Recent comments

  • Bar Stool Economics   18 years 19 weeks ago

    Is this really "right wing propaganda" or something worth pondering? And if this is a financial site, I would hope the topic to taxes would come up at some point. We all need to think about how the current system works, and weather it can be improved upon to have maximum benefit for everyone in this country.

  • 4 Inexpensive Breakfasts in Under Five Minutes   18 years 19 weeks ago

    We do the hot cereal bit often (especially in cold weather) in the microwave, just raisons and oats, water and a dash of salt. Cook on high for 1 min 45 seconds right in the bowl. The only thing- don't use melamine. The kids doctor it up as they like.

    We make smoothies when the bananas are getting a bit overripe or if we have a bunch of messy fruit (like peaches during canning season). You can use almost any combination. And we clean the blender in a similar way as a previous poster does. Very simple.

  • Bar Stool Economics   18 years 19 weeks ago

    As someone who falls into the lowest tax bracket I am insulted to read this right wing propoganda at a financial site.

  • How to Make Moonshine   18 years 19 weeks ago

    Thanks for the quick response.

    I read that you said yeast and sugar cannot make methanol. I've read somewhere else though that there are other "heads" and "tails" that are unwanted when you're distilling. I think ethanol is being produced when it was around 78-80 celcius. When you distilling what you made with just yeast, water, and sugar do you have to worry about pouring out the first part until it heats up and then pouring out the end if it gets too hot?

    How do you filter through activated charcoal? Is this the same from a fish store and you just pour through or is there a food grade charcoal that you pour through to help reduce any unwanted chemicals or strong flavors?

  • 4 Inexpensive Breakfasts in Under Five Minutes   18 years 19 weeks ago

    We were given a Magic Bullet knockoff for Christmas - kind of a mini-blender, where the blade fastens directly on to the cup - and it's fabulous for smoothies in the morning. Everybody gets exactly what they want in their smoothie and the blade and cups go in the dishwasher.

  • 4 Inexpensive Breakfasts in Under Five Minutes   18 years 19 weeks ago

    I also forgot to add that a great way to get veggies to kids is buy the pre-washed organize spinach and put about a cup in your favorite frozen fruit smoothie - the kids can't taste it because spinach takes on the flavor of what it is with - great way to get greens in kids...

  • 4 Inexpensive Breakfasts in Under Five Minutes   18 years 19 weeks ago

    We do smoothies quite often at our place - the easiest cleanup I have found is to rinse the blender container with water and then put about one cup of hot water with one drop of dish soap in it. Next put the container back on the blender (make sure lid is in place) and run the blender until the water gets all soapy (the force of the blender actually cleans the inside of the container better than the dishwasher) - dump out the soapy water, rinse container and air dry in dish rack - maybe 1 min tops...easy!

  • I'll take a slice of lemon with fecal bacteria please.   18 years 19 weeks ago

    Ya know....to think I've lived 43 years and have survived putting lemon on nearly everything I order at restaurants.....I agree...we're being so germaphobic that we are creating superbugs like MRSA. We all just need to have common sense and just chill out.

  • Six Horrible Financial Products You Should Avoid   18 years 19 weeks ago

    Consumerist has a story today about a WSJ article on pay day lenders. There are some of them that are snaring senior citizens and the disabled into pay day loans when they need money but then end up taking control of their social security checks. The pay day lender works with the persons bank to take the check. Then the pay day lender takes what they want and give the person what is left.

    I am just speechless about how horrible that is. It should be illegal.

  • “I see dumb people” – Learn to cold-read like a so-called “psychic.”   18 years 19 weeks ago

    Remote viewing is a highly documented and thoroughly researched tool that was developed by our government. I'm sure you're familiar with it. While popular psychics may be questionable, the research done on remote viewing is solid. I'm not sure how years of research could overlook the remote viewing programs developed here in the states and also Russia.

    But in case it was an oversight, these programs have reputable research and scientists behind it.

    Good opinion piece though, even if I don't agree.

    Ben

  • Are Private Schools Worth the Money They Demand?   18 years 19 weeks ago

    Ok, see your point, but..... since I've got children ranging from 3 to 24, I feel like I have some experience in this issue. For Nashville, TN the choice is ambiguous at best. We have some great private schools, and then there are some really bad ones as of late. The graduates of one private school here score poorly compared to public schools in a nearby county. And teaching techniques have evolved greatly in the last 18 years that I have physically participated. Furthermore, some private schools weed out illegal immigrants just because of accessibility alone, so there is less drag on the over all performance of that school. So, bottom line is where do you live? Sounds like you need to live in a rich area, like Brentwood, and attend public school with every other child (that can afford to live there.)

  • 4 Inexpensive Breakfasts in Under Five Minutes   18 years 19 weeks ago

    Go, girl! We do the oatmeal thing quite a bite. I've been promising myself to get better at testing out crockpot breakfasts, but alas . . . it hasn't happened yet.

  • Longtime Mac Users Punished for Loyalty   18 years 19 weeks ago

    you are running a really old mac and you expect it to run new technology. it's unrealistic.

    then you call people who've bought newer mac's people who've fallen away from the true faith. we are still true faith we just upgraded.

  • Longtime Mac Users Punished for Loyalty   18 years 19 weeks ago

    One word - "Archos"

    Bought one - haven't looked at my ipod since - and didn't need to replace my perfectly working 7 year old mac book so I could run the new O/S to run the new iTunes so I could have also "extensively" bought music from apple as well.

    where once I was loyal - now I say suck it apple!

  • Six Horrible Financial Products You Should Avoid   18 years 19 weeks ago

    Along the lines of payday loans is the "Instant Refund" loans you get at the big tax prep firms. You know, "I got people."

    More like "I got charged 3600% interest on money that I loaned to the government for 0%."

  • What is keeping you from a life of financial independence?   18 years 19 weeks ago

    These commenters who have commented on how they never want to retire because it would be boring seem to be suffering from a failure of imagination.

    I intend to retire at 40 (hopefully) at which time I will travel frugally, read books, be with family, volunteer, play poker and watch tv.

    I don't need to be forced to work in a labor camp (no matter how nice a labor camp) just so I will have something to do. These people who can't think of things to do should try to recapture some of their childhood dreams and desires. It's never too late to live your life!

    Btw: I don't think it's an accident that surveys of happiness consistently show that older people (aka retired people) are more happy than people who have to go to the labor camps every day.

  • Bar Stool Economics   18 years 19 weeks ago

    Some career advice:
    Do what you do well, articles on frugality and personal finance and save the politics for the WSJ editorial page, cause this propaganda is alienating your readers and there are plenty of other personal finance blogs.

  • Bar Stool Economics   18 years 19 weeks ago

    The funny thing is is that if you took the time to read Title 26 USCA Sub A "IncomeTax" , you would learn that your work and labor is not taxable (with very few execptions).

    Sadly, it's long, hard to read or understand, and the IRS threatens us to "pay up or else."

  • Bar Stool Economics   18 years 19 weeks ago

    The funny thing is is that if you took the time to read Title 26 USCA Sub A "IncomeTax" , you would learn that your work and labor is not taxable (with very few execptions).

    Sadly, it's long, hard to read or understand, and the IRS threatens us to "pay up or else."

  • Six Horrible Financial Products You Should Avoid   18 years 19 weeks ago

    here's a MSN article that says store credit cards will lower your credit scroe:

    Steve Rhode, president of Myvesta, a nonprofit consumer-education organization, agrees, saying that each time you open a store credit card, 20 points are taken off of your credit score because, he says, "Historically, store credit cards are issued to anyone with a pulse. They issue credit cards to people who otherwise can't get credit."

  • Six Horrible Financial Products You Should Avoid   18 years 19 weeks ago

    Unbelievable - that is truly one of the worst ideas I have heard of in a long time. I'm glad you lumped it together with payday loans.

    On payday loans, Oregon like many states recently passed legislation to cap payday loan interest rates at 36%. In turn, many payday lenders are trying to get their license changed from a "payday lender" to a "consumer-finance" lender, which only stipulates that the borrower has 61 days or more to pay that type of loan back. That type of license has no cap - these types of lenders have been known to charge 372% according to this article:

    http://wweek.com/editorial/3228/7557

    Slime, slime, slime.... :)

  • Six Horrible Financial Products You Should Avoid   18 years 19 weeks ago

    Thanks for all the feedback! I'm not sure if cancelling store credit cards would help your credit score, but it may help you from being an identity theft victim. One thing I didn't mention is that stores generally have less security measures in place than major banks and financial institutions. Oh, and I'd like to present a really funny comment on digg about this article by a guy named GhostBoy:

    Store specific credit cards are a crappy product, but they will show up as a good trade on your credit report, so if you make a small purchase now and then and pay it off at the end of the month it may improve your credit a little bit.

    I run a payday loan place and I will tell you straight up these things are the deadliest financial product out there. They do nothing for your credit, have unimaginably bad rates and most clients just end up trapped in the debt cycle paying around a hundred bucks off every paycheck until they default or climb out.

    So there you have it, a payday loanshark admits that he sells the dealiest product out there.

  • Dead car battery? Give it a glass of red wine.   18 years 20 weeks ago

    Water is not the same, and if you are going to use water it must be distilled for optimum purpose. Well of city water have impurities which degrade the existing acid in the batteery.

  • Bar Stool Economics   18 years 20 weeks ago

    I was sorry to see such a simplistic, outmoded story on Wisebread. Can everyone say "Atlas Shrugged?"

  • Six Horrible Financial Products You Should Avoid   18 years 20 weeks ago

    I already have many store specific credit cards, should I close all those? I understand after reading and will not open any new credit card that are store specific, but whatever I have today, if I close those will that improve my credit status?