2/22/08:  Just attached bumper sticker to my car...



I think it will be noticed.  Had my own design made into sticker by Zazzle .  Quite reasonable.  That is their font but exported my own graphic.  They tell you how.  Had written to them regarding T shirts and they assured me that they use American companies that manufacture in US with our standards.  Also make their items in USA.

2/26/08: Yes, the sticker is noticed, especially by those idiots who try to pass me on the on ramp to Rte. 6.  I'm not exactly a slow driver but one is not supposed to race on those ramps.  How much caffeine are those people drinking?
   
12/30/07:  Have just shut down the Trackbacks after reading some of the garbage that was dumped there.   There was not a single message of importance, so hundreds of trackbacks got the shovel, including the drug and weird sex pushers and the insurance salespeople.  The predators have been blocked out, so perhaps the count will go down.  So be it.  See picture of me in take charge mode in About Us

     For folks who have had experiences communicating with those who have left us, please see "Getting Together" and scroll down toward the end of my comments.  Makes one think.

12/29/07: Here's a tip that won't cost a cent.  In a Consumer Reports brochure, there is info on how to protect your computer against spyware.  Microsoft and Spybot offer free downloads. The addresses: www.microsoft.com/at home/security/spy ware/software and www.spybot.com/en.  Thank you , Consumer Reports

2/2/08: Have just signed up with CR. First issue received had evaluations of exercise machines.  Most appear to be a waste of money.  I do the stationary bike which I bought from Sears a few years ago.  Not many bells and whistles except a timer and calculates calories burned, etc.  Good for my purposes, as walking any distance is wearing on bod.  I grasp weights and keep the upper bod moving. 
     One of the best movements I came up with, approved by an Osteopath, is a Karate move.  Make a fist, palms up and bend elbows so that lower arms are at right angles to your upright body.  Throw a punch forward and straight out as you turn your fist to a palms down position, left, then right.  These moves are usually made as you move your opposite leg forward to give you balance as you throw a punch.  I do it sitting on the bike while in motion and holding the weights.  They are small dumbbells (sissy weights at first).  These motions can be slow at first, then speeded up as you gain balance, etc.   Every little bit helps.

2/3/08:   Thank the good Lord I straightened out my credit eons ago.  Pay balances every month.  Made a mistake when I paid my 11/18/07 bill, excuse dyslexic me.  I reversed a figure and was $20.91 short.  They charged me $38.63 on the 1/17/08 bill.  Seems they do something with the prime, something with the outstanding balance, that is, everything I charged the following two months added to the $20.91.  I suppose it is included in the line "purchases*finance charge*periodic rate" at bottom of my purchases list.  ??  I was unable to get an answer from the phone reps. as to the breakdown, i.e. is the 20.91 in that figure?
2/4/08:    Just spoke with a representative.  They voluntarily removed the $38.63 charge.  My point was missed, however.  They still can't explain why Citibank just doesn't put the amount underpaid as a "balance due" on my next bill so I know where I stand.  It is just hidden somewhere and everything I buy for two months has an added finance charge even though I  pay the full balance due monthly.  Crikies! 
     Those execs. at CitiBank must be rolling in it.  Even if they did screw up on mortgages, like so many other lending institutions.  Think of all the bucks that are rolling in from people who can't afford much and do not understand the consequences. 
     When I was a kid, my parents suffered through the depression, rented for years, then eventually worked up to a mortgage.   Mortgages to me were the biggest ripoff conceived by big business banking.  They have even put a new spin on  it, in a sense, for people looking for a home equity loan.  Friend was sold on a fixed loan for construction on house at a bank (a huge institution).  The representative sat there and acted as if she never heard of such a thing as paying interest on the balance each month.  In other words, don't bother to pay extra to whittle down debt, just keep it going longer! Friend got rid of the damn 20 year thing in a little over  a year.  Good riddance.  Next time, shop around and find an honest broker.
     Don't get suckered in.  It'll drive you crazy. 

• Why don't they rein in the money lenders.  At least make the language simple enough for laypeople to understand.  If they did away with all the balloon payments and gobbledegook about the prime and the sub-prime, wouldn't that help in making the consumer informed?  Try reading some of that stuff.  It's like poring over a prospectus.

While we're dreaming...If they did away with mortgages altogether and regulated that any loan, whether for a house or credit card purchase,  only be charged interest on the balance due monthly (similar to a home equity loan), it would encourage people to pay extra each month.  Even if they had to whittle down that credit card debt to do it.  Fat chance getting the legislators to go anywhere with such an idea.  Check out the deficit.  Do our representatives really care about debt?  Unfortunately they are indebted to those that contribute the most to get them elected.