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Saturday, February 12, 2011
An Impressive Fallstreak
Click to enlarge!
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This fallstreak hole - probably the result of a weather phenomenon called virga - is rare, yet very beautiful. Oddly enough each of their respective Wikipedia entries, which I just linked you to, says nothing at all about the other! Although according to this page I found, they are essentially very related.
Nevertheless, here is a video of a news report about one occurrence outside Sacramento, CA.
Fog Or Fire?
Feb. 10, 2011 - It looks like a raging fire, but it's really not. It's actually the sun showing through a swirling fog on a windy day at the Zeeland, Michigan Power Plant.
Click the image to see the video, as the weather channel online apparently doesn't like to allow us to embed their videos.
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Friday, February 11, 2011
Cuddling With An Elephant Seal
Elephant seal is adorably enamored with this woman on the beach. Filmed Nov. 29, 2009 at Gold Harbor, the bay on the island of South Georgia, which is East of the Southern tip of South America.
Thanks Mom! / Via
Thanks Mom! / Via
The Perfect Husband
Several men are in the locker room of a golf club when a cellular phone on a bench rings and a man engages the hands-free speaker function and begins to talk. Everyone else in the room stops to listen.MAN: "Hello!"
WOMAN: "Hi Honey, it's me. Are you at the club?"
MAN: "Yes."
WOMAN: "I'm at the shops now and found this beautiful leather coat. It's only $2,000; is it OK if I buy it?"
MAN: "Sure, go ahead if you like it that much."
WOMAN: "I also stopped by the Lexus dealership and saw the new models. I saw one I really liked."
MAN: "How much?"
WOMAN: "$90,000."
MAN: "OK, but for that price I want it with all the options."
WOMAN: "Great! Oh, and one more thing. I was just talking to Janie and found out that the house I wanted last year is back on the market. They're asking $980,000 for it."
MAN: "Well, then go ahead and make an offer of $900,000. They'll probably take it. If not, we can go the extra eighty-thousand if it's what you really want."
WOMAN: "OK. I'll see you later! I love you so much!"
MAN: "Bye! I love you, too."
The man hangs up. The other men in the locker room are staring at him in astonishment, mouths wide open.
He turns and asks, "Anyone know whose phone this is?"
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Thursday, February 10, 2011
6 Costs You Should Always Negotiate
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Most consumers think haggling is only appropriate when buying tchotkes at a street fair or facing off against a used-car dealer. But why not negotiate the cost of medical procedures? Or a new Sub-Zero refrigerator? If you're not paying less than sticker price for these and other goods and services, you're leaving money -- and often lots of it -- on the table. "Everything is negotiable," says Stuart Diamond, adjunct professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business and author of "Getting More: How to Negotiate to Achieve Your Goals in the Real World." "All you have to do is ask."
With that philosophy in mind, follow these tips to negotiate the best possible deal on 6 common fees and expenses:
1. Credit Card Rates
• Why they are negotiable: Now that most of the dust has settled following the big credit card reform act, card companies are competing fiercely again for new customers. Issuers sent out 1.2 billion credit card offers in the third quarter of 2010 -- more than three times the number sent during the same period in 2009. "Use the competition to yourImage Source
advantage," says Ira Rheingold, executive director for the National Association of Consumer Advocates. "Don't jump at the first offer. You should argue for the best rate."
• Who to talk to: Call the 800 number associated with a new card offer (or the number on the back of a current card) and talk to the customer service rep. If the rep can't -- or won't -- adjust the rate, ask to speak with a manager.
• What to say: "I've gotten several credit card offers with lower rates. Tell me what you can do to beat those offers."
• Possible savings: How much you're able to lower your interest rate will depend on your credit and payment history, as well as your credit score. In a study conducted by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group several years ago, more than half of consumers who asked for lower rates got them, with their average APR dropping from 16 percent to 10.47 percent.
2. Mortgage and Refinancing Rates and Fees
• Why they are negotiable: "Mortgage lending has gotten difficult, which means that a lender will work hard to make a deal," says Rheingold. And that's particularly true for consumers with credit scores of at least 750.• Who to talk to: Mortgage brokers or lenders at banks and credit unions.
• What to say: Get several estimates in writing and ask, "Here's the best deal I can get. Can
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you beat it?"
• Possible savings: In addition to offering better rates, lenders might reduce certain fees or even waive them altogether. To negotiate the lowest out-of-pocket costs, ask for discounts on all upfront fees, including application and origination fees. According to the Federal Trade Commission's website, comparing and negotiating mortgage fees can result in thousands of dollars of savings.
3. Home Improvements
• Why they are negotiable: "Business is slow and that means contractors are willing to haggle over their prices," says Greg Daugherty, executive editor of Consumer Reports. Plus, the prices of many common home building materials are down as much as 35 percent from their peak in the mid-2000s.• Who to talk to: The contractor.
• What to say: "What are the options for less
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expensive materials? And what discounts can you offer me on labor?"
• Possible savings: Up to 20 percent of the cost of the project, according to a new survey by Angie's List, a website that publishes surveys and consumer reviews of service businesses. Of the home improvement contractors who were surveyed in 2010, 80 percent were willing to drop their prices to get a job (compared with 43 percent in 2008). And more than half of the contractors surveyed said they were willing to lower prices by 10 percent, with nearly 25 percent willing to drop their fees up to 20 percent.
Click here to continue to the rest of the article..
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World's Largest Family Tree Discovered
With DNA tests, we're finding family trees that stretch back centuries -- and for the oldest families, even thousands of years, connecting us to historical figures like Genghis Khan.
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English Is Crazy
You think English is easy??? Check this out! 1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
Let's face it - English is a crazy language!
There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple.
English muffins weren't invented in England nor French Fries in France.
Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.
We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce, and hammers don't ham?
If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends, and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?
If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?
You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out, and in which an alarm goes off by going on.
English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why when the stars are out they are visible, but when the lights are out they are not visible.
And why doesn't 'Buick' rhyme with 'quick'?
You lovers of the English language are also gonna love this:There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is 'UP'.
It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP, why are the officers UP for election, and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?
We call UP our friends. And we use it to brighten UP a room, and polish UP the silver. We warm UP the leftovers, and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house, and some guys fix UP the old car.
At other times the little word has really special meaning: People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed UP is special.
And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. And we open UP a store in the morning, but we close it UP at night.
We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost one-quarter of the page, and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more.
When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. Then when the sun comes out, we say it is clearing UP! When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP.
When is doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP.
One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now my time is UP, so... it is now time to shut UP!
Oh… one more thing:
What is the first thing you do in the morning & the last thing you do at night? U-P!
Thanks Mom!
Image Sources: 1, 2, 3
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
The Great White Fire At The Station Night Club
I was watching a re-run of VH1's 100 Most Shocking Music Moments the other night. Having first realized that it's been updated since I last saw it, I was also drawn in again because they condensed it down to a lot quicker show - perhaps eliminating some of the time spent covering the events near the bottom of the list.Anyway Michael Jackson's death was included this time, and I know it's been several years since I saw it for the first time.
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Included in the top-10, oddly enough behind the murders of both Tupac Shakur and Notorious BIG, was the tragic fire at The Station Nightclub in West Warwick, RI on February 20, 2003, in which 100 people were killed. The fatalities included headlining band Great White's lead guitarist Ty Longley.
I remember hearing about it, but don't think I ever really researched it even at all. I have ran across a video which is totally worth sharing. It's actually a very amazing video - granted it's a little tough to watch, as you can hear people screaming for their lives, and see people running out of the building on fire - but again it's truly incredible footage:
This video footage of the fire depicts its initial growth and the exit blockage which hindered evacuation. Considered to be the fourth deadliest nightclub fire in American history, killing 100 people, four of whom died after being admitted to local hospitals. The fire was caused when pyrotechnic sparks ignited flammable sound insulation foam in the walls and ceilings around the stage, creating a flash fire that engulfed the club in 5½ minutes. Some 230 people were injured and another 132 escaped uninjured.
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NFL Fanbases
Not quite to scale:
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Closer to scale:
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Still a lot left out, though. I'll be searching for a very accurate one - it's pretty interesting to see where the fans of the teams are located.
Also related: Commoncensus Dot Org's maps for other major sports teams.
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Closer to scale:
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Still a lot left out, though. I'll be searching for a very accurate one - it's pretty interesting to see where the fans of the teams are located.
Also related: Commoncensus Dot Org's maps for other major sports teams.
