My definition of 'hood' is simply a socia-economic area of town, where most earned incomes are below $30,000, and where there's a higher percentage of government assisted citizens, living in homes, food stamps section 8 ect ect...regardless of ethnic make-up...

These conditions are wide spread across the nation...but in the 'hood'...you simply have a higher concentration of people living under the above terms...where as in Kansas...you may have the same percentage of people as described...

Someone told me, once upon a time, that I had a photographic memory. I've got one, alright. The fact that I have an ability to picture things as I've seen them has been a staple of the many pockets of my memory bank down through the years.

And that scenario will come into play once again when I take to the road in a few short days. This will be in the form of a vacation and not some short road trip. It's amazing what I think about, even in fleeting moments, ...

Everything was fine until I boarded my flight in Atlanta. The last time I had flown on an airline was January 2008. Flying has changed quite a lot in that short time.

We still have to remove our shoes and and belts. Now, as an alternative to walking through the metal detector/golden arch of the chosen, we have the option of choosing a "pat down" instead. Airlines have learned they can charge for most any service these days. I would imagine they are brainstorming about how...

Nothing much to recap from yesterday. Lenders opened the day with the most aggressive rate sheets in our lifetime...many lenders were offering rates below 4%. Nothing much after that. Mortgage backed security prices traded in a tight range as market participants moved to the sidelines to await today’s data. There were no reports of lenders repricing.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the official government report on the labor market: The Employment Situation Report. ...

He had tried to kick his way out. The space he was in was dark and moist, but that didn't bother him as much being cramped in a small space that seemed to be getting smaller. He didn't know where he was or how he had gotten here or even how long he had been here, but he knew one thing - he would get out of here or die trying.

He kicked again. Each time his foot seemed to almost break through the wall that trapped him and then the wall refused to budge. He tried to feel around on...