Simple Randomness

The Paris Buffet

As I’ve already mentioned several times, I was in Las Vegas last weekend.  Now, Vegas is known for a couple of things, but one thing that I think is really worth going down there for is the good food!  I’ve eaten at a couple of restaurants down there and they’ve all been fabulous.

So on Saturday me and the guys I went down there with decided to go and eat at the buffet located in the Paris Casino.  Wow was that some good food!  I had some crab legs, prime rib,  sushi, pastas, and all sorts of other stuff.

It’s funny, because on Thursday before I left my wife and I went with her grandparents to a local buffet called Chuck-a-Rama (I’ve wondered since I was a kid where they came up with that name…).  Talk about a night and day difference!

So when it comes to buffets, do yourself a favor and only eat at the ones in Vegas.  At least, that’s my advice!

The Best Pet I Ever Had

Growing up I had a lot of different pets.  I had hamsters, gerbils (which got stepped on or eaten by the cats), cats, dogs, etc.  But honestly, the best pet that I ever had was a pet tarantula.

Normally when I tell people this they think it’s gross or something, but it was honestly the coolest pet.  I didn’t have to feed it very often.  And when I did feed it we’d have a good time watching it hunt down and catch the crickets we gave it.

The other great thing about a tarantula is that they aren’t moody really.  You’ll know if its ticked because they rear up on their hind legs, and mine never got into that position.

Also, they molt!  I had a rose hair which is a brown spider with reddish longer hairs.  But right after molting it’s black with reddish hair.  It was so sweet looking after it molted!

So anyway, this was the best pet I ever had.  My spider’s name was Lloth (after the Spider Queen from a series of books I was reading at the time).  Too bad when I got married my wife didn’t like it too much….my spider died at my parents’ house

The Mouse Wanted to Fight!

Every now and then at work (once a week actually) I do a webinar presentation.  When I do these I don’t do them at my desk, but I go across the office to another secluded desk where there is less background noise so the presentation is better.

So yesterday I’m doing my presentation when all of a sudden I look down and there’s a little field mouse staring at me!  Well, I didn’t really want to kill it, so I just stomped at it in surprise to make it go away.  I figured this would make it go back to it’s little hideout and I could get back to my webinar.  Not the case…

This thing kept coming out and staring at me!  And at times it would actually act like it wanted to fight!  It kept trying to stare me down, peeking around the corner of the cube or showing up under my feet like it wanted to sucker punch me.  Not cool.

At one point I actually put the class on pause to try and catch it.  No luck.  Then I just told everyone that I had allergies and had to clear my throat.

Half way through the presentation I have an intermission, so I grabbed one of my bosses to see if he could help me catch it, but the mouse was no where to be found.  He then accused me of ‘crying mouse’ jokingly, but that sneaky little thing wouldn’t show his head again!

I’ve had very few encounters with mice, but this one really surprised me as to how bold the little guy was!  Maybe I should have squished him…but I didn’t want to have to clean it up.

Getting a Handle on Your Debt

I think it’s safe for me to say that a lot of us have way more debt than we’d like to admit.  Anyone nodding their head right now thinking, “Yeah, that’s me?”

Well, you’re not alone.  I’ve heard it said before that the average American household has at least $8,000 in credit card debt alone.  This is a problem people!

So what can you do to get out of debt?  Well, you need to have a plan and then get to work paying off the debt that you have.  The nice is that there are also companies out there that have a lot of plans and services to help you to consolidate debt. And with the economy the way it is right now, it’s a good idea to do whatever you can to save money!

There are a lot of different options for consolidating debt.  Here are a couple:

• Credit Counseling - enrolls your in a debt management plan and can possibly lower your interest rates.
• Debt Consolidation - combine several loans into one bigger one.
• Debt Negotiation - try to negotiate a better rate
• and others.

Bills.com is one site that can really help you to figure which type of plan is best for you.  Always check into the side effects of different plans as well.  I’m no credit counselor, so I can’t really say which is best.  That’s why it’s again nice to have companies that can help you to figure it out!

Looking Forward to the Weekend

This is one of those weeks where I’m really looking forward to the weekend.  Some weeks it doesn’t seem like a big deal, but I’ve been waiting for Friday to come since Wednesday.

I guess it’s just been a stressful week!  I’m still debating if today needs to be a Rockstar day since my head is still cloudy from having so much going on this week.

It also helps that after work today we’re headed up to a cabin with a friend of mine to hang out until Saturday evening.  I’m looking forward to it and hoping we’ll have a good time.

I need more weekend vacations like this.  Hopefully in the next couple of months my wife and I will be able to plan a weekend getaway for just the two of us.  That would be nice since we haven’t been able to do that for some time now.  But I guess that’s just how it goes with two small kids!

Driving Without A/C?

This summer has been pretty hot.  Granted, where I’m at it’s been a little rainy lately, but I’m sure by tomorrow we’ll be back up into the 90’s.

This got me thinking: how would I make it through the summer if I didn’t have auto air conditioning? Simply put, I don’t think I would!

Thankfully I’ve never had that problem. But if you’re driving around in the heat without A/C in your car, I think you’re crazy!  Good thing there are companies out there like 1AirConditioning.com that have air compressors that you can use to get A/C in your car again.  Check them out if you’re one of those people!

Cool Zip Code Locator for Businesses

I love it when I can go to the website of some company and then use some kind of a store locator that helps me to find out where they are in my area or some other place that I might be visiting in the future. It makes it so much easier!

Well, if you are a business owner and don’t have this type of service on your website (and you have a physical location/storefront), the good news is that there are companies out there that can help you get one of these services! These programs help you set up a program that will find your stores based on their zip code.

One such company is the ZipCodeWorld Store Locator Live. And the best thing about it, its free!

Here are some interesting facts about their program:
a) The ZIPCodeWorld Store Locator Live is supporting 1089 companies and total of 30692 unique stores and growing.
b) The ZIPCodeWorld Store Locator Live is supporting 33 countries worldwide including United States and Canada.
c) The ZIPCodeWorld Store Locator Live is free for business with less than 100 stores. The only thing we would like in return is to display a banner linking back to our Web site.
d) The ZIPCodeWorld Store Locator Live is also available in .NET and PHP. Programmers can install it in their local servers.
e) The company also provides comprehensive ZIP code and postal codes resources for United States, Canada and Mexico.

So if you need this type of service on your site, check these guys out!

Funny Moments that Happen on Vacations

Vacations can be really funny things.  It seems like on almost every vacation you go on there tends to be some sort of tragedy that you can look back on later and laugh about.

For example, when my wife was in high school she went with the high school choir to a competition in Las Vegas.  While they were there they decided to do some sight-seeing as well.  So while walking up and down the strip my wife (then girlfriend) somehow managed to cut her toe open when riding the escalators!  I to this day don’t know how she managed this, but she left a pretty good trail of blood all the way back to her hotel!  She would have been safer staying on the tour bus offered by various Las Vegas tours!

In high school I was in band, and I was part of a local group that got to go to Europe for about 2 weeks.  The biggest problem that I had there was that I’m too tall and kept hitting my head on different things!  I remember one day I was so proud that I had gone the whole day without hitting my head.  I was walking along the side of the bus telling someone this when ‘crack!’, I hit my head on the rear view mirror…

So needless to say, vacations can be a lot of fun when you look back at the painful and silly moments that happen.

One place my wife and I would like to go sometime is to New York City to see the sites there.  Maybe while we’re there we can check out the Top of the Rock Observation Deck at the Rockefeller Center. I hear it’s pretty cool!

If you’re looking to take a vacation any time soon, check out Trusted Tours and Attractions.  They offer discounted tickets to the best sightseeing tours in 23 cities across America, along with online travel guides. You can also sign up for their newsletter and enter for a chance to win a $150 Magellan’s Gift Certificate!

Update on Thinking About Making Some Changes

So a few days ago I wrote about how I’ve been very tempted to just shave my head.  Well, as the days have past, I’ve decided not to do that.  What I’m thinking instead is that I’m going to go with a slightly longer hair do.

Now don’t get any crazy ideas!  I know now that my sister reads this blog from time to time and she said that she’d disown me if I ever grew my hair out!

So I’m not talking about anything really long.  Like for example this “Beatles wanna-be” hair styles that a lot of the high school kids have these days.  (Sorry kids, you look retarded.)  Nor am I thinking of anything like this guy (see picture!)

No, what I’m thinking is just something a little bit longer.  You see for the last couple of years I’ve always just had a really short hair cut.  So I’m just going to try something a little longer for awhile.  We’ll see how long it lasts…in fact don’t be surprised if in 2 weeks I’ve shaved it off instead!

Benefits of Credit Cards Over Debit Cards

The other day I read an article from a friend of mine about the reasons to use credit cards over debit cards.  I don’t remember all the specifics of the article, but I came away saying, “You have a good point there, my friend!”

Here’s the gyst of it: rewards and refunds.  Think about it.  When you use your debit card, you just have the money come out of your bank account.  But when you use a credit card you can get ones with all sorts of rewards such as cash back or points towards certain things.

Here’s a great example: my Dad has a GM Card that gives him points towards the purchase of a GM car.  He usually buys American, so he got a great deal on a Pontiac he helped my sister buy a few years ago.  Then there’s the classic example of the air miles.

So basically, if you have the discipline, you can find a card that will give you the benefits that you need.   But the key is having discipline to not let it become unnecessary debt.

This morning I came across another site that will help you find the right card for you.  The site is AcclaimVisa.com.  On their site you can take a few minutes and easily apply for low interest credit card online.

So if you have the discpline and want some extra rewards, check these guys out and see what they can do for you!