Window Shopper

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Have you ever had that opportunity? You can sign up online to become a Nielsen family for several things. But we got a call from the Nielsen folks a couple of weeks ago asking us if we would like to be one of the families to do a television diary for them. Of course, we loved the idea and told them yes!! The man on the phone assured me that they were grateful and that it would be for “sweeps week” which is really exciting too.

We received the diary a couple of days before the big start which was last Thursday (November 13th). All we had to do was list all of the channels we could watch, who is in the house, how many televisions we have (they send out a diary for each set regardless of whether it even comes on or not). And then the big day came. Of course, Thursday is not the greatest day for us since we often don’t watch anything but Stargate SG-1 on the Sci-Fi channel. Friday, ditto. Saturday and Sunday are great days to watch movies that we already own or others that are rented. Sometimes we do rent though not very often.

But our brightest day, television wise, is Monday. Those shows are awesome. We always either watch or tape to watch later. And we love the shows so much. Whoever would think of a secret agent working in an electronics store in the mall? Chuck is an intersect, called that because his so-called best friend (who is secretly…what other kind is there???…a secret agent) sends him a disc. He plays it on his computer and all of a sudden has the top secrets of the country in his head. The disc then was destroyed in classic Mission Impossible style. Now Chuck is being guarded by two agencies of the government, the FBI and the CIA. One is a guy and one a lady, both very good at their job. We love this show!!!

Next up is what I can only call a strange but really fun show called Heroes. An eclipse happens and suddenly some people have abilities they never had before, some quite harmful, others good. You are allowed to see into the lives of some of these heroes. Actually, not all are heroes as you soon find out. Some are villains with evil in their hearts those abilities help them with their evil deeds. They are in the third season. Excitement is still high. We still want to know what is about to happen next. Both of those shows are on NBC.

Finally, we look in on Boston Legal. For years, we have watched as Denny Crane and Allen Shore take on the world, so to speak. The combo is good with William Shatner in the role of Denny Crane who has “mad cow” disease. He has little trouble telling people about it and less trouble showing it. The reality is that he might have Alzheimer’s disease, his worst fear. His comedy sidekick, though he announces that he is the star of the show (they do that whole “fourth wall” thing which is totally hilarious), is Allen Shore who is a brilliant attorney who takes a different road. He definitely does not do the normal. If I had a lawyer like that, I would have sued at least a couple of places and people in my life and won! Backing up those two are some sane lawyers who also have unconventional ways but tend to win their cases. All in all, a really good show. The sad part is that ABC has canceled the show at the end of the season. We disagree and say so on the diary. We are assured that the network people look at that.

On to Tuesday where we have one favorite show there called Eli Stone. This show is in it’s second season and I hope it runs for many years. Another lawyer show, this one is highly unusual in that Eli has found out he has an aneurysm in the brain that, apparently allows him to see future and could be future events by putting him into the vision. At first, he thought he was in the activity in the vision but realized, somewhat after ducking an airplane that wasn’t really there and acting in court like he saw things that were not there, that those were future events and not reality. That changed his life. Seeking help, he finds a man who does acupuncture. The really strange part of that is that the man used to be a friend of his father’s who also had such visions. This is an awesome show and I hope they don’t take it off the air for a lot of years.

Wednesday, the reprisal of Knight Rider with Kitt, the car that talks, brings all the technology with it and puts it into the car. Updated abilities of the car and the new characters are what make it as exciting, and often more exciting than the original show we loved so much. Knight Industries have come a long way, baby! Kitt and company are up to their fenders in dangerous missions each week. Kitt now has the ability to change his appearance so much that you would not know it’s really a mustang. He can change color, change into an SUV or an attack vehicle. Just say the word. But he has his “human” side too or is trying to learn it. That is somewhat reminiscent of Data on Star Trek, The Next Generation, the android that wanted so much to be human. Kitt does not take it that far but is trying to understand humans.

So, on Wednesday night, we will finish up the diary, seal it and send it off to the Nielsen people. We will have our say in what people watch. I love that. Haven’t you sat there watching a show you wish they had never made? Or watching one you just know they will cancel but wish they wouldn’t? We can hope that our opinions matter.

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I have to say that in all the years that I have gone to doctors, our present doctor and the office are quite pleasant. But it was not always that way. Our current doctor simply does not have a fit over things we do not do. He believes that we are grown adults, subject to feelings and needs. When it is necessary, he is quite persuasive. My husband had a small, persistent pain that he could not shake. We ended up at the doctor’s office thinking that he might have a pill or some suggestion. He did. We went to the hospital where my husband’s appendix was removed and fairly quickly. If he had not gotten there when he did…well, it would not have worked out well. Due to our doctor’s swift diagnosis and insistence that he go to the hospital, my husband is still here.

There have been other doctors over the years. You know the ones. Nice, chatty, willing to be your best friend…until you don’t do what they want. Then they become Godzilla on steroids. It turns into a trial to see them. Even though their office staff love to give out promotional pens and calendars, their attitude truly does not fit what a doctor’s office should be. One doctor we went to was very good..at the beginning. He was thorough, friendly, compassionate and understanding. Somewhere along the line, we questioned a diagnosis he made. We were then considered a pariah. After that, it was uncomfortable and difficult. He even had me do a test that was not relevant to my problem at a time when I was very sick. The test required me standing for a period of time, a mammogram. I was dizzy and unsure of myself. Eventually, I realized that I had an infection. He finally got around to treating it. What it took to get us to leave was when he was on vacation, I needed a new prescription for some meds he was writing for me. I had no idea that the level of med was toxic to me. Found that out when I asked and the nurse practitioner told me that I can’t have that much. (It was for stomach problems) I insisted that she was wrong because the DOCTOR was writing it that way. Had I known it at the time, I should have sued him for giving me the meds at that level. It was hurting me a lot.

Other doctors seem to be fine, compassionate, able to sit with you for some time, not rushing out the door right after you have sat for two hours, getting to see him for all of two minutes…..until the HMOs get them. At that point, find another doctor no matter what you think of that one. I am telling you, it will only end in tears (quote from Anastasia, the animated movie, but appropriate). One doctor that did end up in the clutches of the HMOs worked himself literally to death. He was the one that could only stay in the room for a couple minutes since he was in such a rush each and every day.

Not all doctors are created equal. Not all are compassionate, have a sense of humor and are really good. Some are just there to fit the image of the parents, want to be king/queen of all he/she surveys, love the god complex that goes with it and other things like that. Do the research. Find the one that’s totally right for you. If you happen to live in a rural area like we do, check out each one of the doctors. Find someone that everyone else likes, especially the older folks. They will tell you like it is. Some people believe that as they get older, they have the right to say what they like. That’s the person to see regarding your next doctor.

So, it is never REALLY pleasant to go to the doctor but it can be less aggravating as long as the office people are nice, pleasant and helpful. As long as the doctor does not feel he/she knows it all. I find it refreshing to have a doctor that says he does not know but has someone in mind who would. That is worth it’s weight in gold!

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Today, I received an email with a subject line that said “Notice from Department of the Treasury” that stated that the IRS had calculated my fiscal activity. My, isn’t that interesting. And they mentioned something about having found out that I am eligible for a tax refund of $189.60. Nice figure. Not a lot of money but it would help a bit. Of course, I wouldn’t be buying provisions for a trip to California anytime soon. There just would not be enough money for that and for the trip too. So, my dreams have once again been devastated by a lack of money. Oh yes, I needed to submit my tax refund request in the next 6-9 days by clicking on the text that read “click here”.

Okay, anyone? This is a spam email that just happened to have an inviting amount of money attached to it so that you would go to the website, wherever it is, and put in all your information. Did I click on the link? Of course not. It was a sad attempt to get information, an act called a “phishing” expedition. At some point, all your information is then sent to whoever is looking for it, gathering info on lots of people. They can then scam you, steal your personal info or simply make your life hard by sending out viruses, worms or any other nasty programs into email that you open unknowingly.

A good example of that is an email I received today that had two nasty items in it. Since I did not open the attachment with the email, it did no bad things to my computer. That particular email was sent supposedly by United Airlines. It said that I had used my credit card to purchase a ticket and that the attached file had the information concerning that purchase. Before I ran out and purchased travel insurance, I decided to check it out a bit. It was a nasty little bugger. But wait. I had not bought a ticket to anywhere with United Airlines. Not only that but I don’t have a credit card. They blew it. Now, people who have credit cards and are worried about such unknown purchases on their cards will likely open the email. That would have released whatever thing was in the email attachment. However, you do not have to be defenseless here. But you must have an anti-virus program running for this to work.

I right clicked on the attachment. That brought up a box with choices. I chose to “save as” and put it onto my desktop for easy finding. Then I closed that and went to my desktop. I right clicked on the item which gave me the option to have the offending item on my desktop scanned. When it was finished, it notified me that there were two items inside the attachment that were hazardous to my computer. At that point, I deleted both the item on the desktop and the email that brought it to me. I am now not worried about anyone taking my credit card account and purchasing a ticket on an airline.

With a little bit of savvy, you can keep your computer free of such emails that threaten your computer. Oh and just so you know, I knew that the IRS had not sent the email. It had a few non-IRS-like phrases like “If u don’t receive your refund”. See anything wrong here?

1) The IRS never emails citizens. Everything is by snail mail. That makes it more official.
2) They do NOT use a single letter for a word. (”u”)
3) They do NOT use a contraction. (don’t)
4) How do they know they have the right person? This email did not address me by my name. All correspondence from the IRS has the person’s name, usually several times, in it. This email was to “undisclosed recipients”.
5) The IRS does not spell things wrong. “your records must show wether” and “the maner of
section; and the realtionship” (wether=whether, maner=manner, realtionship=relationship)
6) It was sent as a “noreply” which could be suspicious coming from a place like that when they actually want to hear from you.

Both of the examples are spam and have destructive capabilities to your lives or computers or both. Always check the email out if it looks even remotely suspicious. Your computer will be safe from such things as long as you do not panic, make sure it is not toxic to your computer and before you click on any email link, stop and think if this would really pertain to you. Most of these people believe you will click on the link because of fear or curiosity. Often, they are right. Too many people lose their computers or their bank account balances due to such people and the scams they pull. Don’t you be a victim.

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Not long ago, my husband and I made two videos that showed how much we love where we live; the slower pace, the lakes, trees, wild life plus the historic places for people to see and enjoy. Hometown videos give the viewer a picture of the life in a small, rural village. Beginning as a retirement town and fast growing into a family center as well, this area is blooming into a retirement hub as well as a tourist attraction in the summer months. We enjoy the benefits of both the retirement area and tourist attractions with the several lakes, recreation centers, restaurant, tennis courts, drive through golf course and so much more. We enjoyed making the videos because it is just pleasant to live here.

Even now, when the weather is starting to turn cooler, we have seen those who are dedicated to their sports heading to the tennis courts and golf course with rackets and golf bags in hand. Enthusiastic golfers and tennis players still have a lot of time before our weather makes it less possible to play the game they seem to love so much. Occasionally, we head in the direction of the golf course, driving into it since they ran the street right through the course which we thought was weird but is fun nevertheless.

All in all, this is a good place to live with the prices somewhat cheaper here than other places. Housing is easier to find and affordable. When others are paying over a hundred thousand dollars for a place to live, you can find many, many places that are far less in price. We live in a neighborhood that has woods nearby. In this village, only a few houses are on a street and the woods is part of the charm. Each neighborhood has their share of the trees to live around. Sometimes in the fall, we will wake up to a family of deer in our yard. So beautiful are these creatures. Yes, this is a good place to live.

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Especially during the holiday season, we tend to think of all the things we could give a person. However, if we don’t know them well or they happen to be one of those people who have literally everything, it becomes pretty hard to buy something nice for them. Gift cards are a fantastic answer to the problem. I have used them myself on several occasions with great results. Others have gifted me with a gift card as well. I always loved that because then I could buy what I wanted instead of get some strange item that I could never use or return. That made them valuable to me and thousands of other people who either bought them or received them as gifts. The retail stores receive millions of dollars for gift cards. The question is, are they any good when the person tries to redeem them?

When it comes to the larger retail stores, they are likely to be just fine although there is at least one store that is heading into bankruptcy. Smaller stores need to be checked out very carefully. If you do not, the gift card may be worth nothing at all. When the company that sold the card goes into receivership, often the commitment of the card is not honored and you become one of the people who gets to wait until they pay the debts of the company. Unfortunately, they pay the largest debts of the company first. The likelihood of the card holders getting anything back is extremely slim and none at all. If they do, it’s pennies on the dollar. When the stores or companies are in trouble, they still will not stop selling the cards since they are looking for all the money they can find so you, the consumer, get to hold onto a dead piece of plastic that’s worth nothing. You won’t know that until you try to redeem it.

People often believe that gift cards never lose their value but that is not true either. Even if the store is doing fine, that does not mean that the card will always be there just waiting for you. One young man was saving his gift cards that he had received for Christmas and birthdays for a couple of years only to find out that they were worth absolutely nothing due to maintenance fees. Another option is to buy the cards from a bank instead of a store. These are called open loop cards. Seems like a good idea but, again, the maintenance fees will bring down the value of the card to nothing if you wait long enough.

The best idea is to buy the cards from strong, stable companies and stores like Target and Walmart. While I am definitely not a fan of Walmart, we still buy the gift card to save money on gas that we purchase at the gas station. These cards are good as long as they are in business with no fees whatsoever. Many of the large stores are counting on and expecting high gift card sales to bolster they slipping sales for this holiday. So, be warned. Gift cards are not always the gift you thought they were. Givers, buy the cards close to the date of giving the gift. Recipient, use the card as quickly as you can. That way, both of you receive the satisfaction of the gift given and received.

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Hey, I realize that this is way overdue and late to boot. But if you can remember it for next year, that works too. In this amazingly bad economy, it boggles the mind that anyone would want to go to such places in the first place but if you do that, you need to know a few things that might help you. This particular subject and post are happening due to someone who commented on another post here. So, I will try to help in any way I can. That person said that they wanted to spend as much as they could when going to the fair. Yes, I understand that. However, there are things unseen going on there. One really big thing here, I am not talking about permanent amusement parks. This is about traveling carnivals only.

For instance, that carnival that has all the rides and games is only there for one thing, to separate you from the money in your wallet. That is it. No other reason. They do not care whether they entertain you or not. That is a side benefit since it brings people back for more. The food is high priced but you will probably eat it anyway because it’s unique to that time and place…more or less. Most of those things can be fixed in your own kitchen but I suppose it’s not the same. One thing here, a foot long hot dog is only 9 inches long. Thought I would share that.

Games are there so you can lose. Yes, people do win occasionally. And if they win a large stuffed animal, unless they had whatever they were tossing right on the mark, it took them much more money than it cost for the thing in the first place. Most games are rigged for the house. Big shocker. All of them are rigged to not lose much at all. Little kid games will get you little bitty prizes. Big kid games almost always get you little bitty prizes. The trinkets cost less than a few cents. The stuffed animals cost much less too. Often, the win or lose is a judgment call by the person in the game booth. These people have to pay the boss if they lose some of the “plush” so they try very hard not to do that.

Rides in most states are not regulated enough to be safe. Some states or local governments do not have rules in place for the safety issue. Some do. Some are very strict but most are not. There are no real regulations on the games either. But let’s take a closer look at the rides. These pieces of machinery are painted, repaired and packed up at the beginning of the season, carted around the country, set up temporarily at the site where they are going to operate for a few days up to ten days. The people that the owners use to assemble these large, heavy pieces of machinery are usually from the town or city where they are setting up. These folks have zero clue what they are doing. That is not safe. But the carnivals rarely have enough people to do the job themselves. At the end of the stay, the rides are torn down in less than 6 hours usually, packed up and heading for the next stop.

In the beginning, they are well repaired, look fresh and crisp. Don’t let that fool you. Those rides are usually pretty old. They have a new paint job. After they have been on the road all season, are usually in need of repair they will likely not get until they go back to winter quarters. They are dangerous in the beginning and worse at the end of the season. And those who love carnivals will not pay one bit of attention to me on this but they should. It might save a life or some injuries some day.

Just my two cents worth for today.

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Okay, I realize this is a little late for some places in the country but not all. Now, you have to be going to the fair anyway for this one but it does save some money for you. I tumbled to this one when I thought about it a little bit. Most things at the fair are outrageously priced. However, there are usually booths that are selling local canned goods, for instance. You can get some really good deals there.

I love walking through the booths anyway to see all the newest devices and services that are provided. You can find some pretty decent deals there too since they want to sell you something and they are having a huge sale right then, right there. Frankly, there are tons of promotional items too like pens, key rings, ball caps, calendars and writing paper. It’s a treasure trove of goodies if you look in the right places. I can come away with all sorts of things for free or little money doing that. Yes, I know. Do I really need the cap? No, but it’s fun to have it anyway. The pens are always needed, calendars too. We use those all the time.

The thing is that you can find low priced or free things everywhere. And there are always bargains for people who pay attention too. It’s the only reason I would go anywhere like that anymore.

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Some years ago, I had to go on a mission trip to Mexico. Having never been there before, I tried to get all the information I could about the clothing I would need. Not that easy. The people I was going with were so used to taking this trip that they were pretty matter of fact about it. In fact, one of the ladies that I was asking about it was actually from the area of Mexico that we were heading for. But she did not see what I wore as a problem. I did since I did not have clothes that would fit for this trip. It wasn’t easy.

Two friends and I were going on this trip so we got together and worked out what we needed. Perhaps that was foolish, though it seemed right at the time, we probably spent more than we needed to on the clothes. However, I have to tell you that I was grateful for the extremely heavy jacket that got me through the winter in the mountains and for the UGG Boots that got me through the snow and the mud during that whole trip and kept my feet warm. It was Christmas time. We were taking toys, clothes and meds as well as food to an area of Mexico that had been racked with a drought. It caused most people to lose their jobs and so the young men of the villages were heading elsewhere to work. Those left really didn’t have much since they were waiting for the men to get jobs and pay for what they needed at home.

It was a real eye opener, not only what we had to shop for at home but what we shopped for when we got there as well. I was so blessed by that trip. Now I have a better appreciation for our stores, homes and the value of having money to spend in the stores. I do not take that as lightly as I used to do. Shop smart. Save money. Enjoy what you have. Simple.

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These days, it is not as easy as it once was to shop as if you had all day and all the money in the world. In hard times like now, it is very important to find ways to economize. Maybe the government can’t do it but we must do it or it will cost us more than we want to pay out. We must learn to save money where we can so that there are times when we might need money for an extra or two would not be out of the realm of happening. Visions of chocolate covered cookies dance in my head while I am trying to stop and get the bottle of diet supplement pills I need. It is not that easy to shop but it must be done. You can cut out a lot of unnecessary items but food is not one of them. So, you must shop smartly. Stop, look and listen is not only for the railroad crossings.

Here are a few tips for shopping in smart ways. They are all things that have been around for years. Now you find that you have to adopt them much like we did some years ago:

1) Do not shop for food when you are hungry. Bad timing all the way. You will always put more in your cart than you really wanted in the first place. That one is deadly to a budget.

2) If possible, do not bring the kids. Their wants will work your bill up much higher than you need.

3) At home, make a list of what you want to and need to buy. Build in a bit of room for extras spotted at the store. Check the sales and loss leaders for the store.

4) Do not buy something on sale simply because you see it on sale. If you don’t usually use it or plan to use it some time soon, don’t bother with it. It is not saving you money if you buy something you do not need.

5) Buy your meat on sale when possible. Shop for the best prices and get as much as you are able on sale.

6) Plan meals and then buy for those meals.

7) Use the generic store brands when possible. Now I know that some things are not the same as the brand names. However, I have found that most of the generic or store brands are exactly or comparable to the name brand items. These cost sometimes half the price of the name brand item. You are saving up to half or sometimes more by using the store brand.

8 ) Stock up on clearance and sale items. Do not buy it just because it’s there. Find things you really need and buy in bulk. If the individual price is higher than the case price, buy the case. But do not buy a case if you will only use two. You do not save money by having way more than you need. If sometime in the near future, you will use it, buy by the case.

9) When possible, buy fresh veggies and freeze them. Then, during a time when they are not available or are much higher priced, you have yours available to you at a lower cost.

Above all, there is an art to saving money but it’s relatively easy to learn. You stop buying the high priced items and start buying only what you need. Stock up. It might take a little effort to learn it but this is valuable to you and your family. And for those who do coupons, they save enormous amounts of money that way. Some people who do this much more than I do, find that they can pay for an entire load of groceries for pennies. I saw someone who did this coupon savings have a bill of over $400 and pay out actual money of less than $50. It can be done. These days, it’s easier than ever with online shopping, coupon websites that allow you to print out the coupons which you then take to the store to redeem.

You can save money shopping but it takes work. If you want to save, you will. Happy Shopping!

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On a blog called All Techno Blog, I found this keyboard that the person who has the blog says is a new kind. Uh no. They say that the keyboard and the computer are packed together and that this is quite new to computers. Uh no. As I recall, the Commodore was like that. And my husband still has his Color Computer which is totally in the keyboard. So, I thought I would like to say something about it. But captcha (or whatever that abomination for checking humans is called) being what it is, it would not allow my comment to go through. I tried it nine separate times to get my comment to go through and it refused me each time. Now, I had not been on that blog before so it’s not like I have been banned or anything. It simply was not allowing me access.

So, in order to have my say about that subject, here in it’s entirety is my comment to that blog person:

I’m not going to cough or politely say something to make things better here. This is not new at all! My husband still has his old Color Computer. It still works. It is STILL in the KEYBOARD. Now, I may not know much about computers but even I can see that the statement about something new is ridiculous.

Okay. Off my soapbox now. Nice pictures.

Now, is this comment mean hearted or slamming? No. I am after all giving them a link from my own blog to theirs. It is simply about me not being able to comment on a blog when it is obvious that others are able to do so. Is that fair? Nope. Is it fair that I am left out? Nope. Of course, I have no idea what is wrong with the captcha thingy. It just did not work for me. So, in this post is the link for the item they are trying to get you to see. Have at it. Hope you can comment where I could not.

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