Ranty has some great energy saving tips on her Healy House blog, including one regarding home’s hot water temperature: The Healy House: It’s that time of year again… 8. Stay out of hot water. Water heating accounts for 15 percent of household energy use. Reduce water heating costs by lowering the water heater’s thermostat setting. [...]
I’m pretty darn sure someone could make a living by buying items off Craigslist them reselling them on Ebay. It’s not glamorous, but should bring in some decent cash in short order. Here’s how. 1. Go to Craigslist’s Electronics category. 2. Look for items that aren’t complete crap. 3. Search to see what the same [...]
As Paul Schmelzer points out, the US Army, for the first time in history, plans to have a brigade ready for assignments against fellow Americans starting next month. Wow. You’re really really really failed as a leader if you need to call in the Army to deal with the reactions to your past 8 years [...]
Deets commenter and old friend of mine from high school, Dan Letnes, picked up some some serious air-time during a WCCO segment on Gov. Pawlenty’s proposal to recruit business professionals to join the Minnesota education system. According to the story, Dan volunteers with Junior Achievement but isn’t ready to give up his day job quite [...]
According to Zillow.com, the home I purchased last fall has increased by 70% in less than a year: While I wish that was so, I have a hunch that any real estate agent I talked to would collapse if I suggested listing the property for what Zillow suggests. There are two upward spikes in the [...]
Here’s a slide from a Yellow Pages industry presentation called “Dealing with the Opt-Out Movement(pdf).” Apparently, it’s a scary thing for the Yellow Pages Association that people are starting to wake up and say, “I want to stop delivery of phone books to my home.” The presentation includes a breakdown of recent state efforts to [...]
Don’t let your unused frequent flyer miles expire. Put them to work by donating them to people who could use them. Here are a few options. Make-A-Wish Foundation accepts mile donations from most major airlines. American Red Cross does as well. Fisher House’s Hero Miles helps injured members of the military visit their families. Northwest [...]
Google’s policy against clicking AdSense ads on your own website continues to annoy me. This time, it was a post on the Inside AdSense blog that drew my ire: However, we strongly advise against using your own AdSense for search box for a couple of reasons. First, it can increase the chance of accidental or [...]
Sure, kids may like it, but about kids at heart? The latest canned, alcoholic, caffeinated beverage from MillerCoors*, Sparks Red, is under attack. Why? Because they claim a drink that stimulates while it intoxicates is a big problem once you make the leap from 7% alcohol by volume to 8%. That, apparently, is a magical [...]
This baffles me: Why does it cost $1.75 more for an online renewal than mailing in a check? Here’s my current theory: They’re Ignoring Labor Costs At some point in history, someone with the state probably noticed that accepting credit card charges involves absorbing merchant fees. I don’t know what the state’s merchant fees are, [...]
