They lied to us, and they still are.

Search Google for "magic of compound interest" and look at all those wonderful web sites expounding the wonders of compound interest. Invest only $100 and month and after 30 years you will have $150,129.52! Really? Sign me up!

Well I did sign up. 20 years ago. I've been investing about $300 a month for 20 years in my Magic of Compound Interest account. According to this calulator I should have $179,320.80 in my account. In reality, I have half of that amount. And for your information, $300 * 240 months = $72,000. Where the freak is the magic?

The moral of the story is that reality sucks and people are overly optimistic about expected returns. Everyone says, "But it will be okay if you invest for the Long Term." Excuse me, but with a life expectancy of 80 years, I'd say 20 years so far is pretty freakin' long term. Obviously the Magic of Compound Interest will not make us all millionaires as we were (and still are) promised. I've only got another 25 years or so until I really need this money.

Just got back from seeing Wall-E and I'm not sure how I feel about it. It was unique in that there are very few words spoken throughout the entire film. There are probably only about 4 real speaking roles, with all others being 1 or 2 word repetitions.

The look of the film is absolutely gorgeous, with the high-tech aspects looking like that came directly from the Apple design team. Imagine robots designed in the style of an iPod and you'll get it. As with all other Pixar films, details abound and are a joy to take in.

The story itself, while exciting, seems rather thin. There's no a whole lot of substance especially when compared to Finding Nemo or Cars. Both of those movies contain detailed stories that have been honed to perfection. Wall-e's story is honed and sharp, but superficial and short. What makes it superficial is the number of questions that go unanswered. There is so much more you want to know about the world of the movie, but we are never given the details.