ODDS AND ENDS ....

We managed quite well with no electricity on this last day of classes and first day of finals.  Actually, the electricity was on before 2 pm and we had about 20 pizzas from Pizza Hut (yes, totally American-Chinese style), spicy chicken, cheese, peperroni, vegetarian, etc. - 2 pizzas for every 3 people!!!  A beginning of finals lunch time special.

An interesting new San Diego company is helping some to walk away from their mortgage.  The company helped this family You Walk Away from a $2,600 interest only mortgage to a 3 bedroom, $1,200 rental house!  The cost: $995 to the company and now the lender has to deal with the house!  Very interesting!

Another interesting quote: "In the boom market, homeowners took their winnings, withdrawing $800 billion in equity from their homes in 2005 alone, according to RGE Monitor, an online financial research firm." - very interesting!

Pssst: the yuan is now down to 7.11 per dollar!