Herding Cats: Our Favorite Finance News for the Week of April 25th

Are you ready for your weekly dose of random junk from the blog-o-sphere that amused me and/or piqued my interest, but may only be slightly related to finance? It's funny because my rambling, pointless musings are now being syndicated to Google News. Does that make me a de facto journalist? Yes, yes it does. So listen up!

WalletPop: Hurricanes, Volcanoes And Earthquakes: Is Travel Insurance Really Worth It? - I went into this article hoping to learn more about travel insurance, but the ridiculous amount of variables involved in buying this stuff basically just hurt my head and made me kind of apathetic towards it. Chances are the given company is going to do their best to try to find something in their carefully-crafted fine print to screw you with anyway, so my advice is to always pick an airline with little or no itinerary change fee just in case - you better believe that the next Eyjafjallajokull eruption will be some kind of uncovered "pre-existing atmospheric condition."

Consumerist: See The Fortune 500 Magazine Cover That Was Too Brutally Honest To Run - I can't even put into words how much I love this illustration and want it as a commemorative poster. It is indeed brutally honest, and, perhaps in pursuit of my own heart, gorgeously cynical about the dilapidated state of the American economy. Fortune has been silent on why they rejected such a masterpiece, but it's a safe bet that they didn't want to anger the bulk of their readership by portraying them as indifferent crooks who sing and dance in piles of cash atop their ivory towers while the rest of the country suffers. Click here to view the illustration in all its high-res glory.

Forbes (via MSNBC): In Dramatic Economy, It Pays To Be Fictional - Off the top of my head, this list of the richest fictional people on Earth is missing Lex Luthor, Longfellow Deeds (heir to a $40 billion global media fortune), and pretty much every James Bond villain ever. I'm not sure how Uncle Sam managed to get a valuation of "infinity" last year, but here's a fairly accurate estimation of his true net worth.

Budgets Are $exy: The 10 Awesomest Safes I've Ever Seen - This post has been plastered all over the interwebs this week, but it's way too cool not to conform and link to it one more time from my own humble weblog. These are all pretty brilliant safes, but my favorite would have to be the fake head of lettuce. Be careful though - the valuables inside could pose a choking hazard to your freakishly gigantic pet rabbit.

WiseBread: 10 Awesome Companies Built By Teens - As you can see, I'm a sucker for any page title that alludes to "10 TOTALLY AWESOME" somethings. There are some pretty sharp kids on this list (half of them are web and/or software wizards), but since none of them happen to be girls, several of the commenters are doing their best Buzz Killington impressions. One particularly perceptive reader came to the conclusion that the article makes a veiled derogatory statement - "Only guys have founded good companies? What is the author saying? Girls are incapable of being successful?" Sigh... the line between incisiveness and inanity can be very, very thin.

WalletPop: Travelzoo Goes Deep In Savings For Baseball Tickets - I post these a lot, but you just can't have too many discounts on attending béisbol games. Right now the Dodgers, Giants, Mariners, Braves, White Sox, Marlins, and Astros have some great deals available through Travelzoo, with more on the way from the A's, Indians, Pirates, Cubs, and Orioles. A few of us here at Savings scored some field-level seats for the game at Chavez Ravine next Wednesday, where we will definitely be wearing our Dodger blue (safety first!).

Have yourselves a safe and cerveza-filled Cinco de Mayo next week, and for God's sake, if you happen to find yourself alone and vulnerable on a dark street in our nation's capitol, LOOK OUT FOR BANKZILLA. He will consume your mortal body, and your soul, without compunction.