For a lot of people, getting another car isn't possible at this time. Whether it's because of the recession and they just don't have the money, or they're running into problems with the deals being offered, some people are having to make do with what they've got. Mostly that involves trying to get the vehicle you've got to last a little longer. The main drawback with that plan is if something goes wrong and a part needs replaced. Sometimes you can't get the part you need, it has to be ordered, and you have to wait. And sometimes when you get the bill, you wonder if they gold plated the part before installing it. It's more than inconvenience that causes dread when something goes wrong with your car. One way you can fight that feeling (and save some money) is to go online and see about getting Car Parts that are cheaper than what the mechanic or auto shop wants to charge you. And you can do more than save money buying parts. By looking into getting Used Car Parts, you can get a part that isn't being made new, but recycled, therefore reducing the impact on our resources. Best of all, with 24/7 Spares being online, you can search for the parts you're looking for anytime day or night.

You've probably been hearing about how well the Cash For Clunkers program has been doing. It's done so well that it's went through the $1 billion allocated way ahead of schedule and they're trying to get more money allocated. I know we're talking about huge amounts of money, but I think this is something that's benefitting the economy and the people (at least a lot more than most of the $700 billion on the bailouts going for executive bonuses) I don't know how true the saying "what's good for General Motors is good for the country" is anymore, but it's getting people buying cars, and what's better trading in old cars for better mileage ones. That's sure to benefit the environment and the dependence on oil.
Anyway, my dad has been trying for the last week to participate in this program, but he's run into a couple of roadblocks. One is that he likes to think about a purchase on the scale of a car, and by the time he decides to get one, it's already sold. And we're not talking about a long time. We're talking about later that day or the next morning at the latest. Second problem is that there's some dealers who are telling him they don't want to participate in cash for clunkers. He doesn't know if it's because they're afraid they won't get the rebate (he said one dealer wanted him to promise the amount if the government didn't come through) or don't want to deal with the paperwork and hassle, or what.
It finally looked like he found a car. He said he needed the registration for the old car from this year and last year, but couldn't find last year's. Could find every other year. I tried looking and couldn't find it, and suggested calling the DMV to see about getting a copy of last year's registration. When I talked to them on the phone, it sounds like they've had this question before and they said he could fill out a form and get the title history from the past 10 years faxed back up there to them and he could pick it up tomorrow.
That's what he's been running into on this.

One of my wife's favorite foods is the Stouffers-panini sandwiches. I usually fix lunch, and they're real easy to make in the microwave (tip: spray the cooking tray for the microwave with some cooking spray to keep it from sticking) and they actually look close to what you see on the package. And they're coming out with 4 new global flavors varieties: Bistro Meatballs & Peppers, Bistro Chicken Souvlaki, Lean Cuisine Grilled Vegetables & Goat Cheese, and Lean Cuisine Mango Chicken Tikka.
And if you're up in Canada, they've got a contest going on where you can win prizes such as a grand prize trip of your choice to India, Greece, Italy and France destinations (that's given as a $10,000 Gift Card), with 3 given away. Or you could win one of 12 Sony digital camcorder or one of their many daily prizes of free Stouffer's product coupons. Once you register here you get one free entry, and you're allowed one unique UPC code entry per day. With their four new varieties of Panini sandwiches to try out, and a chance to win a great prize or free Stouffer's product you're sure to win one way or the other.

"Weird Al" Yankovic has released the next song from his "internet leaks" collection. It's called "CNR" and done in a White Stripes fashion, with animation for the video by JibJab. You can watch it here, and you can buy the song anywhere mp3s are sold.
I've said it before, and it bears repeating: whether you like "Weird Al" or not, you've got to admire his reaction to the changing economics of the music industry instead of letting it pass him by, and lamenting it in the "whatever happened to..." articles you would read about him from time to time.

You know how when they set up traffic cameras to take pictures of traffic violators, and they say it's for safety and education? Apparently Heath Ohio is doing very well in the education business because they sent out 10,000 tickets in 1 month. And with tax revenues dropping it's easy to see that municipalities would turn to this as a revenue source. As Christopher Knight says, these cameras are unconstitutional because they deprive people of their right to confront their accuser. How do you do that when your accuser is a robot?

No matter how the health care reform issue is ultimately resolved, the main thing for people to do to maintain their health is to be informed and to watch their bodies for any changes or problems. And an important aspect of early detection is education, such as reading up on different maladies such as this oral systemic link that can give you information about periodontal disease. What's important about learning more about periodontal disease is that it affects more than your teeth. More and more studies are coming out that say that find an important connection between periodontal disease and heart disease, stroke, diabetes, pre-term low birth weight babies, cancers, Alzheimer's, respiratory disease, kidney disease plus others. The Centers For Dental Medicine want you to be aware of the health risks involved with periodontal disease and have offices that can treat any periodontal or gum problems they encounter. Best of all it's treated painlessly with lasers, avoiding surgery in most cases. And there's no side effects in their treatment and you'll look good and feel better. It's easy to find out more about periodontal disease and where you can go to get treatment if needed thanks to the Centers For Dental Medicine's website.

I first read about this while I was out and about getting the grocery shopping done last Friday, and the article on the Consumerist's web site motivated me to write about this. It involves a grocery chain in my neck of the woods called Marsh. I guess they were interested to try out this internet marketing since that's the latest thing everyone's raving about and they set up a prescence on Facebook. And to offer something to their fans they offered a $10 off coupon for any purchase of $10 or more. It looks like it was intended only for those who became of fan of theirs' on Facebook. But of course, it spread across the internet and they had to suspend the coupon. And there's sore feelings all around as a result.

When many businesses set up for speakers and programs for their employees it's usually to increase their productivity and get more out of them. They usually don't offer programs that could actually help their employess like a stress management program and that's a shame if for no other reason that stress can weaken one's immune system, making them more likely to become sick. And if it goes on for too long it can cause more lasting damage to an individual. So it would actually be more beneficial than having a motivational speaker talk about making more sales and working harder (or smarter, not harder which seems to be the latest buzzword) to educate employees about dealing with stress, especially in these times.
The Stress Institute can help your employees deal with stress with their customized programs that can range from one to six hours and can be scheduled for half days or full days. Not only that, but they're available for speeches. They're not offering a one size fits all solution to your stress problems, they want to work with you to develop a program that will address the key problems with stress based on the needs and issues in your organization.

Mark Evanier pointed out a Huffington Post article that writes about the girl in the Progressive Insurance commercials. Her name is Stephanie Courtney, and her character is called Flo. Of course, around Casa Collett she's called "crackhead Lorelai" because we think she acts like Lorelai from Gilmore Girls on crack. And like Mark said, if they're going to run the commercials so much does it have to be the same one?

Comicon's been over for a week now. But there's still other conventions coming up. Chicago Comicon is this weekend, and there's other conventions coming down the line. And there's other professions besides comic books where companies are in need of a good display to be able to put their best foot forward, and not just in this country.
Thanks to these exhibition stands Australia your company can make an impression at whatever convention or trade show you visit. And these exhibition display stands can help you get the word out about your business and get your name in the mind of the attendees.
These displays and banners look like the ones you see at comics conventions. And if the comic industry (which is traditionally behind other businesses as far as innovation) is using these, why don't you?

Each week the Comics Reporter has a Five For Friday topic that people are invited to weigh in on. Usually I don't see the topic until Friday evening, and sometimes I can't think up 5 answers to the topic. And when I do think up a response (like with most times I make such a list) when I read the other responses I feel bad that I didn't think to mention some of them. But the latest one was one I could contribute. The topic is "Name Five Things About Comics From The Year Before You Were 18 That Could And Should Inform The Way Comic Books Are Done Now."

There's a lot more choices for television program than cable TV vs. rabbit ears. Even out here in the middle of nowhere I've got at least 4 options right off the top of my head, and none of them have to do with antennas. If satellite TV has caught your eye and you're wondering about the different options available to you, there's a site that allows you to comparison shop even by state, so if you want to find out more about Direct TV in Michigan, or just comparison shop DirecTV vs. Dish satellite providers this is the place to go. There are more choices nowadays so you should explore your options.

Remember yesterday when I was talking about health care reform and couldn't think of examples of things the government does for us (and rather well, thank you very much)? Paul Harris came up with some examples.

Over at Tony Isabella's board there used to be thing where he'd nominate the best and worst person of a particular day. It hasn't been done lately (maybe he's busy with other matters, maybe no one has jumped out lately. No criticisms, just saying hasn't been done lately) so I'm going to borrow it for this post. It came to mind when I came across these two items online:
Al Franken has settled in to his new job as Senator, and isn't coasting on fame. He's actually doing some good work.
However, there has been a truce declared between Fox and MSNBC, specifically between Keith Olbermann and Bill O'Reilly. Not because of actual damage done, but because of the attacks are starting to affect the parent corporations' business. Again, I point to Bill Maher's New Rule that everything doesn't have to be for profit (last one in transcript). Thanks to Mark Evanier and Paul Harris for pointing this story out.

It's hard to believe that it's been over 7 years since the last time I was in Florida. I think about going back from time to time, but money and that thing I'm dealing with about not being away from home too long are what's keeping me right now. But I know I want to go back again, and I hope to go back before I'm too old to want to go to the amusement parks. Going to Orlando and hitting the parks there are a given whenever I go down there. You can very easily spend every day of your vacation at a park, but the last few times I was down there I learned the advantages of taking a breather day and just relaxing and enjoying the vacation.
Out of all the parks in that neck of the woods I'd have to say that my favorite park was what they now call Disney's Hollywood Studios, where they celebrate a Hollywood that never was with the fun and excitement of Disney. Is it a movie studio? Is it an amusement park? It's all that and more. Even though it's changed over the years, there's still fun and enjoyment to be had there, from picking out the Easter eggs having to do with Twilight Zone on the Tower of Terror ride to getting a FastPass to get to the front of the line on Aerosmith's Rock and Rollercoaster (and feeling like you've got a backstage pass to a concert when you go in). But any of you reading this blog would guess that my favorite ride is Star Tours. The first time my wife and I went, we brought my nephew who was very young along, and he thought it was real. He was disappointed that we didn't get to go to Endor and meet the Ewoks. Like I said, he was very young back then.
But like I said, the main problem with going to Florida is the prices. It seems like the only good recent investment was theme park tickets that were bought more than a few months ago. But if you weren't that fortunate in your own personal portfolio the next best thing would be Disney World Tickets where you can get a good deal on tickets and not have to sit through a high pressure sales pitch. Total enjoyment on your vacation.

With the recent recession and people losing jobs and finding themselves in dire fiancial straits, they're trying to find ways to make money. And if you spend any amount of time online, you see those ads about making money from home. Making a high hourly rate while you sleep, that sort of thing. You know that old adage of "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is" and you don't click on it, but part of you has to wonder if you're just missing out on something. You don't have to worry, Snopes once again gets to the bottom of it all. But if you are looking for ways to work from home this Yahoo article should point you in the right direction.

It seems like every day there's something new that causes cancer. When you're young, it doesn't matter that much, but when you get older, that lump or sore spot causes more concern for you. Is it cancer? Instead of fretting and worrying over every little thing that comes up. Start reading up and studying. Right now, education and early detection is the key to fighting cancer.
Learning about the different types of caner such as mesothelioma can help you in what to look out for, and what to do if you have a mesothelioma prognosis. You can learn about the different types, such as peritoneal mesothelioma that can help you. You don't have to worry anymore about any little lump or anything that looks suspicous. In this more than ever, knowledge is power.

Health care reform has passed committee and is ready for a battle when Congress reconvenes next month. And there were some compromises which reminds me of the Calvin And Hobbes comic strip that said a good compromise makes everyone mad. Those who oppose reform are those who have very good health insurance and are in no danger of losing it taking money from insurance companies are taking the guise that the government running health care would be a bad thing because the government can't run anything. Can you imagine an employee who would badmouth their boss like that and get away with it? Yeah, the government doesn't do everything perfect, but look at what all they do right. Besides, is the current method of health care really that good? For those of you out there with insurance, are you really that happy with it? Do you like paying more and more, finding less and less covered, and worried about losing your coverage, your home, and/or your life because of it? Almost every other country has better health care that the government plays a role, and they somehow manage to survive, do we keep having to be behind on that? Can "I got mine" stop steering the discussion of this matter? I remember something I read from another blog (and I'm sorry I can't find it to attribute it properly) but one thing the health care debate comes down to is, do you think the government should work for you? I know since 1980 the cry has been to get government off our backs, but what that really meant was to remove government oversight and regulation, and look what it got us: a financial meltdown, food that has a different recall every week, and us regular folks worse off than before. And the thing that gets me is even though we said loud and clear what we thought of what was going on last November, those still riding the gravy train are trying to find new reasons to keep it going. Spreading money, spreading lies, spreading--you know. Maybe people feel wore down. Many times in the past when it looked like nothing could be done, you just shrug your shoulders and go on. It's only when discontent rises above a manageable level that something is done about a problem. Remember last Summer when gas was $4 a gallon? It isn't that high now (or higher). Wonder why? Sure, the recession has something to do with it, but I believe that a big factor in gas prices is how much the companies think they can get away with charging. If they could charge you more, they would. Maybe it's like the line in the miniseries Favorite Son where a politician said that as long as the TV was still on the air, and gas was below a certain price, people will accept anything. But I hope something is done about health care reform, and something significant. As Bill Maher said in a recent "New Rules" segment of his show, there should be some things that aren't for profit. And I'm not talking about doctors, nurses, and others in the health care industry taking a vow of poverty. There's still an opportunity for them to continue making a living. And from my experience with dealing with them most would agree that something has to be done about our current system of health care.
Before I go, I wanted to point out a couple of articles Mark Evanier pointed out: one is how they're trying to use lies to stop health care reform again. I actually heard on the radio the falsehood about requiring people in Medicare to take end of life counseling. And of course, they'll require women to have abortions. And here's a Newsweek article that just about reads like an Onion article.

While I was excited when I first heard the news a week ago about Marvel getting the rights to Marvelman, I realized at the time that it was a first step and we weren't out of the woods yet. The old-school logo and use of the name Marvelman with no mention of Miracleman or anyone involved in the 80s reboot was my first clue. And there's a lot of people wondering what's left to resolve. Once again, Bleeding Cool to the rescue with a scorecard of who's where on the rights issue. And as Rich Johnston points out, it all started from the resolution of another legal dispute, the Superman/Captain Marvel lawsuit. Hopefully this will be resolved to the creators' satisfaction and Marvel won't play the 800 pound gorilla too much.

If you're looking for a way to get your logo or unique design on clothing without having to pay a fortune for it, then you should check out the shirt printing services available from LogoDogzPrintz.com. The advantage to using them includes no art fees, free shipping, no screen or set-up charges, 5 days or less turnaround time, and more. They can print up the design you want on as few as 6 items. And the more you print, the more you save. Yes, they do more than just t-shirts with a wide variety of clothing options. If you're looking for a way to promote your business, club, or team; then look no further.