That’s the opinion coming out of several corners this Olympics as more and more records are being broken for speed. What’s this all about? Technology! Here’s an article from Slate Magazine on the subject titled “Olympic Inflation“.
What’s the number one reason:
The Very High Tech LZR Racer suit.
“It reduces friction (compared with skin) and is structurally designed to compress and streamline the body for maximum speed. Estimated drag reduction: 5 percent to 10 percent. Estimated average improvement in top swimmers’ best times: 2 percent.”
I lived in Germany for two years and I experienced a lot of amazing things. From football matches to Bier Gartens, life in Deutschland (Germany) is not too shabby. A Fun thing to do is visiting casinos — they are every where in Germany and offer a wide variety of games. From Internet Casinos - Casino Spiele Online to Traditional Brick and Mortar ones, these places let you have fun and maybe win a little cash. Ras Casinos is a useful site to help you navigate the online and real casinos in Germany. Get your Online Black Jack Spiele on using their useful information. The best part about living in Germany was that the online gambling was legal to do with real cash!
The Will Site — rather pleasant sounding name, right? Well the subject matter is not so pleasant, but it needs to be discussed. In fact, the idea I am about to present could be very helpful to people. Here’s the pitch — a free service which enables a person to detail valuable information to send to their loved ones upon their death. For example, if I die tomorrow, my wife will not have any clue what my Yahoo email account password is. Yahoo has a strong policy of not giving out password information, even upon death! How serious is this? Well just think about how many online activities surround your email address. If you forget your password at your electric bill or mortgage bill online pay website, you are sent the link to change the password to where??? Yup, you guessed it — your email address on file. Well if that email address is a Yahoo one and your spouse doesn’t have the password, how can she access the email to change the password? It will be a lot more difficult. Also the Will Site could store instructions you write to your spouse on things like “How do I pay XYZ online” or “Which insurance policies do we have and where are they located”. In a perfect world, our loved ones would always be kept in the loop and know this stuff, but for many of us, you just take care of these things and the spouse in the dark unless there is a specific reason to know. The Will Site would allow you to provide instructions from beyond the grave to help your spouse carry on with her life. (I use Her, but of course it could go either way).
Here’s a recent articles from Forbes Magazine about the top Hip Hop music earners in 2008. Its titled Hip-Hop’s Cash Kings 2008. Here are the top earners and some surprises:
- Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson - $150 million last year. How? From music, clothing, and $100 million for his share in recently sold Vitamin Water to Coca-Cola!
- Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter - $75 million last year. How? Long term contracts and endorsement, music, clothing.
- Sean “Diddy” Combs - $35 million. How? Sean John clothing line, record label Bad Boy, premium vodka Ciroc and reality-TV shows.
- Kanye West - $30 million. How? Music and other activities.
What about some surprises? Well how about Andre “Dr. Dre” Young making about $15 million even though he hasn’t made a hit record for himself in years and years. Its all about royalties for him.
Another amazing fact is that last year Tupac Shakur’s estate made about $15 million even though he’s been dead for over a decade! Now that’s wild. Just call him the Hip Hop Elvis.
Why do all clocks these days have to be digital ones, flashing their glow in the night? Fight the encroachment of modern technology by getting creative with your clock selection. I think a bedroom free of electronic glow is a thing of beauty — forget your LCD alarm clock, get something more traditional and recapture your sleeping darkness.
Thats why I’ve always wanted a grandfather clock for my home. They are more than clocks — they are pieces of art that can really make a statement in your bedroom or livingroom. For instance, these Howard Miller Grandfather Clocks are simply amazing. I really like the Howard Miller Chateau Grandfather clock. It is beautiful and classic. I would put it in my living room and have it chime the hours.
Visit the 1-800-4CLOCKS website and find the perfect clock for your home. They offer Free Shipping on all orders over $100 across the U.S. and Canada! That’s a real money saver considering how large and delicate grandfather clocks are. This saves you time and money — even if you bought from a local store, you’d still have to worry about transporting it home. With 1-800-4CLOCKS, you don’t have to worry about this at all!
There is an interesting trend going on in several major countries around the world. The life expectancy of people in those countries are going up while the birthrate is going down. This generally means people are living longer but having fewer babies. This turns into the situation where the general population is an aging one, where the average age is… you guessed it… increasing. Is this a problem? Well maybe and maybe not. In places like Germany and Japan, people are worried that this older population will not be able to be supported by the government (e.g. retirement benefits and social medicine) because there are not enough young people. But there is a caveat to this — if people work longer, into their 60s and 70s, then the problem is removed. I think this is the only remedy for a planet where people are living longer and longer — have fewer children and prevent the population from exploding to unsustainable levels.
Are you ready to face the future? I’m talking about finances here and whether you have the skills and the plan in place to reach your goals. For me, its retirement. I want to retire on my terms and not be forced to work longer than I really want to. This is a really long term goal but it requires constant attention and so-called “check-ups”. You need to sit back every once and a while and recalibrate your plan and check on your goals.
One was to perform a check up is to visit BillsIQ and take their free quiz to understand your financial intelligence. You might be surprised by the results. I took the quiz and found out that although I had a good overall IQ, I needed to increase my cash reserves for emergencies. Otherwise a simple string of bad luck could derail my plans and set me back years on my plan.
BillsIQ is a great site not just to help you get a handle on your bills but also to improve all other aspects of your financial life. Learn about retirement planning, budgeting, and college savings using their free information. Its an education you really shouldn’t pass up.
What makes the subject of investing on U.S. Infrastructure such a boring thing for politicians to do? I mean, investing U.S. dollars in U.S. equipment and U.S. structures using U.S. labor just makes sense. We need new roads, new dams, new power plants, and new railroad lines. Why can’t the might U.S. Government take their trillions and trillions of dollar federal budget and put it to some good use?
I only see a few drawbacks to such wide scale actions. The first would be a rise in material prices. Raw materials like steel and concrete are in high demand right now thanks to Dubai and China going “Infrastructure-wild”, but if the U.S. got involved, prices would go even higher. Second might be failure due to lack of people willing to fill these jobs or skilled labor to perform them. You’ve all seen how long it takes to build a road… imagine if there were millions of more projects to accomplish.
But I think these downsides are nothing compared to the potential upside. Come on Obama and McCain — push this agenda.
Some businesses have been reluctant to make the switch from Windows XP to Windows Vista. Is your small business one of them? Why? Many would say “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. If Windows XP has been working for you, why switch? Well that may be sensible, but you could be missing out on Vista’s next generation graphics and features. What if Microsoft guaranteed that your switch to Vista would be smooth? Well that’s the idea behind Windows Vista Small Business Assurance and responsive customer service team. When your business buys Vista-loaded computers, you will get “free support, compatibility assistance, and one-on-one coaching” from Microsoft. A lot has changed since Vista was first launched — more and more applications and devices have been made compatible (out of the box) and the security of the OS has improved over that of XP.
Some businesses should definitely get with Windows Vista. Any graphical or computer design firm should consider Vista. Microsoft Vista’s Aero GUI is simply amazing. This new hardware-based graphical user interface is amazing to use or just stare at. If your business is involved with web publishing, multimedia products, or design, Vista would be a great fit.
Another great feature of Microsoft Vista is the built-in security and safety mechanisms. The BitLocker Drive Encryption system protects your company data if the computer is lost or stolen. That’s corporate security worth its weight in gold. Add in Vista’s Windows Backup and Restore Center and Windows Defender applications, and your computer will be safe guarded from outside threats.
Here’s an interesting articles I found via Slate.com. It is titled: ‘Vegetarian Consumer Trends: Vegetarians and Vegan Consumers’ is Drawn From A Comprehensive Multi-Phase Research Study of Adults in the United States“.
Basically it breaks down the adult U.S. population into several categories based on personal consumption levels of meat. Here are the results:
“U.S. adults according to their current meat consumption habits…:
- Avid meat consumers (14%) - consume meat with “every” meal
- Regular meat consumers (47%) - consume meat with “most” meals
- Moderate meat consumers (25%) - consume meat with “about half” of meals
- Semi-vegetarians (13%) - consume meat with “fewer than half” of meals
- Vegetarians and vegans (1%) - “never” consume meat”
Which category do you fall into? Are you eating more or less meat than you did in the past? Has the rising price of meat affected your eating habits?
