Fuel Use Comparison

This impressive graph is courtesy of GoodMagazine.com.

el liquido milagroso

An incredible story about a possibly game changing discovery that's apparently been around for decades. As reported in today's LA Times Business section.

Happy Birthdays, Benjamin and Fanny!

Algunos cumpleaños son más memorables que otros.

Fox Guarding The Hen House

photo by seretuaccidente

I was the victim of identity theft recently.

My credit card, Capital One, did a masterful job of stemming the losses. They called to ask about some charges they identified as 'suspicious'. Three charges were attempted within a few hours of one another in Virginia somewhere, and all for less than $20. One to York Photo, one to Blockbusters and one to a charitable organization, the USO!

How they sussed that out so quickly and accurately was impressive.

So then I went online to order my free credit report like they always recommend you do, especially if your identity has been pilfered. I went to the website for Experian.com and pulled up credit reports for me and for Judy. They came up clean, much to our relief.

I was surprised when I got my American Express bill this month and found two identical charges of $16.15 from someone called CIC Triple Advantage. A quick Google search yielded some more surprising information. CIC is apparently connected to Experian and in the process of securing my 'free' credit report, I was tricked into subscribing to a credit monitoring service! CIC has been the target of "multiple class action lawsuits and over 7000 complaints with the Better Business Bureau!"

Fortunately, the first 'hit' from my Google search brought me to a site called Knowsy.com and the page it publishes in regard to this scam offered the information I needed to get the situation fixed.

Calling CIC, I got them to agree to cancel my 'subscription'. But they refused to refund the charges they had already placed. For that they've earned two more complaints filed to the BBB and to the NYS Attorney General's office. Happily, my American Express card folks removed the charges in a heartbeat and with no questions asked! Now THAT'S service.

So, be careful out there. Even the guys you think are on our side seem more than happy to slip their hand into your pocket when you're not looking. While you're at it. Check out Knowsy.com. Their page on this issue contains a lot of great information AND a link to a site where you can get an actual and truly FREE credit report!

Warren Buffett is one of my modern heroes. The man is an incredible success as measured by capitalism, and yet he is down-to-earth, practical and enjoys a relatively modest lifestyle. He's in many ways the personification of a 20th-21st century Ben Franklin, bright, industrious, affable and bubbling with good ideas and philanthropic goodwill.

Mix that up with a little, who'duh thunkit, ukulele and...

... the video featured at Boing-Boing.com is a hoot!

An inspiring construction story herein...

via GroovyGreen.com

(Geek Alert) Stack the Memory To The Sky!

From the Sniper Twins.

Yak-Trax, Hell 'bent and Lesbian Pulp-Fiction

At 5:50 a.m. it was still pretty dark outside and my thermometer said 9F. Hot coffee and the internet were the first orders of the day.

Even though it's too damn cold and icy for ME to ride, the group of us, or at least a small sub-set, are still 'Hell 'bent for Breakfast'. I had decided that I would walk the 2.6 miles to Webb's Cafe and Diner and so I had to warm myself and get psyched for the trek.

After glancing to see who was alive and on Facebook at that hour, I drifted over to my NewsGator and noticed a new post on a blog I follow, dykestowatchoutfor.com titled "Do you know what bonk-buster means? I didn't" Well, I didn't either, so I definitely had to go read THAT one.

That discussion of course led me to urbandictionary.com and to the OED and ultimately to a fascinating article in Slate by June Thomas that talks about why Secret Service Agents are such a popular character in Lesbian Pulp Fiction.

Who even knew there was such a genre?!!! Or that bonkbuster refers to novels with lots of sex?!!!

So I had lots to ponder on my walk home from breakfast with the guys. And as I pondered, I crested Monroe Ave at Cobbs Hill on icy sidewalks and a jogger approached. She struggled to maintain her grip on the hard slick pebbled surface in running shoes that looked very out of place for the conditions. I climbed a snowy bank to give her room to more safely pass and as she did, I lifted one foot and pointed to my sole and said, simply, "Yak-Trax". Her nod of ascent told me she appreciated the advice.

RAAM & the TeamType2

Yeah, our good buddy Denny Voorhees of Sayre, PA will be racing across America in June with seven other racers all of whom have Type 2 Diabetes. And just to be sure it's tough enough, he's gotta do it on a DF. Ouch!

Luckily Den's got the right stuff.

And speaking of the right stuff, Tommie Blecher has stepped up to the plate.

Each of the racers in the team has to recruit 2 people for support crew and our man Blecher has answered the call. Traveling in a van for 7 days across America, helping with driving, navigating, spotting, cooking and etc. Sponsors for the team provide enough resource so that transportation to and from the race start and finish, accommodations and food for team support members is paid.

If the dates didn't conflict with the R2k, I'd seriously consider it. Sounds like a hoot!

Well, we'll be pullin' for ya, Den! And you know you'll get plenty of sympathy in this corner for your sore nether regions!

TeamType2

Afghanistan, Musical cross-currents

An American experiences a musical journey in a land far away and now inextricably linked to our own.

Courtesy of GlobalPost.com

That Facebook Thing

At the invitation of my Peruana amiga, Eli, I joined Facebook about a year ago. I hooked up at that time with one other 'friend' we had in common, Natasha (Natou) in France.

But it never clicked. My Facebook page just sat there. Every now and again, I'd get an email from some unknown individual wanting to 'friend' me. Into the trash they went. That was the extent of my Facebook involvement.

Until recently.

Teresa and then Dave, in rapid succession, added me as friends. And then, two days before our mutual birthday, my (hmmm... 15 year old?) niece, Courtney added me.

Now Courtney, due in part to her age, and then also to her very sociable nature, is part of a much larger Facebook social network containing, in addition to her school chums and the like, many of our family members as well.

So I've been quickly drawn up into the chatter of Facebook, now with nieces and nephews, friends here at home and abroad. It's fun! I got chatted up by another niece, Marcella, last night before we both had to head off toward homework.

So what's all the hubub about? A waste of time? Perhaps. But I'm connecting more with family and friends and even though in a largely and seemingly superficial way, still I get the feeling that there's something there, something useful. So for now, I'm going with it, I'll see where it leads.

Rochester-iana

One of the sites I enjoy is Shorpy.com, "Always Something Interesting." Every day, this site offers anywhere from one to four vintage photographs of Americana, many of everyday things, sometimes by famous photographers, frequently culled from the archives of the Library of Congress.

Today's offering was by the famous and fabulous Lewis Wickes Hine and portrayed none other than our own fair city. In this case, a group of newsies in 1910 shooting craps.

It looks for all the world like the Court St. Bridge in the background.

Judy said, "Is your dad in there?", but of course in 1910, it would more likely have been my grandfather. Alas, as near as I could tell, he was not to be found. In fact, he didn't live in Rochester until at least the 1920s, I think.

Cool Gear from Recycled Bike Stuff

Eco-Velo Blog already covered this, but I thought it was too cool not to try to spread around more. Too bad my birthday just passed, some of this stuff would have been on my list!

Alchemy Goods

While you're at it, check out Steel Toe Studios for more cool recycled stuff.

¡Bienvenidos a mi mundo!

Today I am taking off from work for my birthday and I will try to do nothing productive all day and see if I can survive that. :-)

Last night our latest Peruana, Rosa Canales, arrived to begin her two-month stay with us while she does clinical rotation at the U of R. As I write, Judy is taking her and Katia, who is staying with another family in the neighborhood, both to Strong Hospital for their first day there.

Rochester is cold and gray and very icy this morning, and they walked to the bus stop together... well, actually, they stumbled there... Katia wore heels and Rosa had the thickest leather coat I've ever seen. They called me to come bring the car because it was too much adventure for their first lesson in Mass Transit in Rochester.

SCORE! (Mikey Wanted More Music)

Seth Augustus learned Tuvan Throat singing at the feet of the legendary Paul Peña. Then he traveled to Tuva to build upon and deepen his skills. Finally, he returned here and grafted that style onto American blues to come up with a highly original sound, one that's earthy, moody and ethereal. His self-published CD is called To The Pouring Rain. You can hear some tracks streamed from his website here.

Normally I Detest The 'Year-End-Look-Back'

However, when Uncle Jay Explains...




Thanks to Karen Managan who shared this one with me.