws of physics will also be on parade.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Republicans considering ideological purity test for candidates (The Yahoo! Newsroom)

The Yahoo! Newsroom - Ten members of the Republican National Committee are proposing a resolution demanding candidates embrace at least eight of 10 conservative principles if they hope to receive financial support and an official endorsement from the RNC. The “Proposed RNC Resolution on Reagan’s Unity Principle for Support of Candidates,” is designed to force candidates to prove that they support “conservative principles” while opposing “Obama’s socialist agenda,” according to The New York Times’ Caucus blog. The proposal highlights the ongoing tug-of-war for the ideological soul of the Republ

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Chef Paula Deen accidentally hit by charity ham (AP)

AP - Celebrity chef Paula Deen got an unexpected serving of ham — across her face. The Food Network star was helping unload 25,000 pounds of donated meat for an Atlanta food bank on Monday when someone threw one of the hams like a football and accidentally smacked her.

Top Republican lawmakers not attending State Dinner

While the White House is mum about who will be among the 300 or so lucky invitees to President Obama’s first state dinner Tuesday night, word is already leaking out about who’s not going to be there. Chief among the non-attendees: top Republican lawmakers. House Minority Leader John A. Boehner was invited but won’t be there; he’s on Thanksgiving break and home in Ohio. His deputy, Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, didn’t get an invitation to the dinner. The president didn’t invite his 2008 rival, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, even though Mr. Obama the candidate pledged a post-partisan presidency. .

Q&A: Shakira says new CD looks out for single gals (AP)

AP - All the single ladies — Shakira is looking out for you!

Philippines declares emergency after 24 killed (AP)

AP - Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo placed two southern provinces under a state of emergency Tuesday, giving security forces free hands to pursue gunmen who killed at least 24 people in one of the country’s worst election massacres.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Former British policeman backs Barack Obama 'birthers' conspiracy theory

A former British policeman is using his Scotland Yard training to help the Birthers a group of conspiracy theorists in trying to unseat President Barack Obama.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Legendary NYC Irish band Black 47 celebrates 20 years (IrishCentral)

Legendary band Black 47's New York City shows, which have been going on for the past 20 years, have been described as "a rite of passage for all New Yorkers."

Friday, November 20, 2009

I would hate to be in jail.

I don't know if I would be able to stand being in a small cell and living there my whole life. I would hate it. I don't actually know if that is what jail is like. All I know is what jail looks like it is in all of the movies. It's funny that I base so many of my opinions of things on how they look in movies.

I would hate to think of anyone living like that. It is fair for someone who is a criminal. There are a lot of innocent people in jail though. That is when it becomes hard to decide how a jail cell should really be. I would hate to have to be in jail though. I don't want to know what it's really like.

Scott Hamilton

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/18762235@N00/

Scott Hamilton is an Olympic gold medalist and cancer survivor. After a 5 year break from skating after battling a brain tumor and testicular cancer, Scott Hamilton is back on the ice.

I remember watching Scott Hamilton back in the 1984 Olympics where he won the gold medal. Not only was he graceful and strong and just a great athlete, he has a smile that warms a room. It is obvious that Scott Hamilton is a good person, not caught up in all the hype and glory of being famous. Maybe it has something to do with the way he was raised.

Scott was born in Toledo, Ohio and was adopted by his parents. At 2 years of age, Scott became sick with an illness that the doctors couldn't understand but that made him stop growing. He was misdiagnosed with many different things, including telling his parents he had just 6 months to live and another diagnosis of cystic fibrosis.

It is now said he had Shwachman-Diamond syndrome but he still only grew to the grand total he is now of 5 feet, 2 ½ inches. When he was 13, he began training in skating with a former Olympic champion but his parents struggles with the high cost of his training and almost made him quit.

A couple stepped in at that point and could see the future of this bright young skater and paid for his training. Scott Hamilton is very medaled, including taking 3rd in the 1980 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. He came in 5th at the 1980 Winter Olympics. In the 1981 U.S. Championships, he performed a perfect program and never again lost a competition.

Hamilton won the 1981, 1982 and 1983 golds in the World Figure Skating Championships. Then came the 1984 Winter Olympics where he won the gold medal. He won the 1984 World Championships then became a pro, that same year. Hamilton founded Stars on Ice with the Ice Capades and toured with them for 15 years, retiring in 2001.

In 1990, Hamilton was inducted into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame. My family has seen Scott Hamilton in the show The Fairly OddParents when they had an Olympic special. Scott Hamilton has had success after success in his life.

Then in 1997, he got testicular cancer. He made a recovery and has been featured on TV shows and magazines for his great recovery and attitude. Then in 2004, Scott Hamilton was diagnosed with and treated for a brain tumor. Scott Hamilton is ranked as one of the top 8 most popular Athletes in the U.S. Scott is married and has 2 sons. We're glad to have Scott back skating for us.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Target black Friday ads 2009

Black Friday is almost here! The most exciting day of the year! My nieces and nephews are so hard to shop for. They want little bake ovens and little cars and make up.

I would have to go look all over the country to find everything they want but instead of going across the country I decided to go look for ads. Who knows, it could be fun? I saw shoe stores, food stores, and clothes stores but then I finally came across Target black Friday ads 2009.

They have food, clothes make up and toys. It was a relief to see a lot of the things I needed. But after I was done looking through the ads I decided to go play with them. I heard them having a blast in the other room and I just had to jump in on the fun. They were running through the house, laughing and playing and getting in the mood for holidays when it came to my attention that Christmas shouldn't be all about gifts.

It should be about family and being together and sharing the happiness with one another. So even though I could have gotten gifts, I figured the greatest gift is to be one big happy family.

Sarah Palin kicks off her "Going Rogue" book signing tour

Free Press staff writer Kathleen Gray live-blogs from suburban Grand Rapids where Sarah Palin is kicking off her “Going Rogue” book-signing tour

Obama, Holder predict conviction in 9/11 case

WASHINGTON – From opposite ends of the globe, President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder firmly rejected criticism Wednesday of the planned New York trial of the professed Sept. 11 mastermind and predicted Khalid Sheikh Mohammed would be exposed as a murderous coward, convicted and e…

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Berkshire Hathaway Stock Split, S&P 500, & Index Funds

Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK) recent announcement that it was buying railroad Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNI) also included a provision for a 50-to-1 stock split of B shares so that smaller shareholders of BNI would be able to be converted to Berkshire shares and avoid capital gains. Warren Buffett has been trying to avoid this for years, so after some random web surfing — I mean… research, I figured I’d share my findings.

At the end of trading yesterday 11/18, Berkshire’s A shares currently cost $103,100 apiece and B shares were $3,430. After a 50-to-1 split, a B share would cost about $69 a year. Several news articles are talking about how this brings the share price down to the “common man”. For a $69 investment, you should able to attend the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting in Omaha this May, although you could also buy tickets for $5 on eBay directly from BRK.

But wait, you may already own a piece of Berkshire… or you may soon.

S&P 500
Right now, Berkshire Hathaway is not part of the S&P 500. Many folks (including me in the past) thought the S&P 500 was simply the largest 500 companies in the US, but not quite. I’ve read that BRK is likely excluded due to inadequate trading volume of their high-priced shares. If the stock split occurs, it is possible that BRK will become part of the S&P 500 and thus be bought by every S&P 500 index fund out there. I’m sure Wall Street traders have already begun the speculating.

As of 1/18, the market cap of BRK was roughly $160 Billion. Looking at this chart of S&P 500 components sorted by size, BRK would actually be #9 on that list, as it is worth more than even Chevron or AT&T. If included, BRK would constitute about 1.65% of the index.

Total Stock Market
However, you may already own a piece of Berkshire if you own part of a mutual fund that tracks an index following the “total” US stock market. For example there’s the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTSMX), which is held within all of the Vanguard Target Retirement Funds. By my rough calculations, BRK is approximately 1.3% of the broad US market. So for every $10,000 of VTSMX or VTI you hold, you own $130 of BRK already.

Sharebuilder
Of course, for years now you could own $1 or $50 or $500 of BRKB by buying partial shares of BRKB through Sharebuilder ($25 bonus). You wouldn’t want to go too small as the $1 to $4 commission would take too big a bite, but it can be one way to gradually accumulate BRK shares. I think I have about $45 worth right now, myself, mainly due to an opening bonus.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Five sentenced to death over Iran vote unrest

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Five people have been sentenced to death and 81 have received jail terms of up to 15 years in connection with unrest after Iran ’s disputed election in June, state broadcaster IRIB reported on Tuesday.

Monday, November 16, 2009

NC searchers find body of missing 5-year-old girl

SANFORD, N.C. – For a week, authorities feverishly searched for a 5-year-old girl across central North Carolina , only to find her body Monday off a rural road following accusations the girl’s mother offered her for sex.

Research pays before you lay money down

With each tick higher in the market, more and more investors are working up the courage to get back in. But that’s been hard for some who, burned by big losses and rattled by so many reports of financial scandal, still struggle with fundamental questions: