Here in Virginia we have to have our vehicles inspected once a year. It is a pain the rear, but I can understand the reasoning behind this mandatory law. If your vehicle isn’t able to pass this state inspection then you are putting yourself and everyone else that is on the roads with you are are in danger as well and that just isn’t cool. So I believe that for $16 a year it is well worth the time and money that it takes to have this done. I just wish more automotive service centers offered this for their customers and that more of them stayed open on Saturdays to do the job. For some reason a most of them close at noon on Saturdays and apparently it is against the law to do these inspections on Sunday, which makes no sense to me what-so-ever and I have never found anyone that can explain to me why this is the case.
Just a Bit Out of My League
Tomorrow is Father’s Day so my sister just shot me an email inviting me to come over to her place for dinner with her family. Since both of our parents have passed Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are a real drag around the farm, so it will be nice to get away for the day and spend time with her, her hubby and the 3 kids.
The bad news is that she wants me to stop and pick up a few presents for her hubby that she didn’t have time to get to this week. She wants me to check out a Blu ray Ripper and/or a Blu ray Burner, which I really don’t know much about, so I’m going to do some research on the Internet to find out more about them so that I can learn more about them before having to make a blind purchase. It is too bad that there isn’t enough time to order these online, that would be the way to go as far as I’m concerned, but stuff happens and now it is up to me to stop in town and see what I can find on my own. Wish me luck on this task folks, I think I’m going to need it.
Too Bad That Youth Is Wasted On The Young!
I’m so glad that we are being able to enjoy some nice weather days and evenings for a change. After weeks of dealing with the temperature being in the high 90’s and the 100’s, these past couple of days in the 80’s are just awesome. As I’m getting older it is becoming harder to deal with such extreme weather, but at least we are not dealing with tornadoes, hurricanes and all the other extreme weather that seems to be devastating so much of our country these past couple of months. We did have to deal with way too much rain this past Spring, but at least it is better than not having enough rain, which has happened too often lately. Without rain a farm like mine can go into ruins real quick like.
Last night I actually had some free time that I got to enjoy outside before hitting the sack. This is something that I don’t get to do very often as an adult. As kids we would spend a lot of time on the front porch and in the front yard, catching fireflies, playing Kick The Can, Hide and Seek, and roasting marshmallows and making those wonderful S’mores with tons of chocolate dripping all down our arms. It sucks that youth and wasted on the young.
GREEN Rubber Mulch – The Way To Go Folks
What can I say? When I think of mulch, rubber is the last thing that comes to my mind. But apparently there is a new fangled type of mulch that is being manufactured out of old tires by a company called Rubberecycle. This is the same company that provided the White House with the playground that the Obama’s daughters and their lucky play mates get to play on. I’m assuming that when a new president moves into the White House that the playground will stay right where it is, but who knows what the future will bring when that takes place when all of that comes about. But for now it is good to know that the Obamas are doing their part in going green in numerous ways that are all good to know about.
This particluar company offers several products that are long lasting, safe and extremely environment friendly, not to mention economical. I would urge anyone to check out their website of rubberecycle.com and see all that they are about. If I had kids and was looking into having a playground for them to enjoy I would certainly be interested in having this company come out and see what they could come up with for them. We all want our kids to spend time outside having fun, but safety is a big concern, right? The numbers are startling when it comes to injuries that occur on playgrounds all across the country, nothing new really, just more media attention is taking place on the subject these days. I know that I would feel like a real dog if one of my kids or one of their friends or another member of family’s kid got hurt on something that I paid for and allowed them to play on. So it sounds like this rubber mulch is the way to go folks, if you have the need.
That’s a BIG Burger!
This burger is the biggest grilled ground beef on a bun that I have ever seen. I can just imagine going to a restaurant and ordering “the biggest burger you can make,” and then having the server walk up to my table with THIS! I would definitely need a doggie bag with this order!
Honda Shopping
Talking with my buddy, Dean, about the high cost of repairing cars and even just keeping up with the maintenance on older cars. It seems like every time I have to take my car in for service work it costs me between $800 and $2,500 – and that is killing my budget. At some point I have to quit spending on this money on repairs and just go get a new car. I have been shopping online for a new Honda and I think that’s what I am going to buy.
Dean was telling me that he talked with a local Honda dealer and couldn’t get a good deal working with that salesman, so he went online and started searching for a Honda Dealer that had a good inventory of new and used cars, ho wanted to set a fair price and give him a good deal on the car. It’s not that hard to save some serious money if you are willing to put in the time shopping around and asking questions of the right people.
I might end up with a late model, used Honda before the summer is over. I just need to get a good price on the car and a fair allowance on a trade in and I will buy a car this year. It’s just a matter of how much and when it all works out to my advantage.
Always Learning
Read an article that called a man LTU and I had no idea what they meant. Turns out it means “Long Term Unemployed.” This is one more casualty of America’s economic crisis. In addition to people losing their homes to foreclosure, many people are unemployed for a very long time. It used to be that you should allow one month of job searching for every ten thousand dollars in expected salary. So if you need to make $50,000 a year in salary, you should allow 5 months for serious job hunting.
But in today’s world, it can take over2 years for that person to find a $50,000 a year job. These are the long term unemployed that need at some point to get more education or get retrained to acquire new skills. It is not hard to find help with taking more college level courses. The WaldenU.edu web site has scholarship and financial aid information on their site.
People who have internet access and the desire to learn more at the college level can enroll in Walden University and work on their studies at home – without having to drive and send money to get to a college campus every day. This make great sense to me.
Lazy Man’s Sale Strategy
Yesterday’s newspaper had the normal chunk of sale fliers and brochures, which is one big reason I continue to subscribe to the newspaper. I want to see the sale prices and new items being cried by the local stores. There is no online source that is as informative and focused on my local met than the Sunday newspaper.
But a new item was stuffed in with the other ads. A big blue folder from Wal Mart. It says something to the effect of, “we’ll match any other store’s price on the same merchandise if we carry it, just put the other company’s sale flier in this folder an bring it with you to WalMart.”
Now, isn’t that the lazy man’s ideal way to put stuff on sale? Don’t bother paying for the models and photo shoot, the graphic designers, printers and dozens, if not hundreds, of other people who make their living producing and distributing sale ads. Just let someone else pay for all that and you just wave your arm and say, I’ll match that price.
This is exactly why WalMart is perceived as so evil to the businesses in America. They put people out of work and then expect them to come to their store and buy things.
Friday Came Quick
When of the best things about a week that includes a holiday is that Friday sure seems to come quick. With everyone taking off for Memorial Day on Monday, this week flew by. Friday is my favorite day of the week – full of finished business and great expectations for a weekend.
Really Clever Builder
The guy who got this idea and then built it is pure genius in my book. What a clever idea to take a common phrase like, “House of Cards” and turn it into a real thing. I admire people who can come up with ideas like this.