Claire’s Random Thoughts

I would probably be better of writing my history paper now instead of this blog post, but I have until Wednesday, so…

I was just browsing dealextreme’s most popular products today

I came across the iFone (yes, iFone, not iPhone). It’s unlocked, so it can be used with services other than AT&T.

*I am not affiliated with dealextreme in any way. I just think they have many interesting products.

The two are similar, aren’t they (the second one’s the real one)? I was considering getting an iPhone after the price drop to $400, but it still seemed a little overpriced to me. After all, it’s just another PDA phone with an Apple logo. The reason most people buy gadgets is for show. Within a couple years, it will be out of date.So now, I’m thinking about buying the “knock off” version. My only concern is that since it’s from China, it has a high probability of breaking after a few months. According to the reviews on the site, however, it seems to be solid. If it just lasts between one and two years, it would be worth it to me, because something newer and cooler would be out by then.

The exterior of this “iFone” looks very similar to the real iPhone, but the operating system is completely different. From afar, I can probably fool people into thinking I have the real iPhone, especially if they can’t see the screen very well. Even when they see that it isn’t, they’ll still think I have a cool phone, because this thing is still pretty cool. All the fun functions are present: MP3 and movie player, camera, video camera, internet browser, java, etc. The only part that’s slightly less cool is the fact that it’s not made by Apple. Another con may be the fact that it runs on MicroSD cards instead of internal memory, so one MicroSD card might not be enough to hold everything I may want at once. The overall functions are similar, though. It even comes with two batteries, so I can carry a spare charged one with me if I wish to (I’m the type who likes to have spare batteries).

If I get an “A” on the stupid Nationalism essay, maybe I’ll reward myself with one of these.

Federal funds rate: 5.25 last month, 4.75 this month

Discount Rate: 5.75 last month, 5.25 this month

Prime Rate: 8.25 last month, 7.75 this month

Basically, interest rates are going down. This is bad news for high-yield savers like myself, because I can kiss my liquid 5 percent APY online banking accounts goodbye now.

ING Direct has already dropped their online savings rate from 4.5%-4.3%, and other high-yield accounts are soon to follow, since banks tend to look at and react to each others’ rates. Savers are lucky if the rates stay above 4 percent.

Since I’ve become obsessed with getting the best rates a few months ago, I never understood why anyone would choose a CD over a nice liquid online savings account. Now, I see why and have officially locked a nice portion of my money into a 5.1% APY Certificate of Deposits.

If I were a financial advisor, then I would recommend locking into a CD with at least 5% yieldfor any term 6-12 months at this point in time. In the near future, these rates will be much higher than variable rate accounts due to the federal rates cuts.

Recommended accounts (I am in no way affiliated with these banks):
I recommend opening two accounts with different terms, because I can’t be sure exactly when the rates will bounce back up.
Washington Mutual’s 12 Month 5.10% APY CD.
This CD is binding for 12 months, but it will guarantee an interest rate of over 5% after the variable rates drop. I’ve invested a good amount into this CD, because I feel like 12 months is a reasonable term. Anything longer than that, and you can’t be sure how rates will change.

Bank of America’s 5.10% 4 month CD
I had a personal dislike for Bank of America, because my parents used to put my money there for 0.20% interest when I was younger. Thinking about how much potential interest I lost there, I hesitated to invest more in their bank, but this CD was too good of a deal to resist. The term is only four months long, which could be good or bad. If the interest rates bounce back up soon, then this CD would be a much better deal than the 12-month WaMu one. Otherwise, not. Since I’m not sure, I split my money up.

No, I didn’t die. Sorry to disappoint you, enemies;) I just get bored of things fairly easily and took a break from blogging.

So, why am I updating now? I got bored of my other pointless activities and decided to return to blogging again.

About the site: I cleaned up my link exchanges. Sadly, many people don’t live up to them, so all the sites that have removed me and have gotten free links from me for the past couple months are history now. If you’re interested in a link exchange, then use my contact form. Google PR 3 or higher pages only, please.

About my life: Well, now that I’m in college at St. John’s, I’m living it up. Not really living it up, but compared to how I used to live, yes. Since I’m in New York City now, it’s hard not to have fun. I’m having a little fun here, but staying out of trouble…for the most part.

Perhaps you want to hack into your enemy’s email account and send an email to his girlfriend telling her he wants to break up;) Perhaps you just wish to keep your online accounts secure. Either way, here are the top 10 most common passwords. I highly suggest against using any of these, especially for anything important. Yes, there are people who are bored enough to try to guess passwords.

*I’m not promoting hacking into somebody else’s account

password - Well, this is an obvious one for someone who isn’t very creative
123456 - A classical first password for beginners

qwerty - Lazy? Just hit some keys that are conveniently next to each other
abc123 - A little better than 123456 but still unoriginal and guessable

letmein - I’m not too sure about this one, but it is on the list

monkey - A very popular instinctual password if you just try to think of a random word

myspace1 - Common password for myspace where you have to have at least one number and letter in a password

password1 - Need a number in the password? Just add 1 after your unoriginal one.

blink182 - I’m not too sure about this one either, but somehow it’s also on the list. They’re fairly well-known, but probably not the first band that comes to mind.

Whatever your first name is - Well, this one should be obvious to avoid

This blog seems a little dead, doesn’t it. In addition to that, I have forgotten that this was originally a personal blog. Anyway, some blogthings:)

You Are 65% Feminist

You are certainly a feminist - whether you know it or not. You believe in gender equality, at least most of the time. You also believe there are a few exceptions.

Yes, I guess this sounds like me. I actually agree with this blogthing, unlike many of the other ones that I have tried. There are some things intended for men, such as proposing, paying for dinner;), etc.

Your Mind is 75% Cluttered

Your mind is quite cluttered. And like most clutter, it’s a bunch of crap you don’t need. Try writing down your worst problems and fears. And then put them out of your mind for a while.

Yes, my mind is cluttered thinking about nonsense to the point in which I can’t distinguish important from obsolete nor pay attention when I’m supposed. Maybe I need to see a hypnotist to clear up my head (shh, not a word to my parents)

You Are Not a Cheapskate

When it comes to money, you’re very fair. You’re generous when you can be, and you never cheat anyone out of what they deserve. If you have the money, you enjoy splurging. But you never overspend.

This seems somewhat accurate too. I seem to be the one who calculates everything very carefully making sure not to rip myself off, but I don’t cheat people out of money either. I think these blogthings are becoming more accurate.Ok, enough. I was just bored.