Lofty Matters

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Hope you’re having an awesome holiday weekend (here in the US). Here’s a serving of GOOD news to keep up the positive vibe!

Diaper Saves Baby’s Life in Fall

A disposable diaper saved the life of an 18-month-old baby by breaking his fall from a third-floor apartment window in San Paulo, Brazil Thursday.

Caua Felipe Massaneiro survived a 30-foot fall when his diaper happeed to snag on a security spike that was embedded in the concrete wall around his apartment building. The baby dangled from the spike for a bit and then the diaper opened and he fell to the ground. Obviously, he could have been killed by one of those spikes as well.

The baby suffered minor fractures and was said to be in stable condition.

The father is quoted as saying: “It wasn’t the diaper that saved him, it was God.”

In the year 1926, Francisco Garcia married the beautiful young Paulina Calvillo. Eighty-two years later, they preside together over a large and happy family.

He just turned 100. She’s 98. They remain inseparable. They were both born in and lived in Mexico until 1984, when they moved to San Antonio to be with their children.

He was 17 and she was 15 when they married in a small, simple ceremony at a church. Because of limited money there was no big party after the wedding. They had a dinner with a few friends.

The couple saved and finally was able to buy their own farm that would be their home for the next 59 years. They raised cattle and chickens and pigs.

The couple had 10 children, seven boys and three girls. Over the years they endured their share of heartache. One baby was stillborn and another son was stung by a scorpion as a toddler and died. Very recently another son died of cancer.

Together they’ve had 44 grandchildren, 60 great-grandchildren and 16 great-great-grandchildren. There are no divorces in the family - at all! Apparently the commitment that characterizes the couple has been passed down to their heirs.

When asked the secret to his long marriage, Francisco has one, simple answer: “The Lord.”

Study Finds Monkeys Enjoy Giving To Others

Researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center have determined that capuchin monkeys find giving to be a satisfying experience.

Researchers exchanged tokens for food with eight adult female capuchins. Each capuchin was paired off with either a relative, an unrelated familiar female from her own social group, or a stranger (a female from a different group).

The capuchins were next given the choice of two options. The selfish option,which rewarded that capuchin alone with an apple slice; or a prosocial option, which rewarded both capuchins with an apple slice. The monkeys predominantly selected the latter option when paired with a relative or familiar individual but not when paired with a stranger.

It is believed that prosocial behavior is empathy based. Empathy increases in both humans and animals when social closeness is increased.

I am a HUGE fan of online shopping for basically any and all occasion. There is just no way to beat the convenience and in many cases the prices are just as good or better then what you would pay by running around to the stores and wasting all of that time and energy and gas.

Shopping at brick-and-mortars is the absolute WORST during the holiday season. I avoid it at all costs. The lines are horrid enough to keep me home at my laptop spending money in my bunny slippers. No standing in line, braving the cold at 5 am for this bargain shopper! No Way!

In order to get the best deals that are out there on Black Friday 2008, here is a great option for all of the bargain hunters out there. This site even site offers email alerts to let their customers know when new Black Friday ads are up. It is definitely a consumer friendly site that that will simplify all of your shopping needs this upcoming season.

Out of curiosity, I had to go and see exactly what they have to offer. I couldn’t believe the selection of stores they spotlight! They have Macy’s, Toys R Us, Walmart, Amazon, Best Buy, JC Penneys…and this is just a small sampling of the stores they offer information about.

I am very eager to see how utilizing this website to get my shopping organized will work for me. Having help organizing and figuring out all of the advertisements alone makes this very attractive to me. Then when you add in all of the money I will save by having access to all of the sales and shopping online…it just seems like a win-win prospect. There just isn’t any way that this won’t be a great way to shop.

It’s too early to be hearing news like this!

The National Weather Service says areas of northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin could see patchy frost overnight this weekend from Sunday night into Monday morning.

An unusual cold-air mass from Canada will bring lower temperatures. The good news is that warmer air from the central Midwest should replace it by Monday.

These temperatures are uncommon but not completely unheard of. This same area saw temperatures in the 20s at this same time of year in 2004.

On a related note, five weeks ago, snow began falling in Alaska and in northern California nighttime frost started three weeks ago. The Farmers’ Almanac prediction of a brutal, “catastrophic” winter could very well be accurate.

Solar energy is something I find interesting. The concept that we have the technology to utilize the amazing power of the sun to provide the energy needed to run a household’s energy needs is pretty impressive to me.

The necessary solar panels are installed in the roof and from that point there is really little maintenance to worry about (aside from checking to make sure there isn’t a build-up of dirt occurring).

Solar panels are a great idea not only because they positively contribute to the environment, but there are some incentives from the Australian government that help to make this a worthwhile thing to do.

I learned a lot from this site - it is extremely informative and well-presented. I wish they were here in the US where I could utilize this company!

Can you even imagine? I quit buying prepared salads after the salmonella scares from a while ago so I don’t plan on running into any extra protein in my salad…but still…

Removed At Advertiser Request.

University of Washington computer scientists are hard at work to help hearing-impaired people to be able to use sign language over a mobile phone…similar to in Japan or Sweden.

Hearing-impaired people have obviously already been able to use text messages for communication. But the goal is for them to be able to communicate in their language — American Sign Language (ASL). The next step is to convince a commercial cell phone manufacturer to integrate the new MobileASL software before this service becomes widely available.

Unfortunately, two-way real-time video communication is not really possible yet in the US because of low data transmission rates on U.S. cellular networks. Additionally, limited processing power on mobile devices have prevented real-time video transmission with enough frames per second. Communication rates on US cellular networks allow about one-tenth of the data rates as compared with Europe and Asia.

The solution was to design software to work even with this bandwidth limitation. The team discovered that the most important part of the image to transmit in high resolution is around the face. The team developed a way to transmit the person’s face and hands in high resolution with the background transmitted in lower resolution. Currently they are working on a separate feature that identifies when people are moving their hands so that battery consumption can be conserved.

There are some interesting Mazda deals to be had at Orlando Mazda Truck. For a sneak peak and to check out the latest auto deals for a great looking, dependable Mazda, take a look at this website.

I have always liked Mazdas - we owned a Mazda GLC back in the early 90s (actually two now that I think about it) and while I have no idea what GLC stands for, we always joked that it stood for “Good Little Car.” Because it really was! We had very good luck with both of our Mazdas.

There is a nice selection of a variety of Mazdas at this site…many different models to choose from including the Orlando Mazda 3, Orlando Mazda 5, Orlando Mazda 6, Orlando Mazda cx7, and the Orlando Mazda truck.

Tags: orlando mazda 3, orlando mazda 5, orlando mazda 6, orlando mazda cx7 orlando mazda truck

Did you know that the Consumer Reports Money Lab was recently studying ways to cut monthly costs and they are reporting that it is possible for consumers to save up to $500 per month — even when gas and food prices are going up?

Savings shown are Consumer Reports estimates based on what a range of consumers really spend and can possibly save. Actual savings will depend on individual circumstances.

Optimize life insurance — $110

Life-insurance premiums have dropped dramatically since the 1990s. It would definitely pay to replace a policy bought years ago with a new one. Don’t cancel an existing policy until a new one is in place.

Shop smart for food — $200

Making different choices at the grocery store and when eating out can net monthly savings from $130 to $255. The average family of four can cut their grocery bill by $190 a month by shifting to a lower-cost mix of foods.

How to do it: Plan menus around sales of fresh chicken, fish, meat, dairy and produce and be sure to use those leftovers. Stop buying expensive prepared meals. Eat more low-priced, high-nutrition foods such as beans and potatoes. Try out the store brands and sign up for store discount cards.

Stop paying bank fees — $25

Banks collected about $39 billion in account fees and penalties last year. That figures out to about $28 per month per household. With planning, it’s possible to pay nothing.

How to do it: Bank at large institutions that high numbers of ATMs in convenient locations. Shop for free checking and carefully adhere to provisions for a minimum balance, direct deposit or other conditions to avoid monthly fees.

Call up phone savings — $35

It’s possible to net savings from $15 a month for budget callers to $55 per month for heavy users.

How to do it: Look at few months’ phone bills to see how many minutes are typically used on landline and wireless calls. Comparison-shop among cellular service providers, the local phone company and the cable TV company. Don’t buy more service than you need.

Pay off credit cards — $65

Most consumers who carry a balance owe $2,200. This means they pay 15.2 percent in annual interest charges. Cut this and save $28 per month. About 15 % of consumers carry balances of $10,000 or more and they could save $125 per month if they paid off their debt.

How to do it: Stop using your cards and pay more than the minimum required each month until it’s paid off. If you’re strapped for cash use your stimulus check, garage sales or get a part time job.

Find cheaper auto insurance — $65

Many people have stayed with the same auto insurer for 15 years or more. Depending on your individual profile and where you live, you might be able to save hundreds a month by shopping around.

Everybody loves tips that save time or money. When you find a tip that can save both time and money it’s something to get excited about.

Here is one of those tips. If you are an investor, instead of spending countless hours researching stocks, find out what the top funds are buying and selling. You will get the
stock advice you need easily and quickly at TheBuyList.

At TheBuyList you will find these three important features that are a little different from other stock research sites and will undoubtedly make your investment research a very streamlined and effective process.

Easily Find:

• Which mutual funds or hedge funds bought or sold a given stock and any related buy/sell percentages.

• Analytics to important data pertaining to the activity of the funds you are considering.

• A quick comparison of your portfolio regarding mutual fund transactions on the stocks within that portfolio.

Tags: hedge funds, investing, mutual funds, stock research, stock tips, TheBuyList.com