I played Rock Band last night at a friend’s house for the first time, and everyone is still talking about my vocal rendition of Roxanne by The Police. I’m not sure whether that is a good thing or not. For those who have no interest in video games and who may not know, Rock Band is a game that allows you to form a band and compete by “covering” classic rock songs with simplified musical instruments. It’s a great game.
Here are a few articles from around the web that readers might enjoy.
Mighty Bargain Hunter has an interesting perspective on how to place a value on your time. Is it fair to place the value of all of one’s time based on an equivalent hourly wage at a 40-hour-per-week job? Mighty Bargain Hunter says no and offers an alternative suggestion.
Did you receive unwanted gift cards this holiday season? If so, Mrs. Micah has some tips for you. Like Mrs. Micah, all the gift cards I received were for places I normally shop. Now my challenge is to make the best use of them by finding good deals and discounts for things that I’d like to have.
How Much House Can You Afford? The Digerati Life has ten steps to determine how much you should spend when buying a house. The ten steps seem to focus on the entire process leading up to purchasing a house. The process is much simpler if all you’re looking to determine is how much you should spend on a house. There are some rules of thumb about mortgage payments as a certain percentage of after-tax income (no more than 35%) and total home value as a multiple of your income (perhaps three times your annual gross income). Of course, regional differences and personal preferences mean that rules of thumb are nothing more than guidelines. Here’s a helpful affordability calculator.
Updated December 31, 2007 and originally published December 30, 2007. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the RSS feed or receive daily emails. Follow @flexo on Twitter and visit our Facebook page for more updates.
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Luke Landes founded Consumerism Commentary in 2003 and has been building online communities since 1990. Luke, also known as Flexo, has contributed to PC World Magazine, US News, Forbes, and other publications. 
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Rock band is outstanding. We received it as a gift this year and I’ve put in hours upon hours of playing time this week. I’m a guitarist, so I’ve always been a huge fan of Guitar Hero, but I was excited to get my opportunity to play drums.
I have to say that I have a newfound respect for drummers everywhere. I had no idea the amount of skill and physical dexterity that goes into that instrument. I think I blew out my knee the other day while trying to play a song.
I’m glad you liked it. :)
Rock Band looks like a ton of fun…though I don’t know if I’d be any good.
The drums on rock band are vicious. I could barely keep up with the easiest level the first time I tried it. It is an extremely entertaining game.
Thanks for featuring my post here Flexo. Gee, I would have loved to hear you sing. I’m a big fan of classic rock.