Like Tina, I received the game the day it came out. Don't forget that EB is still giving away $60 off if you trade in three games; this is what we did, and we received the game for $30ish the day it came out. Not even bad for a regular game.
I can not stop talking about Wii Fit to my friends, family, and personal trainer. Yes, I have a personal trainer. I got Wii Fit to complement my 2-month weight-loss/nutrition program. I suppose it doesn't replace the gym, as there's no proper weight lifting to it; but, the Free Run ability you unlock later, is better than a treadmill! I really think Wii Fit is one of the best games released on Wii since it came out. (Ok.. i lied, Endless Ocean is)
Thanks for this review. I think everyone should own a Wii Fit.. it's a great start to a healthy life! =D
I got mine the day it came out. Since then (almost a month), I've only missed one day. That says it all for me - if it can keep me coming back, it's worth it. The trainer and the high score list motivate me in a way no other exercise has. The first time I got the boxing trainer to say "Good job!" instead of "We'll try again tomorrow.", I was literally grinning for half an hour. The last time I got a gym membership, it was $200 just to sign up, plus monthly fees. No, this isn't as intense as going to the gym, but the way I see it, 30 minutes of a not-as-intense workout is still way better then making excuses to not go to the gym.
I agree that the example with the homes is a ripoff, but BOGO can work at saving you money at grocery stores. Like others have mentioned you have to be a very good shopper. You have to know what is a good deal AND only concentrate on items you regularly buy AND can use safely before the expiration date.
I regularly stock up on BOGO deals at Publix, but again only if we usually buy the products anyway. For example, we use so much pasta, sauce, and olive oil, that those are some of the items we specifically stock up on if they are the right price and/or product we usually buy. It's worked out tremendously for us!
I happen to LOVE the balance games -- especially the ski jump; I stink at all of the except the ski jump, which is the ONLY Wii game of any sort I can beat my 16 year old at (and btw, there is absolutely nothing that could get me down a ski jump in real life). Have fun.
S
Routines are great, but I'm loathe to stop writing when I'm in the zone -- even if that zone has lasted hours and hours. I'll let even need-to-do tasks wait whenever a creative spurt is going hot and heavy. There is something to be said for this type of single-tasking. When the surge finally passes, I feel spent but also tremendously satisfied. But, most of the time, I do stick to routines.
Dont count on the good ol IRS givin you anything! I have spent hours on the phone with them,as my taxes too where messed up. I only got 900.00 out of the promised based on my family size 1500.00 I asked why that happened when the check came and I was rudely told that consider it a 600.00 lesson! Once taxes are filed, even if they are corrected, as in yours and my case, the IRS doesnt care, they want to keep as much of that stimulus as they can- its not about whats right or what was promised. You most likely will not ever see that money- oh and there "may" be a line on the 2008 taxes for a rebate or something- of course no one knows that at the IRS offices either!
Any and all tax returns submitted on or before April the 15th, if mistakes where not caught before then, there is nothing the IRS will or wants to do. You still have to file the 1040x as thats the right thing to do.
Sorry dude, I know the felling of wanting the check and not getting it- we lost our house because of it! I promised the mortgage company 1500.00 as that was what the check was to be, and when I recieved only 900.00, I was left holding the bag, they couldnt wait any longer, and had to proceed with the foreclosure.. and I have a disabled wife and 2 kids- that was the hardest day of my life, having to tell them that no one was there for them!
What a great country we live in, gas is through the
roof, as is food, the govt is corrupt, Bush is a liar ! I cant wait till hes out of office.
this is so true and so hard to do. i've started setting myself to do the challenges over at www.illustrationfriday.com -- it has swiftly become the highlight of my week.
I've got the scheduling part down. The hard part is getting the rest of the household to respect what it means when I tell them, "Not now, I'm working." Since I work at home on the same computer my husband uses to play games and watch movies, and since so far I have not earned any money with my creativity, it seems hard to get everyone in the mindset that I am working, not playing, and need not to be disturbed!
Philip, it always seemed intuitive to me as a writer that I'd need to schedule time to get the work done. Unfortunately, I didn't make the same connection with songwriting until last year.
To all you starving artists sitting around feeling sorry for yourself and "waiting for the muse to hit" - don't wait. Set a time and do it. Now will do. Trust me.
Obviously, Kamerschen falls into the tenth man category, with that "feel sorry for the rich" attitude!
In reality, it goes more like this:
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.
"Since you are all such good customers", he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20". Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his "fair share?"
They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.
And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Rather than being content with the relative savings, the 10th man hired an accountant, an attorney, and a lobbyist for $19 total. They managed to get the system amended so that they now paid $8; which is less than both the 8th and 9th pay and an 86% savings.
What a neat tool that website provides! I live in Canada and didn't think my address would register but surprise, surprise, my address scored an 80!
I absolutely love living in a walkable neighbourhood. I walk to and from work, walk to get my groceries, coffee, pharmacy, bakery, bookstore...the list goes on! I save on gas, help reduce my environmental footprint and stay healthy at the same time. Did I mention that there are river paths only 15 minutes away? You just can't beat living in a walkable neighbourhood. Suburbs...no way!!
I'm definitely going to let my friends know about this link the next time anyone is thinking of moving! Thanks for the post and keep up the good work!
I live in Center City, Philadelphia - one of the best smaller, metropolitan cities in the US. And coming from NYC earlier this year, also extremely affordable (from a NY'ers point of view).
I love being able to walk everywhere. Not to mention that (as my 6-year old puts it) it's good for your buns and thighs.
My friends have always considered me insane for wanting to be in the city. Now that gas is hitting some insane high notes, I'm having the last laugh.
Every time I hear a comment about how we should privatize all of our infrastructure I have to giggle. It sort of exposes someone who hasn't really looked at the issue. Very few needed services that we depend on to actually keep the country running work well as privatized entities. The more critical the worse it is.
Then again I hear people saying we should privatize everything including roads, police & fire.
Rail here isn't perfect because it has been under funded for decades. We are playing catch up and you need to put money into it for it to improve.
(Quote): "Yes, one man's trash is another man's treasure, but crap is crap no matter who has it." (end quote)
Huh? (scratching head). I always thought crap and trash could pretty much be used interchangeably, and according to the American Heritage Dictionary definitions 4 and 5, crap is "Cheap or shoddy material. Miscellaneous or disorganized items; clutter."
And I think we've already established that opinions on what constitures cheap and clutter vary from person to person.
So since "one man's trash is another man's treasure" is just a pleasant way of saying "one man's crap is another man's gold mine" I'm not really sure what point the guest is trying to make with that quote.
In a nutshell, sounds like he's saying, "Sure, one man's trash is another man's treasure, but trash is trash no matter who has it." Unless of course he's talking about crap in the traditional sense, but I really can't see anyone digging that out of the toilet and posting it online. (Well, who knows, maybe if it belongs to someone famous...you never know what crazy things people will do...)
I am an ex-NY/NJ metro area girl who now lives in a west Ft. Lauderdale city.I was very use to walking and getting around without a car. Then I moved down here and was living in an area with not alot.It was sooo frustrating. So when I met my hubby and we went searching for a home to buy, we wanted some place that had public transportation and stores , etc. in walking distance. It has really paid off. For a while we only had one car so I was able to get around and do things and run errands. Now its a little harder to run errands when you have a little one with you and it is easier to take the car( though he does get a kick out of taking the bus), but it is still such a short distance that it doesn't make a dent in the gas tank. I can make the gas last 2-2 1/2 weeks.
Yes, one man's trash is another man's treasure, but crap is crap no matter who has it.
You're not getting the point of the post. Instead of people legitimitely trying to help out or keep things from the landfill, they are posting on CL in hopes someone will take trash off their hands.
The "Free Firewood" section always gets me. It comes in two forms
1. construction or remodeling junk that people can't get rid of, like picture 2 in the post. It is expensive to take that stuff to the landfill, and my city expressly prohibits you from placing "construction lumber or products" in the trash and will not pick it up. So people are trying to unload this any way they can, and of course they are trying to get rid of it through CL or freecycle. Construction lumber is almost always pine or fir, which burns very quickly and is not a good choice for firewood. The paint gives off toxic fumes when burned and there will also be LOTS of nails left over after the fire. Not a good thing for feet or the environment.
2. trees that you have to cut down and haul away. What happens here is people get an estimate from a tree service and don't want to pay that much, so they are trying to sucker someone into doing it for free. The last one I read said "must be insured and know what you are doing". Hmm, if you're that concerned you better hire a tree service.
This is just one example - I think you are being way too cavalier if you think there's no such thing as junk, even if it is for free.
There's a Yahoo Group on money laundering called "belastingparadijzen & bankgeheim".
The schemes and international corporate structures used in money laundering operations are in some cases much like the schemes used by companies in legitimate tax planning.
Big international companies use shell corporations from Caribbean tax havens (OFC's) all the time. Remember Enron?
Yes, we must contract Halliburton to run Amtrak. Privatization is always better because privatization is better. To expand train service the government should pay Halliburton 500 billion Euros and see if service improves. If it doesn't, the government should continue to give them 500 billion Euros per year until it does. In order to further encourage Halliburton's investment in infrastructure, it should be exempt from taxes. No taxes and large subsidies until we have the best train system in world!
Some stores (like CVS, Rite Aid, etc.) will allow two coupons, one per item even though the second one rings up as $0.00. My local grocery store won't take that second coupon, and I've noticed they raise the "sale" price when a product goes BOGO. At the drugstores, however, I can reduce the out-of-pocket price dramatically by using two coupons on the one price.
And for the commenter above who paid double at CVS--when that happens, you need to say something right away at the register. Just have them void the transaction and go back and find the correct item. Sometimes they haven't put the tags on the shelf to make it easier to identify which size/variety is BOGO.
I don't think that anything is wrong with the Free section in Craigslist. You can find some really great things. And the saying "One man's trash is another man's treasure" is so true.
BUT, I do think that people need to be extra specific when they post their ads.
Case in point: I needed boxes for moving. I saw an ad that said LOTS of moving boxes. So I drove the half hour to another city, got to the apartment, and the lady had 5 small boxes! And they weren't even broken down!
Good response, Philip. I was about to post something along the same line, but yours is better.
Equity in government support for transportation could be achieved in various ways. Governmental subsidies could reduced, up to the extreme of eliminating all government subsidies (many obvious but some a little more subtle such as the federal government paying for airport security and railroads not even being exempt from property taxes on their rights of way).
Surely no good libertarian could object to letting the airports, the highways, as well as the rail-lines shift for themselves.
But I suspect that not all of us would like what our transportation system looked like in a couple of years.
Like Tina, I received the game the day it came out. Don't forget that EB is still giving away $60 off if you trade in three games; this is what we did, and we received the game for $30ish the day it came out. Not even bad for a regular game.
I can not stop talking about Wii Fit to my friends, family, and personal trainer. Yes, I have a personal trainer. I got Wii Fit to complement my 2-month weight-loss/nutrition program. I suppose it doesn't replace the gym, as there's no proper weight lifting to it; but, the Free Run ability you unlock later, is better than a treadmill! I really think Wii Fit is one of the best games released on Wii since it came out. (Ok.. i lied, Endless Ocean is)
Thanks for this review. I think everyone should own a Wii Fit.. it's a great start to a healthy life! =D
I got mine the day it came out. Since then (almost a month), I've only missed one day. That says it all for me - if it can keep me coming back, it's worth it. The trainer and the high score list motivate me in a way no other exercise has. The first time I got the boxing trainer to say "Good job!" instead of "We'll try again tomorrow.", I was literally grinning for half an hour. The last time I got a gym membership, it was $200 just to sign up, plus monthly fees. No, this isn't as intense as going to the gym, but the way I see it, 30 minutes of a not-as-intense workout is still way better then making excuses to not go to the gym.
I agree that the example with the homes is a ripoff, but BOGO can work at saving you money at grocery stores. Like others have mentioned you have to be a very good shopper. You have to know what is a good deal AND only concentrate on items you regularly buy AND can use safely before the expiration date.
I regularly stock up on BOGO deals at Publix, but again only if we usually buy the products anyway. For example, we use so much pasta, sauce, and olive oil, that those are some of the items we specifically stock up on if they are the right price and/or product we usually buy. It's worked out tremendously for us!
I happen to LOVE the balance games -- especially the ski jump; I stink at all of the except the ski jump, which is the ONLY Wii game of any sort I can beat my 16 year old at (and btw, there is absolutely nothing that could get me down a ski jump in real life). Have fun.
S
Routines are great, but I'm loathe to stop writing when I'm in the zone -- even if that zone has lasted hours and hours. I'll let even need-to-do tasks wait whenever a creative spurt is going hot and heavy. There is something to be said for this type of single-tasking. When the surge finally passes, I feel spent but also tremendously satisfied. But, most of the time, I do stick to routines.
Dont count on the good ol IRS givin you anything! I have spent hours on the phone with them,as my taxes too where messed up. I only got 900.00 out of the promised based on my family size 1500.00 I asked why that happened when the check came and I was rudely told that consider it a 600.00 lesson! Once taxes are filed, even if they are corrected, as in yours and my case, the IRS doesnt care, they want to keep as much of that stimulus as they can- its not about whats right or what was promised. You most likely will not ever see that money- oh and there "may" be a line on the 2008 taxes for a rebate or something- of course no one knows that at the IRS offices either!
Any and all tax returns submitted on or before April the 15th, if mistakes where not caught before then, there is nothing the IRS will or wants to do. You still have to file the 1040x as thats the right thing to do.
Sorry dude, I know the felling of wanting the check and not getting it- we lost our house because of it! I promised the mortgage company 1500.00 as that was what the check was to be, and when I recieved only 900.00, I was left holding the bag, they couldnt wait any longer, and had to proceed with the foreclosure.. and I have a disabled wife and 2 kids- that was the hardest day of my life, having to tell them that no one was there for them!
What a great country we live in, gas is through the
roof, as is food, the govt is corrupt, Bush is a liar ! I cant wait till hes out of office.
this is so true and so hard to do. i've started setting myself to do the challenges over at www.illustrationfriday.com -- it has swiftly become the highlight of my week.
I love this guy's recipes. However he seems strangely energetic. Like someone who's been using meth. I'm not saying he is, but that's just weird.
I've got the scheduling part down. The hard part is getting the rest of the household to respect what it means when I tell them, "Not now, I'm working." Since I work at home on the same computer my husband uses to play games and watch movies, and since so far I have not earned any money with my creativity, it seems hard to get everyone in the mindset that I am working, not playing, and need not to be disturbed!
Philip, it always seemed intuitive to me as a writer that I'd need to schedule time to get the work done. Unfortunately, I didn't make the same connection with songwriting until last year.
To all you starving artists sitting around feeling sorry for yourself and "waiting for the muse to hit" - don't wait. Set a time and do it. Now will do. Trust me.
Great stuff, mate.
Obviously, Kamerschen falls into the tenth man category, with that "feel sorry for the rich" attitude!
In reality, it goes more like this:
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.
"Since you are all such good customers", he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20". Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his "fair share?"
They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.
And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Rather than being content with the relative savings, the 10th man hired an accountant, an attorney, and a lobbyist for $19 total. They managed to get the system amended so that they now paid $8; which is less than both the 8th and 9th pay and an 86% savings.
What a neat tool that website provides! I live in Canada and didn't think my address would register but surprise, surprise, my address scored an 80!
I absolutely love living in a walkable neighbourhood. I walk to and from work, walk to get my groceries, coffee, pharmacy, bakery, bookstore...the list goes on! I save on gas, help reduce my environmental footprint and stay healthy at the same time. Did I mention that there are river paths only 15 minutes away? You just can't beat living in a walkable neighbourhood. Suburbs...no way!!
I'm definitely going to let my friends know about this link the next time anyone is thinking of moving! Thanks for the post and keep up the good work!
http://pushingthirtymydebtdeadline.blogspot.com/
I live in Center City, Philadelphia - one of the best smaller, metropolitan cities in the US. And coming from NYC earlier this year, also extremely affordable (from a NY'ers point of view).
I love being able to walk everywhere. Not to mention that (as my 6-year old puts it) it's good for your buns and thighs.
My friends have always considered me insane for wanting to be in the city. Now that gas is hitting some insane high notes, I'm having the last laugh.
Viva la city living!
Every time I hear a comment about how we should privatize all of our infrastructure I have to giggle. It sort of exposes someone who hasn't really looked at the issue. Very few needed services that we depend on to actually keep the country running work well as privatized entities. The more critical the worse it is.
Then again I hear people saying we should privatize everything including roads, police & fire.
Rail here isn't perfect because it has been under funded for decades. We are playing catch up and you need to put money into it for it to improve.
(Quote): "Yes, one man's trash is another man's treasure, but crap is crap no matter who has it." (end quote)
Huh? (scratching head). I always thought crap and trash could pretty much be used interchangeably, and according to the American Heritage Dictionary definitions 4 and 5, crap is "Cheap or shoddy material. Miscellaneous or disorganized items; clutter."
And I think we've already established that opinions on what constitures cheap and clutter vary from person to person.
So since "one man's trash is another man's treasure" is just a pleasant way of saying "one man's crap is another man's gold mine" I'm not really sure what point the guest is trying to make with that quote.
In a nutshell, sounds like he's saying, "Sure, one man's trash is another man's treasure, but trash is trash no matter who has it." Unless of course he's talking about crap in the traditional sense, but I really can't see anyone digging that out of the toilet and posting it online. (Well, who knows, maybe if it belongs to someone famous...you never know what crazy things people will do...)
Hi!
I am an ex-NY/NJ metro area girl who now lives in a west Ft. Lauderdale city.I was very use to walking and getting around without a car. Then I moved down here and was living in an area with not alot.It was sooo frustrating. So when I met my hubby and we went searching for a home to buy, we wanted some place that had public transportation and stores , etc. in walking distance. It has really paid off. For a while we only had one car so I was able to get around and do things and run errands. Now its a little harder to run errands when you have a little one with you and it is easier to take the car( though he does get a kick out of taking the bus), but it is still such a short distance that it doesn't make a dent in the gas tank. I can make the gas last 2-2 1/2 weeks.
The experiment I describe on my blog enabled me to cool the house much faster, using less electricity.
You are right about water. Evaporation of water can cool the air by over 6 degrees by absorbing latent heat.
It also makes your air conditioning more efficient.
Yes, one man's trash is another man's treasure, but crap is crap no matter who has it.
You're not getting the point of the post. Instead of people legitimitely trying to help out or keep things from the landfill, they are posting on CL in hopes someone will take trash off their hands.
The "Free Firewood" section always gets me. It comes in two forms
1. construction or remodeling junk that people can't get rid of, like picture 2 in the post. It is expensive to take that stuff to the landfill, and my city expressly prohibits you from placing "construction lumber or products" in the trash and will not pick it up. So people are trying to unload this any way they can, and of course they are trying to get rid of it through CL or freecycle. Construction lumber is almost always pine or fir, which burns very quickly and is not a good choice for firewood. The paint gives off toxic fumes when burned and there will also be LOTS of nails left over after the fire. Not a good thing for feet or the environment.
2. trees that you have to cut down and haul away. What happens here is people get an estimate from a tree service and don't want to pay that much, so they are trying to sucker someone into doing it for free. The last one I read said "must be insured and know what you are doing". Hmm, if you're that concerned you better hire a tree service.
This is just one example - I think you are being way too cavalier if you think there's no such thing as junk, even if it is for free.
There's a Yahoo Group on money laundering called "belastingparadijzen & bankgeheim".
The schemes and international corporate structures used in money laundering operations are in some cases much like the schemes used by companies in legitimate tax planning.
Big international companies use shell corporations from Caribbean tax havens (OFC's) all the time. Remember Enron?
Yes, we must contract Halliburton to run Amtrak. Privatization is always better because privatization is better. To expand train service the government should pay Halliburton 500 billion Euros and see if service improves. If it doesn't, the government should continue to give them 500 billion Euros per year until it does. In order to further encourage Halliburton's investment in infrastructure, it should be exempt from taxes. No taxes and large subsidies until we have the best train system in world!
Some stores (like CVS, Rite Aid, etc.) will allow two coupons, one per item even though the second one rings up as $0.00. My local grocery store won't take that second coupon, and I've noticed they raise the "sale" price when a product goes BOGO. At the drugstores, however, I can reduce the out-of-pocket price dramatically by using two coupons on the one price.
And for the commenter above who paid double at CVS--when that happens, you need to say something right away at the register. Just have them void the transaction and go back and find the correct item. Sometimes they haven't put the tags on the shelf to make it easier to identify which size/variety is BOGO.
I don't think that anything is wrong with the Free section in Craigslist. You can find some really great things. And the saying "One man's trash is another man's treasure" is so true.
BUT, I do think that people need to be extra specific when they post their ads.
Case in point: I needed boxes for moving. I saw an ad that said LOTS of moving boxes. So I drove the half hour to another city, got to the apartment, and the lady had 5 small boxes! And they weren't even broken down!
I was still happy to get them, but geez!
I have that somewhere, either in storage or the bottom of the salvaged flood items from the book shelf.
Either way, it's slammin'! And right on with the flavor match up.
some of us use 50 spf sunscreen and lube it on every hour and still get burnt to a crisp
thanks for the remidies
not all of us can prevent it :[
Good response, Philip. I was about to post something along the same line, but yours is better.
Equity in government support for transportation could be achieved in various ways. Governmental subsidies could reduced, up to the extreme of eliminating all government subsidies (many obvious but some a little more subtle such as the federal government paying for airport security and railroads not even being exempt from property taxes on their rights of way).
Surely no good libertarian could object to letting the airports, the highways, as well as the rail-lines shift for themselves.
But I suspect that not all of us would like what our transportation system looked like in a couple of years.