Recent comments

  • A $25 meal for just $3. Updated.   18 years 39 weeks ago

    The coupons I've bought from restaurant.com aways say one per party, so you may have trouble using 4 of them on that $100 meal. That said, it can still be a great deal.

  • DIY Berlin Style   18 years 39 weeks ago

    I've only been outside the US a few times, but each time, I was in areas where the local color really came through. It sure beat Stepford.

    Regarding the Capri Sun bag: i would ALMOST always encourage DIY, but I wanted to share that purses, totes, and even sandals are being sold by thehungersite.com and the other agencies on those pages (breast cancer, literacy, child health, rain forest and animal rescue) - just click on a Store and in the Search, type "juice" - if you're interested, that is.

  • eBay Account Hackers - don't be fooled   18 years 39 weeks ago

    One of our awesome readers submitted another "Ray Clampp" email stating that "this person dosen't even change his story- just the vehicle."

    From: Ray Clampp [mailto:ray.clampp@gmail.com]
    Sent: Monday, July 23, 2007 6:09 PM
    To:  [redacted]

    Subject: Re:

    Hello,
      Where are you from?
      First of all I must inform you that I'm located in Austria.
      I recently moved here with my job and I had the intention to take the
    car here with me, but I discovered that it is very hard to register a US
    car here and the taxes are very high. Not to mention that here the gasoline
    is much more expensive. So, unfortunately, I had to leave the car in the
    US.

      The price is $7,400. The car is in excellent condition, no rust, no
    technical or cosmetically problems. It has no scratches on and hasn't been
    involved in an accident. The motor runs very well.The car was always
    garaged. The car is still US registered and the title is clear.

      The delivery will take between 12 and 15 business days (with insurance
    and 30 days return policy). I will pay for the shipping! If the car does
    not matches 100% the description, you will return it in maximum 30 days and
    I will pay for the return shipping fees.
      Payment will be made through eBay so we can be both protected!

      If you are interested please let me know. I have reserved the car for
    you, but I will need your answer in the next couple of days.

    Thank you,
    Ray

  • The end of the Energizer bunny: SIX products that don't need batteries.   18 years 39 weeks ago

    I should get one of those shower things for my house. I live in a communal building and someone is always shutting off the water heater!!

    Joann Hong

  • How to Take the World's Most Efficient Shower   18 years 39 weeks ago

    Ours is over the bath and works like Anne's. It can get a bit chilly showering on/off like that in the winter. Unless you are doing your hair, a strip wash is about as quick?

    And it is possible to mostly dry yourself (except the hair on your head unless it's very short) with a flannel.Not as luxurious as a large towel though....

  • DIY Berlin Style   18 years 39 weeks ago

    It's so cool you posted about the shipping containers being re-used. I've seen some fun things with those done over the years. Berlin is a blast, isn't it?

  • How to Take the World's Most Efficient Shower   18 years 39 weeks ago

    I have a water saver showerhead. It is high pressure/low volume with a shut off button. When it's shut off, it puts out a slight spray that keeps the hot and cold water mixed to the right temp. After living several years on the road in a travel trailer, that showerhead proved to be the most workable for two people and a ten gallon water heater. The wet down, lather and shave and then rinse works very well and now, even though I have thirty gallons of hot water available, I still use the same showerhead in my home.

  • Are You Ready for Home Ownership?   18 years 39 weeks ago

    Here's the contraian point of view

    http://tinyurl.com/2v2y4z

    Why Rent to Get Richer

    plus trent over at the simple dollar asked the same question

    http://tinyurl.com/32nzpj

  • Lower Credit Card Rates? Just Ask!   18 years 39 weeks ago

    in less than 10 minutes, the Capital One account supervisor Jeremiah, reduced my APR to 14.9! Woo hoo!! I've had it at 20% for the past 2 years. All I did was ask :)

  • The end of the Energizer bunny: SIX products that don't need batteries.   18 years 39 weeks ago

    It's called Solio.

      

  • The end of the Energizer bunny: SIX products that don't need batteries.   18 years 39 weeks ago

    Casio also has a solar line, I own one of these watches.
    Tough as nails, solar powered and other bells and whistles for $80.

  • Best investment: yourself   18 years 39 weeks ago

    Having faced a few disappointments in my life, I felt that enough was enough. I decided to return to school which was the best decision that I've ever made. Not only am I learning new skills, but I've also gained insight into myself.

    The more I invest in myself helps me face each new challenge which enables me to overcome any fears that I have.

  • The end of the Energizer bunny: SIX products that don't need batteries.   18 years 39 weeks ago

    I've seen a few of these before, but never the phone charging kit. Interesting.

    Have you seen the solar panels with charging adapters for various items?

  • How to Take the World's Most Efficient Shower   18 years 39 weeks ago

    Showers are one thing that I do not skimp on.

  • Best investment: yourself   18 years 39 weeks ago

    Passive income streams are great, but they inherently depend on some system continuing to function. That works fine in good times, but its risky to count on. As you say, you need skills you can depend on when you can't depend on anything else.

    The other upside, as Todd alludes to, is that there's nothing better than earning your living doing work that is also your passion. If you can make money doing exactly what you'd want to do anyway, that's the best of all possible worlds. The problem is that society is set up right now to make that hard. Good jobs are all full-time, so it's hard to ease into something different. Saving for retirement seems to demand a high income now. Although people do it, it doesn't quite fit with the way the job market works to have a variety of skills and to use them and to keep learning new ones. It's worth doing, though, even if you can only do it around the edges.

  • How to Take the World's Most Efficient Shower   18 years 39 weeks ago

    It cost $30 (I think - it was a gift) and it attaches to the shower head. There's a button to turn the water on and off. I often use it to shower. It's a long, flexible tube, so you can aim the water wherever you need it, rather than waiting for the water to flow. This is a polite way of saying that it's easy to scrub your bum using the water hose.

    The thing I don't like about it is that I get really cold in between the times that I have the water on. But that's just a part of the deal, I guess.

  • Best investment: yourself   18 years 39 weeks ago

    Two quick things.

    Someday (after my fiancee has graduated) I will go back to college for my own personal improvement rather than pursuing a degree for increased monetary gain. This will be investing in myself and I'm very excited about it.

    My brother took a part-time job at a winery because wine and its creation/production interest him a lot. Since then he has amassed a few thousand dollars that he's been unwilling to spend (he makes more than enough money at his "day job"). The idea and offer came to him to buy his own grapes and barrels and try his hand at making his own wine. Because it was something he was supremely interested in, that's what he spent his money on. I agreed with him that investing the money in himself was the best possible way he could have spent it.

  • Did Office Max hire an accountant with an I.Q. of 62?   18 years 39 weeks ago

    I work at OfficeMax in territory 2 and I can tell this was posted from someone at the corporate office, most likely a VP of something. What hourly employee tracks the stock movement on a regular basis? The phrase “Trends to advance” reeks of a VP with fat stock options! Most employees don’t make enough to buy OMX stock. Did you know the average raise is an annual 15 cents per hour? That’s right once a year the manager pulls a floor associate; making an average of $7 an hour, in the office tells them their doing a good job and gives them a 15 cent raise for the year. Sad I know.

    However, I do have to say for the most part OfficeMax does stress offering the customer the best solution. Meaning cheaper isn’t always best and expensive isn’t always better. I feel pretty confident that if I were to walk into a store an associate wouldn’t try to sell me something I didn’t need or had features I wouldn’t use. And the coupon thing is strictly forbidden; how the register let him do it is beyond me.

    However on the treating the employees with respect, that’s a total different issue in my store. At the store I work at the store manager pretty much treats the employees like sh*t. They have had four assistant managers in two years quit and working on a fifth. But I’m not going to go as far as to say its happening company wide. It just might be one bad apple……. but don’t they usually spoil the bunch? But when you are running one of the most profitable districts in the company HR can look the other way.

  • How to Take the World's Most Efficient Shower   18 years 39 weeks ago

    In some hostels and campsites I've seen timers on the shower. You turn the handle from left to right to turn on and then it slowly rotates back to off. This lasts for about 30-40 seconds - usually takes me about 90 seconds of water for a shower though. Wonder how much it would be to install one in a home shower? Probably not much.

  • Best investment: yourself   18 years 39 weeks ago

    I concur, although I'm also a big fan of creating passive income streams in the event that health or other issues prevent me from using skills I have.

    But when it comes to being able to start over with nothing, the greater your skill set the greater your chances of landing on your feet in a hurry.

  • The cost of a free ride - why not to use a buyer's agent   18 years 39 weeks ago

    Sorry but this story is obviously written by someone who doesn't know jack about real estate.

  • How to Take the World's Most Efficient Shower   18 years 39 weeks ago

    In Europe, this is standard practice. The showerhead is actually not connected to the wall, so you have to place it down after every rinse, and turn of the water so it doesn't splash all over the place.

    I don't know that this necessarily limits water use to 60 seconds though; it never did for me.

  • How to Take the World's Most Efficient Shower   18 years 39 weeks ago

    Never thought about turning off and on to conserve water. I'll try this out tonight.

  • Are You Ready for Home Ownership?   18 years 39 weeks ago

    I can only think of two things I like about my house. No noisy neighbours upstairs or downstairs and the freedom of pet ownership.

    I am continually amazed by how much money I'm dumping into the house. It's not any single thing either. It's EVERYTHING. Furniture, repairs, upgrades and huge money suckers like the roof. While we haven't had to dip into retirement savings, we haven't added anything to them either since buying the house.

    The good news is that housing in our part of the country is among the cheapest around.

    But as far as I can see, the house will be our primary obstacle to early retirement.

  • Pursuing Interests: Free to $1K+   18 years 39 weeks ago

    I have been involved in Tae Kwon Do on and off since the age of 11, and achieved my black belt at the age of 25. I highly recommend you to rethink your decision to turn your son down, depending on his motives. It's true it can be expensive, especially with uniform and equipment fees on top of the monthly fee, but the benefits I, and others, have gotten from it are priceless. Increased confidence, respect for others, ability to follow through on instruction and teach others, physical fitness, exposure to parts of a different culture and language, and ability to defend onesself and others in a dangerous situation are the tip of the iceberg. Maybe you could have a 3-6 month "trial" period? Also many schools give discounts for family members - it would be a great way to have a new activity for the whole family to share in, and self-defense is an extremely important skill for men and women of all ages to have.
    But you know your son best, and if you think he has different ideas about martial arts (like it can be a cool way to impress his friends or beat people up), it may be best to put it on the back burner. But please don't disregard it on price alone.