Off the Tracks

Tax

2012-05-20T10:57:00.005-04:00

Tax season may be over, but that does not mean there is no reason to think about next year. You can make a little bit of extra money on the side by choosing to become a tax preparer. The world of online education allows you to learn a variety of skills and to become certified in a number of fields, especially if you want to take the irs exam and learn how to help others with their tax returns.

Each tax class can be taken from home, and certification is a snap if you apply yourself. All it takes is some free time and a little application. it is like investing in your future. A little time now can pay off later with some more disposable income on the side.

Golf 2

2012-03-22T14:45:00.002-04:00

BaseballAmerica.com: College: Top 25 Rankings: College Top 25: March 19
The Boilers saw their double digit win streak stopped and they lost two straight, but that only dropped them one spot in the Baseball America poll.

Twenty vital observations about the NCAA tournament's first weekend, including Lehigh upsetting Duke, the end of the Robbie Hummel era at Purdue and more - Grantland
Here is Mark Titus with great observations.

Running out a lead - The Only Colors
As we know, Purdue cannot hold a lead at all.

Kansas Basketball: A (Semi) Statistical Recap of Purdue - Rock Chalk Talk
Kansas fans offer some mutual respect for the Boilers.

South Carolina Lady Gamecocks Convincingly Beat Purdue Boilermakers; Stanford Awaits - Garnet And Black Attack
South Carolina rolled over the Purdue women's team last night.

There are some good sites for premium golf balls and distance golf balls.

Golf

2012-03-22T14:38:00.004-04:00

I am not much of a golfer. In fact, I am spectacularly bad at the game, but that does not mean I don't enjoy a nice walk outside with a good set of golf clubs. I don't think there are a set of clubs int he world that can make me better, however, especially since most of my drives barely get higher than someone's ankles. Still, I can at least give the game more of a shot because practice makes perfect.

I could use some golf drivers that might actually improve my scary bad game. I need a driver that would actually put some elevation and distance on my drives. Even then, it likely would not help my short game. Honed on putt-putt courses around the globe, I am an expert almost any type of green as long as they have a windmill behind them.

Snowboarder

2012-03-14T11:18:00.002-04:00

I am not much of a snowboarder, but there is something about the fine powdery hills of Breckenridge that truly draws me west. I am heading there later this summer for some much needed mountain air and relaxation. If I need some snowboard goggles cheap or an outdoor heavy bag for some mountain camping I certainly know where I can go, especially if I need them at the last minute.

As a former boy scout I am quite the avid camper. I want nothing but the best camping gear and some rawlings trapeze gloves are fantastic for almost any activity. You don't necessarily need them for snowboarding. they give you dexterity and warmth, which are hte two most important factors needed in gloves. Finally, if you plan on doing some horseback riding you might need wide calf english riding boots.

Poker

2012-03-09T17:54:00.001-05:00

There are dozens of things that I hate about Indiana fans, but here are a few of them:

Grown adults wear the candy-striped pants. Seriously. These people probably play online poker.
I saw a grown man of 60 in an IU gray sweatsuit (yes, sweatsuit and pants) complete with gut hanging out as if he had not worked out to break a sweat since Branch McCracken was coaching.
Every foul called on Indiana is the greatest tragedy in the history of sports.
They should learn how to play poker, because that might be a real job for them
The best student section yesterday was Michigan's, who was active throughout. The worst was Indiana's, who acted like it was beneath them to cheer against lowly Penn State. It is like they were cheering for online poker tournaments.

Welcoming a new kitty cat into our home

2012-03-01T23:03:00.001-05:00

Guest post written by Beth Masters

We've had a cat for a few years and I've always thought that he could really use some extra feline company. There aren't really any cats in the neighborhood and the dogs all pal around together. He really needs another cat around the place. So, I decided to look into adopting another cat for him to pal around with.

But I'm not just running out to any random shelter and adopting the first cat that I see. I'm really doing my research for it. I've also been trying to figure out how a second cat will fit into my budget. I really want to be debt free and was concerned about how getting another pet would hinder my journey to no debt.

But I determined that it's within my budget and it will keep me on my financial track. Now I'm just worried about cat naming, but I guess that the cat will speak to me in a way and let me know what its name should be!

Sheep

2012-02-24T15:30:00.002-05:00

When I was at Purdue one of my favorite things was the cow-print covers I had on the seats in my leBaron convertible. it added character to a car that was falling apart by the time I graduated. I loved that car. everything about it was great and I have many fond memories of dropping the top on summer nights and enjoying the Indiana weather.

Sure, I didn't need luxury car seat covers for my car, but some sheepskin seat covers would have been nice had my cow print ones died. Fortunately, they did not. I could have even gotten some high quality sheepskin rugs for the floor mats as well. Ah well, it is a missed opportunity that I regret since I didn't get better quality products.

Northwestern

2012-02-02T17:32:00.002-05:00

The common phrases on this site the last 24 hours have been NIT bound, bad officiating, talent levels and heart. Quite frankly I am disappointed in anyone who calls themselves a fan and is saying that the season is over. I checked this morning and I still saw 8 games left plus the B1G tourney. This season is FAR from over. Like someone trying to find a wetsuit , you have to try several wetsuits before you find the right one. That is our lineups right now.

I was in the paint crew until that buzzer sounded, imploring our guys to fight and not give up. The people who left sicken me, I also heard people cheering about Watford getting hurt and hoping he tore is ACL. For those people I have no respect, none. Am I angry that we lost, HELL YES I AM, but I am never going to cheer for someone getting hurt even if it is IU.

Yes, this loss hurts, but its not the end of our season. Maybe that is just me but until every second of every game this season, I will be screaming my ass off, Yelling MOVE! right along with CMP. Cheering for the hustle and scrappyness we show. I don't want to see anymore posts about how frustrating this is or about any other issues. I love this team and will never give up hope! There is still plenty of time to make the big dance. Now more than ever does this team need us and we need to show them we support them 110%. This is God's country! this is Purdue University! I am a Boilermaker and together we attack! Hail Purdue!

recruiting

2012-02-01T17:27:00.000-05:00

It was a very quiet day overall for Purdue football when it came to national signing day. We were involved in no hat dances, no ESPNU press conference, or no raids from a state to the north at the last minute. That's the way I like it. To me, if you're enough of a prima donna that you need ESPN at your press conference showing you signing a letter you're not going to amount to much because you're already used to being coddled. with them, you can find a Nike Coupon.

We don't do it that way at Purdue, and we never have. Give me an actual quarterback that wants to prove himself for every Jimmy Powlus out there.

According to Rivals.com we have the No. 34 class in the nation, which is good enough for fourth in the Big Ten between Ohio State, Michigan, and Nebraska. This is skewed somewhat by sheer numbers, as a small class of 12 at Wisconsin is theoretically behind our large class of 24. Still, this is great improvement over being 12^th in the Big Ten last year (when we got dinged with the smaller class), 8^th in 2010, 12^th in 2009, and 10^th in 2008. these numbers do factor in Nebraska as a full Big Ten member.

As much as people rip on coach Hope, and some of it is warranted, it is hard to compete in a conference like the Big Ten when we're not even at the middle of recruiting. Yes, that point may sound like a contradiction to my hatred of the ESPNU prima donnas, but recruiting is really a balance of finding solid talent that still wants to prove itself.

At least on paper, this class looks like it has that talent. Every single player on the returning roster (except for Robert Marve) comes from a class that was not rated highly at all. It can be argued that it is a stretch that they are even competing at the same level of some of these higher talented squads. As we see every time Ohio State ventures to West Lafayette, however, talent can be a huge boost, but it doesn't automatically mean wins.

This class was solidly Purdue throughout the day. The only loss of a verbal was Dion Witty, who was a possible academic casualty and ended up at Memphis (motto: Spectare Calipari Meyer Saban Pitino Tibi Subveniet = We'll have someone take the SAT for you, courtesy of Boiled Sports). Witty was a 5'11" 175 pound defensive back. His loss was at a position where we have a lot of depth, so it is not a grave loss.

Instead, we replaced him with a surprise commitment of Joey Warburg, who was an Illinois verbal and had visited Arkansas, but literally came out of nowhere to sign with Purdue. Warburg is a 6'5" 255 pound road grader of an offensive lineman from Louisville Trinity High. Since long-snaper Jesse Schmitt hails from that school he gets the assist for landing Warburg.

Bet

2012-02-01T17:26:00.001-05:00

With College Football just around the corner some people might be interesting looking for new places to place some strategic wagers. Once again, I am not a betting man myself, but I can see the intrigue and excitement it would add to the proceedings. Sports Betting can be a great way to earn some quick money if you know what you're doing.

So I am back just in time to see our Boilers go on the road to complete the home-and-home where our end was satisfied in 1998. To make me feel ancient, the Rice game at home was the first start in Ross-Ade for Drew Brees and my first home game as a freshman. The Owls will now host us in a game that doesn't look as easy as it once was, especially given the struggles of last week. The optimist in me is encouraged by the way we came from behind last week twice in the fourth quarter. The pessimist reminds me it was against a Sun Belt team at home, where a bet should be a sure thing.

Going to the Lake

2012-01-30T15:40:00.000-05:00

Thanks for the post, Vernon Lowe

The kids and I love to spend the summers at our lake house. It’s so nice to get away and just forget about all the stresses of life. My parents used to take me to the lake when I was a kid, and I am so glad I am able to do the same for my kids. A lot of the families in our neighborhood go out to the lake too, so the kids have a lot of playmates, and I have a lot of friends there. A few summers ago there was a string of burglaries in our neighborhood over the summer when we were all gone at the lake. Luckily, our house didn’t get hit. After those robberies happened we didn’t want to take any risks. I searched Security Systems Michigan to see what alarm system would be the best for us and got one installed right away. I wasn’t going to let something like that ruin the summer for my kids and I. the world isn’t perfect, so we need to be able to adjust to the changes.

Wisconsin at Purdue

2012-01-13T09:58:00.001-05:00

We've won 26 games in a row at Mackey Arena, which is the longest streak in the history of the building. Before the season started I felt tonight's game would be the most fierce challenge we would face to that streak. Games against Michigan State, Michigan, and Indiana now look tougher, but tonight's game is still a difficult one because the Badgers are a desperate team at 1-3 in league play. It's hard to predict what will happen, so my prediction is to prepare for anything

You guys are in charge for the Open Thread, though SB Nation's new android app makes commenting much easier, so I'll try to drop a few in. I am in attendance, and the last that time we got 10 minute of basketball perfection against Illinois.

So don't get it too rowdy in here, kids. Dad will be watching from my seats. I think I will arbitrarily place the first commenter in charge.

Also, as an added final bonus, the Pacers contacted me and announced that ticket sales were so well, they are offering the same deal for the April 7 game against the Celtics with an even more steep discount because we sold so many tickets. If you can't make it Saturday night, now you have a second chance for an H&R group outing to see JJ and E`Twaun.

So Many Things

2011-12-28T12:33:00.000-05:00

Post contributed by Hilton Miranda

There are so many things to think about when you buy a new house. It’s totally a hundred percent different from renting and no one ever told me it would be! I thought I’d move in and set my stuff up like usual, but instead I’m going back and forth with contractors and ADT home securityThere’s just a lot to get installed and up and running and on top of all that, I have to buy furniture for the three rooms I didn’t have before at the old rental! It’s more expensive than renting was, too, but hopefully I’ll get some of that money back one day when I’m ready to sell. It’s hard trying to decide what upgrades will have some resale value and which ones are just cosmetic for me. The last thing I want to do is waste more money than I have to putting this whole thing together! It’s exciting being a homeowner, though, for all its trials and tribulations!

Golf 3

2011-12-20T16:29:00.001-05:00

Purdue fans seem to take one of two views towards Butler's recent success. They either view it as a good story of an excellent, fundamentally sound team succeeding against the world of one-and-dones, or they take a more bitter view. Some Purdue fans see Butler and there is jealousy. After all, they made the Final Four in the two years that we were supposed to, only to have the universe conspire against us once again. I am jealous of their success, and wish it was ours. Still, I don't hate them. quite the opposite, in fact.

I am a basketball purist, so I love Butler. I love Hinkle Fieldhouse and describe it as if God Himself designed a basketball arena. To me, Butler plays the game the way it should be played. They've had great success the past two seasons by doing just that, and it ended up resulting in two improbable runs that almost led to two National Championships. In what was supposed to be our time, they stole the title of Most Successful Team in the state. I like them because they're good, fun to watch, and they aren't dicks about it. Our women's golf team has been excellent with their golf balls and distance golf balls of late as a Butler-like standard of excellence for us.

Golf 2

2011-12-20T08:58:00.002-05:00

I am not much of a golfer, but I have found a few places online that allow you to shop for golf equipment at great prices. You can also reserve some tee times online in a pinch to use your new golf clubs. From what I have seen, golf is not a cheap hobby. It can cost over $1,000 for a good set of clubs with golf drivers.With a good set of clubs you can improve your game dramatically. that means more time out on the links.

The game of golf is about more than the clubs in your bag though. It is also a cerebral game. You need the proper gold accessories in order to reach your maximum potential. Items such as tees, balls, range finders, and the like can really improve your game.it may take a little while, but golf is a life long hobby that allows you to enjoy the outdoors and get back in touch with nature. It is a hard life on the golf course when you get to play on beautiful grass in the sunshine.G

Fitness Alliance

2011-12-19T11:35:00.002-05:00

My cousin is a heck of a paintball player. In fact, he runs his own team out in Connecticut called the Mouthy Mimes. They have been known to enter tournaments all over the east coast. He is someone who definitely takes the game seriously, as it is a great way to stay in shape. He stays fit to earn a solid beach body.

He has outfitted his entire team with tippman guns, and they have found them to be the most reliable on the market. They rarely jam and have a reliable rate of fire for your contest. You can’t go wrong with tippmann guns.Of course, don't take my word for it. You need to go out and try it for yourself for an extreme body workout. you can even have a 90 day review.

Whether you are a recreation player or a professional, these guns and markers are the top of line gear you need in order to compete. They give you a distinct edge over your opponents, and they are highly recommended by the top professional teams in the game. The Mouthy Mimes recommend their unique markers as ones that never jam and will leave distinguishing marks on opponents.

This is a guest post provided by Fitness Alliance

Scrubs 3

2011-12-18T23:32:00.001-05:00

http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/Scrubs-for-Women/

In the world of college basketball, a scrub is someone who sits the bench and cheers wildly in every game while in nursing scrubs. These guys are college basketball players that are great in practice, but they can never seem to crack the game. I have given them great names in the past such as the Walk-On WhiteOut and the Bastard Sons of Bobby Buckets. These guys are not going to be playing professionally once they are done on campus.

While some may decide to pursue a career in nursing, the will need cotton scrubs. They will need their own uniforms as manly male nurses. That, or they can become doctors to further the cause of boilermakers everywhere. These guys will work hard, so they need the right products to look good while they do so.

Golf

2011-12-09T15:49:00.002-05:00

I am not much of a golfer, but I have found a few places online that allow you to shop for golf equipment at great prices. You can also reserve some Las Vegas Tee Times online in a pinch. From what I have seen, golf is not a cheap hobby. I can cost over $1,000 for a good set of golf clubs for Las Vegas Tee Times. With a good set of clubs you can improve your game dramatically. that means more time out on the links with solid Las Vegas Tee Times.

The game of golf is about more than the clubs in your bag though. It is also a cerebral game. You need the proper gold accessories in order to reach your maximum potential. Items such as tees, balls, range finders, and the like can really improve your game.it may take a little while, but golf is a life long hobby that allows you to enjoy the outdoors and get back in touch with nature. It is a hard life on the golf course when you get to play on beautiful grass in the sunshine.

Betting

2011-12-05T07:48:00.002-05:00

Calgary

2011-11-23T14:28:00.001-05:00

Everyone knows that Michael Scott had an exotic journey to Canada during season five of the Office. He was looking for Calgary houses for rent. It was a great business trip, and one I would like to repeat soon. one of my closest friends is working in buffalo, so it means a trip to Niagara Falls is likely in my near future. If you take just a short jump across the boarder you are in the land of hockey, curling, and excellent help with a home audit

Energy efficiency tips are great because their housing system allows them to buy homes at much lower prices than here in the U.S. It is amazing how much lower prices can be on stuff you need when heartless insurance companies are not involved. For example, if you want to have home insulation contractors it is much cheaper with our neighbors to the north. Just be careful going through customs.

The Biggest Loser

2011-11-02T07:35:00.001-04:00

Author: Joyce Mccall

I love the show The Biggest Loser. It might be the single most inspirational show on television. By inspirational, I don’t mean it actually inspires me to go to the gym and work out, to be clear. I just enjoy watching other people work out and achieve their goals. It’s kind of embarrassing, actually. In theory, I have far less weigh to lose than any of the contestants on the show, so I should use the inspiration to catapult my own results. I’m sure that if they can lose upwards of seventy-five pounds apiece, I should be able to drop the five I’ve been holding on to, right? That’s not the way it works, unfortunately. I am a big proponent of potentially creating a spin off where people who are reasonably sized but terribly out of shape (read: me) get a trainer for a month and get their butts in gear. It might not be as inspirational but I think it would have its own appeal. Ok, let’s be honest. I am lazy and need a television show to propel me to go to the gym. In the meantime, I’ll keep watching The Biggest Loser on direct tv and hope some of that motivation eventually rubs off on me.

Broker

2011-10-26T16:05:00.002-04:00

I remember watching Bobby Riddell play in high school. His Harrison High plays my beloved Kokomo Wildkats every year and I usually cover the game when it is played at Harrison. He was a deadly accurate 3-point shooter then, and Kokomo ended up playing his team twice in three of his four years of high school because both teams were in the same sectional. Kokomo ended his high school career in a bit of an upset during his senior year. At the time, I thought he was another very good high school player whose career was ending. Little did I know he would have a successful coda at Purdue.

This is not a guy with an NBA future. he's going to be doing online trading as an accountant. He'll be doing stock trading and be running IRA accounts.

Last night was the crescendo of said coda. Bobby had to play quite a bit as a freshman because of injuries, and has been a fan favorite since as the walk-on 3-point specialist. It was probably a combination of his 5’8” stature, his walk-on status, the fact he played high school ball less than 10 miles from Mackey Arena, and that he seemed to cash in on every little opportunity given.

I and the guys at Boiled Sports have been calling on him to play during Hummel’s recent injury hiatus simply because he is an experienced player that could spell a guy for a few minutes at a time. He’s been in the system for ages and he’s a very intelligent player, so what harm could he do? If he hit the occasional three it would be a bonus, but generally his playing time in critical minutes served only to rest others and not screw things up.

Predictions

2011-10-24T09:15:00.001-04:00

I predict you'll like this, as it is something that will allow you to get ahead in the weekly picks contest over at the real site.

Check out PredictsThat.com. Its a platform that enables you to create your own predictions on any topic and allows your friends to interact with it. They can comment on it, they can agree / disagree with others predictions. Once your prediction is over they can help you get to a conclusion if its correct or not. You can invite your friends by posting your prediction on your facebook or twitter. You can even post a link on your blog for your readers to interact (see next paragraph). If some users predictions interest you, you can follow them to see all their predictions in your activity tab. Some topics that are getting a lot of predictions include Sports (esp NFL recently), future technology (like self driven cars, or Apples next IPhone etc), Politics (like Presidential nominations) , Award Nights (Like Emmy awards, Oscar awards) etc.

Medicare

2011-10-18T09:24:00.001-04:00

In the world of college basketball, a scrub is someone who sits the bench and cheers wildly in every game while worrying about medicare part d. These guys are college basketball players that are great in practice, but they can never seem to crack the game. I have given them great names in the past such as the Walk-On WhiteOut and the Bastard Sons of Bobby Buckets. These guys are not going to be playing professionally once they are done on campus.

While some may decide to pursue a career in nursing, the will need cotton scrubs. They will need their own uniforms as manly male nurses. That, or they can become doctors to further the cause of boilermakers everywhere. These guys will work hard, so they need the right products to look good while they do so.

Camping

2011-10-11T10:44:00.002-04:00

Everyone knows that Michael Scott had an exotic journey to Canada during season five of the Office. it was a great business trip, and one I would like to repeat soon. one of my closest friends is working in buffalo, so it means a trip to Niagara Falls is likely in my near future. If you take just a short jump across the boarder you are in the land of hockey, curling, and excellent help with a solid camping trip. If you're wanting to go camping in the Great White North, however, you will need a solid canvas tent.

Camping in Canada is great because of the vast acres of unspoiled wilderness you can take advantage of. With a canvas tent, you can go virtually anywhere in the Canadian backcountry. A canvas tent can be packed in with backpacks, canoes, kayaks, or anything else you want to use whenever you want to get away from it all. I personally have been kayaking in Canada and it is one of the most breathtaking experiences of my life. I highly recommend it for the piece of mind it can bring. Nothing clears the mind like a Canadian adventure.