"ROBOCALLS" to stop 9/1/09

Those annoying prerecorded telephone calls will be a thing of the past starting September 1, 2009. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is banning "robocalls" to consumers unless the telemarketer has written permission from customers who want to receive the calls.

FTC Chairman Jon Lebowitz says American consumers have made it clear that the billions of commercial "robocalls" received every year are annoying.

There will be a few exceptions from this ban including: delivery information, flight cancellations, and calls from debt collectors, politicians, charities and phone companies. Violators will face penalties of up to $16,000 per call.

Radiant Floor Heating With Pexheat.com

Whether you're a professional or do-it-yourself plumber, Pexheat.com can meet all of your needs. With their lowest price promise, they are seeing their inventory fly out the door.

Watts Radiant , a leader in the radiant heat industry and known for it's high quality, has a line of tubing at a greatly reduced cost. Pexheat.com's significantly reduced prices on other products including tubing, manifolds & fittings, water heaters, electric heating mats, pumps and controls, and many more plumbing products are a definite bonus in these difficult economic times.

Pexheat.com offers free radiant floor heating estimates (there is cost for their design and consulting service). To get started with your one-stop shopping radiant floor heating/plumbing project, complete their online "Estimate Request" form which will also give you a materials estimate. You'll also find answers and information on Pexheat.com's website including the history and advantages of radiant heating and you can download manuals provided by the manufacturers of the products they sell.

With Pexheat.com's lowest price promise and free ground shipping within the contiguous United States (by UPS or DHL) on orders over $200.00 (excluding subfloor panel products) you'll definitely want to get started on your project.

"Green Eggs" and Ham

The only green eggs that I knew about until recently, were in the story of "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss. Then I discovered a Big Green Egg. It's the most awesome smoker barbecue grill and it's large enough to cook a couple of meals at a time (even a 20 pound turkey). I normally don't get too excited about something that requires work, but this is the greatest thing I've come across in ages.

Apparently a lot of other people think so too. An annual "EGGtoberfest" is held. Last year's event was in Atlanta, Georgia. This year the event is going to be at the Big Green Egg Corporate Headquarters in Tucker, Georgia October 16th & 17th. Believe it or not, tickets for the "Saturday Event's and Cooks' Registration" are sold out; there's a limit of 1500 attendees for that event and a 500 person limit for Friday.(I saw an add for "tickets wanted" on Craig's List). It's such a overwhelming success each year that they don't allow walk-in registration. There's a meet and greet with catered food where EGGheads get to chat. During the day, food is available as dishes are cooked on site by cooks who have registered for the honor.

Here's a fast and easy Smoked Garlic Chicken Recipe for your Big Green Egg Grill (from Better Homes and Gardens). Soak wood chunks 1 hour before needed. Drain water. In the smoker, arrange preheated coals and drained wood according to manufacturer's directions.

10-12 wood chunks
(1) 6-7 pond chicken
1 lemon2 teaspoons dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced

Rinse inside and outside of chicken. Pat dry. Shred enough lemon peal to make 2 teaspoons. For the rub combine lemon peel, parsley, salt, pepper and garlic. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze juice from 1/2 over the surface of the chicken. Use fingers to apply the chicken rub. Place the 2 lemon halves into the chicken. Tie legs to tail and twist wing tips under back.

Insert a meat thermometer into the center of the inside of the thigh muscle (don't let it touch the bone). Place chicken, breast side up, on a grill rack over a pan of water. Cover and smoke approximately 3 1/4 hours to 4 hours or until thermometer registers 180 degrees. Remove, let stand for 15 minutes. Then ENJOY!

my fascination with the outlaw JESSE JAMES

For years, I've had a fascination with the outlaw Jesse Woodson James (1847-1882). Was he the Robinhood some people claimed he was or was he a cold-blooded murderer and thief? (He didn't rob from the rich and give to the poor as it was rumored at the time. He lined his own pockets.)

I've visited his home in Kearney (Clay County) MO three times, his grave in the Mount Olive Cemetery (also in Kearney) twice, and the Clay County Saving Association in Liberty, MO which he robbed. It was the site of the first daylight armed bank robbery in peacetime. I also saw his home in St. Joseph, MO where Jesse was assassinated by Robert Ford who shot him in the back while he was either dusting or adjusting a picture frame. Ford wanted to collect the $5,000 reward offered by then Missouri Governor Thomas T. Crittenden.

Jesse and his brother Frank James were Confederate guerrillas during the Civil War. After the war, they became members of various gangs that robbed stagecoaches, banks and trains. Jesse was the most famous of the James-Younger gang who tried to rob a bank in Northville, Minnesota in Sept. 1876.

After Jesse was killed in 1882, he was buried on the family farm. Later, his body was removed to Mt. Olive Cemetery. Rumors surfaced that he was alive and living in the west under an assumed name. There was always a question over the years whether it was actually Jesse's body buried in Mt. Olive Cemetery in Kearney, MO. In 1995, Jesse's body was exhumed. It was found that the DNA of the body was consistent with the DNA of the relatives of Jesse James. The remains were re-interred once again, under the name "JESSE JAMES. "

Let Nature Do The Work

It's nice to know that I was before the times with the "green" movement. For years, I've recycled yard waste but did it the old fashion way by letting a pile of grass clippings, leaves and vegetable garden by-products etc. do their own thing in a large pile in the far corner of my backyard. It attracted bugs, insects and who knows what else and had a horrible smell while the pile was breaking down.

A couple of years ago, I started looking for a cleaner, more efficient way of composting (using decayed organic material to improve soil for growing crops). I discovered the Earthmaker Aerobic Composter which makes composting easier, less messy and more convenient. It's eco-friendly and is the latest thing in composting. There are fewer flies and greenhouse gases and the swiveling top door keeps animals out.

With the Earthmaker Composter, the breakdown of materials occurs twice as fast. It has 3 stages that can produce approximately 10 gallons of compost each month. By having 3 stages, the fresh waste, digesting waste and the maturing waste are kept separate. I found that using a small rake helps to move the composted material to the front so it can be scooped out with a shovel. But what I liked best about the Earthmaker Composter is that's it's easy to assemble (I like simple directions that are user friendly).

Composting and doing as much as you can for "green" are important things to do before more damage is done to the environment. Also, green is associated with luck (the 4 leaf clover and the Irish belief in "wearing of the green"), good health and nutrition associated with eating green vegetables and green, the color of US currency. Look into a low cost Earthmaker Composter and "GO GREEN"!!!

Eat Healthy With The Mediterranean Diet

I LOVE MEDITERRANEAN FOOD !! I've been to Greece twice and Morocco and Turkey one time each and have eaten some of the best food in the world in those places.

The British Medical Journal tracked 23,000 Greek adults. It was learned that eating a lot of fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes (like beans and peas) had the greatest impact on longevity. Consuming small/moderate amounts of alcohol and meats also contributed to a longer lifespan. A high intake of cereal and seafood had little or no positive effect.

A study in the Archives of Neurology showed that the Mediterranean diet reduced people's risk of dementia and/or helped reduce it's progression.

An National ID? Is one neded?

Congress is considering a new plan called Pass ID that would require all American driver's licences to meet a set of national standards. Some say the card is necessary for national security. The idea arose after the 9/11 Commission called for a standard ID. Privacy advocates oppose the idea saying they'd give the government too much access to a citizen's private and personal information. States would be requires to keep copied of identifying documents like the ones used for travel.

The first plan, called Real ID was approved by Congress in 2005, but met resistance due to the $11 billion price tag. Some of the technical requirements have been eliminated and the new plan is winning support.

IS A NATIONAL ID A GOOD IDEA?

Do-It-Yourself Carport?

My husband and I should never have done any type of project together. We were married for 33 years and the "P" (project) word caused a few arguments. Neither one of use knew too much about various tools. The only thing we basically agreed on was the difference between a flat head screwdriver and a Phillip's screwdriver. It's like we were speaking a foreign language to each other when it came to reading installation and assembly directions.

Our first house didn't have a garage. We bravely decided to look into carports as an option to a garage. Well: the hunt began. We never knew there were so many styles, sizes, fabrics and so many options to choose from.

What style did we want? A single wide or a double wide carport? How tall did we want it? What style did we want: round, square, tube, roof with a peak etc. Our questions were endless and were looking for reliable answers. Of course, salesmen touted the values of the most expensive ones. While we kept looking to find the size and style we both agreed on, the question "Should we put it together ourselves?" reared it's ugly head. For awhile we actually tossed that question back and forth.

Wise couple that we were, we decided to leave the assembly and installation of the carport to the experts. We valued our marriage (and our sanity) too much to attempt this on our own. We really enjoyed the carport once it was up. It offered protection from the direct sun (I've since learned that this type of shade can lower the temperature 12-14 degrees) so that even it hot weather, the vehicles were cooler to get into than they would have been without the coverage. It helped against the snow too which helped make the winter months easier to tolerate. And the best decision of all was not to do it ourselves.

Elegant Wedding Invitations At A Low Price

Your wedding day is very special. There are many details that need to be worked out and dealt with before the ceremony takes place. You want quality in everything you do but you also want to be economical.

Low cost wedding invitations, done on high quality art paper from Japan and Italy, are available by ordering them through Rs2Guru. Orders need to be placed at least 4 months ahead of the wedding date to allow enough time for processing, production and shipping. You'll want to mail your invitations to your guests 8-10 weeks prior to your wedding.

If you want something extremely elegant, you can order hand drawn wedding invitations. If you're a more casual person, you can shop the "style collection" which includes destination, romance, classic and modern invitations. If you're an outdoor couple, you might be interested in the " scene collection" which includes ocean/beach, church and lawn invitations. You can also select from 14 movie themed wedding invitations. Invitations are also available by color.

If you're confused or unsure about what type or style of invitation you want, you can request 1-7 invitation samples for $3.00. You'll receive an invitation card, response card, reception card and blank envelope for each sample. This is a one time only request that will definitely help with your decision for wedding invitations.

Shipping is: free 48 hour UPS Express.