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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-01-16

Misc

  • Dora the Explorer is singing about cocaine. Is that why my kids have so much energy? #
  • RT @prosperousfool: Be the Friendly Financial “Stop” Sign http://bit.ly/67NZFH #
  • RT @tferriss: Aldous Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’ in a one-page cartoon: http://su.pr/2PAuup #
  • RT @BSimple: Shallow men believe in Luck, Strong men believe in cause and effect. Ralph Waldo Emerson #
  • 5am finally pays off. 800 word post finished. Reading to the kids has been more consistent,too. Not req’ing bedtime, just reading daily. #
  • Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse: morbid story from my childhood. Still enthralling. #
  • RT @MoneyCrashers: Money Crashers 2010 New Year Giveaway Bash – $7,400 in Cash and Amazing Prizes http://bt.io/DDPy #
  • [Read more…] about Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-01-16

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-06-12

Misc

Oklahoma Tornadoes

News

English: A radar image of a supercell thunders...
A radar image of a supercell thunderstorm, which was producing tornado that was passing through Moore, Oklahoma at the time of the image. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My heart goes out to all of the victims of yesterday’s tornado in Moore, Oklahoma.

I couldn’t imagine hearing that my kids’ school was demolished around them.  Twenty or more dead children in any community is devastating.

On top of the sheer horror of dead children, the town is nearly wiped off of the map.  Will they rebuild or cut their losses?

I hope everyone in the town was well insured, but that’s never the case.  There will be many in the town that will have lost everything: their homes, their families, their jobs.   Family is irreplaceable, but so is your home, if you don’t have insurance.    To lose it all and not even have a place to mourn….

Have you checked your insurance policy to make sure you are covered in the event of whatever natural disaster is common in your area?

To help the victims, text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.  It’s the least you can do.

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Yakezie Challenge – I’m In

Misc

After watching the Yakezie Challenge progress for 6 months and reading the recap, I’ve decided to participate. Maybe I’m a jerk for waiting until I saw the value instead of immediately jumping in, but I hope not.

The goal for stage 1 was to get to Alexa rank 200,000.  I’m currently at 533,108.  Six months ago, I was at about 1.8 million, so I’ve improved quite a bit on my own, but I’ve still got a ways to go.

So, here I am.

”The

Be Prepared or Be Me

Finance, Life

Hail clouds often exhibit a characteristic gre...
Image via Wikipedia

We had some nasty storms roll through over the weekend. There was a lot of tornado-ish activity, 70 mile-an-hour gusts of wind, hail, and an electrical blackout.  For almost 24 hours, we were living in the stone age, with nothing but smartphones for internet, and high-lumen flashlights being used to see.   With no cartoons for the girls, we were forced to read them bed-time stories, while my son and his friends were forced to use their imaginations to entertain themselves.

Every time we called, the electric company added 12 hours to their estimated repair time.   Amazingly, they came in 7 hours ahead of schedule, if you don’t count the first two revisions.

By Saturday afternoon, we were out shopping for things we should have already had ready.

For years, we had discussed buying a generator.  For some reason, it never became a priority.  We have a large freezer and refrigerator full of food.   With no electricity, a generator was suddenly prioritized.   All of the places near us were sold out of budget-priced generators when we decided it was better to drop $400 on that than to lose $600 worth of food.   We did find one, eventually, but it would have been better to take it out of the garage than have to shop for it when we needed it.   Naturally, 10 minutes after we got it home, the power came on.  Do yourself a favor:  if you own a home and have a small corner available for storage, start shopping for a generator. Pick one up on sale instead of waiting until you have no real choice.

We have a ton of batteries.  It’s one of the things we stock up on when they are on sale.  Unfortunately, our broadest-beam flashlight takes a 6-volt battery, and we don’t keep a spare.   By the end of the night, it was getting pretty yellow and dim.  Another night would have killed it completely.   This wasn’t a widespread blackout, so there was no shortage of batteries, but it would have been nice to have the spare already at home.  Check your emergency supplies and make sure you have replacement batteries that fit everything you need.

The one thing that would have improved the night most is a good lantern.   We had our 5, plus two of my son’s friends all trying to play board games by flashlight.  A lantern could have been set on the entertainment center and lit most of the room.

For everything we were without due to the blackout, the one thing I truly missed was the air conditioner.  When the storm died, so did the wind.  Completely.   Opening all of the windows didn’t help at all.   Other than that, it was nice to have everyone forced to interact.   Nobody was whining about being bored and we were all having fun.

I want to schedule a pseudo-blackout more often.