The worst thing about emergencies is that you just can’t predict them. The only good news is that you can plan for them.

Since people are always under duress when an emergency actually occurs it is prudent to assemble a kit that you can pull out when needed that covers most bases. So, here is a fairly complete list of the items you’ll find in my personal stash, plus a couple of extras that might be helpful for some folks with special needs.

Now seriously, why don’t you take a couple of hours and really honestly think thorough this emergency thing. You never know, perhaps the reason you’re reading this article today is a sign. You don’t want to be the person that didn’t pay attention and were left unprepared when disaster struck!
Read the rest of this entry »

Today I added a new Gift Ideas section on the blog (just look up at the top) because I thought it might be helpful to share things that I’ve found which would make for birthday, anniversary, wedding and other gifts. I get a lot of catalogs, and I do a lot of shopping in general, so as I come across cool things I’ll add them into the Gift Ideas page.

The underlying technology behind the Gift page is an Amazon Shop. Any affiliate can set one up, and most people would usually do it to try to earn a little cash. Please remember, I donate ALL proceeds from OMB, so I didn’t set it up for that reason.

So, check out the new tab, and remember we’ve got it the next time you’re pressed to come up with a gift idea for that someone special.

This soap looks like it belongs in a thrasher film. Seriously, its one thing (as a play on words) to have “hand-shaped” soap, but these tiny baby hands look like they were just lopped off a fresh batch of infants.

They were created from molds based from dolls’ hands and the set will run you $16.

I don’t normally pass along things that circulate the Inter-Tubes via e-mail, but this is pretty interesting information - if it is all true. I have no idea where it originated, but a family member sent it to me. I’d be curious if anyone could actually vet this info and prove / disprove it’s validity.

I don’t know what you guys are paying for gasoline…. but here in California we are also paying higher, up to $3.50 per gallon. But my line of work is in petroleum for about 31 years now, so here are some tricks to get more of your money’s worth for every gallon.

Read the rest of this entry »

This Sony Bravia TV ad is truly amazing. Especially when you consider what it took to pull it off:

• 2.5 tonnes of plasticine on set
• 40 animators
• 3 weeks
• 189 2ft bunnies
• 150 1ft cubes
• 10ft x 20ft purple wave
• 30ft giant rabbit.
• 6 cameras.

Read the rest of this entry »

I’m a big, big fan of Amazon.com. They really won me over when I bought a $4,000 camcorder from them a while back, and I’m also a member of Amazon Prime which is an $80 annual fee for unlimited next day shipping.

Amazon has now launched a new service they call Unbox which I suppose is a competitor to Apple and WalMart’s movie download services. Anyway, I haven’t had time to check it out fully, but it looks pretty cool. One really interesting feature is that you can “rent” a movie for $1-4 and play it back on a Tivo, iPod or whatever. Hmmm. That would sure beat Blockbuster by a mile! No more driving to the video store, paying $4 per night, and them not always having what you want anyway.

Also, I like this little widget they’ve put together which serves as a sort of virtual bookshelf and lets you scroll through and watch video previews without having to continuously reload the page. Makes it very easy for me to remember which movies I want to add to our current library of hundreds! (Yeah, we’re movie addicts at the Pozadzides’ hacienda.) Also, when you are watching a trailer look at the right bottom corner of the video window and you can click on the little square to make the video take up the full window!

Anyway, if anyone wants to try it out the download / rental thing and give us a review please share the info!
Read the rest of this entry »

Ok folks, this might seem a little mundane, but it was actually totally cool. In Minneapolis, MN there is a two story Target and they have solved the problem of taking carts from floor to floor by building a special cart escalator. We’ll call it a cartalator!

So, I was really looking forward to my trip to this Target specifically so I could take some photos and video of this thing to put on the blog here, and as soon a I walked in the door the monkey in the guard outfit made me put my camera away! Told me it was Target corporate policy not to allow photography in any store.

Well, do you think that was going to stop me, dear readers? I didn’t think so.
Read the rest of this entry »

Folks, I had to share this… A while back I told you about Restaurant.com in an article I put out called Saving Money is as Good as Making it! It’s a site that has limited numbers of really good deals to local eateries. Basically you purchase a discounted coupon there, then take it to the diner and redeem it like a gift certificate.

Well, through Sunday they are offering 50% off of their already discounted prices! This means you can typically purchase $25 certificates to local restaurants for $5! And some of these are probably places you already go!
Read the rest of this entry »

Lately I’ve been getting increasingly more angry whenever I visit either Costco or Sams Club. I buy a LOT of crap at these places and I’ve got the top membership levels, so why is it that they always want to see my receipt before I leave the damn building?

I mean, let’s face it. I just waited in some horrendous line, they don’t even bag your stuff up for you, and then 50 feet from the checkout they want me to stand in another line and then reproduce my receipt to allow some lackey to glance at it, glance at my cart and draw a line on it with a marker? What the hell is up with that!?!
Read the rest of this entry »

Wow, this is very bad news considering my complete and utter addiction to Coke. But Dr. Chi-Tang Ho, professor of food science at Rutgers University has uncovered evidence that our addiction to canned drinks is directly linked to diabetes because of the high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

HFCS is a sweetener found in many foods and beverages, including non-diet soda pop, baked goods, and condiments. It is has become the sweetener of choice for many food manufacturers because it is considered more economical, sweeter and more easy to blend into beverages than table sugar. Some researchers have suggested that high-fructose corn syrup may contribute to an increased risk of diabetes as well as obesity, a claim which the food industry disputes. Until now, little laboratory evidence has been available on the topic.

In the current study, Chi-Tang Ho, Ph.D., conducted chemical tests among 11 different carbonated soft drinks containing HFCS. He found ‘astonishingly high’ levels of reactive carbonyls in those beverages. These undesirable and highly-reactive compounds associated with “unbound” fructose and glucose molecules are believed to cause tissue damage, says Ho, a professor of food science at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. By contrast, reactive carbonyls are not present in table sugar, whose fructose and glucose components are “bound” and chemically stable, the researcher notes.

So, I went shopping after I read this article with a renewed interest in avoiding products with high fructose corn syrup in them, and I could not believe how many of my every day items are on the list…
Read the rest of this entry »

Back in June Ben Popken over at The Consumerist pointed out that while reading the New York City 2006 Drinking Water Supply and Quality Report he spotted the following item from the FAQ:

Should I buy bottled water?
You do not need to buy bottled water for health reasons in New York City since our water meets all federal and State health-based drinking water standards. Also, bottled water costs up to 1,000 times more than the City’s drinking water.

Read the rest of this entry »

A couple of weeks ago I came across this article on The Consumerist written by an anonymous former Circuit City employee. Having had a friend who did time at CC, I will say that this seems like a very real article and I recommend that everyone give it a read.

It sheds light into the sales tactics employed by Circuit City, and you should also keep in mind that many of these are similar to all other consumer electronics (and other) stores. The moral of the story… information will set you free.

One other little note. Instead of simply asking you to take this anonymous guy’s word for it, I’ve provided substantiating links within the various points where available for more background reading. Hope it helps.
Read the rest of this entry »