Help stop auto insurance companies from using your credit score as a basis for their insurance rates.

My wife and I have decided to add Cycling to our work out routine. I’ve been cycling ever since I can remember, as a little kid our family used to play bicycle tag, we’d play around in parking lots not being used at night (mostly schools or churches) and play tag all night long. At first we started with trying to touch the other person… that didn’t work so well, neither did trying to hit the other persons tires with your own. So we settled for pulling up beside the other person for them to be “it” I’m the only one in the family that kept up riding though.

Anyways I’ve been riding my Trek 4900 since High School (Got it my Sophomore year) and lets face it the old thing is starting to show its age. I’ve already had to replace several parts on it, do tune ups, and really should of got the shocks rebuilt long ago. I crunched the original seat about two years ago doing some off road riding, bent the thing darn near in half. Now I don’t do near as much off road riding as I used to, it’s hard to find trails that allow it, and quite frankly it’s no fun in parks where riding isn’t allowed, especially when you’re dodging walkers/joggers the whole time, you just can’t get up to speed. Either way my once amazing $700 purchase that has lasted me years and held up to the abuse I dished out to it is being put into semi-retirement. The decision for me is easy, some time next year I want to save my pennies and get a Trek Elite 9.7 it’s about time I quit being afraid of the carbon fiber frames and accept that the only way I’m going to get a noticeably lighter ride is with all carbon fiber. I’ve always been afraid of breaking a carbon frame… which is why the old 4900 will only be in semi-retirement I want the aluminum frame for when I go to do some major off road riding until I am proven that the Carbon Fiber will hold up.

Anyways, the real decision is for my wife. Do I spend the $2,000 on a 8000 series for her, and hope she enjoys riding as much as I do, or start out with the 4000 series and save a little bank? Granted even the 4000 series is better than anything you’d ever find at Wal-Mart or Dick’s Sporting Goods I don’t want her to hate riding because of cheap components. On my 4900 I’ve had to change the chain, and cassette a couple of times because of the aggressive riding that I do they wear out and start jumping or skipping to other gears randomly when putting a lot of power down going up hills. I’m afraid annoyances like this would be discouraging to a beginner… but then if she doesn’t like riding or doesn’t ride more than a few times a year $2k is a lot for a bike.

First hospitals started catching on, they started to get the mindset that they could double their costs because the patients were no longer paying for procedures themselves. Now hospitals are getting rich… so what happens suppliers start getting the same idea, they realize that the hospitals are making tons of money and it is coming from the insurance companies anyways so no one is getting hurt, now a simple hospital bed costs well into the half million dollar range. Colleges catch on quick realizing that their doctors and nurses are going to be making tons of money and can get loans easily so they hike up the fees for those in nursing and medical doctor fields because all the money is coming from the insurance companies anyways… no one is getting hurt. Now your monthly fees have begun rising because the insurance company is there for one purpose, to make money. They say they are there for your well being, and so you can feel safe at night… but that safety comes at much too high a price. If people would just be smarter and more patient with their money our country would not be in the situation it is right now… Remember that what is gathered little by little is hard to get rid of, but what we gain quickly is burned off twice as fast.

I’ve been surviving with a wife and a now four month old son on an average of $30 a day from blogging and working online. Trust me we treasure every penny that comes in, but it also allows me to spend time with my precious son, and my beautiful wife. Two things that I wouldn’t give up for the world. Things get hard, and it can be stressful at times, but it forces us to be smart with our money and you learn what is really important around you.

The point of the game is to gather as much wealth as possible… much like any other online role playing game, this one has one fatal flaw however. You can never decrease in value, I understand that is to get all the trend hoppers on FB to pass the application along. It also means that the game will definitely be a hopped trend. I have no reason to stick around with the game. I currently make $150M per hour, the most I can lose is $100k per race lost to another player and they can’t get me below 20 health unless they put a bounty on my head. Now when I go down to 0 health I lose 6 points. It takes me 5,000 points per level… 6 doesn’t mean anything to me. So all I have to do is sit back and let money come in, once a month if that I can get on and nothing bad has happened I’ve just grown in wealth it is a fatal flaw on Zynga’s part that will require them to continue building new RPGs or continue to improve this one to keep people around. Of course if the game is trend hopped enough then they will continue to make enough money so why should they care?

Street Racing is a fairly good app, but lets face it when you’ve got $32B stored up there’s not much to do any longer except collect cars once a week when they get new ones… but once you reach your max 500 friends in game even that isn’t possible any longer.

MAC: Uhhhh PC
PC: What is it MAC
MAC: Well I’ve got this rash and it hurts when I pee.
PC: Oh thats a virus MAC, not to worry, I’m sure your anti-virus will get rid of it
MAC: My what?
PC: Don’t you use protection MAC?
MAC: ???? Protection thats for PC’s, I’m a MAC we don’t get viruses!!!!
PC: Well you have one, and well your probably going to die from it.
MAC: BUT……
PC: Yep you whored yourself around around without being safe and now look at you.
MAC: ……..
PC: OH PC’s are stuffy, Vista has annoying popups, BLA BLA BLA….. I hope you suffer!
MAC: Can’t you help me PC!!! I’ll be better I swear!
PC: Well I guess I could ask my DAD Bill gates, If he could pay for a doctor visit.
MAC: REALLY! Wow that’s swell PC!! I love you PC.
PC: I love you to MAC.

And I love this one… because it shows typical Mac response to the issue.

Mac (Muffled): Hello, I’m a Mac
PC: Hello, I’m a PC.
PC: Hey Mac, I see you’re all better now, but…
Mac (muffled): But what? I feel great!
PC: But why are you wearing 2 large body condoms?
Mac: Oh, this is Apple’s new iDoubleBag program to fight off nasty viruses, because you never can be too safe, you know.
PC: Uh, I thought Macs didn’t get viruses.
Mac: Well, it turns out that viruses just didn’t know we were out there. Now that Leapord has sold so many copies, I’m feeling a little exposed.
PC: Honestly, you look pretty ridiculous.
Mac: Yeah, well, it is a bit stuffy in here, and I do feel a bit sluggish.
PC: I think that’s because you’re running out of air.
Mac: Yeah….well…..(Thud)
PC: Uh, Mac?

Anyways, I’ve actually found a very cool site from watching the shows… It’s called FreeRangeKids.com which is actually just a redirect to their wordpress hosted blog. Nothing wrong with that, the writer of the blog is a mother who has been training her child to fend for himself, and even at the age of 9 he’s been able to ride the subway, travel to and from school, and live a normal life.

Don’t waste all of your budgets though, you’ve got to prepare yourself for Cyber Mondays! Some businesses like Newegg.com have already started their savings week… but don’t miss out on your chance to get great Christmas gifts on the cheap

Yeah, so I don’t know how much I believe this little quiz… yeah sure things like medications are not “natural” but everything gets broken down and reused eventually. Even prosthetic limbs have to be recyclable… at least in part you know? A lot of body parts and things made for people who need replacement parts (worded like that it sounds like we’re all a bunch of cars ) are made of Titanium, and other things that could be reused you know?

Earlier last week there were reports out of Beijing of a students hospitalization because of a Panda biting incident. Apparently the college student from Southern China just needed a hug. While visiting the zoo in Beijing the unnamed student jumped the six and a half foot tall fence surrounding the Panda habitat to hug one of the fluffy cuddly creatures only to find that they’re not so cuddly after all. The panda bit the student repeatedly on the arms and legs reports a zoo employee.

The official Xinhua News Agency reports the hospitalized student later said the panda was so cute and cuddly he never expected to be bitten. Guess he’ll think twice next time before jumping into a penned up animals home. Domesticated as they may be they’re still animals, and uh… well they still bite.

Surprisingly enough this is not the first time these Panda’s have struck fear into the hearts of the Beijing populous. Not surprising because pandas look so cute and cuddly I’d never suspect them of biting anyone. Pandas may look docile but can be vicious when they feel threatened. But surprising because this is not the second, but third time these pandas have bitten visiting tourists. The first attack was… well more of an attack from a drunken tourist who stumbled into the Pandas enclosure, after being bitten by the Panda the man reportedly bit back. The same Panda Gu Gu later in 2007 mauled a 15 year old boy who climbed the 1.4 meter (approx four and a half foot) tall fence. The fence had been raised to six and a half feet, but that still didn’t stop this college student who just wanted a hug and was viciously bitten on the arms and legs on November 22, 2008. The panda in this incident was named Yang Yang… and was not as ferocious with his attacks as Gu Gu was. I think we can all learn a lesson here though, no matter how cute, fuzzy, and warm a panda may appear to be… don’t look to them for a hug. You might pick something less vicious than a panda bear such as a Bengal Tiger… At least the death would be a quicker one than being gnawed upon by a vegetarian bear. On second thought, if you’re really that depressed go see someone for counseling, get a dog, or sign up for a dating site Wild animals don’t tend to be the best option for your affectionate needs.

Working Replica of Noah’s Ark Opened In SCHAGEN, Netherlands.
The massive central door in the side of Noah’s Ark was opened the first crowd of curious townsfolk to behold the wonder. Of course, it’s only a replica of the biblical Ark , built by Dutch Creationist Johan Huibers as a testament to his faith in the literal truth of the Bible.

The ark is 150 cubits long, 30 cubits high and 20 cubits wide. That’s two-thirds the length of a football field and as high as a three-story house. Life-size models of giraffes, elephants, lions, crocodiles, zebras, bison and other animals greet visitors as they arrive in the main hold. A contractor by trade, Huibers built the ark of cedar and pine. Biblical Scholars debate exactly what the wood used by Noah would have been.

Huibers did the work mostly with his own hands, using modern tools and with occasional help from his son Roy. Construction began in May 2005. On the uncovered top deck – not quite ready in time for the opening – will come a petting zoo, with baby lambs and chickens, and goats, and one camel.

Visitors on the first day were stunned. ‘It’s past comprehension’, said Mary Louise Starosciak, who happened to be bicycling by with her husband while on vacation when they saw the ark looming over the local landscape.

‘I knew the story of Noah, but I had no idea the boat would have been so big.’ There is enough space near the keel for a 50-seat film theater where kids can watch a video that tells the story of Noah and his ark. Huibers, a Christian man, said he hopes the project will renew interest in Christianity in the Netherlands, where church going has fallen dramatically in the past 50 years.

Now that I am old and gray…give me the time to tell this new generation (and their children too) about all your mighty miracles. Psalm 71:18