Valuable Assets

A Marketing Blunder

2009-02-05T17:34:00.000-08:00

Once again corporate America fails to understand what the consumer want and need. The fatcats that run the majority of corporations in the United States have once more proven that they don't know what the heck their clients and customers want. This is a recession folks! We aren't looking for frills we're looking for bargains. And the best bargains come with that "added upon" bonus that the competition isn't giving.

Case in point. Read this news release from US Airways:

US Airways to charge $7 for pillows and blankets
source

TEMPE, Ariz. – If you want a pillow and blanket in coach on US Airways, it's going to cost you $7.
US Airways said Thursday it will begin charging for its "Power-Nap Sack" on Feb. 16. It's following the lead of JetBlue Airways, which announced a similar policy last summer.
Airlines are adding fees on checked luggage and now pillows and blankets to raise more money as they battle a downturn in travel caused by the recession. US Airways reported that January traffic fell 6.2 percent.
Kevin Jackson, a marketing official for Tempe-based US Airways, said selling the pillows and blankets "is a natural extension of our 'pay for what you choose and use' model we began rolling out last year."
Jackson said the sleep kit was an affordable way for passengers to increase their comfort while flying.
The kits include a 34-by-60-inch fleece blanket, a neck pillow, eye shades, foam ear plugs and a $10-off coupon for items in the SkyMall catalog. They come in a fleece drawstring bag embroidered with the airline's logo.
The airline said it will stop handing out free pillows and blankets in coach on domestic flights. Customers in first class and in Envoy and Economy class on trans-Atlantic flights will continue getting complimentary pillows and blankets.
The kits won't be available on US Airways Express.
For customers who can't wait until Feb. 16 for their own US Airways-embroidered nap kit, the company said they went on sale Thursday at the airline's Web site.

Okay, so will you be wanting to fly on US Airways after February 19th? of course not. Not if there is an airline available in the same price bracket that isn't charging for these "extras" on your flight. My suggestion? LOWER YOUR DANG PRICES! We consumers are looking to save money. If you want to increase ridership then bring back some low everyday fares and fill the plane! And throw in the pillow and blanket for free! Oh and get rid of the stupid fees for checked luggage! The airline that does that will be seeing every flight filled.. I promise!

God and America.. Inseparable?

2008-09-12T15:38:00.000-07:00

Don't ever let it be said that the founding fathers did not want God to be part of this great country. Here are just a few quotes from statesmen, past and present, regarding the relationship between God and The United States of America.

George Washington:

"Almighty and eternal Lord God, the great Creator of heaven and earth, and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; look down from heaven in pity and compassion upon me Thy servant, who humbly prostrate myself before Thee." - George Washington's prayer at Valley Forge

John Adams:

"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion.... Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

James Madison:

"We have staked the whole future of American civilization not on the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."

James Monroe:

"The liberty, prosperity, and the happiness of our country will always be the object of my most fervent prayers to the Supreme Author of All Good." - March 5, 1821 in his Second Inaugural Address

John Quincy Adams:

"It is no slight testimonial, both to the merit and worth of Christianity, that in all ages since its promulgation the great mass of those who have risen to eminence by their profound wisdom and integrity have recognized and reverenced Jesus of Nazareth as the Son of the living God."

Abraham Lincoln:

"Whereas, it is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history: that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord: "And, insomuch as we know that, by His divine law, nations like individuals are subjected to punishments and chastisement in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war, which now desolates the land may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole people? "We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown. "But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious Hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. "Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us! "It behooves us then to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins and to pray for clemency and forgiveness... All this being done, in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the nation will be heard on high and answered with blessing no less than the pardon of our national sins and the restoration of our now divided and suffering country to its former happy condition of unity and peace." -Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, led our nation through the Civil War. On March 30, 1863 President Lincoln, in his Proclamation for a Day of Prayer and Fasting, called the nation to find spiritual strength through prayer.

Woodrow Wilson:

“America was born a Christian nation. America was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which are derived from the revelations of the Holy Scripture."

Dwight Eisenhower:

"Without God, there can be no American form of government, nor an American way of life."

Harry Truman:

"The fundamental basis of this nation's law was given to Moses on the Mount. The fundamental basis of our Bill of Rights comes from the teaching we get from Exodus and St. Matthew, from Isaiah and St. Paul. I don't think we emphasize that enough these days. If we don't have the proper fundamental moral background, we will finally end up with a totalitarian government which does not believe in the right for anybody except the state."

John F. Kennedy:

"For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago. The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe--the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God. " -Inaugural Address of John F. Kennedy FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 1961

Ronald Reagan:

"If America ever ceases to be a nation under God, we will simply become a nation gone under."

"Government growing beyond our consent had become a lumbering giant, slamming shut the gates of opportunity, threatening to crush the very roots of our freedom. What brought America back? The American people brought us back -- with quiet courage and common sense; with undying faith that in this nation under God the future will be ours, for the future belongs to the free." - State of the Union Address, February 4, 1986

George W. Bush:

"Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war, and we know that God is not neutral between them."

"I believe all these things because freedom is not America's gift to the world, it is the Almighty God's gift to every man and woman in this world."

"America stands for liberty, for the pursuit of happiness and for the unalienable right for life. This right to life cannot be granted or denied by government because it does not come from government, it comes from the Creator of life."

"Faith gives the assurance that our lives and our history have a moral design."

This Isn't Me

2008-09-09T15:41:00.001-07:00

This certainly isn't me!

It's Just Not Me

2008-08-17T14:45:00.001-07:00

This isn't me!

This ISN'T Me!

2008-08-15T17:14:00.000-07:00

This REALLY ISN'T Me!

THIS ISN'T ME

2008-08-05T07:27:00.000-07:00

This isn't me

2008-04-06T14:27:00.000-07:00

This isn't me

2008-03-03T21:56:00.000-08:00

Once again... This isn't me!

From time to time I will post a photo that simply ISN'T ME! Check back to learn more about who I am NOT!

New Feature

2008-02-29T09:19:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I posted anything here so most of my loyal readers have slipped into the bad habit of not stopping by. But this new feature will be sure to attract them back...

THIS ISN'T ME

That's right! From time to time I will post a photo that simply ISN'T ME! Check back to learn more about who I am NOT!

Liberty and Freedom for All

2007-11-25T05:37:00.000-08:00

*Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves. ~Abraham Lincoln

*Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it. ~Thomas Paine

*No one is free when others are oppressed. ~Author Unknown

*I prefer liberty with danger to peace with slavery. ~Author Unknown

*Many politicians are in the habit of laying it down as a self-evident proposition that no people ought to be free till they are fit to use their freedom. The maxim is worthy of the fool in the old story who resolved not to go into the water till he had learned to swim. ~Thomas Macaulay

*Freedom is never free. ~Author Unknown

Rivalry Saturday

2007-11-24T15:10:00.000-08:00

It shouldn't come as any surprize that BYU defeated rival Utah 17-10 Saturday after falling behind late in the game. As usual this season, BYU managed a comeback of its own when Harvy Unga punched the ball in from 11 yards out with less than a minute to play.

Utah trailed most of the game, but late in the fourth quarter the Utes drove 69 yards on a 15-play drive that chewed up the clock and recorded the first touchdown of the day. Darrell Mack finished off the drive on a one-yard run that put Utah ahead and seemed to doom the Cougars.

But starting with only 94 seconds left on the clock, BYU faced a fourth-and-18 on its final drive when quarterback Max Hall connected with Austin Collie for a 49-yard gain that gave the Cougars new life and culminated in Unga's touchdown run. He finished with 141 yards on 23 carries.

The win gives the 23rd-ranked Cougars an outright conference championship for its second consecutive year, and improves the team to 9-2 on the season and 7-0 in conference play. Utah (8-4, 5-3) keeps its bowl hopes alive but misses out on any hope for winning a co-championship in the Mountain West. Sorry Ute fans... you LOSE!

Friday's Finds

2007-11-23T12:46:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's time once again, for another issue of Fridays Finds. The one day each week when I share with you some of the many unique places I find on the web.
The sites listed could vary in content from funny to educational, or bizarre to just plain enjoyable. Some might be commercial sites selling unusual items and others might be freely sharing whatever information they have. Most of the time, I'll include a description with the link to give you an idea of what to expect. Sometimes, you'll be on your own. But, in most cases you should be able to figure out what to expect by the name of the site although some may surprise you. So climb aboard, fasten your seatbelts, keep your arms and legs inside the car at all times but please have fun!

1. Where Elvis comes alive.
2. Monitor Camera
3. Christmas Lore
4. Christmas Carol Sing-along
5. How long til Christmas?
6. Christmas shopping online

Thursday's Thinkers

2007-11-22T07:12:00.000-08:00

Every Thursday, as a regular feature in my blog, I post at least one, but probably more, questions to get you thinking. You can leave your thoughts or comment on how others have responsed.

Here's todays questions:

1. What is the meaning of peace to you?

2. Do you "think green?" Why?

3. Where is home for you?

Successful eBay Holiday Sales Tips

2007-11-20T05:21:00.001-08:00

eBay selling is a challenge year round. For the most success this holiday selling season, make sure you are taking advantage of all of eBay's features to boost your holiday sales. Here are a few tips to help you increase sales and stay organized during the busy holiday selling season.

Add Best Offer to all inventory items. You never know what people will purchase once they have already bought something from you and are browsing your store for deals,or to take advantage of your combined shipping rate. Adding Best Offer will result in more sales. You don't have to accept the offers, but you will give your customer more options, appear to be a more flexible seller, and be able to capitalize on more opportunities to sell your items.
Use Buy It Now on all auctions from now until Christmas. Decide on what you will accept for a BIN price. As the holiday gets closer, people procrastinate, sometimes even panic, and don't want to wait for an auction to end. Offering BIN will result in more sales. (Just do your research and make sure you have your BIN price set high enough.)
Order packaging early. Go to the USPS website and order plenty of boxes and Tyvek envelopes. Take an inventory of what you will need such as bubble wrap and packing peanuts, and order it several weeks in advance.
Know the shipping date deadlines. Again, visit the USPS website to see a chart with all of the shipping deadlines for the various services. You may want to print out this table of shipping deadlines and post it by your computer.
Stay focused on operating your business. Complete your income producing activities first before getting caught up in holiday activities like baking, shopping, wrapping, and decorating. You still have a business to run.
Prioritize. Choose your top 3 business related tasks each day before starting to work, and stick to that list. To keep your eBay business running smoothly, accomplish your business tasks before getting involved with personal tasks.
Stay caught up with your shipping. It is very tempting to want to list more and more items when sales are hot. You don't want forget the customers who have already paid you and are waiting for their product. The USPS is slow enough over the holiday season - don't risk a neutral or negative because you aren't keeping up with your shipping.
Set your limits. If you are doing the "crazy toy thing" (going on the 2 AM Wal-Mart runs to purchase large quantities of the hottest toy), keep in mind that you can't be all things to all people. Select a few hot toys to concentrate on and don't let yourself get overwhelmed. Remember you are going to have to pack and ship everything in addition to listing, running your business, and preparing for your own family's holiday. A few hundred dollars in hot toy profit is not worth having a personal meltdown and ruining your own family's holiday time.

Have fun and happy eBaying this holiday season!

Surviving the Holidays - Tips for enhancing the memories.

2007-11-19T05:12:00.000-08:00

Between the frenzy of school and holiday parties, shopping, cooking, and spending, sometimes the spirit of the season seems anything but happy. Stress, over-extended schedules, and concerns over how the money just seems to be flying out of the wallet can turn the season of joy to that of anxiety and hassle. But parents CAN turn the holidays into a time of family and cherished quality time. How? Here are eight ways to help families reconnect and enjoy the season.

1. Serve others

It's better to give than to receive, right? Then turn the saying into a true practice by volunteering TOGETHER as a family. Where? How? The options are endless. A best bet is to choose as a family. Here are some options to get the brainstorming started: Serving dinner at a homeless shelter, helping to sort and inventory items at a local food bank or clothing collection agency, or helping to groom and care for animals at a local shelter.

2. Emphasis hand-made gifts

Why would anyone want a homemade gift when money can buy the latest and greatest on the market? Parents, if your child thinks like this, then this is a value that really should be stressed this season. The holidays are the time to celebrate families and to show love and appreciation to those they love, and not just for the gifts. And what better gesture than a gift made by from hands and heart? Gifts can be as simple as a cherished handprint, a scrapbook, or a service such as housecleaning.

3. Help Kids Learn About Dollars and Sense

Children can start learning about the value of money at a young age, and a good time to teach about budgeting and finances is around the holidays. Letting children shop for an inexpensive gift is a great way to teach how far--or not--a buck will go. It's okay for parents to talk about how much things cost. Educate kids that spending is a choice, and that there is a difference between a "want" and "need."

4. The Gift of Time

Many parents trying to force holiday spirit on their family through movies, shopping, extra activities, and often with the result of overload. The best gift a parent can give is time! Kids love evenings by a fire with hot cocoa and reading holiday books, and may prefer a holiday video watched together as a family than waiting in line at a busy movie theatre. Family games, walks in the park, and even looking at holiday lights while listening to seasonal tunes are what memories are made of.

5. Making memories and establishing traditions

Does you family have a special holiday tradition? If not, add one, and enjoy how it adds to the sense of family tradition and togetherness. How about sharing memories during a special meal? Decorating the tree as a family? Opening one special gift with just your family that has special meaning? Starting a journal with contributions by each member? Have a family PJ night. Building traditions can add to the holiday joy and strengthen families.

6. Reflection and Goal Setting Made Easy

Regardless of the holidays on the calendar, families should embrace the end of the year and new year that lies ahead by setting a direction for the future. Family members can brainstorm together and develop common goals, or at least share personal goals and ask for members' support. Whether it is to eat together more often, to make healthier choices, to limit extracurricular activities, or to work smarter, share your dreams and focus for the new year.

7. Let There Be Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen

Stir up some fun in the kitchen this season for family togetherness. Make a gingerbread village each year, with each member crafting an individual cottage. Or, bake up sugar cookie cut-outs and use imagination with the decorations. Consider stringing popcorn and cranberries while enjoying some home-cooked soup and bread around the fire at the same time. Cooking together brings family members together, and is a great way to combine food, fellowship and fun!

8. Learning to say "Thank You" From The Heart

Kids don't just "know" how to be grateful. It's a taught behavior from parents and other adults. A child's natural tendency is to think selfishly, but parents should emphasize an equal amount of selflessness. While it's natural for children to possess a case of the "greeds" around the holidays, parents should use the season to teach manners, respect for elders, grace, giving, and gratitude.

I hope these ideas give you some ways to improve your holidays and make them more enjoyable and meaningful. Happy Holidays!

Happiness

2007-11-18T05:03:00.000-08:00

"You can get everything money can buy without a lick of character, but you can't get any of the things money won't buy - happiness, joy, peace of mind, winning relationships, etc., without character." --Zig Ziglar

Thanksgiving Jokes and Fun

2007-11-17T06:22:00.000-08:00

Sometimes the silliest jokes are the funniest. Especially when you're seated around the table and no one is expecting it. It gets even sillier when you can follow it up with another and another. The kids will laugh and the teens will groan. The adults will look at you like you've lost your mind but everyone will be having a good time. Keep a few of these in mind for when the conversation gets slow at your Thanksgiving dinner.

Q. Why does a pilgrim's pants always fall down?

A. Because he wears his belt buckle on his hat!

Q. If the Pilgrims were alive today, what would they be most famous for?

A. Their age!

Q. What did the turkey say before it was roasted?

A. Boy! I'm stuffed!

Q. If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring?

A. Pilgrims!

Q. Why did the police arrest the turkey?

A. They suspected it of fowl play!

Q. Can a turkey jump higher than the Empire State Building?

A. Yes, the Empire State Building can't jump!

Turkey Warning Poem:

Tell me, Mr. Turkey,
Don't you feel afraid
When you hear us talking
'Bout the plans we've made?

Can't you hear us telling
How we're going to eat
Cranberries and stuffing
With our turkey meat?

Turkey, heed my warning:
Better fly away;
Or you will be sorry
On Thanksgiving day.
-Author Unknown

More Jokes:

Q. What are the feathers on a turkey's wings called?

A. Turkey Feathers!

Q. Why did the turkey cross the road?

A. It was the chickens day off!

Q. Can you make a turkey float?

A. Sure but you need 2 scoops of ice cream, some root beer and a turkey!

Q. Which side of the turkey has the most feathers?

A. The outside!

Friday's Finds

2007-11-16T05:45:00.000-08:00

This is our 100th post. A small milestone but one we are happy to have reached! Help up celebrate by leaving your comments and impressions of our 1st 100. What do you like about our blog.. what can we do better?

But now, it's time for another issue of Fridays Finds. The one day each week when I share with you some of the many unique places I find on the web. The sites listed could vary in content from funny to educational, or bizarre to just plain enjoyable. Some might be commercial sites selling unusual items and others might be freely sharing whatever information they have. I'll include a description with the link to give you an idea of what to expect if I have the time. Otherwise you'll be on your own. But, in most cases you should be able to figure out what to expect by the name of the site although some may surprise you. So climb aboard, fasten your seatbelts, keep your arms and legs inside the car at all times but please have fun!

1. THE BUREAU of MISSING SOCKS
2. The Worst Jobs
3. Cockroach Catalog
4. 100 Words a Day
5. Easy traditional Thanksgiving Recipes
6. Diabetic Thanksgiving Recipes
7. Thanksgiving Traditions

Thursday's Thinkers

2007-11-15T04:43:00.000-08:00

I'm making this a regular feature. Every Thursday I'll post at least one, but probably more, questions to get you thinking. Leave your thoughts or comment on others responses. Let's have a dialog! Here's todays questions:

1. There's a kid in all of us. What does yours want to be when he/she grows up?

2. What was the last thing you ate?

3. What talent do you wish you possessed?

4. Which is worse? Stepping in dog poo or sitting in gum?

Bringing Life, Happiness & Joy To Our Lives

2007-11-14T05:19:00.001-08:00

Bringing Life, Happiness & Joy To Our Lives
By Jim Rohn

Any day we wish, we can discipline ourselves to change it all. Any day we wish, we can open the book that will open our mind to new knowledge. Any day we wish, we can start a new activity. Any day we wish, we can start the process of life change. We can do it immediately, or next week, or next month, or next year.
We can also do nothing. We can pretend rather than perform. And if the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable, we can remain as we are. We can choose rest over labor, entertainment over education, delusion over truth, and doubt over confidence. The choices are ours to make. But while we curse the effect, we continue to nourish the cause. As Shakespeare uniquely observed, 'The fault is not in the stars, but in ourselves.' We created our circumstances by our past choices. We have both the ability and the responsibility to make better choices beginning today. Those who are in search of the good life do not need more answers or more time to think things over to reach better conclusions. They need the truth. They need the whole truth. And they need nothing but the truth.
We cannot allow our errors in judgment, repeated every day, to lead us down the wrong path. We must keep coming back to those basics that make the biggest difference in how our life works out. And then we must make the very choices that will bring life, happiness and joy into our daily lives. And if I may be so bold to offer my last piece of advice for someone seeking and needing to make changes in their life--if you don't like how things are, change it! You're not a tree. You have the ability to totally transform every area in your life--and it all begins with your very own power of choice.

eBay Tips & Tricks

2007-11-13T06:06:00.000-08:00

Bling! It is a new software product designed to help eBay, Amazon and website sellers create dynamic product images that make your photos look like the big guys. Don't get confused by the name.. Bling! It, is actually useful for lots of product applications besides Jewelry.

On eBay and in any competitive online environment, the best product shots get first notice. With Bling! It, your high quality product shots will help you make sales and gain attention.
Bling! It offers extreme ease of use for even the most casual eBay seller to create high-quality web-ready product shots that can compete with large sophisticated sellers. In the past, only the most seasoned Photoshop professional could create product shots like this, but with the availability of Bling! It, even a novice user can create “shot in the studio” quality product images in minutes. All that is required is a digital camera and a few clicks of the mouse. No Photoshop and no complicated layering, outlining, or hours in front of the computer.

Here is some of what the software can do:

Sharpen product appearance without hiding a product’s characteristic imperfections
Add drop shadows to provide a depth-of-field to the image
Use the “Highlight Brush” to lift the image highlights to create a “shot-in-the-studio” feel
Enhance product resolution independently from the background to make the product really stand out
Embed a logo to make product shots even more professional and protect your image from being stolen
Adjust the edge blending between the product and the background to preserve the warm feeling of a sweater or the furry softness of a teddy bear
Customize the position, size and rotation of the product relative to the new background with the easy-to-use handling points
Optimize the final image for use on various preset e-commerce sites such as eBay or Amazon

Here are a couple of shots that show what you can do:

Before After:

Bling! It is software that downloads to your computer. My readers can get a 15-day Free Trial download at this link.

Fun But Useless Facts

2007-11-12T08:15:00.000-08:00

The internet is such an amazing tool. You can find information on just about anything you want. So here's a sampling of information that I'm sure you'll find interesting. The problem is, I don't know if any of it is useful. Nevertheless I'm sure you'll enjoy these Fun But Useless Facts:

If you multiply 111,111,111 by 111,111,111, you get 12,345,678,987,654,321.

In Chinese, the words "crisis" and "opportunity" are the same.

Denver, Colorado consumes less prune juice per capita than any other city in the United States.

Polar bears are left-handed.

The first toilet ever seen on television was on "Leave It to Beaver."

Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

Hitler was claustrophobic. The large elevator leading to his eagles nest in the Austrian Alps was mirrored so it would appear larger and more open.

"Moon" was Buzz Aldrin's mother's maiden name. You know Buzz Aldrin. He was the second man on the moon.

Paper was invented early in the second century by Chinese eunuch.

Elephants are the only mammals that can't jump.

Insects outnumber humans 100,000,000 to one. (Not so hard to believe on a warm summer night)

Termites are affected by music. They will eat your house twice as fast if you play loud music.

The Titanic was running at 22 knots when it hit the iceberg.

The plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called aglets.

The first owner of the Marlboro company died of lung cancer.

The song with the longest title is "I'm a Cranky Old Yank in a Clanky Old Tank on the Streets of Yokohama with my Honolulu Mama Doin' Those Beat-o, Beat-o Flat-On-My-Seat-o, Hirohito Blues" written by Hoagy Carmichael in 1943.

During an average lifetime, a man will spend 3,350 hours shaving away 8.4 meters of stubble.

Pathways

2007-11-10T14:57:00.000-08:00

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)

Fall Football

2007-11-10T06:19:00.000-08:00

I totally love watching football in the fall. However, since moving to Texas in the winter of 2006, I haven't been able to watch more than a couple games of my favorite college team. I am required to pull up the internet broadcast from ksl.com and listen to the radio online.

I fully enjoyed the thumping the BYU Cougars gave to TCU on Thursday night and I looking forward to next weeks game at Wyoming and then the big game with the whinning Utes. So to get us all in the mood, here's a highlight video of last years game.

And of course, the final play of last years game against the University of Utah. I think Harline is STILL open!

BYU Football, Fun for the whole Family. Go Cougars!

Fridays Finds

2007-11-09T12:20:00.000-08:00

It's time for another issue of Fridays Finds. The one day each week when I share with you some of the many unique places I find on the web. The sites listed could vary in content from funny to educational, or bizarre to just plain enjoyable. Some might be commercial sites selling unusual items and others might be freely sharing whatever information they have. I'll include a description with the link to give you an idea of what to expect if I have the time. Otherwise you'll be on your own. But, in most cases you should be able to figure out what to expect by the name of the site although some may surprise you. So climb aboard, fasten your seatbelts, keep your arms and legs inside the car at all times but please have fun!

1. Adopt a virtual pet

2. Bizarre auctions

3. Life Bets

4. Meridian Magazine

Thursdays Thinkers

2007-11-08T16:55:00.000-08:00

I've made this a regular feature. Every Thursday I post at least one, but probably more, questions to get you thinking. Leave your thoughts or comment on others responses. Let's have a dialog!

Here's todays questions:

1. What food best describes your spouse?
2. If they were coming for you, where would you hide?
3. Who would you like to be stuck in an elevator with for three hours?

eBay Tips & Tricks: Bundling

2007-11-06T04:24:00.000-08:00

I have often found that it's easier to sell several items bundled together rather than trying to sell them each separately. However, one of the most common mistakes sellers make on eBay is selling too many things together as a "lot."
One of my favorite eBay anecdotes involves a single auction for a large lot of model trains, for which the seller had originally paid approximately $800. He then turned around and sold half the collection, all told, for about $800. He estimated the value of the remaining items to be around $1,000, all of which he effectively got for free because he had already sold enough to recoup his costs.
The most direct approach is to research completed auctions and to compare the expected value of a collection with the total expected values of the separate items. But this can take a lot of time, and you'll be hard-pressed to find another auction with exactly the same items.

So instead, just ask yourself this question: How likely is it that any single bidder will want all of the items I'm selling? Bidders who buy large collections or lots typically do so with the intention of reselling some or all of the items. Since they'd do this only if there were profit in it, it's unlikely that anyone would pay the full value of such a collection.
However, if there's a good chance that a single person will want to keep all of the items you're selling, then you very well may get what they're worth.
Never bundle unrelated or incompatible items. For instance, say you'd like to sell two camera lenses, each for a different brand of camera. It should be obvious that they should be sold separately, but even experienced sellers sometimes try to sell odd things such as these together. In this case, anyone who bids will likely be interested in only one of the lenses and, as a result, won't bid higher than what that single lens is worth.
Accessories can go either way. Sometimes, adding $50 worth of accessories to an item will increase the desirability of the item by at least that much, if not more. Other times, it won't make a lick of difference.
Take, for example, a $300 handheld computer, sold along with a $40 memory card, a $25 leather case, a $10 screen protector, and $150 worth of software. Here, knowledge of the market will save you time researching the value of each item. Accessories such as used leather cases (at least the cheaper ones), used screen protectors, and especially the software are all pretty much worthless when sold separately but will probably raise the value of the handheld. Why? Because it is likely that any single bidder will actually want all of those things and will pay more to avoid having to buy them separately.
Naturally, the market for your particular item will be different, but this should give you an idea of the methodology used to determine the practicality of bundling related items.
Leverage Dutch auctions. If you have a large quantity of an inexpensive item, you may be inclined to sell the entire lot in a single auction. But who is going to want 4,000 pairs of shoelaces, even if you offer them all at the low, low price of only $200? Naturally, it also doesn't make sense to list them separately at 5 cents apiece, but there are other options.
Probably the best choice is a Dutch auction--but not necessarily the kind you might expect. The nature of a Dutch auction suggests that if you have 4,000 items, you enter a quantity of 4,000, wherein a single bid buys a single item. But then you'd be back where you started: handling up to 4,000 different customers at a nickel a piece. Instead, try selling 400 bundles of 10 for $4 each. So a single bidder would be able to buy 10 pairs of shoelaces for $4, 20 pairs for $8, and so on. You'll have to build only one auction, you'll get eight times as much money per shoelace, and you'll be much more likely to get any money at all for your bizarre collection.
Remember, if you decide to bundle, group only related items. Clothing of the same size, etc. If you have odd items try doing a mystery box auction and reveal only a few of the better pieces. It can be fun to reveal new items or hints to what is in the box throughout the duration of the auction as the bid prices rise.
Have fun and Happy eBaying!

The Spirit of Christ

2007-11-04T04:53:00.000-08:00

“For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God." - Moroni 7:16

Daylight Savings Time - Why? Why? Why?

2007-11-03T12:03:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow morning (Sunday at 2 a.m.) it will be time to turn back your clocks an hour as part of daylight savings time. This year’s movement is one week later than years past in an effort by Congress to conserve more energy.
Whether that has been successful is a matter of debate, but it did create quite a problem in many people’s homes last week. Many residents owned electronic appliances that were automatically programmed to make the change based on the old date of changing back the last Sunday in October rather than the new one of the first Sunday in November. Trick-or-treaters certainly were safer while on the streets of the region this week as a result of the change, as it remained light longer into the evening.
Why do we even fool with changing the clocks twice a year?
The concept first dates back to Benjamin Franklin. However, it wasn’t until 1918 that Congress — under pressure from the railroad industry — approved time zones as we know them today to help the railroads eliminate timetable confusion. Daylight savings time was instituted during World War I in the United States and much of Europe as an energy saving tool. It wasn’t until 1986, however, before Congress passed legislation authorizing the establishment of daylight savings time across the United States. Even so, some locations — such as Arizona — do not follow the daylight savings time practice.
It's a topic of discussion every spring and fall with most people either loving it or hating it. Whichever way you feel about it enjoy the extra hour you’ll be gaining tomorrow morning and don't worry about it again until next spring.

Friday's Finds

2007-11-02T05:03:00.000-07:00

It's time for another issue of Fridays Finds. The one day each week when I share with you some of the many unique places I find on the web. The sites listed could vary in content from funny to educational, or bizarre to just plain enjoyable. Some might be commercial sites selling unusual items and others might be freely sharing whatever information they have. I'll include a description with the link to give you an idea of what to expect if I have the time. Otherwise you'll be on your own. But, in most cases you should be able to figure out what to expect by the name of the site although some may surprise you. So climb aboard, fasten your seatbelts, keep your arms and legs inside the car at all times but please have fun!

1. Huge Rabbit Visible from Space
2. Scarecrows of the World
3. Amazing Mango Falls
4. MissOops.com
5. Worth1000 PhotoShopped Galleries
6. Article Directory

What day is it?

2007-11-01T04:51:00.000-07:00

Do you ever wake up wondering what day it is? Do you go off to work feeling that you're missing out on something? Do the people aound you always seem to be celebrating, and you don't know why?

Your fears and doubts are over. Here is the November guide to holidays:

November 1: Nutty Pecan Day Now, why do people usually only eat pecans during the holidays? The are cholesterol and sodium free - and are also full of vitamines and minerals. Eating a handful every day is good for you, but don't forget to try out special pecan recipes, too!

November 2: Piggy Bank Day During the Middle Ages, metal was expensive and rarely used for household utinsels. They used an orange clay called "pygg" to make dishes, pots and jars. And when people saved money at home, they put it in a "pygg jar". The name stuck long after the orange clay was forgotten. By the 18th century in England, the pygg jar had become the pig jar or pig bank. Eventually, potters cast the pig bank in the shape of this common name.

November 3: Sandwich Lovers Day We honor John Montague, born in 1718, the Fourth Earl of Sandwich. Said to have been an avid gambler, he invented the sandwich as a time-saving way to eat while involved in a 24 hour card playing session.We like them because there are no dirty dishes!

November 4: Sadie Hawkins Day Sadie Hawkins Day is an American folk event created by Al Capp in 1937 for the Li'l Abner comic strip. Sadie Hawkins was "the homeliest gal in the hills" who grew tired of waiting for the fellows to come a courtin'. Her father set up a foot race so the unmarried gals could chase the bachelors. You can get the whole story on the official Li'l Abner site. Li'l Abner

November 5: Guy Fawkes Day On November 5, people in England celebrate a holiday called Guy Fawkes Day. Nearly 400 years ago, Guy Fawkes and other conspirators tried to blow up a British Parliament Building in 1605. After being apprehended they were convicted and beheaded in 1606. November 5th is now celebrated as the anniversary of the plot. Ever since, Guy Fawkes Day has been a time for merrymaking. The best part comes as darkness falls. Then, straw dummies are tossed into huge bonfires. Amid cries of glee, firecrackers pop and "the Guy" goes up in a blaze of fire.

November 6: I Love Nachos Day Nachos! Nachos! Who's got the Nachos! Celebrate with chips and cheese sause!

November 7: Bittersweet Chocolate Day Chocolate is said to cure all things including depression. And that's good enough for us.

November 8: Harvey Wallbanger Day Apparently Harvey was a surfer with a passion for Galliano and walking into walls. This is one I probably won't be celebrating. Sorry Harvey.

November 9: Neon Sign Day Neon is an inert, gas. British chemists Sir William Ramsey and Morris Travers discovered the element in the atmosphere in 1898 and named it neon for the Greek word that means "new". Little or no use was made of neon until 1910 when Georges Claude experimented with passing an electrical charge through the neon gas. He received a patent for the Neon Sign on this day in 1911.Las Vegas is so glad he did!

November 10: Toothpaste Day The first known toothpaste was made by Egyptian physicians in 2000 B.C. They mixed powdered pumice stone with wine vinegar and brushed it on with a chewing stick. The Romans later used human urine instead of wine because they thought it whitened the teeth. They were right. Urine continued to be used in toothpaste and mouthwash until the 18th century. Modern toothpastes use ammonia to get the same cleaning action today.

November 11: King Tut Day King Tutankahamen, Egypt's child-king became pharaoh at the age of 9 and died when he was 19 - more than 3,000 years ago. His tomb of priceless relics was discovered on November 4th, 1922. You're on your own to decide about the curse!

November 12: Pizza But No Anchovies Pizza Day The word pizza comes from the Latin word picea which the Romans used to describe the blackening of bread in an oven. The world's first true pizzeria "Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba" opened in 1830, and is still in business today in Naples. An Italian immigrant named Gennaro Lombardi opened the first U.S. pizzeria in 1895 in New York City. Pizza is now consumed all over the world - with or without anchovies!

November 13: World Kindness Day Healing the World By Practicing Random Acts Of Kindness"A long sentence that just means one person can do so much.We start by sending you big hugs!

November 14: Spicey Guacamole Day Holey Moley! - Called ahuacatl by the Aztecs, avocados grew wild throughout Central America and Mexico as early as 900 AD. In fact, archeologists have found pottery with images of avocados from this time period. And they are SO good for you! It's a shame that Guacamole looks like baby dodo.

November 15: Clean Out the Fridge Day It's not The Blob - It's not Ghostbuster's Slime - It's the leftovers in your refrigerator and now... they have a life of their own! Get them before they get you! TIP: An open box of baking soda will get rid of that smell!

November 16: Quit Smoking Day Tobacco use is responsible for nearly one of every five deaths in the US. Make this the first day of your smoke-free life! Want To Quit? Get Free On-Line Help Here! Quit Smoking Help Tips

November 17: Take a Hike Day Doctors say walking is the most important part of a healthy life! We care about you, so check out the Hiking and Walking Homepage - plus the Preventions Walking Club! GORP Hiking and Backpacking American Hiking Society

November 18: Mickey Mouse Day MIC - KEY - M-O-U-S-E Mickey is looking really good for his age -he's in his 70's. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MICK!

November 19: Play Monopoly Day Parker Brothers launched Monopoly Today in 1935. The most expensive Monopoly Set was created by jeweler Sidney Mobell of San Francisco in 1988. The $2-million dollar set is 23-karat gold and the dice have 42 full cut diamonds for spots. WHOA!

November 20: Peanut Butter Fudge Day It's Peanut Butter Fudge Day orYou Got Chocolate On My Peanut Butter!

November 21: Hello World Day Celebrate World Hello Day By Saying "Hi" to at least ten people! I'm starting with you, so...HI!

November 22: Thanksgiving Day It's down to the wire - did you forget anything? Dressing? Cranberries? Yams? Corn on the cob? Pumkin Pie? Opps.. what about the turkey

November 23: Eat a Cranberry Day One of only a few native North American fruits, the cranberry was an important staple long before the Pilgrims arrived. Native Americans, who referred to cranberries as sassamanash, made cakes prepared with lean, dried strips of meat pounded into paste and mixed with animal fat, grains and cranberries.Because of the vitamin C content of cranberries, captains of the early sailing ships supplied their sailors with cranberries to prevent scurvy.

November 24: Native American Day In recognition of the significant contributions the first Americans have made to the establishment and growth of our Nation. Native American History

November 25: Shopping Reminder Day Only 24 more shopping days till XMAS!Okay, okay... we don't really know many days you've got to shop. Do you live where the malls are open on weekends - and how about nights? Still, it's time to make that Christmas list. YIKES!

November 26: College Fraternity Day The first Kappa Alpha formed On November 26, 1825. If you are in college, ever went to college or just wanted to go to college, celebrate Fraternity Day!Now... if we can just figure out who first said, "Boola, Boola!"

November 27: Pie In The Face Day Splat! Splat! You've been hit with a virtual whipped cream pie! But only because I love ya'. It's that kind of a day!

November 28: Poloroid Camera Day Ok, who knows why they are called Land cameras? And, no, it's not because they don't work underwater. They are named after Edwin Land, the man who invented the process of instant photography.

November 29: Turkey Leftovers Day It's been a week since Thanksgiving - and you still have turkey left over. Todays the day to use it or chuck it! Cooks struggling with the question of what to do with all of that turkey, deserve their own special day!

November 30: Sacher Torte Day Austrians take their baking seriously - and the definition of a true Sacher Torte had to be decided in court. In the early 1800's, the Congress of Vienna ruled that a Sacher Torte was made of two chocolate cake layers separated by apricot jam with a chocolate glaze on the top and sides. The most famous Sacher Tort is made (of course)at the Sacher Hotel in Vienna, but you can makes your's at home.

Thanks to Hidates.com for all this great information!

Next week we'll be back with our usual Thursday Thinkers feature!

History of the Jack-o-lantern

2007-10-31T05:46:00.000-07:00

There are many lores and legends surrounding the origin of the Jack-O-Lantern. The most popular tale is that of a ne'er-do-well Irishman name Jack. Well known for his drunken meanness, Jack got so intoxicated on a Halloween that his soul began to leave his body. The Devil saw an opportunity to claim a victim and promptly came to earth. Jack was desperate to avoid his fate so he begged the Devil to allow him one last drink. The Devil consented but stated that Jack would have to pay for his drink because the Devil carried no money. Jack claimed to only have a sixpence left and asked that the Devil assume the shape of a sixpence to pay for the drink. Then, tab paid, the Devil could change back to himself. The Devil considered the request reasonable and changed himself into a sixpence. Jack immediately grabbed the coin and put it in his wallet, which had a cross-shaped catch. The Devil was unable to get out and began ranting and cursing. They then made a deal that the Devil would be released if he agreed to let Jack alone for one year. The Devil agreed and Jack set forth to reform is behavior over the next year.

It wasn't long before Jack slipped back into his mean, drunken ways and the next All Hallows Eve the Devil appeared to Jack and demanded his soul. Once again, Jack was desperate to save himself and did so by tricking the Devil. He suggested to the Devil that he may want one of the delicious apples hanging in a tree nearby. He offered to allow the Devil to climb on his shoulders to reach the apples. Once the Devil was in the tree, Jack pulled out a pocket knife and carved a cross in the tree trunk. The Devil could not get out of the tree. Furious and desperate, the Devil offered Jack ten years of peace in exchange for freeing him. Jack insisted that The Devil never bother him again and he would be freed. The Devil resentfully agreed. Jack then returned to his old ways but before the next Halloween, his body gave out and he passed. He was turned away at the gates of Heaven because of the meanness in his life. The Devil refused him at the gates of hell, stating that he would never bother him again and told him to return from whence he came. To help Jack see on his journey, the Devil threw him a burning lump of coal from hell. Jack put the ember inside of a turnip and it has been Jack's light on his eternal wanderings ever since. To protect oneself from Jack on All Hallows Eve, jack-o-lanterns were placed on porches and in windows, in hopes that Jack would take the light if needed instead of bothering anyone.

So where do people go to get the perfect pumpkin for carving?

Well, thanks to hundreds of local farmers throughout the US there is always an ample supply of pumpkins in a variety of shapes and sizes at grocery stores and farmers markets. One such farmer is Richard Schmidt of West Jordan, Utah. Richard and his son Ryan grew 525 tons of pumpkins this year in an effort to feed your hunger for a halloween Jack-o-lantern. You can read more about Richard's pumpkin production process here.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Jokes

2007-10-30T05:47:00.000-07:00

All kids love silly jokes and they love adults that share them.

The beauty of a one-liner is that kids can remember them. Here's a handful of Halloween one-liners that you can share with your children, nieces, nephews, grandkids, or neighborhood children. Once you do, they will share them with their friends and so on and so on... and you will have planted the seeds for hundreds of smiles today!

Why did the vampire go to the orthodontist?
To improve his bite...

What do you get when you cross a vampire and a snowman?
Frostbite...

Why do witches use brooms to fly on?
Because vacuum cleaners are too heavy...

How do witches keep their hair in place while flying?
With scare spray...

What do you get when you cross a werewolf and a vampire?A fur coat that fangs around your neck...

Do zombies eat popcorn with their fingers?
No, they eat the fingers separately...

Why don't skeletons ever go out on the town?
Because they don't have any body to go out with...

What do ghosts add to their morning cereal?
Booberries...

What is a vampire's favorite sport?
Casketball...

What is a vampire's favorite holiday?
Fangsgiving...

What would a monster's psychiatrist be called?
Shrinkenstein...

What did one ghost say to the other ghost?
"Do you believe in people?"

What do you call someone who puts poison in a person's corn flakes?
A cereal killer...

Why do mummies have trouble keeping friends?
They're so wrapped up in themselves...

What kind of streets do zombies like the best?
Dead ends...

What does the papa ghost say to his family when driving?
Fasten your sheet belts...

What is a vampire's favorite mode of transportation?
A blood vessel...

What is a ghost's favorite mode of transportation?
A scareplane...

What type of dog do vampire's like the best?
Bloodhounds...

What is a ghoul's favorite flavor?
Lemon-slime...

What does a vampire never order at a restaurant?
A stake sandwich...

What is a skeleton's favorite musical instrument?
A trombone...

What do birds give out on Halloween night?
Tweets...

Why do vampires need mouthwash?
They have bat breath...

What's a vampire's favorite fast food?
A guy with very high blood pressure...

Why did the Vampire subscribe to the Wall Street Journal?
He heard it had great circulation...

More Halloween Fun

2007-10-29T17:31:00.000-07:00

Spooky Tongue Twister Phrases

He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.
Creepy crawler critters crawl through creepy crawly craters
Dracula digs dreary, dark dungeons.
Ghostly ghouls gather gleefully to golf on ghostly golf courses.
Gobbling gorgoyles gobbled gobbling goblins
Horribly hoarse hoot owls hoot howls of horror in halloween haunted houses.
If big black bats could blow bubbles, how big of bubbles would big black bats blow?
If two witches would watch two watches, which witch would watch which watch?
Professional Pumpkin Pickers are prone to pick the plumpest pumpkins.
Transylvanian Tree Trimmers are trained to trim the tallest Transylvanian trees.
Several spooky slimy spiders spun sulking by the sea
The ochre ogre ogled the poker.
Six slippery snails, slid slowly seaward.
Which witch wished which wicked wish?

Halloween Drinks and Practical Jokes

2007-10-29T06:38:00.000-07:00

A big bowl of punch is the perfect prop for gory and ghastly Halloween trickery. There are lots of ways to make your party punch extra eerie!

Make a slime ring from green punch.

Freeze green punch in a gelatin mold along with plastic bugs, spiders and eyeballs. And place a few small glow sticks underneath the punch bowl: when the lights are turned down, the brew will radiate in a mysterious and unearthly fashion.

Float life-size zombie hands made from ice.

Buy a couple of latex or rubber gloves. Wash them thoroughly with dish soap and turn them inside out. Carefully pour in water. Fasten tightly at the wrist with a rubber band.

The shape will turn out best if you hang the gloves, fingers down, from your freezer shelf. Plan to freeze your uncanny hands for at least one full day.

When it's party time, run warm water over the gloves very briefly--just long enough to loosen the gloves from the ice--and carefully peel them off the frozen hands. The ice fingers break off easily, but that's okay--the disembodied digits just add to the "zombie" effect.

Turn your punchbowl into a steamy, smoky witch's cauldron.
Nothing makes a party spookier than an ominous witch's brew.

First, visit your local supermarket's fresh fish counter and ask if they carry dry ice; if they don't, they may be able to tell you where you can purchase some.

Mix up a punch of your favorite fruit juices in a large bowl and place it inside an even larger bowl, pot or cauldron.

Throw on your best witch or warlock costume and add (using tongs or extra-heavy-duty gloves) chunks of dry ice to the bigger container. This allows you to create that delightful creeping mist without putting dry ice directly into the punch, which can be extremely dangerous.

When you're ready to create some magic, simply pour some hot water over the dry ice. Continue to add hot water and dry ice as needed.
Note: Never ingest dry ice! Be very careful when using dry ice. Always keep it out of reach of children and never touch it with bare skin; use tongs or extra-heavy-duty gloves.

I love a practical joke as much as anyone. In the spirit of Halloween spookiness here's a video of some classical practical jokes.

2007-10-28T04:58:00.000-07:00

"Pity the man who has a favorite restaurant, but not a favorite author. He's picked out a favorite place to feed his body, but he doesn't have a favorite place to feed his mind!" - Jim Rohn

Friday's Finds

2007-10-26T05:31:00.000-07:00

101 Halloween ideas

Scary music to download

Haunted places

Scary stories

50 Scariest Movies

Brief history of the Salem Witch Trials

Thursday's Thinkers

2007-10-25T18:40:00.000-07:00

I've made this a regular feature. Every Thursday I post at least one, but probably more, questions to get you thinking. Leave your thoughts or comment on others responses. Let's have a dialog! Here's todays questions:

1. Which month of the year do you think would best describe your personality?

2. If you could ask God any single question, what would it be?

3. Foreclosure filings across the United States nearly doubled last month (compared with those from September of 2006), as financially strapped homeowners already behind on mortgage payments defaulted on their loans or came closer to losing their homes to foreclosure. Without naming names, do you know anyone impacted by or who is facing foreclosure?

Haunted How-To's

2007-10-23T04:42:00.000-07:00

Halloween is coming and since it's one of my favorite holidays I'm putting my regular Tuesday feature of eBay Tips & Tricks aside to focus on some Haunting How-To Tips:

The Bubbling Cauldron
Want a real witches’ brew? Mix soap-bubble solution with dry ice, or use liquid nitrogen for bubbles that release fog when they pop. In the following video, PopSci’s contributing mad scientist, Theodore Gray, uses the help of a few young assistants to create cauldrons of toil and trouble.
Here’s how it’s done:
There are many ways to make a bubbling cauldron of witch's brew. As with all magic, some preparation is required for the spell to work properly. The three most practical methods for creating a bubbling cauldron are:

Liquid nitrogen
Dry ice
Mechanical injection of compressed air or, preferably, helium

All magic potions begin with hot water. If you don't have a fire under your cauldron, it's OK to just fill it with hot water from the tap—the hotter the better. To this, add magic-potion ingredients such as chili powder (for its blood-red color), cayenne pepper (for its strong magical smell) and any other spices, herbs, dried leaves, sticks, bones, wolfsbane or eyes of newt you may have lying around. Bulk chili powder, etc., can be purchased at warehouse clubs quite inexpensively.

If you want overflowing bubbles, add several good squirts of dishwashing liquid. For some reason, regular (non-Ultra) Dawn is renowned in the bubble industry as the best for producing suds.

A note on cauldrons: Cast iron is the proper material for cauldrons, but for the potions discussed here, pretty much anything will do. Plastic buckets, cooking pots—anything that will hold at least a few gallons of water is fine. Your cauldron should be about half full (or half empty, depending on how you look at it).

After mixing up the stock (cragged sticks and 6- to 10-year-olds are best for mixing), you’re ready to add the magic.

Liquid nitrogen, available from any welding-supply shop (provided you have a certified transportation Dewar to carry it in), is by far the most dramatic bubble maker. A few quarts of it dumped rapidly into a cauldron of hot, soapy water can create a billowing tower of bubbles several feet high in an instant (stand back). Much fun is had by all, but it doesn't last very long.

Dry ice is much easier to get. Some larger grocery stores and supermarkets actually sell dry ice from chests just like the ones selling regular ice. Call around to find a place that sells it. Ten or 15 pounds should be plenty, and it costs about $1 per pound. Bring it home in a cooler, and use within a day. (Do not try to store dry ice in a freezer. Your freezer is boiling hot compared to the dry ice, which will last longer left alone in a Styrofoam cooler.) Do not lick the dry ice, and handle it with gloves at all times.
Use a hammer to break up the block of dry ice, and add about five pounds at a time to the cauldron. It will bubble gently for quite a while, the bubbles full of spooky smoke. If you have soap in the brew, it will slowly bubble over and spill out in a most satisfying way. If the water gets cold, add hot water.

The last, and most complicated, method of bubbling a cauldron involves injecting compressed air or other gas using a coil of copper pipe with small holes drilled in it. Air from a compressor works great if you want a basically unending stream of bubbles overflowing the cauldron and making a gigantic mess (which is, I should remind you, a good thing if you're six).

But the ne plus ultra of bubbling cauldrons is, without a doubt, the helium-bubble cauldron. The same copper-pipe bubbler can be connected to a regulator attached to a commercial helium cylinder (available at the same welding-supply shops you get liquid nitrogen from, and from party-supply stores, though they will not have the right regulator). Turn the helium on just fast enough for the bubbles to rise about one or two inches per second.
Any child who has not seen this before will be absolutely floored by it, as will many adults. Do note: It does not work very well in high winds, and the more you stir or otherwise mess with the bubbles, the less well they float. It's best to leave them alone or just slice them off when you think they are ready to go free. (Just try to enforce that rule once the kids get involved.) Also note that this is an expensive hobby: A full 240-cubic-foot tank (the largest commonly available size) will last about 15 minutes and cost about $80 to fill.

Other ideas:

$20 Fog Chiller - instructions for building a pipe-based fog chiller.

$30 Mummy - instructions for making a wrapped mummy (PDF format).

Baby Alien Specimen - instructions for making an alien-in-jar prop.

Dummies - basic instructions for creating static dummies.

Easy Eyes - instructions for making realistic eyes from deodorant balls.

Eye-Bead Demons - Instructions for making eyes-in-the-bushes out of tin cans.

Cheap Foam Walls - instructions on how to cut/paint foam blocks to make a faux brick/rock wall

FrankenHand Table - basic instructions for an animated wiggling severed arm on a mad scientist table.

Haunted Books - basic instructions for making a row of books that move in and out of a bookshelf.

Spooky Old Sign - instructions for making a weathered sign.

Witch Kitchen Jars - instructions for making with potion jars and labels.

More Haunting How-To's are here.

I Challenge You.. to join the race!

2007-10-21T21:04:00.000-07:00

That's right.. leave the rat race and join the race to true financial freedom. We have a weekly contest to see who can pick the best stocks in the real stock market. Use our imaginary, virtual money and see if you can make it grow! It's FREE, it's FUN, and it's for CASH!

Join the Weekly Challenge Here

Total Prize Pool: $2,500 weekly. See distribution of prize money in chart above.
How to play: You start with $100,000 in Fantasy Bucks. If you have one of the 10 highest portfolios at the end of the week, you win real cash prizes.
You can register and enter the tournament any time during the week. Sometimes those who start on the last day or two win top cash prizes as easily those who started on the first day.

The first thing you should do when you join BigSmarty WallStreet is set up your personal profile. With your own screen name you can be anonymous as you wish to be. Many players want to be known because it helps them network and make new friends. It’s your choice. Just be sure you upload your picture or any image you wish the community to identify with you. It’s fun. It’s free. And it’s for cash!

Can you convince yourself that you're ready to invest a chunk of your hard-earned money in the stock market? Here's how: Set up a FREE practice portfolio in BigSmarty Wallstreet, our online virtual stock exchange where you'll trade with play money and have a lot of fun in stock trading tournaments.

Want more? - join our Shootout Tournament
Total Prize Pool: $6,125 per tournament. The top winner can accumulate up to $2,450.
How to play: Each player starts the heads-up match with $100,000 Fantasy Bucks each week. The player with the higher portfolio at the end of the week advances to the next round like the brackets of the NCAA.
Any player who fails to trade during the week cannot move forward even if his or her opponent ends the week with a negative portfolio.
Players advance until we have a “Sweet 16” going head to head and then they start winning cash prizes according to the schedule below.

Could it get any easier? Actually, yes. But you'll need to register (for free) and login to learn how!

Conquer Doubt by Vic Johnson (excerpted from Day by Day with James Allen)

2007-10-21T06:15:00.000-07:00

"Thoughts of doubt and fear can never accomplish anything. They always lead to failure." - As A Man Thinketh

There is significant economic evidence that the Great Depression might have been avoided but for the "panic" that swept over the country (and the world) after the 1929 stock market crash. What should have been no more than a deep recession altered our world forever because of the prevailing “thoughts of doubt and fear.”

So great were the thought of fear that President Roosevelt felt compelled to deliver a speech about it. By the way, FDR's speech with his now famous, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself," was suggested to him by Napoleon Hill, author of the classic, Think and Grow Rich.

If the thoughts of many can bring such great tragedy to our world, is it any wonder that our personal thoughts can do so much damage to our "individual world." When we spend inordinate amounts of time fearing some thing or event in the future, many times that which we fear comes upon us. When it does, we wring our hands in despair and wonder why it had to happen to us, when in reality, we are responsible for our troubles.Bob Proctor says that the process begins first with a thought of doubt, which causes an emotion of fear, which manifests itself physically as anxiety. Anxiety robs us of our power, our energy and our purpose. Severe anxiety can even undermine our health. And it's all brought on by a thought of doubt.

I have found three things that help me conquer doubt. First, change your mind about the doubt, and keep it changed. If you have a doubt about whether you're going to have enough money to make it to the end of the month, change your mind about it. Whenever the doubt creeps in, affirm to yourself that "I always find a way to have enough of what I need." I love what Emmet Fox says about this, "If you will change your mind concerning anything and absolutely keep it changed, that thing must and will change too. It is the keeping up of the change in thought that is difficult. It calls for vigilance and determination."The second thing that overcomes fear and doubt is action. "Do the thing you fear and fear will disappear" is more than a nice rhyming aphorism. It's some simple wisdom that always works!

And the third and most important thing to overcoming doubt and fear is Faith. Fear and Faith are directly opposite views of the future and they cannot co-exist. My Faith is in a Creator who has given me dominion over all things. Your Faith may be elsewhere, but know this: Faith and fear cannot be present at the same time.

And that's worth thinking about.

Vic Johnson

(Recently Vic Johnson put on a 3 day event that included Jim Rohn, Bob Proctor, Vic Johnson, Lisa Jimenez, Ron White, Chris Widener, Bob Burg, John Dilemme, Christopher Guerriero and more )

Halloween Photography Tips

2007-10-20T10:12:00.000-07:00

Photographing Lit Pumpkins

The ritual of turning an ordinary pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern is one of the most photogenic parts of Halloween. You can document the whole process and preserve your memories for years by following these tips for taking quality pictures. -Start your series of Halloween photographs right at the pumpkin patch (or grocery store)

--Go for the candid shots, instead of the posed ones.

--When it comes to photographing the actual carving process, make sure you capture the sloppy moments along with the artistic ones!

--Many people take their photos so the lighted design is all that you see, close-up. The best pictures are those in which you can see the design in relation to the actual pumpkin. Besides, seeing some of the orange pumpkin in the photograph adds some depth, as well as color! So, ideally, you will want to try to capture the glow of the light from within the pumpkin, while still being able to see the outside of the pumpkin itself.

--Resist the urge to use a flash! Instead, put even more light than usual inside your pumpkin. If you decide to take a few shots with a flash, try to make sure your flash isn't directed head-on at the pumpkin. Try placing your hand part-way over the flash to lessen the amount of light that actually hits your pumpkin. Just remember this: The less light you use, the steadier you will have to be with the camera to capture the photograph without blur.

--Remember to move in close and practically fill the entire frame with the pumpkin itself. You just barely want to be able to tell the location where the photograph was actually shot.

--For a unique background, try placing your carved pumpkin amidst some leafy vines in your backyard, or huddled within colorful flowers or shrubs. For these shots, you will want to include a bit more of the background than usual, as these items will add color and depth to your photo.

--Take pictures of your lit pumpkin at different times of the day (and night). The ones that turn out the best will most likely be those you take when it's not completely dark outside.

--For a different look, take a few pictures with an outside light (lamp, porch light, etc.) illuminating the outside of the pumpkin, preferably from the SIDE rather than head-on. This will result in a very subtle lighting effect.

--For a really creative "firey" look, place your lit pumpkin in the fireplace and make a small fire from a few sheets of newspaper directly behind it. Again, don't use a flash. The result is a truly Halloweenesce photo of your Jack-o-lantern.

--Capturing your pumpkin from different angles is also a good idea.

--The trick to good Halloween photography is simple: Take LOTS of shots! The more you take, the more you increase your odds of capturing the "money shot"... the ones suitable for framing.

--For the absolute BEST shots, you should mount your camera on a tripod and use a zoom lens. This will change the focal distance, blurring the background while keeping the pumpkin itself sharp.

How to Get the Best Photos of Kids in Halloween Costumes

Some pre-photo reminders: If you're using a film camera, make sure you have ISO 400 or 800 loaded. And, if you're using a digital camera, then remember to insert a fresh set of batteries (or charge up your battery the night before)!

-When you take a picture of your favorite trick-or-treater in costume, have someone shine a flashlight from off to one side of the child or from below. This will produce a unique lighting effect for your pictures.

-The biggest mistake people make is to shoot from too far back. You don't always have to shoot from head-to-toe (especially since shoes are often the weakest part of a costume). Instead, get in close and fill the frame. ...and, take some shots where you fill the frame with just the child's head and shoulders.

-Usually, you'll want to avoid red-eye in your Halloween photographs of people, but if you're shooting a vampire or some other spooky character, the red-eye will add a great effect!

-Don't always shoot from adult-level looking down on the little ones. Take some shots from a child's-eye-level too. You'll have to bend down low in order to capture the child's perspective. Or for a really cool perspective, lie down somewhere near the child and take the shot.

-Make sure to take a photo of your favorite creature with and without the mask. You'll appreciate it later.

-Use an interesting background instead of a bare wall as a backdrop for your photos. Trees, big bushes, and vines make for a spooky setting.

-Capture kids in costume from lots of different angles. ...including from down low, up high, and some from kids-eye level.

-Take pictures of costumed kids both before and after they've gone trick-or-treating. One will show their costume and makeup neat and intact and their energy level high, filled with anticipation about going door-to-door. The other will reveal their true personality and how they looked when they returned home at the end of the evening; most likely exhausted, grumpy and ready to call it a night!

Friday's Fabulous Finds

2007-10-19T19:20:00.000-07:00

Sorry that I'm posting this so late in the day.. but better late than never right?

It's time for another issue of Fridays Finds. The one day each week when I share with you some of the many unique places I find on the web. The sites listed could vary in content from funny to educational, or bizarre to just plain enjoyable. Some might be commercial sites selling unusual items and others might be freely sharing whatever information they have. I'll include a description with the link to give you an idea of what to expect if I have the time. Otherwise you'll be on your own. But, in most cases you should be able to figure out what to expect by the name of the site although some may surprise you. So climb aboard, fasten your seatbelts, keep your arms and legs inside the car at all times but please have fun!

1. http://wordie.org/

2. Ping-o-Matic

3. Celeb Mug Shots & More...

4. iSkip.com

5. Lego Church

6. Squirrel Obstacle Course - [video]

7. Solving Two Rubik's Cubes at the Same Time - [video]

8. Bored with blogging? - [cartoon]

Thursdays Thinkers

2007-10-18T04:45:00.001-07:00

1. If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?

2. What was your favorite TV show as a child? Which TV show is the first you remember watching?

3. What happens if you get scared half to death, ...twice?

4. If you could have had the starring role in one movie already made, which movie would you pick?

.

eBay Tips and Tricks

2007-10-16T07:44:00.000-07:00

Here's some ideas to help you determine what to sell:

1. Sell what you know first. If you're into fashion, sell that; if you're into golf, sell golf equipment, and so on.
2. Be observant. Watch for opportunities to obtain items (in quantity if possible) at a low price for resale. Often, they're right under your nose, such as merchandise your local retailer would liquidate. Make an offer to clear out the re-tailer's old or damaged stock.
3. Don't start out with just one product or product line. An effective way to build a customer base on eBay is to offer at least two separate types of items, between which you can cross promote and drive customers from one to the other.
4. Spend time on ebay browsing outside your normal categories. Find out what's hot at www.ebay.com/sellercentral.
5. Become a trading assistant and sell other people's items for a commission. As a Trading Assistant, you won't have the expense of building inventory, and you can build your business on eBay very quickly without having to spend a lot of capital.
6. Take some calculated risks. Being too careful can cost you. Do a little research on eBay, and trust your gut when you find potentially salable items.
7. If you're not familiar with the product you're trying to sell, educate yourself before you write the description. If you describe the item incorrectly, buyers may be leery of bidding. Even worse, buyers could decide not to bid on any of your future items if they're under the impression that you don't know what you're selling. The more correct information you have and use, the more credible you'll become in the buyers' eyes.

Integrity

2007-10-14T05:03:00.000-07:00

"Always do right! This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. -- Mark Twain

Friday's Fabulous Finds

2007-10-12T05:20:00.000-07:00

1. For Home Schoolers

2. UrbanDictionary.com

3. Casual Disobedience

4. DontDateHimGirl.com -I'm glad they didn't have this when I was single and dating!

5. Very Strange Pigs

6. Scarecrows of the world

7. What happened to the most popular websites of 2001?

Strange eBay Feedback

2007-10-10T07:55:00.000-07:00

You all know that I once worked for eBay and I still earn a substantual part of my income by selling on eBay. Here's another eBay user with feedback that you'll enjoy. Have fun reading it!

Strange eBay FEEDBACK

Friday's Finds

2007-10-05T04:57:00.000-07:00

So climb aboard, fasten your seatbelts, keep your arms and legs inside the car at all times but please have fun!

1. http://www.carschooling.com/

2. Comical-captions

3. Fun things to do

4. Optical illustions in architecture

5. Space, the final frontier

10 Suggestions for Better eBay Descriptions

2007-10-02T04:27:00.000-07:00

Ok, you posted an eBay ad and now you’ve got a potential buyer that has clicked on your item title, the next thing you want him or her to do is bid or buy the item you are offering! Your aim is to make the product so appealing that buyers can’t help but bid on it immediately.

Remember this VERY IMPORTANT rule to create a good listing:1. Describe your item as if there is no picture of the item for buyers to see. 2. Take pictures of your item as if there is no description for the buyers to read.

Without wasting more time, lets explore what to include in your item descriptions as you sell on eBay:

1. Details. Be as specific as possible in your item description. Would you buy something if you are not at least 90% sure what the item is about? List any special features that comes with the item besides the basic details like size, condition, colors, make and model. Kill buyers’ doubts on the item and speed up sales by reducing the times they need to communicate with you asking questions. ...Be descriptive, but don't overdo it. Don't make your buyer spend more than 1-2 minutes reading your description.
2. List Any Imperfections. If there are any scratches, dents or just any flaws, remember to list them out too. Please do not think you can hide even the smallest stain on that Fila tank top you are selling. When your buyer found out, he may either leave you a negative, call you as a dishonest seller or worst, file a dispute to Paypal saying that item received is not as described. Even if the buyer kept quiet about it, think how this incident could affect your reputation as an eBay seller.
3. State The Benefits. State one or more features of the item and then combine it with one or more benefits. Your item may be the cheapest or the best on eBay, but until the buyers can relate how they can benefit from it, it is as good as the other 21,000,000 items on eBay which ended unsold. You need to appeal to the customers emotionally. A compelling item description on eBay sells 80% more.
4. Offer Warranties. Set yourself apart and let buyers see you as a professional seller. Make your items more valuable by offering warranties or guarantees. Having guarantees on the item makes buyers feel safer to purchase from you. Don’t you feel like that too as a buyer, even at the local superstore?
5. Offer A Return And Refund Policy. Offer an easy method for shoppers to return the items if they are not happy with it. It might sound silly. You might be thinking “What if 10 buyers bought my item and were not happy with it?” In that case, I’d suggest you thoroughly look at your item again. If that item is in such poor quality, consider not selling it. You must be confidence with what you sell. And over the course of selling on eBay, I have zero buyers asking me for a refund because they are not happy with it. Include your Refund Policy in your description.
6. Neatness counts. Although you need to provide as much information as possible regarding your Prada Wallet, keep in mind to keep everything spaced out evenly. Clutter makes it difficult for your eBay buyers to search for information. Put up proper headings like ‘Descriptions’, ‘Shipping’, ‘Payment’ and ‘Returns Policy’ for that specific piece of information. Avoid unneeded items like animated Gifs or colorful backgrounds. You need to keep the buyers eyes on the ‘Bid Now’ button! Use short paragraphs. People have short attention spans.
7. Call For Action. Always include a call for action like “Bid Now”, “Buy It Now”, “Sign Up Now” or “Click to Visit My Store” at the end of your description. Although this sounds simple, most people are not going to do something on their own until you ask them to. Create the urgency! A call for action is such a simple way and usually ignored by most eBay sellers.
8. Use Testimonials. People are greedy by nature and like to get what other people are getting. Some customers send you a message telling how happy they are with the items. Include those messages in your item description. Optionally, you may also add a portion of your positive feedbacks in your description.
9. Linking. Include links to your Store, Auction Listings, Feedbacks and other pages you have on eBay. Make it easy for your buyers to navigate around and let them stay on your auctions a little longer. A link to your store is like an invitation to browse your other items.. many buyer will click on it out of curiousity. One sale might become two. Remember, not to have link outside of eBay though. It is forbidden by eBay!
10. Keep A Positive Tone. Last but not least, sound optimistic in your tone of writing and avoid sentences that threaten buyers. Consider this statement in your eBay item description “Do not bid this item if you are not interested. Non-paying bidder will be reported to eBay and negative feedback will be left.” I know there are all sorts of eBay buyers. But would you think it is a good idea to give an impression that you are just a grumpy old man? Keep a positive and happy tone throughout your description.

Lily

2007-10-01T04:24:00.000-07:00

This past summer we've been swapping out our pasture to some friends and neighbors. They bring their horses over to eat our grass down and we get shorter grass (and less hiding places for snakes). It's been a good deal for our neighbors and we've grown to love the horses.

As city kids we don't know much about the equine world but we want to learn. We have been talking about getting a couple horses of our own. So yesterday after church we drove down the other side of Beaumont to look at a couple horses.

That was when we met Lily. Lily is a little yearling filly that should have it all when she grows up sorrel in color with flaxen mane and tail. Lots of chrome trim. She has good breeding: Sire is 95% foundation Poco Last Command dam goes to Leo Goldseeker/Gold Seeker Bars. She'll make a great project horse for us. She is beautiful and bred right.

We talked about her on the way home and called the owners back to let them know we want her. I'll post some photos when I can. You're all going to love this little lady they call Lily.

Influence

2007-09-30T05:31:00.000-07:00

"I have learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but they will never forget how ‘You´ made them Feel" -- Maya Angelou

Most Intense Commercial Ever

2007-09-29T06:32:00.000-07:00

It’s an ad for insurance in Thailand, but that’s not important. This made me cry. Push play or go to YouTube.

And as long as I'm putting up tear jerk video's I might as well post this one too.. IF you haven't seen it yet, be sure you have a box of tissues handy. It's a beautiful but sad story of love and sacrifice told through a Japanese music video.

Fridays Finds

2007-09-28T05:36:00.000-07:00

It's time for another issue of Fridays Finds. The one day each week when I share with you some of the many unique places I find on the web. The sites listed could vary in content from funny to educational, or bizarre to just plain enjoyable. Some might be commercial sites selling unusual items and others might be freely sharing whatever information they have. I'll include a description with the link to give you an idea of what to expect if I have the time. Otherwise you'll be on your own. But, in most cases you should be able to figure out what to expect by the name of the site; although some may surprise you. So climb aboard, fasten your seatbelts, keep your arms and legs inside the car at all times - but please have fun!

1. http://www.librarything.com/

2. Collect Things?

3. Girls Gadget Guide

4. eMail Our Military

5. Cardboard people

Do you have or know of a unique and interesting site that you would like me to add to an upcoming Fridays Finds? email me and let me know.

Thursdays Thinkers

2007-09-27T05:35:00.001-07:00

2. Does killing time damage eternity?

3. If you were able to own or have one thing that a friend, colleague, or neighbor has, what would it be?

4. If you could modify one thing about your current car (and no, junking it and starting over would not be an option), how would you make it be different?

Now it's up to you.. go to the comments section and leave your answer for one, or two, or all of todays questions. Then check back later to read what others have said. Have a great Thursday!

The pleasure of being on top!

2007-09-26T07:11:00.000-07:00

This is the way my investment tournament win was reported on BigSmarty.com:

EZ Money Wins First-Ever Shootout Tournament

After 5 exciting weeks of trading EZ Money pulled off an EZ victory against Top Leader who went down in a final flurry of trading today. EZ's portfolio ended in a modest 6% gain for the week compared with other porfolios he has shown in earlier weeks. EZ made steady gains throughout the final week ending at $106,493. Top Leader ended the tournament at $100,806 (down $222 for the day).

Each of EZ's 5 matches were strkingly different. The first week EZ ended with a portfolio of $102,701, which was less than $1k over donnyboy. In the 2nd week EZ finished at $104,756, a $6k difference with jujubee's ending portfolio of $98,663. Gidget was EZ's 3rd heads-up match, and finished the week at $89,833 against EZ's $115,820, a 26k difference.

The fourth week was an exciting contest with two apparently equally-matched players. They even traded some of the same stocks. OvertheRainbow$$$ shot ahead in the first day to $163k against EZ's $157k. Rainbow was ahead by over $6k on Tuesday, but lost her edge by a mere thousand dollars on Wednesday and never recovered her lead. By Friday EZ was at $181, and Rainbow was at $162, lower than any portfolio since Monday.

Week 5 started with Top Leader just under EZ. Both were in the red at the end of the first day. They seemed to swap trading days throughout the week, but both ended with some serious last-minute trading. Top Leader could never quite catch up.

The next Shootout starts the second week in October with impressive cash prizes.
----------------

I'm inviting everyone to come join us for the next round of tournaments. Why would you want to? Well, one great reason is because they pay cash prizes. $1,000 for first place in most of the tournaments. And at least up to $50 for placing in the top ten of a weekly contest. Another reason is because they are great fun. It's like combining Fantasy Football with investing. One more reason is you can learn a lot about how to manage your investments without any expense.. the tournaments are FREE and you don't use any real money (you just get real money back when you win)

Join us, please.

eBay Tips and Tricks

2007-09-25T05:51:00.000-07:00

One of the most effective and least used tools to generate traffic to your eBay listings is the About Me page. I can't stress this enough.. If you're on eBay, you need an About Me page.

I can hear you all asking "why?" eBay is a community and all eBay users are members of that community. Checking out the About Me page of people you conduct business with gives you an opportunity to get to know them. Because eBay is cyberspace market, you have no other way to get to let prospective bidders know that you're a real person.

Think about it.. you shop at some stores because you like the people who work there. An About Me page takes the first step towards establishing a professional and trusted identity on eBay. So, if you don't have an About Me page I want you to go create one as soon as you finish reading this post. It doesn't have to be a work of art; just get something up there to tell people who you are. You can always go back later to edit or redesign it.

When you plan your About Me page consider adding the following:
-Who you are and what part of the world you live in. (it's not necessary to give your home address or phone numbers)
-Your hobbies. If you collect things, this is the place to let the world know.
-Tell whether you run your eBay business full-time or part-time and if you have another career, share that information too.
-The type of merchandise you sell (or buy) should be mentioned. Promote youself here. Tell the reader why your products and service are highly valued.
-Include your most recent feedback and a list of your current auctions.
-If you have an off-eBay business with a website, your About Me page is the only place where eBay will allow you to include a link to your website. Be sure to take advantage of that and include a link.

To create your About Me page, click on the Me icon next to any user's name, scroll to the bottom of their About Me page and find the line that reads "To Ccreate your own About Me page click here." or type in the following: http://members.ebay.com/aw-cgi/ebayISAPI.dll?AboutMeLogin then follow the simple preformatted template for your first page and work from there.

Good luck!

Believe...

2007-09-23T05:13:00.000-07:00

"Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.

And again, believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart that he would forgive you; and now, if you believe all these things see that ye do them." ---Mosiah 4:9-10

Top Dog

2007-09-22T12:23:00.000-07:00

Well I did it! After 5 weeks of difficult trading I walked away the winner of the first ever BigSmarty Wallstreet Head to Head Shootout Tournament.

I struggled this week but managed to keep a modest lead on my competitor until Friday when I was able to widen my lead. I finished with a $6,466 gain. My competitor finished with a $2,817 gain.

The amazing thing is that even though he lost to me, his gain was almost 3% for the week. Why do most people settle for a 2 to 5% gain a year when it's possible to make that in a week? If I averaged 2.8% each week I could grow my money 140% each year (and yes that includes taking a couple weeks off).

Does doubling your money every year sound good to you? Let me show you how.

Fridays Finds

2007-09-21T04:20:00.001-07:00

It's time for another issue of Fridays Finds. The one day each week when I share with you some of the many unique places I find on the web. The sites listed could vary in content from funny to educational, or bizarre to just plain enjoyable. Some might be commercial sites selling unusual items and others might be freely sharing whatever information they have. I'll include a description with the link to give you an idea of what to expect if I have the time. Otherwise you'll be on your own. But, in most cases you should be able to figure out what to expect by the name of the site although some may surprise you.
So climb aboard, fasten your seatbelts, keep your arms and legs inside the car at all times but please have fun!

1. eBay sniping tool

2. 3D textmaker

3. Online Jigsaw Puzzles

4. Americans for Mitt

5. Blogger Play

BigSmarty.com Launches Web's First Stock Trading Social Network

2007-09-20T12:52:00.000-07:00

GREAT NEWS!!!!!

Earlier this month BigSmarty.com officially launched their new stock trading tournament site, where participants can create customizable portfolios, find friends with similar interests, and win cash and prizes playing FREE in the ultimate fantasy stock market community.

Available now on the site are cash tournaments, including BigSmarty Challenges - Join monthly and weekly tournaments where you start with $100,000 of virtual cash in your tournament portfolio. Buy and sell stocks in real-time. The top 3 largest portfolios at the end of the tournament win REAL CASH! Place in the top 10 and win player points to compete in even higher cash prize tournaments. Additional new games are also available at BigSmarty.com, such as Wallstreet BINGO, where players find 25 stock symbols they think will go up. You can create your own BINGO card and watch it grow, winning you Cash and Player Points whenever you score a BINGO.

BigSmarty offers more than stock trading tournaments and games. With our Community features, you can create a profile about yourself and meet people online. You can maintain a buddy list, chat live, or email through BigSmarty's internal mail. Upload a photo of yourself for other members to see. People can click on your image and add you to their buddy list or send you messages.

Practice Portfolio: Want to convince yourself that you're ready to invest a chunk of your hard-earned money in the stock market? Here's how. Set up a practice portfolio in BigSmarty Wallstreet, our online virtual stock exchange, where you'll trade real-time with virtual cash and have a lot of fun in stock trading tournaments.

Join and play for FREE. Big Smarty.com is Your ultimate, free stock-trading community - it's Fun, Free, and For cash.

Thursday Thinkers

2007-09-20T04:30:00.000-07:00

1. If you could organize a family reunion with all of your dead relatives, where would you hold it and who would be there?

2. Name the grossest thing you have ever put in your mouth.

3. What do you think is the most soothing sound?

4. If your life was a sitcom, what would the title be?

Now it's up to you.. go to the commentssection and leave your answer for one, or two, or all of todays questions. Then check back later to read what others have said. Have a great Thursday!

The Littlest Angel

2007-09-19T04:33:00.001-07:00

The Littlest Angel

Kenadie Jourdin-Bromley was born on Feb.13, 2003 and weighed just 2 lbs, 8 ounces. Young Kenadie was not expected to survive long but years later she is still with us.

At the age of 8 months, Kenadie was diagnosed with primordial dwarfism, a genetic condition that is believed to affect only about 100 people in the world.

She isn’t expected to grow past about 30 inches or weigh more than 8 pounds. Her family maintains an enchanting website filled with photos and Kenadie updates. The site can be viewed here.

The photo above is of Kenadie and photographer Gary Parker.

It is believed that Caroline Crachami, the Sicilian Fairy, was the first documented primordial dwarf. She toured Europe in 1824 and passed away that same year.

10 tips for buying and selling success on eBay

2007-09-18T09:56:00.000-07:00

1. Build A Positive Feedback Rating
Having a good feedback rating makes other eBayers comfortable doing business with you. I won't buy from someone that has less than 98.5% positive feedback. Keep your feedback rating high and you'll continue to have lots of customers.
2. Be generous with your feedback
Post feedback quickly and leave specific comments. Leaving a comment that says: "great seller," is nice –but it is more helpful to say, "Item arrived quickly in perfect condition, just as described." Or: "Quick Professional transaction –good email and just what I ordered." If the seller sells something specific you can mention it such as: "Beautiful Print –I will enjoy for many years."
This type of feedback is very helpful to future buyers and it tends to get you better feedback comments in return.
3. Create an About Me page on eBay
eBay allows you to create a page to describe you and your family or even include your pets, hobbies, interests – basically anything you like. If you have a web site, this is the only place on eBay where you are allowed to place a link directing buyers to your web site. USE IT! The About Me page is searchable on outside search engines like google and yahoo. This can help generate traffic to your listings so be sure to mention the types of things you sell.
4. Understand the rule of odd cents
Most people bid in even numbers. If the bid increment is 50 cents, make your bid .52 or .53. This way you will just outbid someone by a few cents instead of a large increment. This is very important when sniping (see next item)
5. Learn to snipe
eBay’s proxy bidding system allows you to set your highest bid and then forget about it. eBay's system will keep bidding the minimum increment up to your maximum. This is fine if you know exactly how much you want to pay for something. If you are not sure how much you want to bid or if you know an item will be hot, then learn how to snipe at the last minute. Here is how to snipe:
Open one window with the auction description. Open a second window and place the highest amount you will pay for the item and hit "Review Bid." Now enter your username and password –but don’t hit "Place Bid" yet. Wait until 15 or 20 seconds before the auction ends. (Refresh your first window to see the time left). At the right moment, hit "Place Bid." With luck your bid will arrive at the perfect time to beat out your competition.
6. Search Completed items
To find out what a product is worth, it doesn’t do any good to find prices for on-going auctions as this could change minute by minute. Searching Completed Items (from the eBay search box) is the best way to determine an item’s worth or value.
7. Become an expert in your field
Become an authority on what you do in your online auction business. If you sell printer ink cartridges, you want to be thought of before anyone else.
When you become an authority in your field, a whole new universe of business and opportunity is opened up to you. I buy certain types of things on eBay from the same sellers over and over. I wouldn't dare do business with anyone else, not when they have proven themselves and their product.
You want to earn that same type of position in the minds of eBayer’s for your niche. Also continue your auction education. Read books and training manuals, visit the chat and message boards, attend an eBay University when it comes to your town, go to eBay Live, and keep learning all the time.
8. Master the art of writing an effective auction headline and item description.
Your headline is your advertising and your item description is your salesperson. On the web, how your potential buyer perceives you and your product is everything.
Be sure to use descriptive words in your auction title (headline). Common words like Rare, Unique, Powerful, New, Unusual, Stunning, Top Notch, First Class, etc. are not as effective as more precise brand names, model numbers, sizes, etc. Use common words (like those above) only when you have enough space for them in addition to the precise description terms. Just be sure not to exaggerate. Don’t call something ‘rare" if it is not.
Copy writing is the art of showing you and what you sell to your buyer in the best possible light. It’s the most important thing you have going for you. If your item is used and has a crack in it.. be honest and say so.. but minimize the negative aspects of it.
9. Learn simple HTML commands to spice up your auctions
Don’t be afraid of HTML. Anyone can do it. You can make your text bold, increase or reduce the size, add color backgrounds, etc. by typing a simple html code within your listing. Go to: http://echoecho.com/ or http://www.davesite.com/ for simple and free online tutorials on how to do HTML.
10.Take the time to take good photos
Here are some simple tips to take good digital photos:
Clean up the area around the subject or use a backdrop
Always use a tripod to make your photos sharp
Avoid clutter in the photo
Shoot outdoors on a cloudy day or in open shade. Don’t shoot in direct sunlight, as the contrast is too high
Indirect window light is also excellent. I often shoot objects ona table next to a window with a white or gray sheet for a backdrop
Get reasonably close to the object
Show a close-up of any repairs or defects
If relevant, show the product being used.
If size is an issue, show some thing such as a coin or a ruler toto indicate dimensions.

Bonus 11. Use multiple photos. The more photos you have the better. Buyers want to see your items before they bid so take photos that show it from multiple angles. Upload your photos to a free hosting site like photobucket or flickr and use html to pull the photo into your listing. eBay can host them for you also.. but they charge a fee.

Good luck!

Just for fun: Someone Tries to Sell Belgium on eBay

Thought for the day

2007-09-16T05:24:00.000-07:00

My body is a temple, my mind is the Holy of Holies. - Unknown

Our minds are all we've got. They are the source of who we, both personally and professionally, are. They determine our success or failure. They are our strength and our weakness. - Mark Victor Hansen

---------------------

You Belong in Fall

Intelligent, introspective, and quite expressive at times...
You appreciate the changes in color, climate, and mood that fall brings
Whether you're carving wacky pumpkins or taking long drives, autumn is a favorite time of year for you

What Season Are You?

Catching up..

2007-09-15T07:35:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy week. I was so involved in the investment tournament that I missed making a couple blog posts. So today we'll get caught up with what was missed.

Normally on Fridays I do a feature called "Friday's Finds" where I share some fun and unique websites that I have happened across on the web. I've missed it a couple time so in the spirit of sharing.. here's a short Saturday episode of Friday's Finds:

1. Create a Simpsons-style avator.

2. Virtual Etch-a-Sketch.

3. Calvin and Hobbs Forever!

To update you on the results of my investment shoot-out, my wife made 10 transactions on friday but couldn’t reach the pot of gold in her battle with me. She ended the tournament with $162,186. I was able to grow my portfolio by nearly $7k on friday for a grand total of $181,101.

We both started with $100,000 last monday. By winning this week, I move into the Championship round with the CEO of Big Smarty Wallstreet. Wish me luck.. I can use all the help I can get. Of course I have the anaylitical power of "The Mentor Center" which helps to identify stocks with great buy signals. So I am sure I will do great. But win or lose, it's an honor to have made it this far.

Please stop by and join us in an upcoming weekly tournament. We are mostly non-professionals with an interesting in helping each other make better investments. We have weekly, daily, monthly tournaments and we play other games like Wallstreet BINGO and Lucky 7. All the games and tournaments are FREE so don't be afraid to register and keep an eye on us! Use the BigSmarty links on this page to find us.

Hurricane Humberto

2007-09-13T07:29:00.000-07:00

Our family and friends thought we were crazy two years ago when we announced that we would be relocating from snowy Utah to hot, humid, hurricane stricken Southeast Texas. We bought our beautiful little 10 acre ranch only a couple months after Hurricane Rita had ripped through the area. The home we bought needed to replace the roof and make other "Rita damaged" repaired before we could proceed with the purchase.

So with that in our recent memories you'd think we would keep up to date on the storms blowing our way. But noooo, not us.

Late yesterday afternoon a friend stopped by to check on the horses he pastures here. He informed me that a storm was on Houston's doorstep and would hit us during the night. I immediated checked the computer and sure enough there it was. Satellite photos were showing the storm moving right up the highway to our little paradise.

I quickly tied down a few things and opened an irrigation trench that goes around one side of our house to prevent it from flooding. Then we had dinner and watched a dvd. The air outside was calm but dark. The storm hadn't hit when we went to bed about 10:30 and I figured it had stalled somewhere.

When I woke up this morning the air was still calm but the clouds had started clearing. Not a drop of rain nor a gush of wind had passed through during the night. The storm hit about 50 miles south of us in the Beaumont area and pushed eastward into Louisianna. Power was lost in Beaumont. Read the news here.

We have a lot of friends who live there. We are part of the Beaumont Stake. So we will be seeing if anyone needs our help with clean up etc. But for our family and friends... we are well, we are safe. Our first experience with a hurricane was not much of an experience at all.

Civil War Update

2007-09-12T10:11:00.000-07:00

As all of you know, my wife and I have been placed into the same bracket on a head to head investment tournament this week. It's really an honor to have reached this point. The tournament is down to only 4 players and our household comprises 50% of that! Amazing!

I took an early lead on Monday when I put all of my money into one stock that I felt would skyrocket. It did, and my portfolio grew by over $70,000. My wife is a very good investor herself and had picked the same stock. She played it a little safer and made about $69,000.

Then I got careless. Because I am going head to head with my wife, I tried to second guess her strategy. She usually takes more risks than me and I assumed she would continue to press me. Although I usually will take a profit and wait for the next big one, I jumped into some other investments and they lost me about $10,000. My wife, on the other hand was the cautious one and she took the lead as my stocks fell.

Tuesday I made some headway but I couldn't catch her. She had a $7,000 lead on me coming into Wednesday. This is where I had a little luck with some smaller investments that I worked over and over. Buying and selling all morning today until by 12:00 noon I was again in the lead. As of this moment my portfolio is at: $174,679.28 and hers is at: $171,077.62

Join us for some investment fun. We're all amatures and the tournaments are FREE!

I've learned a lot about investing in the stock market just by playing in these free tournaments. You'll have fun and learn more than you can imagine. Write me for more info.

Can't we all just get along?

2007-09-10T03:52:00.000-07:00

Yahoo reporter Caroline Levchuck recently published her list of "Ten Ways to Lose Friends and Alienate Coworkers". It was humorous but honest and I wanted to post the list here. To read the full acticle click here.

Surefire ways to test the boundaries of your on-the-job friendships:
1. Eat stinky snacks.
2. Make endless meeting requests.
3. "Reply to All" all the time.
4. Pump up the volume. (computer/radio)
5. Be the office boozehound.
6. Take super-long lunches.
7. "Borrow" magazines or newspapers.
8. Use your manager as a referee.
9. Avoid attending company gatherings.
10. Always have the last word.

The thing that is most humorous is how obviously self centered many of these things are. Doesn't it make sense that to get along with others we need to consider their feelings and needs? In a business setting don't we realize that we need to be team players? What's wrong with us these days that we don't recognize such simple truths? Will future generations need a Yahoo article to learn how to deal with simple daily routines? It's something to think about. And laugh about.

Choices

2007-09-09T05:06:00.000-07:00

Dwight D. Eisenhower said that "The history of free men is never written by chance but by choice, their choice." When your today becomes your yesterday, you will look back and realize that that day was a result of your choices and your choices only.

Civil Wars - It had to come to this

2007-09-08T17:02:00.000-07:00

My wife and I have been participating in a wall street investment "shoot out" tournament for the past few weeks. We knew that if we continued winning in our respective brackets that we could end up going head to head against each other. Well, it happened. This next week will see us battling each other to see who can grow a $100,000 investment portfolio the largest in one week.

We usually help one another to find the best stocks for our different portfolios. Next week we will be doing our investigative work in secret. It should be interesting. Actually, I think my wife will win by a landslide. She takes greater risks but often sees the greater returns because of it. I am more conservative but able to make steady gains. I'm excited to go head to head with her.

I expect that we will both do well. Come watch our portfolios grow. Better yet, join us in a weekly tournament to test your investment strategies. The tournaments are FREE. We'll set you up with $100,000 virtual dollars that you can invest in the real stock market. Join our community and learn to make money on Wall Street.

Click here for a free membership to BigSmarty Wallstreet.

Look for the Shoot Out Tournament. My ID is EZ Money.

Friday's Finds

2007-09-07T08:43:00.000-07:00

So climb aboard, fasten your seatbelts, keep your arms and legs inside the car at all times but please have fun!

1. Animal webcams

2. eBay Auction Sniper

3. Letterpop

4. Worried About Alien Abduction?

5. Create an adventure here.

Thursday's Thinkers

2007-09-06T04:30:00.009-07:00

I'm going to make this a regular feature. Every Thursday I'll post at least one, but probably more, questions to get you thinking. Leave your thoughts or comment on others responses. Let's have a dialog! Here's todays questions:

1. You see an elderly woman shoplift bacon at the grocery store. Do you report her to the grocer?

2. What is the "Good Life"?

3. If there anything you care enough about to give your life for it? How would the giving of your life affect the other things you care about?

4. How committed are you to obeying the speed limit?

Office Humor

2007-09-05T06:08:00.000-07:00

Just some office humor for Wednesday. I hope you enjoy but mostly I hope your day isn't like this:

Off Track

2007-09-04T06:21:00.000-07:00

My life and hence my schedule has gotten off track the past week and a half. I woke up this morning thinking it was Monday and only just realized it's Tuesday. I typically feature an eBay Tips and Tricks column on Tuesdays and I am totally unprepared for it today. So here is some general advice for you eBayers out there.

1. Set up an eBay Store. You'll never achieve the success you want without one. The cost is minimal and even if you don't list store items it will display all of your auction and Buy It Now listings together. This is great for buyers who want to browse.

2. Learn some HTML. It doesn't take a lot of knowledge about HTML to be able to dress up your listings and give them a more professional look. eBay buyers like to shop in the stores and listings that are pleasing to the eye. Make yours pleasing. This is one of my favorite sites to learn some basic html code.

3. I recommend using whatever FREE tools eBay offers. Selling Manager has some wonderful time-saving features and it's free with a Store subscription. Use it! Use the marketing tools that are available on your Manage My Store page. The listing header, Promotion Boxes, Cross Promotion Displays, etc. They will all help to generate traffic to your store and listings!

Good Luck!

Thought for the Day

2007-09-02T12:41:00.000-07:00

"A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done." -Vince Lombardi

Thursdays Thinkers

2007-08-30T08:12:00.000-07:00

I've been busy with projects for a few days and unable to find the time to post regularly. Please accept my apology. Even though I have been busy, I've still had time to think and I've done a lot of that. While thinking may be difficult for most of you, I thought it would be fun to post some questions for you.

Give these some thought and post your answers to any or all of them.

1. Is there anything you care about enough to give your life for it?

2. If you could enter a racehorse in the Kentucky Derby, what would you name your horse?

3. Using only one word, describe yourself as a child.

4. What is the most humiliating moment you have had involving a member of the opposite sex?

Life Objectives

2007-08-26T07:29:00.000-07:00

"Our ultimate life objective should be to create as much as our talent and ability and desire will permit. To settle for doing less than we could do is to fail in this worthiest of undertakings." - Jim Rohn

August's Outdoor Barbeques

2007-08-25T06:32:00.000-07:00

We are nearing the end of August and children are preparing to go back to school, the temperatures will be dropping soon (we hope), and vacation time is coming to an end. But there is still a lot of time left for outdoor barbecuing.

I've been known to step out on the back deck in a freezing snowstorm to light up the grill and barbecue dinner so there's really never a time that you can't enjoy the wonderful flavor of a meal cooked on the grill. Here's some tips before you get started:

1. Scrub the grill (or rebuild it, if you have to).
2. Scour the ice chest.
3. Provide comfortable seating:
Re-strap patio chairs with vinyl webbing
Pressure-wash plastic outdoor furnishings
Fix wobbly benches
4. Provide shade or improve the shade you've got:
Buy a sun umbrella
Clean the vinyl sun umbrella that you already own with an automotive convertible vinyl-top cleaner
Repair the crank mechanism
5. Keep the bugs at bay:
Buy bug spray repellent and repellent wipes
Buy food tents to keep the bugs off the food
6. Keep the garden hose and a spray nozzle handy for anything from hand washing to plate rinsing.
7. Hit the deck: Remove and replace loose planks or rusty, protruding fasteners.

Also see: 180+ recipes for the grill from MSN

What are YOUR favorite grill recipes? Share them in the comments!

Friday's Fantastic Finds

2007-08-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

It's time for another issue of Fridays Finds. The one day each week when I share with you some of the many unique places I find on the web. The sites listed could vary in content from funny to educational, or bizzare to just plain enjoyable. Some might be commercial sites selling unusual items and others might be freely sharing whatever they have.If I have the time I will include a description with the link to give you an idea of what to expect. In most cases you should be able to figure out what to expect by the name of the site although some may surprise you. So, fasten your seatbelts, keep your arms and legs inside the car at all times but please have fun!

1. Complete Calvin & Hobbes, by year

2. Newsflash: Time May not Exist

3. 101 Frightening Ice Cream Flavors

4. Unique World Banknotes

5. History of Spacesuits

6. 90 Best music-related sites

7. Waiters who are nauseated by food - a funny video

8. The Ultimate List of Hoaxes - wiki

9. 10 Dangerous First Aid Myths - health

10. Watch your car in a crash test (choose your model)

11. The ultimate wallstreet tournaments - play for free

House Fire

2007-08-23T07:52:00.000-07:00

A close neighbor had their home burn down on early Tuesday morning. They were in bed around 1:00 a.m. when they smelt smoke and realized the house had caught fire. They managed to get themselves and their pets out but the home was a total loss.

Three volunteer fire fighting units responded to the fire which incidentally belonged to the Deputy Fire Chief of our little towns volunteer fire department. Which only shows that tradegy can strike anyone at anytime.

Our hearts go out to this young couple. We have them in our prayers. Although their lives were spared they loss everything. All their photos, heirlooms, keepsakes and belonging were lost. Luckily they have insurance and their home can be rebuilt or replaced. But the personal effects that are lost cannot.

Please take the time to do an assessment of your home. Are you prepared for a tradegy like this? Here's a few tips to prevent fires in your home and keep your family safe.

Make a fire escape plan for your family. Find two exits out of every room. Pick a meeting place outside. Practice makes perfect – hold a family fire drill at least twice each year.

Install smoke alarms on every level of your home. Put them inside or near every bedroom. Test them monthly to make sure they work. Put in new batteries once a year.

Know how to put out a small pan fire by sliding a lid over the flames.

Teach every family member to “Stop, Drop and Roll” if clothes catch fire.

Consider having a home fire sprinkler system installed in your new home, or when you remodel.

Learn how and when to use a fire extinguisher.
If you have a fire in your home, once you get out, stay out.
Do not go back inside for any reason.

Some good Links:

Home Safety Council Resource Center,

Home Safety

Home Electrical Safety Tips

A good way to skip work

2007-08-22T11:51:00.000-07:00

Wednesday is known as hump day because it's the middle of the week and we're over the hump. So in honor of this special day I present a unique way to skip out of work early. Enjoy!

Jim Cramer doesn't beat the market

2007-08-20T04:34:00.000-07:00

Breaking News!!!
Cramer's picks haven't beaten the market!

An article in the August 20 edition of Barron's and sent out through reuters on Sunday reported that Jim Cramer's stock picks from his nightly CNBC show "Mad Money" have not beaten the stock market in over two years. Read the Barron's artice here

It didn't come as a surprize because I've felt for some time that his picks just aren't very well researched. I'm only a novice in the stock market but I've out-done his picks since my first few weeks of following the market. (I started in April of this year) Of course, Jim doesn't have the use of the Mentor Center like I do.

Unlike Cramers methods of using emotion to choose stocks, the Mentor Center gathers information from all of the 12000+ stocks on the market and breaks it down for me. It then rates and scores each company so that I can choose from the best. I just spend about an hour a week taking a deeper look at the top 40 to 80 stocks to determine the ones with the best "buy" or "sell" signals. My list is usual broken down to about 8 or 10 stocks that I watch during the week.

I use the website BigSmarty.com to practice making my trades. They provide FREE practice portfolios filled with $100,000 of virtual cash that I can invest in the real stock market without any risk. This is helping me build up my confidence and abilities to pick good stocks before I start putting my own money into the market. BigSmarty also has tournaments and games to play which makes it extremely interesting and fun. I invite you to join me there (it's free). Drop me an email to let me know your user ID in the tournaments.. we can go head to head sometime.

I'm not the best one there.. in fact, last week I finished in the next-to-last place after investing in a mortgage company which lost about 60% overnight. But it was fun and it wasn't my own money, so what the heck!

The Sabbath

2007-08-19T04:58:00.000-07:00

"The Sabbath is a holy day in which to do worthy and holy things. Abstinence from work and recreation is important, but insufficient. The Sabbath calls for constructive thoughts and acts, and if one merely lounges aout doing nothing on the Sabbath, he is breaking it." - Spencer W. Kimball

Slow Down

2007-08-18T06:01:00.000-07:00

One of the problems with our world today is our need for speed. Rush, rush, rush is the order of the day. Maybe the solution to a lot of our problems is to slow down. Afterall, life isn't worth living if you can't occassionally stop and smell the roses. If you're so busy trying to provide that you don't have the time to enjoy, then you're not really living up to your potential.

If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing slowly. Here's some ideas to help you slow down and enjoy life:

1. Put your feet up and stare out of the window. Warning: don’t try this while driving.
2. Spend some quality time in the bathtub.
3. Write down these words and place them where you can see them, “Multitasking is a Moral Weakness.”
4. Try to do only one thing at a time.
5. Do not be pushed into answering a question right away. Take your time.
6. Try the “One Minute Slow Exercise.” Whats that? It's when you slow down for just one minute. If you are walking, slow down the pace. If you are driving, ease up on the pedal. Slow down your rate of speech. Did you notice anything different?
7. Yawn often. Medical studies have shown that yawning may be good for you.
8. Take a nap and spend at least an hour extra in bed. You deserve it.

Just slow down.. you move too fast,

Fridays Fabulous Finds

2007-08-17T06:55:00.000-07:00

It's time for another issue of Fridays Finds. The one day each week when I share with you some of the many unique places I find on the web. The sites listed could vary in content from funny to educational, or bizzare to just plain enjoyable. Some might be commercial sites selling unusual items and others might be freely sharing whatever they have.If I have the time I will include a description with the link to give you an idea of what to expect. In most cases you should be able to figure out what to expect by the name of the site although some may surprise you. So, fasten your seatbelts, keep your arms and legs inside the car at all times but please have fun!

1. Here's a great HTML tester: http://sleepyoaks.com/HTML/HTMLtester.htm

2. A fun 3D textmaker: http://www.3dtextmaker.com/cgi-bin/3dtext.pl

3. Tired of people stealing your online photos? Here's how to do a No Right Click: http://www.hypergurl.com/norightclick.html

4. FeedBurner

5. Have you tried flashface?: http://flashface.ctapt.de/

I just don't understand Christians

2007-08-16T06:08:00.000-07:00

If you read yesterdays entry you know that I am leaning decidedly towards susporting Mitt Romney as a Presidential candidate. I find him to be the candidate with the strongest virtues that I believe in.

What I don't understand is why his religion comes into play. I may just be a poor country boy in Texas but it just don't seem like people are judging him correctly. The Boston Globe reports that an Iowa Christian group circulated flyers at Saturday's straw poll urging people not to vote for Mitt Romney because he is a Mormon. "We strongly believe that Jesus Christ, if he were alive in the flesh in this time and voted, would NEVER vote for Mitt Romney under any circumstances," the flyer says. "Mitt Romney represents Mormonism which is counterfeit Christianity, a cult."

Well I looked into it.. and I learned that in a little over a decade, the Mormon Church has shipped more than 27,000 tons of clothing, 16,000 tons of food, and 3,000 tons of medical and educational supplies and equipment to relieve the suffering of millions of people in 146 countries throughout the world.

On July 11th of this year a chartered cargo plane left Salt Lake City, laden with humanitarian supplies for war-stricken Kosovo. The supplies arrived in Macedonia on July 11 and were loaded onto trucks to complete delivery to thousands affected by the war, including massive numbers of refugees returning to demolished or heavily damaged homes. The nearly 90,000 pounds of humanitarian relief cargo included 25,000 hygiene kits with nearly 29,000 bars of soap and 25,000 tubes of toothpaste.

Another 50,000 hygiene kits are being assembled by Mormon Church groups in England and Germany, and in Seattle, Dallas and Atlanta. Also in the shipment will be kits that include blankets, diapers and other essential items for the care of new-born babies. In addition, 8,000 food boxes are being prepared in San Diego, Mesa and Denver, and at three locations in Utah.

Earlier shipments of food, clothing and other supplies were sent by the Church to the war's refugees and other victims. Some shipments have gone by air, others by sea.

In addition, the Church is purchasing 25 tractors to be used by returning Kosovar refugees for farming and cleanup work.

These supplies and equipment are but a small portion of LDS humanitarian service provided without regard to race, religion or culture to destitute and needy people worldwide.

This doesn't sound like the work of a cult to me. But then, then way some preachers lie about other religions doesn't sound like the work of a true Christian either. I am beginning to think that I would rather have a Mormon in the White House than a self-proclaimed Christian that doesn't recognize the good that other people do.

Read the full articles here and then let me know what you think:

Boston Globe Article

Humanitarian Service of the Mormon Church

Romney takes stage in Grand Prairie, Texas

2007-08-15T07:54:00.000-07:00

At Freedom Concert, he praises troops, says U.S. will win war on terror

The more I hear about Mitt Romney, the more I like him. Of all the presidential candidates for 2008, he appears to be the only one with the class and dignity to win back the respect of the world. Say what you will about him but he is as honest and dependable as any politician out there.

Here's a report out of Dallas, Texas:

By GROMER JEFFERS JR. / The Dallas Morning News
gjeffers@dallasnews.com
12:00 AM CDT on Wednesday, August 15, 2007

GRAND PRAIRIE – Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney told about 6,000 people gathered for a country music show that the country would win the ongoing fight against terrorism.

"There's a huge sacrifice being made by families and men women of this country around the world, and it's worth it because there's evil in this world," Mr. Romney said to a crowd gathered at Nokia Theatre for an event called Freedom Concert. "There are jihadists and there are fundamentalists who want to bring down moderate Islamic states and they want to bring us down as well, and they are not going to do it."

Mr. Romney is fresh off a victory in the Iowa straw poll and considered a front-runner in the Republican race for president.

But his campaign has work to do to win over Texans, many of whom are suspicious about the credentials of any candidate from Massachusetts – even Republicans.

Before introducing Mr. Romney, Fox News commentator Sean Hannity said it was hard to believe an elected Republican led a state represented by longtime Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy.

Even so, Mr. Romney was greeted with applause, and his brief remarks centered on the contributions of the military troops and their families.

"There's war being waged by the terrorists," he said. "We're going to wage a war on them, and we're going to win."

The concert, sponsored by Mr. Hannity and WBAP radio, also featured retired Lt. Col. Oliver North and former House Speaker Newt Gringrich. It is one of several shows throughout the country designed to raise money for scholarships for the children of soldiers killed or permanently wounded in the line of duty.

Mr. Gingrich called for a three-day special session of Congress to react to the recent execution-style slayings of three students in Newark, N.J.

A new law is needed, he said, that allows local law officials to hold suspects charged in felonies until it can be determined if they are U.S citizens. Two of the suspects in Newark were illegal immigrants with long criminal records, he said.

"When young college students get massacred on American streets, we should act now," he said.

Gov. Rick Perry and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, welcomed concertgoers. Mr. Perry compared the current military struggle to the standoff at the Alamo and said those fighting in the military and their families understand that "Freedom is not free."

"There are some things that are worth putting your life on the line for, and freedom in America is that today," Mr. Perry said as the crowd screamed and cheered. "There ain't no place like Texas, and there ain't nobody like the United States military."

Then, at Mr. Perry's urging, the crowd, decked out in red, white and blue, began chanting "USA, USA, USA."

Ms. Hutchison had similar praise for the military and their families.

"Let me tell you a few things about our state," Ms. Hutchison said. "Number One, we love our military. We love our country."

The concert featured performances by Montgomery Gentry, Lee Greenwood and Collin Raye.

Product Sourcing for eBay Sellers

2007-08-14T04:24:00.000-07:00

If it's Tuesday, it must be time for another episode of eBay Tips & Tricks.

Let's talk about the biggest problem most eBay sellers have.. Sourcing. Without a doubt the biggest hurdle most sellers face is where to find a consistent supply of merchandise to sell. First off, don't fall into using a commercial drop ship company. These companies buy hundreds of items and warehouse them for you. When you sell an item they ship it for you. It sounds great, in theory, but in reality their costs are usually too high and with lots of sellers trying to sell the same things the competition is too tight to make a profit.
The most successful sellers find their products in a number of ways. Let's review some here.

1. Garage Sales and yard sales have limited coverage areas and you can find good used items at great prices if you take the time to visit them on a regular basis. Remember, fancier neighborhoods have better items than poor or middle class neighborhoods. Early birds DO get the worm and the first people at a good yard sale will walk away with the best items. Estate sales have better items than garage or yard sales and usually feature things that have been collected over a number of years. Garage sale ads that say "moving to a smaller house mean these people are doing more than just cleaning out the junk.

2. Going out of business sales can be a real bonanza. Some companies will advertise "going out of business" only to take the best merchandise and reopen with a different name or in a different location. Be sure the business is REALLY closing. If they are really going out of business, don't be afraid to make an offer on a quantity of items. They may surprise you and accept your offer.

3. Auction houses are another place to find unusual items and pick up great bargains. Many companies will liquidate their excess inventory through an auction house and you can gain the advantage of buying new items at greatly reduced prices.

4. Thrift shops, including Goodwill, Salvation Army and a variety of Resale shops are another place to find good items to sell on eBay. Many people don't want to bother with a yard sale and prefer to donate their goods to a charity thrift shop. Check them out frequently as they move through their best inventory quickly.

5. Discount stores and factory outlets. While consulting with sellers for eBay, I had a client who spent a large portion of every day waiting for a local factory store to find the best items. Whenever they brought out a new rack of clothing she would buy the best items, take them to her van and return to the store to wait for the next rack. While she shopped, her husband was home taking photos and listing the items on eBay. They had more than $25,000 in sales every month!

6. Look into sources close to your home for buying unclaimed freight, returns, seasonal overstocks, liquidations, etc. You might find a new source that brings your eBay business to the next level.

7. Last but not least.. there are just to many sources to mention, contact traditional product manufacturers and distributors and inquire about setting up a wholesale account. Buying products at a true wholesale price and selling it at a discount from retail can still generate a great profit. If you don't have overhead and employee salaries to pay you can give a discount of 15 to 20% off retail and still realize a 10-20% profit! Some manufacturers and distributors will also drop ship for you and you won't even have to carry the cost of inventory! It's a great way to do business!

8. Okay, one more. Become an eBay Trading Assistant and sell things for other people. They provide the merchandise and you do the selling. The return is a nice percentage of the sales price ending up in your pocket.

Good luck and happy eBaying!

Last Nights Meteor Shower

2007-08-13T06:16:00.000-07:00

Last night my wife and I stayed up late to experience the Perseids Meteor Shower. We had read in a local paper that Sunday night would be the best night to view the annual show that always lights up the sky in mid August.

We put some blankets in the bed of the pickup and added our pillows then drove the truck out into one of the pastures where we would have an unobscured view of the heavens.

It was past midnight and the air was cool and calm. We remarked on how pleasant it was and we held hands as we laid in the back of the pickup watching for our first "shooting star" of the evening. It didn't take long. A beautiful star with a streaming tail flaired up directly over our heads and shot across the sky.

We didn't stay out much more than about 45 minutes. We were tired and Monday morning was fast approaching. But during our short stay, we witnessed a beautiful display of the Universes magic and appeal. Check your local news or the internet to find the best times to catch this show in your area. It's well worth the time invested.

2007-08-12T05:24:00.000-07:00

"Failure is an event, not a person. Yesterday ended last night. - Zig Ziglar

Loose Ends - Some Days I Just Feel So Old

2007-08-11T05:34:00.000-07:00

Now that we have the humor out of the way for today. Here's a great article that I reccommend for your reading: What matters about Romney's Religion.

Visit this site for more information about the Mormons basic beliefs.

Fridays Fabulous Finds

2007-08-10T08:23:00.000-07:00

It's time for another issue of Fridays Finds. The one day each week when I share with you some of the many unique places I find on the web. The sites listed could vary in content from funny to educational, or bizzare to just plain enjoyable. Some might be commercial sites selling unusual items and others might be freely sharing whatever they have.
If I have the time I will include a description with the link to give you an idea of what to expect. In most cases you should be able to figure out what to expect by the name of the site although some may surprise you. So, fasten your seatbelts, keep your arms and legs inside the car at all times but please have fun!

1. Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon

2. Palindrome Connection

3. http://www.pointlesssites.com/

4. Create your own kaleidoscope: http://www.zefrank.com/byokal/kal2.html

5. Who is Your Celebrity Love Match? I've got no problem with mine!

More Fun Quizzes at QuizPox.com

Friendships

2007-08-09T20:48:00.000-07:00

A friend brought a couple horses over to our place to help eat down our overgrown pastures. One of his horses was a brooding mare with a young colt. I enjoyed watching as our dog, Sushi, got to know the new addition. Sushi is normally a little shy around the other horses around here but she has never experienced being around a new colt.

Their process of getting to know each other wasn't a whole lot different than that of their two legged masters. Here's a few photos of their budding friendship and a few pointers on making friends. Maybe there someone in your class, office, or neighborhood that you'd like as a friend. Afterall, todays a good day to start that friendship!

1. The quickest way to make a friend is to smile. When you smile, people think you are friendly and easy to talk to. Just remember that people would rather talk to your smiling face or your usual face than an angry or scared looking face.

2. Start a conversation. One easy way to start a conversation with someone is to say something nice about them. For example, you could comment on what a great answer they had to a teacher's question, how good their yard looks, how much you like their car, etc...Think about how great you feel when someone says something nice to you. Doesn't it make you want to keep talking to that person?

3. Ask your new friends questions about themselves. Who's their favorite singer, where do they live, who's their teacher, what do they do after school are all good questions to start a conversation. It's not really nosey to ask questions about people. It's the only way to get to know what they're like. AND, it's the only way they'll know that you are interested in them.

4. Make sure you have something to add to the conversation too. When someone asks you a question, do have an answer for them. Nobody knows you better than you!

5. Shy people often have some trouble with complements. When someone says something nice, us shy folk will often freeze in our tracks and say nothing. This leaves the other person wondering if they said something wrong. The best and easiest reply to a complement is a simple "Thank You".

6. Be a friend. People who show an interest in other People and who are kind and friendly make good friends. Remember, everyone wants to be around people who like to do similar things and people who are nice to them.

ON FRIENDSHIP:

We all take different paths in life, but no matter where we go, we take a little of each other everyhwere."
---Tim McGraw

"Never forget the days I spent with you. Continue to be my friend, as you will always find me yours."
---Ludwig Van Beethoven

"I believe that friends are quiet angels who sit on our shoulders and lift our wings when we forget how to fly."
---Unknown

"Trouble is a sieve through which we sift our acquaintances. Those too big to pass through are our friends."
---Arlene Francis

"The best part of life is when your family becomes your friends, and your friends become your family."
---Danica Whitfield

"Go through your phone book, call people and ask them to drive you to the airport. The ones who will drive you are your true friends. The rest aren't bad people; they're just acquaintances."
---Jay Leno

Strange But True - Pencil in brain for 55 years

2007-08-08T15:01:00.000-07:00

Normally on Wednesday, I run a Comical-Caption feature. But decided to change it up today with this story that came through the news. I am just always amazed with this type of story. Enjoy it and if you really want a Comical-Caption, just visit my other blog: Comical-Captions.

Pencil in brain for 55 years
By Kristen Allen

Associated Press

BERLIN — A woman who had a pencil lodged in her head for 55 years after a childhood accident has finally had most of it removed, which should end her chronic headaches and nosebleeds, her doctor said Tuesday.Associated PressMargaret Wegner fell when she was 4 years old, and the 3.15-inch pencil she was carrying went into her brain. New technology allowed it to finally be removed.

Margaret Wegner was 4 when she fell while carrying the 3.15-inch pencil, which went through her cheek and into her brain.

"It bored right through the skin and disappeared into my head," Wegner, now 59, told Germany's best-selling newspaper, Bild. "It hurt like crazy."

At the time, the technology did not exist to safely remove the pencil, so Wegner had to live with it — and the ensuing chronic headaches and nosebleeds— for the next 5 1/2 decades.

But on Friday, Dr. Hans Behrbohm, an ear, nose and throat specialist at Berlin's Park-Klinik Weissensee, was able to identify the exact location of the pencil so that he could determine the risks of removing it, and then took most of it out.

The operation was difficult because of the way the pencil had shifted as Wegner grew, Behrbohm told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

"This was something unique because the trauma was so old," said Behrbohm, who has also done brain surgery to remove bullets from shooting victims and glass from people involved in car accidents.

Although a piece of pencil about four-fifths of an inch long could not be removed, Behrbohm said it does not pose a danger.

And now Wegner, the wife of German boxing coach Ulli Wegner, will no longer have the headaches and nosebleeds, and her sense of smell should return soon, Behrbohm said.

"She shouldn't suffer any longer," he said.

Source

Managing Your Inventory

2007-08-07T05:52:00.000-07:00

When you sell a physical products of any kind, inventory control becomes the life-blood of your business and one of your biggest costs. eBay has helped many people with no business experiece create a viable business. One of their biggest problems is they just don't understand that inventory sitting on a shelf is costing them money every day.

There are two costs associated with inventory. The first one is your product cost and the second one is your opportunity cost. Product cost is simply what you invested in the merchandise including the cost to ship it to you. Opportunity cost is the money you are not making while your cash is tied up in that inventory. If you bought 200 items for $6.00 each that you hoped to sell for $12 each, your product cost is $1200 and your opportunity cost is $1200 (the money you will make if they sell at $12. Obviously you only incur the opportunity cost if the items don't sell. Once an item sells the opportunity cost on that item goes to zero and basically becomes gross profit.

There are two basic rules to follow if you want to maximize the return on your inventory purchases:

Turn your inventory over as often and as fast as possible (within reason). Let's use our $6.00 item as an example. If you price them to sell at $12 and you sell 10 widgets a week, at the end of 6 weeks you will have sold 60 widgets and made $6.00 on each one for a total of $360. Now let's say you find that by pricing the item lower --at $10 each your sales increase and you sell 20 widgets a week. You are making $2.00 less on each widget, but at the end of the same 6 week period you will have sold widgets for a total gross profit of $480.

Obviously if you reduced the price further you might be able to sell even more, but at some point you will not be making a profit. So the trick is to find that sweet spot where you maximize your return.

If you buy a product that won't sell, keep reducing the price until it will --even if you are losing money on it. What you are trying to do here is get rid of non-performing inventory. When you have inventory that doesn't sell you are tying up cash that could be spent on product that will sell. Remember your opportunity cost. When you are not making money you are actually losing money.

I know it can be painful to cut the price on an item to your cost or even below, but it really is a good business decision to do so. And remember, you also learned something valuable that will help you make money in the future.

Wall Street awaits rate decision from Federal Reserve this week

2007-08-06T04:52:00.000-07:00

From The Associated Press
By Madlen Read

NEW YORK — With two weeks of volatility behind it, Wall Street faces the prospect of more turbulence — unless the Federal Reserve comes to the rescue.
Waxing and waning worries about a shrinking availability of credit have sent stocks gyrating, with the Dow Jones industrials swinging by triple digits four straight days last week. On Friday, the Dow plunged more than 280 points after Bear Stearns Cos.' chief financial officer described the current turmoil in the credit market as being the worst he'd seen in 22 years; on other days, news of mortgage lenders' problems or disappointing housing data provided the impetus to sell.The Fed's Open Market Committee's regularly scheduled August meeting on Tuesday might be key in whether the markets can settle down or not. The Fed is widely expected to keep the benchmark rate steady at 5.25 percent, as it has done since last summer, so the focus will as usual be on its economic policy statement.
For months, Fed policy makers have stated they expect the economy to recover, and that curbing costs is their primary concern in light of uncomfortably high inflation. Given the past two weeks on Wall Street, investors are likely to be more interested in whether the central bank addresses credit conditions, and, if it does, what it has to say.
Still, if the Fed gives any hint that it might consider raising rates — an action that would make mortgage and corporate credit more expensive and harder to obtain — the market can expect to see more of the kind of selling that has chopped more than 800 points from the Dow since it closed above 14,000 for the first time on July 19.
That drop, which comes to nearly 6 percent, puts the Dow more than halfway toward the technical threshold of a correction, which is 10 percent. Some analysts argued the stock market was way too high and therefore due for a shaking-out. But the turmoil the market has seen the past few weeks is more than portfolio housecleaning — some investors aren't sure stocks are the place to be if there's less easy money around to fund the buyouts and companies' stock buybacks that had powered the market's rally during the first half of this year.
But even if the market gets a lift from the Fed, there's a good chance it will be short-lived — in its current state of mind, Wall Street is shrugging off good news and choosing to sell off on every mention of words like "credit," "subprime," "mortgage" and "default." Even in calmer times, the market has been able to hold on to soothing remarks from the Fed for only a short period of time — believing, perhaps, that the central bankers are as fickle as Wall Street itself.
Last week, despite Friday's huge loss, the Dow fell just 0.63 percent, while the Standard & Poor's 500 fell 1.77 percent and the Nasdaq composite index lost 1.99 percent.
A few economic reports there is little economic data that will help soothe the market this week. On Tuesday, in addition to the Fed statement, Wall Street will watch for the Labor Department's preliminary reading on second-quarter productivity and labor costs, and the Fed's report on June consumer credit.
Productivity is expected to have increased 2.2 percent from the preceding quarter, and costs are expected to have risen 1.9 percent. Consumer credit is expected to have gained $6.7 billion, compared to May's $12.9 billion jump.
On Thursday, the Commerce Department releases data on June wholesale trade, and on Friday it reports on July import prices.Economists predict that wholesale inventories rose 0.5 percent in June, the same as in May, and that import prices rose 0.7 percent last month, a smaller increase than in June.
Earnings season winds down the bulk of second-quarter earnings have come in, but this week brings results from some key technology companies.On Tuesday, Cisco Systems Inc. is expected to report a profit of 35 cents a share for its fourth quarter. The computer-networking company closed at $29.46, at the top of its 52-week range of $17.10 to $30.39.
Sprint Nextel Corp. on Wednesday is expected to report earnings of 22 cents per share. The wireless provider closed at $19.77, at the midpoint of its 52-week range of $15.92 and $23.42.
Vonage Holdings Corp. releases quarterly results Thursday, when it is expected to report a loss of 34 cents a share for the second quarter. The Internet phone carrier's shares closed at $2.04 on Friday, at the low end of its 52-week range of $1.83 and $9.07.

Inspirational Thinking

2007-08-05T06:01:00.000-07:00

Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. -Proverbs 31:30

Photo by Patrick Cox

Veggie Art

2007-08-04T06:58:00.000-07:00

Maybe it really is okay to let your children play with their food. They might grow up to be a serious vegetable artist and create memorable masterpieces like these:

Valuable Assets

A Marketing Blunder

God and America.. Inseparable?

This Isn't Me

It's Just Not Me

This ISN'T Me!

THIS ISN'T ME

This isn't me

This isn't me

New Feature

Liberty and Freedom for All

Rivalry Saturday

Friday's Finds

Thursday's Thinkers

More Thanksgivng stories and jokes

Successful eBay Holiday Sales Tips

Surviving the Holidays - Tips for enhancing the memories.

Happiness

Thanksgiving Jokes and Fun

Friday's Finds

Thursday's Thinkers

Bringing Life, Happiness & Joy To Our Lives

eBay Tips & Tricks

Fun But Useless Facts

Pathways

Fall Football

Fridays Finds

Thursdays Thinkers

eBay Tips & Tricks: Bundling

The Spirit of Christ

Daylight Savings Time - Why? Why? Why?

Friday's Finds

What day is it?

History of the Jack-o-lantern

Halloween Jokes

More Halloween Fun

Halloween Drinks and Practical Jokes

Friday's Finds

Thursday's Thinkers

Haunted How-To's

I Challenge You.. to join the race!

Conquer Doubt by Vic Johnson (excerpted from Day by Day with James Allen)

Halloween Photography Tips

Friday's Fabulous Finds

Thursdays Thinkers

eBay Tips and Tricks

Integrity

Friday's Fabulous Finds

Strange eBay Feedback

Friday's Finds

10 Suggestions for Better eBay Descriptions

Lily

Influence

Most Intense Commercial Ever

Fridays Finds

Thursdays Thinkers

The pleasure of being on top!

eBay Tips and Tricks

Believe...

Top Dog

Fridays Finds

BigSmarty.com Launches Web's First Stock Trading Social Network

Thursday Thinkers

The Littlest Angel

10 tips for buying and selling success on eBay

Thought for the day

Catching up..

Hurricane Humberto

Civil War Update

Can't we all just get along?

Choices

Civil Wars - It had to come to this

Friday's Finds

Thursday's Thinkers

Office Humor

Off Track

Thought for the Day

Thursdays Thinkers

Life Objectives

August's Outdoor Barbeques