Canceled flights and crammed cabins …
… prove that the skies may be friendly
but airline companies sure as heck aren’t
It Occurred to Me in the Shower Recently . . .
. . . that RIP is really fitting for the tombstone of George de Mestral,
the guy who invented Velcro.
No Need to Gag on Gasoline Prices
If you no longer need a family car — you fly to vacations, walk to the grocery, and take cabs to the dentist — you’ll save yourself tons of money.
You have no car payments, no insurance premiums no maintenance costs, and no need to haul a pocketful of credit cards to the nearest gasoline pump to fill your tank. The money you save buys a ton of cab trips.
The thought of not having a vehicle parked in the garage or driveway makes most people shudder. The thought of conspiracies, government meddling, foreign control, distribution problems, and a host of other reasons, real or imagined, driving up the cost of a gallon of gasoline prompt these same people to carp and complain. Fuel prices are getting as much talk time these days as does the weather.
Just as a few adjustments will help you beat the weather, such as heading south if it’s cold or for the beach if it’s too hot, there are a multitude of moves you can make to avoid being hammered by rising gasoline prices if you don’t want to sell your car.
Plan your trips. If you have a list of chores to do, take a moment to mentally map out the shortest route to combine them all. In other words, don’t drive to the dry cleaners, then drive back home to drop off the clean clothes, and head to the nursery to pick up some houseplants, drop them off at home, and then motor to the supermarket for groceries.
After cutting down on the length of your trips, reduce the number of trips. When you’re not driving, you’re not using gasoline.
Mechanics and motorists pretty well agree that speeding slurps up the gasoline. “Speed limit” driving not only is safer, it saves you money.
At the pump, you don’t always have to buy the highest-rated premium gasoline. Your vehicle manual will tell you the octane-level your vehicle requires.
Keep your tires inflated properly. Under-inflated rubber causes “drag” and requires more fuel to propel your vehicle. Lift the hood and inspect your air filter. If it’s dirty, replace it. If you don’t know where it is, check your manual.
Check the oil level. And the transmission fluid level. Adding oil or fluid when required is no more complicated than pouring coffee into a cup.
That Old “You’re Next” …
. . . poke in the ribs you used to get at weddings
isn’t so funny now that you’re attending funerals.
Dolphins Dance off Clearwater
Everyone scrambled to the back of the boat as the captain gunned the vessel to create a wake he claimed the dolphins can’t resist.
More than half a dozen bottlenose dolphins pranced in, out, over, and under the stern swell as the 40-foot tourist-laden tugboat roared through the emerald Gulf of Mexico waters less than a mile off Clearwater.
After listening to passenger squeals and squeaks of delight for about 20 minutes, he cut the speed and the cavorting cetaceans with the constant grin skittered off.
Dolphins play and prey along this coast of Florida but they also become victims.
A celebrated case is Winter, which lost its tail to a crab trap. It was about three months old when found near Cape Canaveral in late 2005 tangled tightly in the trap’s buoy line.
Rescuers took it to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. The mangled flukes fell off but tender loving care restored the mammal to health.
Winter made history because a coalition of several agencies and experts worked on designing and fitting the dolphin with a prosthetic tail. A movie was made of the entire development.
This marine attraction preaches and practices the three Rs: rescue, rehabilitate and release. Dolphins, otters, sea turtles, sharks, and sting rays are returned to the wild.
It also monitors sea turtle nests that abound on the barrier islands that protect much of this shoreline. The egg-laying season begins May 1 and the last hatchlings head for the open sea in late August.
Many of these newborns need help to guide them to the water because they use the moonlight to get there but city lights and other illumination can confuse them.
As President of the San Diego Press Club . . .
. . . five decades ago, just how long ago that was smacked me in the face as I skimmed over the list of winners of the most recent club journalism awards.
The only names I was a familiar with were those of the long-ago folks the awards were named for.
If Psychics Are so Smart …
. . . how come they aren’t raking in billions of dollars by picking winning lottery numbers, betting on Super Bowl winners, and cashing in on winning race horses so they wouldn’t have to charge you for foretelling your fortune.
Gonna Make a Sign . . .
. . . for the bathroom in my church:
“No Restroom For The Wicked.”
Tightwads Can Have Fun, Too
Be a tightwad.
That doesn’t mean being miserly. You can still enjoy life, dote on your kids and grandchildren and enjoy vacations.
But don’t throw your money around. Rich people don’t.
The road to tightwadism is attained by pinching pennies. That’s also the first step toward saving, which is in the general direction of investing.
One thing requires clarification. Being a penny pincher does not mean you buy “cheap.” It means you make certain you get what you want and good value for what you pay. It doesn’t mean you buy the cheapest cut of steak. It means you buy the cut with the least fat and bone on it.
One of the first things you should do, if you haven’t already, is consolidate as much debt as possible, especially if it’s sizeable. A good working definition of debt is the amount of money still left to pay after you’ve paid all your monthly bills. A mortgage is debt. (Although this can also be considered an investment, which alters the picture.)
A car loan and sizeable credit-card and store bills also are debt. And the interest rate on this type of debt can be expensive.
So, in true tightwad fashion, consider consolidating all this debt into a home-equity loan, on which the interest is much lower than what you’re paying on your credit cards.
If you have to make a major purchase such as a piece of furniture, an appliance, or an automobile, wait until the end of the month to shop. That’s when these business operators are anxious to meet monthly sales quotas. Before you go out to make such a purchase, take a hard look at what you intend to replace to see if it can be repaired or last another couple of years.
It’s also a good idea to buy appliances in the off-season. Buy an air-conditioner in winter and a furnace during the summer.
You can pinch pennies around the house without even noticing it. Repair leaky faucets and replace your light bulbs with florescent lighting. Open your drapes during winter to let the sun warm up your home. Close them during summer to keep it cool inside.
Grocery shopping is a constant, so make a list of things you can buy in bulk — sugar, flour and condiments, for example — to save cents. And cook your own meals instead of calling for delivery. Chinese food and pizza can be made at home for less cost and in about the same time it takes to be delivered.
Shop around for generic drugs. Get approval from your doctor and druggist to do so. Then you can slash prices on some of your medicines.
When you shop for clothing, avoid anything with a label requiring “dry cleaning.” Washable clothing is just as good-looking and just as comfortable.
Mature Life Features 