What Color Are You?

Okay, I'll be posting these from time to time ... I like these "what character are you?" quizzes.

This one is a bit different, as it doesn't try to link you to a character from a book/TV show/movie/animal kingdom. Instead, it purports to show you your "true color," which you can then use to pick the perfect profession. There's a book to buy, and some chatter about "second colors." Still, the quiz is cool.

I'm a GREEN:

You are an exceptionally creative problem solver who brings your ability to think outside the box to the workplace. You are a conceptual, analytical, and logical thinker. To you knowledge is power and your insatiable thirst for understanding and information is what drives you. You are an incredible problem solver but once the goal is accomplished you lose interest and need to move on. The challenge is in the ideas and not the details or implementation of your creations. Leave those things to another type that enjoys doing these things.

You are an independent worker who detests routine and prefers to work alone on projects and you often gravitate toward leadership roles. You could be a good computer programmer, scientist or researcher. You usually find entrepreneur and independent contract work appealing, but see the book for a more thorough list.

And, also:

I am conceptual. I have an investigative mind, intrigued by questions like, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" I am an independent thinker, a natural nonconformist, and live life by my own standards.

I like to do things that require vision, problem solving, strategy, ingenuity, design, and change. Once I have perfected an idea, I prefer to move on to a new challenge.

I value knowledge, intelligence, insight, and justice. I enjoy relationships with shared interests. I prefer to let my head rule my heart. I am cool, calm, and collected. I do not express my emotions easily.

Sounds like me ...!

NASA

Okay ... I'm mad at NASA.

I've been dreaming of space exploration since I was six years old, and I picked up Robert Heinlein's The Rolling Stones. I was right there with the Stones, living on the Moon, rolling from the Moon to Mars and then to the Asteroid Belt. By the time the US landed on the Moon, I was in grade school, reading Heinlein and Asimov and Clarke, and making up my own Star Trek characters.

Dammit, we should have been on the Moon! We should have found ice there, and built Heinlein Base, and colonized the damn place! We should have been colonizing Mars by now! What the hell is the holdup!

(Yeah, yeah, I know ... but this is a rant! Rhetorical questions currently rule!)

NASA used to be filled with steely-eyed missile men, the engineers (I engineers!) who saved Apollo 13. Now, however, NASA is filled with budget- and image-obsessed weenies who could look at a big chunk of foam hitting a shuttle wing on takeoff, then say, "Eh, doesn't mean anything! And, no, you concerned NASA engineers, you can't look at the tape again! Better to endanger a group of really cool astronauts than to admit that maybe the shuttle needed to be checked out before it came back.

But ... when NASA works, it works real fine. Did you see the landing of Discovery this morning? Oh, my, did that ever rock! And they made it down safe, praise be! Congratulations on a great landing, Commander Collins! STS-114 is back home!

And now comes the really nifty part; NASA will use a crane (called the Shuttle Mate-Demate Device) to put Discovery on the back of a special Boeing 747 and fly it from California to Florida.

Once, years and years ago, when I still lived in San Antonio, I saw a piggy-back flight land at Kelly AFB. I was driving west on I-90, and, with most of the rest of the drivers on that stretch of highway that day, pulled over, got out, and watched, open-mouthed, as the double-decked vehicle landed. It seemed to move in super-slow motion, and I think it wobbled.

When I find out where the shuttle/747 will stop over, I want to go, if we can ... DaBear has never seen this phenomenon!

Passed On: John H. Johnson

When I was a little bitty girl, Ebony and Jet came to our house. Those, along with Life, were the first magazines I saw. I would ooo and ahhh over the pretty black ladies in their fine fashions; Mamma would read aloud to me about the "People In The News" and ooo and ahh over the wedding announcements. She would keep her "Date With A Dish," and boy, was that good eating!

When I was a little older, Mamma would buy tickets to the Ebony Fashion Fair, and we would go to whatever church hosted the event that year. I remember when it was held at Trinity University, in Laurie Auditorium ... little did I dream I would graduate from Trinity years later, and sit in that very same auditorium, waiting to get my sheepskin and get on with my life ...!

In reading John Johnson's obituary, I note that he was "born into an impoverished family in Arkansas" in 1918. The article goes on: "Johnson went into business with a $500 loan secured by his mother's furniture and built a publishing and cosmetics empire."


Hmmm ... Jim Crow didn't get him down. No White man stood in his way.

[Johnson] sent an ad salesman to Detroit every week for 10 years before an auto manufacturer agreed to advertise in Ebony.

And, in this most excellent example of "fake it till you make it":

To persuade a distributor to take the magazine [Negro Digest, an early magazine from Johnson Publishing], he got co-workers to ask for it at newsstands on Chicago's South Side. Friends bought most of the copies, convincing dealers the magazine was in demand, while Johnson reimbursed the friends and resold the copies they had bought. The tactic was used in New York, Philadelphia and Detroit, and within a year, Negro Digest was selling 50,000 copies a month.

A while ago, a white genealogist and I discussed how tough life was in the 18th and 19th centuries. She and I both realized we were way too soft to have survived back then. Our forefathers and foremothers had to work so had for the bare necessities of life: the need to haul every drop of water from the creek or well to the house, the dawn-to-dusk struggle and toil required to grow one's own food, the joint-popping labor required to process raw cotton or wool into rudimentary clothing. She said she considered these people, our forebears, to have been made of pure steel. And, she continued to me, "if I found that I had black ancestors in my family tree, I would be even more proud of them, because if the white ones were steel, the black ones must have been blue twisted steel."

The man above was, indeed, blue twisted steel.

Fair journey.

Update #1

Some quotes from Mr. Johnson:

Men and women are limited not by the place of their birth, not by the color of their skin, but by the size of their hope.

When I see a barrier, I cry, I curse, and then I get a ladder and climb over it. [emphasis mine.]

Failure is a word I don’t accept.

Every day I run scared. That's the only way I can stay ahead.

My mother was the influence in my life. She was strong; she had great faith in the ultimate triumph of justice and hard work. She believed passionately in education.

When I go in to see people - and I sell an occasional ad now - I never say, 'Help me because I am black' or 'Help me because I am a minority.' I always talk about what we can do for them.

Rumsfeld: Kung-Fu Master!

Okay ... I like Donald Rumsfeld. I like his blunt speech, and I like that he's married to his high-school sweetheart, and I like those marvy hand gestures he's so fond of.

Someone else agrees with me. Found this on FreeRepublic, and just had to share ...

10 Things You Should Never Buy Used

Saving money is delightful, but you can take it too far.

In my companion piece, “10 things you shouldn’t buy new,” I listed lingerie as one of the items for which you’d best pay retail. There are plenty of other examples where the cost savings don’t justify the risks of buying used:


Laptops
You’re taking a chance when you buy any used computer, but the math really doesn’t work when you’re talking about a unit that’s as prone to abuse and problems as a laptop. They’re more likely to be dropped, banged around and spilled on, simply because they’re out in the world while a desktop computer sits (mostly) safe at home.

That’s why laptops are one of the few products where springing for an extended warranty with free tech support makes sense, in addition to the standard warranty that typically comes when you buy new. Buy used, and you’ll have neither option -- along with no idea what maltreatment your laptop has suffered or when the hard drive, optical drive or other important parts will die on you. Don't let retirement
sneak up on you.
Create a perfect plan.


Exception: You’re buying a refurbished unit that comes with a warranty. Mobile technology consultant Catherine Roseberry, who writes a column for About.com, said she’s purchased two laptops from companies that refurbished leased corporate computers, and had no problems with either. Both came with 90-day warranties. If you want even more security, buy a laptop that’s been refurbished and certified by the manufacturer.

I disagree, somewhat.  You don't have to bu a new portable computer, or PDA, or MP3 player, or any electronic device, AS LONG AS YOU GET A ***GOOD*** WARRANTY!  That means more than just ninety days, that means at least six months.  That means not just a standard warranty against manufacturer's defect, but an accidental damage warranty, 'cause if you carry it around, you're gonna drop it.

My employer, the Lazy E, offers desktops, portables, handhelds, PDAs, projectors, and televisions with multiple months of standard and accidental damage warranty


Car seats
A car seat that’s been in one accident may not protect your child in another. And damaged car seats aren’t uncommon; a survey commissioned by Sainsbury’s Bank in England discovered one in 10 car seats currently in use in that country had been involved in an accident. (The bank is calling for a ban on the sale of secondhand seats.)

Brand-new car seats can often be purchased for as little as $50, and safety technology tends to improve with each year, said Denise and Alan Fields, parents and authors of “Baby Bargains." That makes getting a new one pretty much a no-brainer.

Exception: You’re getting the car seat from a friend or relative whom you’d trust with your child’s life, because that’s what you’re doing. Still, check with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to make sure the model you’re getting hasn’t been recalled.

Regardless of whether you buy new or used, have an expert check your work to make sure the seat is installed correctly. The NHTSA has a list of free inspection sites at its Web site, as does DaimlerChrysler’s Fit for a Kid program, which offers free inspections, regardless of what type of car you drive.


Plasma TVs
Here’s another of those rare cases where you want not only the warranty that comes with the television, but an extended warranty. You’ll want the coverage because if your screen dies, it can cost thousands to fix or replace -- sometimes almost as much as it would cost to buy a new TV.

While defect rates have declined from 7% in plasma TV’s early years to about 1% with some of the better models, problems with this new technology are still common enough -- and repairs expensive enough -- that an extended warranty makes sense, said Phil Connor of PlasmaTVBuyingGuide.com.

Exception: If you’re getting such a screaming deal that you don’t really care if the TV blinks out shortly after you get it home.

I wouldn't bother with a plasma TV period, new or used.  LCD is cheaper, doesn't burn in as quickly, and isn't quite as fragile.  The only good thing about plasma is that the black mask is blacker than the LCD's mask; this intense black makes the colors pop off the screen.  Buy LCD ... unless you're some sort of video freak, you won't be disturbed by the slight difference. 


DVD players
In the previous article, I recommended buying used DVDs, since their quality tends to remain high (unless they have scratches, which are usually pretty easy to spot).

The same is not true of DVD players, however. These have lasers that will eventually wear out and cost more to replace than the unit is worth.

Whenever repairs cost that much, buying new is often advisable. Add to that the fact that prices are constantly dropping while the technology is constantly improving, and buying new becomes a slam dunk.

DVD players are cheap!  If you have a new LCD TV, buy a progressive scan DVD player and enjoy!


Vacuum cleaners
Here’s another item that’s particularly prone to abuse and that may cost you more to fix than if you’d simply bought new. Consumer Reports says a good, basic upright can be purchased new for less than $100, and that the fancy features that push prices higher often aren’t worth the extra cost. Just make sure to buy one that you’re comfortable pushing and that has a decent filtration system to prevent dust from kicking back out into the air.

Exception: You’re handy and don’t mind teaching yourself vacuum repair.


Camcorders
Someday they’ll build a camcorder out of rubber, so that it’ll bounce when you drop it, which is almost inevitable. The damage from a fall may not be obvious when you buy used, but it may soon require a costly repair. Camcorder motors can also wear out and may cost you a couple hundred dollars to replace.

If you want to save money on a camcorder, consider buying analog, rather than digital, or, better yet, buy last year’s model.

Exception: You’re buying a refurbished model that comes with a warranty. RefurbDepot.com, for example, recently advertised a Canon ZR40 MiniDV camcorder with factory warranty for $279.95 -- an impressive savings over the unit’s usual $699.95 retail price.


Shoes
Poor-fitting shoes can cause everything from bunions to back problems, so don’t buy footwear that’s already been molded by someone else’s tootsies. This is particularly important for kids whose feet are still growing. Shop sales, buy last year’s models, but don’t give in to the temptation to save a buck now that’s going to cost you more in pain and hassles later.

Exception: You’re buying old cowboy boots to turn into lamps.


Mattresses
Think of all the stuff you do on your mattress. Now think of sleeping in someone else’s stuff. Ewwwww.

Unfortunately, you may already be spending the night with other people’s mold, mites, bacteria and bodily fluids. Dishonest retailers sometimes ignore federal requirements that used mattresses be labeled as such, often covering a secondhand cot with new ticking to disguise it. If you want an all-new mattress, the Federal Trade Commission recommends looking for a tag that promises “all-new materials” and requiring that the retailer write the word “new” on the receipt. (That can make it easier to prove your case should you find you’ve been sold a used mattress on the sly.)

There’s also the fact that mattresses aren’t meant to last forever. Even the good ones typically have a life span of just eight to 10 years, and it’s hard to know for sure how old a used mattress may already be.

Exception: When “used” is really almost “unused,” such as a mattress from someone’s rarely visited guest room. Still, you’d really have to trust the buyer to know, and disclose, everything that’s happened on that bed, which is why you’re still probably better off buying new. You shouldn’t ever pay the list price, because haggling is expected. Consumer Reports suggests you need to spend about $800 to get a good-quality queen-size mattress and box spring set. That works out to about 25 cents a night -- a small price to pay for cleanliness and comfort.


Wet suits
These spongy coverings tend to lose their ability to keep you warm over time. If you’re a scuba diver, the constant change in water pressure will eventually take its toll.

“As a suit is used, the neoprene compresses and become thinner, losing its thermal properties and buoyancy,” said master dive instructor Gerrard Dennis of Simply Scuba, an online scuba store based in the United Kingdom, where the need for warmth is crucial. “Also, ozone attacks neoprene suits so they become less stretchy and more likely to tear with age.”

If diving, snorkeling or other water sports are your passion, a good wet suit will set you back $100 to $200.

Exception: You’re surfing, rather than diving, exclusively in warm waters. If you’re trying to outfit a growing child and don’t want to pop for a new suit, consider renting from a reputable shop that sanitizes the suits between uses.


Helmets
Like a car seat, a helmet is meant to protect against one accident and no more. A crash typically crushes the foam inside the helmet casing, according to the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute, so the damage may not be visible.

Since you usually can’t tell if a helmet’s ticket has already been punched, you’re smarter to buy new. Kid’s sports and bike helmets retail for about $20; you’ll pay $30 to $40 for the adult size. Motorcycle helmets usually start around $100 and climb steeply from there; you can contain the cost by resisting the fancy paint jobs.

Exception: None. Helmets aren’t that expensive compared to a funeral or a lifetime as a quadriplegic. Spend the money.

Things You Shouldn't Buy New

By Liz Pulliam Weston

Books, books, books
Now this is awkward, because I just wrote a book. (Warning! Shameless plug ahead . . . .) It's called, “Your Credit Score: How to Fix, Improve and Protect the 3-Digit Number that Shapes Your Financial Future,” and of course, I’d love for you to go out and purchase a new copy. (. . . End of shameless plug.)

But the reality is that most books don’t get read more than once, if that, and they’re astonishingly easy to find used at steep discounts -- if not absolutely free.

Your local library, for example, may allow you to reserve titles online and then deliver them to your nearest branch for pick-up. Used book stores abound, both in your town and online. If you’re looking for a potboiler to get you through your next cross-country flight, just stop by almost any yard sale and pick up four for $1.

Exception: Reference books you’ll use again and again. For example, I bought a deeply-discounted copy of Cheryl Mendelson’s excellent “Home Comforts." That was after checking the book out at the library and running up a small fortune in fines because I couldn’t bear to part with it.

Okay, I confess ... I buy my books on eBay.  I've even started looking for my current favorite authors (but not J. D. Robb!) on eBay.  Wait a few weeks, then pick a price and stick to it!  As always, with eBay, understand that even if you miss this one, another one will come along eventually.

Also, my home town has a great used books chain, Half-Price Books.  Wonderful place!

DVDs, CDs and videos
The list price for Quentin Tarantino's most recent film, “Kill Bill, Volume 2,” is $30, and you can get it new for about $20 from Amazon.com. Buy from one of the retailers selling it used on the same site, though, and you’ll save at least $10. You can find similar deals online for videos and CDs (yes, Virginia, some of us dinosaurs still buy CDs). Other good hunting grounds for purchase of used items: movie rental chains like Blockbuster; used record stores; yard sales.

Exception: When you simply must have the latest release by your favorite singer/director/actor, right now. It can take a few days or weeks for the used versions to show up, and perhaps a few months for the price to get discounted enough to compensate for the greater hassle you might face trying to return a defective or unsatisfactory purchase.

I'd RATHER buy music on eBay!  I'll never buy download music again ... not with all the copy protection they stick on the mp3 files!  I can't play the ones I downloaded from MM without being logged onto the Internet!

(Besides, I like having the liner notes ...)

Little kids' toys
Parents know: it’s all but impossible to predict which toy will be a hit and which will lie forlorn at the bottom of the toy box. So rather than gamble at full price, cruise consignment shops and yard sales for bargains. My husband’s latest score: a plastic Push, Pedal 'N Ride Trike (retails for $28, he paid $10) that looks like new after a brief scrub.

Better than cheap, though, is free. Some parents set up regular toy-swapping meets, or you might be lucky enough to score hand-me-downs from friends and relatives.

Exception: Some parents get away with giving used toys for birthdays and holidays, but most of us (and our kids) have been fairly well brainwashed into believing that gifts should be purchased new. Try to opt, though, for classics, like sturdy wooden toys.

Jewelry
Fat markups on most gems (100% or more is fairly common) means that you’d be lucky to get one-third of what you paid at a retail store, should you ever need to sell.

So let somebody else get socked with that depreciation. Find a pawn shop that’s been in business for awhile, get to know the owner and ask him or her for recommendations. Some readers have had good results buying via newspaper ads, but I’d want to take the piece to a jeweler for an appraisal first.

Exception: You want something custom-made. Even then, consider buying used stones and getting them reset.

Again, check out eBay!  Especially for Avon jewelry!

Sports equipment
We may buy everything from badminton rackets to weight sets fully intending to wear them out, but too often they wind up collecting dust. Buy someone else’s good intention and you’ll save some bucks.

Happy hunting grounds: yard sales, newspaper and online ads, resale stores like Play It Again Sports.

Exception: Shoes, baseball mitts and anything else that will mold to the wearer’s body. In addition, some people shun buying anything used if it has a motor, like a treadmill. They worry they won’t get enough use out of the piece before it dies. Given how little use most such devices get before they’re sold, though, you might want to take the chance.

Timeshares
You could call these a notoriously lousy investment if you could call them an investment at all, but you can’t -- because what real investment is guaranteed to lose 30% to 70% right off the bat?

That is, unless you buy used. There’s a huge number of folks who caved in to three hours of hard sell and are now desperate to dump their shares. For more details, read "Get the best deal on a time share."

Exception: Some of the higher-end properties in exclusive resorts don’t lose much value, and may offer benefits like frequent-flyer miles that could be worth the extra money if you buy from the developer. Before you buy, though, check resale values online; don’t take an agent’s word for how much depreciation to expect. Also, a relatively new type of expensive time share, called a fractional interest, may actually gain in value over time. For more information, see “Vacation time shares for the ‘middling rich’.”

Cars
The average new car loses 12.2% of its value in the first year, according to Edmunds.com; on a $20,000 car, that’s $2,440, or more than $200 a month. Some cars depreciate even faster, depending on demand, incentives offered and other factors.

Why not let someone else take that hit? Not only will you be able to save money (or buy more car), but you’ll pay less for insurance. Cars are better-built and last longer than ever before, which means you’re less likely to get a lemon. Companies like CarFax allow you to trace a car’s history. Many late-model used cars are still under warranty, and a trusted mechanic can give your potential purchase the once-over to spot any problems. (For more, see “How to save $10,000 on your next car.”)

Exception: You can pay cash and you really, really want that new-car smell.

Software and console games
Buy used, and you’ll pay half or less what the software cost new. Console games like those for the Xbox and Sony PS2 that list for $50 new, for instance, can often be purchased used for $20 or less a year after release.

But it’s more than just a matter of economy. Letting someone else be the early adopter also allows you to benefit from their experience. You’ll find more reviews and information on software that’s been out a year or more (and you won’t be that far behind the leading edge). The bugs will have been identified along with any workarounds, although you may have to live with some problems that are fixed in later versions.

Exception: If you do a lot of work with graphics, multimedia or image editing and you have a newer, more powerful computer, you’ll probably want the state-of-the-art version. Finally, some software restricts the number of computers on which it can be installed, which can make it difficult (but not impossible) to transfer the product license to a new owner.

Office furniture
Built to take a beating and last a lifetime, good-quality office desks, filing cabinets and credenzas are relatively easy to find even when a recession isn’t cratering the local economy.

Exception: Some people balk at buying used chairs for the same reason they won’t buy a used catcher’s mitt -- it’s had too many hours to mold to someone else’s body.

Hand tools
Well-made tools with few or no moving parts -- like hammers, wrenches, shovels, hoes, etc. -- can last decades with proper maintenance and are relatively easy to find at yard sales. If you’re not going to use a tool frequently, you may be able to rent it or borrow from a friend or neighbor rather than buying something else to clutter up your garage. (Some neighborhoods even run tool-sharing cooperatives.)

Exception: You’re a hard-core do-it-yourselfer and you need power tools, especially cordless versions. These have a relatively limited life span and you may not know how much time they’ve got left. If the tool is cheap enough, of course, that may not matter, but most often you’ll want to buy new if the power tool will get substantial use.