The tower of Babel

Lucas van Valckenborch, the Louve

Colors, how many can you name? Practice until perfect.

Colors

 

1.       Almond(ah-mond)

2.       Apricot (ap-ri-kot)

3.       Aquamarine (ak-wuh-muh-reen)

4.       Auburn (aw-bern)

5.       Augusta green (aw-guhs-tuh green)

6.       Avocado (av-uh-kah-doh)

7.       Azure (azh-er)

8.       Banana (buh-nan-uh)

9.       Beige (beyzh)

10.     Black (blak)

11.     Blonde (blonde)

12.     Blue (bloo)

13.     Blueberry (bloo-ber-ee)

14.     Blush (bluhsh)

15.     Brick (brik)

16.     Bronze (bronz)

17.     Brown (broun)

18.     Brunette (broo-net)

19.     Buff (buhf)

20.     Burgundy (bur-guhn-dee)

21.     Calypso (kuh-lip-soh) 

22.     Canary (kuh-nair-ee)

23.     Chartreuse (shahr-trooz)

24.     Chocolate (chaw-kuh-lit)

25.     Coffee (kaw-fee)

26.     Copper (kop-er)

27.     Coral (kawr-uhl)

28.     Cornflower (kawrn-flou-er)

29.     Cotton candy (kot-n kan-de)

30.     Cream (kreem)

31.     Crimson (krim-zuhn)

32.     Dandelion (dan-dl-ahy-uhn)

33.     Emerald (em-er-uhld)

34.     Fern (furn)

35.     Flamingo (fluh-ming-goh)

36.     Gold (gohld)

37.     Grape (greyp)

38.     Gray (grey)

39.     Green (green)

40.     Hazel (hey-zuhl)

41.     Indigo(in-di-goh)

42.     Ivory (ah-vuh-ree)

43.     Jade (jeyd)

44.     Khaki (kak-ee)

45.     Lavender (lav-uhn-der)

46.     Lemon (lem-uhn)

47.     Licorice (lik-er-ish)

48.     Lilac (lahy-luhk)

49.     Lime (lahym)

50.     Lime green (lahym green)

A pair of pears. There are many different varieties of Pears.

A pair of pears.

soften phonetic spelling

pattern phonetic spelling
That's a fun pattern on your shirt.

Baby, babe, kite

Where can I change the baby's diaper?
You're just a babe in the woods.

LANGUAGE

phonetic spelling

Do you have any tools?

Is that a toll road?

SORE or SOAR

My arm is sore(hurts).
Watch the EAGLE soar(fly).
Gas prices soar, news at 11.

Magical thinking by Mitch Rubman

George Gmelch in his article Magical(maj-i-kuhl) thinking does an excellent job of outlining the many different aspects of rituals/routines and magical thinking. Since baseball has so many different players from a multitude of cultures it is an excellent example of various rituals and habits that can easily be observed and documented. The baseball player that never shaves on a game day or the player that eats chicken before every game is an example of rituals that are so important to the individuals that forgetting or missing them can easily explain a bad game day. It might have started as a routine, but now it’s a ritual and can’t be lost for fear of predetermined failure.

There are taboos(tab-bu) that will also explain a lousy day or game. If the pitcher must step on home plate before going to the field then if he misses that, the sense of doom is apparent and expected. I have friends that have rituals like, never shaving before an exam. A good friend of mine always wore his “lucky sneakers” on the day of a test. I sat next to him once during a big math test, when I asked him before the test where his lucky sneakers were, he then realized he had forgotten them, he was so worried that he got up and left, telling the teacher that he had a terrible headache and rushed out saying that he needed to take it the next day.

Another friend has to listen to talk radio(rey-dee-oh) to sleep peacefully; she believes that by listening to the voices it magically calms her inner spirit into sleeping. For myself, I have to wear my lucky tie during exams and interviews. It all started when I went to take my first exam in college, as I was leaving, my friend told me that he always wore a tie and that it seemed to help. Did I think why not? I knew it was going to be a difficult test and I could use all the “magical” help I could get. While taking the test I kept hearing in the back of my head, don’t worry I’m wearing a magical tie and when I passed the test, the ritual was created. I wore that specific tie for many exams and always did well, but then one day I didn’t do as well, I, of course, blamed the tie. I never wore that tie again, but changed ties and still no luck, in the end, I gave up on ties. It was my behavior and belief in magic that allowed me to wear that tie and to feel that somehow the magic of the tie would guide me through the exam. I’m still looking for another magical tie.


Most people in today’s society have some elements(el-uh-muh-nts) of magical thinking in their lives. For instance, it is rare to find a building with a 13th floor. Somehow the construction companies and building managers have all agreed that number 13 is an unlucky number. This is culturally based, as there is no question about it, so they eliminated that number. It’s evident that the 14th floor is the 13th, but no one talks about it. Talking about superstitions is taboo. Everyone knows that thirteen is an unlucky number. “See what happened to Apollo 13” for example, might be a remark they say. Be careful on Friday the 13theveryone says.  These superstitions are born out of an event or events, and over time become a standard of the culture and a taboo of that period.

A wedding toast by Mitch Rubman

First I would like to thank everyone for coming today, to join us to celebrate(sel-uh-breyt), this wonderful moment in our lives.

Also I would like to share with you a story.

One night I was driving home in the dark on a narrow(nar-oh) hillside road. And suddenly I caught site of two silhouettes of a boy and a girl on the side of the road walking their bicycles.

There was something about them, a fondness, for each other, a sense of togetherness that touched my soul.

And I thought, about life… how sometimes we walk slowly together, other times we fly down the road and other times the road is dark and narrow and we need to be close to each other.

And this couple(kuhp-uhl) is special they have a rhythm(rith-uhm) together, ---a connectedness, like soul mates on a date.

They will be fine walking their bicycles and I continued driving home.

At home I was upstairs when I heard a noise(noiz) coming from downstairs.  Who could this be? I asked myself.

So, I went downstairs and much to my surprise, “here they are.”

A boy and girl, that’s how I met Jim for the first time.

And that’s how I saw Julia and Jim for the first time together.

And I could see that the light was love, and how sweet and strong this love is.

In life, we often have to fly, run and walk through difficult times-- but with love that enlightens anything is possible.

Ladies and gentlemen, let us toast to the happiness of the newlyweds,

Raise(reyz) your glasses, to Jim and Julia

William F. Buckley, Jr., by Mitch Rubman

William F. Buckley, Jr.,

Born the son of oil barons(bar-uhnz), William F. Buckley was a mainstay in the American conservatism movement until his death in 2008.  His style, wit and sarcasm(sahr-kaz-uhm) was legendary. A graduate of Yale, he published his first book, God and Man at Yale in 1951 which was a critical analysis of the faculty at Yale. He continued writing throughout his life eventually publishing more than 50 other books from novels to history and politics. Mr. Buckley is best known for his television show, Firing line, he hosted 1,429 episodes of the show, which became an important program for debating American politics. Buckley was also recruited by the Central Intelligence(in-tel-i-juhns) Agency and served in Mexico for nine months in 1951.

Robert McNamara Born June 9 1916 by Mitch Rubman

Robert McNamara

Born June 9 1916

Robert McNamara has a long list of accomplishments, awards and critics. He has the distinction of being the longest serving Secretary of Defense in American History. He was educated at UC Berkeley with a degree in Economics along with minors in mathematics and philosophy. In 1939 he graduated from the prestigious Harvard(hahr-verd) Business School. He then joined the accounting firm, Price Waterhouse where he stayed for a year until returning to Harvard to teach.

McNamara was the youngest and highest paid professors of accounting at Harvard Business School. This analytic(an-l-it-ik) brilliance was the basis for his opinions of strategy throughout the years he served on both LBJs and JFKs administration. In the Army he used these techniques to measure efficiency and effectiveness of the B29 bombers during WW2. McNamara was a reductionist, he would eventually try and reduce everything to numbers, and he didn’t want opinions just hard numbers as proof.

After the war, he was among a group of 10 known businessman called the wiz kids that were hired by Ford to save Ford motor company from disaster. Those years were growth years for Ford and eventually McNamara was asked to be president, the first time a non-family member was elected.

He served for less than a year when he was asked to join the Kennedy’s President Elect team as Secretary of the Treasury or Secretary of the Defense department. He agreed to become Secretary of Defense. Previous to McNamara the United States had maintained Eisenhower’s policy of massive retaliation. But with McNamara’s technique for statistical analysis of everything, a limited response war was deemed more advantageous. This changed everything, forever. McNamara understood that Vietnam was a ground war fought by snipers and raids and analyzed everything. The number of advisors skyrocketed in Vietnam(vee-et-nahm) from 900 to 16,000.

McNamara changed and controlled policy and was often not popular in his deductions he made. His method of statistically analyzing everything instead of relying on military advice was very unpopular in many ways and yet was ahead of its time. Perhaps it was the Ford car background that made him want single vendors and a single strike force. This is the same decision that the current military goes through.

But McNamara’s insistence for a flexible, deadly advance fighter jet was difficult and unique at that time. The idea of supersonic flight with slow carrier landings and tactical flight operations made the jet heavy and difficult to land and was eventually abandoned.

Even senior military advisors had a difficult time understanding McNamara’s reports creating an air of distrust and unpopularity. The reports were deemed to be skewed to agree and support decisions that McNamara had already made. Some reports entitled DPMs (Draft Presidential Memorandum) bypassed the normal flow chart and went directly to the President further angering his critics as they were now effectively cut out of a direct line to the President. Sixteen DPMs were issued between the years 1961 and 1968. The DPMS were so complex(kuhm-pleks) that it was virtually impossible for anyone to challenge its conclusions.

McNamara is also created with advising the President during the critical moments of the Cuban missile crisis. He agreed with the blockade idea of stopping the Soviets, rather than a missile strike. His policies also included the closing of dozens of underused or unnecessary military bases, an unpopular decision created with saving more than 14 billion dollars in a five year period. 

McNamara’s reason for departure is uncertain, he either left on his own or was asked to leave. He is well remembered and was awarded both the Distinguish service metal and the Medal of Freedom, he is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Robert McNamara has a long list of accomplishments, awards and critics. He has the distinction of being the longest serving Secretary of Defense in American History. He was educated at UC Berkeley with a degree in Economics along with minors in mathematics and philosophy. In 1939 he graduated from the prestigious Harvard Business School. He then joined the accounting firm, Price Waterhouse where he stayed for a year until returning to Harvard to teach.

McNamara was the youngest and highest paid professors of accounting at Harvard Business School. This analytic brilliance was the basis for his opinions of strategy throughout the years he served on both LBJs and JFKs administration. In the Army he used these techniques to measure efficiency and effectiveness of the B29 bombers during WW2. McNamara was a reductionist, he would eventually try and reduce everything to numbers, and he didn’t want opinions just hard numbers as proof.

After the war, he was among a group of 10 known businessman called the wiz kids that were hired by Ford to save Ford motor company from disaster. Those years were growth years for Ford and eventually McNamara was asked to be president, the first time a non-family member was elected.

He served for less than a year when he was asked to join the Kennedy’s President Elect team as Secretary of the Treasury or Secretary of the Defense department. He agreed to become Secretary of Defense. Previous to McNamara the United States had maintained Eisenhower’s policy of massive retaliation. But with McNamara’s technique for statistical analysis of everything, a limited response war was deemed more advantageous. This changed everything, forever. McNamara understood that Vietnam was a ground war fought by snipers and raids and analyzed everything. The number of advisors skyrocketed in Vietnam from 900 to 16,000.

McNamara changed and controlled policy and was often not popular in his deductions he made. His method of statistically analyzing everything instead of relying on military advice was very unpopular in many ways and yet was ahead of its time. Perhaps it was the Ford car background that made him want single vendors and a single strike force. This is the same decision that the current military goes through.

But McNamara’s insistence for a flexible, deadly advance fighter jet was difficult and unique at that time. The idea of supersonic flight with slow carrier landings and tactical flight operations made the jet heavy and difficult to land and was eventually abandoned.

Even senior military advisers had a difficult time understanding McNamara’s reports creating an air of distrust and unpopularity. The reports were deemed to be skewed to agree and support decisions that McNamara had already made. Some reports entitled DPMs (Draft Presidential Memorandum) bypassed the normal flow chart and went directly to the President further angering his critics as they were now effectively cut out of a direct line to the President. Sixteen DPMs were issued between the years 1961 and 1968. The DPMS were so complex that it was virtually impossible for anyone to challenge its conclusions.

McNamara is also created with advising the President during the critical moments of the Cuban missile crisis. He agreed with the blockade idea of stopping the Soviets, rather than a missile strike. His policies also included the closing of dozens of underused or unnecessary military bases, an unpopular decision created with saving more than 14 billion dollars in a five year period. 

McNamara’s reason for departure is uncertain, he either left on his own or was asked to leave. He is well remembered and was awarded both the Distinguish service metal and the Medal of Freedom, he is buried at Arlington National Cemetery(sem-i-ter-ee).

Dental implants

Dental implants are the most modern and cosmetic way to replace lost teeth with a permanent attachment to the bone.  In the past, missing teeth were either replaced with crowns or dentures. But both crowns and dentures are limited in their ability to attach to the jaw, and in the case of dentures require constant and frequent cleaning and repair. Dental implants eliminate these problems and offer a more sanitary and permanent solution to missing or absent teeth.

The dental implant is done by a Los Angeles dental implants doctor in a single visit or over a period of months. For a single tooth, after an extraction a non-reactive metal post called an abutment is placed into the jaw through the gum line. This post or abutment can be made from a variety of metals such as stainless steel, titanium or gold. The crown, typically a porcelain veneer is also available in a variety of qualities and pricings and is placed on top of the post.

Fortunately, dental implants have the strength, and look of regular teeth. They will never fall out, or shift in your mouth. For a patient that has been wearing dentures, implants offer an opportunity to have a fixed solution to a full set or partial replacement of multiple teeth and are easily done by a Los Angeles dental implants doctor.

Implants also offer a real and economic solution to keep the natural look of the patient’s jaw since dentures and missing teeth will reduce bone mass often resulting in a shrinking jaw line. For the patient receiving an implant, both their smile and confidence is restored.

The Federal Reserve System and Monetary Policy, 11/2015

The beginning of the Federal Reserve System as well as its development can be seen through the eyes of a developing country, the United States of America. Between the years 1775-1791, the Continental Congress printed what was called, Continentals, the first paper money, this was issued to help finance the American Revolution, its use led to a quick rise in inflation and along with the need for an effective monetary controls at banking. (HFR)

By 1791-1811, at the request of the current Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton, Congress established the First Bank of the United States, headquarter in Philadelphia. The bank was created in 1791 and given a 20-year charter. At the time, it became the largest corporation in the United States and was controlled by big business and money interests. “When the charter expired in 1811, Congress was unable to renew it and the charter was defeated by just one vote” (HFR).

By 1816, the idea of a Central Bank was once again popular and Congress created the Second Bank of the United States giving it another 20-year charter. However, in 1928, Andrew Jackson was elected President and as a banking foe, his continued attacks led to its failure to renew its charter and it expired in 1936. By 1836, After the expiration of the second charter bank there was a period called, The Free Banking era which saw the increase of check transactions. This was a growth period for state chartered banks and uncharted free banks. In response, the New York clearinghouse association was created in 1853, to regulate the flow of check transactions.

In 1863, the country was deeply involved in the Civil war, and the National Banking act of 1863 was created to control nationally chartered banks, thus providing a mechanism for the backing of American circulating notes. All notes had to be backed by US government securities, and state bank notes were also subject to taxation, but not national bank notes. Even so the state banks prospered mostly due to the growing popularity of demand deposits.

The National Banking act provided some stability however as the bank runs and financial panic led to a disastrous situation. By 1893 this created a banking panic that triggered the worst crisis to date. “It took the deep pockets of the Americas richest private citizen, JP Morgan to help save the country and the banking industry.” (HFR)

By the year 1907, privateers created another dangerous situation and once again the mogul, JP Morgan was called into save the county. In response to the crisis of 1907, the Aldrich Vreeland act of 1908 was passed as an immediate response to help provide a system to issue currency during a crisis. The Aldrich act also created the national monetary commission to help search for a long term solution.  However, as this was a system controlled by the banks, the election of 1912 brought to power a long time stalwart of banking, the Democrat Woodrow Wilson. President Wilson killed the Republican controlled Aldrich plan. But the calls for a decentralized bank continued.

The Democrat Woodrow Wilson was quick to seek advice from Virginia representative Carter Glass, who would later become the Chairman of the House Committee on Banking and Finance. President Wilson was also getting advice from, H. Parker Willis formerly a professor of economics at Washington and Lee University. “By December 1912, Glass and Willis were able to provide the President with what was to become, after a few changes the basis for the Federal Reserve Act.” (OFRS)

The Glass-Willis proposal for the Federal Reserve System was debated and rewritten from December 1912 to December 1913, and on December 23, 1913 the act was turned into law when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act. The Federal Reserve act stood as an example of compromise between private banks and populist sentiment. Thus the Federal Reserve was established in 1913, but the reserve bank operating committee still had to choose the cities to open the branches in, which was finally established by November 16, 1914.

The structure of the Federal Reserve, number of branches and its headquarters was next on the list to establishing a coordinated banking system. The primary responsibility of the Federal Reserve system is to formulate monetary policy. The Federal Reserve chose 12 cities in Nov. 1914, as cites for its regional banks. The cities chosen were: Boston, NY, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Dallas and San Francisco.  Washington DC was named as the headquarters for its board of governors. (OFRS)

The full network is comprised of the 12 Federal reserve banks and their branches. The 25 different branches are the following: Buffalo, Cincinnati, Little Rock, Louisville, Memphis, Helena, Denver, Oklahoma City, Omaha, El Paso, Houston, San Antonio, Los Angeles, Portland, Salt Lake City and Seattle. The distribution is based on size of city and the economic needs of its communities.

The Seven members of the Board of Governors are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate to serve a 14-year term of office. Members may only serve one full term of office. “The President designates and the Senate confirms both a Chairman and a Vice Chairman for a 4-year term.” (SFRS)

The Board of Governors has broad oversight and responsibility for the operations and oversight of the Federal Reserve banks. “Each Federal Reserve Bank must submit its annual budget to the Board of Governors for approval. Particular types of expenditures—such as those for construction or major alterations of Reserve Bank buildings and for the salaries of Reserve bank presidents and first vice presidents –also are subject to specific Board approval.” (OFRS)

A major component of the system is the federal open market committee(FOMC), which is made up of the members of the Board of Governors, the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Presidents of four other federal reserve banks, who serve on a rotating basis(OFRS).

The main purpose of the Federal Reserve Policy is to control economic activities. There are three main kinds of monetary policy each one having a unique effect on GDP, unemployment and inflation. “For the most part, the demand for goods and services is not related to the market interest rates quoted in the financial pages of newspapers, known as nominal rates-that is, nominal interest rates minus the expected rate of inflation.” (FRBSF)

Open market operations(OMO), the purchase and sale of securities in the open market is a key tool used by the federal reserve in controlling monetary policy.

“In the long run, output and employment cannot be set by monetary policy. In other words, while there is a tradeoff between higher inflation and lower employment, in the short run, the trade-off disappears in the long run.” (FRBSF)

There are two types of OMOs, permanent and temporary. Permanent Omos involve the outright purchase or sales of securities driving the expansion of the federal reserve balanced sheet. Permanent Omos primarily involve the growth of currency in circulation. Temporary Omos are used to address reserve needs that are deemed transitory in nature. These needs are either repurchasing agreements or reverse repurchase agreements. Under a repo, the trading desk buys a security under an agreement to resell the security in the future. A repo is the economic equivalent of a collateralize loan in which the difference between the purchase and sale prices reflect interest.

“Before conducting open market operations, the staff at the Federal Reserve Banks of NY collects and analyzes data and talks to banks and others to estimate the amount of bank reserves to be added or drained that day.” (MPB)

The Federal Fund rate is the interest rate that depository institutions actively trade balances held at the federal reserve called federal funds with each other. In other words, it’s the rate that commercial banks charge each other to borrow money, usually overnight. The money they are borrowing is called federal funds. This affects inflation, “when the federal funds rate is reduced, the resulting stronger demand for goods and services tends to push wages and other costs higher, reflecting the greater demand for workers and materials that are necessary for production.” (FRB2). “All discount window loans are fully secured” (FRBDR)

The effects of GDP targeting can be both stabilizing and destabilizing. “Would the Fed reduce systematic (undiversifiable) risk in the economy by stabilizing nominal GDP if doing so raises uncertainty about future inflation and the price level” (MPTR). This is a fundamental issue which, “complicates decisions for households and firms who must distinguish relative price changes from inflation surprises in order to make efficient choices.” (MPTR)

Federal funds are funds deposited with the Federal Reserve by Commercial banks. “The federal funds include money that is in excess of bank reserves(FFR).

Banks can transfer money from federal funds among themselves and be subject to the federal fund rate or make a transfer from the feds to themselves on behalf of bank customers on a same day basis, which is called the discount window. Most of these transfers are just on paper, no physical money usually changes hands(FFR). The federal fund rate is determined by the balance of supply and demand for the funds. The actual rate fluctuates and is set by the FOMC (federal open market committee). The rate is determined by demand for funds as well as the supply by banks for these funds. The interest charged on these loans is called the discount rate, not the Federal Fund rate. “When the trend rate of real economic growth rises or falls, the implicit inflation objective also changes (in the opposite direction).” (MPTR)

The discount rate is the interest rate charged to commercial institutions on loans they receive from their regional federal reserve banks lending facility-the discount window(FRB). There are three main types of discount window programs depending on the health of the bank. The primary credit is usually for generally sound banks overnight. For longer terms loans or for banks that are not in as good health, there is the secondary credit loan. This loan is for a longer term and is priced above the rate set for primary credit. The third type is a seasonal credit loan which is used for banks involved in agriculture or seasonal operations (hotels, resorts). The lower the rate, the easier it is for banks and therefore consumers to borrow money. The effect of discount rates is to reduce unemployment and to help decrease inflation. 

selling old books

Where can I sell my old books?

So you cleaned out your attic and found a lot of books. Some of these are large format Art books and some are paperbacks. Some books look valuable others seem worthless. Some are college textbooks and some are from high school. How do I get rid of these and how much money can I get? Who do I ask how much this book is worth and has anyone sold a book like this recently. Where can I go to sell them and how do I prevent myself from selling the books too cheaply. What are my different options and which ones are the best choices? Often in life we find ourselves with a collection of items that we don’t know what to do with, this article examines selling my old books.

Using Ebay to sell books.

EBay is one of the largest ecommerce sites in the world and is a popular site for selling books. Here are a few reasons for its success. First eBay caters to an international market. This worldwide market enables sellers to extend their reach beyond local stores. Second, eBay’s fee for selling books is low and often there is no charge for listing books. EBay also allows you to include images of the books, thereby enabling the buyer to get a clearer idea of the true condition of the book as well as seeing the contents. An informed buyer is more likely to make the purchase after seeing that the books contains the content that they are interested in.

Selling books using Internet antique book stores

Often a book that you find in your shelves is old and looks valuable, but how valuable? Over the last few years antique book stores that had been local are now on the internet. Most of these antique book stores sites contain a search index enabling you to check on the actual value of a book without having to go to the location. Since this information is from an experienced book seller/buyer you can assume that the prices they list are accurate and reflect the real value of the book. Some of these stores are: Abe books, Alibris, and Arundel books. If your book isn’t on their list and is old, they might actually be interested in doing a little research for you.

Selling books at local specialty book stores

If you are not a big fan of using the internet or don’t have a fast connection, you might want to examine some of the used book stores in your area. In Los Angeles for example, when I had to sell my books I found that there were six stores that sold used books. The advantage in using local stores is that you can put all the books in your car and drive to each store allowing the buyers to look through the books and select the ones they are interested in. The disadvantage is that you will usually be given a lower value for the books, and they will cherry pick the best ones. The advantage is that you will most likely get paid cash right on the spot.

Using Craig’s list to sell old books.

Craig’s list is one of the largest and most popular American sites for selling goods and services. You will need a phone to register and then you can list the books in the used items section. The advantage is that you will likely be listed with the local population. This make selling easier in the sense that the buyer can just come over to your location, look at the books and buy them. The disadvantage is that you might have to deal with people just looking and not buying, taking up your valuable time. The other disadvantage is that you will have to deal with people face to face in your environment. So if you are worried about your safety this probably will make you very nervous.

Selling old books at yard sales and flea markets.

If you have a lot of books and if they are not likely to be valuable, you might just want to consider selling them in your local neighborhood. It’s free and easy, and all you have to do is post signs around your neighborhood, and locals will come buy and shop at your yard sale. The disadvantage is that you will have to sit outside and wait for the shoppers to come to you.  On the other hand, if you live in an area with some flea markets or local antique shows you might rent a booth for a day. The advantage is that they will supply the buyers and you don’t have to use the internet or ship anything. The disadvantage is that you will most likely have to pay for the booth at the start of the day and the fees can be anywhere from $40 to 75 dollars just to get started.