The Great Expert Blog

Gary Hemsely was running for some county political position I’ve forgotten which one now. What I do remember is that he was a member of my church at the time.

Sometimes a pastor can get between the Rock of Ages and a politician without trying too hard. That seemed to be my predicament with Gary. In all things political, I have maintained one basic philosophy: Ask not what your country can do for you, just get out and vote.

I must admit, there are times when it is tempting to throw caution to the wind, roll up my pant legs and wade into the political arena. After all, Christians were the first ones in the arena in the “good ole days.” The problem, as I remember from the history books, none of those early Christians ever came out of that arena.

If you think about it, there are some similarities between a preacher and a politician. Perhaps this is why some preachers dabble in politics.

The most obvious similarity would be in the area of communications. Both make their living by giving speeches of some type. The preacher gives his weekly sermon while the politician gives his political oration.

The only difference between a sermon and a political speech is wind velocity. A good politician can change his views on an issue in mid-sentence. Not many preachers have mastered that slight-of-tongue technique.

A good sermon has three points, somewhat related to each other, and progresses toward a conclusion. A good political speech is pointless and related to a raging Nor’easter.

Another important similarity between the preacher and politician is in giving promises.

The man of cloth deals primarily with the promises in the Good Book. Someone has made the claim that the Bible contains more than 30,000 promises. I cannot verify that number.

I have never stopped to count them. I do know that there are promises for every aspect of life and these promises are available to us through the gracious work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The most important thing about the promises in the Bible is that they are not contingent on the preacher’s ability.

The man of the campaign stump also makes promises. Unfortunately, nobody has ever tried to count these, as most count for nothing. These political promises range from anything to everything.

No politician would ever think of expressing his view on an issue without first checking the latest poll on the subject. The politician’s goal is to tell the people what he thinks they want to hear.

Someone once observed that if all the people who sit through political speeches were lined up three feet apart, they could at least stretch and sleep more comfortably.

The successful politician is an expert in foul play. I can sum up most political promises nicely: A chicken in every pot and a potshot at every Turkey.

A third similarity between the preacher and the politician concerns money. Both have a lot to say about the subject.

Behind the pulpit, the preacher talks about tithing. Unfortunately, tithing is one of those spiritual disciplines carelessly bantered about and abused.

The truth of the matter is, we present our tithes and offerings to the Lord, not for a blessing but because we have been blessed already. Any other take on this subject does not carry biblical authority. The tithe belongs to God.

Behind the political platform, the politician talks about taxes. One wants to raise my taxes.

Another wants to cut my taxes. The lips may say, “No new taxes,” but the heart of every politician says, “expand the old taxes.” It all depends on what your definition of “is,” is.

It has taken me years but I have finally figured out my income tax.

First, list as dependents your wife, two children, car and three goldfish. Now multiply your age by six and seven-eights and subtract your telephone number. Add those figures, divide by your social security number and multiply by the number of electric lights in your house.

Now you have your gross income, which, after dividing by your chest measurement and subtracting your blood pressure you finally get the amount owed to the government.

Don’t tell me I don’t listen to those political speeches.

This brings me to my dilemma with Gary Hemsely. He was running for a political office and wanted my support. What I do in that voting booth is between me and nobody else.

I smiled at Gary and said, “Gary, I’ll support you as best I can,” which I thought would be the end of it. Gary took me more seriously than I thought.

“Pastor,” he said to me, “would you mind if I gave my campaign speech in church this coming Sunday morning?”

There are those rare times when a preacher must evolve into a politician and this certainly qualified. I saw two problems to this.

First, Sunday morning worship is no place for a political speech. People might confuse their tithing with taxes, which would be taxing on the collection plate.

More important, Gary could say less in one hour than most people could say in three minutes, but it usually took him two hours to say it. He won the National Stuttering Championship four years in a row, more than anyone to date. There was no way that I could allow this, but I did not want to hurt Gary’s feelings.

I finally looked him in the eye and said, “I’m sorry Gary but we just can’t do that. It is a matter of separation of church and state, and you don’t want to be accused of violating that. It wouldn’t be good for your political career.”

Gary saw the rationale of my argument and the matter was settled.

Some critics of Jesus once tried to stump Him on the matter of taxes. He replied, “And Jesus answering said unto them, ‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ And they marveled at him.” (Mark 12:17 KJV.)

A good citizen, no matter what political party affiliation, knows the difference and does both.

My dad’s lab was a mess, but then it was always a mess. This time it was a lightly charred mess, covered with extinguisher gloop. Abdul the camel seemed happy enough though, despite his smoking bum fur.

Also surviving the fartplosion was my father’s newest invention, all glowing lights and shiny metal buttons. Dad stood before it, looking very proud.

‘This is my second most precious baby,’ he announced, as if to a great crowd. ‘It’s the world’s first inter-dimensional instant transporter. I call it a zapporter. When tapped into, the Zapp Principle requires remarkably little power to operate: just a couple of AA batteries, actually.’ My dad paused. I clapped once. ‘Ahem,’ he continued. ‘Simply by standing in front of the zapporter and pressing this lever,’ my dad reached out to a shiny silver lever, ‘which I won’t pull now, because I’m not really crazy’

‘Let’s assume you were?’ I was growing impatient.

‘Ah, if I was, and if I did, I would be instantly transported right across the universe, maybe to an advanced alien civilisation!’

I was more than a bit interested now. ‘Let’s fire this sucker up and take a zap around the solar system!’

My dad looked horrified. ‘Good gravy, Raz, we couldn’t do that! First, we’d need to take this portable zapporter,’ Dad pointed to a smaller machine on the shelf, ‘otherwise we could never return to Earth! But even then, we still mustn’t go! For what if we were transported to a world where the air was so acid it ate off our skin in seconds and dissolved our bones in minutes? Or if we stepped into a black hole and were compacted to microscopic size like space garbage? No Raz, only an expert astronaut could possibly test my zapporter!’

I was majorly bummed. ‘I’m majorly bummed. What good is this invention if we can’t play with it? Why don’t you invent a transporter for use here on Earth? So we can just instantly zap to Singapore or Hanoi? Now that would be cool.’

‘Raz, I’m hoping I can sell my zapporter to NASA or the Chinese. We may soon be very rich! Then we can do what we’ve always dreamed: buy a farm with lots of chickens and horses!’

‘Gross, Dad,’ I snorted. ‘That might be your dream, but it’s my nightmare! Farms are miles from anywhere interesting and usually smell like… farms. I’ve been to one, remember? Chickens are only cool when they’re chopped up in a Vietnamese omelette. And horses… horses’ I spluttered for words. ‘Horses haven’t been cool since the Middle Ages, since cars were invented. Animals generally stink, are ugly, and have fleas and horrible needs. But horses are the stinkiest, ugliest, most flea-riddled, horribly needy animals of all! Well, they’re the second most anyway,’ I shuddered. I couldn’t even name the worst animal. ‘Still, being rich would be cool. As long as we’re talking billions.’

‘We can always dream, Erasmus.’ My dad looked a bit stunned at my outburst. ‘Anyway, back to your homework. Bed no later than ten. Brush every tooth first. I have to run a few final tests. And Raz?’

‘What?’

‘Make sure you stay away from this zapporter.’ My dad tried to look all serious. What a joke. ‘Okay, Raz? Okay?’

‘Okay, Dad,’ I lied.

But it was a white lie. A lie to stop my dad from worrying. For I knew better than to care about his dramatic warnings. He clearly needed my help. Soon I would be the first person in history to ride that zapporter. The first to visit another world! Soon I would fly faster than any Earth boy had ever flown before!! I would win a Nobble Prize too, maybe even before my dad!!! Me, Erasmus Einstein James!!!!

My dad leant forward to hug me. I leant back. ‘Dad, I’m almost 12 and you’re almost 40.’

‘I’m still only 38,’ he muttered.

‘So isn’t it time you outgrew this childish need of yours for hugs? Mum’s gone. Get over it.’

‘I…’

‘Hug the damaged animals,’ I advised.

‘I do,’ said my sad Dad. ‘Every day. It’s good therapy.’

Yeah, right. Poor Pops. ‘G’night, Dad.’

I adopted one of my Dad’s sick animals once. I won’t make that mistake again. Captain Chook was a real fighter, and kind of cute, apart from his hideous internal injuries. I set up that rooster’s sick bed right next to my own and provided round the clock snacks and tweet-ment. Every hour Chooky lived, I grew more confident he would survive.

On day three, I rushed home from school. Captain Chook’s eyes were shut, but I could tell he was breathing. I reached out to pat his chest feathers. Chooky’s eyes flew open. He pecked my hand hard. Blood dribbled out. Then… he died! It was as if Chooky was just waiting to pass on his ugly message before he karked it. There was a war raging between the animal world (e.g., my chook) and human inventions (e.g., the truck that squished my chook).

After half a pack of tissues, I resolved to be on the winning side from that day on. My Dad’s soft side only lead to heartbreak, and a stinky room.

Free of such worries, I began packing my backpack. A warm jumper, in case space is as cold as it looks. Space snack food, including two leftover containers of Vietnamese rice. Some handy off-world survival articles: a LameBoy game, mini disc player, my Bratty bear (I’ve outgrown bears, but this is a koala and could have educational benefits for aliens), a pair of boardies, a novelty hat and party shirt (in case any cuties invite me to a space disco). I packed then unpacked my mobile phone, figuring Uranus would probably be a few million kilometres out of roaming range. Sunscreen, in case I zapped too near the sun (my dad would be pleased). Comb. Toothbrush? Nah. Chocolate toothpaste? Why not? Chocolate bars? For sure.

Hmmm. Something to trade might come in handy too. So I printed out a few dozen schematics (invention plans) and sealed them watertight. Maybe I could trade the plans to build a microwave oven for an alien death-ray off Jar Jar Stinks?

I paused. What if I really did zap to somewhere gross or deadly? Would sunscreen save my bum in a black hole? Then I remembered. I could just transport myself straight back to my dad’s lab with the portable zapporter! Everything would be cool, as long as I didn’t freak out. And I never did that.

But first, I had to wait until my dad ran out of inventing steam. Around midnight I heard him stagger down the hall to his bedroom. Next came a whump as he collapsed onto his bed, followed by a series of smaller plop sounds that I knew came from the road-kill animals hopping onto his bed with him. I tiptoed down the hall and peered into Dad’s room. He was snoring already, still fully dressed, and covered in bandaged mini-beasts. I pulled his door shut (that way, he’d be kept busy a little longer when he awoke, cleaning up their multiple poopsicles (especially Abdul’s)), and snuck down the hall toward the secret door.

With luck, I’d be zapped back in time for breakfast, my backpack bloated with booty.

DC Green is the author of ‘Erasmus James and the Galactic ZAPP Machine’, a funny and action-packed tale of friendship, intergalactic zapping, flatulent horses, environmental havoc and bus-sized chickens for 8-108 year olds. An award-winning fiction and non-fiction writer, DC used to travel the world for surf magazines, mainly because he couldn’t afford his own air tickets. He lives on the NSW South Coast of Australia with one slightly crazy daughter and three very crazy cats.

Check out the first four chapters of ‘Erasmus James and the Galactic ZAPP Machine’ free at DC Green Yarns: http://dcgreenyarns.blogspot.com/

Order ‘Erasmus James and the Galactic ZAPP Machine’ at Bookmark Australia: http://www.bookmarkaustralia.com.au/

Just when it seems reality TV has hit rock bottom, a new and ever-more demeaning show emerges to set the bar even lower. Here are a few of the offerings that don’t exist yet — but just wait until the suits at FOX and UPN get wind of these ideas.

Ambush Boobjob:

In this exciting makeover extravaganza, we give a team of plastic surgeons a van, a bottle of ether, and one mission: endow, endow, endow! They’ll roam the city, looking for flat-chested women to ‘enhance’. Watch as the docs scope out their patients — “Look, ‘A’ cups! Grab her!” Then, they’ll pull her into the van, put her under, and kick her back to the curb with a fabulous new set of double-D’s! That’s ‘Ambush Boobjob’, where our motto is: “We make mountains out of molehills — whether you like it or not!“

Electri-Date:

Every week, a new woman goes out on blind dates with three men. And a taser. Watch, laugh, and learn as the guys forget to bring flowers. *bzzzzttt!* Or fail to open the car door. *zzzzzzap!* Or try to ‘get French’, after suggesting they ‘go Dutch’. *ssssszzzzzzzztttttttt!!* At the end of the show, the gal picks her favorite fella, who gets to choose between a second date or a trip to the local burn ward. Fun for the whole family!

Last Comic Starving:

A ‘true’ reality show, this show follows the lives of ten standups without day jobs, as they compete for gigs, auditions… and sandwiches. Only one will be able to scrounge enough cash together to buy groceries; the rest will either take up panhandling, or give up completely and settle into soul-sucking entry-level day jobs. Who’ll be playing to packed houses, and who’ll be delivering packages for a living? Tune in to find out!

My Big Fat Obnoxious Television Actress:

In this spin-off, we follow the trials, tribulations, and — most importantly — tantrums of a formerly-famous actress, as she attempts to claw her way back into the limelight. We’ll find the most belligerent, heinous, loudmouthed… hold on. We already tried this one with Roseanne. And Kirstie Alley. And Kathy Griffin. We can’t out-belligerent that. Never mind.

Pimp My Bride:

Still in the concept phase, this show could go one of two routes. In one scenario, we’ll allow prospective husbands to compete for glamorous upgrades for their blushing brides-to-be — facelifts, tummy tucks, nose jobs, and the like. Much like ‘The Swan’, for the already roped-in crowd. If we go the other way, you’ll see husbands pimp out their new wives for cash and prizes. Either way, it’ll be the most uncomfortable, gratuitously shocking show since… well, since ‘The Swan’. Or that ‘NYPD Blue’ with Dennis Franz’ butt. Keep an eye out for the pilot.

Queer Eye for the Street Guy:

Just because you’re wearing rags and living in a box doesn’t mean you can’t be fabulous! Our dream team of light-loafered fashionistas take one homeless person each week, and transform their clothes, lean-tos, and shopping carts into stylish, modern wonders. Watch to see the guys work magic with burlap, turn paper bags into treasured decorations — and you won’t believe the substances that can be used as ‘hair product’, in a pinch. See hoboes go faboo, and get in on the ground floor of ‘urchin chic’. It’ll sweep the nation, one back alley at a time!

The Real M.A.S.H.:

First, it was ‘The Real Beverly Hillbillies’. Then, ‘The Real Gilligan’s Island’. Why not bring back the most popular thirty-year-old T.V. show of all? We’ve dragged ten contestants off to Korea, where they’ll spend twelve tumultuous weeks dodging bullets, sewing people back together, and competing for fabulous prizes! And we’ve even gotten Jamie Farr, the original Sergeant Klinger, to host — because really, what the hell else has he done since 1983?

The Real World: Guantanamo:

This is the true story — ‘Truu-uuuee sto-ray!‘ — of seven strangers, picked to live in a tiny cell and have all records of their lives erased from all official records. Find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting… well, we’re not sure, frankly. The military won’t let our cameras in — but we’re working on it. Maybe in time for fall sweeps.

Survivor:Brooklyn:

Forget the barren outback or a mosquito-ridden jungle. Let’s see what sort of alliances form when we drop teams of wide-eyed tourists off in the middle of the borough. Cabs only big enough for two people, subways heading every which direction, challenges involving walking down long, dary alleys — will competition reign, or will the survival instinct kick in? And if it gets boring, will we walk them over to Harlem to spice things up? There’s only one way to find out!

Temptation Island: Greenland:

Sure, it’s more interesting with the skimpy clothes and hot, sweaty nights. But if these people can create sparks through sub-zero temperatures and six layers of parkas, that’s worth watching! Will they ‘play it cool’, or risk a bout of hypothermia for a roll in the permafrost? Only time — and emergency treatments for frostbite of the extremities — will tell.

Charlie Hatton is an overzealous blogger and aspiring standup comedian offering smart, sophisticated humor about life, language, and the size of his naughty bits. He writes semi-daily and mostly randomly at Where the Hell Was I?

Any type of jewellery, gold, silver, diamonds, gemstones or alloys, tends to worn next to the skin and will therefore become covered with oily debris formed by dead skin cells. Dust and grit them becomes clogged into this. Also if you wear a ring when doing the washing up and do not wear rubber gloves, a greasy film will coat the backs of any stones and the inside of settings.

Most gold jewellery can be cleaned in warm, soapy water and gently brushed using an old toothbrush. Eighteen carat gold and above does not usually become tarnished and is not harmed by household chemicals. Lower carat gold is easily damaged by chlorine based bleach and cleaning products, which can cause stress corrosion cracking.

Platinum can be cleaned in the same way as the high carat golds. The patina that develops over a period of time can be removed by a professional jeweller who will repolish it back to its original high gloss look.

Silver tarnishes easily and the only effective way to clean it is by using proprietary silver cleaning solutions such as a silver dip.

Jewellery manufacturers use ultrasonic cleaning tanks which are a mixture of ammonia and detergent with the ultrasonics providing agitation to speed up the cleaning process. Many jewellery stores now sell small ultrasonic domestic cleaners, but experience has shown they are on a par with the warm, soapy water method and no more effective.

It is very difficult to damage diamonds because of their hardness, but take great care that two do not rub together as they can scratch and cause abrasion to each other. Caked on grease and other dirt on the backs of the stones should be removed with warm soapy water and an old toothbrush, rinsed and dried with a lint free cloth. Also make sure that your diamond jewellery is stored in a jewellery case and individually wrapped.

Gemstones should be treated in the same way as diamonds. But take care when cleaning any sort of stone set jewellery that you do not do this in a washbasin or sink as if any stones loosen they will go straight down the drain.

Gary Ingram runs The Diamond Store.co.uk.
An online store that provides advice on keeping and owning all kinds of Diamond Jewellery.
From specialist Engagement Rings through to advice on how to avoid blood and conflict diamonds

Some time ago, I was in charge of developing a business concern on the beautiful island of Sri Lanka while based in the United States. At one point, I needed to send an employee there to set up the quality control program. This employee did not have a GSM cell phone so I lent him mine to use “in case of emergency only”. The employee spent time each night chatting with family on the cell phone and came back with a $3,000 phone bill in two short weeks.

If you have a US GSM cell phone and service account, you may find that it will cost you something in the range of $3 per minute to use your phone overseas due to international roaming. As an example, on one trip to Hamburg, I had lost my party at a very large exposition. I used my cell phone to call them and found out that instead of it being a local call, it went to the US and back via their networks thus charging me for two international calls!

A little while later I was on a plane to Sri Lanka. As we were about to land, the gentleman next to me took out a small bag and dumped the contents into his palm. They were SIM chips. I asked him what this was all about and he told me he was looking for his chip for Sri Lanka. He informed me that the chip enabled him to make calls in and from Sri Lanka without incurring the extremely high roaming charges my friend above met with. He traveled throughout Europe and Asia and had chips for each major locale.

I was intrigued by this idea and did some research on what it took to use these local chips in my cell phone. Here is what I found:

Your basic cell phone service provider places a unique serial number into your cell phone. This unique number is called an “ESN” and it is used by the service provider to identify who you are. The service provider uses this number to know where to send phone calls too when someone dials your number.

A GSM phone is a little different animal. “GSM” (Global System for Mobile Communications) is a type of digital mobile phone service. GSM is the most common standard for cell phones in the world. GSM service is common in over 210 countries around the world with over 1.5 billion users. The popularity of GSM makes international roaming very common between cell phone operators, enabling the user to successfully use their phone in many parts of the world. One of the key differences with GSM is that the phone itself is not directly linked to you. Rather, the removable “SIM” (Subscriber Information Module) chip is encoded with a unique serial number which is what now identifies you to the wireless provider.

Having your info embedded into a removable SIM chip rather than into your cell phone is what makes this all so interesting. If you place your SIM chip into a compatible cell phone, you can use that phone as your own because the service provider will recognize the SIM chip inside of it as yours. Conversely, you can buy compatible SIM chips from the country you are about to visit and use them in your phone. This is what allows you to avoid the ugly international roaming charges mentioned above.

Before you can do this, however, you will most likely need to “Unlock” your cell phone. Most wireless service providers “lock” their cell phones which means that they program them to only work with SIM chips issued by their company. Unlocking a cell phone is basically reversing this programming. The process is very easy and quick.

There are many service providers online that specialize in mobile unlocking. Once the cell phone is unlocked, it is permanently unlocked.

Now I wanted a SIM chip that would work in the country I was headed too, again, Sri Lanka. I was told that the best way was to find a cell phone store there in Colombo but this sounded difficult as my schedule would be very busy. While searching for an alternative, I was directed to www.Telestial.com as a source of chips via the internet. I found that I could buy a chip from Sri Lanka with pre-paid minutes on it. They did also offer a great variety of SIM chips from most major destinations around the world. The process was quick and painless and I found the cost to be very reasonable ($79 vs. $3,000!). The only drawback to the system was that this did give me a new phone number which I had to pass out to family and business associates prior to departure.

The trip went well as I was able to coordinate activities with local vendors and business associates without feeling like I had to hang up the phone after two sentences.

When it comes to estate jewelry there is always much discussion about what is and what is not estate jewelry. The definition is really quite simple. Estate jewelry is jewelry acquired from the estate of another person, who can be living or deceased. The simple definition of estate jewelry is jewelry that is previously owned.

Contrary to what many believe looking good doesn’t have to cost a fortune - just buy estate jewelry! And save plenty!!

There is often much confusion with both dealers and consumer. There is some false myths floating around that estate jewelry is antique jewelry. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Although many pieces of estate jewelry are antique, many pieces are also vintage, retro, or fairly modern. That’s why searching for estate jewelry can result in some terrific buys!

Estate jewelry also does not mean fine jewelry. Estate jewelry can be costume or fine and is found both ways.

Throughout the ages and even today a perfect gift for a woman was a piece of jewelry. There is also a distinction made of women who wear jewelry. It seems to set them a class above other women. Why has never been determined. It’s simply been a cultural norm for centuries.

We often take our clues as to jewelry popularity by watching what the celebrities are wearing. Next time you are watching television take note of how many pieces of jewelry the stars are wearing that are from another era. Celebrities are very fond of estate jewelry!

Antique jewelry is normally classed as jewelry that is pre 1920, while art deco, vintage, and retro are often grouped together and denote the era from the 1920s to the 1950s. Estate jewelry can be from any of these eras.

If you are looking for classic jewelry like your grandmother may have worn consider searching jewelry sites that sell antique and estate jewelry. If you are collecting jewelry you should pay special attention to the estate jewelry sites who have a wide range of designer marked pieces. Collecting can be expensive so make sure to set a budget.

If you are looking to complete your wardrobe and hate looking like everyone else, estate jewelry is an excellent choice. Here you will find variety and beautiful pieces from many different time periods. The chances of finding another wearing the exact same jewelry piece as you are drastically reduced.

You can look unique and stand out from the crowd with estate jewelry. You also can choose between fine jewelry and costume jewelry. The prices are very reasonable and the costume jewelry of past eras has a much higher quality than modern costume jewelry.

The designs and styles were more highly refined and much classier. Costume jewelry of past eras was designed not only for the general population but also for the rich and famous. Many design ideas were inspired from fine jewelry pieces of the era.

So the next time you are looking to add glamour and sophistication to your wardrobe remember to have a quick search on line for estate jewelry. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with your options!
See I told you looking good doesn’t have to cost a fortune!

Sher from Estate Jewelry International has been serving customers for over 20 years, providing fashion, jewelry, and wedding help. Please visit us at www.estatejewelryinternational.com/

When and if you should be browsing for a cracking offer on fridges and freezers looking on line might well be an amazing practice to make sure you don’t waste precious time & cash. Don’t choose to waste your time scanning all around several high street outlets in a quest for the very best deals - all you have to do is simply sit down at your laptop and log on and a whole brand spanking new world of fridges is there waiting for you on the web.

In spite of this, with numberless on-line options how do you conceivably consider which retailer might well not waste your hard earned cash on fridges whilst still ensuring you find an outstanding quality item. As best practice should you acquire your new fridge from an outlet on the high street then you shouldn’t realistically have many concerns about buying from their website, furthermore, as we all realise you might well repeatedly happen upon better price tags online. Great fridges are not that hard to find online.

Consulting a shoppers guide is consistently the most optimal place to begin when you’re surveying the market-place for fridges - shoppers guides are ofttimes stuffed with a great wealth of data and furthermore highlight points you will often not have thought through by yourself. These considerations include; energy consumption, additional features and storage capacity amongst additional things.

Do not choose to always go with the lowest price - uncommonly commonly the initial cost you happen upon on a site might well not include VAT or delivery charges also, when you finally reach the payment stage you might well be charged a great deal more than you initially imagined.

When do you need it by? Not all on line retailers offer fast delivery and if your original appliance has just broken you conceivably might not desire to wait four weeks for your new one. So constantly check what your estimated home delivery day shall be.

Find out the return policy - fridges are a difficult thing to purchase; sometimes they look great in the showroom or on a web site but once you get it to your home you find it doesn’t complement your kitchen at all. Therefore, you should always be careful.

Is your financial growth impeded due to a stack of debts? Are debts encumbering your shoulders? Debt consolidation in general can be quite a twinge in the neck, as it usually entails high rate of interest. In this scenario, a low rate debt consolidation can prove to reprieve you of a financial jam with ease.

A debt consolidation can allow you to manage your copious small debts efficiently. It consolidates all unpaid debts into one single debt. This makes it convenient for you to pay-off those debts. With a low rate debt consolidation you only need to be concerned about single monthly repayments which take care of all your unpaid debts. It makes you accountable only to one creditor. This helps you in making an easy escape over dealing with various lenders. Your previous creditors are negotiated with on your behalf.

Low rate debt consolidation can be procured easily by approaching small finance organizations. It can prove to be an ideal strategy as startup financial companies. In order to entice more potential clientele these companies can offer you competitory rate of interest on debt consolidation. In the cut-throat competition of the modern world, struggle among various debt consolidation organizations can also bear out to be beneficial for you. Each financial company strives to provide competitive terms to match your personal state of affairs.

Pledging collateral with a high worth can also aid you to procure low rate debt consolidation to fit your pocket. The equity of collateral with high value serves as a guarantee and reduces the risk factor for the creditors’. This in turn ensures desirable low interest rate.

You can avail a gamut of benefits from low rate debt consolidation such as:

• End to creditors’ nagging calls
• Improve credit score
• Increase chances of better loan opportunities
• Fetch low interest on loans

Low rate debt consolidation is usually tagged with flexible repayment terms. Yet it is advisable that you should pick upon short low rate debt consolidation repayment terms. The reason being, you would end up paying high amount on the interest.

You should navigate through various low rate debt consolidation options available to choose a befitting deal. Though searching for low rate debt consolidation can be a tedious task. But your sincere efforts can pay you huge reimbursements in the future.

Speed up your route to a debt-free life with low rate debt consolidation.

Has your “get up and go got up and went”? If so you will be interested in this latest research on CQ10.

You might say this study included a little monkey business. The subjects were thirteen male and eight female baboons. These primates were fed a variety of diets that were supplemented with different amounts of vitamin E and coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10).

The purpose of the research was to measure the effectiveness of CoQ10 and vitamin E in reducing inflammation in the body. The inflammation was measured by conducting a simple blood test of C-reactive protein (CRP).

When CRP levels were analyzed, vitamin E was found to lower levels of inflammation to an average of less than half of pre-supplementation levels. When coenzyme Q10 was added to vitamin E, CRP levels revealed a whopping seventy percent reduction in inflammation.

In the discussion of their findings, the researchers called the results “remarkable.” They concluded that “co-supplementation with vitamin E and coenzyme Q10 significantly enhanced both anti-inflammatory and antioxidant protection.”

Why is this so important? Inflammation and oxidation are two of the most important risks leading to a heart attack or stroke. The latest research indicates that they are far more dangerous risks than high cholesterol.

A high level of CRP in your blood indicates an increased risk for what your cardiologist describes as “destabilized atherosclerotic plaque.” These are big words for a big problem.

Interpreted in laymen’s language, when arterial plaque becomes destabilized, it can burst open and block the flow of blood through a coronary artery, resulting in an acute heart attack. And a heart attack isn’t as much fun as you might think.

One of the New England Journal of Medicine studies showed that people with high levels of C-reactive protein were almost three times as likely to die from a heart attack.

“CoQ10, is energy on call,” says, Dr. Stephen Sinatra, a board certified cardiologist at the New England Heart and Longevity Center. “I have long considered CoQ10 a wonder nutrient because of its ability to support heart health.”

In addition to energizing your heart, CoQ10 has also been shown to support the immune system, blood pressure and healthy cholesterol levels.

More than 100 clinical studies at major universities and hospitals have documented the actions of Coenzyme Q10 and now new studies have researchers heaping more praise on this nutrient.

Women with breast cancer and non-cancerous breast lesions commonly have low blood levels of CoQ10. Although there need to be more studies, Danish researcher Knud Lockwood, M.D. has had good results using high doses of CoQ10 to prevent the recurrence of breast cancer in women.

Chronic inflammation is also an underlying cause of many age-related diseases. A fact that until recently has been given very little attention by the medical establishment.

If you are taking any of the statin family of drugs such as Lipitor, Zocor or Crestor to lower your cholesterol you should not be without CoQ10. These drugs can literally “kill” synthesis of CoQ10.

CoQ10 is a notoriously bulky nutrient that’s quite hard for your body to absorb. Look for a product that has been tested for maximum bioavailability and also has the GMP seal on the bottle.

Do your heart…and the rest of your body a favor by getting acquainted with this multi talented nutrient. Be careful though…a burst of energy might have your friends wondering what’s going on in your life.

Fifteen years ago a highly skilled heart surgeon, sawed open Gene’s chest and stitched in bypasses to six of his favorite heart arteries. Six heart bypasses isn’t a record but it’s not bad for a 59-year-old non-smoker with normal cholesterol and blood pressure, no family history of heart disease and no weight problem.

Gene and his wife Bernie recently retired from their Wellness Center and are now providing heart attack prevention information, heart vitamins and nutritional supplements on their website: http://www.VitalHeart.info

Did you ever wonder where a common phrase came from? Crossing the Rubicon is such a phrase. This is what it means today: You have taken a step too far. You are at great risk and you can’t go back.

Under ancient Roman law it was forbidden for any general to cross the Rubicon River and enter Italy proper with a standing army. That was treason.

The Rubicon wasn’t much of a river. It was a small stream but to cross over with an army was a dangerous step. Immediate civil war was the result.

In January 49 BC, Caesar crossed the tiny stream. This is what he said, “Let us go where the omens of the Gods and the crimes of our enemies summon us! THE DIE IS NOW CAST!” See: http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/caesar.htm

Do you want to know more about the origin of phrases? Then go to: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/index.html

Here are a few common phrases. Do you know what they mean?

A bee in your bonnet

A blast from the past

A dead ringer

Baptism of fire

Barking up the wrong tree

Bated breath

Chew the cud

Donkey’s years

Excuse my French

Go and boil your head

Go to hell in a hand basket

Hell has no fury like a woman scorned

In a quandary

Just deserts

Kit and caboodle

Let the cat out of the bag

The real McCoy

No man is an island

Old lang syne

Paddle your own canoe

Peter out

Quid pro quo (tit for tat)

Read the riot act

Shake a leg

The ball is in your court

Up a blind alley

Walk the plank

Your name is mud (Mudd)

You know most of these phrases, right? To find the meaning or origins of these and other phrases, go to: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/424000.html. Click on the letter in the alphabet index and scroll down to the phrase.

Have fun!

John T. Jones, Ph.D. (tjbooks@hotmail.com, a retired VP of R&D for Lenox China, is author of detective & western novels, nonfiction (business, scientific, engineering, humor), poetry, etc. Former editor of Ceramic Industry Magazine, Jones is Executive Representative of International Wealth Success. He calls himself “Taylor Jones, the hack writer.”

More info: http://www.tjbooks.com

Business web site: http://www.bookfindhelp.com (IWS wealth-success books and kits and business newsletters / TopFlight flagpoles)