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Vol. 29, No. 10 • October, 2011 / www.Freeman-Spicer.com
[Remembering Eli Spicer 1914-2009] - It’s what you do for others that helps you succeed in Life!
Preparing For The Inevitable . . . . . . In addition to making a will and filling out other estate planning documents, it’s also vital to have a master information document with all the information your family will need to take care of your affairs. This should include account locations, numbers, and passwords; a list of emergency contacts; final arrangements; and so on. (You can download free planning documents at many sites including - EmergencyBinder.com. If something should happen to you, your family doesn’t need the additional stress of trying to guess at your assets, liabilities and obligations and how to find them. Just do it. (Entrepreneur)
New Teacher vs Little Larry. . . . . . . A new teacher was trying to make use of her psychology courses. She started her class by saying, “Everyone who thinks they’re stupid, please stand up!” After a few seconds, Little Larry stood up. The teacher said, “Do you think you’re stupid, Larry? “No ma’am”, said Larry. “But I hate to see you standing there all by yourself!”
Later the teacher was teaching math and saw that Larry wasn’t paying attention in class. She called on him and said, “Larry! What are 2 and 4 and 28 and 44?” Larry quickly stood up and replied, “NBC, Fox, ESPN and the Cartoon Network!”
Larry’s class was on a field trip to their local police station where they saw pictures tacked to a bulletin board of the 10 most wanted criminals. One of the youngsters pointed to a picture and asked if it really was the photo of a wanted person. “Yes,” said the policeman. “The detectives want very badly to capture him.” Larry asked, “Why didn’t you keep him when you took his picture?” (B. Levy)
40 Winks? . . . . . . Life is hard, and mammals need their z’s to slog through it. But why does a chipmunk need about 15 hours of shut-eye a day, when a giraffe needs only 4.5? One answer, says UCLA sleep researcher Jerome Siegel, lies in the varied ways animals have adapted to be energy efficient and to stay safe. Consider elephants, which nod off just three-plus hours a day. “To be so big, they have to eat most of the time,” Siegel says. In contrast, it makes evolutionary sense for brown bats to conserve energy except during the few hours a night when their insect prey is out. A platypus also can feed less and slumber more (14 hours). Why? Maybe because just a little crustacean meal packs a huge caloric punch. As for safety, those mammals that nap in hiding, like bats or rodents, tend to have longer, deeper snoozes than those on constant alert. Of course, a few beasts can slumber anytime anywhere. Says Siegel, “Who’s going to mess with a sleeping lion? Giraffes sleep briefly and lightly, which is logical for animals that nap out in the open.
24-hour sleep average for adult mammals (in captivity):
Horse = 2.9 hours Chimpanzee = 9.7 hours Cat = 12.5 hours
Cow = 4.0 hours Little Brown Bat = 19.9 hours Lion = 13.5 hours
Human = 8.0 hours Giant Armadillo = 18.1 hours Dog = 10.1 hours
Rabbit = 8.4 hours House Mouse = 12.5 hours Red Fox = 9.8 hours
(National Geographic)
What A Mistake . . . . . I heard a story not long ago about a man named Bob, who sent flowers to a friend who was opening a new restaurant. When Bob arrived at the grand opening, he looked for the flowers he had sent. Well, when he found them, he saw that the florist had accidentally sent a white wreath that said, “May you rest in peace.” He panicked, of course, and called the florist, who said.......”Bob, I’m not as worried about you because as we speak, there’s a guy being buried who got a dozen roses that said, Good luck in your new location!” (Fournier)
Track Your Stolen Laptop For Free . . . . . Owning a laptop is a great convenience. It lets you work, have fun and connect with people from anywhere. But with this mobility comes danger. I’m talking about theft. It’s bad enough when someone steals from you, but your laptop likely has tons of personal information. This is why “Prey” was developed. It’s a free program that works to track your laptop should anyone try and steal it. As soon as the thief turns on the laptop, prey will try to broadcast its location. Even if it isn’t connected to the Internet, Prey will try to find the nearest open hotspot. All you need to do is send the laptop a message from your phone or another computer. Prey gives you a slew of other features as well. You can take screen shots to see what’s happening on the screen. You can hide personal information like stored passwords remotely. You can even activate the Webcam to get mug shots of the criminal. Cost - Free - usable on Windows XP, Vista, & Mac OS X. (Kim Komando)
Cable Bills Increasing . . . . . With two huge deals having been made public:
ESPN agreed to pay annually for Monday Night Football a price of $1.9 billion - up from $1.1 billion - and - NBC agreeing to pay $4.38 billion for TV rights to the next four Olympics. Comcast which owns 51 percent of NBCUniversal, has said it plans to charge higher distribution fees to make the deal profitable. What’s behind those bigger cable bills. The top cable networks, their average 2011 primetime audience, and what they charge pay-TV system operators per subscriber:
USA = 2.97 million viewers at $0.60 per month. Disney Channel = 2.59 million viewers at $0.94 per month. TNT = 2.33 viewers at $1.16 per month. ESPN = 2.0 million viewers at $4.69 per month. Fox News Channel = 1.86 million viewers at $0.78 per month. (Bloomberg BusinessWeek)
Which TV To Purchase . . . . . . . Things to know before buying a TV:
• Plasma: heavy, best black contrast. LCD: cheaper, thin. LED: very bright, very contrasty, very expensive.
• Contrast ratio is unregulated. One company’s 500,000:1 is another company’s 2,000,00:1.
• On a TV 42 inches or smaller, most people’s eyes cannot tell the difference between 720p and 1080p.
• The $3 HDMI cable found online is just as good as the $80 one in the store.
• The refresh rate is the number of times a screen refreshes its image per second, measured in hertz. 60Hz is good. 120Hz is better. 240Hz in overkill. (Esquire)
When To Purchase Gas . . . . . . Never (fill up) on a Sunday. Or a Friday or Saturday, for that matter. Gas prices typically rise over the weekend; most station owners post the new prices Thursday mornings by 10 AM. To find the best price near you no matter what day it is, download the free GasBuddy app to your Android phone or iPhone and search by proximity or lowest price. (If you don’t have a smart phone, log on to GasBuddy.com before you leave the house). (Kiplinger)
Was This Really A Craig’s List Ad . . . . . To the guy who tried to mug me in downtown Savannah the night before last: I was the guy wearing the black Burberry jacket that you demanded that I hand over, shortly after you pulled the knife on me and my girlfriend, threatening our lives. You also asked for my girlfriend’s purse and earrings. I can only hope that you somehow come across this rather important message. First, I’d like to apologize for your embarrassment; I didn’t expect you to actually poop in your pants when I drew my pistol after you took my jacket. The evening was not that cold, and I was wearing the jacket for a reason. My girlfriend was happy that I just returned safely from my 2nd tour as a Combat Marine in Afghanistan. She had just bought me that Kimber Custom Model 1911 .45 ACP pistol for my birthday, and we had picked up a shoulder holster for it that very evening. Obviously you agree that it is a very intimidating weapon when pointed at your head, isn’t it? I know it probably wasn’t fun walking back to wherever you’d come from with poop in your pants. I’m sure it was even worse walking bare-footed since I made you leave your shoes, cell phone, and wallet with me. [That prevented you from calling or running to your buddies to come help mug us again.] After I called your mother or “Momma” as you had her listed in your cell, I explained the entire episode of what you’d done. Then I went and filled up my gas tank as well as those of four other people in the gas station . . . . on your credit card. The guy with the big motor home took 153 gallons and was extremely grateful! I gave your shoes to a homeless guy outside Vinnie Van Go Go’s, along with all the cash in your wallet. [That really made his day.] I then threw your wallet into the big pink “pimp mobile” that was parked at the curb . . . . after I broke the windshield and side window and keyed the entire driver’s side of the car. Earlier, I managed to get in two threatening phone calls to the DA’s office and one to the FBI, while mentioning President Obama as my possible target. The FBI guy seemed really intense and we had a nice long chat (I guess while he traced your number etc.). In a way, perhaps I should apologize for not killing you . . . but I feel this type of retribution is a far more appropriate punishment for your threatened crime. I wish you well as you try to sort through some of these rather immediate pressing issues, and can only hope that you have the opportunity to reflect upon, and perhaps consider the career path you’ve chosen to pursue in life. Remember, next time you might not be so lucky. Have a good day! Thoughtfully yours, Semper Fi, Alex (Derrick)
Four Shots You May Need . . . . . .
■ Influenza: (Seasonal flu) - Who needs it? All adults. How often? Every year. Yet only 41% of adults get annual shots. Average cost at retail clinic = $30.
■ Pneumococcal: (pneumonia, meningitis) - Who needs it? Adults age 65 or older; smokers; those with asthma. How often? Once in your lifetime; four-fifths of those in at-risk groups miss out. Average cost at retail clinic = $77.
■ Tetanus, Pertussis, Diphtheria: (whooping cough) - Who needs it? All adults. How often? Full vaccine once, then a booster every 10 years; 49% of adults don’t keep up-to-date. Average cost per retail clinic = $92.
■ Zoster: (shingles) - Who needs it? Adults age 60 and older; only 10% have had the vaccine. How often? Once. Average cost per retail clinic = $22
(CDC/ Retail Clinics)
“The successful man is the one who finds out what is the matter with his business before his competitors do.” (Roy L. Smith)
Sincerely,
Edward C. Levy
President