Java + Fedora = esplode.
If you ever install Fedora 7, avoid their open implementation of the JDK at all costs. I'm not sure how or why, but for a week I was unable to run any java program from a jar file, or even from Eclipse. Even command line arguments using the standard java -jar foo.jar broke. Any jar files that I transferred over to windows failed with an Error: Unable to load main class attribute message. I finally got so frustrated that I blew away my current Fedora installation and started over.
Instead of installing java via the Fedora 7 package manager, do it manually by downloading the jdk from Sun's website, stashing it somewhere safe--on my dev machine at work it lives at /home/jduv/dev/extools/jdk_1.5.0_12/ and use environment variables similar these inside my .bashrc:
# Set java home export JAVA_HOME=/home/jduv/dev/extools/jdk1.5.0_12 # Tell path bout java home so I can use java stuff export PATH=$PATH:$JAVA_HOME/bin
I haven't quite figured out how to get java applets running in Firefox using my installation method, but methinks it won't be terribly complicated. I'll post it when I figure it out.
Oh, and if you use open office you will need to install that manually since it depends on java. The Fedora package manager will install OpenJDK as a dependency for Open Office, thus screwing up all our hacking handiwork. Just download all the vanilla rpm's and follow the installation instructions on their site.
Since We’re Talking About Credit…
What fun it is to follow up a post about nuking all my credit card debt with another post about a new credit card that I just applied for. Am I schitzophrenic? Maybe.
I have decided to start living off a credit card. This idea came from the same friend who pointed out my bad math skills--which is credited as to why I was comfortable living with 7% APR credit card debt while my savings account grew at a pithy 5.05%. Yay -2% net gain! But I'm not just going to live off any credit card. I'm going with the ones that give me free stuff =D.
There are current "best cash rewards card" on my list is Chase Manhattan's Freedom Card. Most cash rewards cards have great rewards programs, and very crappy APRs. However, the point of using one of these cards is to get free stuff right? So that means that we cannot afford having any finance charges on the card whatsoever--else we totally destroy the net gain and defeat the whole point of having the card. The APR of this category of cards is so high that one finance charge can destroy an entire month or more of gains, so the balance of a card like this must be paid off before any finance charges are accumulated.
Chase Freedom Card
APR: 14.24%
Membership Fee: none
Rewards: 3% on Gas and food for up to $600 in purchases, 1% otherwise.
Introductory APR: 0% for a year
Rewards Cap: No limit
Rewards Distributed Upon request
Additional Features: Can switch between points or cash back instantly
Overall I like this card because it fits in well with how I spend money. I buy groceries, lots of gas, and the occasional lunch at Moes or Chik-Fil-A. After looking into my montly expenses in each of these categories, it fills out to less than $300 a month. Paying this card off every won't be a problem at all =).
Finally, there is always the chance that these credit card companies are going to shut down a particular card, change the terms, or do something nasty to try and recover from smart people like you and I taking the free stuff that they are offering. This is another critical reason why a card such as this should never carry a balance. You can close the account if they get snippy with you and never look back.
Fragging My CC Debt
It feels good not having any Credit Card debt. At the suggestion of one friend and the confirmation of two others I realized it was a Good Thing to pull from my impending disaster savings fund enough to totally pay off my only credit card. The rational? A simple, fun math exercise that I made up.
I have some amount of money, call it x, sitting in my savings account with an interest rate of 5.05%. I have some amount of money, call it y, sitting on my credit card with an interest rate of 6.99%. How much money must be in my savings account in order for me to break even?
This problem is easy once you realize the following:
0.0505x - 0.0699y = 0 :. x = 1.38y
So that means if you have a credit card debt of say $1000, in order to break even every month interest wise, you would need approximately $1380 in your savings account. Why not just pull a thousand bucks out of the savings account, pay the debt, and make 5.05% off the remaining $380? You would gain $19 instead of only breaking even.
Math is awesome.
How Brake Toof?
I broke my tooth today. A good sized piece of it. I wasn't doing anything extravagant either. In any event, I commented about it on my gchat status and Eric--as usual, had a comment:
Eric: HOW BRAKE TOOFme: it just happenedrumor is Godfrey backhanded me for falling asleep in a meeting Eric: such things do not 'jus thappen' rofl me: well it did i put mah toungue on it and it just came free (thats what she said) Eric: lolol spiked his own setup!
10 bonus points!
My emergency dentist appointment tomorrow should get this fixed up. I'm glad I can entertain my friends with consistent injuries.