Holiday weekend well on it's way!!!

Beetle Juice Moment

Fly Swatter with face in mesh creates a Beetle Juice moment for me anyway!

Fedora Flare

With the passing of the King of Pop, Micheal Jackson, will the fedora flare and demand rise in the fashion world?

We all know how much influence Micheal Jackson had on music and fashion in our world. Anytime anyone has the notability of his legendary status, we as humans seem to revisit that which they brought to our society, culture and world. We intensify the search for everything that they brought in their lifetime.

No more than a hour after he was pronounced dead, I had a female friend, who dates a nephew of mine, asking to help her locate a fedora hat like MJ wore. She was a bit frantic, fearing that the price would probably go up due to the demand, popularity and limited supply of them due to his death. He is a big fan of his and would become elated to receive one.

While searching for one for her, I found myself kind of wanting (well to be honest with you, craving) to find a fedora for myself. They are fashionable and make a statement!



My grandfather wore one.
Tom Landry always wore on.
At one time even I have owned and wore one .
They are a man's version of fashionable head wear.

A woman can wear about any style of hat that she wishes to make a fashion statement, where a man generally is limited to two or three styles.
The baseball cap is probably the most popular hat and is worn more for casual comfort. But, in my opinion, the fedora is the most fashionable when it comes to hats for men. Although, many would argue that the 'cowboy hat' would rank right up there as the most popular and/or the most fashionable. Regardless, men tend to be a bit limited (and that is probably not a bad thing) when it comes to head wear.



I am interested in seeing if the fedora will been seen more and more. Knowing that many will revive and relive Mr Jackson's pop music, pop culture and fashion (which he was extremely successful in incorporating into our world) in the days to come, will the fedora make a fashionably fad comeback and eventually help define these times?



Hats off with his loss. Hats on to extend his memory

Watch Out!

Fashion, variety and value. Getting all 3 is what I look for when purchasing anything. It applies to all apparel and really any item I purchase. If I incorporate all three when purchasing, generally, I feel like I have made the right decision. Now, two out of three is not bad (so the saying or song goes), but getting all three, well that is when I feel good about my investment. Whether it be for need or pleasure, for myself or for someone I am purchasing for, I want to feel good about my purchase, especially when it comes to something I don't really need, but something I really want!



Watches generally always catch my eye, as I think many are fashionable and bring more purpose than just telling what time of day it is. The watches I purchase, wear and collect, many times brings comments such as "nice watch" or "where did you get that (insert adjective here e.g. cool, sleek) watch?"

That being said, people are asking why the need for watches any longer? Since we have clocks (many which are digital) on our phones and computers, the need is minimized. Well, my answer is always .... they are fashionable and I enjoy wearing them.

Uniqueness has always added value to the fashion element. Functionality adds to the value; variety gives you choices that brings enjoyment to the shopping experience. Sure, any watch will do the job, but making a fashion statement while knowing I am running a tad bit late and looking at my well made fashionable timepiece, seems to make me feel little better about my tardiness.



For me, the band is just as important as the face itself. Leather seems to make my wrist sweat, so I tend steer away from them, although I do own and wear watches that have them. I live in Texas and minimizing sweat is of utmost importance while wearing a watch, so I tend to lean towards the non leather wrist bands. Some watches have increased in size to grab attention, but I don't like bulky, but rather prefer sleek and unique.



So the next time you see a watch catch your eye, take the time to to look at it's fashionable influence. If time is of essence, then the look has to be of priority if I am going to purchase and wear it!



Save the watch!

Saturday Morning Comics

out for the evening

Eve~n~gown

~by huntersglory

Father's Day '09

Origin of Father's Day
Yahoo! Buzz Log - Find out why the woman responsible for Father's Day was mocked, and why the U.S. Congress was against having such a holiday.

Saturday Morning Comics

a friday sunset to the work week

List of Black (TP included)

Black TP ... kinda makes sense.

<

Tuesday

Lookin' up on a work day!

Flashin Star

created by ~ huntersglory

The Standard

When I was fresh out of school and not so fresh out on my own, I started heavily considering investing in gold. Now, I bought into gold with jewelry, but to buy gold or buy gold bullion, is what I speak of.

That which one would have invested 30+ years ago, would give a return on his money of 20x the investment value. A return of 50x in ‘investor gold coins’ purchased.

Now I am no financial guy, nor have I ever bought gold or gold bullion, as an investment, for several reasons, as for me it started in ‘not knowing how’.
Even if I knew how, I was young and needed proper guidance in decisions such as these, so it became more of a roadblock instead of a hurdle.

But now with information galore at your fingertips and with the ‘shrinking, printing dollar’ it becomes more ‘obstacle less’ in its endeavor. Meaning, minimizing the roadblocks or hurdles, leaving knowledge, wisdom and courage to go.
Yes, you do need money; or the avenue of income to start investing, but again, there is the ‘healthy wealthiness’ of the internet that eliminates the ‘no idea of where to research’ variable. Time and consideration is now all that’s left.

Really, the only reason you need is that gold IS the standard!
With the stock market in its wobbly state right now, all the arrows seem to pointing in the same direction from where I am standing.
Gold is the standard, so now the question becomes ‘why not’?

Bullion through your:
IRA
401k
403b
Pension Plan

Others bullion to consider:
Silver
Platinum
Palladium

But remember, gold is the standard.

... and start it all over again!

Monday, Monday! ... my body dangles on Mondays...yeah kinda like hers...(still)

To the ...nth degree!

About 15 years ago, while running a business with a partner, a salesman came into our office and wanted to sell an ‘ad’ in the new auto yellow pages. Yes you can be one of the first to buy an ad in the first glove box sized phone book!
…uh no, thank you.

Today, you have it all mainly on your phone...that is so small you can put it in your hip, or any other pocket. Your personal data is now at your finger tips and with wireless technology, even finger-tipless; simply by voicing the command!

Search engine sites can give you much more that you don’t have in your phone database; from local everything, e.g. traffic; reviews; quick link to the site you are needing; to the temperature to the ...nth degree. It was 90.6 degrees (Fahrenheit) in my town. Of course temperature is measured in the shade and yes, it's hot shade or not. This search engine is about what’s local …everything…. local search, local yellowpages, local, local, local!



I hope the hard luck salesman that I encountered 15 or so years ago is doing well. With all the information available to us these days, surely he found something to sell; as long as he is not selling glove boxes or a something like that.

I normally don’t frequent sites like this, as you can generally dot com the restaurant or theater …. do you dot com know what I mean? Eliminating the need to dig for it. Temp is quite handy, but the seller for me is the traffic info. And while I am checking that, well, you never know what I may run across.

Take Some Credit

The current economy, the times we live in and now even the government, have forced the banks, retailers and credit card companies to change the rules when it comes to granting credit to the consumer. Now that they have changed the way they conduct business to operate smarter and mange the credit risk better, we as consumers must also re-evaluate how we use and pay our credit cards.

Credit is simply a risk. The creditors want to take as low a risk as possible to minimize loss and maximize profits. Credit scores are reportedly behaving 30-40 points less than what the credit bureau scores are actually reporting, it is harder and harder to get a low interest credit card or even a low rate from a current credit issuer. Meaning a 700 is behaving like a 670. 620 is behaving more like a 580 or 590. So your credit score isn’t even helping you as much as it was just a year ago.

So what can we do as consumers to minimize our expense and maximize our credit situation? Other than the obvious; pay off your balance as quickly as possible, stop using credit cards, closing accounts and/or cutting up the card(s), consolidating bills, etcetera, etcetera, but all this doesn’t make the balance go away any quicker and that which you owe. So what is one to do?

What can you do right now that would allow you to maximize your situation as a consumer and pay more towards the balance?

First, pay the bill as soon as it comes in. DO NOT wait until the due date. I am not talking about paying the balance in full, but pay the minimum (more if able) as early in your billing cycle as possible. The longer you wait each month to pay your bill, the more the creditor is making off you. Average Daily Balance is the reason. The earlier you make a payment, the lower your average daily balance, minimizing the average daily balance for that billing cycle, minimizes the money you give the creditor overall. Depending on the balance and the interest rate, this can be significant over time ~ month after month after month ~ and then if you are doing this with each credit card you have, the savings can benefit you more than you may realize. Even if it is minimal savings, every little bit helps these days and most would rather keep their money than simply give it away.

Second. Always, always, ALWAYS…. pay more than the minimum due. Even if it is $5.00, the more, the better for you, but always pay more than the minimum! This does 2 things; lowers your balance quicker and shows the creditors you can handle and support more than the balance you now have. Your benefit with paying more than minimum along with paying early in each billing cycle creates wiggle room for you and lowers the risk for the creditor.

Also, comparing rates, fees and benefits that cards have these days are essential in maintaining a smart, affordable credit profile. There are many sites that you can visit on the web that may provide you alternatives and allow you to compare credit cards that can benefit you now ... and in the future.

So take some credit for maximizing your credit situation.
Do what you can to minimize your loss and maximize your gain.

Wanna buy a vowel?

'i' as in idiocrasy!




'u' as in up!




'o' as in oh my gosh!

O 'bin shoppin!



'a' as in attaboys!

Pens win!

Flop ... Turn ... River

Flop~turn~river, yeah yeah yeah ... but what about the pocket cards? The value they have is often varied due to position, chip count, feel and any other interpreted signals or influences.

Question: Are the pocket cards overrated?

I say no … but I do believe the pocket cards are commonly underrated. However, playing a suspect pair of pocket cads comes with higher risk and a greater price which puts it all back into perspective.

A 'flop'can change the hand for every player, some players or possibly no players at all. (the more players you have at the table, the less likely the flop did not effect anyone's hand).
That is why you will find players wanting to see the 'flop' as it can change a hand and give it potential. The risk is heavily measured by the pocket cards themselves, the money one must contribute to see the 'flop' along with the position at the table. But the pocket cards value can be lost, or at the very least, minimized by the 'flop' just as easily.

The ‘turn’ is just that, it can turn a hand completely around…. or shove your hand in it’s current hopeless, direction, possibly forcing a folded hand, a loss of chips or both.

The ‘river’ can make the pocket cards anything from obsolete to the winning hand! Many hands are decided by the 'river' card ... and many 'river' cards has sent a lot of players well ... 'up the river' ending not only the hopes of the hand, but at times, ending the game for those that may have been 'all in'.

So are the pocket cards overrated?
As stated above … no … but you must keep them in their natural equilibrium state (value wise) or they can cripple you. The cards/chips you have, along with the position you are in, have very similar values in how you bet and play the hand, which determines the winning or losing of each hand /chips. Then you add the human element along with all the risk involved, Texas Holdem’ is a game that becomes addictive, rewarding, disappointing … and a whole lot more of ...ing’s. e.g. call-ing, fold-ing, winning, lot tee dot tee dah!

One more thing, playing with money that has no value (play money) is a completely different discipline than playing poker with “your” “real” “money”! Kinda separates the pokers from the pokies. Not a lot of bluffin’ going on! Bring the meat to the table and don’t forget the sauce!


Now as for the picture above, I do believe a ‘pair’ has a good shot at taking this pot so...

I’m all in!

Friday + Paris = Shopping

OK it’s Friday! It’s like I should be in Paris! I am not, but I can go shopping and enhance the urge of the weekend! Since I don’t have to get in a plane and actually go to Paris to feel like I am in Paris, it is Friday after all .... and I don’t need a automobile vehicle to go shopping; like you, I have a web vehicle. Clothes for every season, occasion, style and desire can be found in one locale.

If it is on the web, it is here. At a place that can get you to Paris quicker by saving time, effort and most importantly, money!
Keep in mind, you still have until next Friday to get ready to get there.

Is green the new black? Really? Not arguing the point but I think this will settle it.

So go ahead and shop for specific items, specific ensembles, even for the international flare.
Go find, then want, and then all you got to do is pack!



To enhance the mood even more....well...hear this:
“Paris” ~ by Friendly Fires

"One day we’re gonna live in Paris
I promise, I’m on it!
I'll find you that french guy,
You'll find me that french girl
I promise, I’m on it!"

....is well worth the find!

Reality check: Okay, so you can’t get to Paris yet. You probably haven’t bought anything shopping, but hey it’s still Friday and the weekend is still in front of us,

I promise, I'm on it!