Out of my Mind in Mechanicsburg

Can Smoking Pot Really Prevent Some Cancers?

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 17:04:00 +0000

Just read this article concerning smoking Pot:

Smoking marijuana will not cause lung cancer.

Nice news, now isn't it?

L8R.

I love camping

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Thu, 21 May 2009 16:06:00 +0000

I absolutely love camping. Hanging out around the campfire, hiking, swimming, being with family and good friends. Sleeping in a tent, or if the weather is nice outside under the stars. Eating food made over an open fire. There is nothing better than that.

The one thing that I learned over my years of camping is that you have to have good gear to make it fun. Cheap gear can spoil a great weekend faster than a good case of the runs. From flashlights, to durable clothes, and comfortable footwear. You have to have the best, or else you are taking a chance on a ruined trip. That is where 5.11 Tactical gear comes in. They have what you need, at the prices you will like.

L8R

In difficult times

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Thu, 21 May 2009 14:07:00 +0000

Everyone should have a credit card that they can use in times of emergency. It can be difficult choosing a credit card. We all know that. Click on the link listed here could help you out.

Namaste.

Time for Spring Cleaning

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:42:00 +0000

Yes, Spring Cleaning time is here. Hurrah!! I can hardly wait for spring cleaning. It is the most exciting time in my life.

And if you believe that, I have some swamp land that I think that you will be interested in. You see, I have a lot of stuff that needs to be junked. I have a basement full of stuff that is on no use to anyone. Especially not me. So something has to happen. Something has to go. And it has to be the junk in my basement.

Junk Hauling is such a unglamorous way of looking at the people who are going to be my saviors. I like the idea of having someone else move this junk out of my house. Yes, I have gotten older, and a little heavier so to have someone else slog up and down the stairs to my house moving this crap out of it has a certain positive tone to it. I was talking to my Father in Law about some of the stuff he needs done at his house the other day and he is all on board with this also. He is also looking for quotes from Demolition Companies as he has a couple of sheds on his property that he would like to have torn down.

We were looking on the web for junk removal and came across Junk Removal in San Diego, which is unfortunate because we live in Pennsylvania. Guess that my search will have to continue.

More advertising ideas

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:31:00 +0000

When you write a blog you are always looking at ways to get your site url out to the masses. We, blog writers, are sick that way. MLW still doesn't understand why I do this. I have tried to explain, but just smile and shrug my shoulders now.

That all being said, I have friends who have made up bumper stickers, and business cards that they hand out along with buttons and pins etc. The one idea that I really like is having Printed T Shirts made up with the logo for your blog. I have one friend who has done this and has been pretty successful with it. He sells them on his site and makes a little cash to go along with it.

Sounds like a win-win situation to me.

I envision legions of people wearing Promotional T Shirts with the logo from my blog on them. Or maybe just my smiling face with the url under it. We have a number of festivals on the river here in Harrisburg where I could hand the shirts out. Or I could just put a link on my site and do as my buddy has been doing. Hmmm. Either way I think that I am going to Make T Shirts my next area of advertising attention.

What do you think?

Have we talked about Chester Cheetah?

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 22:34:00 +0000

Have you take a good look at Chester Cheetah lately?

You know, the Cheetah in the Cheeto's commercials?

Yeah, that Chester Cheetah.

Is it me, or is this new one kinda creepy?

The old Chester was always hanging with kids, being cool, messing things up. This new one is rather sinister. Telling people to stick cheetos up sleeping peoples noses. While he, Chester, is giving a stewardess a back rub.

Or what about the one where he is all of a sudden playing chess in a laundromat? And he tells this woman to toss cheetos into a dryer full of whites. What happened to Chester? Where is the good time cheetah? What horrific thing happened to turn him into a night dwelling trouble maker?

That is way to Quentin Tarentino for this guy.

Something else to keep me awake tonight.

Namaste.

Brad's really bad day

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 15:00:00 +0000

So I am talking to my friend Brad yesterday. Actually, he called me on his way to work. And he procedes to tell me how his day has gone from bad to worse.

First he wakes up and takes a look at his aquarium and sees that all of his fish are dead. For some of us, this wouldn't be a major concern, but Brad has had every kind of aquarium that you can think of. He has set up fresh water, and salt water tanks. He has had fish from the most common to some really expensive fish. This particular tank had just goldfish in it. It was a fresh water tank, there were no saltwater fish in it. Just goldfish. And they were dead. Not the way to start your morning.

The rest of his morning was spent arguing with his daughters, and then going to work. But we kept coming back to setting up another tank. He just can't decide whether to set it up with fresh water, or saltwater fish. He has the equipment for both, but he isn't sure if his wife will agree to the expense of the live coral. Though that is the way he is leaning right now. You can set up some really interesting tanks using salt water.

House hunting

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 12:32:00 +0000

Lots of folks are out there house hunting right now. The prices for housing has come down considerably from last year. The economy tanking is one reason, another is the number of foreclosures out there due to the kinds of home loans were originated previous to the fall of 2008.

My son and his girlfriend are looking for a house right now out in California. And not having much luck with it. It isn't that they aren't putting in any effort, they have been looking at house after house. And they have been putting in offers, I think that the number is up to 6 at this point.

No, I think that they need a better realtor. So,being the meddling Dad that I am I turn to my friendly seach engine and put in the keywords "good realtor." Interestingly enough, with it not being a very specific search I come up with a realtor in Austin, Texas. And if everything I am reading is accurate, I like the way that Austin Realtors think.

The website talks about the partnership between the buyer and the realtor. A win-win proposition. Honesty, integrity, communcation. I like these concepts. And I wish that they kids had this where they are looking.

But that is just me being a meddling Dad.

Ramblin in Mechanicsburg about making money

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:33:00 +0000

Everyone who has a blog, reads a blog, knows someone who blogs has heard about the thousands of dollars that can be made online. And with the amount of people who log in every day looking for specific answers to questions and such, there is a huge market.

But it isn't as easy as just setting up the blog and raking in the dough. You have to have a plan in mind, a structure that needs to be followed before you can even begin to earn any real cash. There is a science to blogging. And it is called SEO, or Search Engine Optimization. And it isn't all that difficult, but it is specific if you want to succeed.

Think of the process: People go to google, or yahoo, or whatever search engine they are using and type in their question. The search engine goes out on the web and pulls in the sites that are most relevant to the question. Read that again. The search engine displays the site that has the most relevant terms that come from the question.

If your question is about "Zombies", then the site that has that term in its address, and the title of its article, and that word throughout the article will be the first one on the page. And as a writer of blogs with something to sell that is what you want. To be the first link that is clicked on.

To make money online you have to know what to do. To not follow the plan is way too much like writing in your diary and putting it under your pillow.

L8R

Keeping your pipes clean

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:41:00 +0000

There is one profession that I told my two male children to seriously consider when they got out of high school.

Plumbing. Yep, you read that right. Be a Plumper. They are paid well, and they always have work. If they are a good Plumber. One who prices their services fairly, is honest about what work needs to be done, and who completes that work quickly and with a minimum of fuss.

That kind of plumber is worth their weight in gold. And that type of plumber will never have to worry about not enough business. That is why I recommended being a Plumber to my sons.

Of course they didn't listen to me. I never expected that they would, but Dad's feel better when we give out that kind of advice. It is balm for our souls.

That all being said, I came across this plumber, Atlanta Plumber to be exact. I want this guy to be my plumber. Just reading through his website I get a good feeling about this guy and his business. It is like he is giving you a tutorial on how to find a good plumber. Which has to mean that HE is a good plumber. It just follows, doesn't it?

It has to. And if I lived in the Atlanta area, this guy would be my go to plumber.

Lap Band

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:46:00 +0000

Lap Band surgery has crossed my mind a few times. The lap band surgery is similar to gastric bypass but without the bypassing of your gastric system. The recovery time is a lot less than with traditional bypass surgery.

One of my relatives had bypass performed and did quite well with it. I found a site that describes lab band, and read some of the lap band testimonials there and found them to be very helpful. I also checked out 1-800-GET-SLIM. That all lead me to lap band before and after where you get to really check out the success stories. Because a picture speaks a lot louder than words.

I am still thinking about having this surgery. You should do you homework before you think about it. But you should also think about how good you will look after you lose the excess weight that is getting you down right now.

Namaste.

Another way to make a buck

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 01:19:00 +0000

Life is not so easy these days. Especially for those of us who make some or most of our income on-line. The number of jobs out there has dwindled more than anyone would like to admit. With that being said, there are a few places that you can find freelance work Freelance Job Board would be one of those places.

If you need to find another site where you can make some money, you need to spend some time there.

Zombies among us

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:09:00 +0000

Ah Spring time. The days get longer, the weather is warmer, and the zombies start hanging out in the park again.

The Park Patrol will be starting soon. These are the guys who traipse through the park as the sun goes down to make sure that everyone is out of the park.

And of course as soon as they leave, the zombies come back to play. They hang out in the baseball dugouts, and they shamble through the woods drinking cheap beer, and smoking cheap ditch weed.

Weirdos. Most of them are disaffected rich, white kids. You would think that they would be able to afford a better brand of self-medication.

Just saying........

Trading Places

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:03:00 +0000

If you have the money to invest, now is really a good time to do so.

What,you say? Am I crazy? With all of the problems with the stock market going up and down? Now is a time for investing?

Heck yes, because stock prices are down. There are lots of methods you can use to trade, one of them being swing trading. Which ever method you do use, you should only use money that you can afford to lose. Because in the stock market, as in life, there are no guarentees.

It can make you crazy

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:33:00 +0000

Trying to find the right insurance is akin to having your teeth extracted. One by one. With a wrench. Without any pain killer.

And, I think, that that is a positive view of the process of choosing the right kind of insurance. But it can be made easier, and there are companies out there that are trying to do that for us consumers. I found one in the UK the other day that impressed me quite a bit. And it reminded me of a story.

My Father-in-Law, and Mother-in-Law have visited the UK twice. My Mother-in-Law has Welsh ancestry. The story is that they rented a car so that they could travel at their own pace. Unfortunately, my FIL didn't practice driving on the Left side of the road. In the first day of having their rental car, he drove it over no less than 5 curbs, and got stuck on the inside of a roundabout. When they stopped for the night my FIL was ready to turn the car in and use public transportation. My MIL being a calm one, talked him out of it. Luckily, they also took out rental insurance on the car.

A company that could have helped them was Autonet Insurance. They are the largest independently owned insurance broker in the UK. Autonet Van Insurance, car insurance, home insurance, RV insurance. They can help you pick which policy is best, and most economical for you.

They could have helped out my in-laws.

Junk is taking over my life

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 18:05:00 +0000

MLW and I have been married for 11 years. Both of us had been married before, and, consequently brought a bunch of stuff with us when we decided that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. A bunch of stuff is really an understatement.

I moved from a 2 bedroom condo, and MLW moved from a 3 bedroom house into our small 2 bedroom home. Our basement is full of stuff. And until recently, our carport was full of stuff. Most of the items we have have not seen the light of day for several years. Most of the eleven years of our marriage, if you want to really be truthful about it.

Last year MLW and The Princess went ot Maui with The Princess' Paternal Grandmother and her family. I didn't go, because I am not the Paternal part of that family. I got to stay home and work. No biggie. I really wanted to get some work done around the house. Specifically getting rid of some of the junk that we have piled around in the basement. I wanted to put a dumpster in the driveway and just fill it up. MLW was not to keen on that idea. Then I got the idea to start looking on line for Hauling, or Junk Removal, and even Junk Hauling. And there are a lot of them. So I got a little discouraged.

I ended up just doing it myself. Which was exhausting. And incomplete, because it would have been a lot easier on me to just be able to point at a pile of stuff and say "That is what is going, have fun." Which is what I am going to do next time, because I still have a ton of stuff that needs to get out of this house.

Namaste.

Art as life

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:08:00 +0000

I can't imagine a life without art. Impressionists, cubist, modern, graphic, contemporary. I love it all. I like to wander through galleries and stare at what has been created. Losing myself in the vision of the artist.

MLW likes Glen Tarnowski, among others. And I can see why she would. The colors he uses, and the slightly off center subject matter is what is appealing to me also. His art reminds me of some of the album covers from the 70's, and early 80's. Combinations of everyday items put in fantastic situations. Houses floating on clouds, with books flying next to them. A man with an hour glass as his head. I just love looking at it all.

As well you should also.

Walk a mile in my shoes

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 14:53:00 +0000

Spring is springing. Actually it has already sprung, but this is only the second day of Spring. Go figure.

Anyway. Shoes. It is time for my annual search for the perfect shoe. I have had this search going on for the past few years. I went through my Teva phase, and now I am looking for the next installment.

Everywhere we go I see folks wearing them, and we have friends who swear by them, but I am not convinced. What am I talking about? Crocs Shoes, thats what I am talking about. I just don't see the attraction, and I can't see how you feet don't come away all sweaty. So, Croc's aren't for me.

I need some new shoes for work, and though I really do like the look of Bostonian Shoes, but I have to wear slip resistant shoes for work. So, no really good looking work shoes for me. Bummer.

And the hippie is me is thinking Birkenstocks. Much to the chagrin of MLW, and The Princess. They would prefer that I not wear sandals. Mandals, as they call them. They would much prefer that I only wear sneakers, or go shoeless. And I can feel the allure of going shoeless, but there are times when it is good to have something on your feet that you don't have to lace up. I do so love my sandals.

But the search continues.

Namaste.

Vacation time

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 13:24:00 +0000

MLW has already gone beyond our vacation this year, and is now looking towards 2010. She wants to go to an island resort. Somewhere like a Sandles Resort. Find your next vacation at findsavings.com.

Have fun.

I have this monster sweet tooth

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 13:05:00 +0000

It is a burden that I carry. I love sugar in all of its various forms. Especially candy. MMMMMMMM, candy.

Growning up I consumed candy by the bucket loads. Gum, especially Wrigley's Gum, candy bars like Baby Ruth, Bun Bars, Milky Way, 3 Musketeers, Payday, Almond Joy. How can you not like Almond Joy? Coconut, and almonds. Does it get any better than that?

I love Butterfinger, who doesn't? Carmello. Do you remember Carmello? Chocolate, and caramel. Together. In this rich, milk chocolatey goodness. I am in heaven right now.

I never could get my head around the Chunky bar. Just a big square of chocolate. One had peanuts, and one had raisins. I was never a raisin fan when I was a kid. I ate them now and again, but it wasn't a food of choice. Unless it was in my Aunts rum cake. I loved that rum cake.

And we haven't even talked about Mints yet. Of course, the only mints worth talking about are the ones that are paired with chocolate. Have you noticed a pattern here? The After 8 dinner mint cookies. Oh god. and Thin Mints? Put them on my pillow at night and I might not ever leave your hotel. And let us not forget about York Peppermint Patties. They are wonderful, are they not?

I am in a blissful heaven of chocolate, and sugar.

MMMMMMM.

Web Hosting Information

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 15:32:00 +0000

When I started looking around for reasons to use my own web host instead of working off of blogger, or wordpress I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information out there. This resulted in my making a mistake with the first webhost plan that I bought. Other than having someone take you by the hand and leading you step by step, there aren't too many sites that can help you find you perfect the perfect web host.

So what can you do? You can go out on the search engines and find a decent web hosting review but which ones are reliable, and which ones are just trying to reach into your wallet? Unfortunately, that isn't all that easy to figure out. One site that I have recommended to friends, and family is Webhostinggeeks.com. I swear that you can find out just about everything you need to know to make an educated decision about a web host on their site. There are various reviews that you can read, there is a major "Best Of" category that can be extremely helpful, and a customers review area.

If you need to nudge to get a web host of your own, webhostinggeeks.com is the place to go. You will get answers to all of your questions.

Except what to write about.

Namaste.

The King of Pop

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 00:27:00 +0000

The girls and I were watching American Idol the other night when they had the contestants singing Michael Jackson songs. The music brought back really great memories for MLW and I, and piqued The Princess' interest musically.

After the show was over, I found a site talking about MJ's return to the stage. And being a curious kind of guy I wanted to find out where you can find Tickets to Michael Jackson concerts. I was thinking that it would be kind of cool to share one of his concerts with The Princess.

But this morning she woke up and decided that she would rather see the Jonas Brothers again rather than see The King.

Go account for taste, eh?

Michael Jackson tickets

If you blog, you need this

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:24:00 +0000

What one thing does every blogger worth their salt need?

Good web hosting, that is what. And beyond that it would be nice to know who had the Best Green Hosting. But with so many different companies, and plans, and promises, and claims how do you know which one to chose?

That is where webhostingreport dot com comes in. Right on their first page they list the top 10 best web hosts. Right on the first page. No baloney, no bunk, they just get right to what you need to know.

You can also look at how to select the best web hosting company, any of a number of other reports. Anyway you want to search, you can find.

This is a service that you need to have available when the time comes for you to find your own web host.

Heading the right way

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 19:55:00 +0000

Well kids, it is that time of year again. The time of year when I have to have my truck inspected by one of the valiant, and certified mechanics that do business here in Pennsylvania.

You see, we have to inspect our vehicles yearly to make sure that they are safe to drive about on the roads. I am not going to talk about the hundreds of uninsured drivers out there, because we know that they are driving safe cars. Even if they aren't driving too safely themselves,

What ev's, eh?

One thing that I know I am going to have to replace this year is my ball joints on the right side of the vehicle. My power steering rack, related components are fine, but I just know that that pesky ball joint is going to need some attention. I was looking at carsteering.com the other day and found that they ship free. That is a major plus for me, because I can order my part, and have it shipped right to my mechanics garage with no probs.

Now, you might ask, why don't I have my mechanic order my parts? Well, this way he will know that I want to come in to get the truck worked on, and he will give me a call and let me know when he can do it. It is a wonderful relationship we have.

L8R

I want to open a brew pub

noreply@blogger.com (Phil) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 15:39:00 +0000

We all know that I am a world class homebrewer. At least I have been telling you all that for the past couple of years. And I figure if I believe it, and have been telling you all that, it must be true.

That's the way I look at it.

Anyway, my next step is my own brew pub. I like that idea. So I am looking for the perfect location, and I am thinking that there is no PERFECT LOCATION. If your product is good enough, people will crawl through busted glass on their lips to get to where you are.

Again, that is the way I look at it so it must be. Leave me alone.

Being that this is going to be MY brew pub, I don't have a name yet but I am working on it, I also am going to need to look at the seating. I am envisioning some booths, and then tables. But I don't want my customers to sitting on just some crappy regular restaurant chair. I want them to have the best seating, the most comfortable chairs that I can get for them. And don't forget the bar stools.

I am getting overwhelmed with this. But I must persevere. You, my buying public deserve to have a warm, welcome place to come enjoy my wonderful beer. Dodd Family Brewing Company Red Ale has to be considered one of the wonders of the modern world. At least as far as I am concerned it is.

Namaste.