Making gas last longer

Gas is still outrageously overpriced, and we still have to go places. There are many ways to make gas last longer, if we just think a little and pay attention.

1. Drive the speed limit. I know, we all hate to do it, but speeding may get you there faster, but it will consume more gas.

2. Plot your course in advance. Know where you are going and try and take the shortest route. Try to avoid unnecessary backups and trips.

3. Intelligent shopping. Do your shopping on one day a week, get everything you need in one trip. Multiple trips to the store not only affects your gas, it affects your grocery bill, because most people will pick up a few extra things per trip.

4. Plan. Plan your trips, vacations, etc. Try to refrain from many spur of the moment trips.

Just by following these few tips, you can cut back on your gas consumption.

Helping yourself

Many times we get caught up in the problems of the world. Jobs, relationships, money, and hobbies take a good deal of our time. But how often do we do something just for ourselves? If we break down as individuals, how can we help others or even survive?

As men, we have a tendency to push ourselves further then we can, with the belief that we are indestructible. We aren't. We are just as vulnerable today as we were when we were born, and if we don't take care of ourselves, we will break down and sometimes the results are pure tragedy.

To help ourselves, we need to determine what bothers us. Primarily the two things that bother us the most is relationships and money. Everybody is different though. Take some time after work, lock yourself in your room and remove all distractions. Cell phones, pda's, computers, tv, kids, spouse, pets, anything that will break your focus. Get a pen and paper and sit either on the floor or on the bed, anywhere you can make yourself comfortable. Sit in a comfortable position, don't try some yoga position you saw on tv, it really doesn't matter.

Once comfortable, bend yourself over, then slowly straighten up, starting with the base of your spine, and just uncurl. Breathe deeply, drawing the air in through your nose, forcing it down to the bottom of your stomach, and do this for 10 seconds. It may take some time to learn to do this correctly. You are trying to force air and blood circulation to areas that normally don't get any. When you exhale, breath out your mouth, pushing the air from your stomach area out, in a slow controlled fashion. Do this for a few minutes, or until you are relaxed and at peace. Clear your mind when you do this.

Then, let your thoughts flow out and capture the first thing that comes into your head, write it down. Repeat this until you have a few things written down. Analyze what you have down, and think of what you can do to make this worry go away. Once you are done, remove the paper and place it out of sight somewhere that you can't come across it on a daily basis. Focus on one issue and fix it in your mind. When this is done, repeat your breathing excercise until you are relaxed again. This should only take around 15 minutes of your time. The breathing can be repeated anytime you are stressed. If sitting is not an option at work, close your eyes, let your hands hang free, and breathe in and out slowly a few times, let it refresh you.

Sometimes some music or sounds may help, pick your favorite soothing sounds and play them.

Mac users rejoice

Rejoice mac users, your online poker woes have been solved. Macpokeronline is a website specifically designed to find that perfect poker game for mac users. It has extensive tournaments, games, even news and information.

Some people may be hesitant to use an online poker website, but lets be honest, with gas prices as high as they are, why not stay home and get your gambling fix in? The website does not have spyware, malware or virus on it. Their privacy policy also explains they do not sell your private information.

How does one get their money online to do this gambling? They have many means of doing this. PayPal being the main exception, since paypal does not handle gambling transactions.

There is also several types of games on this site as well. You can choose from Texas hold-em( made popular by ESPN of all things) plus several other variations of regular poker. Personally I am a fan of Texas Hold em, its fun bluffing your way to winnings.

Next time you get the urge to gamble, but shudder at high gas prices, head on over, check them out, and have a fun time.

Knoxville Unitarian Church

There was a tragedy that occurred Sunday in Knoxville. A man entered a church with a shotgun, opening fire. He opened fire during a child's play in the church. Two people were killed before male members of the church subdued the attacker.

This man had a degree in mechanical engineering and a nice home. But looking deeper shows more problems. He had a history of violence with his ex-wife, who took out a restraining order against him.

What caused this to happen? Did the pressures of life get to him? Initial reports suggested he went looking for his ex-wife, or that he was mad at the church for not giving him food. Later reports suggest he may have just been trying to have police assisted suicide.

Regardless of the reason or motive, our hearts and prayers go out to the family and members of this church.

Spyware and Virus

Hate them all, hate them all. Ended up with some crazy spyware over the weekend. The Vista Anti-virus. This thing is a bear to get rid of, and be careful googling it. A lot of the sites you come across have you download something specifically designed to get rid of it. Guess what, its spyware as well.

Ad-aware has yet to get rid of this spyware, and McAfee missed it. What I did find and seemed to work is the following steps.

1. Bring up the task manager and kill the process called vav.exe
2. Download Spybot search and destroy( or your spyware remover of choice)
3. Go to your start menu, click run, type msconfig
4. Click the startup tab, uncheck vav.exe
5. Reboot and bring your pc up in safe mode( Click F8 while booting)
6. Run Spybot
7. reboot

This is a very malicious spyware and causes no end of headaches.

Tennessee Tax Free Weekend 2008

Its here, the big weekend. Tennessee is one of few states that has a tax free shopping weekend. From Friday, August 1st till Sunday August 3rd at midnight, sales tax is waved on the following items.

Clothing under $100, school supplies under $100, and computers under $1500. Thats per piece, not a total. There are of course exceptions, and anybody interested should make sure they are aware of them before shopping. This weekend is primarily to help ease the burden of back to school shopping for parents. Kids going off to college, new kids in school, or even returning students.

I am not aware of any store that does not honor this, except maybe those who do not sale anything that meets the requirements. Current sales in most stores are astonishng anyway, especially clothing. With the economy crashing, this is a good way to get the back to school shopping done that needs it.

Penny Pinching

This article is a re-post of an article I posted on associated content which discusses energy savings. This one concerns the utility bill. Some feel this is just something that cannot be changed, but it can be, even if it is a slight change, its still an extra $10 or more dollars a month.

This article discusses what is known as vampire electronics, or electronics that consume power even in their off state. Finding and eliminating them is one of the key means of getting the utility bill even lower. Watts add up over time, and can drive up the cost of your utility bill substantially. Remember to unplug anything that charges over time, once the charge is done, including cell phones, razors and laptops. Switch off the power strip at night for your entertainment center, and turn off the old desktop and monitor. Heaven forbid we may have to wait an additional 15 seconds or so to use the computer or turn on the television.

The first thing you can do is monitor your climate. There is no need to keep the a/c or the heater running at all times. Use the windows, ceiling fans, even blankets to help moderate your indoor temp. When you aren't at home, set the thermostat accordingly. Don't keep your house at a cool 68° during the day, or when out of town on trips. As a nation we are too pampered and complain the minute the temperature is outside our comfort zone. Now, when the time does come to turn on the A/C, shut the windows and doors. This will help cool the house faster.

Next big waste of energy is lights. If you aren't in the room, turn them off. Turn off the porch light as well, or install a motion sensor to turn it on automatically when movement is detected. When a light bulb burns out, replace it with a newer more efficient bulb. These last longer and consume less power. Don't go out and buy up all new lights, it will be expensive, just when the time to replace them comes, cycle them out then.

The final place we will look at is the dishwasher, washer, and dryer. Here are some simple do's and don'ts.

1. Don't wash small loads unless needed. Wait till there are enough clothes to make a full load.
2. Don't over dry. The clothes don't have to come out steaming out, just dry.
3. Do pre-rinse your dishes. Don't keep piling stuff in the dishwasher dirty, and letting it sit. This leads to multiple loads of dishes.
4. Do wash single plates and cups by hand. Just had a sandwich and coke? Wash it by hand; don't waste the dishwasher by doing this.

Hopefully these small tips will help save a few more pennies in this time of economic uncertainty.