So after checking GovDeals daily for almost a year, I finally had enough money and enough buyer-beware experience to pick out a nice, used Police Impala.
Why would I buy a used police car?
The price. You can get these for about half of what the civilian versions cost.
The features. Automakers like Ford (who make the Crown Victoria police cruisers) and Chevrolet (makers of the Impala) add a lot of heavy duty features to these service fleets. From "Surveillance Mode" which kills all of the vehicle's lights for doing radar, to Heavy Duty suspension, engine, and cooling system, these cars are ready for whatever you can throw at them.
So, now we have a larger car for some road trips, and I have a new toy for responding to Fire and Medical calls with the Toney Fire Department. Check it out.
Growing up, Managing money
Growing up has its perks....but the mundane tasks that go with growing up can be time-consuming at best. Take, for example, managing your money. I've been using Mint.com for the past 6 months, and can now say it's the best solution I've found for keeping tabs on...well...my tabs. It lets you see all of your accounts in one place, which is nice because logging into 4 different financial websites to check balances is a lot of work and often results in me just not going to any of the websites at all....
It gives spending habits, budgeting ideas, and all sorts of cool graphs and charts.
My favorite part is that it does everything for you automatically.
It imports every purchase and categorizes it intuitively. You can also "train" it to remember certain stores, etc.
The difference between this and programs like Microsoft Money is that it does everything for you, ultimately making your life just a little bit easier.
Try it out for yourself......
Primary Care Crisis
As you may or may not know, America's healthcare system consistently ranks lower than 40th in the World Health Organization's rankings of health statistics. Many Americans believe that we, the most powerful country in the world, also have the best doctors, best treatments, and best health-outcomes. Sadly, that statement is far from the truth.
One of the reasons behind our poor ranking is the lack of primary care that Americans receive . Fewer medical students are going into a career as a family physician either in big cities or in small, rural American towns. Because of this, illnesses go un-treated and diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes go un-diagnosed. Early detection and treatment of high blood pressure can add 5 more years to a person's lifespan.
To me, it's no wonder that fewer of us medical students go into primary care after graduation. We're getting not-so-stable cues from those already on the front line.
A survey conducted by Physicians Practice magazine last year asked primary care physicians nationwide how they felt about their initial decision to practice family medicine:
"Only 39.5 percent said they would follow the same career track; 38.7 percent said they would have chosen to become surgical or diagnostic specialists; and 21.8 percent replied that they wouldn't have gone into medicine at all. "
The New "MacBook Air" Makes Fatty Laptops Disgusted With Themselves, Anorexic
Aw, PC, don't get that look on your face. You're not fat, you're just well-built. Just because the MacBook Air is incredibly thin and sexy doesn't mean I love you any less. I mean, you've got so much more personality! You've got things like a built-in ethernet, optical drive, removeable battery AND user-upgradeable RAM and hard drive. That slinky little b*#*% doesn't have any of that.
The Martha in Me
For all you ladies out there who are crafty and stuff..... here are some cool tips on making the gift-wrapping eco friendly and eye catching.
Gift Ribbon Storage
Homemade Ribbon Organizer
Take any shoebox and, using a regular hole puncher or a box cutter, make an opening for each ribbon to slide through. Behind the spools, there's room for scissors, tape, and gift tags....
How to Wrap Anything
Tips to perfectly tie up any present, including:
The Right Gift-Wrapping Materials
Easy Gift Bag Ideas
Creative Wrapping Ideas
Creative Wrapping for Books
Tips for Tricky Wrapping Jobs
A Christmas Gift for the musically inclined
My first gift to all is that of a great artist, Sufjan Stevens, and a nice 4 volume collection of holliday music. His record album Asthmatic Kitty is streaming it for free, and he's pretty talented. Kind of a folk/electronica genre if you're into that, and if not....well he's got a nice voice for opening your Christmas Presents to.
PS- if you like how he sounds, try and find a copy of "Chicago" by him. It's what got me interested.
PS- if you like how he sounds, try and find a copy of "Chicago" by him. It's what got me interested.
Amazing, But Sad
The amazing Lyre Bird with is superb sounds imitations. There has been no video editing--it is very real, and truly amazing. Sadly, this bird is singing of its own looming death: it lives in a forest that is being cut down, and has thus learned how to imitate/mimic the sounds of a camera, a car alarm, and even chainsaws.
Alabama Prescription Laws
Good to know:
According to a lecture we recently had,
"In Alabama, you do not have to have a printed prescription pad. You can write a legal prescription on a paper sack as long as you draw 2 signature lines on it (which makes it perfectly legal)."
