Finance
- ActiveRain: Not just a Network 7 hours ago The Mortgage & More Blog
ActiveRain is so much more to so many different people. I think that one
thing that we all can agree to is that it is definitely a place to build and nurture friendships.One of the great things that this place has afforded me is the many different connections that I have made in the past. And now, I have been awarded yet another. It is amazing that one day I get an email from a member here in the rain that ask for my mailing address. I never ask what they are sending. I kind of forgot that she even asked for the address. So, I have to say A Great BIG THANK YOU to Kara Casamassina for the above. This is actually a chocolate covered pretzel that she picked up for me while out and about. If you do not know Kara, you need to check her out. Awesome blogger and an even better friend.
- I am Appalled after..... 18 hours ago The Mortgage & More Blog
reading this story. It really makes no sense why a person would do this to another human being. What really gets me is the fact that if caught, this "pour soul" with get a "fair trail" of his peers. He might get off if his lawyer is good enough. He might get time in prison. But, for him, that might be bad. He gets 3 square meals a day and free health care, things that are not always a guarantee in the outside world.
But, I have a problem with this. In the old days, it was basically an eye for an eye. If you are caught stealing, then they cut of your hand. If you are caught killing your fellow man, then you too are killed. The very fact that this could be your fate kept the crime down.
Overall, our prison is overrun with these types of people. We, the American Tax Payer, are the ones that pay their debts. And in an economy that is as stressed as ours, I for one am up for strict laws. Though this will sound extreme, image what message you would send to a potential murderer if they witness someone that loses there life immediately after being convicted.
I am not saying it is right, but neither is the senseless type of killing like this.
- Arizona Home Builder Incentives 2 days ago Arizona New Homes and Home Builders Blog
Below are home builder incentives and information about Arizona real estate. All information was found in the Arizona Republic on October 11, 2008. The home builder incentives and events are considered reliable, but please contact each home builder or visit their website for more information about their mentioned event, incentives, location, sales pricing and disclaimer(s). If [...] - It is all about them 2 days ago The Mortgage & More Blog
Today, after seeking the advise of some of trusted friends here in the Rain, I have decided to start yet another series. With that being said, it is not a series that is going to be published here in the rain. This series is using a new twist that I have used for a month on Mortgage and More Blog and Athletic Alley. The series that runs on those sites are designed to promote sports bloggers for the Athletic Alley series and a variety of bloggers for the M&M Blog. It's primary fuction will be to draw attention to the professionals blog and their business page.
With Mortgage and More Blog being a Real Estate/Mortgage based blog, the new series will be based on it. The reason is because this is an outside blog that I use that has it's own readership outside of the Rain. And since that readership is starting to grow, what better way to gain some additional exposure for these blogging professionals.
*Update* I might have left some confusion out there with this. After seeing a few emails and the first 2 comments, I wanted to clarify something. The new series that is being started is to promote professionals in the Real Estate/Mortgage industries only. It is designed to promote them as well as their websites and their blogs.
- Tampa Bay: Uncharted Territory 2 days ago The Mortgage & More Blog
The 2008 Tampa Bay Rays are in uncharted waters for them as a team. It has taken them just 11 years to get here and now they are ready to sieze their destiny. What is amazing is that some of the stats from 1998 are completely opposite of the 2008 stats. And some of the 1998 states are completely identical. Which ones? Well, click the link to see the list.
- We're Going to Disney World!! 2 days ago The Mortgage & More Blog
It's a small world after all. That was the song that was stuck in my head the last time I went to Disney World. As a matter of fact, living just 2 hours south of Orlando for 2 years actually allowed me several vacations to Disney World. That was when I decided that Disney is not just for children anymore.
I have to tell you that Disney World might have been the one of the best vacations that I have ever had. We had a nine day trip
planned and it was great. We arrived on a Saturday and left on a Sunday. With check in at 2 and check out at 10, you could just say that we were there for 8 days, but the issue with that is they allowed us to check in at 10 AM as long as we promised to not go to the room till 2 pm and when we checked out, we still took in another park.We took in each and every park while we were there. We rode all the rides that we wanted to and some of them multiple times. We visited the water parks. We too in Orlando and went to a dinner theater. From rides like space mountain and splash mountain to Sorin and Mission:Space to the Rock n Roller Coaster and the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, there is always something for the adult in you to do.
With all those listed, there are still a ton of kid rides around to. And not just the rides, there are a ton of shows that one can attend. We actually sat in on a "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" and I so wanted to get in the chair.
What is really great about this place is that you can always get discount Disney world tickets. All you have to do is know where to look. Also, you have to make sure that you experience the restaurants from some of the resorts. The head chefs at these places are the best in the world.
- The New Sobriety Test 3 days ago The Mortgage & More Blog
Some people just do not know when to shut up and take what they have been given. I found this video and I thought that everyone would enjoy the laugh like I did. I have never seen a sobriety test quit like this one. I guess the dumb ones give it up sooner or later. - Vending Machines: A great source of income 3 days ago The Mortgage & More Blog
Vending machines have been around forever. Almost everywhere you you go today, you see vending machines. Malls, high schools, offices, warehouses,
and this list can go on and on. Vending Machines cn become a full time or part time business for anyone that wants to take on the chores of it.Back in 2005, I decided to get into the vending machine business on a small scale. The reason that I was getting involved was the office that I was running never could find a vendor that was worth a crap. So, I decided to get on the phone and find my own machines. I wish I had heard of
1800vending.com before I had bought my snack and soda vending machine. I would definitely done it different.Instead of being able to have a single Vending Machine that would dispense both sodas and snacks, I was forced to get two separate machines. The biggest issue to this is two fold. The first is the cash outlay that is required on these machines and the second is the space required to set up these machines.
I had thought about starting my own Vending Machine Franchise, but frankly I did not have the time or money to lay out for these machines. Now that I think about it, they are such a great idea knowing that you can get the product for a reduced price and then resale at a retail rate. There is no money spent by the facility that is housing the machine, yet their personnel can get great products.
- A Positive Attitude Makes a Difference 3 days ago The Mortgage & More Blog
Brigita shares a very powerful message here. It is one that we all need to think about when times are tough. Whether it is physical, emotional, or physiological, there is nothing that we can not overcome if we choose to.
When I read her post, it made me think of an email that I got from an old high school buddy. I wanted to share this exertion from that email.
"In 90 I found out I had Muscular Dystrophy, I'm now in a wheelchair fulltime...boo-hoo-hoo...BS, I'm so happy, married a wonderful girl in 95 & now have a awesum 12yo son. I'll never complain! I look back @ my HS yrs & present life, there r sooo many ppl that have it worse! So many kids on drugs, abused, in pain...I'm great!"
Via Brigita McKelvie - Lehigh Valley, PA, Residential, Rural & Horse Properties:I found this story about a positive attitude and I think everyone can learn from it. I do not know who the author is.
Michael is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"
He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Michael was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Michael and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?" Michael replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or ... you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or...I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.
"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested. "Yes, it is," Michael said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life." I reflected on what Michael said.
Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
Several years later, I heard that Michael was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Michael was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.
I saw Michael about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied "If I were any better, I would be twins! Want to see my scars?" I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place. "The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon to be born daughter, "Michael replied. "Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or ...I could choose to die. I chose to live." "Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked. Michael continued, "...the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read "he's a dead man. I knew I needed to take action." "What did you do?" I asked. "Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me,"said Michael. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. "Yes, I replied." The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, "Gravity." Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."
Michael lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.
"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.
I hope we all take a lesson from this story and put it to use. I think we can all use a positive attitude in our every day lives. We'll all feel better.
- Political Points of View - One man's rant 3 days ago The Mortgage & More Blog
After sitting and listening to the debate between Obama and McCain, I have about had my fill of this political BS. When all I hear is how the other is so bad, it makes me sick to even hear about who can be in charge. As far as I am concerned, maybe it is time that we turn the country over to Warren Buffett and let him run it like he ran his companies. In the end we would be better off.
1 Corinthians 13:11 - "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me."
That is not what that debate was about, It might be the worst that I have heard. It made me so sick on hearing it. And what is worse is there are people right here in ActiveRain that is the same way. I hear "I hope that Obama does not win cause we are going to have such a bad country if he does" or I hope McCain does not win because he will destroy America". If you truly believe either one of those, then maybe you need to be perparing to leave America.
*NEWS FLASH* One of them is going to win whether you like it or not.
What ever happen to the good ole days when we voted for people because of what they promise to do and not because of all the trash that we could dig up on the other candidate. "Oh, but that is not right because we are taking away freedom of speech".
Well, frankly I am sick and tired of having 4 million people shoving their opinions in my face about which one I should vote for. What gives you the right to force your opinions on me. This is my life and I can make a decision for myself. Maybe it is time that we start talking about what one of these guys can do for our beloved country so that we can get the right one in the White House instead of sitting here bitching about what the other is doing wrong or has done wrong in the past.
If you want to dig up garbage on people, you might want to think about what lies in your own closet before you go trashing someone else. One thing that my grandmother taught me that will stay with me for life is this. "Before you talk about another person's dirty home, make sure that yours can past the white glove test".
I challegne anyone that reads this to step forward if you are that perfect. I will end with this statement.
If you ain't got anything good to say, then shut the hell up.
