Things we should be aware of.

[Bunny Hop]

Now if BP flops where will I get gas from?!? My car kind of hates the gas at some of these other places and there are not a lot of Chevron's around here.

[T-Rex91]

Yeah, BP used to be my station of choice but I just can't do it now. Lately, I've been using Krogers and Sam's.

[sista]

NOTICE: IF ANYONE EVER TELLS YOU YOU HAVE WON A LOTTERY OR HAVE AN ON LINE JOB AND ASKS YOU TO CASH/DEPOSIT CHECKS AND SEND FUNDS BACK TO THEM.. IT IS A SCAM!!! PLEASE DO NOT GET FOOLED... YOU CANNOT WIN THE CANADIAN, NICARAGUAN, NIGERIAN LOTTERY.... WORKING AS A SECRET SHOPPER WHERE YOU SEND MONEY THROUGH WESTERN UNION AT A WALMART IS NOT A LEGIT JOB.... STOP BEING LAZY AND WORK AT MCDONALD'S!!!
ANY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER CAN BE FORGED!!!
OH!! AND CRAIGS LIST IS THE DEVIL!!!

[Noble Work]

I know the article is talking about being frugal and what billionaires prefer but just reading about what some of these guys CAN do and what they are capable of is redic.

Some how (and I always knew) that all the Diddy's out there and JayZ's as well just ain't balling like that. I mean they have money (especially more than me) but to me they haven't even scratch the surface compared to these people. Oprah is not even on here, but then she's probably not as frugal either.

Cars, Cameras and Platinum things ain't what's up.


7 Spending Tips From Frugal Billionaires

Carlos Slim Helu (Carlos Slim), a telecom tycoon and billionaire with well-known frugal tendencies, has a net worth of $60.6 billion, according to Forbes. Assuming no changes in his net worth, he could spend $1,150 a minute for the next 100 years before he ran out of money. To put this in perspective, he could spend in 13 minutes what a minimum-wage earner brings home after an entire year of the daily grind.

Granted, the world's billionaires (all 1,011 of them) are in the debatably enviable position of having, quite literally, more money than they can possibly spend, yet some are still living well below their means, and save money in surprising places. Even non-billionaires (currently 6,864,605,142 of us) can partake in these seven spending tips from frugal billionaires:

1. Keep Your Home Simple
Billionaires can afford to live in the most exclusive mansions imaginable -- and many do, including Bill Gates' sprawling 66,000 square foot, $147.5 million dollar mansion in Medina, Wash. -- yet frugal billionaires like Warren Buffett choose to keep it simple. Buffett still lives in the five-bedroom house in Omaha that he purchased in 1957 for $31,500. Likewise, Carlos Slim has lived in the same house for more than 40 years.

2. Use Self-Powered or Public Transportation
Thrifty billionaires including John Caudwell, David Cheriton and Chuck Feeney prefer to walk, bike or use public transportation when getting around town. Certainly these wealthy individuals could afford to take a helicopter to their lunch meetings, or ride in chauffeur-driven Bentleys, but they choose to get a little exercise and take advantage of public transportation instead. Good for the bank account and great for the environment.

3. Buy Your Clothes off the Rack
While some people, regardless of their net value, place a huge emphasis on wearing designer clothes and shoes, some frugal billionaires decide it's simply not worth the effort, or expense. You can find David Cheriton, the Stanford professor who matched Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page to the venture capitalists at Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers (resulting in a large reward of Google stock), wearing jeans and a t-shirt.

Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of the furniture company Ikea, avoids wearing suits, and John Caudwell, mobile phone mogul, buys his clothes off the rack instead of spending his wealth on designer clothes.

4. Keep your Scissors Sharp
The average haircut costs about $45, but people can and do spend up to $800 per cut and style. Multiply that by 8.6 (to account for a cut every six weeks) and it adds up to $7,200 per year, not including tips. These billionaires can certainly afford the most stylish haircuts, buy many cannot be bothered by the time it takes or the high price tag for the posh salons. Billionaires like John Caudwell and David Cheriton opt for cutting their own hair at home.

[Stock Picks From the World's Greatest Investors]

5. Drive a Regular Car
While billionaires like Larry Ellison (co-founder and CEO of Oracle Corporation) enjoy spending millions on cars, boats and planes, others remain low key with their vehicles of choice. Jim Walton (of the Wal-Mart clan) drives a 15-year-old pickup truck. Azim Premji, an Indian business tycoon, reportedly drives a Toyota Corolla. And Ingvar Kamprad of Ikea drives a 10-year-old Volvo. The idea is to buy a dependable car, and drive it into the ground. No need for a different car each day of the week for these frugal billionaires.

6. Skip Luxury Items
It may surprise some of us, but the world's wealthiest person, Carlos Slim (the one who could spend more than a thousand dollars a minute and not run out of money for one hundred years) does not own a yacht or a plane. (Reducing the amount you spend is the easiest way to make your money grow.)

Many other billionaires have chosen to skip these luxury items. Warren Buffett also avoids these lavish material items, stating, "Most toys are just a pain in the neck."

What We Can Learn
Some of the world's billionaires have frugal tendencies. Perhaps this thrifty nature even helped them make some of their money. Regardless, they have chosen to avoid some unnecessary spending (at least on their scale) and the 6,864,605,142 non-billionaires out there can follow suit, eliminating excessive, keep-up-with-the-Jones style spending. No matter what a person's income bracket is, most can usually find a way to cut back on frivolous spending, just like a few frugal billionaires.

[Noble Work]

Imma gone ahead and by that water filter

Best and worst brands of bottled water

How much do you know about the bottled water you drink? Not nearly enough, according to a new report released today from Environmental Working Group (EWG). "Bottled water companies try hard to hide information you might find troubling," says Jane Houlihan, senior vice president of research for the Washington D.C.-based research and advocacy group.

EWG analyzed the labels of 173 unique bottled water products and company websites to determine if companies disclose information on where water comes from, how or if their water is treated, and whether the results of purity testing are revealed. The nonprofit also looked at how effective (and advanced) any water treatment methods are. Researchers followed up by calling dozens of bottled water companies to find out which ones willingly tell consumers what's in their bottles.
The Environmental Protection Agency says on its website that consumers have the right to know where their water comes from and what's in it so they can "make informed choices that affect the health of themselves and their families." Tap water is regularly tested and consumers can find their local water info online. That's not necessarily the case with bottled water, which is not required to disclose that information to consumers. "Bottled water is a food product and every one of these companies is complying with federal law," says Tom Lauria, of the International Bottled Water Association.

More than half of the bottled water products surveyed failed EWG's transparency test --18 percent didn't say where their water comes from, and another 32 percent did not disclose any information on treatment or purity of water.
Only three brands earned the highest possible marks for disclosing information and using the most advanced treatment methods available - Gerber Pure Purified Water, Nestle Pure Life Purified Water, and Penta Ultra-Purified Water.

On the other end of the spectrum, these six brands got the worst marks in EWG's report because they don't provide consumers with the three basic facts about water on product labels or their company website - Whole Foods Italian Still Mineral Water, Vintage Natural Spring Water, Sahara Premium Drinking Water, O Water Sport Electrolyte Enhanced Purified Drinking Water, Market Basket Natural Spring Water, and Cumby's Spring Water.
How does your bottled water brand stack up? Here's a look at the 10 top-selling* U.S. brands:

1. Pure Life Purified Water (Nestle), EWG grade = B

2. Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = C

3. Aquafina Purified Drinking Water (Pepsi), EWG grade = D

4. Dasani Purified Water (Coca-Cola), EWG grade = D

5. Deer Park Natural Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = D

6. Ice Mountain Natural Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = D

7. Ozarka Natural Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = D

8. Poland Spring Natural Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = D

9. Zephyrhills Natural Spring Water (Nestle), EWG grade = D

10. Crystal Geyser Natural Alpine Spring Water (CG Roxane), EWG grade = F
Filtered tap water received the best grade (an A) from EWG because if you change your filter regularly, EWG says it is purer than bottled water, plus it saves money (bottled water can cost up to 1,900 times more than what flows from your tap). Drinking tap water also takes less of a toll on the planet. EWG offers plenty of tips for filtering your tap water so that you can drink the healthiest water possible.

What should you do when bottled water is your only option? "While our top choice is filtered tap water, when you do need to choose bottled water, we recommend brands that tell you what's in the water and that use advanced treatment technologies like reverse osmosis and micro-filtration," says Houlihan. Advanced treatment technologies remove pollutants that other methods don't. You should look for bottled water products that tell you where the water is coming from and how pure it is.

Here are the results for all 173 bottled water brands included in the report. You'll find that some less popular brands rank even lower than our list of top-sellers.
The advice to drink filtered tap water can seem confusing when there are often reports about the contaminants found in municipal water supplies. Just last month, for example, EWG announced that cancer causing hexavalent chromium (chromium-6) is in 31 cities' tap water. Houlihan says chromium-6 is as likely to be in your bottled water as it is in your tap water and we need action from the federal government on this. She points out that a reverse osmosis filter can remove the worrisome contaminant. You can guarantee its removal in your home supply, but in many cases you don't know what's in the bottle you're drinking from.

*Sales rankings from the Beverage Marketing Corporation.

[Rare_Commodity]

HANDBOOK 2011

Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants..
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2010 .
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...

Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come..
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Last but not the least:
40. Please adhere to this message

[Rare_Commodity]

I don't believe it!


Here are the 11 most dangerous cities in terms of crime risk:

City/ Crime Risk Index

1. St. Louis: 530

2. Atlanta: 484

3. Birmingham Alabama (tie): 380

3. Orlando (tie): 380

5. Detroit: 369

6. Memphis: 361

7. Miami: 346

8. Baltimore: 339

9. Kansas City, Missouri: 337

10. Minneapolis (tie): 331

10. Cleveland (tie): 331


finance.yahoo.com/news/The-11-Most-Dangerous-usnews-1262959588.html?x=0

[Noble Work]

It’s one of the greatest marketing tricks in the history of beverages: Turning a can of obesity-inducing sugar water into the coolest product in the supermarket. Here’s how it’s done.

1. Give your can of sugar water a hip-sounding name, like Monster, Rockstar, or Amp.

2. Promise that the product will do something exciting to your body, like boosting your energy and alertness, so you, too, can be a rock star—or at least stay up as late as one.

3. Make your product sound slightly dangerous. Anything will sound cooler when grown-ups hate it: Dr. Oz calls energy drinks “addictive” and “unhealthy.” Other experts point to thousands of caffeine overdoses among young people 19 and under.

But all the hoopla surrounding energy drinks is just hysteria, right? Sure, drinking them by the six-pack isn’t a good idea, but in moderation, a single can of cold, tangy, eyeball-popping energy fuel can’t be bad for you . . .

Or can it?

Well, the truth is that while you can call a product RockStar, a more accurate name for some of their drinks might be Fat Roadie. Because while massive doses of energy drinks are obviously dangerous, adding even a single can a day of some of them to your liquid intake could cause more than 29 pounds of weight gain in a year! Below, I’ve outlined some of the worst energy drinks, and some much saner alternatives. Making these simple swaps could be the difference between Lady Gaga, and Lady Gargantua.

WORST MORNING JOLT
5-Hour Energy (1.93-oz bottle)
4 calories
0 g sugars
Caffeine: 135 mg

Drink This Instead!
Black Coffee (12-oz cup)
0 calories
0 g sugars
Caffeine: 95-200 mg

What’s really in 5-Hour Energy? Wouldn’t you like to know! The company claims the product is packed with a variety of vitamins and other compounds that promote energy, but when Consumer Reports recently requested a copy of the supporting research, the company balked. Here’s a golden rule of food and drink: If the company selling the product won’t put its money where its mouth is, don’t put their product where your mouth is. Bottom line: The only proven ingredient in this bottle is caffeine, and one bottle contains about as much as a cup of coffee. You know what costs much less, contains loads of natural antioxidants, and also has as much caffeine as a cup of coffee? You guessed it, a cup of coffee. No energy drink on the planet is more reliable.

Bonus Tip: 5-Hour Energy may be a lot of hype, but at just 4 calories per bottle, it won't make you fat. These sugar- and fat-laden drinks most certainly will if they're among your go-to options: The 20 Worst Drinks in America.

WORST CAFFEINATED DISASTER
Redline Power Rush (2.5-oz bottle)
0 calories
0 g sugars
Caffeine: 326 mg

Drink This Instead!
Sugar-Free Red Bull (8.4-oz can)
0 calories
0 g sugars
Caffeine: 75 mg

This is what happens when the companies that produce energy shots go to war with one another (7 hours of energy? Really?). Sipping this tiny bottle is the caffeine equivalent of gulping down about three cups of coffee, which is probably why the company's website warns minors not to drink it. Oh, and for those of us with family histories of high blood pressure, enlarged prostates, glaucoma, or any one of six other ailments, we need to consult a physician before use. The company also recommends you drink only half a bottle, but who's going to drink one-half of 2.5 ounces? That's like packing an Oreo in your kid's lunch and telling her to eat only one bite. Sugar-Free Red Bull offers the same low-cal advantage with a more reasonable amount of caffeine, which is about as much as a cup of coffee.

Bonus Tip: I get it—life is hectic. That's why we created our new book: The Eat This, Not That! No-Diet Diet, a complete day-by-day, meal-by-meal weight-loss plan for busy people who hate to diet. You can eat all your favorite foods, at your favorite restaurants, and even enjoy your favorite desserts--while shedding belly fat fast. Check it out.

WORST SODA HYBRID
Amp Energy (16-oz can)
220 calories
58 g sugars
Caffeine: 142 mg

Drink This Instead!
Xenergy Mango Guava (16-oz can)
0 calories
0 g sugars
Caffeine: 180 mg

No energy drink exposes the blurred line between energy and soda better than Amp. It is, after all, an offshoot of Mountain Dew. The difference is it’s shot through with more caffeine and all the dubious additives that give energy drinks their questionable energy appeal. But the problem with this can is the same problem that afflicts every other soda on the market—sugar. Guzzling this thing fills your stomach with 14 spoonfuls of sugar. If it’s energy you want, Xenergy promises all the same additives without any of the sugar. Consider it a modest vice.

Bonus Tip: Discover more surprising nutrition and weight loss secrets like this by following me on Twitter right here (where I'm giving a FREE iPad to a lucky follower) or by signing up for our FREE Eat This, Not That! newsletter.

WORST ENERGY SHOT
Clif Razz Energy Gel Shot (32 g package)
100 calories
12 g sugars
Caffeine: 0 mg

Drink This Instead!
Ito En Sencha Shot (6.4-oz can)
0 calories
0 g sugars
Caffeine: 40 mg

Be wary of any “energy” shot that comes in gel form. These packages are specifically formulated to replenish sugar stores to overworked muscles during bouts of high-intensity training. That’s great if you’re running a 10K, but it you’re not doing some serious athletics, expect it to go straight to your thighs, butt, and belly. For a more sustainable—and less fattening—form of energy, opt for green tea. Ito En’s Sencha Shot is just that, concentrated green tea laced with 152 milligrams of catechins, antioxidants that have been linked to weight loss. One of these tacked on to your daily routine can only do your body good.

Bonus Tip: For simple steps to live a longer and healthier life, check out Dr. Oz's 25 Greatest Health Tips Ever.

WORST COFFEE BOOST
Starbucks Coffee Frappuccino (13.7-oz bottle)
290 calories
4.5 g fat (3 g saturated)
46 g sugars
Caffeine: 108 mg

Drink This Instead!
Rockstar Roasted Coffee + Energy Light Vanilla (16-oz can)
100 calories
14 g sugars
Caffeine: 240 mg

I’m not Rockstar's biggest fan, but they do a lot of things right, like this healthier alternative to Starbucks. Do you know how much whole milk you’d have to pour into your coffee to reach the 290 calories in this Starbucks bottle? Nearly two cups. Or how about this for comparison: This Vanilla Frappuccino has more calories than either a Snickers bar or a Wendy’s Jr. Cheeseburger, plus it has more sugar than two scoops of Haagen-Dazs Crème Brulèe ice cream. Switch to Rockstar’s lighter version of a caffeinated morning drink and you’ll cut your calorie load by two-thirds!

Bonus Tip: Here’s a much healthier way to boost your energy levels: Fill your plate—and belly—with these 40 Foods with Superpowers. The best part: You’ll strengthen your heart, fortify your bones, and boost your metabolism at the same time!

WORST ENERGY DRINK
Vault Red Blitz (20-oz bottle)
290 calories
78 g sugars
Caffeine: 115 mg

Drink This Instead!
Rockstar Recovery (16 fl oz)
20 calories
2 g sugars

And here it is, the biggest loser in the battle of the energy drinks. Vault packs in more sugar than any other energy drink on the market. In terms of sheer calories, Starbucks Coffee Frappuccino fares just as bad, but even it can’t claim to have more sugar than 3½ Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bars. If you’re looking for the daily energy beverage most likely to give you diabetes, this might be it. Otherwise, pick something with less sugar. Rockstar's Recovery is as fine as any energy drink on the market. It contains 160 mg of caffeine—about as much as 14 ounces of Dunkin' Donuts coffee—and it's flavored with lemon juice.

Bonus Tip: If you're serious about losing weight, you need to cut down on sugar first. Problem is, many of us eat too much of the white stuff for breakfast. You stay full longer when you swap out sugar for fiber, and we'll show you how to do it with ease right here: The 24 Best and Worst Cereals.

[Rare_Commodity]

shopping.yahoo.com/articles/yshoppingarticles/554/9-classic-american-beauty-products/

My granny had great skin and she swore by four of these products: 1)Palmers Cocoa Butter; 2)Dove Soap; 3) Oil of Olay; 4) Noxzema

[Noble Work]

Was seriously bout to go here and buy a mattress set

What Not to Buy at Ikea


Ikea offers sleek, modern design at such reasonable prices it’s no wonder that the average customer in the United States drives 50 miles round trip to shop the inspiration rooms (and inevitably dine at the equally impressive smorgasbord of cafeteria food). While we’re huge fans of the Scandinavian design behemoth's trendy home accents, chic wall art, graphic rugs, and highly functional accent furniture, there are certain things not worth the trip. Here are five items you’d be wise to re-think:


1. Mattresses
When it comes to mattresses, the saying you get what you pay for rings true. And because getting consistent good nights’ sleeps is crucial for your health, opting for a quality mattress is a wise investment. Ikea offers mattresses at a price range from $80 for a simple, twin-sized spring mattress to $649 for a king-size foam mattress. While the latter promises pressure-relieving and temperature-stabilizing technology at a seemingly reasonable price, the price structure is a bit misleading. To walk away from Ikea with a complete bed set, you’d have to purchase three more items: A bed base, foundation, and at least one mattress pad, adding almost $500 more to your total cost. What seems like a good deal on the surface, actually turns out to be what you’d be spend for a full set at any other mattress retailer, such as Mancini’s Sleep World or Sleep Train. Furthermore, you don’t get the free delivery and set-up or the ability to negotiate payment plans like you would at most mattress-specific retailers, which are constantly offering promotions and deals in an effort to stay competitive.


2. Imitation Wood Products You’ll Use Every Day
Ikea is full of products that look like wood but are actually made of laminate or pressed wood—or wood particles glued together. These pieces are generally of lower quality and won’t last as long as the real thing. While purchasing accent furniture or bookshelves in this material might serve you well, you might find yourself replacing that laminate coffee or dining table within a year as the daily use will cause the laminate to peal away at the edges or become stained or scratched.


3. Dinnerware
If you’re looking for a simple, no-frills dinner set, Ikea's $25 set of six plates, side plates, and bowls, might fit your needs. But you’d be able to find a similar set at Target or other retailers for the same price. And if you’d like your flatware to make a bit more of a statement, Ikea’s selection is lacking. While the Scandinavian purveyor offers more than enough ways to add flair to your pad at a reasonable price, their specialty is not stylish flatware. We recommend filling your Ikea cart with tabletop accents or fabulous wall decals, but scooping up china flatware when department stores like Macy’s offer sales because you’ll have much more inventory to choose from.


4. Quality Cutlery
Any professional chef or avid home cook will tell you that a quality set of knives is essential. And unfortunately, quality requires investment. There’s no way the $10 set Ikea offers will provide the ease, precision, longevity, or efficiency that a professional knife set promises.

5. Things with Complicated Assembly Instructions
Unless you’re a natural handyman (or know someone who is) or simply must have that bookshelf that comes in a gazillion pieces, be wary of some of the items that require a huge amount of DIY assembly. Purchasing a fully-formed bookshelf elsewhere for a bit more might be worth what you save in time and sanity.

[Rare_Commodity]

I saw this today too. I like Ikea but yea some of their stuff is not reliable. Cute, functionable, and contemporary but not 100% reliable.

[T-Rex91]

You have to be careful with mattresses in general. Many cheap mattresses contain recycled contents and have bene found to be unsanitary when tested. I'm not necessarily saying this about Ikea but many discount mattress places have been burned in Eyewitness news exposes (couldn't get the accent, that should be X-POSE-AYS).

[QueenOH]

I never thought to buy a mattress,dinnerware or cutlery from ikea

[T-Rex91]

nope. bought a couple of hardwood night stands once but that's it. You're giving up something for the price breaks.

[Noble Work]

May 16, 2011 15:14:08 GMT -5 T-Rex91 said:

You have to be careful with mattresses in general. Many cheap mattresses contain recycled contents and have bene found to be unsanitary when tested. I'm not necessarily saying this about Ikea but many discount mattress places have been burned in Eyewitness news exposes (couldn't get the accent, that should be X-POSE-AYS).

You must have seen the same show I was watching that day a couple years back. It was horrible wasn't it?

I guess I'll stick to old school and conservative and go to Sears, JcPenny's for my mattresses. And will Pick up me one of those egg crate foam pads.....oops did I just tell my age? lolo

[T-Rex91]

Had the egg crate mattress topper!!!!!!!!

Yeah, watching dateline will make you never buy anything, talk to anyone, or go anywhere. I can't handle the truth about some things.

[Chal™]

May 18, 2011 7:11:07 GMT -5 T-Rex91 said:

Had the egg crate mattress topper!!!!!!!!

You also bought penny candy when it was still a penny.

[Noble Work]

May 24, 2011 9:03:04 GMT -5 Chal™ said:

May 18, 2011 7:11:07 GMT -5 T-Rex91 said:

Had the egg crate mattress topper!!!!!!!!

You also bought penny candy when it was still a penny.

slumps down in chair
OMG.....me to ;D

[T-Rex91]

May 24, 2011 9:03:04 GMT -5 Chal™ said:

May 18, 2011 7:11:07 GMT -5 T-Rex91 said:

Had the egg crate mattress topper!!!!!!!!

You also bought penny candy when it was still a penny.

*"accidentally" knocks Chal in the head with a big bag of pennies*

*in her best Urkel voice points and says "Did I do that??*

[Bunny Hop]

I'd never buy a mattress from Ikea, LOL. They are ALL about low prices and keeping them as low as possible so I wouldn't doubt that they have some cheap azz mattresses. The only piece of furniture I spent a decent amount of money on was my mattress set. Some things are worth it and if I have to sleep on it EVERY single night then I'll pay (kind of like tennis shoes).

I did buy a coffee table and end table from Ikea and that table was a little wonky after a year or so but that could be because it was moved a few times.

[Noble Work]

B, Can I use "wonky".....lolol

[Bunny Hop]

Of course...since I'm sure I got it from someone else, LOL.

[Noble Work]

Long ago I said Metro PCS will blow all other carriers out of the water when they expand their coverage area. I was wrong. This is why.


Budgeting for wireless data on Verizon's new plans

NEW YORK (AP) -- Are you a wireless data glutton or a nibbler?

New Verizon Wireless customers will have to figure that out starting Thursday as the country's largest wireless carrier plans to roll out data plans with monthly usage caps.

Verizon said Tuesday that under the plans, new smartphone users will pay between $30 and $80 each month for plans that include 2 to 10 gigabytes of data usage. Customers who use more than their allotment will be charged $10 more for each additional gigabyte. The company currently charges $30 a month for an unlimited smartphone data plan.

This is well-trod ground -- AT&T introduced capped data plans a year ago. T-Mobile USA changed its unlimited data plan in May. Although it doesn't charge overage fees, the company slows the speed at which customers can send and receive data once they hit their allotted amount.

The new Verizon plans will apply both to new customers and existing customers who are trading up to smartphones.

The tricky thing about capped data plans is that few people have a clue how much a megabyte of data is, so they don't know much to sign up for. The phones themselves aren't much help: Although they can tell you how much data you've consumed so far this month, they can't tell you which of your smartphone's myriad functions are responsible.

By contrast, a minute spent talking on the phone is easy to understand, and many people have learned roughly how many minutes they use every month.

For AT&T, the introduction of data caps has gone quite well, but some customers are complaining because their data usage reports are hard to decipher. AT&T says 90 percent of its customers on capped plans stay within the limits, but it won't say how much those who go over end up paying, on average.

Here's some help determining which plan will work for you, even if you don't know how many megabytes are in a gigabyte.

-- Less than 200 megabytes per month.

For those with feature phones who want a taste of the Web, Verizon will be offering a plan with 75 megabytes per month plan for $10 per month. But any plan with less than 200 megabytes per month should be considered mainly a tease.

Email, automatic software updates and other data consumption in the background will easily eat up 75 megabytes in a month. That could leave you paying $10 or more in overuse fees -- more than you would if you had chosen a more expensive plan to begin with. This plan sounds like Verizon's way of luring people to smartphones. Pick something like this, and pretty soon, you'll find you need a higher data cap.

-- 200 megabytes per month.

This is a popular size, offered by both AT&T ($15 per month) and T-Mobile ($10), but Verizon won't be offering it. When it introduced this plan, AT&T said 65 percent of its subscribers consumed less than 200 megabytes.

But that was a year ago. The average monthly data consumption for a smartphone user back then was 230 megabytes per month, according to an analysis of phone bills by The Nielsen Co. In the first quarter of this year, the figure had grown to 435 megabytes per month.

Cisco Systems Inc. has lower estimates than Nielsen: 153 megabytes per month last year and 245 megabytes this year. In any case, the message is clear: a plan that was big enough last year may not be big enough this year. Subscribers seem to be discovering more fun and data-consuming things to do on their phones.

It's still possible to get by on 200 megabytes per month. If you're a light user, stay away from heavy-usage applications such as online music streaming and Netflix video. Use Wi-Fi rather than the phone's cellular network as much as possible. Wi-Fi usage doesn't count toward your data limit.

-- 2 gigabytes per month.

This is AT&T's "standard" plan, for which it charges $25 per month. T-Mobile charges $20, and Verizon will charge $30. This will be enough for most people: Verizon said Tuesday that 95 percent of existing customers use less than this amount each month. And AT&T said last year that the plan would satisfy 98 percent of its smartphone users (that figure is undoubtedly lower today). If you like to stream online music or videoconference for hours on end, or watch Netflix movies, you'll blow past it.

-- 5 gigabytes per month.

Verizon will charge $50 for this tier, while T-Mobile charges $30. This would be for those who spend a lot of time on their phones. Laptop cards generally come with this data limit.

--10 gigabytes per month.

Those who intend to use a ton of data may gravitate to this plan, for which T-Mobile charges $60 and Verizon will be charging $80. While unnecessary for most smartphone users, this type of plan will give you plenty of data for streaming videos and music, uploading photos and surfing the Web.

What if you don't want to bother with any of this?

Sprint Nextel Corp. offers unlimited data, seeing it as a crucial way to keep and attract customers who are tempted by an iPhone at Verizon or AT&T.

However, offering an all-you-can-eat data buffet gets expensive. Sprint raised the fees for all its smartphones by $10 per month this winter to $30.



This is what one some commenters had to say:

-Looks like Metro PCS is going to get new customers, to have over a $100 phone bill each month can be a pain in the booty and in my opinion Metro PCS has a good payment plan which is 40 dollars a month for unlimited everything but their coverage sucks and the smartphones arent that bad, but the should really get an HTC smartphone, that would be nice!

-Let them. Straight talk is $45.00 unlimited talk, text and internet. And its on Verizon network. Duh! Yeah there no tax if you buy at WalMart

[Rare_Commodity]

A professor at CCNY for a physiological psych class told his class about bananas. He said the expression “going bananas” is from the effects of bananas on the brain. Read on:

Never, put your banana in the refrigerator!!!

This is interesting.

After reading this, you’ll never look at a banana in the same way again.

Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.

Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world’s leading athletes.

But energy isn’t the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS: Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administrat ion has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school ( England ) were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey.. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system..

Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips.. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady..

Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a "cooling" fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand , for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

Smoking &Tobacco Use: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress : Potassium is a vital mineral, which hel ps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, there by reducing our potassium levels... These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes: According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, “A banana a day keeps the doctor away!”

I will add one here; want a quick shine on our shoes?? Take the INSIDE of the banana skin, and rub directly on the shoe...polish with dry cloth. Amazing fruit !!!



www.lifescript.com/Food/Articles/0/14_Banana_Health_Benefits_You_Might_Not_Know_About.aspx

www.weightlossforall.com/banana-benefits-lose-weight.htm

www.essortment.com/health-benefits-bananas-48429.html

[Noble Work]

5 Foods That Can Trigger a Stroke

Few things feel more terrifying and random than a stroke, which can strike without warning. And fear of stroke -- when a blood vessel in or leading to the brain bursts or is blocked by a blood clot, starving brain cells of oxygen and nutrients -- is well founded. After all, stroke is the number-three killer in the U.S., affecting more than 700,000 people each year. Here are five foods that cause the damage that leads to stroke.

1. Crackers, chips, and store-bought pastries and baked goods

Muffins, doughnuts, chips, crackers, and many other baked goods are high in trans fats, which are hydrogenated oils popular with commercial bakeries because they stay solid at room temperature, so the products don't require refrigeration. Also listed on labels as "partially hydrogenated" or hydrogenated oils, trans fats are found in all kinds of snack foods, frozen foods, and baked goods, including salad dressings, microwave popcorn, stuffing mixes, frozen tater tots and French fries, cake mixes, and whipped toppings. They're also what makes margarine stay in a solid cube. The worst offenders are fried fast foods such as onion rings, French fries, and fried chicken.
Why it's bad

For years scientists have known trans fats are dangerous artery-blockers, upping the concentrations of lipids and bad cholesterol in the blood and lowering good cholesterol. Now we can add stroke to the list of dangers. This year researchers at the University of North Carolina found that women who ate 7 grams of trans fat each day -- about the amount in two doughnuts or half a serving of French fries -- had 30 percent more strokes (the ischemic type, caused by blocked blood flow to the brain) than women who ate just 1 gram a day. Another recent study, also in women, found that trans fats promoted inflammation and higher levels of C-reactive protein, which have been linked to an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
What to do

Aim to limit trans fats to no more than 1 or 2 grams a day -- and preferably none. Avoid fast-food French fries and other fried menu items and study packaged food labels closely. Even better, bake your own cookies, cakes, and other snacks. When you can't, search out "health-food" alternative snacks, such as Terra brand potato chips and traditional whole grain crackers such as those made by Finn, Wasa, AkMak, Ryvita, and Lavasch.

2. Smoked and processed meats

Whether your weakness is pastrami, sausage, hot dogs, bacon, or a smoked turkey sandwich, the word from the experts is: Watch out.
Why it's bad

Smoked and processed meats are nasty contributors to stroke risk in two ways: The preserving processes leave them packed with sodium, but even worse are the preservatives used to keep processed meats from going bad. Sodium nitrate and nitrite have been shown by researchers to directly damage blood vessels, causing arteries to harden and narrow. And of course damaged, overly narrow blood vessels are exactly what you don't want if you fear stroke.

Many studies have linked processed meats to coronary artery disease (CAD); one meta-analysis in the journal Circulation calculated a 42-percent increase in coronary heart disease for those who eat one serving of processed meat a day. Stroke is not the only concern for salami fans; cancer journals have reported numerous studies in the past few years showing that consumption of cured and smoked meats is linked with increased risk of diabetes and higher incidences of numerous types of cancer, including leukemia.
What to do

If a smoked turkey or ham sandwich is your lunch of choice, try to vary your diet, switching to tuna, peanut butter, or other choices several days a week. Or cook turkey and chicken yourself and slice it thin for sandwiches.

How to Tell if Someone Is Having a Stroke

3. Diet soda

Although replacing sugary drinks with diet soda seems like a smart solution for keeping weight down -- a heart-healthy goal -- it turns out diet soda is likely a major bad guy when it comes to stroke.
Why it's bad

People who drink a diet soda a day may up their stroke risk by 48 percent. A Columbia University study presented at the American Stroke Association's 2011 International Stroke Conference followed 2,500 people ages 40 and older and found that daily diet soda drinkers had 60 percent more strokes, heart attacks, and coronary artery disease than those who didn't drink diet soda. Researchers don't know exactly how diet soda ups stroke risk -- and are following up with further studies -- but nutritionists are cautioning anyone concerned about stroke to cut out diet soda pop.
What to do

Substitute more water for soda in your daily diet. It's the healthiest thirst-quencher by far, researchers say. If you don't like water, try lemonade, iced tea, or juice.

4. Red meat

This winter, when the respected journal Stroke published a study showing that women who consumed a large portion of red meat each day had a 42-percent higher incidence of stroke, it got nutrition experts talking. The information that red meat, with its high saturated fat content, isn't healthy for those looking to prevent heart disease and stroke wasn't exactly news. But the percentage increase (almost 50 percent!) was both startling and solid; the researchers arrived at their finding after following 35,000 Swedish women for ten years.
Why it's bad

Researchers have long known that the saturated fat in red meat raises the risk of stroke and heart disease by gradually clogging arteries with a buildup of protein plaques. Now it turns out that hemoglobin, the ingredient that gives red meat its high iron content, may pose a specific danger when it comes to stroke. Researchers are investigating whether blood becomes thicker and more viscous as a result of the consumption of so-called heme iron, specifically upping the chance of strokes.
What to do

Aim to substitute more poultry -- particularly white meat -- and fish, which are low in heme iron, for red meat. Also, choose the heart-healthiest sources of protein whenever you can, especially beans, legumes, nuts, tofu, and nonfat dairy.

5. Canned soup and prepared foods

Whether it's canned soup, canned spaghetti, or healthy-sounding frozen dinners, prepared foods and mixes rely on sodium to increase flavor and make processed foods taste fresher. Canned soup is cited by nutritionists as the worst offender; one can of canned chicken noodle soup contains more than 1,100 mg of sodium, while many other varieties, from clam chowder to simple tomato, have between 450 and 800 mg per serving. Compare that to the American Heart and Stroke Association's recommendation of less than1,500 mg of sodium daily and you'll see the problem. In fact, a nutritionist-led campaign, the National Salt Reduction Initiative, calls on food companies to reduce the salt content in canned soup and other products by 20 percent in the next two years.
Why it's bad

Salt, or sodium as it's called on food labels, directly affects stroke risk. In one recent study, people who consumed more than 4,000 mg of sodium daily had more than double the risk of stroke compared to those who ate 2,000 mg or less. Yet the Centers for Disease Control estimate that most Americans eat close to 3,500 mg of sodium per day. Studies show that sodium raises blood pressure, the primary causative factor for stroke. And be warned: Sodium wears many tricky disguises, which allow it to hide in all sorts of foods that we don't necessarily think of as salty. Some common, safe-sounding ingredients that really mean salt:


Baking soda
Baking powder
MSG (monosodium glutamate)
Disodium phosphate
Sodium alginate


What to do

Make your own homemade soups and entrees, then freeze individual serving-sized portions. Buy low-sodium varieties, but read labels carefully, since not all products marked "low sodium" live up to that promise.

[Rare_Commodity]

Level, I posted this same topic in another thread with mixed responses. I personally believe most of the things on the list should be used sparingly.

onolympus.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=gend&action=display&thread=11035

[Noble Work]

ooppps sorry about that, you sure did.

I to think we should use them sparingly. I mean, I use smoked turkey in my collard greens (I love to cook) and now they want to take that away? lol

[Rare_Commodity]

I know right! You good I was was really looking for this thread to post it and couldn't find it...