Cliopatra's Writings

Get Ripped

cliopatra — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:13:56 +0000

I don’t know about you, but I love movies. There are so many ways to get them these days (DVD rental places, DVD rental services, etc) but that’s not always convenient.

For instance, what if I want to watch a movie on my laptop, but I don’t want to carry all of my movies around with me? That’s where a good DVD Ripper comes in. ImTOO makes a great one, and one called DVD Ripper Mac.

In addition to those two products, ImTOO also makes a Video Converter for Mac. This allows for ripping DVD to AVI, DVD to MPEG and more. Check out their website because they have a lot of other great programs to make your movies portable.

Sprucing Up

cliopatra — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:08:02 +0000

Three years ago we lived in a teensy apartment in town. Two people could barely fit in the kitchen at the same time. As for closet space, there wasn’t any. We longed for something bigger.

We eventually moved out to the country, into a house that, at first glance, is quite ugly and plain. Those are the words I thought when I first saw it. I figured if we did rent it, it was going to need work.

We haven’t done much to the outside yet, but I’m thinking our boring little house could use some window flower boxes in the front, facing the street. I’d also like some window plant boxes on the end windows (where they would catch the most rainfall) and a window box right outside the kitchen window for herbs.

Isn’t educational supposed to be boring?

cliopatra — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:38:56 +0000

Written by Sherri Hicks

I am one of those guys that’s huge into sports. I could watch football, basketball or baseball all day long. I have never been one to sit down and watch the discovery channel or anything like that but lately I have been watching a show called River Monsters. We recently switched to Direct TV and it was one of the channels I had to have so I could watch the discovery channel. The guys name is Jeremy Wade and he travels around the world looking for the most deadly fish. Many times the fish that he is hunting have killed people. Some of these fish weigh upwards or 150 pounds. He also gives you info on the people that inhabit the areas that he is in which I also find pretty interesting. Some of the ways the people in the village fish and live everyday life makes me very happy to be living in the United states. The show makes me want to go fishing in to river to see what I can find. I just can’t get enough of the show, I hope they make season after season of it. The show is on in the evening, you can usually catch a episode or two around 8 or 9. If you miss it just check your local listings cause the show is on a lot.

Digital Cameras

cliopatra — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:11:17 +0000

A few years ago my monstrosity of a digital camera was stolen when my house was broken into. The camera was one of those cameras that used a 3.5″ floppy disk as film. It was very old school.

With the insurance money I got a brand new digital camera, and I love it. It still works great, and I love that it can change from color to black and white, and will even record video.

A year ago I found myself looking at digital cameras" target="_blank">digital cameras again. This time I was buying one for my husband’s birthday, so he would stop borrowing mine! Where did I go? Buy.com, of course.

Protection For Your Family

cliopatra — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:07:49 +0000

Read these words: term life insurance no medical exam. That’s right, you can get life insurance without having to go through a long, painful and sometimes humiliating medical exam.

Term life insurance is the answer if you have been looking for life insurance protection for your family and your assets. It’s less expensive than whole life insurance, and it’s easier to qualify for.

Funding

cliopatra — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:01:15 +0000

My husband decided to go back to college last year after being at his job for several years. He has an Associates Degree, but to get a license in his field he needs a Bachelor’s Degree.

Unfortunately, his employer won’t pay for his college classes. We’re lucky he still has a job! I told him he should look for college scholarships and college grants, since we can’t afford the tuition ourselves. It’s just too bad he’s not in a minority so he could qualify for all of the wonderful minority scholarships out there.

He had to pay for a few classes on his own, but since his income has gone down so much, qualifying next year will be easier. Once he has his degree he can make more money.

Getting Educated

cliopatra — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:56:13 +0000

The best thing you can do for yourself in these tough economic times is increase your education. Professionals with degrees have better opportunities and make more money than those without degrees.

The Chronicle is a website devoted to higher education in the United States and all around the world. This website mentions Walden University (among others) as a possible option for an online degree for working professionals.

Another website to help you get educated would be the U.S. Department of Education. Here you can find out grants and scholarships for those wishing to go college.

Get Help

cliopatra — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:47:56 +0000

Take it from someone who knows (me): dealing with alcohol and drug problems are not easy. I’m not an addict, but I know several people who are, including my own family members.

I have one family member who is currently in alcohol rehab. Her alcohol treatment program has gone well, but only time will tell. A good alcohol treatment center can make all the difference in the world.

I also have sibling who could benefit from drug rehab. I don’t believe he’s ever had drug treatment before, but I know he could use it now.

If you or a family member are struggling with these problems, get help. Your loved ones will thank you for it.

Credit Repair

cliopatra — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:42:38 +0000

Credit is such a big deal, especially in today’s economy. While my payments haven’t changed and my income hasn’t changed, my credit card companies have lowered my limits, increased my APR and this has lowered my credit score. Nothing’s changed except the credit card company rules.

I found a couple of sites that might be able to help. One is The Credit People, and the other is Repair Your Bad Credit. I wonder if a credit repair service could help me?

I’m going to do some more research and find out. Things can only get better, right?

Shower Time

cliopatra — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:37:24 +0000

When I was in college I used to clean houses for extra spending money. Most of the houses I cleaned were large houses in great neighborhoods. The work wasn’t too hard and the money was good, so I did it for several years.

I was just looking at takeashower.com and looking at their shower heads. It reminded me that I always loved the fancy bathrooms in those big houses because they had the best showers!

This morning I was shaving my legs in the bathtub in our hall bathroom. The water pressure in there is so bad we don’t use it for anything except to bathe the cat or leg-shaving. I think I need to get one of those Fire Hydrant Spa shower heads. Those are supposed to take care of low water pressure problems for good.