tnok85 writes “I started a new job ~7 months ago at a very massive company working a 12-hour night shift (7PM-7AM) in a fairly high volume NOC. Our responsibilities extend during the night to basically cover everything but the most complex situations regarding UNIX/Windows/Linux/App administration, at which point we’ll reach out to the on-calls. I live 1.5 hours away as well, so it turns into 4-5 15 hour days a week of sitting still — throw in nearly an hour to get ready to leave, and a bit of time after I get home to unwind and I’m out of time to work out. Unfortunately I’m pretty sure I have a very slow metabolism, ever since I was a pre-teen I would gain weight fairly quickly if I didn’t actively work out, regardless of how much or what I eat. (Barring starving myself, I suppose…) So, how does somebody who works a minimum of 60 hours over 4 days, often adding another 12 another day, and sometimes working 7-10 days straight like this, stay in shape? I can’t hold a workout schedule, (which every person I’ve talked to in my history says is necessary to stay in shape) and I can’t ‘wake up early’ or ‘work out before bed’ because I need sleep. Any thoughts/opinions/suggestions?”

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Filed under: Law, Housing, Recession

On Wednesday, federal investigators filed mortgage and bookkeeping fraud charges against Beazer Homes USA (NYSE: BZH). The homebuilder will be able to escape prosecution because it concurred to pay $50 million to victims and to accept responsibility for its improper actions.

Beazer found itself charged thanks to its participation in a scheme designed to fraudulently increase its profits and sell homes. Reportedly, the company also participated in an record-keeping scheme that was designed to “smooth earnings.” Thanks to these schemes, homebuyers defaulted on their loans and some neighborhoods saw home values plummet thanks to loan defaults. State and federal investigators have scrutinized Beazer since March 2007, finding that the company’s “aggressive sales tactics” contributed to an “unusually high foreclosure rate in many of its local starter-home communities.”

Continue reading Beazer Homes USA will pay victims $50 million

Beazer Homes USA will pay victims $50 million originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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An anonymous reader writes “Kudos to NASA and the Japanese trade ministry for mapping 99% of the Earth’s surface, surpassing their previous effort, with which the new data will be amalgamated. Apparently, the data will be free to download and use.”

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Filed under: Industry, Housing

The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) that “The Dow Jones Equity All REIT Total Return Index, which tracks 114 publicly traded REIT stocks, rose 28.9% in the April-June period, the biggest quarterly gain for the index since it debuted in 1989.”

REITs still have a long, long way to go until they’ve regained the ground they’ve lost during the real estate rout — they were down 31.6% in the first quarter and 38.8% in the fourth quarter of last year.

Continue reading REITs have a record second quarter: Who saw that coming?

REITs have a record second quarter: Who saw that coming? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hugh Pickens writes “Cosmologist Adrian Mellott has an article in Seed Magazine discussing his search for the mechanism behind the mass extinctions in earth’s history that seem to occur with a period of about 62 million years. Scientists have identified nearly 20 mass extinctions throughout the fossil record, including the end-Permian event about 250 million years ago that killed off about 95 percent of life on Earth. Mellott notes that as our solar system orbits the Milky Way’s center, it oscillates through the galactic plane with a period of around 65 million years. ‘The space between galaxies isn’t empty. It’s actually full of rarefied hot gas,’ states Mellott. ‘As our galaxy falls into the Local Supercluster, it should interrupt this gas and create a shock wave, like the bow shock of a jet plane,’ generating cascades of high-energy subatomic particles and radiation called ‘cosmic rays.’ These effects could cause enhanced cloud formation and depletion of the ozone layer, killing off many small organisms at the base of the food chain and potentially leading to a population crash. So where is the earth now in the 62-million year extinction cycle? ‘[W]e are on the downside of biodiversity, a few million years from hitting bottom,’ writes Mellott.”

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An anonymous reader tips us that researchers at Toyota have developed a brain-machine interface system that allows for control of a wheelchair using thought. The system processes brain thought patterns (such as the thought of moving one’s left foot) and can turn them into left, right, and forward movements of the wheelchair with a delay as short as one-eighth of a second. That’s a huge improvement over existing systems, which can take as long as several seconds to examine and react to the user’s thoughts. “The system has an emergency stop that can be activated by the user puffing his cheeks. The BMI adjusts itself over time to the characteristics of each driver’s brainwaves. If a person dedicates three hours a day to using the system, the BMI can reach 95% accuracy in a week, researchers said.”

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Sue Williams has been awarded a

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Filed under: Economic data, Personal finance, Housing, Recession

Are mortgage rates affecting U.S. mortgage applications? The short answer most likely is yes. Mortgage applications tumbled to a 7 month low, with refinancing loans down 30%, according to Reuters. This is clearly not a good sign for the housing market.

Kenneth Rosen from the University of California says that mortgage rates are just one factor causing the drop. He adds that high unemployment, concerns for job security, and problems with buyers being unable to sell their existing homes are also affecting the market.

Continue reading Why did U.S. mortgage applications fall 30% to a 7-month low?

Why did U.S. mortgage applications fall 30% to a 7-month low? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: International markets, Products and services, Politics, Commodities

Why is chicken causing a furor between the US and China? It seems that there is a long standing feud over chicken imports to the US. According to Etter and Power, in 2006 the USDA issued a rule that permitted China to export cooked poultry products to the US as long as the raw poultry meat originated in the US. A bruhaha erupted, and lawmakers inserted a provision in the fiscal 2008 spending bill that prohibited processed chicken from being imported into the US.

Now, in retaliation, China is expected to ban imports of US chicken, a move that would cost US chicken exporters $370 million dollars over the next six months.

Continue reading Feathers are flying. What’s causing the US/China chicken wars?

Feathers are flying. What’s causing the US/China chicken wars? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Products and services, Competitive strategy, Ideal Purchase (BBY)

Best Purchase Co. (NYSE: BBY) has seen some success in its Canadian stores in selling used video games. Due to that, used video games might come to U.S. stores this year, opening up a new avenue for foot traffic into the largest consumer electronics retailer in the U.S. Why rent video games when you can purchase them at heavy discounts?

Continue reading Ideal Purchase (BBY) starts rollout of used video game sales in U.S. stores

Ideal Buy (BBY) starts rollout of used video game sales in U.S. stores originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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