Only in America......do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their
prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.
You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes? Why don't they make the whole plane out of that stuff?!
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Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?
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Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together?
What does it take to be happy in a relationship? If you’re working to improve your marriage, here are a few habits of happy couples.
1. Go to bed at the same time
Remember the beginning of your relationship, when you couldn’t wait to go to bed with each other to make love? Happy couples resist the temptation to go to bed at different times. They go to bed at the same time, even if one partner wakes up later to do things while their partner sleeps.
2. Cultivate common interests
After the passion settles down, it’s common to realise that you have few interests in common. But don’t minimise the importance of activities you can do together that you both enjoy. If common interests are not present, happy couples develop them. At the same time, be sure to cultivate interests of your own; this will make you more interesting to your mate and prevent you from appearing too dependent.
3. Walk hand in hand or side by side
Rather than one partner lagging or dragging behind the other, happy couples walk comfortably hand in hand or side by side. They know it’s more important to be with their partner than to see the sights along the way.
4. Make trust and forgiveness your default mode
If and when they have a disagreement or argument, and if they can’t resolve it, happy couples default to trusting and forgiving rather than distrusting and begrudging.
5. Focus more on what your partner does right than what he or she does wrong
If you look for things your partner does wrong, you can always find something. If you look for what he or she does right, you can always find something, too. It all depends on what you want to look for. Happy couples accentuate the positive.
6. Hug each other as soon as you see each other after work
Our skin has a memory of “good touch” (loved), “bad touch” (abused) and “no touch” (neglected). Couples who say hello with a hug keep their skin bathed in the “good touch,” which can inoculate your spirit against anonymity in the world.
7. Say “I love you” and “Have a good day” every morning
This is a great way to buy some patience and tolerance as each partner sets out each day to battle traffic jams, long lines and other annoyances.
8. Say “Good night” every night, regardless of how you feel
This tells your partner that, regardless of how upset you are with him or her, you still want to be in the relationship. It says that what you and your partner have is bigger than any single upsetting incident.
9. Do a “weather” check during the day
Call your partner at home or at work to see how his or her day is going. This is a great way to adjust expectations so that you’re more in sync when you connect after work. For instance, if your partner is having an awful day, it might be unreasonable to expect him or her to be enthusiastic about something good that happened to you.
10. Be proud to be seen with your partner
Happy couples are pleased to be seen together and are often in some kind of affectionate contact - hand on hand or hand on shoulder or knee or back of neck. They are not showing off but rather just saying that they belong with each other.
Happy couples have different habits than unhappy couples. A habit is a discrete behaviour that you do automatically and that takes little effort to maintain. It takes 21 days of daily repetition of a new a behaviour to become a habit. So select one of the behaviours in the list above to do for 21 days and voila, it will become a habit...and make you happier as a couple. And if you fall off the wagon, don’t despair, just apologize to your partner, ask their forgiveness and recommit yourself to getting back in the habit.
If there was one key to happiness in love and life, and possibly even success, it would be to go into each conversation you have with this commandment to yourself front and foremost in your mind, "Just Listen."
A gang of robbers broke into a lawyer's club by mistake. The old legal lions gave them a fight for their life and their money.
The gang was very happy to escape. "It ain't so bad," one crook noted. "We got $25 between us."
The boss screamed: "I warned you to stay clear of lawyers... we had $100 when we broke in!"
Survival of the Fittest
Two lawyers walking through the woods spotted a vicious-looking bear. The first lawyer immediately opened his briefcase, pulled out a pair of sneakers and started putting them on.
The second lawyer looked at him and said, "You're crazy! You'll never be able to outrun that bear!"
"I don't have to," the first lawyer replied. "I only have to outrun you."
When a man is nine or more years older than his wife, they are twice as likely to get divorced, compared with couples who are closer in age.
Men who marry before age 25 are twice as likely to get divorced than men who marry at an older age.
Twenty percent of couples who have children before they marry--either from the same relationship or a previous relationship--divorce or separate, compared to just nine percent of couples who wait to have children until after they are married. The number of children a couple have after they are married does not affect the rate of divorce.
Couples are far more likely to divorce if the woman wants to have children much more than does her partner.
Sixteen percent of couples whose parents ever separated or divorced, experience marital separation themselves, compared with 10 percent of those whose parents did not separate or divorce.
When one of the partners is in his or her second or third marriage, the couple is 90 percent more likely to separate or divorce than couples who are both in their first marriage.
Sixteen percent of couples who identified themselves as poor or where the husband was unemployed, ended up separating or divorcing, compared with only nine percent of couples who reported healthy finances. The wife's employment status did not affect the stability of the marriage.
When one -- but not the other -- partner smokes, the marriage is far more likely to end in failure than for couples where both or neither partner smokes.
Men are actually the happiest from ages 60 to 69, according to a Pew Research Center study, while they are least happy in their 20's. Why? Older adults are better able to avoid stressful situations, which could mean they experience less negative emotions. They also appear to spend less time dwelling on the negative aspects of a situation, which leads to a greater feeling of happiness. Translation: we mellow with age.
The Internet may help you connect with friends, but computers are coming between couples literally. 65% of Americans say they spend more time on the computer than with their partner, according to a recent survey by Support.com, a technology service. Instead of spending hours of prime time organizing your digital vacation photos alone, ask your beau to join in so you can reminisce together.
Jodi Citrin Greebel, RD, CDN Citrition, LLC Special from Bottom Line/Personal January 15, 2009
Most weight-loss diets are hard to stick to. Reason: You have to eliminate 3,500 calories to lose just one pound. That’s 500 calories a day if you want to lose one pound a week. That degree of calorie restriction can make people feel hungry all the time -- and reluctant to stick with any diet for very long. That’s also why it is hard for people to maintain the weight that they do lose. Roughly 95% of those who lose weight are unable to maintain the weight loss longer than a year or two.
Better: Eat foods that curtail appetite and increase feelings of fullness. People who do this naturally take in fewer calories overall and are more likely to maintain their weight loss.
What to eat...
Protein at every meal. Protein is a natural appetite suppressant. People who often feel hungry probably aren’t getting enough protein. Self-test: Eat a regular meal or snack. If you’re hungry again within two hours, the meal probably didn’t include enough protein.
Protein should make up about 25% of every meal -- three ounces to six ounces of protein is ideal. Good protein sources include chicken, seafood, lean red meats, egg whites, beans and low-fat or nonfat dairy.
Trap: Many traditional breakfast foods, such as a bagel or a Danish, are high in calories but low in protein. People who start the day with these foods invariably want to eat more within a few hours, adding unnecessary calories.
Always include protein with your morning meal -- by spreading peanut butter on whole-wheat toast, for example. Also helpful: High-protein snacks, such as string cheese or yogurt. They’re more satisfying than high-carbohydrate snacks, such as pretzels or chips.
More fat. Until recently, weight-loss experts advised people to eat less fat. This made intuitive sense because fat has about twice the calories as an equal amount of protein or carbohydrate. But today, after about 15 years of low-fat dieting, Americans are heavier than ever. Reason: People who don’t feel satisfied on a low-fat diet often eat excessive carbohydrates to make up the difference.
Fat is a satisfying nutrient. You may feel full after eating a lot of carbohydrates, such as pasta or bread, but you’ll still want more. Fat, on the other hand, makes you crave less food, so you’ll be less likely to fill up on calories from other sources.
Have a little fat with every meal. If you’re having a salad, for example, use full-fat dressing in moderation rather than fat-free. Add a tablespoon of olive oil when making pasta sauce. A slice of cheese or a serving of cottage cheese also provides satisfying amounts of fat.
Easy does it: Use fats only in small amounts to avoid excess calories. One tablespoon of olive oil, for example, has about 120 calories. Small amounts curtail your appetite without adding too many calories.
A handful of pine nuts. A hormone called cholecystokinin (CCK) has been found to increase feelings of fullness. About one ounce or a small handful of pine nuts (which actually are seeds, not nuts) stimulates the body to release CCK. This reduces appetite and helps you feel fuller even when you take in fewer calories overall.
Fiber, especially early in the day. High-fiber diets increase feelings of fullness and aid in weight loss. High-fiber foods also may stimulate the release of appetite-suppressing hormones.
Virtually all foods that are high in fiber, such as fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains, are relatively low in calories. People who eat a lot of these foods tend to feel full even when they take in fewer calories during the day.
Try to get 25 to 30 grams of fiber daily. Beans are high in fiber, with about six grams in one-half cup. Blackberries are another excellent source, with about eight grams of fiber per cup.
Spicy foods as often as possible. Cayenne, jalapeños, curries and other spicy foods contain capsaicin and other compounds that may increase metabolism and cause the body to burn slightly more calories. More important, these foods appear to affect the “satiety center” in the brain, causing people to feel more satisfied and consume fewer calories.
Water before a meal. Drink a full glass of water before you start eating, and keep sipping water throughout the meal. Water takes up space in the stomach. Or you can start your meal with a broth-based soup (not a cream soup, which is higher in calories). People who consume liquids before and during meals consume fewer calories than those who go straight to the main course.
Caution: Avoid high-calorie liquids. Americans consume about 20% more calories now than they did 20 years ago. Many of these calories come from soft drinks, sports drinks and coffee beverages that include sugar and cream. Some of these drinks contain 400 calories or more, which could result in almost one extra pound of weight a week if consumed daily.
Bottom Line/Personal interviewed Jodi Citrin Greebel, RD, CDN, a registered dietitian and president of Citrition, LLC, a nutrition consulting company in New York City. She is coauthor, with Melissa Gibson and Katie Nuanes, of The Little Black Apron: A Single Girl’s Guide to Cooking with Style & Grace (Polka Dot).
Would you like to earn lots of money in the comfort of your own home? Generate thousands in income in your spare time?
Ads offering work-at-home opportunities can be found everywhere, from Internet employment Web sites to neighborhood telephone poles. This might seem like the perfect solution for those who want to bring in some extra dollars. But, there’s a catch -- most of these work-at-home "opportunities" are scams, cleverly designed to leave you with less money than when you began. Among the most common work-at-home scams...
Stuffing envelopes.Lure: Earn big bucks -- usually more than $1 per envelope -- for folding papers and sticking them into envelopes.
Trap: You will be asked to pay for your supplies or training. You’ll typically receive only worthless instructions suggesting that you con others into applying for envelope-stuffing jobs.
Reality: Bulk mailers use machines to stuff envelopes.
Medical billing or insurance-claims processing.Lure: You can make big money processing medical paperwork.
Trap: You will be asked to pay hundreds of dollars for the software and training required.
Reality: The majority of medical offices process their own bills or outsource to large companies. Very few hire individuals.
Assembling crafts or sewing together clothing.Lure: Are you good with your hands? Then these companies claim to have a career for you. They will send you unassembled parts and instructions, and you assemble them and send them back.
Trap: The company will ask you to pay a deposit up front because it needs assurance that you will do the work and return the assembled goods. When you send in your completed products, most or all will be rejected as not meeting specifications, and the company will keep your deposit.
E-mail processing.Lure: Earn big bucks by receiving e-mail sent to the customer service Web sites of major companies, then forwarding these messages to the proper departments. For a fee, you can receive a list of companies anxious to hire you.
Trap: This list will be worthless, perhaps just companies pulled at random from the Yellow Pages.
Reality: Businesses usually do not hire individuals to work at home processing e-mail.
Payment processing for international companies. Lure: A company with clients around the globe needs a US representative to handle incoming checks. You will receive checks from overseas, deposit them in your account, take a small cut as your fee, then send your own check for the remainder to your foreign employer.
Trap: The checks you receive will bounce. By the time your bank informs you that there is a problem, the check you wrote will have cleared, and your "employer" will have disappeared.
Mystery shopping.Lure: Earn thousands of dollars by reporting on the quality of the service you receive in stores.
Trap: Anyone who says that you can earn high pay mystery shopping is a scammer. They might be trying to con you into paying for mystery shopping information that you could find on-line for free.
Reality: Legitimate mystery shopping assignments typically pay up to $10 an hour (in some cases, as high as $20 per hour), or perhaps you’ll receive a free restaurant meal or a token amount of some merchandise. For information on legitimate mystery shopping opportunities, see the Idea Lady Web site (www.idealady.com/sb.html).
Variation: You are told that you are evaluating a financial company, such as a bank or money-forwarding service. You are then sent a large check and told to deposit this money in your own account, then wire some portion of the funds to the address provided. The check bounces, leaving you responsible for the money wired.
GENERIC SCAMS
Some work-at-home scams can be applied to virtually any work-at-home occupation. Be suspicious if you are told...
"We overpaid you with your first check. Please send the extra money back." Your new employer "accidentally" sent you more than you were owed and asks you to send back a check for the excess. Sometime after you send this check, your bank tells you that the original paycheck bounced. Your "job" was a ruse to get you to send the "overpayment" check.
"You got the job! We just need your Social Security number so we can pay you." It is perfectly reasonable for an employer to ask for a prospective employee’s Social Security number. Scammers take advantage of this by posting legitimate-sounding job offers on career Web sites, then stealing applicants’ identities. Do not provide your Social Security number until you have thoroughly researched the employer and are confident that the company and job opportunity are real.
SCAM AVOIDANCE
Job Web sites Elance (www.elance.com), Guru (www.guru.com) and RentACoder (www.rentacoder.com) offer legitimate work-at-home opportunities, but usually only for workers with specific skills, such as computer programming, Web design, writing, sales or engineering. (Use caution even on these Web sites -- there might be scams among the listings.) To avoid becoming a victim of work-at-home scams...
Ignore work-at-home job opportunities that arrive unsolicited via e-mail. Legitimate jobs are not advertised by spam.
Avoid offers that promise big profits without asking for specific skills or experience.
If someone trying to sell you on a business opportunity swears that there are dozens of potential clients in your region anxious to work with you, insist on speaking with at least two or three of them. If no names are forthcoming and/or these "prospects" don’t confirm their interest, move on.
Be skeptical whenever money heads in the wrong direction. Legitimate employers pay employees -- they do not charge potential employees for training materials or interview fees. It is reasonable for a company to charge a fee if it is going to help set you up in your own independent business, but be cautious of these offers, too. Likewise, avoid any job that requires you to deposit checks or send checks from your own account.
Do a Web search to research any company. A legitimate company should have a professional-looking Web site (though this is no guarantee of legitimacy). You should be able to locate the company’s phone number and address, not just a post office box. The company Web site should not be the only place that the company’s name turns up on the Web. Skim the mentions of the company that your search uncovers. Do any of them say the company is a scam? Also, check with the Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org).
Check the employer’s e-mail address. Legitimate corporate e-mail addresses usually end with the company name, not the name of a free Web-based e-mail service.
Example: The e-mail address rwjohnson@xyxcorp.com is more likely to be legitimate than is rwjohnson18259@yahoo.net.
Consider how you would hire employees for this job, and how much you would pay, if you were the employer. If an offer made to you seems too good to be true, walk away.
Bottom Line/Retirement interviewed Audri Lanford, PhD, codirector, Internet ScamBusters, a Web site devoted to informing the public about scams and cons, Boone, North Carolina, www.scambusters.org.
What You Don't Know About Your Health Insurance Could Hurt You Badly
How to save thousands Eliza Navarro Bangit, Esq. Georgetown University Health Policy Institute
Special from Bottom Line/Wealth August 1, 2009
Millions of people are forced to find new health insurance coverage because they lose their jobs, their retiree benefits are cut or their premiums soar. But the mumbo jumbo that fills health insurance policies can cost you thousands of dollars in unexpected expenses, because you often don’t get what the policy seems to promise.
That’s because health insurance policies are full of language that is difficult to decipher and important details that are hard to grasp -- whether your policy is provided by an employer or individually purchased. Since policies are not regulated by the federal government but by each state, there is no mandate as to what they should contain. In recent surveys, more than half of respondents did not understand their current health insurance policies... and those who thought that they had good policies had loopholes, limits and exclusions that they didn’t know existed.
The problem has not gone unrecognized. Aside from the heated debate about creating a national health insurance program, members of Congress have proposed a bill that would require insurers to more clearly communicate to consumers what is covered in a policy -- and what is not covered.
Whether you have a health insurance policy already (either through your employer or on your own) or are considering buying health insurance (perhaps because you have recently been laid off), it pays to know what the fine print says and what to do if there are loopholes or limits that could cost you. What you need to know...
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
No health insurance plan will pay for everything, but some provide more than others. Watch for...
Comprehensive coverage. Seek out the most comprehensive policy that you can afford. Look first at the policy’s list of covered benefits, which should include hospital stays and expenses, outpatient treatment, doctors’ visits, prescription drugs, mental health treatments, rehabilitation care and lab and imaging tests. If a medical service is not mentioned in the policy -- for example, outpatient chemotherapy -- chances are that it is not covered.
Find out which providers and hospitals (especially specialty hospitals) are covered by the policy. Be aware that even a policy that covers what is "medically necessary" may exclude particular services or cap them. A recent study analyzed the estimated out-of-pocket costs for heart attack treatment under several different health plans in California. Although cardiac rehabilitation is standard medical treatment for heart attack patients, one of the insurance policies did not cover this treatment at all.
How the deductibles work. This is the amount of money that you will pay for medical care each year before your health insurance kicks in.
When reviewing a policy, check to see if all of your costs for medical care will apply to one deductible or to two -- for example, a separate deductible for drug costs. Determine if the deductibles apply separately to individuals and to family members. If you have a high deductible and each family member has a separate deductible, it can be costly. There are no exact guidelines regarding reasonable deductible amounts.
Best: Weigh the health insurance premium against the protection that the policy offers -- what are the covered benefits, what is excluded and limited, what is the cost if you get sick.
A protective out-of-pocket maximum. Look for a policy that protects you with an out-of-pocket maximum, the most that you will have to pay for medical expenses in a given year. Add up the deductibles, copayments and coinsurance to determine the out-of-pocket maximum.
Avoid: Policies that exclude the deductible or any copayments or coinsurance from the out-of-pocket maximum.
In some cases, costs for office visits, prescriptions and mental health outpatient visits are not counted toward your out-of-pocket maximum. If so, then your actual out-of-pocket expenses can be much more -- even thousands of dollars more per year -- if you get really sick.
No caps on lifetime or annual benefits. The problem with any kind of limit on lifetime or annual benefits is that you could be left on your own to pay for treatment costs that are much greater than you expected. If you get sick, you want to be sure that your policy can easily accommodate big bills. Check to ensure that the policy has no cap on specific kinds of treatment, such as hospital and outpatient medical treatment, doctor visits, drugs and diagnostic imaging tests.
The contract, not a brochure. Ask for the contract, called Evidence of Coverage (EOC), which is legally binding. Insurers may say that the EOC is available only after a purchase, but don’t take no for an answer. Examine the contract carefully.
Loopholes. It’s hard to catch every detail, especially since loopholes can crop up anywhere.
Example: A policy offered by AARP began hospital coverage on the second day of a hospital stay. But the first day -- when diagnostic tests and emergency procedures are performed -- typically is the priciest. AARP has since suspended sales of this policy.
Best: Get a referral for a licensed insurance broker from someone you trust. A broker can help speed up the shopping and application process.
HOW TO CUT UNEXPECTED COSTS
If you do find a loophole or aren’t satisfied with your policy, you can...
Switch policies. Very often, it is not until you are using an insurance policy that you find out what it really covers (or doesn’t). If you have health insurance through your employer, and several policies are offered, you can usually change policies during open enrollment, a period of time set up annually when employees can change or make changes to their insurance. If you have your own health insurance policy and you are healthy, you should have no trouble finding another one. But do not cancel your existing policy until your new one takes over. If you have a preexisting medical condition, insurers in many states can deny coverage (except in Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, New York or New Jersey), exclude coverage for a specific condition or charge you more.
Appeal. If you have a claim that was denied and you don’t think that it should have been, you can appeal the decision. Most states require health insurance providers to have both an internal and external (independent) review process to handle complaints and appeals. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation offers comprehensive information about the process at www.kff.org/consumerguide/00-intro.cfm.
Bottom Line/Wealth interviewed Eliza Navarro Bangit, Esq., an attorney who analyzes health insurance contracts and federal and state health insurance laws as a senior research associate at Georgetown University Health Policy Institute in Washington, DC, http://ihcrp.georgetown.edu. She is author of, and contributor to, many research articles on private health insurance.
No matter how much you love each other, your marriage could be doomed to failure by such mundane factors as your age, previous relationships, parents or even the nasty habit of smoking, according to a study by the Australian National University and Peng Yu from Australia's Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. Here are the top eight reasons why your marriage might fail:
1. Drink plenty of water
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants, and eat less food that is manufactured in plants
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy
5. Make time for prayer
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2009
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day ---- and while you walk, smile
Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment
13. Don't over do ; keep your limits
14. Don't take yourself so seriously ; no one else does
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
Community:
25. Call your family often
26. Each day give something good to others
27. Forgive everyone for everything
28. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day
30. What other people think of you is none of your business
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your family and friends will. Stay in touch.
Life:
32. Do the right things
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful
34. GOD heals everything
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up
37. The best is yet to come
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.
5.27.09 I have friend. His name is Rufus Xavier Sarsparilla. But, I have pronouns so I call Rufus Xavier Sarsparilla, Him. Hey, If a PROnoun is made to take the place of a noun then I'd like a PRO-Les to take my place for about 55 or 60 hours a week :)
Let's look at it another way. There are Football Players and then there are PRO football players, There are Writers and then there are Pro writers. So we have nouns and PRO nouns. But, just like real life the chances of being a PROnoun are quite slim and there's always a some new young hip PRO to take the place of the traditional Pronoun. Like Him has recently been up staged by Homey. And now even Acronyms are trying to squeeze in on the Pro nouns. It's true: Think of the VERY popular BFF & G.
I swear as advanced as we are we're regressing from words to Hyrogliphics. Don't believe me? :) ;) :( @}--,-'--
Can you imagine trying to teach english to the texting set? B4 u get 2 far along readn dis. i got 2 tell u not 2 use vowels. & G rembmr I 8 food 4 dnnr. K.
2/25/09
Well it had to happen, I guess. I fought it as long as I could. I even thought that I could single handedly get the country through this tough time by NOT curbing my spending and getting the things that my family needed. I can no longer do that. I too have entered the fear framed of mind that's gripping the country. Mind you, I do NOT want to be here and I will do everything in my power to only be here a short while. Plus, I will take action. I will spend responsibly and efficiently and I will act to help whenever and where ever I can to make a difference. These are tough times. But, I …WE… YOU are tough too and we will get through. To that I will pass on my advice as best I can to help others where and when I can, starting with this article from The San Francisco Chronicle's Tom Abate: A list of such websites, including the following that may help you be gainfully employed. Good Luck. We will persevere:
2/24/09
Thought I'd share a smile: A golfer is praying to GOD and asks if there is golfing in Heaven. Surprisingly GOD answers Glenn the golfer. "Yes, Glenn, there's good news. Here in Heaven we have the most spectacular golf course imaginable. " Glenn blurts out his excitement. " I KNEW IT!" I can't wait to get there and play!" GOD replies, "Well I'm glad you can't wait...your tee time is 9:13 tomorrow morning."
2/20/09
Sorry it's been so long since last post. I was driving around Cville yesterday and saw a very funny site (to my wacked point of view anyway.). I spied a dilapidated trailer with a NEW Satellite dish mounted on the front porch. Now mind you I've lived in a trailer before so I'm not making a judgment on that. Here’s my humor perspective, (again no judgment here. Just an observation on how folks have differing priorities). I can only imagine the thought, "I don't have windows in my home, but I got Cable DARN IT! Now, life’s not so bad."
1/30/09 12:22pm
I just heard the funniest commercail EVER! Matthew McConaughey on the National Cattleman's Beef commercial. I can just hear my wife saying "Un -huh!" When he say "Beef! It's what's for dinner." Can you think a better spokesperson "pitchman" for BEEF. It's an ad targeted at Women that Men won't mind and the subliminal messaging is superb! Here's Matthew McConaughey with a message for you. "Beef it's what's for dinner." OH! Man! That is funny!
1/29/09
The meaning of life: To bring others joy. That's your purpose on Earth. But it means nothing until you DO something. Acta non verba (Actions not Words).
These are some great Latin phrases:
Semper Fi (fidelis) (Always Faithful) It's very meaningful, don't you think.
Nosce te Ipsum (know thyself)
Sic Semper Tyranus (Thus always death comes to Tyrants) This one is on the VA flag. You see no matter how bad a tyrant is Death is the constant. I like it!
1/29/09
My theory on a “Bubble Up Economy”
Economic stimulus is all screwed up. It’s backwards what they’re doing now; Giving money to the banks and the huge businesses and the wealthy CEO’s.
This concept which I’m about to lay forth, seems to make perfect sense to me and I don’t understand why the people that are far above my pay grade don’t see it? Either I’m completely off base or I’m smarter than I think I am.
Before I get it to it I want to you to understand, I believe in work. I’ve been doing it since I was 13. Nine years old if you count mowing lawns for money. So I get it! I’m a free market supporter. But, they’re not really asking my opinion on that and it seems that the ESP (Economic Stimulus Plan) is going ahead no matter what I think. So, I figure if you’re playing the game (even if not by choice) then we should know the rules and the object of the game. So, they’re deciding on the rules now.
But, the object of the game is simple to recapture what makes America great. That is: WE SPEND MONEY.
A good US economy is made and supported through the spending of our dollars.
Example: You buy a fridge. You spend lets say $2000, or $2100 because of sales tax. So the State government get’s $100 off the bat. The store where you bought it gets $2000. Now let’s assume that they marked it up 30%. They keep $600 and the remainder goes to the manufacturer ($1400). The store pays their employee 15% of profits in commission ($90), of which he must pay taxes on, let’s assume it’s only 10% ($9 to state and feds) Now he has $91 dollars of income to divide among the following: 30% to Home, 15% Food, 20% Trans, 25% for the other stuff and 10% for savings.
Let’s reverse engineer this for ONLY the employee and not calculating what the business profits are and the manufactures earnings: That’s $91 dollars going back into the economy. This doesn’t include the additional dollars for the state coffers and income taxes that the salesperson and his employer kick back to keep the government.
So here’s concept in a nutshell: Distribute the economic stimulus in a pyramid shape. The people on the bottom get the biggest stimulus.
Why? Because the more money you have the fewer necessesities you require. Think of how easy it is for a wealthier person to retreat and cut back without losing sustainability. When all of your needs are met and someone gives you $1000, You can choose to spend it or save it (in a bank or under your mattress) Yet, if you’re of little means and someone gives you $1000, You’re far less likely to save it when you need a new fridge or food for your table or clothing for your children. If you’re of smaller means you’re less likely to save and more likely to spend, Thereby HELPING the economy.
Spending REAL MONEY (not credit per say) is how the economy will thrive. The money goes around and makes the world go around.
Now, when the Stimulus is given to huge corporations. The proof is that they haven’t saved jobs, the millionaire CEO’s aren’t cutting back. C’mon! Most of us can’t even fathom what cutting back from 1.2 million to 1.0 million dollars would mean. That extra $200,000 could be 2, 3 or more median wage employees and what would it mean to the CEO? Probably not much. If you can’t make it on a million bucks a year, there’s a huge problem.
I am not in a Robin Hood frame of mind. In fact: I believe you should get to keep what YOU EARN and you should PAY WHAT YOU OWE IN TAXES and NOT ONE PENNY MORE!
I think there SHOULD also be tax breaks to the companies and the wealthy individuals for reinvesting (i.e. spending their money). But, this nonsense giving them free money, that’s completely unaccounted for so they can bonus the top executives, it’s a waste!
I realize there are some holes. Like: It’s not fair! And Why them and not me! And it should be limited ONLY to taxpayers (you only get out if you put in).
My point is this: By giving the stimulus to those Americans with lesser means would accomplish two things. 1) Make their lives better, even if only for a moment. 2) Stimulate the economy because they would SPEND the money and the economy would “Bubble up” rather than “trickle down”.
If they’re going to give the money away then give it to folks who’ll put it back into the economy.
Of all the judges in American Idol, DioGuardi is probably one of the most qualified to criticize and give music tips for the contestants. Kara DioGuardi’s songs have appeared on over 100 million records, including Grammy award-winning artists like Christina Aguilera, Celine Dion, Gwen Stefani, Pink and Santana. DioGuardi’s songs have also been included in the albums of Britney Spears, Jewel, Enrique Iglesias, Kylie Minogue, Marc Anthony, The Jonas Brother, Miley Cyrus, Avril Lavigne and Hilary Duff, among many others.
Over the last four years, Kara DioGuardi has been awarded 10 BMI Pop Awards for writing the most-performed songs on radio. From her hundreds of songs, over 265 of them have been released on major record labels worldwide and more than 165 have appeared on multi-platinum albums. Aside from a very impressive record as a songwriter, Kara DioGuardi also co-owns the Arthouse Entertainment, a company focused in developing and mentoring hit writers, artists and producers.
Kara DioGuardi is a born and raised New Yorker, but she is of Albanian and Italian descent. DioGuardi attended Duke University and completed a degree in political science. However, she decided on a career path far away from her degree – she applied for a job on the marketing and publishing departments of Billboard Magazine. During her desk job at Billboard, Kara started writing her own songs. By 1995, DioGuardi successfully secured a record deal with MCA. However, Kara DioGuardi’s lyrical career only began when her friend Paula Abdul gave Kylie Minogue a copy of Kara’s album. Minogue used the song “Spinning Around” on her album and became a top-charting single worldwide. Since then, Kara DioGuardi’s lyrics are unstoppable.
DioGuardi co-owns Arthouse Entertainment, a publishing company that is a resource business for record companies and other music entities seeking compositions, productions, artists, and related music services. Arthouse has been a part of many chart-topping hits including Nick Lachey's "What's Left of Me", David Archuleta's hit single "Crush" also OneRepublic's "Apologize" and Faith Hill's "Lost" (written and produced by Kara DioGuardi and Mitch Allan).
1/12/09
I got these bits of information today: Thought they were very interesting. Makes me appreciate what I have today...mainly a daily bath. Now, if I could only get my 9 year old to like baths?
In The 1500's
The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500s:
These are interesting...
Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married. Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water..
Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying It's raining cats and dogs. There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house.. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.
The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, Dirt poor. The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance way. Hence the saying a thresh hold.
(Getting quite an education, aren't you?)
In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old..
Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, bring home the bacon. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat..
Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.
Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust.
Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days . Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.
England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people aliveas there was no official medical declaration of death . So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be, saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer.
And that's the truth...Now, whoever said History was boring ! ! !
Educate someone. Share these facts with a friend
1/2/09
How to Unlock your iPhone 3G
The Dev Team has put out "yellowsn0w," the first official unlocking utility for iPhone 3Gs. Freeing yourself from AT&Ts shackles is but a few button-presses away. Here's how you do it!
David Murphy
PC World
Friday, January 2, 2009; 12:19 AM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/01/AR2009010102135.html
--------- Protein is a powerful calorie torcher. First, digesting protein takes more energy than digesting carbs or fat does. Also, consuming protein helps you build and maintain muscle mass, and the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, even at rest. In addition, eating protein makes you absorb sugar more slowly, so your blood sugar doesn't soar and then plunge after a sugary snack. So try to get 30 percent of your daily calories from protein rick foods: think lean fish, beef, and poultry, skim milk, nonfat yogurt, eggs, beans, and nuts. (Cosmopolitan)
---- The key to eating less may be right under your nose. Researchers at Chicago's Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation asked 1,436 obese and overweight people to sprinkle everything they ate with calorie free crystals designed to enhance the smell and taste of food. After six months, participants lost 30 pounds, on average without changing other diet or exercise habits. Since 90 percent of what we perceive as taste is actually smell, the researchers speculate that participants found the tastier and more satisfying hence, they ate less. Sensa Tastants are pretty pricey $59 for a month's supply at www.trysensa.com, so if you're on a budget, try seasoning your meal well, and take a whiff before you dig in. (Good Housekeeping)
This might be the best day of the year to buy a new car. Dealerships are offering huge incentives to move aging inventory and automakers are coming up with everything from zero interest loans to employee-pricing to lure shoppers into showrooms. One Idaho dealership is even offering two cars for the price of one.
>>Study: High Dose Of Grape-Seed Extract Wipes Out Leukemia
(Philadelphia, PA) -- Grape seed extract unleashes a murderous rampage against leukemia cells in mice. That's the finding out of the University of Kentucky, where researchers took only a single day to slaughter three-quarters of leukemia cells exposed to the over-the-counter product. They used a high dose of commercially available grape-seed extract. Researchers also pried apart the mechanics of how the stuff caused cancerous white blood cells to commit mass suicide. It's a first for blood-born malignancies, though other studies have shown grape-seed extract's a handy weapon against many common cancers affecting the skin and organs.
Still, the lead researcher contained his enthusiasm, saying only that grape-seed extract could have "implications" for treating other types of cancer. Xianglin Shi cautioned that his research isn't far enough along to urge everyone to start gorging on grapes, seeds and all. His team was inspired by earlier research that showed eating veggies and fruits can thwart cancer's spread. They've been scrutinizing apple peels to measure their antioxident effect. Both apple peels and grape-seed extract wiped out only the cancer cells. Normal cells were fine, though no one knows why. The findings are published in the journal "Clinical Cancer Research."
>>Asthma Say Goodbye To Old Inhalers
(Undated) -- Asthma sufferers have just one day left to say goodbye to their old inhalers. The Food and Drug Administration set a December 31st deadline for stores to stop selling albuterol inhalers that use greenhouse gases called chlorofluorocarbons to propel the medication out of the inhaler. The move is part of the Montreal Protocol. Under this environmental treaty, the U.S. has agreed to phase out production and importation of products that deplete the ozone layer, including CFCs. Starting tomorrow, asthma patients will have to buy inhalers that use the gas hydrofluoralkane instead. While it is seen as a step forward for the environment, some patients aren't happy with the change. HFA-albuterol inhalers can be up to three times more expensive than CFC inhalers, and are known for having a different taste and feel. Nearly 23-million Americans live with asthma.
ANCIENT CHINESE LAW OF ABUNDANCE
This is a two thousand year old method of guaranteeing financial prosperity in the new year, adapted to modern methodology. Here's how it works:
Take a blank check.
Date it with the current date.
Make the check out to yourself.
Use your full legal name.
Leave the dollar box and line blank.
In the memo area write, "paid in full."
Sign the check, "Law of Abundance."
That's it! You will need to keep the check with you at all times in the new year (except when bathing & sleeping). You must complete before the first new moon of the year, which this year is January 13.
LOSE THAT WEIGHT
The most popular resolution for the New Year is to lose weight, according to MyGoals.com. If you really want to lose weight, don't diet. Diets can make you feel deprived, and that makes you more prone to binge eating -- not exactly a good way to shed pounds. Instead of dieting, make small changes in your eating habits. According to NYP Holdings, here are 10 ways to lose 10 pounds:
1.Take three bites less of everything. This will typically shave off 100 calories.
2.Go ahead and order the pizza, but cut out the cheese and meat toppings and choose extra sauce and veggies instead.
3.Watch less television. Previous research has shown that people who watch more than two hours of TV a day tend to be overweight.
4.Instead of oil or butter, use nonstick sprays and pans.
5.When you go to parties, do this simple trick: Don't look at the buffet table. What you don't see won't tempt you.
6.When you're making homemade goodies, cut the sugar in the recipe by one-third. You'll never even notice the difference.
7.Hungry? Eat fruit instead of candy. Do this once a day and you'll save a whopping 100 calories.
8.Thirsty? Drink from a tall, thin glass instead of a short, squat one. It will seem like you're drinking more.
9.When possible, stand instead of sitting. Fifty minutes of standing actually burns up 100 calories!
10. Cut your portion size the easy way: Use smaller plates and bowls.
New Years Eve Celebrations:
Without the steady hand of Ryan Seacrest, the rest of the world predictably loses their minds on New Year's Eve.
·Best for losing an eye: Moscow. The 10,000-plus crowd deals with the cold by guzzling vodka. Then, when the Kremlin bells signal the dawn of the new year, everyone drains their bottles and mindlessly throws the empty glass containers into the air.
·Best for rich hotties in bikinis: Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands. This tiny Caribbean island hosts a cracking New Year's beach party. The island's population is normally 140; on New Year's Eve it swells to the thousands of well-to-do bikinied lovelies descend.
Best for Fireballs: Stonehaven, Scotland. Residents of this village take part in an ancient celebration
Stuffing envelopes. Lure: Earn big bucks -- usually more than $1 per envelope -- for folding papers and sticking them into envelopes.
