No, this post isn't sponsored, it's just me talking here.
I'm on My Coke Rewards, and it's taking forever to get any kind of points. But I've heard that you get 10 points for each person you refer that inputs 50 points. I was wanting to ask you a favor. If you could send me an e-mail to: tonywcollett -at- yahoo dot com (remove the spaces and replace -at- with @ and the "dot" with, well, .), or a message if I have your e-mail saying it's okay, I'll get you an e-mail to sign you up and get you started on your way. Thanks in advance.

Well, that was busy. We ate lunch at Boston Market, spent more than we usually do for lunch (a little over $18 with coupons) but we got full. I didn't see anything at Borders, and Kathy found the CDs and book she wanted at Family Christian, plus a magazine/book and a birthday present for her stepsister. Didn't find any McQuarrie Star Wars figures anywhere, and saw Ratatouille. It was another Pixar achievement, I didn't think I'd like it as much as I did (haven't drank the kool aid from Emeryville) If you've ever been passionate or dreamed about anything in your life, this movie will speak to you. Then we went grocery shopping at Meijer, Wal-Mart and Kroger, taking advantage of the sales at each to get the most bang for our buck (best sale: picking up 6 Hot Pocket Calzones for Kathy at Meijer having a buy 4 get 2 free, plus had 2 50 cent off coupons from previous boxes and $1 off Meijer printed from a previous shopping trip, bring the total for 6 down to 6.68) and getting everything put up just before 10pm.
Don't see many good opportunities from PPP right now, but that's all right, I've done a good job on what I've written so far and building up a little bigger nest egg than first thought.

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Don't you love how the Brits call a vacation a holiday? Holiday Hypermarket offers cheap holidays to the Dominican Republic. "You’ll find everything from popular Mediterranean holidays in Spain, Portugal, Turkey and Greece to bargain holidays and last minute deals in such far-flung destinations as the Caribbean, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean."
(I'd make a crack about the British weather, but I'll tell ya, if Indiana doesn't have you beat, it'll be a photo finish) You can also look for hotels on the site, as well. Whatever your price range and whereever you want to go Holiday Hypermart is the place to go.

Man, today's gonna be a busy one. It all started when we got a call from Kathy's ride at 3:15am, 15 minutes before she was to get up, saying that she couldn't pick up Kathy. Kathy was glad to hear from her anyway, and hoped that she would feel better, as she was just out of the hospital. I, on the other hand, had went to bed 45 minutes before and wasn't happy with having to take her to work. But I did and crashed until about an hour ago. I'm going to finish up my writing and pick her up in a half hour, when her vacation begins. She's going to change and we're going to go out and take care of some business, see about using a couple of coupons (at Family Christian and Borders) and go see Ratatouille. We're Pixar fans, and I'm a Patton Oswalt fan, so we hope to have a good time.

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Hey guys, want to keep your rep for not asking for directions, especially if you're on vacation? You can get directions here to many of the major cities, such as New York, San Francisco, Chicago, LA, and more. It includes their environs, so if you need directions from San Jose to Santa Carla (the two times I've been to California, it was actually to these cities for an anime convention. There were other places we wanted to go to, like the Winchester Mystery House. Public Routes would've been handy back then)
And it's not just directions, either. Public Routes provides you with flights, car services, hotels, weathers, restaurants and more. Take the guesswork out of your trip. Check out this site today.

Ryan is running a contest on their blog until next Saturday. Yes, that's 7/7/07. And it ends at 7:07pm Eastern. 7 people will get $7.77 sent via PayPal.

Courtesy Paul Harris: a clip featuring 100 movies, 100 quotes, counting down:

And if you're wondering what movie was to what clip, click here.

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Looking to increase the value of your home in the Houston area? Have you thought about installing vinyl windows, siding, decks, covered porches, or something else? Houston replacement windows by All-Tex, your Houston home improvement experts. They're certified Simonton Window and James Hardie siding installation contractors. They offer financing as part of their free estimate and want to work with you to provide the type of home you dream of with no hassles or pressures. Improve the look of your home and bring down your energy costs. Make your castle a secure and beautiful one. Check out their website or call 888-869-1890 today.

What do you do if your approval ratings are hitting a record low? So low that your party got kicked out last time they were that low? Ask for a raise, of course! That am Washington for you. Thanks to Mark Evanier for the link.

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"Office Supply Outfitters is a premier supplier of toner cartridges, inkjet cartridges, printer supplies, fax supply and HP toner. Find ink cartridges and copier toner for your inkjet printer, and also find fax and cash register ribbons."
They have all kinds, from the HP C9704A toner drum unit and much, much more. Even the hard to find ones that's driving you crazy trying to find. I searched for the price for replacement inkjet cartridges for my printer, and they sell the black ones for as low as $3.29 and the color ones for $4.99. Looks like I found another sponsor to spend my money on.

Today's my first nephew's birthday, he's 23. I got him the 3rd Penny Arcade collection and read it before giving it to him. Have a good time Mike and don't get anymore tattoos, hah?
Kathy's vacation is next week, we've only got 2 more days to go. Right now plans look like we're hanging around here, taking it easy. Update: Kathy just came home and said she was able to arrange Saturday off, too, so after tomorrow starts her vacation!

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Adolescence is rough for anyone to go through, doubly so having to struggle with an addiction. Echo Malibu's adolescent treatment program believes in recovery thorugh empowerment. They provide youth and their families with state of the art comprehensive holistic adolescent treatment programs. All drug and alcohol treatment program participants are provided with an individualized treatment plan that's unique yet shares the following areas of focus; Physical Health, Emotional Health, Social Health, Family Health, Spiritual Health and Educational Needs. Each teen drug treatment program is designed and implemented by licensed clinical professionals to identify and treat the underlying causes of addiction, rather than merely focusing on the behaviors that result from addiction.

The Who Cast covers all things Doctor Who and Torchwood. It's from England, so it's based on the broadcasts in the UK, not here in the states, so there are spoilers if you haven't seen the episodes in question. Fortunately, they are catalogued so you can come back later after watching them on Sci-Fi and BBC America, respectively.

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As I mentioned before, I bought the 2 disc compilation Police Cd after it came out and my wife and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. Although I called them a punk band previously, listening to the first disc you can hear a distinct raggae flavor in a lot of their songs. And the second disc has most of the hits we all know and love, such as "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic", "Spirits in the Material World", "Every Breath You Take", and of course "Synchronicity II", among others. Boy, each one takes me back. Plus it comes with a vintage poster of the radio simulcast from their sold out concert at Madam Wong's. Very enjoyable CD to listen to and to have.
Please click on this to go and view an awesome banner where you can watch The Police's videos, listen to tracks from The Police's new 2 cd hits collection, enter to win a trip to NYC to see The Police in concert and even view details about their current world tour.

You can click on all these features: Videos, Track List / Jukebox, Tour, Enter The Contest, Send To Friend, and Ringtones. Think of it as your one-stop Police station (sorry, I couldn't resist). And the contest looks cool. You can win a trip to see the band in New York at Madison Square Garden, autographed CDs, and more.

These postings are inspired by Mark Gibson's hopes to check out the new Harry Potter theme park coming to Universal Studios Florida. What I've read is that it isn't a separate theme park per se, but will be a revamp of the Lost Continent section of Islands of Adventure. Jim HIll has more on his site, especially here. It is an interesting section of the park, but I think the main problem was that it was the only section that wasn't based on a pre-sold property. And it leads to a tip I've read that has served me well in amusement parks: if given the choice between right and left, go left as more people choose right. This might make Mark mad as the Harry Potter section is to your right when you enter Islands of Adventure, but I'll guess he'll have to take comfort in the other lands he'll encounter before HP, namely Marvel Super Hero Island and Jurassic Park, among others. Another advantage is in addition to the tendency to go right, a lot of people will go to the Harry Potter section first and make it very crowded very early. By the time you make it to that section or return after your mid-day break (you are following the suggestions of "The Unofficial Guide" I recommended last time, aren't you?), the crowds should be thinned out.
Another suggestion I think you won't be too crazy about is to not head down there the minute the Harry Potter section opens in 2009, as there's sure to be a bit of a shakedown with the new section and they address some of the crowd issues that are sure to come up because of JK Rowling's insistences for the park (again, see Jim Hill for, but one example is that she wants guests to enter the park as Harry, etc enters wizard alley via the Leaky Cauldron pub, by hitting the right brick) I would suggest giving them a few months to work the bugs out.

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ABT Electronics offers quality appliances and electronics since 1936. They offer different options to satisfy your shopping needs, including live help from a customer service representative, free shipping, all sorts of information on each item, and more. They offer countertop microwaves, other appliances large and small, electronics, audio, computers, audio, mobile, and much more. Brands such as Sony, Whirlpool, Apple, Frigidaire, Pioneer, and much more. They even offer a low price guarantee good for up to 30 days after your purchase. This isn't another company putting up a website because it's expected of them, or as an afterthought to the retail side; they back it up with the help and service you deserve.

Steve Thompson has a picture of some of his library in this entry. My collection is like that, but not as organized. Like Steve, I've been buying less books and starting to weed some out. It must be nice to have a family that's glad that you have so many books in your collection.

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Looking to move down to the South Beach or the Miami area, or come down to play? This Miami Beach real estate agency is the place to go to find condos and condo-hotels for sale or rent. Each property has a detailed listing and a photo gallery to make sure it's what you want. Also, you can input different criteria so you won't have to wade through all the condos they have to get to the ones you want. They have all sorts of properties available to meet whatever you need or want when you come down to South Florida. They offer luxury and pre-construction condos at SBI Realty.

The Houston Chronicle has an article about how millions go bankless. They apparently prefer the check cashing places, money orders, etc. as they know the fees up front. I can't say that I blame them. My grandma tried to start a savings account with $100 and since it was below the minimum amount required (which they didn't point out) it got whittled away to nothing. We're part of a credit union where you only have to have $5 in a savings account. I keep track of all the transactions so I don't have to worry about overdraft fees, etc.

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One thing I've noticed when I've went to the big comic book conventions is the number of different items that companies give away to promote their item. I'm not talking about comics (it seems like it's the stuff they've got tons of) but pens, tote bags, etc. You probably wonder who makes those items. Well, that's one thing we're here for.
Gimmes offers company promotional items at reasonable prices to get your name out to the attendees. It's not just the conventions that people attend for fun, I'm talking about trade shows or any other occasion to get your company name out there. They've got pens, calendar magnets, bags, stress balls (let me just say between you, me and the fence post: if you're wanting to get something out there, stress balls are the way to go. They'll be well used during the show even by attendees that wanted to come and in their regular life. How often does anyone look at what's on the side of a pen? They just want something to write on).

Gary Sassaman on why the Die Hard sequels aren't as good as the original, and why the new one isn't as likely to be as good, either. As for me, it's the title. I guess being in the US they wanted to go with Live Free or Die Hard, but I like the Die Hard 4.0 title other countries are using.

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One benefit of being a student is having the free time to travel. However, there is a drawback in that there is little money to be had as a student, and have to watch every penny. Hemisphere Educational Travel understands this by offering affordable educational student travel to everyone, and their staff of former educators can orgainize and customize the best student tours out there. They can also tailor to special needs, with Handicapped, dietary needs, and bilingual guides. They offer US and international tours, and tailored tours such as theatre in Chicago (having been there to see Spamalot and looking over the tour they offer I can tell you this is one not to be missed)

Another podcast I came across was Podculture, which I enjoy because they like the same things I like, and the hosts (Glenn, Christina and Brad) are from the Louisville area, same as some friends of mine. They talk about going to Book and Music Exchange a lot, and when I get to missing Louisville I like to listen to them.
They put up a new episode on Sunday nights. What they do is record a couple of hours, split it into two parts and release each part a week. However, they just finished an exception: with their 50th episode, it's actually a 3 parter. So if you're looking for all sorts of geeky goodness, give Podculture a try.

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Buying a home is difficult and more expensive without a mortgage broker to assist you in the home loan process. This site has mortgage lenders available at your fingertips to help you make your dreams come true. There's almost 500 mortgage brokers in Indiana alone. There's sure to be one that can help you in your locality.

Peter David with the latest update on the Gordon Lee case. It's racking up the bills, so there's a call to help the CBLDF, who's offering a cool First Amendment t-shirt if you contribute $30 or more. And in case you're wondering why I'm not as critical about the CBLDF's request for money as I was for the Democrats it's because I easily found links to plead the CBLDF's case to you without having to be hit up for any money, the fact that anyone knows that fighting legal cases costs money, and I believe in their cause.

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They say the biggest fear known to man is public speaking. But I believe there is a bigger fear that companies have, of hiring a speaker that will bore their audience, or at the very least won't inspire or motivate their audience. International Speakers Bureau provides keynote speakers from all facets of celebrity and renown in their field. You can have sports speakers, business leaders, celebrities, what have you, ISB has all sorts of speakers that are compatible with your needs. In addition to companies and businesses, ISB offer speakers for universities and schools, and can tailor to your goals and budget.