Bird Feeding Dog Noodles

I saw this on the news while using the Viggle app and I just had to share, it is really cute. This bird is feeding a dog noodles that it is dipping in sauce. Clearly the dog and the bird are very comfortable with each other. It was suggested on the news that the bird thinks it is feeding worms to it’s baby. I think that the bird and dog are just good friends.

My father used to have a dog he got from the pound named Midget that was very close to all of the animals that he lived with, he was a cross between a chow and a border collie. We had a rooster and some wild animal tried to mess with it, Midget took care of the animal very quickly. Dogs can be very sweet.

Some Muppet Awesomeness

I Love The Muppets

I just wanted to take the chance, while I still can, to post a few Muppet clips.  I grew up watching the Muppet show, the Muppet movies, Fraggle Rock, and Sesame Street. I have always loved the Muppets and was a bit disappointed with some of their stuff after Jim Henson died, lately they have been doing some really awesome things, even though they are currently owned by Disney. I have not seen the newest Muppet movie but based on this trailer I would really like to.

Muppet Bohemian Rhapsody

The first video I really wanted to share is this amazing version of Muppet Bohemian Rhaposdy. I am a huge Queen and Muppet fan and I think this is one of the greatest performances ever. I especially enjoyed Animal’s solo. I can’t believe this video was released in 2009 and I just now found it. I hope you like it as much as I do.

Muppet Bashing By Fox News

The next video I want to share is the clip from Fox News where Eric Bolling and some guests accuse the Muppets of trying to “brainwash children.” At first when I watched this It seemed like it was a joke but it just keeps going on and on without a punchline. I think it is also important to mention that the head of Fox, Rupert Murdoch recently tweeted: “Seems blogosphere has succeeded in terrorizing many senators and congressmen who previously committed. Politicians all the same.” Regarding the countries concern about SOPA.

The Muppets Strike Back

This Video is just too Awesome not to share. It is a clip of Kermit and Miss Piggy addressing the ridiculousness of Fox News at a press conference on the 26th of January, 2012. I don’t think it could have been put any better.

Thank You Wikipedia, Google, Reddit, Mozilla For taking A Stand Against SOPA And PIPA

w:en:Creative Commons attribution share alike 	This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. 	      You are free:          to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work         to remix – to adapt the work      Under the following conditions:          attribution – You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).         share alike – If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one.
Wikipedia Blackout SOPA screenshot by JORM

A Big THANK YOU To Everybody Who Took A Stand

I am neither Democrat nor Republican because as far as I can see they are really just the same for the most part. Maybe the Republicans are a little more aggressive but they have both really lost their way. I personally don’t like to get involved in any political issues since it seems to me that big businesses and those with the money make all of the decisions, most of the time the voice of the people doesn’t ever seem to be a factor in creating new laws or deciding how government should be run. It seems that our rights and freedoms in this country are disappearing very rapidly.

That being said I am very appreciative that major websites like Wikipedia, Reddit, Mozilla, Craigslist, Cheezburger Network and many others decided to take a major stand today to create awareness of the dangers of SOPA and PIPA. Also thanks to everyone who took action about this. Although life without Wikipedia, even for a day, was  quite annoying, it was nothing compared to the reality we would face if this kind of legislation gets passed in its current form. I sincerely hope this will inspire more people to pay attention to what is really going on. Maybe we will begin eliminate the very real issue of serious corruption in our government. This issue really spotlights the blatant abuse of power by people like Congressman Lemar Smith who actually gets to decide which bills get heard and which ones don’t due to his position as Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. I think it’s critical important for everyone to see the relationship between Congressman Smith’s sponsors and which laws get considered.

There were a couple of people who I feel laid out all of the issues very well and explained what exactly is at stake with SOPA and PIPA. The first one is Jimmy Wales the founder of Wikipedia, here is what he had to say. I also really respect the opinion of internet marketer PotPieGirl who has had plenty of issues with people pirating her works. Here is the blog post she made about SOPA. I also really liked what The Oatmeal had to say, I hope it stays up for a little while.

 

My Personal Copyright Experience

In 2002,  20th Century Fox attorneys attacked both me personally and my business when I tried to show The Rocky Horror Picture Show, one of my favorite films, in my music venue as a celebration of  my business’s first anniversary. After contacting their licensing agent, Criterion, I was told I could license the rights to show the movie in my establishment for $750. Criterion stated I could advertise the event however I wanted. I put a few thousand dollars total including the licencing fee into the event, only to receive a cease and desist by FedEx and fax on the day of the show.  This was my first time dealing with corporate attorneys and it was a horrible experience. Perhaps most disturbing were accusations by Fox’s attorneys that I was a thief attempting to steal multiple works belonging to their client. These accusations by Fox’s attorneys continued all day while they refused to accept my proof of payment for the rights.  Eventually the owner of  a local movie theater contacted someone at 20th Century Fox and involved them directly in the process. I received a call from someone,who’s name escapes me at the moment, who claimed to be very high up at Fox. That individual gave me verbal authorization to proceed with the show.

Unfortunately, by this time I had told nearly everyone that the show was cancelled. I decided to proceed with the show, despite having told everyone the show was cancelled, because Fox refused to refund the licensing fee. Due to this only about 20 people showed up and I was left with a loss of  several thousand dollars because Fox’s left hand didn’t know what their right hand was doing.  In my opinion Fox’s actions were the proximate cause of my business loss.  It was certainly a lesson about how viscous and ruthless the attorneys for these companies are and how little they care about doing what is right. Although there are certainly pirates that use these companies works illegally and deserve to be punished, they don’t seem to care enough to make sure they are not targeting the innocent. This is especially egregious when they do this to existing licensees.

I doubt my experience is unique. These companies seem to make an art form out of abusing the rights granted to them under current copyright law. While I do and always will strongly oppose piracy, it is my firmly held belief that granting those who behave in such a fashion cannot possibly be in the public interest.

 

 

LED Christmas Lights

 Why You Should Buy LED Christmas Lights

LED or light emitting diode lights first became commercially available in the 1960’s but they have been prohibitively expensive to buy until the last few years. LED technology has been rapidly improving in recent years making LED lighting affordable for nearly any application. There were some problems with early LED Christmas lights such as lack of color choices and problems with durability but most of those issues have been solved. LED Christmas lights are available in many different colors now including white, green, blue, red, purple, amber, clear and multicolor. You can get them rated for use indoors, outdoors, or both. There are a variety of shapes and styles, you can even get ones that flash just like incandescent lights. It is important, of course, to buy them from a reputable company and to make sure they have a decent warranty.

Benefits of LED Christmas Lights


The biggest reason to switch from incandescent Christmas lights to LED Christmas lights is of course the fact that they save you money. In addition to saving you money they are also much better for the environment, they don’t contain any toxic chemicals such as mercury which is found in CFL lights. The energy savings is substantial, they use about %15 of the electricity that incandescent lights use. With all of that energy savings you can afford more Christmas gifts.  The next most important reason is the longevity of the LEDs, If they are properly cared for they can last about 10 times longer than incandescent lights so you wont be replacing them for a long time.  LED Christmas lights don’t get hot like incandescent Christmas lights do so there isn’t a risk of fires, since they use such a small amount of electricity you are able to put more of them on your circuit. With LEDs you no longer need every bulb to function in order to keep your string of bulbs working. LED Christmas lights come encased in plastic so there is no glass to break.

Solar LED Christmas Lights

These are a really amazing idea, all the fun of Christmas lights with absolutely no electricity expense at all. They run on a rechargeable AA battery.The sun charges these lights during the day then they automatically come on at night for about 8 hours. The only drawback is that they tend not to have as much brightness as plug in lights. You can put them anywhere and you don’t need any dangerous extension cords to run them. These are great for decorating near roads or mailboxes or anywhere that you don’t have an electrical outlet really close.

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The Server Migration Is Complete

My web host finally updated to a new server running PHP 5, which will give me much more functionality. Everything seems to be working ok now despite the fact that I couldn’t log in all day today, as far as I know there was no actual downtime. I am still going over everything to make sure it works ok. If anything doesn’t seem right please let me know. Thanks.

Vegetarian Roasts for Thanksgiving and Christmas

Vegetarian Holiday Foods

Being Vegetarian can be extremely challenging at times. It is especially difficult when eating out or eating holiday meals with people who are not vegetarian. Of course most people have become very trained to eat turkey or ham for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I have frequently been asked what I do eat at Thanksgiving and Christmas by people who don’t really understand the concept of not eating meat. Of course any dish that does not contain meat or meat by products is  suitable for vegetarians. In the last 10 years or so there has been some amazing advancements in healthy meat alternatives. It is important to make sure that any meat alternative you choose doesn’t have any scary chemicals that aren’t on the label such as Hexane (a neurotoxin also found in gasoline). Here are some of the most amazing vegetarian roasts that taste great and are healthy as well. These products are available in the natural section of most major Grocery stores and health food stores in the US. Even if you are not a vegetarian, I strongly suggest giving these vegetarian roasts and meat alternatives a try.

Quorn Turk’y Roast


Quorn is My absolute number one favorite of all the vegetarian meat alternatives, before I stopped eating meat I preferred Quorn over chicken or turkey. Quorn has been made in England from mycoprotien (from the mushroom family) since 1985. It is low in fat and high in fiber and protein, and although it is vegetarian, Quorn is not vegan since they do use non battery eggs as a binder. Quorn is one of very few vegetarian meat alternatives available that is not made from soy. There was a controversy in 2002 when Quorn first launched in the US. Gardenburger an inferior competitor who; to my knowledge, still uses hexane to process their soy, was threatened by the obviously superior competition and tried to have Quorn removed from the marketplace. Luckily they were unsuccessful at this attempt. Quorn is available year round in many forms not just Turk’y Roast, some of my favorites are: Chik’n Nuggets, Chik’n Patties, Beef-Style Grounds, Turk’y Burger, and when I really want a treat I get the Gruyere Chik’n Cutlet.

Tofurky Roast

It’s kind of funny sounding and when I first heard of Tofurkey Roasts, I have to admit, I thought they was some kind of joke. The first time I had a Tofurkey Roast back around 2001 or 2002, I was a bit disappointed. They have improved substantially since then, I now tend to eat several of the roasts every year. Tofurkey Roasts were introduced in 1995 and are made by a small independent company from Hood River, Oregon called Turtle Island Foods. Tofurkey is made with soy but they use organic non GMO soy and no nasty chemicals. Tofurkey Roasts all come pre-stuffed with a wild rice and whole wheat bread crumb stuffing and are best when roasted with your favorite vegetables. They include directions of the packages for a couple of different baste options. My favorite is the incredibly simple:

3 tablespoons olive oil (or other vegetable oil)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground sage

I usually double the ingredients of this baste  and use it for both Tofurkey and Quorn roasts. There are a large variety of Tofurkey products available year round. All of them are vegan and amazing. My absolute favorite Tofurkey product is the Hickory Smoked Tofurky Deli Slices.

Field Roast


Field Roast is a vegan meat alternative made from grain. It is based on the Chinese vegetarian meat alternative seitan which is also known as “wheat meat” or “wheat gluten”. Field Roast was created in 1997, and is made by a small company in Seattle Washington called Field Roast Grain Meat Co. The Celebration Roast comes with a stuffing made from butternut squash, apples, and mushrooms.  My favorite Field Roast products that are not Celebration Roasts are the Mexican Chipotle Sausage and the Smoked Apple Sage sausage. I really enjoy Field Roasts but they are much more difficult to find than Tofurkey and Quorn, even here in Washington State.

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The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Another Amazing Legend Of Zelda Game For The Wii

 

I’m very excited! The latest Legend of Zelda game, Skyward Sword, is due to come out in less than a month on November 20th, just in time for the Christmas rush. It has been 5 long years since the last installment of the Zelda series Twilight Princess came out. Nintendo knows that The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario are the reason they became so popular in the first place, so they put some serious effort in to new releases. They are definitely the reason why I have personally only bought Nintendo consoles. I have yet to miss a Legend of Zelda console release since The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past came out on the Super Nintendo. They even manage to get me to buy a new console whenever I need it to play the new Zelda game coming out.

Pre-order Bonuses

I usually don’t pre-order games because they are almost always available on the day of release but this year I might do it for the Gold controller since it is only available as a pre-release. I was able to purchase Twilight Princess easily on the day it came out, it just took a few extra days to get a Wii to play it on. My only concern is that I want to buy it from Amazon since I have lots of Amazon gift cards, but they don’t seem to be selling the gold controller bundle pack yet. All pre-orders come with a limited edition Zelda music CD regardless of where you get them from.

I have never been disappointed in any Legend of Zelda game. I am sure this one will be amazing.  This is supposed to be Nintendo’s biggest game project ever. Skyward Sword is supposed to be a Prequel to the Ocarina of Time, it’s interesting how they manage to pull off the Zelda timeline. The swordplay is supposed to be much more precise with this game because of the Wii motion plus. All of the players movements will be exact in the game. Gannondorf will be absent for the first time.

Rent Skyward Sword Before You Buy It

For anyone who is not sure whether they want to buy Skyward Sword or any other game, here is a free trial offer for a Gamefly membership. They have all of the top games for PS3, PS2, PSP, Xbox 360, Xbox, Wii, GameCube, DS and GBA. Use Coupon Code TENDAY To Start Your 10-day Free Trial Today To GameFly! After the free trial for a flat monthly fee, you can rent as many games as you want, without any due dates, any late fees, with pre-paid mail both ways. If you decide you really like a game, you can keep it for a low pre-played game price.

Free Promo Credit From Amazon

I just thought I would let everybody know that when I ordered Skyward Sword from Amazon I received a $10 promo credit good toward anything Amazon sells. With the promo credit and the free shipping it was less expensive than any local stores. The only trade off is having to wait a few extra days. I didn’t see any advertisements for the promo credit so it was a really nice surprise. I’m not sure if they are still doing this or if it was a limited time thing but it is sure a nice thing to get.

I have been playing Skyward sword for a few days now and I can definitely say I really like it so far. It is very similar to previous Zelda games but completely different at the same time. The movements have to be much more precise with the Wii Plus than they did in Twilight Princess. Link and Zelda are from Skyloft up in the Clouds, they ride giant birds around the sky. Zelda seems a bit crazy in this game, she tried to kill link early on by throwing him into the sky then saves him. Zelda and link seem to be teens and romantically interested in each other. Zelda gives link a Sailcloth which prevents injuries from any big falls, It is also a means of transportation in various areas and back into the clouds when needed. While they are flying around something happens to Zelda and link wakes up and has to go find her. One of the more interesting things that they put in this game is Link using the toilet then washing his hands, I don’t think I have actually seen any video game characters do that before. At this point I have gotten past the woods to the first dungeon where Zelda is supposed to be. I liked all of the giant Mushrooms and it was nice to see a Goron right away. Some of the enemies were reminiscent of the enemies from The Wind Waker but they are less cartoonish.

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L-Theanine For Natural Anxiety and Stress Relief

Reduce Stress and Anxiety Naturally

It’s almost time for the holidays and this time of year can be a lot of fun with celebrations and family. I think everybody would have a much better time if we could just relax and enjoy ourselves and our families instead of stressing out. We all go through times of excess stress and anxiety, a little bit can be positive, too much can be overwhelming and unhealthy.  Unfortunately there is also a lot of extra stress and anxiety that goes along with the Holidays.

Supplements vs Drugs

I would like to share some of my favorite natural supplements for dealing with stress and anxiety. The reason I prefer natural supplements over drugs to deal with these kind of problems is that I believe supplements have much less side effects. I have been using all of these supplements personally for many years and have never experienced any adverse effects from them.  The first natural supplement for anxiety and stress relief  I’m going to share is L-Theanine.

L-Theanine

L-theanine (gamma-glutamylethylamide) is my favorite natural stress reliever. Theanine is the most abundant amino acid found in green tea, and to a lesser extent, in black tea. It is also found in the Bay Bolete mushroom. L-Theanine can cross the blood brain barrier and is able to block L-glutamate from binding to the brain’s glutamate receptors. L-Theanine is able to increase Dopamine, Serotonin, and  GABA (our brain’s natural opiate). It also increases alpha brainwave activity (Brainwaves in the frequency range of 8–12 Hz) which are associated with relaxation and meditation, and decreases beta brainwaves (brainwave activity between 12 and 30 Hz) which are associated with waking consciousness. This change in brainwave activity provides us with a very relaxed, serene feeling. Here is a coupon from Bodybuilding.com Take $5.00 Off Your $100 Order! Use coupon code 5off100.

NOW L-Theanine - 200mg/60 Vcaps

L-Theanine and Caffeine

I helped to create one of the original relaxation anti-energy drinks several years ago using l-Theanine and it was one of my favorite beverages ever.  I found that mixing this beverage with alcohol increased the effect of both the Theanine and the alcohol while decreasing the amount of alcohol needed for the desired effect. L- theanine also works synergistically with caffeine helping to achieve the desired alertness and mental sharpness from caffeine. It is also a great antidote for times when you have had too much caffeine, which seems to happen to me a lot.

Suntheanine is the best brand of  L-Theanine, in my opinion, because it is the only brand to use a patented bio-fermentation process mimicking the natural process of green tea which ensures that their L-Theanine is pure. Suntheanine achieved GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status in 2007, allowing  it to be used as a food and beverage ingredient in amounts of up to 250 milligrams per serving, without any limit on servings.  Other brands of theanine can be either chemically produced or made as an extract of green tea and are generally less expensive than Suntheanine , however they are usually a mixture of both the L-Theanine and D-Theanine isomers, making them unable to be absorbed properly.

The next natural anxiety and stress relief supplement I’m going to share to share is Gaba.

Disney Princess Costumes

We had a princess themed party for Zoe’s second birthday and she had a really good time but she didn’t really understand what a princess was yet.  Zoe is now 4 and has become very fascinated with Disney princesses, she really seems to want to be a princess for Halloween this year, I think she is going to be Cinderella. One of the nice things about princess costumes is that girls love princess dress up anytime, not just on Halloween.

I think most people are very familiar with the majority of Disney princesses. Most of them are fictional characters from traditional Fairy Tales many of which appeared in Grimm’s Fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm. They started marketing them as in 1999 as the Disney princess brand and it has been an amazing success. So far Disney has 10 different princesses in their lineup.

Right now there is a big Halloween sale and all of these costumes are 30% to 90% off for a limited time

The 6 original Disney princess costumes are:

Snow White Costume

Snow White – is the main Character from the very first Disney animated feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which came out in 1937. This is an officially licensed Snow White costume. This Deluxe Snow White Costume for girls comes with the blue and yellow princess costume dress and petticoat, a detachable red cape, the character cameo and the red bow headband.

Girls Deluxe Snow White Costume - Snow White Costumes

Cinderella Costume

Cinderella – Is the main Character from Disney’s 12th animated film Cinderella, which was based on the  French story Cendrillon by Charles Perrault. This officially licensed Disney Girls Deluxe Shimmer Cinderella Kids Costume includes the deluxe sparkly blue dress with peplum and roses, the petticoat and the blue headband.
Girls Deluxe Shimmer Cinderella Costume - Cinderella Costumes

Aurora Costume

Aurora– Is the Main character from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty, which came out in 1959. Sleeping Beauty was also a story from Originally from Charles Perrault and later the Brothers Grimm. This officially licensed Disney Girls Deluxe Shimmer Aurora Costume includes the deluxe sparkly pink and white dress with peplum and roses, the petticoat and the headband tiara.

Girls Deluxe Shimmer Aurora Costume - Sleeping Beauty Costumes

Ariel Costume

Ariel-is the main character from Disney’s The Little Mermaid which came out in 1989 and is based on the Hans Christian Anderson story of the same name. This Storybook Ariel Prestige Edition Costume for children includes the dress with glittered character art on the skirt, a fishtail, headband and character cameo.
Girls Prestige Ariel Costume - Disney's The Little Mermaid

Belle Costume

Belle – is the one of the main characters from the Disney movie Beauty and the Beast, which came out in 1989. This Storybook Belle Prestige Edition Kids Costume includes the dress with petticoat and glittered character art on the skirt. It also has a character cameo and matching headpiece.

Girls Storybook Prestige Belle Costume - Disney's Beauty and The Beast Costumes

Jasmine Costume

Jasmine- is one of the main characters from Disney’s Aladdin Movies: Aladdin, The Return Of Jafar, and Aladdin and the King of Thieves. This Storybook Jasmine Prestige Edition Girls Costume includes the top with character cameo, full-leg pants with glittered character art and the bejeweled headpiece.
Girls Prestige Storybook Jasmine Costume - Disney's Aladdin Costumes

Some of the newer Disney princess costumes include:

Tiana Costume

Tiana – is the main character from the Disney movie The Princess And The Frog, that came out in 2009. This officially licensed Girls Deluxe Shimmer Princess Tiana Costume includes the deluxe green and white sparkly dress, petticoat and the sparkling tiara from Disney’s Princess and the Frog movie.
Girls Deluxe Shimmer Princess Tiana Costume - The Princess And The Frog Costumes

Rapunzel Costume

Rapunzel– is the main character from Disney’s 50th animated feature film Tangled, which came out in 2010. This officially licensed Girls Deluxe Shimmer Tangled Rapunzel costume from the Disney Tangled movie includes the pink and purple princess costume dress with peplum, cameo, petticoat and the jeweled headband.  Wig available separately.
Girls Deluxe Tangled Rapunzel Costume - Rapunzel Tangled Costumes

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Angry Birds Halloween Costumes

Halloween is less than a month away now and I have been putting together a new Halloween costume website about Superhero Costumes. In the process of researching for my new site, I have come across lots of really fun ideas for Halloween costumes this year. I have also found some awesome deals on costumes. Out of all of the costumes that are likely to be a hit, I think that Rovio’s Angry Birds costumes are going to be to be a very big hit this year, maybe the biggest. I have to say, that baby is very adorable in the Yellow Angry Bird costume.

xx

You Can Buy Kid’s and Babies Angry Birds  Costumes On Sale Here:

Baby Angry Birds Yellow Bird Costume - Angry Birds CostumesKids Angry Birds Red Bird Costume - Angry Birds Costumes


I really enjoyed playing the Angry Birds Games on my iPhone and I think they make really great Halloween costumes. They also had an app tied to the movie “Rio” which came out earlier this year. I searched around several different costume websites and I have come to the conclusion that Costume Craze has the best variety of Angry Birds Costumes that are in stock right now, athough some of them are out of stock sometimes.They have Angry Birds Costumes For Men, Women, Boys, Girls, and Babies. The Angry Bird Costumes come in red bird, yellow bird, black bird, and the green King Pig. Some people don’t necessarily want to wear a whole costume. For everybody who wants to dress like Angry Birds this year but don’t want to wear a full costume there there is good news, they also have Angry Birds masks for sale. They are available in red bird, yellow bird, and the green King Pig. Right now they have a huge sale going on that is 20%-90% off of everything in the entire store just in time for Halloween.

Oct 12th Update the 20%-90% off sale has been changed to 30%-90% off everything in the entire store for a limited time.

You Can Buy Adults Angry Birds Costumes On Sale Here:

Yellow Angry Birds Mask - Angry Birds CostumesAngry Birds King Pig Costume - Angry Birds Costumes

If there is still anyone left who has not played any Angry Birds games yet, I highly recommend checking them out, just be careful because the games are a little bit addictive. The apps are available for iPhone and most other smart phones and come in both free and paid versions. If you don’t have a smartphone, that’s no problem, there is also a variety of free Angry Birds apps available on Google Chrome.

Angry Birds - Clickgamer.com

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Where I Have Been For The Last Couple Of Months

I was in my first somewhat major car accident about 2 months ago. I was driving my little Saturn SL1 when an 18 year old in a Suburban without insurance decided to run a stop sign, crossing right in front of me while I was going about 30-35 mph. I am just extremely grateful that my daughter Zoe was not in the car with me. It was also my first ride in an ambulance as a patient. Since I don’t currently have health insurance I found it to be almost impossible to find a doctor to treat me, which really doesn’t make any sense, since the PIP coverage on my Progressive auto policy doesn’t discount when they pay the doctors. Now 2 months later I have finally found a good doctor and have started massage therapy. I will start physical therapy next week. I am pretty certain that I have a torn rotator cuff. The pain is still substantial but seems to be decreasing very slowly from the massages.  On the bright side Zoe and I were able to get a Buick Park Avenue, which is a much bigger and safer car, when Progressive totaled our Saturn.

What Was Left Of My Car After I ran Into The SuburbanIt was a little humorous to hear the other driver telling the sheriff that the accident should not be ruled his fault because he has no insurance. I really don’t understand how anybody could even think that it is remotely OK to drive without car insurance. He, of course, was ticketed for running a stop sign and not having insurance. I highly recommend always having Uninsured/Under-insured motorist coverage and PIP coverage whether you feel you need it or not. There are too many people without insurance on the road and if you have an accident with them they won’t be held liable for your losses.

I just want everyone to know that I am still here and I have lots of new material on the way. I am at a point where feel I will be able to regularly update the blog again very soon. It is rather exciting to see how many people have been finding my blog lately. I really appreciate all of the continued support.

Homeowner Forecloses On Bank Of America

I think this was one of the best news stories ever. The largest banks in this country are out of control and really need to be put in their place. It is clear the majority of large banks in this country have not only forgotten how to treat customers properly but they mainly thrive on what I would call theft. The only way we will be able to overcome these shady business practices is by refusing to do business with them. I personally switched to a credit union long ago. I feel there are much worse banks than Bank of America not to name any names cough JP Morgan Chase cough.

http://www.digtriad.com/news/watercooler/article/178031/176/Florida-Homeowner-Forecloses-On-Bank-Of-America

It’s Not That Easy Being Green

My daughter loves sesame street, especially Elmo. I really enjoy watching the classic Sesame Street clips on Youtube with her. I loved Jim Henson’s work, he was probably my favorite entertainer. He was the magic behind Sesame Street, he also brought us the Muppets, The Muppet Show, The Muppet Movies, Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, Dinosaurs, etc.

The other day we were searching for Sesame Street clips and we came across this video of Big Bird. It is probably one of the saddest videos I have ever seen. I can’t believe that it has been 21 years since Jim Henson died.

You Know What They Say About Guys Who Have Big Feet

That’s right, it’s almost impossible to find shoes that actually fit. Especially ones that I can afford.  Actually I have really wide feet, you could even say freakishly wide feet. My feet are size 12 but they are 7E wide thats 12EEEEEEE. I think I have found 7E wide shoes once in my life. I don’t remember what I paid but it was substantial and they were not very comfortable. When I was a teenager I would wear size 15 shoes because they were much more comfortable width wise but they were kind of ridiculous looking. One time I hired a lady in Seattle who designed and build custom shoes to make me a pair of shoes that would fit me just right for about $600. I paid her 50% down, she took a cast of my feet, and was supposed to deliver the shoes in several months. She just ended up stealing my $300.

In the last several years I have been going to a couple of different local wide shoe specialty stores but I end up spending at least $150 a pair for 6E wide shoes. Every time I try to buy shoes at the wide shoe specialty stores I end up waiting because my shoes always need to be special ordered anyway, wide shoe stores don’t really cater to people whose feet are as wide as mine. There have been times when the suppliers have been unable to get the same shoes  I usually buy for months at a time because 12 6E is a really uncommon size. For most people E or EE shoes are considered wide.  I tend to get really frustrated, cancel the order, then walk around in my old shoes until they fall apart.  My feet really suffer and are usually in a significant amount of pain because of these issues. I have developed Plantar fasciitis which is an extremely painful swelling of the fascia on the bottom of my feet which I’m sure has a lot to do with wearing shoes well past their “expiration date”.

It just occurred to me today to check Amazon for wide shoes. I was blown away by the prices. Here are the New Balance shoes I have been paying $150 a pair for locally, after they are special ordered and when they are available, for less than $90 with free shipping. If I had thought to check sooner I probably would have had less trouble with my feet and I certainly would have saved a substantial amount of money per purchase. I realize that most people don’t have wide feet but hopefully some people that do will find this, read it, and save lots of time and money from it. I am going to order a pair from Amazon very soon.

If you’re wondering if it is really true what they say about guys with big feet. The answer is it’s absolutely true. I also have a heck of time finding gloves that fit.

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Another Great Reason to Shop at Amazon!

There are so many reason why I really enjoy shopping at Amazon.com. They have an amazing selection and it is really easy to comparison shop between different sellers in the Amazon Marketplace. I think their gift card system is second to none, Amazon gift cards are available almost everywhere and most of the good online incentive programs like Swagbucks and Checkpoints give out Amazon gift cards for free. Usually I can find products at or below what they are available for in stores. The only real concern is what happens when something goes wrong?

So far I have had 2 orders that I placed on through Amazon on the Marketplace be completely wrong. The first time it happened The seller (BlueProton) sent me a generic knock off of the Item I ordered which didn’t work at all. When I asked the seller to take it back and send me the correct product they refused to respond. I filed an A to Z Guarantee claim and within several days Amazon refunded me the entire purchase price without any questions or further action on my part. I was not even asked to return the Item (I think the only good place for this particular item is the trash anyway). The second time it happened was last week, I ordered a multi-pack of an Item and the seller (The Vitamin Shoppe) Shipped me just a single item. I called the customer service line and was told it wasn’t their responsibility to ship the item I ordered since they believed I purchased a single not a multi-pack regardless of what i was invoiced and had paid for, so I should contact Amazon. I sent an e-mail to the seller and received the same response. I had Amazon call me and within minutes they apologized and refunded more than twice what I had paid in the form of an Amazon credit without requesting a return.

I feel that Amazon has exceeded my expectations in many ways especially the times that my purchases have had problems. I have not had the same experience with most other companies of that size. Due to their excellent customer service and the great shopping experience I usually have there, I will continue to purchase from them for a long time. I just wish that more companies would value their customers as much as Amazon does.