In terms of investments, my plans are let it ride or buy. Hopefully I won't have a reason to withdraw from them for 20+ years.

Bank accounts are all FDIC so no changes there.

Until December everything else will have to make do as is.

Yes Samhain, since you have forced the issue,,I'll admit that I screwed up my bicycle pump as well. It was the one that was carried on the bike.

cajuns + bicycle pump = broken bicycle pump

About those bicycle pumps...you've got to get the right valve head on the pump. There are 2 very different types of valves on bike tires/tubes, Schrader and Presta. The Schrader is the same type you see on automobile tires, the Presta is pretty much exclusive to bicycles. If you've got a pump with a Schrader head on it, it's not gonna work on a Presta valve, the converse is also true. They are very different diameters and the Schrader valve uses a spring and a removable valve core, the Presta does not.

Any of the better pumps, whether they're the type that mounts on the bike or a foot type should have the ability to adapt the head to work with either type of valve. It usually involves taking the head apart and replacing some rubber parts.

There are pumps that claim to work with both but none that work well that I've ever seen. There are also some heads that are reversible to work with either valve type.

You shouldn't ever have to modify a pump head to fit onto a tire valve with a knife, not matter how tempting it might be... ;^)

John E

I've had a Zefal HPX3 for about 15 years now and its still going strong.

http://www.amazon.com/Zefal-Bicycle-HPX-...0213&sr=1-1

I hate Prestas. I acknowledge that they are better than Schraeders, but I still hate them. You get a flat, fix it, then if you don't have the adapter, you can't air them up anywhere....

I put a 20 in a hidey hole out of every paycheck. I buy a brick of .22LR the next day, just because it is the most handy meat hunting cartridge I can think of. When those get over a certain limit, next time I go to visit my folks, those two stocks get transfered to what I have in storage there. I keep my car in good running order.

But these are just things I'd do normally. I"m not doing much, but my employment is a little unique. Yes, I support/train users of rental property management software, but in particular, 90%+ of my customers are administering HUD, USDA or IRS/tax credit housing. They aren't computer literate. And because most of them have mediocre to nearly non-exist mastery of english, there is no way they could work with someone in Mumbai. The back log of customers is growing, and there is waiting list to get properties on federal housing support longer than I am tall. My job isn't in horrific danger.

That being said, while I continue to look for a roommate free apartement, when I do find it, I will bring over one (1) sidearm, and maybe a .22 rifle. I'll only bring over a few books, and none of the really important ones. If I have to go home, I want to do so with relatively few regrets and in one car load.

The only real hard core prep that I have done is help my dad figure out how to rig a solar panel and a cold/wet-friendly battery supply for the pump. Without that pump, my parent's house will really, really suck.

Ditto that. This is bargain hunting time for investors.

I have my 401k, which didn't change much during the crash, and I have accounts in WAMU and Wachovia, neither of which have gone anywhere. I am transferring from one project here in Florida to another in Denver, but that was planned back in June, and has nothing to do with the market. I intend to keep working as long as I can, either for the company I am with now, or as an independent at some point in the future.

Except for being disgusted with the greed and stupidity being displayed in Wall Street and the Capital, I have tried to ignore the news as much as possible about the market and what they are going to do to all of us taxpayers. As has been the case for the past decade, I am trying to make more money than I am losing. So far, so good.

Now you tell me!!!


I have the Schrader type (valve and pump). I guess now you could consider the pump to be a "modified Schrader".

I have to force the pump onto the tire valve and even though I close the lever, the darned thing kept popping off.

When I pulled the pump valve apart, each one of the elements fit perfectly over the tire nipple but when put together it was like trying to push an 18 wheeler into a mouse-hole.

Out of frustration, I succumbed to the temptation of the pocket knife.

Trying to buy a house... well, septic, 20 acres, town pop <1k... it's a major pita Hope to get it soon.