According to the calendar, and the weatherman, today is the autumnal equinox. From what I undestand, and equinox is when there is exactly the same amount of daylight hours as nighttime hours. And yet the weatherman claims that the day where the equal amount of hours will occur is actually going to be a few days from now. So that makes me wonder why the “powers that be” have proclaimed today to be the equinox! Do you have an explanation? I sure don’t!
Several years ago a friend of mine went to work at a local store that specialized in stamps and coins. As you can deduct, they bought and sold collectible stamps and coins. As part of his job he travelled to trade shows, where he would sell and purchase gold coins as well as sell and purchase gold bullion.
During that period of time, his store asked me to come help out a few times to assist at the store. There was a lot of people going there to sell their gold and silver, and they needed help at the counter. It was very interesting to learn how they would determine how much to pay to purchase gold coin or purchase bullion that the customer brought in. And to be honest, it got me interested in how to purchase gold as an investment and not simply as a pretty piece of jewelry! And what was really awesome was the fact that I got the chance to buy some really nice gold jewelry to take home to my honey!
I keep hearing my friends talking about online games like Farmville and how much fun they are having playing it. When they tell me about it, I have to wonder exactly HOW in the world it is fun? It is simulating real life, and you are working on a farm. Working on a farm for real is a lot of really hard work. I cannot even imagine how it could be glammed up to be a fun game! My friends keep getting all excited about the things they are doing, like planting their crops and buying tractors. I just don’t get it!
With the increasing use of the Internet, the consumer is finding it easier than ever to find just about anything they could possibly need or want. I wonder if the people who created the personal computer and the Internet ever really foresaw just how far this technology would take us? One of the great advantages of the information highway for the consumer is the ability to access information from such great websites as repairpal.com.
Using a website like that, the consumer can find recommendations and reviews, and get estimates for a large variey of problems. For example; they can locate a local Chicago auto repair service, or get estimates on how much it would cost to replace the water pump, on a Toyota Camry. The consumer no longer has to depend on the recommendation of the next-door neighbor (who might be related to the auto mechanic in question!) I think having a website like this is a great service to the consumer because sometimes the consumer needs a little bit of extra help!
I was amused to see the headlines that it’s “Talk like a Pirate Day.” I remember last year when I heard it on the radio – I thought it was a big joke. So when I saw it on the MSN headlines on the Internet that it is “Talk like a Pirate Day” again, I had to laugh! What goofy fun! I can’t remember the last time I talked like a pirate! I think if I were to go up to my wife and start talking like that she’d think I’d lost my mind! What a riot!
As my wife and I have been talking about finishing the basement to give me a “den” (or should we say “man’s play room?”) I’ve been giving some thought as to what I would like in the way of bar glass racks. I’d really like to have a wet bar, with a hanging wine glass rack over the sink area.
My wife, on the other hand, thinks that the stemware racks should be enclosed in glass to reduce the amount of dusting that will need to be done. She’s very practical like that, always thinking about not just how something looks when it’s new, but also the amount of time and energy it will take to keep it looking nice. She said that she thinks that we should look at some way to enclose the stemware with glass so that we can see them but at the same time they will be clean. I have to admit she’s got a good point! Especially after she told me not to plan on HER dusting the glasses off every week!
I’ve noticed that the local discount department store has started to change it’s store-brand labels to plain black and white labels. I don’t like them very much. They remind me of the ealy 70′s when the grocery stores started selling “no-name” items at their stores. Many of those “no-name” items just were not a decent quality, and there was a social stigma attached to buying them. I imagine that they are switching to the plain labels because it is costing them less money. I wonder what effect it has on the ecology? I wonder if the process of making those labels includes using more bleach,which is bad for the ecology. I’d prefer to see them use an off-white non-bleached paper!
My sister has been looking for a company that helps consumers with credit repair. She has fallen behind on some of her bills and thinks that she can get her bad credit fixed with the help of a business that specializes in helping people to repair their bad credit.
I told her that my neighbor Bob was telling me about a company called Ovation Credit that he was using to help fix his credit. I am always surprised by how many don’t understand how you can fix your credit yourself and end up needing professional help with that. I guess most people simply feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to start. I told my sister that I’d come over later this week and see exactly what it is she needs before she starts paying people to do things that she can do for herself for free.
Today was a great day for a ride. The weather was perfect, and my wife told me that my “honey-do list” could wait. I guess she felt sorry for the way I was looking at my bike. It didn’t take much arm-twisting, I was off like a shot! There were a lot of other bikes on the road, and it felt good to be “one of them” instead of just watching them go by! I hope we continue to have good weather like this, I love to ride when I get the chance!
