Where (Not) to Smoke in Thousand Oaks, Calabasas and Moorpark

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Most of you have heard about last week's Moorpark City Council vote last week to prohibit smoking in most public places.  The new law, which becomes effective in August, is summarized below along with other state and local bans.  There are no federal smoking bans, though roughly 70% of the country has some type of workplace smoking ban (inversely, 30% of the U.S. population can still smoke at work).

State of California

Smoking in enclosed workplaces and within 20 feet thereof has been banned in California since January 1995.  The law also applies to restaurants and bars.  The law has certain exceptions, such as workplaces with up to 5 employees (assuming no minors and all employees consent), up to 65% of hotel rooms, etc.  Since 1/1/08, smoking in a car with a minor has been illegal in California.  Since 1/1/02, it has been illegal to smoke within 25 feet of a public playground (unless you are smoking on a public sidewalk within 25 feet of the playground, in which case it is perfectly legal).

City of Calabasas

The City of Calabasas smoking ban has been in place since 3/16/06 and outlaws pretty much all public places, both inside and outside...streets, sidewalks, parks, restaurants, stores, you name it. You are allowed to smoke in your home and in designated smoking areas.  You are also allowed to smoke in any outdoor area in which no non-smoker is within reasonable distance and due to the time of day you

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Mama Don't Take My Kodachrome Away!

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This past Monday, 6/22/09, Eastman Kodak announced it is discontinuing Kodachrome, the film it has manufactured since 1935. Kodachrome is now yet another relic of the past, like VHS tapes, 8-track tapes, cassette tapes, GM, analog TV and unsliced bread. But the film certainly has its place in history, including its use in this well known 1985 Steve McCurry photo of a young Afghan girl.

While Kodachrome will soon be gone, it will forever be memorialized by Paul Simon's 1973 song named after the 35mm film that peaked at #2 on the Billboard charts. I love this song.

When I think back
On all the crap I learned in high school
It's a wonder
I can think at all

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Twitter Continues to Grow and Grow in Popularity! Jump on the Twitter Bandwagon!

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THIS WAS ORIGINALLY POSTED IN JANUARY...but I'm updating this post due to the unbelievable popularity Twitter continues to have. Twitter is a PHENOMENON. The interesting thing about Twitter is that you can "follow" people you don't know, including a growing list of celebraties (including me of course at www.twitter.com/ConejoJoe. To some this is an incredible waste of time but to others this is interesting and fun (I'm somewhere in the middle). Here's just a small sampling of celebrity Twitterers along with their current followers...will be fun to see these stats a year from now):

http://twitter.com/PeteCarroll (22K followers as of 5/30/09)

http://twitter.com/adamsandler (102K followers)

http://twitter.com/kimkardashian (916K followers)

http://twitter.com/serenajwilliams (236K followers)

http://twitter.com/RyanSeacrest (1.1 million followers)

http://twitter.com/mileycyrus (704K followers)

http://twitter.com/jtimberlake (193K followers)

http://twitter.com/TheEllenShow (1.7M followers..wow!)

http://twitter.com/aplusk (Ashton Kucher...nearly 2M followers)

http://twitter.com/SarahKSilverman (110K followers)

http://twitter.com/mrskutcher (Demi Moore - 1M followers)

http://twitter.com/NotTinaFey (Tina Fey, I think 385K followers)

http://twitter.com/Oprah (1.2 million followers)

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Is the Dow Jones Industrial Average Still Useful?

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This was originally posted in February 2008.  I decided to move it back up to the top of the list given that the DJIA is being changed again.  This time Citigroup and General Motors are being removed from the list, effective June 8, 2009, to be replaced by Travelers (insurance carrier and previously a division of Citigroup) and Cisco Systems.

PREVIOUSLY POSTED FEB 2008:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is an index of 30 of the largest blue-chip American companies.  It was created as a list of 12 stocks in 1896 and grew to 30 in 1928.  The editor of the Wall Street Journal is responsible for periodically changing DJIA components in an effort to better match the average with the overall economy.  Yesterday it was announced that two companies on the list, Altria Group and Honeywell, would be replaced with Bank of America and Chevron.  The changes will take place next Tuesday, the 19th (2008).

Although the DJIA is arguably still the most watched market index, a number of points can be made that the index is outdated:

1. The index is somewhat arbitrary.  DJIA components don't necessarily accurately represent the broader market.  Why hasn't Bank of America been on the list before?  Disney, McDonald's, Coca-Cola and Home Depot are on the list, but Apple, Google, Cisco and Starbucks are not.  How come?  Even Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, a Fortune 20 company, is not on the list.

2. The index is price-weighted.  This means they simply add up the stock prices of the 30 components and divide it by a factor that takes into account stock splits, changes in the index, etc.  As a result, a change in a $100 stock is treated the same as in a $20 stock. 

As an example, let's say IBM is at $100 and Intel is at $20 per share.  IBM is down $5 today while Intel is up $5.  The DJIA doesn't change because the +$5 is offset by the -$5.  However, if you owned $100 worth of each stock (1 share of IBM and 5 shares of Intel), you would be up by $20 (IBM down by $5 and Intel up by 5 shares x $5).  So you are up 10% on your investment but using a price-weighted average says you are break-even.

3. Why just 30 stocks?  30 stocks may have been adequate 80 years ago, does it really represent a reasonable cross-section of the 11,000+ stocks currently traded in the U.S.?  Seems to me that the S&P 500 and other major market indices better reflect our economy.

4. The DJIA ignores dividend payments.  This is not unique to the DJIA average but certainly is an important aspect to investing in stocks.  According to Stanford researchers, DJIA dividend payments have averaged nearly 5% since 1928, ranging from under 2% to nearly 10%.  The DJIA does not give a complete reflection of total shareholder returns as a result.

Still, I will continue to check out the day to day gyrations of the DJIA out of sheer habit and interest as will most of you!

FREE Viagra, Lipitor, Zoloft and Other Pfizer Drugs for the Unemployed!

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On May 14th, Pfizer announced a new free drug program called MAINTAIN™ (Medicines Assistance for Those who Are in Need) for the unemployed. The program covers over 70 "primary care" drugs, which just so happens to include Viagra. So now you can maintain your sex life by MAINTAIN™ing your supply of Viagra!

All right, enough of my weak attempt at humor. Now for the details of this worthy program:

  1. Program starts 7/1/09 and ends 12/31/09 (must enroll during this period)
  2. You must reside in the U.S.
  3. You must have become unemployed on or after 1/1/09
  4. Must have been taking a Pfizer drug for 3 months prior to termination
  5. Must have no medical coverage or prescription drug coverage
  6. You can't pay for the drug due to unemployment and lack of insurance
  7. Must provide proof of unemployment
  8. Must attest to not not being able to afford the drugs due to unemployment and uninsured status

So if you pass all of the above tests and they accept you into the program, they will ship you your drug in 90 day quantities for up to a year (or until you get a new job or obtain insurance coverage).

I think that maybe 11 people will be eligible for this program based on the above requirements. Think about it...you must have been taking the drug before. So if you didn't have medical insurance prior to your unemployment, you probably weren't taking the drug in the first place.

But...if you DID have medical drug coverage and became unemployed in 2009, the Feds are subsidizing 65% of your COBRA premiums through 12/31/09! You are crazy not to take advantage of this temporary Federal COBRA subsidy if you are indeed unemployed. And if you do have COBRA, you would be ineligible for MAINTAIN™.

So the people best positioned to benefit from MAINTAIN™ are those unemployed who were paying cash for the Pfizer drugs for at least 3 months. All 11, maybe 12 of them.

For more information about the MAINTAIN™ program, visit www.pfizerhelpfulanswers.com to download an application or call 866.706.2400 with questions.

Videos of Low Flying Air Force One Photo Opp at Statue of Liberty on 4/27

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Boy, this really freaked out some New Yorkers on Monday and I can see why!  This Air Force One backup 747 was dispatched to the Statue of Liberty accompanied by an F-14 fighter jet for an airborne photo opp.  Only problem is, it was "classified" and nobody knew about it, even New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.  The White House apologized for the confusion and disruption after buildings were evacuated.  Not to worry...all's fine now.