Insurance is Like a Safety Net

I think most songwriters go through a phase of using the occasional circus reference. Some painters fall into the trap of drawing sad clowns. On rare occasions, a songwriter will even write a song about a painting of a sad clown.

It was inevitable that I would one day make a blog post that uses circus metaphors. The devil-may-care red-neck driving around the roads without car insurance is like a tight rope walker without a net. The circus performer may be a little bit more aware of the risk because of the obvious visible cues, and the audience reactions.

With a driver who has an uninsured accident, there is a good chance that someone in the audience is going to get hurt. That sucks. When there is insurance, a drivers liability can be taken care of.

The Thrifty Scot has some very practical tips on his site. Using lower Insurance premiums as an incentive to quit smoking seems like a great idea.

Insuring your downloaded music seems a bit ridiculous to me. I suppose if you were a DJ it might make sense. I would rather chalk it up to fate if they were destroyed. I would take up whistling.

Reading the article about parking lot accidents brought back stressful memories. I was driving a brand new car that I had borrowed and this kid in the back seat of a car next to me in a fast food restaurant slammed his door into mine. His mother yelled at him causing him to inexplicably close his door and do it AGAIN. To top things off, the whole family then proceeded into the restaurant as if nothing had happened. I sat and gathered my thoughts for a few minutes before going in and insisting on getting their insurance information. It was my parents new car, so I really had to be a stickler. My parents ended up not bothering with the repair.

ESL Lesson: Spellcheck Schmellcheck

I found a cool letter on the Internet today that a person who teaches English as a second language uses in her class. See if you can spot all the mistakes. Microsoft's spell checker and grammar checker can't find any.

Deer stew dents

To questions four you. Do you know how too use the spell checker on the computer?

Can you sea sum spelling mistakes inn this?

The spellchecker on my computer could knot fine any problems - awl my words were correct. The grammar checker all so said my grandma was perfect.

Cheese

Karen

Hammocks Rock, No Socks Required

I miss my hammock. I am thinking it might be time to get a new one. They last for a very long time if they are properly cared for. I technically still have one, except it is in a cabin in another country. I gave my sister the key to the cabin so she could enjoy the place and check in on it from time to time.

My hammock actually has seen a lot of different places. I had used it as a backyard hammock originally. It is one of those cotton hammocks, so I had to take it down during periods of bad weather. I didn't get to relax as much as I had planned because I had two young kids that always wanted to get in the hammock. Whenever we couldn't find their shoes in the summer, the first place I would look was under the hammock.

HammocksRock.com is a great informational site. I learned about some new products there.

My friends and I used to go camping back when I was younger and I remember spending most of one Sunday just lazing around beside a lake in one of those camping hammocks strung up between two trees. You can get them fitted with a mosquito net.

I moved to a place without many trees, so my next hammock will have to include a hammock stand. I hope I can find one that folds up to fit in my small car.

Is the Shakira Tour Finally Over?

I hope the poor girl doesn't burn out on us. Although if you look elsewhere in the pop music world, apparently you can become a total burnout with out singing at all.

I would expect either a confirmation or a firm denial in relation to the wedding rumors soon. But what I really expect to hear from Shakira in the next few weeks is NOTHING. She needs to rest.

My Favorite Phone From Wirefly

If you want to find out what the most popular phone is at any given time, you can usually find an up to date list at Wirefly.com. They are the #1 online mobile phone retailer and they know that popularity is in some respects a self perpetuating thing. Personally, I don't want the MOST popular phone. I'm sure it has really great features and styling, but I just don't want to have a phone that is commonplace. I guess some people share my view, hence the continuous changeover in what is trendy. Of course, a cell phone is more than just an accessory, for most of us at least. It is a tool that we use in our everyday lives. We aren't going to abandon useful features in favor of the latest popular color. I am going to stop typing for a few minutes while I peruse the latest offerings at Wirefly.

The top three most popular models all come in several different colors but my favorite has got to be the Nokia XpressMusic Black. After seeing a friend carrying around his flip phone in two pieces, I am thinking that I will go straight to a slider with my next phone. I'm not sure what the term is for the one that I have now...brick?

Digg this story!

World Music Sampler #11

Some contrast for you. Cape Breton is an island on the East Coast of Canada that is home to people who hold fast to Old World Traditions. And there are the inevitable outliers who break with tradition in almost every sense while still taking something of the tradition as they go to an entirely new place. The two fiddlers are Buddy MacMaster and Ashlee MacIsaac.

The Old Man and the Sea

If you need some evidence that boats are exposed to harsh conditions, just go down to any port of call and look at an old man.

Sun, rain, saltwater spray, it all takes a toll on your cherished vessel. A boat cover can minimize the effect that the elements have on your boat. I have lived in two coastal areas that had very different climates. In one place covers were used to keep out the rain and snow and in the other, much nicer place, the sun is the main enemy. I like shielding stuff from the sun more.

Bayliner is a huge company that makes boat covers to fit many standard shapes and sizes of craft. Of course, some boats aren't standard. You might have a quaint antiquated craft or a cutting edge prototype that you want to protect (maybe even from the curious). For these you may need to have a custom cover made to order.

Songwriter Salagado Has Been Shot

A man who has written and co-written songs for Shakira and a hots of other latin stars has been shot in his home and is possibly in a near death situation.

His attacker had come to the house to sell marijuana to Fabio Alonso Salgado, who was shot around 11:30 p.m. Friday. He has gunshot wounds in the chest and on the back of the head. Police say that Salgado was able to identify his attacker in a photo.

Salgado has penned tracks for Gloria Estefan, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias and Julio Iglesias.

The shooter is in jail in Miami.

Dehumidifiers

I need to get a dehumidifier. My leather jacket keeps growing stuff on it. Dehumidifiertips.com can help people like me figure out what size dehumidifier to buy for my house.

I already have some experience with dehumidifiers. I used to be a Fair Trade Coffee roaster. Unroasted coffee is a hard green seed that can be stored for a year or two and without losing flavor. The catch is this is under ideal conditions of 20 degrees celsius and 50% humidity. Part of my job was to monitor these factors and take steps to maintain the best conditions.

It made sense to go with portable dehumidifiers and humidifiers because I could clean one appliance and put it into storage before it was time to bring the other one out. I would run a humifier all winter and a dehumifier all summer.

One dehumidifier feature that I appreciated when we moved to a bigger storage room was a garden hose attachment so I could divert the water into a drain instead of the reservoir. Most units automatically shut off when the reservoir is full.

I would suggest that you think about dehumififying your home because molds have been shown to be the cause of a lot of illness. It's easier to make your house inhospitable to molds than it is to get rid of them, once they take hold. Dehumidifiertips.com is a great place to start planning your war on mold.

Skakira Gives Herself Away

Shakira performed in front of 210,000 happy Mexicans who didn't pay one peso.

Shakira has been very effusive about her love of the place and the people.

"This has been a month of absolute joy. I have fed off you, and I leave with my heart full."

I think a lot of people in the country of Mexico needed something fun and positive after some of the political and social turmoil that has gone on in recent months.

When Eye Surgery Goes Wrong

Laser eye surgery is becoming more and more popular as an elective surgery. A very small percentage of patients will suffer some kind of Lasik Complications. The fact is that a small percentage of millions of people equals, well lots of people. ComplicatedEyes.org is a site that is reaching out to those people.

I haven't had any elective surgeries in a while but I can tell you that the Internet is now my first source for medical information. I guess the last time I was frantically searching for information about a medical problem was when my daughter was badly stung by a jellyfish.

The ComplicatedEyes.org offers referral services in addition to information. The site was founded by a patient advocate by the name of Glenn Hagele.

ReButtal

I like big butts. Given this undeniable fact, you can imagine that I am glad that singers like Shakira and Beyonce are gaining popularity.

A decade ago, I had to try to like Jennifer Lopez because she was just about the only prominent artist with a prominent posterior.

And that is all I have to say about that.

Get a FREE Bluetooth with your T-Mobile Phone

Wirefly.com is your #1 online source for T-Mobile phones. They have the most popular phones and the best service providers. Something I really like about there online store is the way you can key in you zip code so that when you are browsing you get to choose between the packages that you are actually eligable for. Nothing sucks worse than thinking that you can get a great deal and then finding out that you can't have it because you don't live in the right area.

Do you want something more than great products and great customer service? If you need some kind of offer to pull you over to Wirefly, listen to this. You can choose from a wide selection of phones and packages that come with a FREE Bluetooth headset.

This Motorola Cherry Blossom Tattoo is very cute and it come with MyFaves. I expect this design to become very popular.

Personally, I'd much rather have this XpressMusic . It is loaded with features for such a compact phone. I have pretty much decided not to get a serious smart phone. This might be a nice compromise, a little bit smart and a lot of fun.

I am pretty sure that your favorite phone is at WireFly.

Do Celebrities Have Friends?

I honestly don't know if Shakira has friends. She brings her parents with her on her tours. If I remember correctly, her sister is her tour manager. From what I have been able to piece together, she keeps things quite professional with most of her entourage.

She may keep in touch and socialize with a select group of friends. Maybe she is like me and she has her lover as her best friend.

I have heard about other celebrities who make friends with their staff and then fire them for personal reasons. that is kind of stupid.

I felt sorry for all the press that Lance Armstrong and Matthew McConaughey got when they were doing the buddy thing. Isn't it possible that they were just friends?

A Cool Trickster Site

I just spent the last few minutes feeling completely lost at Trickster Online. There is so much going on on this site. It is amazing.

The trickster forums are very active and most of what is going on is very positive and fun.

The way that I figured out what this communiyt was all about was by refering to the trickster wiki. Complexity is part of the attaction that people have to Trickster. The story of Trickster starts with the convoluted will of a very over the top billionaire name Don Cavalier. Last part of his last will and testament is "Puhahahahaha!!!". That should give you an indication of how the guy rolled. His estate was destined to go to a successful competitor of 'Trickster' which was to happen on a Pacific island.

On an Island in the Sun...

The island that Shakira bought with other musical stars like Roger Waters is supposed to become a site of construction soon.

There is excellent anchorage for luxury yachts around this very private retreat.

Which celebrities like the Super Yachts? Beyonce and Jay Z have been seen chartering a luxury boat. P. Diddy mostly sticks close to St Tropez with his floating bling

People like Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, Paul McCartney, Shaquille O'Neal, Celine Dion, Bill Clinton, Alex Rodriguez, Heidi Klum, Eminem and Dr. Dre may not have that much in common with Shakira other than solvency and a resistance to sea sickness.

It's My Market

When you want or need to look at some free classifieds, you probably want them to be local.

ItsMyMarket.com is a great site that serves a large portion of the UK. When you arrive at the landing page, you can type the first part of your post code into a box and once you enter that, the site automatically tailors your results to match your location.

It makes a lot of sense whether you are looking for a used bicycle or a lover, you don't want to be traipsing all the way across the country just to be disappointed by slack tyres or a shabby seat or whatever else could be wrong.

Ethical Finance Products

The choices we make with our money can be as much of a force for positive change as any vote we can cast. Think about it, we are making money decisions every day, most of us only get to vote every few years.

Co-operativeBank.co.uk is bound by a very exacting code of conduct, so you know that you can do business with them without worrying about what polluter or human rights abuser you might be bankrolling.

Online loan services from this business are competitive with less ethical entities.

They are proud to say that they have turned away over 10 million pounds of business that was not up to their strict ethical standards.

Beatles Music on iTunes?

I haven't heard anything final yet. I have heard rumors that there is supposed to be a deal in the works between Apple and the owners of the rights to the Beatles' recordings.

I had a little phase of listening to Beatles music online a few years back. I didn't even know that it wasn't a legal source for the music at the time.

Subliminal Recordings

If you want help with quiting smoking, or changing your eating habits, or just about any other personal improvement you can think of Subliminal-CDs.com has a recording that can quietly motivate you to succeed at whatever it is that you want to do.

They have an interesting statement on their landing page. They say that all outer change begins as inner change.

They have over 120 subliminal CDs that fall into 13 categories. You could listen to a brain boosting CD on the bus ride to school. You could listen to the claustrophobia curing CD while you are waiting for someone to let you back out of your locker. You could listen to the Improve your Dance Skills CD while you are sitting with the other wallflowers at the noon hour sock hop. You could listen to a CD about salesmanship while you are out selling cookies door to door...

...Wait a second, you aren't some cheese eating high school kid... Why not check out the Ultimate Sexual Skills CD? There is something for everyone at this site.