Is Lehman the Fifth Horseman?

I received this e-mail from my pals at Ing Direct at about the same time that Lehman Brothers were preparing to file for bankruptcy. If you missed it, Lehman's failure will be the biggest bank failure in US history and marks yet another lurch toward the abyss. This is bad and not to incite a bigger financial panic than the one that will greet the morning, but if you're smart you'll get your money out of Washington Mutual while you can...

Why is the financial sector meltdown not an issue in this presidential campaign? The roll back regulation crowd and market fetishists are awfully quiet and seem to be counting on the usual smokescreens and tabloid-derived wedge issues to make this go away. "He called her a pig!" "She's a hockey mom gals can relate to!" "She's qualified! She can field dress a moose!" "He wants to teach sex ed to kindygartners!" "She's a reformer!" Well, let see her, or anybody for that matter, reform this mess. That is, if it doesn't destroy the world economy first.

Anyhow, thank you Ing. Leave it up to a non-US-owned bank to run a bank properly. Read this man's surprisingly candid advice and believe like I do.

	Dear Paul, Customer Number: XXXXXXX178 As we enter the final few months of 2008, I want to thank you for your continued confidence in ING DIRECT. Over 700,000 new Savers have joined us so far this year strengthening the bank and their own financial footing through our savings, home mortgage and ShareBuilder investment accounts. Despite a challenging economic climate, our Customer base is 7 million strong and growing. The consequences of the mortgage meltdown on financial institutions and individuals continue to erode many Americans' dreams. We will continue to stress the right way to achieve home ownership – buying only as much house as you can afford and paying off your mortgage as fast as possible. In return for good credit and prioritizing home investment, ING DIRECT mortgage Customers are rewarded with exceptional rates and a transparent, direct administration process. Rather than selling your mortgage to another bank or investor the minute you get it, we keep your mortgage and service it here. Doing so gives us flexibility to find innovative solutions to help Customers keep their homes during unexpected financial downturns. While we don’t have an Orange crystal ball, we do expect the economy to remain fragile through 2009. The best course of action for our Customers is to be disciplined: avoid splurging; identify and cut out unnecessary expenses and save for what's essential; and hedge against those tough times. We can all benefit by developing good spending habits: confront - and cut up - credit cards; use your home as a savings vehicle - not as an ATM; and establish and contribute regularly to an IRA or 401(k). In this difficult financial environment, we work tirelessly to safeguard your deposits, mortgages and investments. Importantly, your deposits are FDIC-insured according to its limits and your investments are SIPC-protected. Our security processes are the best in the business and are in place to protect your savings from those with bad intentions. While we are constantly vigilant, we need your help. Keep passwords to yourself. Never give personal information through an email. And always install both the latest antivirus and anti-malware software on your home computer. Thank you for your continued trust in ING DIRECT. We will not waver in our promise to provide you with great value, service, security and convenience. Arkadi Kuhlmann CEO of Savings

ING DIRECT 1 South Orange Street Wilmington, DE 19801

Sunday funnies

I know a couple of people I ought to send this to. Check out the whole collection at Livejournal.

Sherwin-Williams' color predictions for '09: reds and oranges

Sherwin-Williams trade publication Stir arrived in yesterday's mail and in it are SW's color predictions for next year. I used to think these things were a load of bull, but it's interesting to see their predictions trickle down and out. I still question whether or not these are predictions though. It seems to me that they're prescriptions --what ends up in these annual predictions are what tastemakers turn to as a guideline to use in order to stay at the cutting edge. Well, whatever they are, it's interesting to me and even if the colors themselves aren't a reflection of our society, the thinking behind these selections sure is.

According to SW, reds are going to start skewing back toward orange in an homage to the growing influence of Latin America on world affairs. Pinks are going to move away from the bright, bubblegum-y hues of the recent past and become more sophisticated. Oranges are going to be toned down from the crayon bright hues they've been for the last couple of years and will more accurately reflect the colors of spices and minerals.

SW 6572 Ruby Shade

SW 6600 Enticing Red

SW 6858 Zany Pink

SW 6023 Insightful Rose

SW 6325 Constant Coral

SW 6362 Tigereye

Saturday funnies

I want this ad to start running in in-flight magazines. Thanks to the kids at Livejournal for these.

Great source for outdoor showers

If the reports I get from Site Meter are as accurate as I think they are, there's a lot of interest out there in outdoor showers.  "Outdoor Shower" was my number one search term this week.Woo-hoo!  Thank you Google!

So I have been thinking about outdoor showers again and I stumbled upon an Arizona-based website the other day called Calazzo, and these people have to make the sharpest outdoor showers I've ever seen. With the emphasis on make. I spoke with Ser at Calazzo earlier in the week and I learned that they manufacture everything that's on their site. In addition to outdoor showers, they make some really great teak and steel furniture and they have some gorgeous fire pits. Check out their site, really.

Their offerings are well-made from teak and stainless steel and are available in a large number of configurations. You can buy one with a single supply line (a hose) for summertime use in a temperate climate, or you can buy a dual-supply version to use more permanently in warmer climes. So they're gorgeous, flexible and really reasonably priced. So what's not to love?

This is the Pila free-standing with a dual (that's hot and cold) water supply. The Pila free-standing comes with a single teak base, the extra teak tiles shown in the photo are available for purchase separately.

Here's the same Pila, and you can see the single teak base that comes with the shower.

This is the Pila with an optional footwash. I love the foot wash showers that we have at the beaches here. They make driving home after a sunset walk on the beach a less-messy experience, and it would be great to be able to do something similar at home.

Here's a close-up of the Pila shower head. This is a similar style as some more extravagantly-priced Italian and German shower heads I can think of.

Here's a close up of their teak handles. Using teak and stainless in an outdoor shower makes a lot of sense and for that reason alone, you owe it to yourself to check out Calazzo's site if you're considering an outdoor shower for yourself.