Just finished digging a path from my garage to the street, which was no small task given the blizzard we experienced over the past two days. Didn't want to miss another day of work, so I took it on myself to dig out the garage entrance and a path to the street. Probably a good 25 or 30 feet, so I guess the workouts are doing me some good after my heart attack. I'm a little tired and have some body aches, but otherwise feel pretty good.
Tuesday's rally in the stock market was good to see, but I'll be looking to pick up shares during dips in the market. While I'm in the rebuilding stage of my portfolio, I'll be concentrating on increasing stakes in quality stocks and avoid more speculative issues. Will most likely add more to AT&T, Philip Morris and my drug stocks like Bristol Myers and Merck.
For February I'll be concentrating on my tax returns for 2010. I should get a small refund, which I plan on putting to work in a good dividend paying stock. Want to build cash flow as rapidly as possible to help cover any future medical costs related to follow visits with my cardiologist.
My new computer equipment is great!!! Glad I went with used equipment. It's super fast and I got a great deal buying off of Ebay. My computer and monitor cost a grand total of $208, much less expensive than new and it's way more than adequate for my current needs. I'm sure I'll more than get my moneys worth by the time I need to upgrade again.
Still loving the ipod touch! Now I understand why Apple has done so well, although I'll probably never own shares directly. They have some great products and the quality can't be beat. I'll definitely consider purchasing an ipad when my laptop finally craps out.
If you like the Ipad, but can't see yourself spending the money to buy one, and you're not expecting one for Christmas, you might want to consider a less expensive alternative. I recently purchased a 7 inch tablet internet appliance running the Android operating system (see pic). While it's not up to the operational level of an Ipad, if you're only interested in checking emails, surfing the internet via wifi and playing music and video then you might be satisfied with the much less expensive epad. I found mine on Amazon for $129 with free shipping and I've been extremely satisfied with its performance. I downloaded the Kindle for Android software and have been using it as an ereader as well. It works fine on my home wifi connection and came with several applications pre-installed. Like I said, it may not be up to the quality or functionality of an Ipad, but I figure with the difference in price I could go through 4 or 5 of these gadgets before I'd be out the money I'd spend on one Ipad.
Battery life seems to be around 2 hours, which is roughly the same amount of time I get out of my laptop. I find it a lot more portable and convenient to use than a laptop and when I'm stuck waiting at the Dr.'s office or the VA I can enjoy reading a good book. I've also figured out, the amount of money I save by purchasing ebooks, instead of printed versions, will quickly cover the cost of purchasing the epad.
Several of the stores are currently selling these tablet pc's, but prices vary widely, so you definitely want to shop around. If you'd like to look for it on Amazon, simply type epad into their search under the electronics section.
