COME ON AMERICA SHOW YOUR STUFF NOW

Call the American Red Cross NOW!

The Red Cross is a great place to start:


You can find your local chapter here to learn what you can do:

DID YOU REMEMBER

IT'LL BE A ICE BLUE CHRISTMAS AROUND HERE

Well today I got my heating bill, I heat with natural gas. It's the last one of the summer, although it's a bit higher this year than last. I guess it's been a little cooler in Sept-Oct.

Anyway in with my bill was a notice that a rate increase (they call it an adjustment) had been approved. According to the notice I get a 25.3 % increase, man when I was working I would have loved to gotten half that much in a raise.

This notice also estimated I'd see about a $14.20 increase in my monthly bill. WRONG. I keep track of my monthly payments always have and I can tell you it's going to be about double that or $25.48 per month.

I thought that we had tons of Natural GAS in this country. Where did I hear that?

HOW TO PREPARE FOR ONE REALLY QUICK GETAWAY

A quick foot note (can foot notes be at the top of an article). I think if you decide to follow the ideas and suggestions as I am, you should include PIN #, Password and User ID's. Having said that you need to consider they type of SanDisk you buy.

Also I think this is aproject that requires more than just a weekend. This is important stuff and as long as your going to do it for god's sake why not do it right. Ok Mick, I didn't mean to piss you off.

Here is what else you have to do to protect your records and yourself:

RECORD: Once you have made your basic list, save it on a U.S.B. flash drive. A 256-megabyte drive, which you can buy for $20 or even less if you catch a store promotion, gives you enough space for that file and all the other suggestions mentioned below.

Several of the big flash drive makers, like SanDisk and Lexar Media, are now selling more advanced drives that allow you to encrypt the data so others cannot read it without knowing the alphanumeric key that unlocks the code. Some are even shock proofed with heavier rubber and plastic coatings. Those will cost about $10 to $20 more, but are certainly worth it when you consider the sensitivity of the data on them.

It is also a good idea to copy the contents onto additional drives for backup and for other members of the family.

BONUS: When you are listing the credit cards, also note the credit limits so you will know how much you could spend in an emergency. If your credit cards are at their limits now, you are not going to have any cushion to fall back on. So start paying off balances, beginning with the card carrying the highest interest rate.

SCAN: Some important documents are on paper and you will want copies of them with you: tax returns for the last three years (Form 1040 is all you will need in an emergency), a recent pay stub, birth certificates, marriage license, the deed to your home and insurance policy pages that list your coverage. If you do not have a scanner or a printer with a flat scanner, take the pile of documents down to a copy center like Kinko's to scan. Record the image files on the U.S.B. drive.

BONUS: Take the opportunity to check your insurance coverage for potential disasters like flooding. With homes appreciating in value, you may also find you need to increase coverage.

Part 3 tomorrow.

OTHERS ARE WONDERING TOO

Oh what a tangled web we weave,

When first we practice to deceive!

. . .Sir Walter Scott

Last night on Tim Russert Show on CNBC he had a round table discussion on the CIA LEAK. For one of the few times in all this mess I heard a quit, reasonable discussion on what had happened, including the one question that has been on my mind for months. In fact I talked about it here on 10/27/5.

Tim came back from break and asked the following question "What's the big deal if Joe Wilson's wife is involved in sending him on this trip." The answer they came up with is the kind you might expect and is probably right, but I still feel it shows something else and that is these guys are childish.

I get the feeling that one of the panelist, Pete Williams is a bit of a Bush apologist. I don't have any video of it but that's my take on how he talked about Joe Wilson.

Click to watch. <----( watch the video here )

HE'S ONCE, TWICE, THREE, FOUR, FIVE TIMES A LIAR

Is Libby an influential White House adviser who lied? Or is he a man with a hectic schedule who happens to remember events differently from the reporters and administration figures who will eventually be called to testify against him?

"As lawyers, we recognize that a person's recollection and memory of events will not always match those of other people, particularly when they are asked to testify months after the events occurred," Libby's lawyer, Joseph Tate, said in a statement.

A busy schedule is no reason to lie.

ONE DAY TO GO

PRETTY GOOD JOKE

An Old Farmer's Advice:

* "I made a wrong mistake." . . . Yogi Berra

THIS IS NO JOKE